Energy Sector News

[petit_bateau]

Not really a surprise,

Fatih Birol said reductions in supplies in recent weeks which the Kremlin has attributed to maintenance work could, in fact, be the beginning of wider cuts designed to prevent the filling of storage facilities in preparation for winter, as Russia seeks to gain leverage over the region. “Europe should be ready in case Russian gas is completely cut off,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times. “The nearer we are coming to winter, the more we understand Russia’s intentions.

Europe told to get ready now for Russia to turn off all gas exports to region

IEA chief warns that Russia may be trying to prevent countries filling storage facilities ahead of winter

www.theguardian.com

 

[bkp_duke]

Not really a surprise,

Fatih Birol said reductions in supplies in recent weeks which the Kremlin has attributed to maintenance work could, in fact, be the beginning of wider cuts designed to prevent the filling of storage facilities in preparation for winter, as Russia seeks to gain leverage over the region. “Europe should be ready in case Russian gas is completely cut off,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times. “The nearer we are coming to winter, the more we understand Russia’s intentions.

Europe told to get ready now for Russia to turn off all gas exports to region

IEA chief warns that Russia may be trying to prevent countries filling storage facilities ahead of winter

www.theguardian.com

$5 says that even knowing this . . . Europe won't prepare for winter.

 

[petit_bateau]

$5 says that even knowing this . . . Europe won't prepare for winter.

Europe is preparing, and indeed has been since 2004 and more so since 2014, and lots more in the last year. What is unclear is whether the preparations will be sufficient and what level of disruption will occur. None of rejigging entire energy systems and continent (and global) scale economies is easy. We are all in this together.

 

[bkp_duke]

Europe is preparing, and indeed has been since 2004 and more so since 2014, and lots more in the last year. What is unclear is whether the preparations will be sufficient and what level of disruption will occur. None of rejigging entire energy systems and continent (and global) scale economies is easy. We are all in this together.

I would argue that only parts of Europe have been preparing. Germany being the biggest counter-example. Their actions show they are clearly terrified of Russia turning off oil and gas supply, and that their economy would take a major hit if that happened. They do not appear to be able to get off Russian gas, not without probably pushing them into a recession due to the decreased industrial output.

 

[petit_bateau]

I would argue that only parts of Europe have been preparing. Germany being the biggest counter-example. Their actions show they are clearly terrified of Russia turning off oil and gas supply, and that their economy would take a major hit if that happened. They do not appear to be able to get off Russian gas, not without probably pushing them into a recession due to the decreased industrial output.

The gas wouldn't be able to flow west-to-east from Germany into Poland if the Germans hadn't been doing their bit preparing. The German % of renewables wouldn't be the highest of all the major European economies if the Germans hadn't been doing their bit preparing. Etc.

Yes, there have been problems in Germany with respect to preparations, but they do not deserve all the brickbats they are getting. Some of them, but not all.

 

[mspohr]

Interesting article about an obscure treaty which compensates the fossil fuel industry.

Young people go to European court to stop treaty that aids fossil fuel investors

Five claimants aged 17-31 want their governments to exit the energy charter treaty, which compensates oil and gas firms

www.theguardian.com

Five people, aged between 17 and 31, who have experienced devastating floods, forest fires and hurricanes are bringing a case to the European court of human rights, where they will argue that their governments’ membership of the little-known energy charter treaty (ECT) is a dangerous obstacle to action on the climate crisis. It is the first time that the Strasbourg court will be asked to consider the treaty, a secretive investor court system that enables fossil fuel companies to sue governments for lost profits.

The case comes as the ECT falls under growing scrutiny. The treaty – which has about 55 member countries, including EU states, the UK and Japan – has been described as a real threat to the Paris agreement; it could allow companies to sue governments for an estimated €1.3tn until 2050 in compensation for early closure of coal, oil and gas plants. Activists and whistleblowers say these vast sums would stymie the green transition, while time is running out to keep within the 1.5C global heating limit.

 

[petit_bateau]

Interesting article about an obscure treaty which compensates the fossil fuel industry.

Young people go to European court to stop treaty that aids fossil fuel investors

Five claimants aged 17-31 want their governments to exit the energy charter treaty, which compensates oil and gas firms

www.theguardian.com

Five people, aged between 17 and 31, who have experienced devastating floods, forest fires and hurricanes are bringing a case to the European court of human rights, where they will argue that their governments’ membership of the little-known energy charter treaty (ECT) is a dangerous obstacle to action on the climate crisis. It is the first time that the Strasbourg court will be asked to consider the treaty, a secretive investor court system that enables fossil fuel companies to sue governments for lost profits.

The case comes as the ECT falls under growing scrutiny. The treaty – which has about 55 member countries, including EU states, the UK and Japan – has been described as a real threat to the Paris agreement; it could allow companies to sue governments for an estimated €1.3tn until 2050 in compensation for early closure of coal, oil and gas plants. Activists and whistleblowers say these vast sums would stymie the green transition, while time is running out to keep within the 1.5C global heating limit.

