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The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has invited bidders for the development of 1,100 MW of offshore wind capacity, which is the largest US-wide solicitation of offshore wind power to date. This is the first step in meeting New Jersey’s objectives of 3,500 MW of offshore wind by 2030 and having 100% of its electricity produced by renewable energy sources by 2050. The application begins on 20 September 2018 and closes at the end of December 2018.

Other states such as Massachusetts and New York are also moving ahead quickly with new wind power projects. The state of New York plans to issue a solicitation for approximately 800 MW of offshore wind capacity in the fourth quarter of 2018 and aims to reach 2,400 MW of new offshore wind generation by 2030, that will help meet its target to cover 50% of power generation with renewable energies by 2030. Meanwhile, Massachusetts is developing the 800 MW Vineyard Wind offshore project.

A commission of the National Assembly (lower house of the French Parliament) has adopted an amendment to the Loi Pacte, allowing the government to issue a decree removing domestic regulated gas tariffs within 6 months after the law entering into force. Regulated gas tariffs currently apply to more than 5 million households and are applicable to customers of the French utility Engie.

US-based LNG project developer Cheniere Energy has signed a sales and purchase agreement with the global trader Vitol, under which Vitol agreed to purchase 0.7 Mt/year (roughly 0.95 bcm/year) of LNG from Cheniere on a free on board basis for a term of approximately 15 years beginning in 2018. The contract’s purchase price is indexed to the monthly Henry Hub price and includes a fee.

The Pakistani government has decided to raise domestic natural gas prices by up to 20%, slashing consumer subsidies to ease the burden on the budget and the PKR152bn (US$1.23bn) deficit of the state-run Sui Northern and Sui Southern gas utilities. Approximately PKR58bn (US$470m) will be injected into the companies thanks to the reform.

Japanese independent power producer (IPP) Marubeni Corporation has unveiled plans to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and shift to a low-carbon system.

The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur or BNetzA) has launched the second 2018 renewable energies bidding round for onshore wind and solar power projects. The bidding date has been set for 1 November 2018. 200 MW will be available and the two technologies compete directly for the lowest cost of power generation.

Belgian engineering firm Besix has completed the design and the construction of the 8.2 bcm/year Bahrain LNG import terminal offshore Muharraq Island in Bahrain. The €126m (US$147m) project, expected in the first quarter of 2019, is critical for Bahrain and will help meet the country’s increasing demand for gas to fuel its development.