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[grupo guitarlumber] 16/10/2021 01:35

Coal Generation In UK Jumps As Wind Speed Drops
By Charles Kennedy - Oct 15, 2021, 5:30 PM CDT

Coal met some 3 percent of the UK’s electricity demand on Friday morning, reaching its highest level of Britain’s power generation in one month, amid lower wind speeds this week and an outage at a gas-powered plant, Bloomberg reports.

The last time the UK generated 3 percent of its electricity from coal was in early September when low wind generation reduced renewable power supply and triggered the massive spikes in UK wholesale electricity prices.

Utility Uniper fired up its coal-powered plant in Ratcliffe early on Friday, while the gas-fired plant in Pembroke, Wales, operated by RWE, suffered an unplanned outage.

Over the past week, gas has consistently accounted for the largest share of the UK’s electricity generation, according to data from National Grid ESO. For example, on Wednesday, gas produced 44.8 percent of Britain’s electricity, more than wind with 19.2 percent and nuclear with 12.6 percent.

Surging natural gas prices and warm and still weather in September forced the UK to fire up an old coal plant that was on standby in order to meet its electricity demand.

The UK has pledged to phase out coal-fired power generation by October 2024.

UK power company Drax could have its last two coal-fired plants in the country operating beyond the 2022 deadline it had set for closure if the UK government asks it to keep them operational amid the energy crisis in the country and the whole of Europe.

“If the government wants us to rethink our plans, we need to talk to them in the next few months,” Drax’s chief executive Will Gardiner told the Financial Times at the end of September.

Last week, the UK government committed to decarbonizing the country’s electricity system by 2035.

“While gas generation continues to play a critical role in keeping the UK electricity system secure and stable, the development of clean energy technologies means it will be used less frequently in the future,” the UK government said.

Last year, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the United Kingdom would aim to become a global leader in offshore wind energy, powering every home in the country with wind by 2030.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

[waldron] 15/10/2021 18:40

Engie-led team signs new documents for Gulf of Suez II wind farm

Published 15 October 2021 Last Updated 15 Oct 2021 14:32


James Hebert



An Engie-led consortium has signed a second set of project documents for the $560 million, 500MW Gulf of Suez II wind farm in Ras Ghareb with the EETC

[waldron] 13/10/2021 12:56

Engie, Currenta sign PPA for 50 GWh of wind energy in Germany
Image by Engie Deutschland.

October 13 (Renewables Now) - French energy group Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) has agreed to supply 50 GWh of electricity from its wind parks in Germany to Leverkusen-based chemical park operator Currenta GmbH & Co. OHG within 16 months under a power purchase agreement (PPA).

The electricity will come from three wind parks in Germany, ensuring their operation after the expiry of the feed-in tariffs under the EEG, Engie said on Tuesday.

Currenta will use the green electricity from the region to supply its own e-charging stations and the charging infrastructure of its customers. The agreed amount would be enough for an electric car to go around the world 9,000 times.

The agreement is in line with Currenta's sustainability strategy. The chemical park operator already uses electrode boilers for flexible heat production along with its gas-fired combined heat and power systems, thus supporting the expansion of renewables in the region, said Hans-Joerg Preisigke, head of Energy Policy at Currenta.

Currenta operates three chemical parks in the cities of Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld which are home to more than 70 industrial companies.

[waldron] 01/9/2021 15:58

TotalEnergies SE said Wednesday that it has won a public tender to install and operate electric-vehicle charging points in Belgium.

The French oil-and-gas major said it will supply, install and operate the public charging network of the city of Antwerp. The contract has been awarded until 2034 for standard charging points and until 2038 for high-power charging points.

Electricity to supply the network will be produced by TotalEnergies from some offshore wind farms, the company said.

Financial details of the contract weren't disclosed.



Write to Giulia Petroni at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 01, 2021 09:37 ET (13:37 GMT)

[la forge] 06/8/2021 08:25

Market Chatter: TotalEnergies Mulls Minority Stake Acquisition in North Sea Wind Project

08/06/2021 | 04:17am BST


(MT Newswires) -- TotalEnergies (TTE.L, TTE.PA, TTE.BR) is considering the purchase of a 20% stake in the Dogger Bank wind project in the North Sea, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The project, under development by SSE (SSE.L) and Equinor (EQNR.OL), is expected to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world, the report said.

The French energy company's shares gained almost 1% on Thursday's close. SSE was down marginally, while Equinor rose slightly.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

[misca2] 19/7/2021 18:03

BP bids potential $14B investment in Scottish offshore wind lease

Jul. 19, 2021 12:19 PM ETBP, EQNR...BP p.l.c. (BP), Equinor ASA (EQNR), Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A)..