Yes, the ECT is problematic. However well intentioned it was at the beginning it is now being weaponised.

 

[mspohr]

Yes, the ECT is problematic. However well intentioned it was at the beginning it is now being weaponised.

I don't understand how this could be well intentioned.

 

[petit_bateau]

I don't understand how this could be well intentioned.

If you go back to when the ECT was put together it was an attempt to encourage the ex Warsaw Pact / Comecon / USSR countries along the path of democracy and market economies, rather than spiralling into a very dangerous mess (much much worse than it has). The obvious way to do this was to integrate the economies of W and E so that economic benefits would flow in both directions (aka wandel durch handel), and generally the east would develop in a pacifistic democratic manner. But this required massive western financial investment into the east to enable the oil & gas fields to reach their potential for all parties. And that in turn required legal certainty so that the investments, once made, were relatively safe from political risk. Hence the ECT which if you look extends further east than just Russia and includes all the Stans. In principle the ECT is agnostic with respect to energy source, and indeed back when it was drafted it was unclear how fast renewables would come to fruition. If you recall back then big hydro and big nuclear were candidates for massive increases, and we were already trying to understand how fast we could scale what were then called the "new renewables" to distinguish them from the "old renewables" (of hydro, biomass). (I know this stuff because I worked on some of this in one of the big oil companies back in this time, in fact I got told off for working on the renewables too much).

To a great extent it has worked. There has been widespread peace in Europe and the ex WarPac states with only limited conflicts for about 30-years since the wall came down. But it has failed in two significant ways, one of which was foreseen as a risk, the other less so. The failures are:

1. The extent to which core-Russia has flipped on to the non-democratic pathway. This in many ways is the fault of the right wing of US politics, as they stymied the more inclusive approach that was the original partnership development model envisaged by (amongst others) George W Bush. The result was a perfect disaster of mafia-style raping & looting of Russia aided, abetted, and in many ways led by the vampire squid elements of the US banking sector using the tenets of unfettered capitalism as camouflage. That ultimately begat Putin et al as a response. The EU was able to salvage most of the European Comecon countries, and the combination of EU carrot and NATO stick has kept the Balkans just about on a positive pathway with various ups and downs and ups. Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova are still very much in play as we can see. However Russia itself and the Stans were basically lost by the West's own ineptitude. That in turn means the various Russian state proxies (Gazprom, Rosneft, etc) can use provisions in the ECT in any way they see fit, however unreasonable - the specifics are complex because Russia never ratified but the dispute resolution mechanisms are accessible to Russia.

2. The contradiction between long term investments in fossils and cumulative damage mechanisms in climate change, and the extent to which the global political system would not act fast enough to resolve this before those contradictions got out of hand. That is what this particular court case is about as other attempts to update/reform the ECT have not come to fruition. These failings are not just ECT-specific, indeed they are endemic in pretty much all human economic activity in the last 30-years*, so it would be unfair to single out the ECT as being the only example of these failings. However this particular legal case is also a good example of the lawfare that I expect to see much more of over the next few decades. In fact I believe I linked to a higher level exemplar only yesterday **

Anyway the underlying point is that the ECT was a well-intentioned effort that has in many ways been sucessful, but not entirely so.

Energy Charter Treaty - Wikipedia

* I say 30-years because that is when I began working in the energy sector and we could both see (more accurately, glimpse) the climate change (and peak anything) issues, and see/glimpse solutions, and the global political system for the first time ever had a possibility of addressing them. So the triad of puzzle pieces was tantalisingly beginning to come into focus in a solvable way. All time before that basically was either unknowable and/or unsolvable imho.

** Finance, geopolitics cast shadow over climate talks

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $104.4
Brent $109.9

Germany hits gas alarm

Germany triggers gas alarm stage, accuses Russia of 'economic attack'

Germany triggered the "alarm stage" of its emergency gas plan on Thursday in response to falling Russian supplies but stopped short of allowing utilities to pass on soaring energy costs to customers in Europe's largest economy.

www.reuters.com

and

Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz ruft Alarmstufe des Notfallplans Gas aus – Versorgungssicherheit weiterhin gewährleistet

www.bmwk.de

.. not just Germany

What happens if Russia turns off Europe’s gas supply this winter?

European countries are racing to prepare for the risk of Russia cutting gas exports. Here’s how things look

www.theguardian.com

thoughtful wider peace piece

Putin is not yet ready to end the Ukraine war. When he is, we must be prepared | Jonathan Powell

It’s vital to avoid a false choice between peace and justice, says Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s chief negotiator on Northern Ireland

www.theguardian.com

plausible deniability ?

