Spot prices drop on rising renewable supply
The French spot electricity price for Thursday dropped on Wednesday, as the renewable energy supply was expected to increase and demand to fall in most countries of central Western Europe. French baseload electricity for Thursday fell 10.6% to 81.35 Euros ($89.66 per megawatt-hour (MWh) at 0836 GMT. The French equivalent contract was 36.5% cheaper at 26.25 Euros/MWh. In Germany, residual load is expected decrease on Thursday due to an increase in renewable supply.
Sources say that EU is targeting energy laws to reduce red tape.
Sources familiar with the matter said that the European Commission is examining changes to EU energy law as part of its next set of proposals to reduce the regulatory burden on struggling industries. Brussels has started a campaign to eliminate layers of bureaucracy, which European businesses claim puts them at a competitive disadvantage with China and the United States where the Trump Administration is aggressively rollingback regulation.
Sources say that EU is targeting energy laws to reduce red tape.
Sources familiar with the matter said that the European Commission is considering changes in EU energy laws to reduce the regulatory burden on struggling industries as part of its next set of proposals. Brussels has started a campaign to eliminate layers of bureaucracy, which European businesses claim puts them at a competitive disadvantage with China and the United States where the Trump Administration is aggressively rollingback regulation.
Japan Gas Industry Head: Higher US LNG Imports Must be Mutually Beneficial
The head of Japan's Gas Industry Group said that higher imports of U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas would improve Japan's energy security and supply stability. However, they must be pursued on a mutually-beneficial basis for both parties. U.S. president Donald Trump pushes energy sales to Asian allies, while threatening tariffs on trade. This is reviving Alaska LNG's stagnated LNG ambitions.
Partners Group buys California energy assets worth $2.2 billion
The companies announced on Tuesday that Swiss private equity firm Partners Group would purchase an energy asset-management platform in California and certain gas-fired electricity plants from U.S. based Avenue Capital Group, for $2.2 billion. The U.S. In 2025 and 2026, the demand for electricity will increase due to data centers devoted to artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, homes and businesses will use more electricity to heat and transport.
German emissions dropped 3.4% in 2024 and are on track to meet 2030 climate goals
The Federal Environment Agency of Germany said on Friday that greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 3.4% in the last year in Europe's largest economy, which puts it on track to reach its 2030 climate goals. Carbon dioxide emissions dropped to 649 millions tons in 2018, the agency reported. This is below the 656 million metric tonnes published by Berlin's Agora Energiewende in January, and also the legal target for 2024 of 693.4.
Terabase Energy receives $130 Million to expand solar technology
Terabase Energy, a solar technology company, announced Thursday that it had secured funding from SoftBank of $130 millions to scale up its technology for large projects. Terabase Energy now has a total of $200 million in funding, making it the largest funding round in its history. The amount raised by the company was not disclosed. Solar and energy storage accounted for 84% of new capacity added to US power grids last year…
Shell's LNG enthusiasm for Asia is a conundrum of volume vs. price: Russell
Shell's long-term outlook is contradictory, which shouldn't be surprising. Shell's annual LNG outlook was released last week. It predicted that the demand for LNG would increase by 60% by 2040. This is largely due to the strong economic growth of Asia, artificial intelligence, and the need to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. Shell has said that the global LNG demand…
Shell's LNG enthusiasm for Asia is hampered by a conundrum of volume and price: Russell
Shell's long-term outlook is contradictory, which shouldn't be surprising. Shell's annual LNG outlook was released last week. It predicted that the demand for LNG would increase by 60% by 2040. This is largely due to the strong economic growth of Asia, artificial intelligence, and the need to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. Shell has said that the global LNG demand is expected to rise from 407 millions tons in 2024 to 630-718 million tons by 2040.
China reduces carbon intensity by 2024, but still falls short of key targets
China's economy has become less carbon-intensive last year, thanks to a record increase in renewable energy capacity. However, the country is still far short of its 2025 goal. In its annual bulletin, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that by 2024, China's largest producer of greenhouse gases (which warm up the climate) will have reduced its carbon intensity from 3.4% to 3.4%. This was lower than the 3.9% target.
