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Producción y mercados energéticos 22/02/19

Latest Energy News

22 February 2019

TOP STORY: European wind power capacity additions reached 11.3 GW in 2018 According to statistics released by the European wind power association WindEurope, the European installed wind capacity grew by 11.3 GW in 2018 (11.7 GW added and 0.4 GW decommissioned during the year), of which 8.6 GW for onshore (77% of the total) and 2.65 GW for offshore (23%). This is a more than 30% decrease compared to 2017, which was a record year for wind capacity additions. According to WindEurope, wind capacity accounted for nearly half (48%) of the total power capacity installations in the European Union in 2018. In 2018, 10.1 GW were commissioned in the European Union: Germany added most of the new wind power capacity (3.4 GW, including 969 MW of offshore capacity) and reached 59 GW of installed wind capacity, followed by the United Kingdom (1.9 GW, of which 1.3 GW offshore, reaching 21 GW), France (+1.6 GW onshore, reaching 15 GW) and Sweden (0.7 GW onshore, reaching 7.4 GW). 421 MW were decommissioned during the year and non-EU countries installed 1.6 GW, led by Turkey (497 MW, reaching 7.4 GW) and Norway (480 MW, reaching 1.7 GW). Overall, installed wind capacity in Europe neared 189 GW, including 179 GW in the European Union. Investments rose by 20% to €26.7bn in 2018: offshore investments reached €10.3bn (+37%), while onshore investments hit a record level of €16..4bn (+11%). 16.7 GW of future projects reached the final investment decision (FID) stage in 2018, including 12.5 GW for onshore and 4.2 GW for offshore; this is approximately 45% higher than in 2017 in terms of capacity. Sweden led the momentum with FIDs for 3.2 GW, followed by the UK (FiDs for 2.2 GW).

Companies Californian energy utility PG&E considers splitting its activities (US) Californian energy utility Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is considering a wide array of measures to improve its financial situation, including possible new corporate structures and governance schemes. Read more Policy & Regulatory India reshuffles oil and gas operations rules to lift domestic output In an effort to attract new investments and prop up domestic hydrocarbon production, the Indian government has announced plans to overhaul regulations for future exploration and production of oil and gas blocks. Under the new regulations,… Read more Spain plans to invest €47bn over next 10 years to tackle climate change The Spanish government has outlined a €47bn public investment plan draft to tackle climate change over the next 10 years, which would be partly financed by issuing green bonds. The proposal also confirms the objective of making Spain carbon neutral by 2050, as mentioned earlier in the November 2018 draft energy and climate plan (Plan Nacional Integrado de Energía y Clima). Read more European Parliament urges EU to achieve net-zero emissions goal by 2050 The European Parliament estimates that only two of the eight scenarios unveiled by the European Commission in November 2018 would enable the European Union to reach its net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions objective by 2050 and eventually meet the long-term goal set out in the Paris Agreement. Read more India will invest US$1.6bn in solar rooftop support programme The Indian government has approved the second stage of its nationwide programme to hit 40 GW of grid-connected rooftop solar by 2022 and announced investments of INR118bn (approximately US$1.6bn) throughout 2019. The funds will help support the future development of residential solar systems and incitivise domestic power distribution companies. Read more Energy Markets Southern Company will close 1.2 GW Gorgas coal-fired power plant (US) Southern Company’s subsidiary Alabama Power has announced that it will retire the remaining operating units (1,167 MW) at the Gorgas coal-fired power plant (Alabama, United States) in April 2019 due to government regulations on the handling of coal ash and wastewater. Read more Infrastructure & Investments Taipower signs PPAs for 3 offshore wind projects in Taiwan (900 MW) Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and China Steel Corp (CSC) have signed three 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Taiwanese state-run power utility Taipower for three offshore wind projects with a total combined capacity of 900 MW. Project developers will now apply for construction permits,… Read more NTPC’s 1 GW Nabinagar coal-fired project is now 75% complete (India) Indian state-held engineering and manufacturing company BHEL has commissioned the third 250 MW coal-fired unit of the 1 GW Nabinagar greenfield power plant project, which is currently under construction in the Aurangabad district of Bihar (India). The first two units (250 MW each) are already under commercial operation and the fourth unit (250 MW) is at an advanced stage of construction. Read more