Biden asks Congress for gas tax holiday to lower record pump prices

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline tax to combat record prices, but opposition from lawmakers within his own party suggests the request may never be met.

www.reuters.com

disconnect

Deep rift lies behind Biden's criticism of oil and gas industry

U.S. President Joe Biden has publicly criticized oil and gas executives for banking big profits from high gasoline prices but he has rarely spoken directly to the heads of energy companies or their representatives, White House records and interviews with industry sources show.

www.reuters.com

US charger network platitudes

Biden-Harris Administration Takes Key Step Forward in Building a National Network of User-Friendly, Reliable, and Accessible Electric Vehicle Chargers | US Department of Transportation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Biden’s commitment to jumpstart the construction of a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers by 2030, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration today announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on...

www.transportation.gov

15GW of floaters

15 GW of Floating Wind Capacity to Come Online by 2030 - Westwood Analysis

Westwood Global Energy Group (Westwood) has revealed that of the 121 GW worth of projects that the company is currently tracking using its WIndLogix intelligence software, close to 15 GW of floating wind capacity is expected to come online by 2030.

www.offshorewind.biz

lots more offshore

Global Offshore Wind Pipeline Doubles in a Year

The global pipeline of offshore wind projects which are operational, under construction, consented, or being planned has almost doubled over the past twelve months, from 429 GW in 2021 to 846 GW today, new research published by RenewableUK shows.

www.offshorewind.biz

... some contradiction with this : TINA or not ?

Relentless Cost-Cutting Drive Is Hurting Wind Industry Supply Chain - K2 Management

The relentless drive to reduce the levelized cost of electricity generated by wind is hindering the sector’s supply chain just when it needs to be accelerating deployment, according to renewable energy engineering and project management consultancy, K2 Management.

www.offshorewind.biz

flow batteries press marketing pedal, i have my doubts

Can flow batteries supercharge the energy transition? – Energy Monitor

Flow batteries could be the perfect complement to lithium-ion batteries to back up the renewable energy transition.

www.energymonitor.ai

decimal point in the right place

Philippines approves 24 bidders for 2 GW renewables auction

Eight of the 24 bidders in the latest renewables auction in the Philippines are focusing on solar, along with eight bidders looking at wind, seven linked to run-of-river hydro, and one connected to biomass.

www.pv-magazine.com

right direction in Italy

Italy installed 433 MW of solar in Q1

Italy installed 281 MW more solar in the first three months of the year than it did in the same period a year earlier. Its cumulative capacity surpassed 23 GW by the end of March.

www.pv-magazine.com

... and some product p0rn

Retractable solar trailer from Spain

PolarGreen Tow is a portable PV system with a capacity of up to 6.5 kW. It can be used to supply power for electric cars or remote locations, or to provide energy during blackouts.

www.pv-magazine.com

 

[mspohr]

If you go back to when the ECT was put together it was an attempt to encourage the ex Warsaw Pact / Comecon / USSR countries along the path of democracy and market economies, rather than spiralling into a very dangerous mess (much much worse than it has). The obvious way to do this was to integrate the economies of W and E so that economic benefits would flow in both directions (aka wandel durch handel), and generally the east would develop in a pacifistic democratic manner. But this required massive western financial investment into the east to enable the oil & gas fields to reach their potential for all parties. And that in turn required legal certainty so that the investments, once made, were relatively safe from political risk. Hence the ECT which if you look extends further east than just Russia and includes all the Stans. In principle the ECT is agnostic with respect to energy source, and indeed back when it was drafted it was unclear how fast renewables would come to fruition. If you recall back then big hydro and big nuclear were candidates for massive increases, and we were already trying to understand how fast we could scale what were then called the "new renewables" to distinguish them from the "old renewables" (of hydro, biomass). (I know this stuff because I worked on some of this in one of the big oil companies back in this time, in fact I got told off for working on the renewables too much).

To a great extent it has worked. There has been widespread peace in Europe and the ex WarPac states with only limited conflicts for about 30-years since the wall came down. But it has failed in two significant ways, one of which was foreseen as a risk, the other less so. The failures are:

1. The extent to which core-Russia has flipped on to the non-democratic pathway. This in many ways is the fault of the right wing of US politics, as they stymied the more inclusive approach that was the original partnership development model envisaged by (amongst others) George W Bush. The result was a perfect disaster of mafia-style raping & looting of Russia aided, abetted, and in many ways led by the vampire squid elements of the US banking sector using the tenets of unfettered capitalism as camouflage. That ultimately begat Putin et al as a response. The EU was able to salvage most of the European Comecon countries, and the combination of EU carrot and NATO stick has kept the Balkans just about on a positive pathway with various ups and downs and ups. Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova are still very much in play as we can see. However Russia itself and the Stans were basically lost by the West's own ineptitude. That in turn means the various Russian state proxies (Gazprom, Rosneft, etc) can use provisions in the ECT in any way they see fit, however unreasonable - the specifics are complex because Russia never ratified but the dispute resolution mechanisms are accessible to Russia.

2. The contradiction between long term investments in fossils and cumulative damage mechanisms in climate change, and the extent to which the global political system would not act fast enough to resolve this before those contradictions got out of hand. That is what this particular court case is about as other attempts to update/reform the ECT have not come to fruition. These failings are not just ECT-specific, indeed they are endemic in pretty much all human economic activity in the last 30-years*, so it would be unfair to single out the ECT as being the only example of these failings. However this particular legal case is also a good example of the lawfare that I expect to see much more of over the next few decades. In fact I believe I linked to a higher level exemplar only yesterday **

Anyway the underlying point is that the ECT was a well-intentioned effort that has in many ways been sucessful, but not entirely so.

