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[waldron] 19/12/2021 20:40

Another EU Country Joining Low-Carbon Hydrogen Production Market
by Bojan Lepic
|
Rigzone Staff
|
Sunday, December 19, 2021

Another EU Country Joining Low-Carbon Hydrogen Production Market
Engie and Equinor have announced the H2BE project which aims to develop production of low-carbon hydrogen from natural gas in Belgium.

Energy companies Engie and Equinor have announced the H2BE project which aims to develop production of low-carbon hydrogen from natural gas in Belgium.

The Belgian federal government released its Hydrogen Strategy in late October and the H2BE project will help Belgium deliver on the strategy. The project aims at producing hydrogen from natural gas using autothermal reforming (ATR) technology combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The ATR technology allows for decarbonization rates above 95 percent and for producing hydrogen at a large scale at competitive cost levels. The captured CO2 is planned to be transported in liquid form and to be permanently and safely stored at a site in the sub-surface of the North Sea.

Engie and Equinor now launched a feasibility study to assess the technical and economic suitability of a site in the Ghent area. Commercial talks with potential hydrogen off-takers, predominantly large, hard-to-abate industries, continue simultaneously.

Moreover, discussions are ongoing with North Sea Port on integration with port infrastructure. The H2BE project fits within “Connect 2025”, the recently published strategic plan of North Sea Port, by accelerating the transition towards carbon neutrality and the development of the required hydrogen and CO2 infrastructure.

The partners aim to start operations well before 2030 to contribute to Belgium’s 2030 interim decarbonization targets.

Engie and Equinor also joined forces on the project with Fluxys, the independent gas transmission system operator in Belgium. Fluxys will be in charge of putting in place hydrogen and CO2 infrastructure connecting supply and demand across industrial clusters in Belgium and neighboring countries.

“Engie is convinced that decarbonized thermal energy is required to achieve carbon neutrality in our economy, alongside renewable electricity sources. Therefore, Engie is fully committed to developing renewable and low-carbon hydrogen solutions. We firmly believe that renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, with multiple uses and advantages, have everything to be the undeniable ally to accelerate the development of a solid infrastructure and the transition to a carbon-neutral economy,” Edouard Neviaski, CEO of the Engie’s Global Energy Management entity, stated.

“We are glad to pursue our work on this project with Equinor, a long-standing partner for more than 40 years. We are convinced that our project is a strong tool for a successful implementation of the Belgian hydrogen strategy released by the federal government end of October,” he added.

“We are delighted to launch the H2BE project. Together with our partners, we have developed a foundation that has the potential to deliver reliable low-carbon hydrogen from natural gas to enable large-scale decarbonization of industries, including continuous and flexible electricity production,” Grete Tveit, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Low Carbon Solutions,” claimed.

“Equinor believes that hydrogen and CCS are vital to succeed with the energy transition and to reach net-zero ambitions. Together with our partners, we have strong and complementary expertise covering all parts of the value chain. We will leverage this when moving this project forward with the goal of realization and contribution to the success of Belgium’s hydrogen economy,” Tveit concluded.

[waldron] 16/12/2021 19:17

Germany Pushes Back Nord Stream 2 Decision To July
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Dec 16, 2021, 10:30 AM CST

The German regulator reviewing the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not make a decision before July 2022, the president of the regulator said on Thursday, in another setback for the Russia-led project that could send European gas prices higher.

In the middle of November, Germany said it had suspended the process of certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

The Federal Network Agency of Germany, Bundesnetzagentur, suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent transmission operator until an operator of the pipeline in Germany is incorporated under German law.

The network agency’s president Jochen Homann said on Thursday that “A decision won’t be made in the first half of 2022,” as carried by Bloomberg.

The agency will resume the certification process as soon as the criteria it had set in its rationale for suspending the procedure are met. Bundesnetzagentur is still waiting for the pipeline project operator Nord Stream 2 AG to submit documents, Homann said at a press conference.

In response to Bloomberg, Nord Stream 2 AG declined to comment on “details of the procedure, its possible duration and impacts on the timing of the start of the pipeline operations.”

The pipeline construction is completed, but Nord Stream 2 is awaiting full regulatory clearance from Germany and a review by the European Union over its compliance with EU energy regulations.