.By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor



BP (NYSE:BP) and partner EnBW say they submitted a joint bid for a lease area off Scotland's coast that could support offshore wind projects with capacity to generate 2.9 GW.

BP says its joint bid represents a potential £10B ($14B) investment into Scottish offshore wind projects and support infrastructure including ports, harbors and shipyards.

The bid focused on fixed-bottom wind turbines rather than floating turbines that comprised bids by other companies, BP's head for gas and low carbon Dev Sanyal says.

Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) says it submitted a bid for a floating wind power project in the leasing round.

The company already operates the 30 MW Hywind floating offshore wind farm off the Scottish coast and is a partner in several other British offshore wind farms.

The results of the ScotWind leasing round are expected to be announced early next year.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Iberdrola-owned ScottishPower said last week they were teaming up to place a bid.

[la forge] 16/7/2021 16:29

Shell, Iberdrola join in bid to build floating wind farms off Scotland

Jul. 16, 2021 10:57 AM ETIBDRY, RDS.A...By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor3 Comments


Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) says it is teaming up with Iberdrola-owned (OTCPK:IBDRY) ScottishPower to bid to develop large-scale floating wind farms off the coast of Scotland.

The partners say they submitted multiple proposals for the potential projects as part of the ScotWind leasing round.

Scotland could be at the forefront of the wind power sector, the companies say, potentially providing power for as much as 25% of the U.K. domestic market, or ~8M homes.

Many of Europe's major energy companies including BP, TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE), Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) and Eni (NYSE:E) may place bids in the auction of 15 seabed locations for the next generation of wind farms.

Shell said recently it would increase total shareholder distributions to 20%-30% of cash flow from operations.

[waldron] 08/7/2021 09:03

Aker Offshore Wind A/S said Thursday it has formed a partnership with Ocean Winds to develop floating offshore wind generation sites in Scotland.

Currently partnering in California, U.S., and Korea, the companies will join forces to bid in the ScotWind leasing round, which is making new seabed leases available for the development of offshore wind in Scottish waters.

The two companies will jointly submit the bid by July 16 to Crown Estate Scotland.

Ocean Winds is a 50/50 partnership between EDP Renovaveis S/A and ENGIE S.A., which was established last year to develop offshore wind technology. The partnership has 4 gigawatts in construction and operation, including the 950 megawatt Moray East and Moray West fixed offshore wind projects in the U.K.



Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 08, 2021 03:46 ET (07:46 GMT)

[adrian j boris] 05/7/2021 15:31

New rules could make it harder to install wind turbines in France

Government objectives to double the number of land wind farms hindered by moves to give mayors the right to veto installations and an increase in distance rules to military radars

5 July 2021

The number of windfarms in France is expected to increase from 800 today up to 1,200-1,400 by 2023

By Joanna York

New rules restricting areas in which wind turbines can operate and giving mayors increased powers of refusal will make it more difficult to install new wind turbines in France.

The defence ministry decreed on June 18 that wind turbines must now be installed at least 70km away from military radars, instead of 30km as previously.

The ministry said the new rule had been introduced to stop wind turbines scrambling radar signals.

[waldron] 17/6/2021 18:35

Swiss among last to embrace wind and solar power

A solar power plant high in the Swiss Alps. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Switzerland is lagging behind most European countries when it comes to solar and wind power. In terms of per capita production, it ranks second to last in comparison with surrounding countries, according to the Swiss Energy Foundation (SES).

This content was published on June 17, 2021 - 17:07 June 17, 2021 - 17:07


The foundation, which published its findings on Thursday, is urging politicians to act if they want Switzerland to achieve its climate goals and guarantee security of supply.

The “CO2 law debacle”, noted the foundation, made it clear that the next big climate policy lever – the revision of the energy law – urgently needs to be well prepared. On Sunday, Swiss voters rejected an overhaul to the CO2 law which was central to the government’s goal of meeting its obligations under the Paris Accord on Climate Change.

Climate change dominated national elections in October 2019, with the Green Party notably coming out with gains. However, Sunday’s rejection of the CO2 law, along with two other environmental issues, marked a step back for the Alpine nation.


A Nobel Prize for the country’s astrophysicists is a reminder Swiss scientists are at the forefront of space research.

Under its system of direct democracy, a citizen-launched effort to curb greenhouse gases – the Glacier Initiative – is due to come to vote in the next years.
Far behind

In a short study, SES compared the per capita production of solar and wind energy in Switzerland and the 27 countries of the European Union (plus Great Britain). In this ranking, Switzerland lands in 24th place, just ahead of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Latvia.

In comparison with the nine surrounding countries, Switzerland lands in penultimate place. Only 4.7% of electricity consumption in Switzerland is generated with the two renewable technologies, according to the press release. In Denmark, for example, that figure is 54%.