Energy Charter Treaty - Wikipedia

* I say 30-years because that is when I began working in the energy sector and we could both see (more accurately, glimpse) the climate change (and peak anything) issues, and see/glimpse solutions, and the global political system for the first time ever had a possibility of addressing them. So the triad of puzzle pieces was tantalisingly beginning to come into focus in a solvable way. All time before that basically was either unknowable and/or unsolvable imho.

** Finance, geopolitics cast shadow over climate talks

Thank you. Great explanation.

 

[petit_bateau]

Thank you. Great explanation.

No worries.
==========
Some stuff I missed earlier today:

EU-Russia ban commentary, worth the read

EU’s Russian oil ban: What to expect for energy markets

Some worried pipeline oil via Hungary would distort the European market. But the EU Russian oil ban's bigger impact may be on global markets.

www.energymonitor.ai

Positive news re acceleration

Europe could have clean power at no extra cost by 2035 - Energy Monitor

Europe can achieve a clean, reliable and expanded power system by 2035 with no extra cost compared to current more polluting plans.

www.energymonitor.ai

More nukes in Arabia

Fuel loading begins at UAE plant : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

Fuel loading has begun at Barakah 3 following the receipt of the unit's operating licence, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has announced. The UAE's third nuclear unit is expected to start producing electricity later this year.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Green nukes

EDF study confirms very low carbon nature of nuclear : Energy & Environment - World Nuclear News

Each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by EDF's reactor fleet in France emits the equivalent of less than 4 grams of carbon dioxide, according to a life cycle analysis published by the company. The analysis shows most of these emissions occur in the upstream phases of the life cycle.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

SMR wants to make stuff

SMR company NuScale pivots from development to delivery : Corporate - World Nuclear News

NuScale Power has announced it is making a strategic shift from product development to product delivery as commercialisation of its VOYGR small modular reactor (SMR) power plants approaches.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Russian SMRs

Rosatom and Yakutia planning for SHELF-M small nuclear plant : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

Rosatom's director general Alexey Likhachev and the head of the Republic of Sakha (also known as Yakutia) Aysen Nicolayev have signed an agreement "on intentions and a procedure for organising cooperation for promoting projects involving a small nuclear power plant based on the SHELF-M reactor".

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Finnish nuke not finally finished yet

Olkiluoto 3 test production to continue until December : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

The issue of foreign material in the steam reheater of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR's turbine has delayed the start of regular electricity generation by a further three months, operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has announced.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Fukushima water

IAEA progress report on regulatory plans for Fukushima water release : Regulation & Safety - World Nuclear News

The International Atomic Energy Agency task force that carried out a mission to Japan in March to review regulatory plans for the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant into the sea has published its initial findings.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

next UK nuke progresses

UK government confirms Sizewell C eligible for RAB financing : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

The British government has published documents which show "significant progress" towards implementing a Regulated Asset Base funding model for new nuclear power projects. It has set out its case for the Sizewell C project to receive funding under the model and launched a consultation on how...

www.world-nuclear-news.org

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $105.6
Brent $107.5

EU grants Ukraine & Moldova candidate status

‘Ukraine’s future is in the EU’: Zelenskiy welcomes granting of candidate status

Move opens door to EU membership amid outrage over the brutality of the unprovoked Russian attack

www.theguardian.com

HIMARs documented in action in Ukraine

https://twitter.com/x/status/1540238252468187136

of Baltic grids

Russia cancels Kaliningrad power network isolation test

Russia's power grid told Litgrid, its counterpart in Lithuania, that it has canceled the planned isolation operation test of the electricity network of the Kaliningrad exclave, Litgrid said on Thursday.

www.reuters.com

US pathways for 2030

Here’s how to meet Biden’s 2030 climate goals and dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions – with today’s technology

The road map for a more sustainable future starts with clean energy and fossil-fuel-free transportation.

theconversation.com

liquid metal battery prize etc, MIT

Sadoway wins European Inventor Award for liquid metal batteries | MIT DMSE

Work could enable long-term storage of renewable energy.

dmse.mit.edu

direct air capture (DAC) symposium at MIT

Affordable direct air capture: myth or reality? | MIT Global Change

globalchange.mit.edu

(other universities are available)

big turbines

World's Most Powerful Wind Turbine to Debut Offshore Scotland

Siemens Gamesa has been awarded the firm order for the delivery of 60 units of its SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbine at the Moray West offshore wind power project.

www.offshorewind.biz

implications of Freeport LNG fire

Fire causes shutdown of Freeport liquefied natural gas export terminal - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

www.eia.gov

 

[petit_bateau]