Some analysts and EU officials have attributed the inconsistent Russian gas supply to Europe in recent weeks to Moscow using gas as leverage to get Nord Stream 2 approved.

Earlier this week, Europe’s gas prices surged again to near-record highs after Germany indicated it had no intention of approving Nord Stream 2 before requirements under German law were satisfied.

However, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said that the situation in Ukraine was also a factor in the German government’s decision on the matter.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

[waldron] 16/12/2021 09:22

Equinor ASA and Engie SA on Thursday announced the launch of the H2BE project, which aims to develop the production of low-carbon hydrogen from natural gas in Belgium.

The project aims to produce hydrogen from natural gas using autothermal reforming technology combined with carbon capture and storage.

The companies said ATR technology allows for decarbonization rates above 95% and for producing hydrogen at a large scale at competitive cost levels, with the captured carbon dioxide to be transported in liquid form and permanently stored at a site in the sub-surface of the Norwegian North Sea.

Engie and Equinor will now launch a feasibility study to assess the technical and economic suitability of a site in the Ghent area while commercial talks with potential hydrogen offtakers continue simultaneously.

Discussions are also continuing with the cross-border port area known as North Sea Port on integration with port infrastructure and the companies have joined forces with Fluxys Belgium SA, a gas-transmission system operator in Belgium.

All partners aim to start operations well before 2030 in order to contribute to Belgium's 2030 interim decarbonization targets, they said.



Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 16, 2021 03:52 ET (08:52 GMT)

[waldron] 15/12/2021 16:11

European Gas Prices Soar On Nord Stream 2 Block In Germany

By Irina Slav - Dec 15, 2021, 9:00 AM CST

Gas prices in Europe soared following Germany's decision to not approve the Nord Stream 2 pipeline yet

This means that the commissioning of the pipeline could be delayed until March next year.

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Natural gas prices in Europe soared higher after Germany indicated this week it had no intention of approving the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project before requirements under German law were satisfied.

However, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said that the situation in Ukraine was also a factor in the German government's decision on the matter.

"In the event of further escalation, this gas pipeline could not come into service," Annalena Baerbock told German media, as quoted by AFP, earlier this week.

The remarks follow a comment from Germany's new Prime Minister, Olaf Scholtz, that "It would be a serious mistake to believe that violating the borders of a European country would remain without consequences."

Meanwhile, the certification process for the infrastructure has been suspended by the German authorities because the pipeline must have an operator that is incorporated under German law.

This means that the commissioning of the pipeline could be delayed until March next year. It could be delayed even further because after Germany approves it—if it does—the project will have to go to the European Commission, which would be tasked with making sure it complies with EU regulations.

As a result, natural gas prices on the continent topped $1,400 per 1,000 cubic meters for the January futures. New threats from Belarus that it would turn the transit gas tap off for Europe if the EU decided to impose more sanctions on Minsk did not help matters, adding to upward price pressure.

Meanwhile, the European Union is this week discussing measures to tackle the gas shortage that is fueling the price rally and threatening energy supply this winter. Among the measures are joint gas buying for member states and more disciplined gas storage management to create strategic reserves to protect the countries and consumers.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

[waldron] 12/12/2021 22:09

Germany’s New Leader Seeks to Ensure Gas Flows Through Ukraine

Patrick Donahue and Maciej Martewicz, Bloomberg News


(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government will “do everything” to ensure that natural gas continues to flow through Ukraine and prevent Russia from using its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to cripple the former Soviet republic’s economy.

During a three-hour trip to Poland on Sunday, Germany’s new leader didn’t directly address what, if any, action his government would take against the controversial pipeline as Russia amasses troops on Ukraine’s border. But he indicated that Germany’s ambition for carbon neutrality over the next quarter century will reduce gas supply from the east anyway.

For now, Scholz reinforced a pledge by his predecessor, Angela Merkel, that Germany would use its leverage to ensure that Russia extends its transit contract with Ukraine and help overhaul the east European country’s energy infrastructure.