Denmark, followed by Sweden and Ireland, lead the way in the 2020 country comparison in terms of electricity production from solar and wind power per inhabitant. Last year, Germany was pushed down to fourth place by Ireland.
Increase expansion targets

According to SES, the new energy law must clearly increase the expansion targets for solar and wind energy so that they are in line with climate targets. For example, annual production from new renewable energies should be increased by 35 to 45 terawatt hours by 2035. This would correspond to an increase by a factor of 12 to 17 compared to today’s production.

The House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday to promote new wind energy, small hydropower, biogas, geothermal and photovoltaic plants with one-off investment contributions from 2023. This is a transitional solution. The bill now goes to the Senate.

The bulk of electricity from Swiss sockets come from another kind of renewable energy source: large-scale hydropower, according to the Federal Office of Energy.


swissinfo.ch.

[florenceorbis] 14/6/2021 08:24

Norwegian renewable energy investment company Aker Horizons ASA said Monday that BP PLC has agreed to join Statkraft and Aker Offshore Wind in a consortium bidding to develop offshore wind energy in Norway.

Aker Horizons, which holds a majority shareholding in Aker Offshore Wind, said the partnership will see BP, Statkraft and Aker Offshore Wind each hold a 33.3% share and will pursue a bid to develop offshore wind power in the Sorlige Nordsjo II licence area.

The consortium also intends to explore opportunities to provide clean power to electrify offshore oil and gas facilities.

"BP aims to grow our renewables business at scale and we see great opportunities in offshore wind energy," said Dev Sanyal, BP's executive vice president of gas and low carbon energy.

"Coming together with Aker and Statkraft, we believe this consortium will be ideally positioned to effectively and efficiently grow and deliver clean power for European markets, as well as strengthen the supply to Norway when needed," he said.



Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 14, 2021 03:04 ET (07:04 GMT)

[sarkasm] 08/6/2021 18:09

French Taxation
Taxe Foncière Rates Reduction due to Wind Farm

Thursday 03 June 2021

A couple win a reduction in their rates bill, due to the inconveniences caused by a local wind farm.

In the first case of its kind in France, a court in Nantes has granted to a couple a reduction in their taxe foncière rates bill due to the proximity of a wind farm.

The ruling concerned a property located in the commune of Lys-Haut-Layon, in the Maine-et-Loire department (Pays de la Loire).

Four wind turbines were installed in the village in 2017, 800 metres from the home of the couple, since when they have been seeking a reduction in their rates bill from the local tax authority.

In the face of a categorical refusal of their centre des impôts to grant them a reduction they brought an action in the courts.

The tribunal sitting in Nantes granted the reduction due to the noise and visual nuisances caused by the turbines.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the tax authority decided not to appeal against the decision, which now opens the way for other local residents to make their own claim for a reduction in their rates.

More generally, it opens up the possibility of thousands of claims being made right across the country. There are over 8,000 wind turbines installed on land in metropolitan France and there are plans for many more. Inhabitants living nearby can now apply for a reduction in their rates.

Bernadette Kaars, the vice-president of the Fédération Environnement durable (FED) and director of the local association Tigné Préservé: "For the first time in France an administrative court has confirmed the link between the industrialisation of a rural area by wind turbines, its environmental nuisance and the decrease in value of a house. Wind turbines have been classified as a significant inconvenience by the court. This decision will apply until the machines are dismantled," she said.

Nevertheless, although inhabitants may be successful in getting a reduction in their rates, opponents of proposed wind farms have been less successful in basing their case on a reduction in the value of their property. Such cases dismissed by the courts, although they have been on stronger ground if they challenge it on the basis of protection of the environment or historic buildings.

Notaires, estate agents and sellers have an obligation to inform prospective buyers of planned wind farms, but as we have previously reported, this is not an obligation that is always respected.

The level of the taxe foncière in a commune is based on the rental value of a property, with the later taking into account the environmental circumstances of the property. Although in most cases the coefficient that is used is neutral, where there is a material environmental nuisance, it can have a negative value.

The French tax doctrine provides for a compensation mechanism to apply to the benefit of local councils suffering from environmental nuisances and henceforth it would seem that victims of a nuisance from a wind turbine will be able to benefit from this mechanism.

According to Bernadette Kaars: "With this decision, the deterioration of the rental value of a property and the quality of the environment of the municipality is officially recognised."

[waldron] 02/6/2021 17:34

World’s Top Offshore Wind Firm To Triple Capacity With $57 Billion Investment
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Jun 02, 2021, 10:30 AM CDT

Danish renewables company Ørsted, the biggest developer of offshore wind farms in the world, plans to invest the equivalent of over US$57 billion by 2027 as part of a new strategy to become a global green energy major.