If you go back to when the ECT was put together it was an attempt to encourage the ex Warsaw Pact / Comecon / USSR countries along the path of democracy and market economies, rather than spiralling into a very dangerous mess (much much worse than it has). The obvious way to do this was to integrate the economies of W and E so that economic benefits would flow in both directions (aka wandel durch handel), and generally the east would develop in a pacifistic democratic manner. But this required massive western financial investment into the east to enable the oil & gas fields to reach their potential for all parties. And that in turn required legal certainty so that the investments, once made, were relatively safe from political risk. Hence the ECT which if you look extends further east than just Russia and includes all the Stans. In principle the ECT is agnostic with respect to energy source, and indeed back when it was drafted it was unclear how fast renewables would come to fruition. If you recall back then big hydro and big nuclear were candidates for massive increases, and we were already trying to understand how fast we could scale what were then called the "new renewables" to distinguish them from the "old renewables" (of hydro, biomass). (I know this stuff because I worked on some of this in one of the big oil companies back in this time, in fact I got told off for working on the renewables too much).

To a great extent it has worked. There has been widespread peace in Europe and the ex WarPac states with only limited conflicts for about 30-years since the wall came down. But it has failed in two significant ways, one of which was foreseen as a risk, the other less so. The failures are:

1. The extent to which core-Russia has flipped on to the non-democratic pathway. This in many ways is the fault of the right wing of US politics, as they stymied the more inclusive approach that was the original partnership development model envisaged by (amongst others) George W Bush. The result was a perfect disaster of mafia-style raping & looting of Russia aided, abetted, and in many ways led by the vampire squid elements of the US banking sector using the tenets of unfettered capitalism as camouflage. That ultimately begat Putin et al as a response. The EU was able to salvage most of the European Comecon countries, and the combination of EU carrot and NATO stick has kept the Balkans just about on a positive pathway with various ups and downs and ups. Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova are still very much in play as we can see. However Russia itself and the Stans were basically lost by the West's own ineptitude. That in turn means the various Russian state proxies (Gazprom, Rosneft, etc) can use provisions in the ECT in any way they see fit, however unreasonable - the specifics are complex because Russia never ratified but the dispute resolution mechanisms are accessible to Russia.

2. The contradiction between long term investments in fossils and cumulative damage mechanisms in climate change, and the extent to which the global political system would not act fast enough to resolve this before those contradictions got out of hand. That is what this particular court case is about as other attempts to update/reform the ECT have not come to fruition. These failings are not just ECT-specific, indeed they are endemic in pretty much all human economic activity in the last 30-years*, so it would be unfair to single out the ECT as being the only example of these failings. However this particular legal case is also a good example of the lawfare that I expect to see much more of over the next few decades. In fact I believe I linked to a higher level exemplar only yesterday **

Anyway the underlying point is that the ECT was a well-intentioned effort that has in many ways been sucessful, but not entirely so.

Energy Charter Treaty - Wikipedia

* I say 30-years because that is when I began working in the energy sector and we could both see (more accurately, glimpse) the climate change (and peak anything) issues, and see/glimpse solutions, and the global political system for the first time ever had a possibility of addressing them. So the triad of puzzle pieces was tantalisingly beginning to come into focus in a solvable way. All time before that basically was either unknowable and/or unsolvable imho.

** Finance, geopolitics cast shadow over climate talks

and on that note,

"After more than four years of talks, 52 countries and the EU on Friday struck a deal to “modernise” the energy charter treaty, a 1994 agreement that allows investors to sue governments for changes in energy policy that harm their profits."

Energy treaty update fails to address climate crisis, activists say

1994 agreement allows investors to sue governments for changes in energy policy that harm their profits

www.theguardian.com

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $107.5
Brent $113.0

Russia in default, first time since 1918

Russia Defaults on Foreign Debt for First Time Since 1918

Russia defaulted on its external sovereign bonds for the first time in a century, the culmination of ever-tougher Western sanctions that shut down payment routes to overseas creditors.

www.bloomberg.com

Hydrogen vaporware

The Hydrogen Stream: Viritech, Pininfarina unveil world’s first ‘hydrogen hypercar’

Viritech and Pininfarina have announced plans to put a hydrogen-fueled car into limited production in 2023, while H2 Clipper said it aims to finish a prototype of its hydrogen-powered airship by 2025.

www.pv-magazine.com

Iran 4GW

Iran pre-qualifies 85 bidders for 4 GW solar tender

The Iranian authorities will choose development proposals from domestic and foreign investors for solar projects ranging from 10 MW to 250 MW in size. The selected developers will be awarded 20-year power purchase agreements at a fixed tariff.

www.pv-magazine.com

polysilicon highs

Chinese PV Industry Brief: Polysilicon prices hit high of $41.80/kg

Average polysilicon prices ranged from CNY 273 ($40.82)/kg to CNY 280/kg this week, according to an industry association in China.

www.pv-magazine.com

ginagorous cable support, Australia - Singapore

Sun Cable project secures support of Infrastructure Australia

Sun Cable’s massive AUD 30 billion ($20.7 billion) Australia-Asia PowerLink project has passed another major milestone by obtaining approval from Infrastructure Australia.

www.pv-magazine.com

European online tool for energy independence (worth understanding)

