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According to the Ministry of Coal of India, coal consumption in India grew by 9.1% to 991 Mt in the 2018-2019 year (from April 2018 to March 2019). Consumption from the power sector, which accounts for 3/4 of coal consumption, rose by 6.6% to more than 760 Mt. Industrial demand also increased, especially in the cement sector (+70% to 37 Mt) and in the sponge iron industry (+2/3 to 41 Mt). Coal production reached 734 Mt, of which 607 Mt from state-run producer Coal India grew by (+7%), and the supply shortfall more than doubled to 23 Mt. Consequently, coal imports rose by 13% to 235 Mt.

Coal India targets a production level of 660 Mt in 2019-2020. The group will focus on new mines with a capacity of more than 10 Mt/year and will improve mechanisation to boost production.

Thailand’s largest energy group and national oil company PTT has decided to raise investments in the retail and industrial power sectors to offset the global economic slowdown in its oil refining and chemical activities. The group is facing thin profit margins in a context of low demand and chemical supply exceeds. …

The Silk Road Fund has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian power generator ACWA Power to acquire a 49% stake in is renewable arm ACWA Power Renewable Energy Holding (ACWA Power RenewCo). ACWA Power RenewCo owns 1,668 MW of solar PV, CSP and wind projects in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco. …

Uzbekistan has joined Scaling Solar, a World Bank Group solution that aims at facilitating the development of large scale solar power projects with private financing. The Central Asian country, which is highly dependent on gas (76% of its power mix in 2018), plans to develop up to 1 GW of solar power capacity. In May 2018, the government signed a solar power mandate with IFC (World Bank Group).

The Swedish power transmission network operator Svenska Kraftnät and its Norwegian counterpart Statnett have agreed to jointly invest SEK 1bn (€94m) in a new Nordic balancing model. The system will help balance power supply and demand in the Nordic region (also including Denmark and Finland) and will facilitate the integration of renewable power generation in the power networks. …

The 753 km-long Cardones-Polpaico power transmission line has been inagurated in northern Chile. The 500 kV line worth US$1bn was approved by the Environmental Assessment Service of Chile in 2015 and construction began in 2016.

Bangladesh oil and gas company Petrobangla has received Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from 12 companies for the construction of the country’s first onshore LNG import and regasification terminal at Matarbari in the Cox’s Bazar district, in southern Bangladesh.

Obayashi Corporation has selected Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) as the first preferred supplier of wind turbines (SG 8.0-167 DD model) for its Northern Akita offshore wind project pipeline in Japan. The company plans to develop up to 455 MW of offshore wind projects in the Akita prefecture and will join upcoming auctions. Commissioning is expected as of 2024.

The Zambezi River Authority’s Council of Ministers, which entails the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe, has selected General Electric and Power Construction Corporation of China, for the construction of the 2,400 MW Batoka Gorge hydropower plant project, which will be built a few kilometers downstream Victoria Falls on the Zambezi river.