“We feel responsible that the gas transit business is also a successful business,” Scholz said in Warsaw after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Morawiecki said the roll out of Nord Stream 2 could “tighten the noose” around Ukraine and repeated his call to stop the pipeline project. Scholz made his second trip to the Polish capital after being sworn in to succeed Merkel on Wednesday.

Scholz also said he prefers a “pragmaticR21; resolution to the escalating dispute between the European Commission and Warsaw over adhering to principles of the rule of law. The EU has been locked in dispute with the Polish government over its revamp of the judicial system.

[waldron] 12/12/2021 12:58

DEC 12 // 2021 WARSAW -1 °C // 1:53 PM

Nord Stream 2 on agenda of Morawiecki-Scholz Warsaw talks


Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will meet later on Sunday with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks on EU affairs, security and energy issues, the Belarus migrant crisis and Nord Stream 2, a Russian gas pipeline to Germany.

During a visit to Rome on Thursday, Morawiecki said he would urge Scholz to rebuff Russian pressure and oppose the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which would bring Russian gas directly to Germany, as it could be used by Moscow as a tool to blackmail Europe.

The government spokesman, Piotr Mueller, said on Sunday this will be the first meeting between the two since Scholz took the position of German chancellor.

The politicians have talked before, in late November, during Morawiecki's visit to Berlin as part of a series of meetings in European capitals on the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border.

According to Mueller, the topics of the Sunday meeting will include current bilateral and EU issues, "including in particular migration and energy issues.... security issues and the situation on the eastern border of the European Union."

Nord Stream 2 (NS2) is a contested Russian-German gas pipeline which bypasses Ukraine and endangers, according to its critics, energy security in Eastern Europe. Poland has repeatedly warned that NS2 will make Europe even more dependent on Russian gas and will put Europe at risk of blackmail by Moscow.

[waldron] 10/12/2021 18:42

10th December 2021

Australian partnership for battery storage system

Article by Amanda Jasi

ENGIE, Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), and Fluence have partnered to deliver a large-scale battery for renewable energy storage at the site of Engie’s decommissioned Hazelwood coal power station in Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia.

Engie and GIG are jointly funding the project, while Fluence will build, operate, and maintain the project over a 20-year period.

Engie closed the Hazelwood power station in 2017, in line with its strategy to gradually end its coal activities. Demolition and rehabilitation activities at the site are ongoing to transition it to a low carbon future and support commercial and recreational uses.

The Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System will provide 150 MW/150 MWh of flexible energy, with the capacity to store the equivalent of an hour of energy generation from the rooftop solar systems of 30,000 homes. The partners say it will be Australia’s largest privately funded and owned utility-scale battery. They also expect it to play a critical role in increasing renewable energy capacity in Victoria, while helping to further stabilise the grid.

It will rely on Fluence’s sixth generation, gridscale, industrial-strength energy storage product, Gridstack, in delivering the full turnkey project. Fluence provides energy storage and services and digital applications for renewables and storage.

At the Hazelwood site, the project will have access to 1,600 MW of dormant transition capacity, helping to accommodate this first stage of the battery. The site will also allow the project flexibility to scale up storage capacity quickly and cost-effectively respond to network and market demand, including additional capacity for future contracts.

Construction is already under way and network connection agreements have been executed. The battery is scheduled to be operational by November 2022, which would align with increasing demand in the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere.

According to the partners, battery storage plays a key role in accelerating build out of solar and wind resources, “capturing excess power during periods of high renewable generation while discharging to meet peak demand and reduce reliance on high-carbon energy”. The Hazelwood Battery will also be used in frequency control ancillary service markets to deliver critical stability to a grid increasingly compromised by intermittent renewable sources.

Once the project is operational, the collaborators will use Fluence’s AI enabled IQ application to optimise bidding of Hazelwood Battery capacity in the National Electricity Market.

Article by Amanda Jasi

Staff Reporter, The Chemical Engineer

[waldron] 10/12/2021 17:49

Engie Slips as Belgium Tightens Grip on Decommissioning of Nuclear Plants

Francois de Beaupuy, Lyubov Pronina and Katharina Rosskopf, Bloomberg News


(Bloomberg) -- Engie SA shares fell the most in two weeks as Belgium outlined plans to tighten its grip on the decommissioning of the seven nuclear plants operated by the French utility in the country.