Open-source online platform shows how Europe may become energy-independent with renewables by 2050

European researchers have developed an open-source online tool that can identify areas where renewable energy and synthetic fuels can be cost-effectively produced, where hydrogen hubs could be built, and where grid expansion is needed. It can be used in different sectors across 35 countries.

www.pv-magazine.com

The tool itself is here (worth playing with)

Carbon-neutral European energy systems

explore.callio.pe

Denmark rejects wind overlaps

Denmark Rejects Several Offshore Wind Project Applications

The Danish Energy Agency has rejected several applications for new offshore wind farm projects under the open door scheme as they overlap with the areas that have been identified and reserved for future state auctions.

www.offshorewind.biz

Big anti-typhoon blades - a big deal

Mingyang Rolls Out 111.5-Metre Anti-Typhoon Wind Turbine Blade

Wind turbine manufacturer Mingyang Smart Energy has rolled out the first 111.5-metre, anti-typhoon blade at its production facility in Yangjiang, China.

www.offshorewind.biz

ERCOT storage hot property

Recurrent Energy acquires 400MWh storage, expands ERCOT's storage pipeline | Smart Energy International

Recurrent Energy, has acquired two standalone energy storage projects from Black Mountain Energy Storage (BMES).

www.smart-energy.com

Backroom stuff

National Grid ESO overhauls market settlement

As the smart energy market continues to transform the industry across the UK and Europe, National Grid is dealing with significant changes.

www.smart-energy.com

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $107.6
Brent $113.1

G7 talks

G7 agrees to explore cap on Russian oil price

The Group of Seven economic powers have agreed to explore imposing a ban on transporting Russian oil that has been sold above a certain price, they said on Tuesday, aiming to deplete Moscow's war chest.

www.reuters.com

and

Ed's note: What was decided during G7 and the Energy Council? | Smart Energy International

Editor Areti Ntaradimou reflects on the decisions made during G7 and the Energy Council to prepare for a winter without Russian gas.

www.smart-energy.com

Russia "maintains"

Running short of gas: Russia's pipeline repair has Europe worried

When Russia turns off the gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for maintenance in July, Europe is starting to worry that it won't turn it back on again.

www.reuters.com

Bulgaria (and EU) acts

A PCI is Bulgaria's reply to Russian gas supply halt | Enlit World

In hopes of fortifying resilience against gas supply threats from Russia, a PCI has been announced for underground gas storage in Bulgaria.

www.enlit.world

China bakes

China's heatwaves drive power consumption to record highs

Power consumption in several Chinese regions rose to record highs over the weekend, as persisting heatwaves spurred the use of air conditioners to help people cool off.

www.reuters.com

OPEC tapped out

Macron tells Biden that UAE, Saudi can barely raise oil output

Two top OPEC oil producers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, can barely increase oil production, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he had been told by the UAE's president.

www.reuters.com

... alternatives

Powers need to study all oil options, including Iran, Venezuela -France

The international community should explore all options to alleviate a Russian squeeze of energy supplies that has spiked prices, including talks with producing nations like Iran and Venezuela, a French presidency official said on Monday.

www.reuters.com

refraccing is a thing

A shale booster shot: 'Re-fracs' rise as cheap way to lift U.S. oil output

U.S. shale oil producers are returning to existing wells and giving them a second, high-pressure blast to lift output for a fraction of the cost of a finishing a new well.

www.reuters.com

conservation is also a thing

French energy giants urge consumers to cut energy use

The heads of France's big energy companies on Sunday urged individuals and businesses to limit power consumption immediately to prepare for a looming energy crisis.

www.reuters.com

Sweden 5.5GW

5.5 GW Swedish Offshore Wind Project Powers Ahead

Wind farm developer OX2 has submitted a permit application under the act of Sweden’s Exclusive Economic Zone to construct an offshore wind farm in the Swedish Economic Zone between the islands of Gotland and Öland.

www.offshorewind.biz

dash slowly in Germany

Up to 3 years needed to develop PV projects in Germany

Approvals and planning procedures for solar parks are a major bottleneck for the energy transition. <b>pv magazine</b> recently spoke with a project developer about constraints and opportunities in Germany, ahead of the <b>pv magazine</b> Roundtables on June 28.

www.pv-magazine.com

hobble slower in France

Conflicting authorities could delay planning, environmental permits for solar in France

Municipal, regional and national authorities in France often have different views on permits for the deployment of solar. Marie Buchet, head of solar power at Syndicat des énergies renouvelables, spoke to <b>pv magazine</b> about four case studies. She said one-stop shops to unify all...

www.pv-magazine.com

agrivoltaic fads, evade planning is the real thing

Historical court ruling for agrivoltaics in Italy

The Regional Court of Apulia in Italy has ruled that the regional authorities must not deny permits to solar projects on agricultural land without considering how they combine electricity generation with crop cultivation and the raising of livestock. <b>pv magazine</b> spoke to Emilio Sani from...

www.pv-magazine.com

smart metering very slowly

Smart metering – next steps in Europe

Smart metering still has some way to go in Europe, likely to reach the 80% threshold penetration for electricity only around 2025.

www.smart-energy.com

good thinking on hydrogen, unusually

Hydrogen blending – to blend or not to blend?

