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Engie to switch Chile coal plant to energy storage

  • Market: Coal, Electricity
  • 11/04/24

French utility Engie is investing approximately $180mn to convert its former Tocopilla coal plant in northern Chile's Antofagasta region into a 116MW standalone battery energy storage system (BESS).

The BESS Tocopilla plant will be able to store 660MWh captured from significant solar and wind curtailment in the north, which has risen by almost 250pc to 1,699GWh in the year-to-date compared to a year ago.

The project involves installing 240 lithium ion-based containers on the former coal plant's site and making use of infrastructure synergies such as its transmission assets. Construction is scheduled to start in June.

BESS Tocopilla will have an average annual generation capacity of 211GWh, the equivalent of supplying almost 90,000 Chilean homes with power, avoiding the emission of 51,231 t/yr of carbon dioxide equivalent, said Engie.

Engie disconnected the 268MW Tocopilla coal and fuel oil plant in September 2022. Its 394MW combined-cycle Tocopilla gas plant, part of the same complex, continues to operate.

Engie is the country's fourth-largest generator with an installed capacity of almost 2.5GW. BESS Tocopilla is its fourth industrial-scale storage project in Chile, one of which is already in operation and another two under construction.


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07/03/25

Brazil's GDP growth accelerates to 3.4pc in 2024

Brazil's GDP growth accelerates to 3.4pc in 2024

Sao Paulo, 7 March (Argus) — Brazil's economic growth accelerated to an annual 3.4pc last year, the fastest growth since 2021, as gains in the services and industry sectors offset contractions in the agriculture sector, according to government statistics agency IBGE. Growth accelerated from 3.2pc in 2023 and 3pc the prior year. Growth was at 4.8pc in 2021 as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 induced contraction of 3.3pc in 2020. Agriculture contracted by 3.2pc in 2024 after a 15.1pc gain the year prior. The sector's weak performance came as Brazil faced extreme climate events last year that damaged crops , IBGE said. Corn and soybean output fell by 4.6pc and 12.5pc, respectively, according to IBGE. The industrial sector grew by 3.3pc last year after a 1.6pc gain in 2023. Manufacturing industries rose by 3.8pc, driven by a higher output of vehicles, transport equipment, machinery and electric equipment, according to IBGE. Electricity and gas, water and sewage management increased by 3.6pc in 2024 but still decelerated from a 6.5pc gain a year earlier. Higher temperatures throughout 2024 drove the increase, IBGE said. On the other hand, the climate was unfavorable for power generation. The oil, natural gas and mining industry grew by 0.5pc in 2024 from a year earlier. Gross fixed capital formation — which measures how much companies increased their capital goods — rose by 7.3pc from a 3pc contraction in 2023, led by higher domestic output and capital goods imports. Exports rose by 2.9pc, while imports rose by 14.7pc last year. Investment grew by 17pc. Household consumption increased by 4.8pc from a year prior, driven by a 6.6pc unemployment rate — the lowest registered since IBGE started its historic record in 2012 — federal social aid programs and increased lending. Government spending rose by 1.9pc in 2024 from a year earlier. Quarterly GDP Brazil's GDP growth slowed to an annual 3.6pc in the fourth quarter from 4pc in the third quarter, with several sectors contracting, according to IBGE. Agriculture contracted by an annual 1.5pc in the fourth quarter, with 2.9pc and 0.9pc contractions in the wheat and sugarcane crops, respectively, IBGE said. But the industrial sector grew by an annual 2.5pc in the quarter. Manufacturing posted 5.3pc growth, led by the steel sector and higher output of machinery, equipment, vehicles and chemicals. The services sector grew by 3.4pc. The oil, natural gas and mining industry contracted by 3.6pc from a year earlier thanks to a decrease in oil, gas and iron output, IBGE said. Electricity and gas, water, and sewage management fell by an annual 3.5pc, on lower power consumption as power rates became more expensive amid a drought that struck the country in mid-2024. Household consumption grew by an annual 3.7pc, while government spending grew by 1.2pc in the fourth quarter. Gross fixed capital formation increased by an annual 9.4pc in the fourth quarter, according to IBGE. Exports fell by 0.7pc, while imports, which subtract from growth, rose by 16pc. By Maria Frazatto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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UK 'fully committed' to £8.3bn GB Energy funding


