German Spot Jumps on Flagging Renewable Supply
On Tuesday, the German spot electricity price for Wednesday increased as wind and solar supplies were expected to decline while demand was expected to increase. LSEG data show that German baseload power for the day ahead was up 58.9% at 236 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) by 0948 GMT. This is its highest level since June 25. The French equivalent contract was flat, at 119 Euros/MWh.
Canada proposes a sharp reduction in emissions from the oil and gas industry by 2030
On Monday, the Canadian government released draft regulations which would cap greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and natural gas sector. Producers will be required to reduce emissions by 35% from 2019 levels and 2030. In a press release, the Environment Ministry said that the regulations would create a cap and trade system to reward companies with better performance. It will also provide an incentive for polluting firms to improve their production processes.
Sweden rejects 13 Baltic Sea Wind Farms, citing defense concerns
The Swedish government announced on Monday that it has rejected 13 applications for offshore wind farms to be built in the Baltic Sea because of defence concerns. However, it has approved one project on the west coast. Pal Jonson, the Swedish Defence Minister, said at a recent press conference that wind farms built in the Baltic Sea could harm defence interests. This is because…
Prices for gas in Europe are rising as the low wind increases demand.
Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas rose on Monday as low wind speeds increased gas demand for electricity generation. Strong inventories and temperatures above normal could limit further increases. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub at 0926 GMT was 0.98 euros higher, at 39.88 Euro per megawatt hour. The contract for the day-ahead contract was 1,28 euros higher, at 39.53 Euro/MWh.
Spot prices rise due to low renewables production and increasing demand
European spot electricity prices rose to multi-month highs Monday. Renewables are expected to continue to be low, while demand is projected to increase. By 0901 GMT, the German baseload contract for Tuesday had reached its highest level since June 25, at 145 Euros ($157.99 per megawatt-hour (MWh). On Friday, during the All Saints Holiday, no equivalent price was traded. LSEG data shows that the equivalent French contract is now at 117.50 Euro/MWh…
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.
U.S. regulators consider the issue of data centers in power plants
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held a technical meeting on Friday to discuss the reliability and cost concerns associated with the growing trend of building data centers that are energy-intensive on the site of U.S. nuclear power plants. The technology industry is racing to build data centers to support technologies such as generative artificial intelligence. However,…
Woodside and Tokyo Gas discuss stake in US LNG Project
Tokyo Gas and Woodside Energy are in discussions about a possible stake in the multi-billion dollar Louisiana LNG export project. Two people familiar with these talks confirm this. Woodside, a major Australian oil and natural gas company, closed a deal this month to buy Tellurian Inc., a developer that had put itself up for sale after running out of money while building a U.S. Gulf Coast plant capable of converting shale-gas into LNG at a rate of 27…
Xcel Energy announces $45 billion investment plan and higher quarterly profits
Xcel Energy announced a higher third-quarter profit Thursday. This was due to a greater demand for electricity among industrial and commercial customers, as well as lower cost. The company has more than 3.8 million customers in eight Western and Midwestern U.S. States, and another 2.1 million who use natural gas. It also announced a $45 billion five-year investment plan to upgrade infrastructure.
Climate Investment Funds Board backs $1 billion Turkey grid upgrade project
Climate Investment Funds, a multilateral lender, has announced that it will provide an initial investment of $1 billion to support a plan to upgrade Turkey’s electricity grid to handle more renewable energy. The CIF board approved a $70million investment from its Renewable Energy Integration Investment Platform (REI), with the goal of attracting an additional $790million to expand and upgrade transmission infrastructure, and $330million for technology.
TerraPower has held informal discussions with Turkey and other countries about small reactors
TerraPower, the Bill Gates backed company that is looking to build small modules reactors for nuclear power, has held informal discussions with several countries in Europe including Turkey. A company spokesperson confirmed this on Thursday. In an earlier report, it was reported that Turkey has been drafting a new law to encourage the construction of SMRs as a complement to plans to build nuclear power plants.
Demand for Spots drops as public holidays approach
The European power price fell on Thursday ahead of All Saints Day in some parts of the region, which falls on November 1. This added to the expectation of a weaker demand for the weekend. Data from LSEG's utility EDF and LSEG showed that the supply of solar and wind electricity is expected to grow, while nuclear power availability will remain flat. French baseload electricity for Friday delivery fell by 30.2%, to 63.5 Euros ($68.95/MWh) by 8:20 GMT.
Australia should be leading the energy transition. But is it missing out? Russell
Australia's abundance of minerals and renewable energy, stability of government, and proximity to Asia's growing markets makes it a country that is well-positioned to benefit from the energy transition. The mood was a bit downbeat this week at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney, which brought together the entire mining and resource sector. Speaker after speaker highlighted the opportunities available…
NiSource's profit beats expectations for the third quarter on increased demand for electricity
NiSource, an electric and gas utility, beat Wall Street expectations for the third-quarter profits on Wednesday. This was due to higher residential and industrial power demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects that power consumption will reach record levels in 2024 and 25. This is due to the demand for AI technology, data centers and rising electricity usage in homes and business amid record temperatures.
Signals of bearishness are triggered when price trends diverge.
On Wednesday, the direction of spot electricity prices in Germany and France diverged. However, the dominant trends of increasing renewable output and declining demand created a bearish wholesale environment. In Germany, the demand for electricity is down by 1.7 Gigawatt Hours per Hour (GWh/h), but wind and solar power generation are both up by 7.3 GWh/h & 0.9 GWh/h respectively.
Australia should be leading the energy transition. But is it missing out? Russell
Australia's abundance of minerals and renewable energy, stability of government, and proximity to Asia's growing markets makes it a country that is well-positioned to benefit from the energy transition. The mood was a bit downbeat this week at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney, which brought together the entire mining and resource sector. Speaker after speaker highlighted the opportunities available…
US Governors push back against PJM following record-high prices for power plants
Five governors urged PJM Interconnection on Tuesday to change its process for determining the price of power plants, after the auction that saw record prices. Prices in the most recent PJM auction were almost 10 times higher than last year. This was largely due to a shrinking supply of electricity and an increasing demand for electricity. Prices were set at levels that raised concern about the cost of electricity for homes and businesses on PJM territory.
What are the differences between Trump and Harris' energy policies?
Both Donald Trump, a Republican, and Kamala Harrias are Democrats. They both want to increase production while keeping prices low for consumers. The main difference is that Harris wants to favor clean energy technologies that are crucial in fighting climate change. Trump, on the other hand, would roll back green regulations which hinder oil and coal drilling. Next Tuesday, voters…
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.
Net zero target needs $3.5 trillion in annual green energy investment, Wood Mackenzie says
Wood Mackenzie's report on Tuesday said that the investment in green energy must double every year to $3.5 trillion if we are to reach the Paris Agreement goal of net zero emissions by the year 2050. The consultancy's report said that, in addition to the investment gap, global efforts to switch to cleaner energy are under pressure due to concerns about energy security and tariffs and barriers to trade, which are stunting the electrification of growth globally.
