US regulators reject amended agreement on interconnect for Amazon Data Center
A filing on Friday showed that U.S. Energy regulators had rejected an amended agreement to interconnect an Amazon datacenter directly with a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members said that the agreement to increase capacity of the Talen Energy Susquehanna nuclear generating plant's data center could affect grid reliability and raise electricity bills for consumers. As Big Tech race to expand its data centers to support technologies such as generative artificial Intelligence…
Greek Quest to Save on Energy Bills Spurs Island-owned Renewables
Even with his 35-room beach-front hotel on the Greek island of Tilos close to fully booked, owner Michalis Kipraios worries his business might not "survive" sky-rocketing electricity bills, as the war in Ukraine drives up energy prices around the world.Tilos, 360 km (224 miles) southeast of Athens, is affected even though in 2019 it became one of the Mediterranean’s first islands to generate enough wind and solar power to meet most of its needs, including hosting thousands of tourists each summer.Tilos went the extra mile to go green by welcoming a private renewable power project…
Poland's Regulator Approves PGE Price Hike
Poland's energy regulator URE said on Friday it had agreed to let power company PGE hike prices, following similar approvals for the country's other three operators.Household electricity bills for PGE clients will rise by 10.5-11% on average monthly, starting from Jan. 18 until the end of March, URE said. (Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Koper Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Four British Power Firms Call for Carbon Tax Extension
Four British power generators have called on the government to maintain the country's carbon tax until at least 2025, according to a letter seen by Reuters, putting them at odds with industrial groups who want it scrapped. The carbon tax is paid by power generators for each tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit, and was frozen in 2014 at 18 pounds per tonne until 2021. British chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to provide details on what will happen to the tax after 2021 in his autumn statement on Nov. 23. Most British power companies support the carbon tax.
Kenya Signs $408 mln Loan with Japan for Geothermal Plant
Kenya and Japan on Wednesday signed a 46 billion yen ($408 million) loan agreement to go towards building a 140 megawatt (MW) geothermal power plant that is expected to be operational within the next two years, the two governments said. The plant, know as Olkaria V, will be built by Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), which has said it expects to begin construction in July, with the plant arriving on the grid by the end of 2018. The plant is part of KenGen's plans to add 720 MW of electricity - most of it from geothermal sources - to the grid between this year and 2020…
New Renewable Energy Retailer in Australian Market
A new energy retailer is entering the Australian market and pioneering a groundbreaking business model. It will empower consumers to reduce their power usage and potentially use more renewable energy. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and SBCVC have backed a $5 million Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund investment into Mojo Power. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said Mojo was a home-grown Australian business and the world’s first energy retailer which doesn’t rely on selling more power for more profit.
House Batteries Help the Grid & Consumers
Energy provider Ergon Retail is running a trial, with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), in 33 Queensland homes in Toowoomba in the south of the state and Townsville and Cannonvale in the north. In recent months, about 30 country householders have joined a pilot project that provides a glimpse of the future of our energy grid. For no up-front cost, these homes will get a state-of-the-art rooftop solar and battery system installed in their homes . Participants will pay a monthly fee to use the battery system…
APVI Upgrades Popular Live Solar Map
The Australian PV Institute (APVI) has released an enhanced version of its live PV solar map. The map now monitors more than 5500 systems, double the previous amount. This extra allows energy stakeholders to access more data and more detailed and accurate output estimates from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed across Australia. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said ARENA was pleased to have provided $430,000 funding support to the map’s development. “The maps and tools developed…
Norway, Sweden to Raise Renewable Energy Target
Norway and Sweden agreed on Friday to increase a joint 2020 renewable energy target by almost 8 percent under a subsidy scheme which could lead to higher energy prices for consumers. Under the new target, the two Nordic countries aim to raise the amount of electricity they produce in total from renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro or biomass to 28.4 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year by 2020 from 26.4 TWh. The changes to the common support scheme need to be approved by lawmakers in both countries before it comes into effect.