The US Physicians for Social Responsibility has come out against hydrogen blending, attributing six failings.

www.enlit.world

more money for hydrogen, normally

Germany’s net zero future in need of up to 41TWh hydrogen storage

To store sufficient amounts of energy to achieve GHG neutrality, Germany needs 41TWh of hydrogen storage facilities, a new study finds.

www.smart-energy.com

India always lots of opportunities, going begging

India Taps into Renewable Energy Potential

With a focus now on solar, wind, small hydropower and biopower, India is on target to meet 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

www.tdworld.com

big modules keep coming

DMEGC launches M10 rooftop solar modules with 410 W of output

China's DMEGC has released new solar panels with power conversion efficiencies of up to 21.2% and temperature coefficients of -0.33% per degree Celsius. They can be used with maximum system voltages of 1,000 V or 1,500 V.

www.pv-magazine.com

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $113.8
Brent $119.9

NATO will expand, Finland and Sweden joining, Turkey drops objection, more stuff on east flank, full strategy paper released

https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2022/6/pdf/290622-strategic-concept.pdf

Worth re-reading old NATO releases, this from 2008 was re-affirmed today, "NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO. "

Bucharest Summit Declaration - Issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Bucharest on 3 April 2008

www.nato.int

Macron manoeuvres

Macron’s Parliament defeat could shake up EU energy policy

Depending on who French President Emmanuel Macron allies with in Parliament, EU energy policy may lurch to the right – or to the left.

www.energymonitor.ai

G7 price capping

G7 discussions with China, India on Russian oil price cap positive -source

Group of Seven democracies have had positive and productive discussions with China and India about a plan to cap the price of Russian oil, a source familiar with the G7 discussions said on Tuesday, adding the two major oil consumers would have incentives to comply.

www.reuters.com

Copper dropping, recession fears

Copper crushed as funds turn negative on recession fears

Copper prices collapsed to a 16-month low last week amid mounting concerns that inflationary pressures in western economies will morph into outright recession.

www.reuters.com

Tesla Berlin adds second shift (and a third shift is also in prospect from other sources)

Tesla Giga Berlin Starts Working in 2 Shifts to Ramp Up Production

Tesla Giga Berlin is introducing a second shift starting Friday. This should help ramp up production faster to meet the growing demand for their electric vehicles as soon as possible.

www.tesmanian.com

California burning

Drought in California will keep dirty power plants online for longer

Drought means less electricity from hydropower plants, and more from natural gas. This could push up state emissions by as much as 6%.

www.energymonitor.ai

California pricing

California moves closer to opt-in dynamic pricing to balance renewables

Opt-in dynamic pricing of electricity, which could help to balance renewables generation while lowering electric bills for participants and non-participants, is now on deck for a decision in California.

www.pv-magazine.com

Namibian gas (wow, this brings back memories)

Namibia stakes its future on the green hydrogen market

Namibia, a country of abundant wind and sun, has ambitions to be one of Africa's first green hydrogen export hubs.

www.energymonitor.ai

No idea if the seminar is still available online, but I can endorse the message in the flyer
"Unfortunately, the [emerging battery energy storage system] BESS market also shares an unfortunate similarity with early solar energy deployment: a low level of manufacturing maturity leading to inconsistent quality. With many emerging players operating in the same space and vying for their market share, products are launched on the market and ramped up aggressively, even though some may still be at the stage of prototypes."

pv magazine Webinar | Alleviating battery storage growing pains through quality assurance

Insert description here, including bullet points.

www.bigmarker.com

real fuel cell vehicles exist

The Hydrogen Stream: FAW Jiefang wraps up delivery of fuel cell vehicles in China

FAW Jiefang has completed a large fuel cell vehicle order in China, while chemical producer Linde has opened one of the world’s largest hydrogen refueling stations for trains. The European Investment Bank, meanwhile, has announced new funding for green hydrogen research in Italy.

www.pv-magazine.com

Chinese nuclear keeps coming

Sixth Hongyanhe unit enters commercial operation : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

Unit 6 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province has entered commercial operation, China General Nuclear has announced. The unit is the second of two ACPR-1000 reactors built as Phase II of the plant.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Reasons to be a nuclear neighbour

Viewpoint: How nuclear can fuel district heating schemes : Perspectives - World Nuclear News

With soaring energy prices and a renewed need for energy security, Professor Radek Skoda from the Czech Technical University puts the case for an innovative nuclear-fuelled district heating system.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Slowbuild

In Pictures: Hinkley Point C taking shape : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

EDF Energy has released a series of photos showing how work has progressed on the construction of Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power station in the UK for three decades.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Terminal decline

Ukraine terminates Russia nuclear agreements : Regulation & Safety - World Nuclear News

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine says it has terminated international agreements concerning cooperation between the country and Russia in the field of nuclear safety.

