Germany's Uniper stresses diversification and downplays the increasing reliance on US Liquefied Natural Gas
DOHA, February 4 - The top executive of a German utility Uniper played down European concerns about the growing dependence on liquefied gas from?the United States while he emphasized the need for diversification in supply sources. The pursuit by President Donald Trump of "energy dominance", has increased European concerns over the heavy reliance on U.S. LNG. This has replaced volumes previously provided by Russia. Data from analytics firm Kpler revealed that U.S.
Germany's Uniper stresses diversification and downplays the increasing reliance on US Liquefied Natural Gas
DOHA, February 4 - A top executive of German utility Uniper played down European concerns about increasing reliance on liquefied gas (LNG), which is imported from the United States. He said that companies sign contracts with 'firms, not governments', and stressed the importance of diversification. The transactional diplomacy of U.S. president Donald Trump and his pursuit to "energy dominate" have heightened European concerns over their heavy dependence on U.S. LNG.
Germany's gas production in numbers
Katherina Reiche, Germany's Economy minister is in Saudi Arabia seeking closer ties with the country on energy. Berlin is looking to diversify this sector as its dependence on U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas grows. Why is?GAS Supply a Problem in Germany? Germany was dependent on Russia to supply most of its natural gas for decades. This provided Europe's largest economy with a relatively cheap source, which was a major advantage for industry.
S.Africa energy regulator approves power cost relief for ferrochrome makers
South Africa's Energy Regulator approved Eskom's application on Thursday to reduce electricity rates?by 35 percent for two distressed ferrochrome plants that are battling high power costs. In recent years, more than a dozen smelters in South Africa have closed, resulting in thousands of job losses. This is largely because electricity prices have increased by over 900% since 2008. In December, Eskom sought approval from the National…
Wind power surge cuts spot prices but frost-related demands lend support
The European prompt power price fell on Tuesday, ahead of a near-tripling of German wind power expected on Wednesday and a more-than-doubling of French wind energy volumes. However, the prices remained relatively high as icy weather?supported?demand. The LSEG analyst Naser Hazemi wrote that "higher wind energy generation leads to a lower residual load on several markets, including Germany." He was referring to fewer thermal plant requirements. He added that "demand is expected in many countries to increase".
Poland allocates 3.4GW of offshore wind power in its first auction
?Poland's energy regulator URE announced on Thursday that 3.4 gigawatts of capacity were allocated in the first?competitive auction for offshore wind power. URE reported that the auction resulted in 25-year contracts with a range of prices between 476.88 zlotys (133.09 dollars) and 492.32 zlotys for each megawatt hour. As a test of investor confidence for?offshore investment? after failed tenders elsewhere in Europe where low price caps and lack of state assistance have deterred bidders.
Eskom reports that South Africa is looking for ways to assist ferrochrome companies.
Eskom, the state-owned power utility, announced on Monday that it is looking for ways to support South Africa's ferrochrome sector. Eskom stated in a press release that the memorandum with the two companies was the result of constructive discussions on Friday between the minister of electricity and the energy of the country and the trade unions. Samancor Chrome, the joint venture between Glencore & Merafe Resources and Samancor Chrome have announced that they are looking at job cuts due to pressures such as the cost of energy.
UK consumers face higher energy bills after regulator approves $37 billion grid upgrade
The British Energy Regulator has approved an investment of 28 billion pounds ($37.33 billion), over the next five-years, to ensure that the energy system is reliable and safe in the future. This is part of a plan to upgrade the energy system which will increase consumer bills by 108 pounds per year. The investment exceeds the provisional estimate of 24 billion pounds made by regulator Ofgem back in July, despite the British Government's promise to lower energy prices.
Documents show that Alberta oil regulators stopped enforcing gas flare limits after government pressure.
Documents seen by have revealed that the regulator responsible for environmental enforcement in Canada’s largest oil-producing province, bowed to pressure from both the provincial government and major oil companies in order to remove a limitation on natural gas flare ups as Canadian oil production increased. Alberta's decision to remove its 20-year old flaring limit, after companies exceeded the limit twice in a row with no objections…
India's energy regulator is considering auctioning grid slots if renewable projects fail.
According to a paper posted on the website, India's regulator of power is considering auctioning off transmission connectivity that was left idle due to renewable energy developers failing to sign power purchase contracts. According to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, approximately 31.8 gigawatts were granted as grid access for projects based on award letters. The connectivity is still unused, as no power purchase agreements were executed. This has blocked transmission capacity, and slowed the clean energy rollout.