Utility Public Service Enterprise raises its spending plan and forecasts a higher profit in 2025
Public Service Enterprise Group, a U.S. electric utility and gas company, forecasted a higher profit in 2025 compared to the previous year and increased its five-year plan for capital expenditures. Utilities are experiencing a surge in power demand as Big Tech invests billions of dollars in developing artificial intelligence technology and infrastructure to support it. PSEG expects to spend between $22,5 billion and $26 billion in the five years from 2025 to 2029.
FERC wants more guidance on colocated data centers
The U.S. Energy regulators directed the largest grid operator in the country to clarify how it deals with co-location. This arrangement is becoming increasingly popular for AI data centers, allowing them to be connected directly to power plants. Co-location is a faster way to get large amounts of energy, rather than spending years waiting in line to connect to the grid. Federal Energy…
DeepSeek fears subside, US power companies spend more on data centers
U.S. Electric utilities are increasing their spending plans by tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars in order to upgrade the grid and build new power sources as artificial intelligence data centers and cloud computing drives up energy consumption. PPL Corp announced on its earnings call that it will increase capital investment by almost 40%, to $20 billion. Dominion which is the largest provider of data centers in Northern Virginia and Exelon…
Shell's scenarios predict significant LNG growth within the next few years
Shell published scenarios on Wednesday that showed a rapid rise in global demand for liquefied gas. Gas will probably have a gradual increase, and oil could peak at the start of the next decade. The British energy company created three scenarios to model energy security on a long-term basis, but said that these do not reflect their strategy or business plans. Surge is the most optimistic outlook for economic growth.
Israel urges the public to install solar panels on their roofs in order to generate electricity
Solar panels are being installed on roofs in Israel to harness the sun's power and help Israel meet its growing demand for electricity. Around 15% of Israel's electric production comes from renewable sources, while about 70% of it is natural gas. The Energy Ministry set a 30% target by 2030, which will increase dramatically by 2050, when the goal of net zero emissions becomes a reality. Ron Eifer is the head of the sustainable energy division at the Ministry.
Beware of Egypt's smokestack reshoring as Cement Exports Soar: Maguire
North Africa's second largest natural gas producer and its largest economy have increased the production and exports of several energy-intensive commodities in an effort to boost the growth of their industrial sector. Egypt's exports of chemicals, fertilizers, and cement doubled from 2022 to 2024. They have also grown by 350% in the last year thanks to government initiatives aimed at promoting rapid industrial growth.
Beware of Egypt's smokestack reshoring as Cement Exports Soar: Maguire
North Africa's second largest natural gas producer and its largest economy have increased the production and exports of several energy-intensive commodities in an effort to boost the growth of their industrial sector. Egypt's exports of chemicals, fertilizers, and cement doubled from 2022 to 2024. They have also grown by 350% in the last year thanks to government initiatives aimed at promoting rapid industrial growth.
Oil Dips on Larger US Crude Draw, Russia Sanctions
Oil prices fell back slightly on Thursday, a day after settling at multi-month highs on U.S. President Joe Biden's latest sanctions targeting Russia and a larger than forecast fall in U.S. crude stocks.Brent crude futures were down 12 cents, or 0.15%, to $81.91 per barrel at 1415 GMT, after rising 2.6% in the previous session to their highest since July 26.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 18 cents…
The industry in the breakaway Moldovan region shuts down due to lack of Russian gas
An official confirmed on Thursday that the cutoff of Russian gas supply to Moldova's Transdniestria region, which is a breakaway region of Moldova, has forced all industrial companies - except for food producers - to close. The Russian gas cutoff to Central and Eastern Europe through Ukraine on Wednesday has caused a severe and immediate impact on the mainly Russian-speaking region of 450,000 people that split off from Moldova during the Soviet Union's collapse in the 1990s.
After gas was cut off, the power plant of the breakaway region in Moldova switches to coal
Transdniestria's main power plant has switched to coal since Russian gas supplies were halted Jan. 1. It should be able to provide electricity to residents of the breakaway region in January and Febraury, according to the leader of the region. The cutting off of Russian gas through Ukraine on Wednesday has caused heating and hot-water supply cuts in the mostly Russian-speaking territory, which split from Moldova early in the 1990s. Russia also has 1,500 soldiers in this area.