Ørsted, which currently has 12 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable capacity around the world, plans to nearly triple that capacity to 50 GW by 2030, the company said on its Capital Markets Day on Wednesday.

In order to support this build-out of renewable energy capacity, Ørsted plans to invest around US$57.46 billion (350 billion Danish crowns) in green energy from 2020 to 2027.

The 50-GW target of installed renewable capacity by 2030 will consist of around 30 GW of offshore wind, 17.5 GW of onshore wind and solar photovoltaics (PV), and around 2.5 GW from other renewables, including sustainable biomass, renewable hydrogen, and green fuels.

Ørsted expects an average return on capital employed (ROCE) for 2020-2027 at 11-12 percent.

To address the enormous waste from wind energy turbine components, Ørsted announced today, with immediate effect, a ban on the landfilling of wind turbine blades.

“Going forward, Ørsted commits to either reusing, recycling, or recovering 100 % of all blades coming from repowering or end-of-design-life decommissioning of our onshore and offshore wind farms,” the company said in a statement.

“Our aspiration is to become the world’s leading green energy major by 2030,” said Mads Nipper, Group President and CEO of Ørsted.

The company plans to remain a global leader in offshore wind and become a top-five developer of onshore wind and solar PV in the United States and a top-ten such developer in the world, as well as a global leader in renewable hydrogen.

With the multi-billion investment, Ørsted joins some of Europe’s biggest utilities such as Spain’s Iberdrola and Italy’s Enel, which have recently pledged US$183 billion and US$195 billion in investments to significantly boost their renewable installed capacity by 2030.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

[waldron] 30/4/2021 16:59

Wind energy could generate 3.3 million jobs within five years, industry body claims

Published Fri, Apr 30 20217:46 AM EDTUpdated An Hour Ago

Anmar Frangoul


Key Points

Around the world, governments are laying out targets to cut emissions and increase renewable energy installations.

Any move away from fossil fuels will be a significant challenge requiring huge change.



The expansion of the wind energy industry could create 3.3 million jobs in the next five years, according to analysis from industry body the Global Wind Energy Council.

The projection includes direct roles in onshore and offshore wind as well as jobs across the sector’s value chain. The latter comprises jobs in areas such as installation, manufacturing, project planning and development, operation and maintenance and decommissioning.

These roles would service an industry forecast to install an extra 470 gigawatts of onshore and offshore capacity between 2021 and 2025, the GWEC said.

The Brussels-based organization’s outlook for jobs is based on what it described as “market growth data” from GWEC Market Intelligence and “global studies by the International Renewable Energy Agency … on job creation for onshore and offshore wind projects from 2017 and 2018.”

Joyce Lee, the council’s head of policy and projects, said Thursday the energy transition would “have to accelerate over the next decade to safeguard our chances of achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century.”

“The good news is that the transition offers net employment and economic gains,” Lee said. “Governments across the world can tap into the socioeconomic benefits by setting more ambitious renewable energy targets, streamlining permitting for wind projects, and building energy markets that account for the true costs of fossil fuels.”

Around the world, governments are indeed laying out targets to cut emissions and increase renewable energy installations, with a number aiming to make wind energy a crucial tool in their pivot away from fossil fuels.

Last month, for instance, the U.S. said it wanted to expand its offshore wind capacity to 30 GW by 2030, a move the Biden administration hopes will generate thousands of jobs and unlock billions of dollars in investment in coming years.

Across the Atlantic, the U.K. wants its offshore wind capacity to hit 40 GW by 2030, while the European Union wants offshore installations to amount to at least 60 GW by the end of this decade and 300 GW by 2050.

Despite these targets, the reality on the ground shows that for many countries, any move away from fossil fuels will be a significant challenge requiring a huge amount of change.

In the U.S., for example, fossil fuels comfortably remained the biggest source of electricity generation in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration.

[adrian j boris] 29/4/2021 10:50

Total SE said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Germany's Wpd AG to acquire a 23% interest in Yunlin Holding GmbH, the owner of a 640-megawatt wind farm under construction in offshore Taiwan.

The French oil-and-gas major said the project, which is located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of Tapei, will include 80 wind turbines with a unit capacity of 8MW and is set to produce 2.4 terawatt hours of renewable energy a year. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2022.

The project also benefits from a 20-year guaranteed-price power purchase agreement with state-owned company Taipower--$250 per megawatt hour in the first 10 years and $125 per MWh for the following 10 years.

Wpd owns 48% of the project, while the rest is owned by Electricity Generating PCL and by a consortium of Japanese investors led by Sojitz Corp.

Total is set to pay Wpd a consideration based on its share of past costs. The acquisition is subject to government approval.



Write to Giulia Petroni at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2021 04:16 ET (08:16 GMT)