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The Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil estimates that almost BRL2,000bn (US$506bn) will be invested in the Brazilian energy sector by 2027, including BRL1,500bn (US$379m) in oil, gas and biofuels, BRL400bn (US$101bn) in the power sector and BRL80bn (US$20bn) in the mining sector (by 2022). In the power sector, 5,900 km of new lines will be built between 2019 and 2027. The Ministry of Mines and Energy has just approved the construction of 55 new transmission lines, that will spread over 7,152 km.

Brazil has also resumed studies to build the 708 MW Bem Querer dam project in the northern state of Roraima worth around BRL6bn (US$1.5bn). The environmental licensing process could start in 2020 and a construction license could be awarded to private investors as soon as in 2021. The highly controversial project, which would flood nearly 520 km², would improve electricity supply to the Roraima state, which is currently connected to the Venezuelan grid and has not received any power supply since early March 2019 due to power shortage in Venezuela. Until the commissioning of the project in 2027, a new power transmission line could connect Roraima with Manaus in the neighbouring Amazonas state.

The Energy Authority of Finland has selected 7 of the 26 wind projects submitted in the country’s first technology-neutral auction. The auction aimed at securing up to 1.4 TWh/year of electricity from wind, solar and wave power, and from biomass and biogas. The combined power generation of the accepted projects reached 1.36 TWh/year, including 370 GWh/year for Simo (Tuuliwatti),…

Uzbekistan state-run power utility Uzbekenergo has received 23 submissions from international companies for the development of 100 MW of solar PV capacity in the Navoi region. The request for qualification (RfP) was issued in February 2019. It is the first competitive tender for solar development in Uzbekistan.

According to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), Australia should face a gas shortage as of 2024, as gas production from the ageing Gippsland Basin fields off Victoria, which have long been the main gas supply source for the states of New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmanian, is expected to decline.

State-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for 750 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The upper ceiling tariff has been set at INR 2.68/kWh (US$3.9c/kWh).

China Power Hub Generation Company (CPHGC) has synchronised the first 660 MW unit of a 1,320 MW supercritical coal-fired power project near Hub, in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, to the national grid. CPHGC is a joint-venture project company of China Power International Holding (CPIH) and Hub Power Company (HUBCO),…

The Australian government has selected 12 of the 66 power projects that applied to receive public support under the government’s underwriting programme to increase power supply. Projects were selected whatever the energy source,…

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey has confirmed plans to increase the capacity of the Tuz Gölü gas storage, from around 600 mcm to 5.4 bcm by 2023. National oil and gas company Botas has been operating twelve caverns since 2017 and plans to open an additional 48 caverns by 2023, to store at least 20% of the Turkish gas demand.