Boston Pipes Leak $90m in Fuel Yearly -Study
Boston's ageing pipeline network leaks about $90 million worth of natural gas each year, marking a sizeable financial loss and a threat to the environment, according to a study released on Thursday by Harvard researchers. The findings come as state energy officials struggle with a regional infrastructure shortfall that has left Massachusetts tight on winter heating fuel supplies during harsh cold snaps over the past three years. "Some 2.7 percent of the gas that is brought to the Boston region never makes it to customers…
Failure to Stop Petrobras Scandal Could Haunt Rousseff
When federal investigators first identified signs of corruption at Petrobras in 2009, Dilma Rousseff insisted Brazil's state-run oil company had nothing to hide. "Petrobras has one of the most accurate accounting standards in the world," said Rousseff, who was then chairwoman of its board and is now Brazil's president. Today, it's clear her confidence was misplaced. Petrobras now acknowledges it overpaid on contracts for years. Prosecutors say engineering firms paid bribes to win Petrobras contracts…
Central Banks React Differently to Oil Drop
The world's major central banks are scrambling to work through the implications of the near halving of the price of oil in the second half of 2014, and they are coming up with very different conclusions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, policymakers looking at robust economic recoveries such as in the United States and Britain are focused on the likely boost to growth and consumption from markedly lower energy prices and the later upward impact that should have on inflation. But for the European Central Bank…
Brazil's Comptroller Hage Resigns
Comptroller General Jorge Hage, the man in charge of fighting corruption in the Brazilian government, announced his resignation on Monday amid a widening graft scandal centered on state-run oil company Petrobras. Hage said he sent President Dilma Rousseff his resignation a few days go. "I've done my duty. I've made my contribution. It is time to rest," the 76-year-old lawyer said at a news conference marking Tuesday's international anti-corruption day. Earlier this year Hage complained…
KenGen Eyes JV Partners for Geothermal Plants
KenGen is Kenya's biggest power generator; geothermal help cut reliance on costly diesel. Businesses say high prices make Kenya uncompetitive. State-controlled Kenya Electricity Generating Co (KenGen) said on Monday it wanted to team up with private investors for the first time to build geothermal power plants that would come on stream by 2016. KenGen's plan is part of Kenya's ambition to add 5,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2017, against a current total of 1,664 MW, as it tries to tackle power shortages and high prices holding back business in the east African nation.
Vedanta's Zambia Unit Halts Underground Work Due to Reduced Power
Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has suspended underground work at its Nchanga mine due to flooding caused by reduced electricity supply stemming from a dispute with Copperbelt Energy Corp (CEC). Copperbelt Energy restricted power to the mine on Saturday over an unpaid electricity bill, forcing KCM - a unit of Vedanta Resources - to shut down its Nchanga concentrator. KCM said on Tuesday it had lost nearly 500 tonnes of copper output valued at more than $3.3 million. "Resulting from the CEC unilateral power restriction and the flooding this has caused…
EU Watchdog Warns on Resale Restrictions
Regulator says contract clauses may hinder competition; Power company could be fined up to 10 pct of turnover. The EU antitrust watchdog told Bulgaria's state-run power firm that restrictions on where the electricity it supplies is resold could amount to anti-competitive behaviour and lead to a fine. The European Commission said many contracts between Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and other companies included clauses restricting where the firms could sell the electricity supplied by BEH.
Lights to Go Out in Kandahar When U.S. Aid Ends
When the United States stops funding power generation in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar next year, the lights are set to go out and factories will fall idle, playing into the hands of Taliban insurgents active in the area. Bringing a stable source of electricity to Kandahar, the cradle of the hardline Islamist movement and once a base for its leader Mullah Omar, was a top U.S. "counter-insurgency priority" as Washington pursued its policy of winning "hearts and minds".
Bulgaria Revokes Charge on Solar, Wind Firms
Bulgaria's top court has revoked a 20 percent charge imposed on the income of solar and wind power producers this year, in a ruling that protects renewable energy investors in the Balkan country but would widen state deficits related to clean energy. The Constitutional Court ruled the charge breached the constitution of the European Union member country, a statement on its website said. The court had been approached by the Bulgarian president who said the charge breached the constitutional right for equal business opportunities, as it was imposed only on wind and solar power producers.
Iberdrola Probed over Price Manipulation
Spanish markets and competition regulator CNMC said on Tuesday it was opening an investigation into power firm Iberdrola over possible electricity price manipulation at its generation business. In a separate statement, Iberdrola said the CNMC probe was limited to activity from certain hydraulic installations between Nov. 30 and Dec. 23 and denied any wrongdoing. The Spanish government annulled wholesale power auctions in December after a sharp jump in prices that would have led to a painful rise in electricity bills. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; editing by Keiron Henderson)
U.S. EPA Chief: Carbon Rules To Lower Consumer Bills
Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy said on Thursday that newly proposed rules to slash carbon emissions from U.S. power plants will cut electricity bills after 2030 by forcing power plants to become more efficient. Speaking at a forum on energy efficiency in Washington, which she likened to "preaching to the choir," McCarthy took issue with critics' claims that the EPA's clean power plan will cause consumer electricity prices to skyrocket, in part by forcing older coal-fired plants to close.