China's electricity consumption in October is up 10.4% due to a surge in household power usage
The energy regulator reported that China's power consumption in October was up 10.4% compared to the same period last year. This increase is attributed to a surge in consumption by households, industries such as information technology, and consumers who charge and swap batteries. In a Wechat posting, the National Energy Administration (NEA), said that October's power consumption totaled 857.2 billion kilowatt hours (kWh). The fastest growth in consumption was seen by urban and rural households…
China's first coal-to-chemicals project with green hydrogen begins commercial operations
According to a report by state-run CCTV, China's first project for coal-to chemicals that integrates green hydrogen began commercial operations on Friday. Cao Guoan, station manager at CCTV, said that the project, operated by state-owned energy producer Datang Group is expected to produce 70,59 million cubic meters of hydrogen per year. He didn't say how much coal the plant currently produces or if it will also produce other chemical derivatives.
Sierra Club takes on fossil fuels in the US electricity grid
The Sierra Club announced on Tuesday that it is challenging the decision of a U.S. Federal Energy regulator to expedite connecting fossil fuel power stations to major electrical grids, at the expense renewable energy. The environmental group submitted a petition to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)'s decision to allow the Southwest Power Pool to accelerate the interconnection of mostly coal fuel generation.
The FCA of the UK is investigating energy company Drax for its disclosures about biomass sources
The UK's financial watchdog has launched an investigation into Drax Group's disclosures about the biomass it sources, following a previous investigation conducted by the energy regulator of the country. This sent its shares plummeting more than 12% in Thursday's trading. Ofgem fined Drax 25 million pounds ($33.77m) for reporting incorrect data about wood from Canadian forests. Drax supplies around 5% of Britain’s electricity through biomass-converted plants, and has received billions in green energy subsidies.
China's coal production in July fell to its lowest level for over a year
Data from the Statistics Bureau showed that China's output of coal in July dropped to its lowest level since April 20,24. This is the first decline year-over-year in 2025, a sign China's output may be easing due to an oversupply. China produced 380.99 millions metric tons coal in July, a decrease of 3.8% compared to the previous year. The first seven months of this year saw a total output of 2,78 billion metric tonnes, an increase of 3.8% compared to the previous six months.
Watch out for firms that are reducing their renewable energy output due to the hot weather
The European power prices for the day ahead rose on Wednesday, as forecasts of lower renewable production in Germany's main market coincided with rising temperatures that pushed up local demand. We expect a bullish outlook for Germany. "Both wind and solar supplies are decreasing", said LSEG Analyst Xiulan She. The French contract for baseload electricity on Thursday rose 4.3% to 97.0 euros ($113.49 per megawatt-hour) at 0710 GMT. Meanwhile, the German equivalent contract increased 18.4% to 111.3 euros/MWh.
Endesa reports 30% increase in profits but warns that Spain's grid plans lack incentives
Spanish power utility Endesa announced on Tuesday that its net profit for the first half of this year rose by 30% to 1,04 billion euros ($1.20billion). However, it warned that a proposed framework to reward power grid investment in Spain does not offer sufficient incentives. Enel, the majority owner of the company, has focused on upgrading and expanding power networks in response to the soaring demand for electricity and requests for connection, while reducing its spending on renewables.
Repsol exceeds expectations in the second quarter despite a blackout.
Repsol, a Spanish energy company, announced on Thursday that its adjusted second-quarter profit exceeded expectations despite being hit by a massive power outage in April as well as other minor issues with the supply of electricity. The blackout of April 28, which caused chaos on the roads and left thousands of people stranded in trains and elevators in Iberian Peninsula, also affected power supplies to Repsol's refineries and chemical plants.
Canada's New LNG Exports Have Yet to Lift Gas Prices
Last month's start-up of LNG Canada, the country's first large-scale liquefied natural gas export facility, has failed to lift Western Canadian natural gas prices as quickly as some market participants and observers expected, due to a persistent supply glut and the gradual pace of the facility's ramp-up.Shell-led Canada shipped its first cargo of 70,000 metric tons from the country's Pacific coast on June 30, to South Korea.The export facility…
Alberta has eliminated the gas flaring limit in 2024.
Calculations show that energy producers in Alberta, Canada’s largest oil producing province, exceeded the self-imposed provincial limit for annual gas flaring by 2024, for the second consecutive year. Alberta's energy regulator announced late last week that it would be ending the flaring limit. The regulator, who quietly posted a bulletin to its website, is the first one to report this change. The regulator confirmed Monday that the limit had been removed and stated it was in response to the direction of the provincial government.