China's carbon power will rise in 2024, surpassing expectations that coal would peak
Official data released on Friday showed that China's thermal power generation, which is mainly coal-powered, increased by 1.5% between 2024 and 2025. This was contrary to expectations, as coal generation had been expected to peak. However, growth has slowed down, reaching its lowest level in nine years, excluding years during the COVID-19 epidemic. The data revealed the difficulties in eliminating coal-fired energy while still meeting China's growing demand for electricity to power its energy-hungry industry and electrify its economy.
Sources say that India's steel minister is seeking $1.7 billion from the budget to assist mills reduce emissions.
Two government sources who are directly involved in the matter said that the Indian steel ministry requested 150 billion rupees (1,74 billion dollars) to be allocated to the budget as incentives for mills to produce low carbon steel. Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister, will present the federal Budget for 2025-2026 on February 1. India, which is the second-largest steel producer in the world after China, is working on a policy to decarbonise the production of the alloy. This effort forms part of an overall push for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of a net-zero goal set by Narendra Modi.
New York City dismisses climate change lawsuit against Exxon BP Shell
A judge dismissed New York City’s lawsuit against Exxon Mobil and BP for misrepresenting their products and commitment to renewable energy, as well as their fight against climate change. Anar Patel, a state Supreme Court justice, ruled on Tuesday that the city cannot claim to have climate-conscious citizens, but then let them down by oil companies who fail to disclose the contribution of their fossil fuels to climate change. Patel found that there was no evidence the oil companies or defendant American Petroleum Institute engaged in "greenwashing"…
Russia offers crude oil and LNG to Vietnam
The two countries announced on Wednesday that Russia was willing to assist Vietnam in developing its nuclear energy sector, and supply it with crude oil as well as LNG. Vietnam and Russia have also agreed to continue facilitating oil and gas projects in each other's continental shelves. This was revealed by a joint announcement made during the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to Hanoi. Russia signed a nuclear agreement and several agreements of cooperation with Vietnam on Tuesday. Vietnam is looking to restart its nuclear program after years of suspension.
EIA: US power consumption will reach new highs by 2025 and 26.
The Short Term Energy Outlook, published by the Energy Information Administration on Tuesday, predicted that U.S. electricity consumption would reach record levels in 2025 and in 2026. EIA projects that the demand for electricity will increase to 4,175 billions kWh by 2025, and 4,252 trillions kWh by 2026. This is a significant increase from the 4,089 billions kilowatt hours (kWh) recorded in 2024. EIA predicts that by 2025, residential customers will consume 1,519 billion kWh of electricity. Commercial customers will consume 1,457 trillion kWh and industrial customers 1,056 trillion kWh.
Thyssenkrupp's $3 billion green steel plan is not entirely dependent on hydrogen
Thyssenkrupp has said that a green steel plant worth 3 billion euros could still be built even if the government's ambitions of building a world-leading hydrogen industry fail. Friedrich Merz of the German opposition, who is expected to win next month's elections and become chancellor, said on Monday that a rapid shift to hydrogen would be unrealistic. The current SPD government, which split last year due to disagreements over funding and other issues, has tried to accelerate the decarbonisation in its industry. Hydrogen is a key component of this strategy.
Masdar, UAE launches facility for uninterrupted production of 1GW renewable energy
The chairman of Masdar, a state-owned renewables company in the UAE, announced on Tuesday that the firm has opened a facility to produce clean energy at a rate of 1 gigawatt per hour. At the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week opening, Sultan Al Jaber - who is also the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Chief Executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), called the project an important step in the transformation of renewable energy into baseload electricity. This will be the first time renewable energy has been transformed into baseload power. Al Jaber stated that it is a small step which could lead to a huge leap.
Egypt rushes solar energy to catch up as gas prices soar
Egypt, with its few clouds, vast deserts, and well-developed electrical grid, has everything it needs to expand solar energy generation. It is only now that Egypt has begun to take advantage of these resources, as the price of imported natural gas has risen. Last year, a sharp drop in gas production and a growing demand caught the authorities by surprise. This led to rolling blackouts during the hot summer. Ahmed Mortada is the head of energy for the multilateral lender European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Egypt. Analysts estimate that Egypt will have to spend millions more by 2025 on LNG imports.
WTO panel backs EU in palm case against Indonesia
The World Trade Organization panel ruled in favor of the European Union in the case filed by Indonesia on Friday against the bloc's ban on biofuels based on palm oil. Indonesia, the largest palm oil producer in the world, took the case before the WTO after the EU concluded palm oil cultivation leads to excessive deforestation, and shouldn't count towards its renewable energy target. Palm oil-based diesel was not considered a biofuel, and its use as a transport fuel was effectively phased out from 2023 to 2030. Indonesia claimed that the measures unfairly target Southeast Asian palm oil manufacturers.
German spot increases as French spot drops
Early on Wednesday, European power prices were mixed. France was down due to lower consumption and increased supply while Germany rose amid positive factors. As of 8:40 GMT, the price for French baseload electricity on Thursday had fallen by 9.9% to 93.3 euros (96.02 dollars) per megawatt-hour (MWH). The German baseload for the day ahead was up by 21.6% to 125.5 Euros. LSEG data shows that power usage in Germany will increase by 2.6 gigawatts per day, reaching 62 GW at the end of Thursday. Guromarie Wyller, LSEG analyst, noted that the supply of wind power is expected to decrease while gas and coal are likely to increase.