The Belgian government wants to make Engie’s local unit Electrabel SA legally liable for the costs of dismantling nuclear power plants, de Tijd reported Friday, citing Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten. The Belgian nuclear regulator will also get far-reaching powers over Electrabel, including a say on capital measures, and dividend payments to Engie, according to the newspaper.

“Engie Electrabel is responsible for the outstanding bill of billions from nuclear power and we are anchoring this more firmly in the law,” Van der Straeten said later in a statement issued by her department. “The best guarantee for the availability of the necessary funds is a strong Electrabel and a strong control of it.”

Electrabel already has accounted for and committed to both the waste disposal and dismantling costs of its nuclear plants in Belgium, and there’s no change to the amount of provisions, Engie said in a statement Friday. Engie’s understanding is that the draft law under discussion focuses on the availability of funds against these provisions, the company based near Paris said, adding that it doesn’t expect any change to its net economic debt from the proposed legislation.

Engie shares fell as much as 3.3% in Paris Friday, and were trading 1.2% lower at 4:24 p.m.

The draft bill comes as Belgium foresees the progressive closing of Engie’s seven nuclear plants -- which provide about half of the country’s electricity -- by the end of 2025. Belgium plans to replace them with a combination of new gas-fired power stations, renewable power, battery storage, and some electricity imports, even as the autumn’s gas crunch in Europe has sent energy prices to record levels.

While Engie recently won Belgian financial support to build two gas-fired power plants, its Vilvoorde project is struggling to get its environmental permit. In a recent letter to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo seen by Bloomberg, the French utility asked for the support of Belgian authorities to quickly start the construction of the power station that will be “key to the balance” of the country’s power system.

A short lifetime extension of a couple of atomic plants would be unprecedented, and there’s no regulatory or technical framework for such a move, Engie wrote. Hence it considers it has no other option than to start the progressive decommissioning.

The Prime Minister’s office confirmed receiving Engie’s letter.

[sarkasm] 10/12/2021 12:09

Engie secures financing for 434MW wind complex in Brazil

10 Dec 2021 (Last Updated December 10th, 2021 09:59)

The project is intended to bolster Engie’s footprint in Brazil while supporting its growth strategy.


Brazilian utility company Engie Brasil Energia has signed a R$1.47bn ($264m) financing agreement with Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) for the first phase of the 434MW Santo Agostinho Wind Complex in Brazil.

The wind complex is being developed in the municipalities of Lajes and Pedro Avelino, located almost 120km from Rio Grande do Norte’s state capital city, Natal.

Siemens Gamesa will deliver 70 of its turbines for the project, distributing them across 14 wind farms at the complex. Each turbine will have 6.2MW of capacity.
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As of the baseline month of last December, the project’s first phase is estimated to require R$2.3bn.

The financing that BNDES has agreed to provide will cover almost 64% of the project’s total investment cost.

Engie said that the project has the potential to create more than 1,000 jobs in the region, with 800 people already recruited and engaged in civil construction activities, component installation and other works.

The project is intended to further strengthen Engie’s footprint in Brazil while supporting its growth strategy.

Engie Brasil Energia chief executive and investor relations officer Eduardo Sattamini said: “Right now, the growth of electric energy, especially from renewable sources, is critical to the future of Brazil. The feasibility of this financing is the result of a collective effort.

“It is an indication of the commitment of both Engie and the BNDES to the country’s development in a responsible manner and considering the importance of allocating resources for accelerating the growth of wind generation and diversifying the domestic energy matrix.”

The wind complex has obtained a preliminary license from the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável e Meio Ambiente (Idema), the state’s environmental protection agency.

Last May, Engie received a R$1.2bn loan from BNDES for the second phase of its Campo Largo wind complex, located in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

[grupo guitarlumber] 10/12/2021 09:11

GTT to provide tank designs to DSME

Published by Lydia Woellwarth, Editor
LNG Industry, Friday, 10 December 2021 08:50

GTT announces that it has received an order from its partner the Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for the tank design of two new LNG carriers on behalf of the Greek shipowner Maran Gas Maritime.

