US Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Auction draws only $22 Million in Bids
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced on Tuesday that the offshore wind development rights offered in the Gulf of Maine attracted bids of $21.9 million for the first half of eight areas. Avangrid, a developer of offshore wind power, and Invenergy both walked away from the auction with two leases each. The 14 companies qualified to bid were Avangrid and Invenergy. BOEM estimates that once developed, these lease areas could power over 2.3 million homes.
Iberdrola profits jump 50% after focusing on the U.S. and Britain
Iberdrola, Europe's biggest utility, announced on Wednesday that it had increased its net profit by 50% for the first nine-month period of the year. This is a good sign as this shows the company's focus on Britain and America has paid off. This is part a larger shift towards building and upgrading electricity grids. A more selective approach to renewables will be taken, with a preference given to offshore wind projects. The spanish company reported a net profit of 5.47 billion euro ($5.91 billion) for the period.
Southeast Asia must increase investments by five times to achieve climate goals by 2035, according to the IEA
International Energy Agency stated on Tuesday that Southeast Asia must increase its clean energy investment to $190 billion by 2035, or five times current levels, to achieve climate goals. The IEA stated in a recent report that increasing energy investments must be accompanied with strategies to reduce emissions at the relatively new fleet of coal-fired power plants. The report also stated that the rapid expansion of the economy would pose a challenge to energy security and climate change goals.
EMBARGOED - IEA: IEA's climate goal of triple renewable energy worldwide by 2030 is within reach
The International Energy Agency stated in a Tuesday report that a goal of triple the global renewable energy capacity and reducing fossil fuel consumption by 2030 is achievable. However, it will take a massive push to remove bottlenecks, such as grid connections and permitting. New York Climate Week, where leaders in government and business are gathered to discuss climate change, coincides with the release of this report. At the COP 28 Climate Summit in Dubai, almost 200 countries agreed to achieve net zero emissions by the energy sector before 2050.
The rising renewable generation has an impact on spot prices
The European spot electricity prices dropped on Monday, as German wind and Solar power supplies are expected to increase on Tuesday. By 0938 GMT on Tuesday, the German baseload electricity price was 86.75 Euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), down 16.2% compared to Friday's price for Monday delivery. LSEG data revealed that the equivalent French contract was 24.50 Euros/MWh. On Friday, the Monday price was not traded. LSEG data indicated that the German wind output is expected to increase by 2.2 gigawatts to 17.6 GW on Tuesday…
Opinion: Renewable Energy Wins Over Oil and Gas in Post-Coronavirus World
Imagine waking up one morning with a deadly tiger snake in your bed. To make matters worse out of the window you notice an approaching bushfire.Both are a threat to your life, but you are going to deal with the imminent danger of the snake first, and then tackle the more distant but still serious fire. It's the same with the new coronavirus and climate change.Since the rapid spread of the coronavirus beyond its origin in China and the social and economic havoc it's wreaking across the globe…
North Sea Countries to Boost Offshore Wind
Energy Ministers from North Seas countries met yesterday (December 04) in Brussels and agreed their 2020 Work Program on offshore wind deployment as a means of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.The 10 North Seas Energy Cooperation countries – Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK – agreed at their Ministerial meeting in Esbjerg in June 2019 to broaden the scope of their cooperation. Their 2020 Work Program now elaborates what they intend to do together on maritime spatial planning…
EU Targets 450 GW Offshore Wind by 2050
The EU Commission’s big goals for offshore wind – between 230 and 450 GW by 2050 – are achievable provided the right investments in electricity grids and Governments take the right approach to maritime spatial planning, said a report.According to the WindEurope report examines where 450 GW of offshore wind could be deployed most cost-effectively around Europe, bearing in mind there is only 20 GW today. 450 GW of offshore wind is part of a European Commission…
COBRA Cable Readies for Action
The 700MW COBRAcable interconnector linking the Dutch and the Danish grid will be available for the electricity market as of delivery day, 7 September, Dutch high-voltage grid operator TenneT said."After three years of construction, including the laying of the submarine cables as well as the construction of two onshore converter stations, and a successful test phase earlier this year, COBRAcable will be available for the electricity market as of the delivery day of 7 September…
MAN ES Invests in Hydrogen
MAN Energy Solutions is acquiring 40 percent of the shares of the electrolysis technology company H-TEC SYSTEMS. A contract confirming the partial acquisition was signed in Augsburg by Dr. Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, and Ove Petersen and Heinrich Gärtner, executive managers of the GP JOULE Group. The contract also makes provisions for a majority or complete takeover of H-TEC SYSTEMS at a later date. The company will continue to be independently represented on the market with no change in the level of commitment to its customers.