www.world-nuclear-news.org

 

[petit_bateau]

one I missed today : this is the ministers' input into & attempt to resolve the European Parliament stand-off on this

EU countries reach climate crisis deal after late-night talks

Environment ministers back phasing out fossil-fuel cars by 2035 and a €59bn fund to help ease cost burden of new policies on low income earners

www.theguardian.com

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $109.7
Brent $112.6

Gazprom divvi suspended, shares down

Gazprom shares plunge as Russian gas producer cancels dividend for first time since 1998

Gazprom has opted to not pay out dividends on last year’s financial results, with shareholders missing on what would have been the gas titan’s biggest

www.cityam.com

Uniper shares down

Germany in bailout talks with Uniper amid gas crisis

Germany’s Uniper is in talks about a possible government bailout as the financial fallout from dwindling supplies of Russian gas reverberates across Europe, sending shares in the energy company sliding.

www.reuters.com

Indian triangulation

EXCLUSIVE India's top cement maker paying for Russian coal in Chinese yuan

India's biggest cement producer, UltraTech Cement , is importing a cargo of Russian coal and paying using Chinese yuan, according to an Indian customs document reviewed by Reuters, a rare payment method that traders say could become more common.

www.reuters.com

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $107.4
Brent $110.8

Baltic grids ready

Exclusive: Europe ready for Baltics emergency switch-off from Russian grid

European grid operators are ready to implement immediately a long-term plan to bring the Baltic states, which rely on the Russian grid, into the European Union system in the event Moscow cuts them off, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

www.reuters.com

Sakhalin 2 seized by Russia

Russia seizes control of Sakhalin gas project, raises stakes with West

President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in an economic war with the West and its allies with a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in Russia's far east.

www.reuters.com

JohnKempReuters chartbook global economy decellerating

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/zgpomdeegpd/GLOBAL%20MANUFACTURING%20FREIGHT%20AND%20FUEL.pdf

... more evidence of turndown

Ocean Carriers Blanking Sailings to Mitigate Dip in Demand -Project44

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Ocean carriers are resorting to more aggressive blanking strategies to manage a dip in demand, according to the latest report from project44. The supply chain...

gcaptain.com

US supreme court hobbles US EPA

US supreme court rules against EPA and hobbles government power to limit harmful emissions

Court sides with Republican states as ruling represents landmark moment in rightwing effort to dismantle ‘regulatory state’

www.theguardian.com

Warn polluters, not polluted

Warnings on air pollution need to be directed towards polluters – study

Focus of information places health responsibility on those who bear consequences of breathing poor air

www.theguardian.com

....like this, not

Will sandstorms force the Gulf to address climate change?

Gulf nations pursued oil and gas empires despite climate change. Now that sandstorms are damaging the economy, they must pay attention – and pay up.

www.energymonitor.ai

Very big grids

我国“西电东送”战略大动脉竣工投产-新华网

我国“西电东送”战略大动脉竣工投产 ---记者从国家电网获悉，白鹤滩至江苏±800千伏特高压直流输电工程7月1日竣工投产，这是我国“西电东送”工程的战略大动脉，每年可输送清洁电能超300亿千瓦时。

www.news.cn

Tesla (battery operator) fined

Tesla big battery operator fined for breaching Australian power rules

The operator of the 150 MW/193 MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia has been fined AUD 900,000 ($620,470) for failing to provide essential services to maintain the stability of the grid.

www.pv-magazine.com

Tesla (itself) lawsuit

Tesla hit by new lawsuit alleging racial abuse

Fifteen black former or current employees allege they faced racial abuse and harassment at carmaker’s factories

www.theguardian.com

What a surprise, carbon credits sham scam

Former Australian chief scientist to head review of carbon credit scheme after whistleblower revelations

Climate change minister to announce Prof Ian Chubb will lead six-month probe of scheme labelled ‘largely a sham’ by one expert

www.theguardian.com

... so put a scheme in place ..... (and pay)

Puro.earth: How to verify carbon removals

Energy Monitor caught up with Puro.earth’s CEO and co-founder to find out how the company verifies and monitors fast-growing carbon removals.

www.energymonitor.ai

Australian gas

Western Australia’s EPA urges 50-year extension of country’s most polluting gas project

Woodside’s North West Shelf gas development would release more than eight times Australia’s annual emissions if it continues to operate until 2070

www.theguardian.com

4GW floaters Korea

Norwegian Developer Teams Up with East West Power on 4 GW Plan in South Korea

Norwegian offshore wind developer Deep Wind Offshore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with East West Power to collaborate on four projects totalling more than 4GW of floating and bottom fixed offshore wind in South Korea.

www.offshorewind.biz

Driving change

Greening logistics isn't just about the trucks

Peter Harris, vice president at UPS, says one of the toughest aspects of greening logistics is upgrading its depots for an electric fleet.

www.energymonitor.ai

Advertorial - solar + storage, may interest some (I'm actually on the verge of ordering Huawei due to unavailability of Tesla Powerwall)

Flipsnack