As part of this order, GTT will design the tanks of the vessels which will each offer a capacity of 174 000 m3. The tanks will be fitted with the GTT NO96 GW membrane containment system, a technology developed by GTT.

Deliveries of the vessels are scheduled during second half 2024.

Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and CEO of GTT, declared: "We are pleased to pursue this partnership of excellence with DSME and Maran Gas Maritime. The GTT teams are proud and exciting to continue to support our partners in their decision to use our membrane technologies widely recognised by the LNG industry”.

[waldron] 08/12/2021 15:42

European gas futures soar as US weighs sanctions on Russia

8 Dec, 2021 14:50



The price of natural gas in Europe topped $1,150 per 1,000 cubic meters on Wednesday, or €99 per megawatt-hour in household terms, trading data shows. This comes as Russia, a major energy supplier, faces threats of US sanctions.

Overall, the cost of gas in Europe jumped more than 3% on Wednesday compared to the closing price the day before. The price growth comes as the United States and its European allies are weighing a range of sanctions targeting Russia’s financial system in the event of a military conflict with Ukraine. The Biden administration has previously accused Moscow of planning an invasion of Ukraine in January, which the Kremlin has rejected as “fake news.”


Europe has been struggling with gas shortages and skyrocketing prices for months now, with the situation peaking at nearly $2,000 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas in early October.

Some European politicians have accused Russia of withholding deliveries of natural gas amid the latest delays in the EU’s certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Russia says it is meeting all its contractual obligations with European customers, pointing to under-filled European storage facilities and the start of the winter season as the main reasons for the price spike.

Russia’s Gazprom said earlier that it does not expect a noticeable drop in gas prices in Europe in the coming months, but that a price of around $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters is not sustainable.

visit RT's business section

[gibbs1] 07/12/2021 05:52

ENGIE and Masdar form $5bn strategic alliance to drive UAE’s green hydrogen economy

PowerClean TechnologyTechnology

By NS Energy Staff Writer 06 Dec 2021

The two companies are looking to develop projects with a capacity of at least 2 GW by 2030, with a total investment in the region of US$5 billion
ENGIE and Masdar form US$5 billion strategic alliance to drive UAEs green hydrogen economy

ENGIE and Masdar form $5bn strategic alliance to drive UAE’s green hydrogen economy. (Credit: MASDAR)

ENGIE and Masdar, one of the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy companies, announced today that they have signed a strategic alliance agreement to explore the co-development of a UAE-based green hydrogen hub. The two companies are looking to develop projects with a capacity of at least 2 GW by 2030, with a total investment in the region of US$5 billion.

The agreement was signed by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and Masdar Chairman, and Catherine MacGregor, ENGIE CEO, in the presence of Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, during his visit to the UAE.

This partnership aims to capture synergies and complementarities between Masdar, as an investor and developer of renewable energy projects, and ENGIE’s leadership position in green hydrogen deployment to establish an early mover position in the UAE’s hydrogen market. By leveraging existing infrastructure, the companies will initially target local supply, with the aim of expanding capacity to create a giga-scale green hydrogen hub for the GCC, with the potential to export to other markets.

Catherine MacGregor, ENGIE CEO, said : “We are very pleased to partner with Masdar to make a direct contribution to the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 strategic initiative. This strategic alliance illustrates ENGIE’s ambitious goals for the long-term development of renewable hydrogen, an essential tool for the energy transition.”

Source: Company Press Release

[gibbs1] 07/12/2021 05:51

Dow Jones Newswires



Engie Wins EUR2.4 Bln Concession to Extend Paris Cooling Network
Dec. 6, 2021 at 12:36 p.m. ET
0

By Cristina Roca

Engie SA and its partner have been picked by the city of Paris for a large contract to expand the city's cooling network.

The French utility company said Monday that Fraicheur de Paris, in which it owns 85%, has won a 20-year concession with a total projected turnover of 2.4 billion euros ($2.72 billion). The concession starts in April 2022.

Groupe RATP, a French transport operator, holds the remaining 15% in Fraicheur de Paris.

Originally set up to air-condition commercial buildings, Paris's cooling network will be expanded to include cooling for hospitals, schools and other such buildings, as well shops, some housing units and other establishments.

The network runs on 100% renewable electricity, Engie said.