Poland and Lithuania Agree to Build Undersea Power Cable
Polish and Lithuanian power grid operators said on Friday they had agreed to build a high voltage direct current (HVDC) underwater cable by 2025 as part of a plan to connect the electricity grids of the Baltic states with those of the European Union.Poland's PSE and Lithuania's Litgrid said they signed an initial cooperation agreement regarding what they called a "Harmony Link", with an investment decision expected in 2020.EU Climate Commissioner Arias Canete was quoted in a statement as saying the cross-border project was a clear sign of how political and professional
Chile Eyes Further Energy Exports to Argentina
Chile is looking at boosting energy exports to Argentina and connecting with electricity grids in neighboring countries, as it seeks to capitalize on friendly relations to drive down prices, the energy minister said Thursday. Chile, which has almost no hydrocarbons of its own and an energy-intensive copper mining industry, has struggled for years with high power prices. But a shift towards renewables and warming relations with neighboring countries is starting to take some of the pressure off.
Europe's Power Market Reform a Boon for Struggling Utilities
European utilities welcomed long-awaited power market reform proposals on Wednesday, hoping a framework to subsidise fossil fuel plants and plans to wind down a key support for renewable energy could turn the page on years of crisis. The European Commission's 1,000-page draft reform "Winter Package" proposes binding targets to cut energy use by 30 percent by 2030 and wants to put Europe on track for renewables to power half of the continent by 2030. But it…
ARENA Making Electricity Grids Smarter
More than 150 households in NSW and Victoria will take part in an innovative new trial to test how smart inverters can work alongside rooftop solar and home energy storage to cut costs and improve the stability and reliability of Australia’s electricity supply. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said ARENA was pleased to be supporting the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) trial as part of ARENA’s efforts to accelerate Australia’s transition to an energy system powered by renewables that will serve the needs of Australians into the future.
World First to Combine Big Solar and Storage
A world-leading project in far north Queensland is set to combine big battery storage and big solar to supply solar power after sundown and during peak usage times. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $17.4 million funding support for Conergy to build and operate a 10.8 MW (AC) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with 1.4 MW / 5.3 MWh of lithium-ion battery storage near the town of Lakeland. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the landmark project…
Canada's Clean Energy Spending Collapses
Spending on clean energy projects in Canada fell 16 percent in 2015 compared with the record investments of the prior year and a renewed push to cut emissions may not lead to a rebound until 2018, an advocacy group said on Thursday. Companies and governments spent C$10 billion ($7.7 billion) on wind, solar, hydro, biomass and biogas projects in Canada last year, Clean Energy Canada said in a report, while total clean energy capacity rose 4 percent to just under 100 gigawatts.
Argentina Starts Alternative Energy Push
Argentina invited bids for projects aimed at creating 1,000 megawatts of alternative energy on Wednesday in the country's first push toward wind and solar power production needed to help narrow its energy deficit. Argentine President Mauricio Macri said the projects would be the initial stage of a plan that calls for 10,000 megawatts, or 20 percent of Argentine energy consumption, to come from renewable sources by 2025. For years Argentina, home to one of the world's biggest but untapped shale oil formations, has been a net energy importer.
Turkish Power Ship to Supply Electricity to Zambia
Turkey's Karadeniz will in the next two weeks begin supplying Zambia with electricity from a power-generating ship as it looks to take advantage of chronic shortages in Africa, the company said on Wednesday. Karadeniz builds what are effectively floating power stations which plug into electricity grids after berthing. They run on fuel oil but can also use natural gas. One of the firm's vessels docked this week at Mozambique's Nacala port, from where it will supply 100 megawatts of electricity for the next two years…
Pumped Hydro Storage to Revive Old Mines
ARENA is providing $4 million support towards a feasibility study into the construction of a 330 MW pumped storage hydroelectric power plant at the disused Kidston Gold Mine in North Queensland. The funding will allow Genex Power Limited to build on preliminary work already underway to examine the technical and commercial viability of its proposed $282 million power plant. Acting ARENA CEO Ian Kay said the work could reinvigorate the pumped hydro storage industry in Australia and enable more renewable energy to be used on national grids.
Baltic States Look to Cut Energy Cord with Russia
Baltic states are looking to synchronise their electricity grids with Nordic countries, away from Russia, in a move that has angered the Kremlin and could cost hundreds of millions of euros, government and energy officials said. More than 20 years after splitting from the former Soviet Union and joining the European Union in 2004, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still depend on Russian power grid operators. They have begun reducing their dependence on Russian gas imports after Lithuania opened a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal last year…