Biden Team wraps up expanded Clean Energy Credit Guidance
The Biden Administration released Tuesday guidance to assist companies in securing clean energy tax credits as part of the 2022 Inflation reduction Act. This program finalized a program that extends subsidies previously available for solar and wind to other low-carbon sources. This move is a part of the actions taken by outgoing president Joe Biden to support his administration's efforts to combat climate change. The move could be vulnerable when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in the coming weeks on a platform that emphasizes cutting spending and maximising fossil fuel production.
British Business - January 7
These are the most popular stories in the British business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Rachel Reeves will lead a ministerial delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, as the UK government attempts to attract international investors and reassure UK leaders of business. Boaz Weinstein of New York's Saba Capital accused Katie Potts of producing "exceptionally low returns" in the last three years. After a disappointing Christmas season, Britain's biggest retailers warn that they may be forced to eliminate thousands of jobs in the coming year.
BOEM Advances Offshore Wind Leasing in Guam
In support of the current administration’s goals to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced the publication of a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) for possible wind energy leasing off the coast of the U.S. Pacific Territory of Guam.This Call will gather public comments to inform potential leasing areas, and results from close collaboration with the Government of Guam…
On Monday, temperatures and wind supply are expected to increase.
On Friday, European prompt power rates for Monday were not traded due to the expectation of a higher wind power supply in France and a lower demand throughout the region. LSEG data shows that the German and French baseload contracts for Monday did not trade by 0948 GMT. LSEG data indicated that German wind output is expected to increase by 10.4 gigawatts to 46.5 GW on Monday, while French output should gain 14.3 GW up to 16.6 GW. According to LSEG analyst Naser Hachemi, the increased wind power production will reduce the residual load in France and Germany (which is the electricity demand that can't be met by renewable energy) on Monday.
Nigerian regulator: Applicants for oil licenses must demonstrate low carbon emissions
Nigerian applicants for oil licenses and permits will be required to provide evidence of low-carbon emissions and a program of renewable energy starting on Wednesday, before they are approved. This was announced by the head of Nigeria's upstream regulatory agency. Gbenga Kmolafe said that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission's policy is to meet the country's target of zero net carbon emissions by 2060. The template is called the Upstream Petroleum Decarbonisation Template. Komolafe stated that enforcement would begin on Jan. 1, 2025 and cover all approvals, including divestments, in the upstream industry.
India's JSW Energy will buy O2 Power units from Temasek for $1.47 billion
JSW Energy, the Indian company led by billionaire Sajjan Jindal, announced on Friday that its JSW Neo Energy division will purchase renewable energy platform O2 Power subsidiaries for $1.47 billion. The acquisition is in line with JSW Energy’s goal of achieving 20GW of renewable-led energy capacity by fiscal 2030, amid a strong push from the government to increase clean energy capacity. JSW Energy has acquired a portfolio of renewable energy worth 4.7 GW, backed by Singapore's state-owned Temasek as well as EQT Infrastructure. EQT, a private equity firm based in Sweden, said that it will leave O2 Power after the deal.
Rosatom, a Russian company, has opened a new wind turbine blade manufacturing facility to replace Vestas.
The governor of Russia’s Ulyanovsk Region said that Rosatom, the state nuclear corporation of Russia, has opened a factory for wind turbine blades at the site of an old Vestas plant. Vestas, a Danish wind turbine manufacturer that produces blades for wind farms near Ulyanovsk, closed the plant in 2022. It left Russia 2023 with all its assets. After the start of the conflict in Ukraine the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia have isolated Russia from Western technologies, components and the renewable energy sector.
Sekisui Chem will begin mass production perovskite cells in 2027
Sekisui Chemical, a Japanese company, announced on Thursday its intention to mass produce next-generation Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs) by 2027. Scientists consider PSCs to be an alternative low-cost option to silicon cells. They can reduce the space needed for solar panels. Sekisui will, in partnership and with the Development Bank of Japan, establish a new firm in early January that will design, manufacture, as well as sell PSCs, under a Sekisui Chemical license. The project is estimated to cost more than 310 billion yen (1.97 billion dollars), with government funding providing half the funding.
Mexico's oil production drops to its lowest level of the year in November
Mexico's production levels of liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas fell in November to the lowest recorded all year, and were well below the averages for last year. Official numbers published by regulator showed. The country has missed its 1.8 million barrels per day crude oil and condensate production target twice in November. President Claudia Sheinbaum had promised to keep this goal for the six years of her term. The numbers released late Monday show that Mexico produced 1.747 millions bpd liquid hydrocarbons in November. 1.488 billion bpd was crude oil, and 259,000 bpd was condensate.
Japan selects two groups to participate in the third round of offshore wind power
In a third round of major public auctions, the Japan's land and industry ministries selected, on Tuesday, two consortiums as operators for offshore wind blocks, including one that included energy giant BP. Analysts in the industry said that domestic and international companies were watching closely to see how this round of competition, held under a new law encouraging wind power development, would affect their exposure to renewable energy. As part of its decarbonisation plan, Japan wants to accelerate the development of offshore wind farms. It aims for 10 gigawatts of offshore wind farm contracts by 2030 and up to 45GW by 2040.