"This ambitious project forms part of the city's approach to decarbonisation and adapting to climate change, offering a sustainable and competitive alternative to traditional air-conditioning solutions," the company said.

Write to Cristina Roca at [e-mail]

[adrian j boris] 06/12/2021 16:51

HUSH HUSH FRENCH BUYS: French energy commodities trading firm Engie sought to keep a deal to buy liquefied natural gas deal from U.S. producer Cheniere under wraps a year after the firm walked away from a separate deal last year because of climate change concerns, Pro’s Ben Lefebvre reports. Officials with the French government who sit on the firm’s board had protested over the high emissions linked to the previous deal, but the volumes under the new deal with Cheniere deal signed in June were small enough to avoid the approval of that board this time around.

“No publicity should be made around the transaction to keep it under the radar,” read a document the Engie officials submitted to the company’s executive committee that Ben reviewed. But the document also noted the companies should not assume the deal would remain a secret, given the number of stakeholders involved.

Environmental group Friends of the Earth got its hands on the documents and lambasted the covert deal. Lorette Philippot, a campaigner for the group, called it a “serious breach of [the firm’s] duty of vigilance and a disgrace for this energy company which is making so much effort to green its image.”

Europe has been suffering from a shortage of natural gas and soaring energy prices going into winter. And progressive Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are pushing for the U.S. to block natural gas exports as the U.S. undergoes its own energy price spikes.

[grupo guitarlumber] 05/12/2021 14:29

Bordeaux uses geothermal energy to green its heating network

Art'Ur Architects / Engie Solutions)

Alexander Richter

5 Dec 2021

Mixing biomass and groundsource heat pumps, the city of Bordeaux, France is also tapping geothermal energy for its district heating system.

The metropolis of Bordeaux in the South of France has entrusted Engie Solutions with the construction of a geothermal energy coupled with a biomass boiler, as reported by Environnement Magazine in France. This project aims to extend the existing heating network by 9 km and make it green by 2024 thanks to an unprecedented combination in the region.

Reactivating an old geothermal well and combining it with a unit for producing heat from biomass, such is the system devised by the Engie Solutions teams. This solution will allow the Bordeaux metropolis to distribute heating and hot water to 6,900 additional housing equivalents.

As part of a 25-year concession on the heating network called “Grand Parc Energies”, ENGIE Solutions will renovate and commission the existing 1,000-meter-deep production well, which will produce water at 44 ° C including the flow will be optimized. This geothermal energy will have a total capacity of 7.4 MW thanks to 4 heat pumps powered by 100% renewable and local electricity, coming in particular from the dams of the Hydroelectric Company of Midi (SHEM) and the photovoltaic park of Fanjeaux (ENGIE ) as part of a turnkey Green PPA *. This solution makes it possible to respond to the Metropolis’ desire to green its network while protecting network subscribers from the volatility of energy market prices.

A major environmental advantage, the injection drilling carried out in the Eocene (terrestrial layer located at -300 m) will allow the overexploited local groundwater tables to be recharged with drinking water by around 781,000 m 3 / year.

The back-up biomass boiler will be made up of 3 boilers with a total installed capacity of 4 MW. This efficient and discreet infrastructure will provide heat and hot water to residents. From 2025, the wood energy, transported from a maximum radius of 100 km around Bordeaux in order to promote the local sector, will be delivered at 50% by vehicles running on natural gas.

This combination of environmentally friendly infrastructures will make it possible to rationalize and optimize the volumes of woodfuel supply.

A solution that responds to the metropolis’ desire to complete its energy transition while protecting its subscribers from the volatility of energy market prices. “This project demonstrates the ability of our experts to design tailor-made energy solutions for the future, perfectly suited to the needs of a region and attentive to the comfort of local residents. […] It is also confirmation that the energy transition is being built now, thanks to the commitment of elected officials and the inventiveness of our teams ”, underlines Yann Rolland, Deputy CEO of Engie Solutions.

