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According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), CO2 emissions from the domestic energy consumption are predicted to remain near current levels through 2050 and reach a total of 5,019 Mt by then, i.e. only 4% below their 2018 value. Emissions related to coal and oil consumption are forecast to decrease but will be offset by rising emissions from gas consumption.

Energy-related CO2 emissions generally follow the same pattern as energy consumption trends and are mostly associated with the consumption of oil products such as jet fuel, distillate and motor gasoline. As of 2018, the transportation sector consumption accounted for 78% of the total domestic CO2 emissions from oil consumption and more than 33% of all US energy-related CO2 emissions. Oil-related emissions are expected to decline until 2035, before increasing again through 2050.

Coal-related CO2 emissions (around 90% from the power sector and 10% from industry in 2018) should continue to fall until 2030 – around 1/3 of the existing coal-fired power capacity will retire within the next decade – but emissions would stagnate until 2050, as the remaining coal-fired fleet would be used more frequently.

The substitution of coal-fired power plants by gas-fired power plants in recent years led gas-related emissions to surpass coal emissions as of 2015 and gas became the largest fuel used for power generation in 2016, overtaking coal. Consequently, gas-related CO2 emissions will continue to increase, in line with the use of gas in the US power sector. Gas consumption from industry (chemical branch, CHP and LNG production) should also increase, as well as residential and commercial consumption.

The Colombian government has unveiled draft rules for the introduction of a new support scheme for the roll-out of domestic solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in poorer and grid-isolated municipalities. Interested parties may comment the proposal, which is meant to offset operational and maintenance costs of small-scale PV projects across non-interconnected zones.

Malaysian state-run oil and gas company Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) has signed a binding heads of agreement with the Vietnamese state-owned oil and gas company Petrovietnam (PVN group) for the sales and purchase of additional gas volumes from Malaysia to Vietnam. Petronas will ship natural gas from its Malaysian operations to the Vietnamese province of Ca Mau in the Mekong delta,…

The Vietnamese government has agreed to increase the domestic retail electricity price by 8.36% to a total of VND1,864/kWh (approximately US$8c/kWh) from the previous VND1,720/kWh (US$7c/kWh). This measure, which immediately came into force, may put upward pressure on inflation. It could also support the development of new power plants projects and attract energy investors.

Japanese power utility Tohoku Electric and the Portuguese company Renova will jointly investigate the possibility of building a 700 MW offshore wind project off the coast of Yurihonjo City in Akita prefecture (Japan). The two companies will undertake an environmental impact assessment (EIA). If they decide to move forward with the project, the construction would start in 2021,…

The European Commission (EC) has agreed to release €750m of CEF energy funding for key European energy infrastructure projects with major cross-border benefits. The funds will be allocated to Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), i.e. projects having a significant impact on at least two EU countries, reducing CO2 emissions, bolstering competitiveness and enhancing the EU’s energy security.

The Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a request from Grain Belt Express Clean Line to construct a high voltage, direct current (HVDC) power line, which would carry 4 GW of wind power from western Kansas (United States) cross Missouri and Illinois to Indiana and US east coast states. The Missouri PSC had rejected the US$2.3bn project twice previously,…