Source: Environnement Magazine, Engie Solutions

[waldron] 05/12/2021 09:22

Why isn't U.S. defence budget approved? Again because of Nord Stream 2

Djoomart Otorbaev



Editor's note: Djoomart Otorbaev is the former Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, a distinguished professor of the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University, and a member of Nizami Ganjavi International Center. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

There is a fascinating process going on in the U.S. Congress right now. For a long time and behind closed doors, Congress members have been unable to approve the Pentagon's defence budget of $770 billion. The stumbling block, like last year, was the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which runs along the bottom of the Baltic and North Seas.

Disagreements between representatives in the White House and members of Congress are about the need to impose sanctions against project participants, including a few European and Russian companies. President Joe Biden lifted congressional sanctions on the project last May that would have halted the project. As a result, the House of Representatives amended the National Defense Authorization Act to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 without presidential powers, making the sanctions bulletproof. For the administration, this placed a premium on stopping the amendment in the Senate, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent lots of time lobbying Senate Democrats to do just that.

Since the congressmen did not approve the defence budget, it is clear that the Pentagon cannot order new weapons. Who would have thought that Nord Stream 2 could make such a significant contribution to reducing arms purchases?

The U.S. and Germany are at odds over the new pipeline. Given that the German government is actively supporting its construction, the Biden administration is trying to soften the U.S. Congress's position, which so far takes a clear hawkish position. Under its pressure on November 23, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against the Russian-linked Transadria Ltd. and its Marlin vessel related to the gas pipeline construction.

But in Germany, even most active opponents of the pipeline construction, including the German Greens party, a member of the Bundestag, recognized the inadmissibility of U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2. "The new U.S. sanctions are unacceptable even for the opponents of Nord Stream 2," Omid Nuripur, an expert on the foreign policy of the Greens, told on November 23. "What kind of friendship do they strive for if they impose sanctions against friends when they do business with a third party, "he said. This is noteworthy the first time that the Greens have made such statements.

Americans are struggling to avoid further confrontation with the Germans. "We continue to work with Germany and other allies and partners to reduce the risks posed by the pipeline," Blinken said in a statement on November 22.

The Nord Stream 2 gas receiving station in Lubmin, Germany, November 12, 2021. /Getty

Meanwhile, putting the gas pipeline into operation is deferred. On November 16, the German grid regulator suspended the approval process for the Nord Stream 2 project. Since Gazprom's subsidiary is not a local company, the regulator has postponed its certification until the operator creates the necessary legal framework. The operator - Nord Stream 2 A.G., is based in Zug, Switzerland. As a result, the postponement of approval depends on how quickly Gazprom can transfer its legal entity to Germany.

With winter approaching, now all the attention of gas consumers in Europe is associated with the observance of guaranteed gas supplies. Unpleasant news for consumers was the skyrocketing prices for natural gas, which began in the run-up to cold weather. Natural gas prices have risen eightfold since the start of the pandemic as competition from buyers in Asia has led to global gas shortages around the world. In response to rising gas demand in late October, Gazprom said it had increased production by almost 17 percent from a year earlier.

Considering the tense situation in the European energy market and lengthy bureaucratic procedures, experts are considering another scenario for additional gas supplies to Europe. Under certain circumstances, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline can start operating without waiting for the regulator's certification procedure to be completed. Under certain circumstances, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline can begin working without waiting for the regulator's certification procedure to be completed. The article's authors published in the newspaper Handelsblatt conducted such an analysis. They recalled that similar situations had already happened in the past when operators put pipelines into operation before they were certified. We are talking about the German energy projects NEL and EGL 401. The authors state that the operators will have to pay a fine. However, according to the German Federal Network Agency (BNA) estimates, the amount does not exceed 1 million euros ($1.1 million).

Thus the certification process will likely be completed only in late spring-early summer since the European Commission will still evaluate after the German regulator. However, Gazprom can even derive additional benefits from this. Due to the high gas prices, the Russian monopoly receives an additional $500 from every thousand cubic meters of gas sold. If such prices persist until the summer of 2022, then the extra profit of the Russian company could amount to up to $5 billion. Anka Feldhusen, Ambassador of Germany in Kiev, also spoke about a similar deadline for completing the certification process. According to her, the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will not take place in the next six months.

Unfortunately, in the modern world, the interference of purely political elements in economic activity is becoming more widespread. After all, as often happens in history, ordinary citizens become victims of unfair political games.

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