07/03/25
News
07/03/25

UK 'fully committed' to £8.3bn GB Energy funding

London, 7 March (Argus) — The UK government remains "fully committed" to the £8.3bn ($10.7bn) of funding for GB Energy promised in Labour's manifesto last year, the Treasury told Argus today, following media reports that the government might cut funding. Media reports earlier today suggested the UK could cut funding to the publicly owned energy company by several billion pounds. But the Treasury reiterated the commitment to the £8.3bn of funding across this parliamentary term announced last year, intended to enable investment and ownership of "clean power" projects across the UK. A partnership between GB Energy and the Crown Estate to support the development of offshore wind projects was announced last summer . GB Energy will manage and invest in early-stage offshore wind projects that are being developed on seabed land owned by the Crown Estate, with the latter estimating that the partnership will lead to 20-30GW of new offshore wind capacity reaching the seabed leasing stage by 2030. The partnership aims to speed the development and construction of new projects and reduce private investors' risk, potentially leveraging up to £60bn in private investment, the government said. By Helen Senior Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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US quits S Africa energy transition partnership: Update


06/03/25
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06/03/25

US quits S Africa energy transition partnership: Update

Updates throughout, details on funding Cape Town, 6 March (Argus) — The US has withdrawn from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with South Africa under which it pledged $1.56 billion for the country's decarbonisation. The US' pledges to South Africa's JET investment plan comprised $56mn in grant funds and $1bn in potential commercial investments by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). No concessional loans were offered by the US to South Africa. The move follows US president Donald Trump's executive order in January to pull out of the landmark Paris climate agreement and other global climate pacts. The South African government was notified of the decision by the US Embassy on 28 February. The US' withdrawal from the JETP reduces the current overall international JET pledges to South Africa to $12.8bn from $13.8bn, said the JET project management unit (PMU) located in the presidency. These pledges represented a fraction of the 1.5 trillion rand ($84bn) that South Africa in its 2022 investment plan said it needed over a five-year period to implement a just energy transition. "South Africa remains steadfast in its commitment to achieving a just and equitable energy transition," said JET PMU head, Joanne Yawitch. All other JETP partners remain firmly committed to supporting South Africa's transition, she said. Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark, have confirmed they were still part of the partnership and will continue to provide support. But South Africa's international relations and cooperation department noted that "grant projects that were previously funded and in planning or implementation phases have been cancelled." Meanwhile, the JET PMU said it was "actively engaging with other grant-making organisations to source alternative funding for JET projects previously designated for support from the US grant funding." The UK, France, Germany, the US and EU in 2021 pledged $8.5bn under the JETP to support South Africa's transition to a low-carbon economy and, specifically, to accelerate its phase-out of coal-fired power. Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain subsequently joined the partnership. The US has withdrawn from the International Partners Group, an international alliance that includes UK, the EU, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Norway. This decision will affect other countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, which had previously agreed their own JETP with IPG partners including the US. Indonesia climate envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo earlier this year criticised the JETP process, saying it had "failed" and alleging that "not a single dollar has been disbursed by the US government". At present, South Africa lacks investible non-coal energy projects, risking fund disbursal from partner countries. South Africa's grid remains heavily reliant on coal-fired power and so far the country has not developed any substantial non-coal generation capacity, while at the same time it has extended the life of coal-fired plants that were previously due to be retired. Eskom's decision to delay the decommissioning of the Camden, Grootvlei and Hendrina coal-fired power plants from 2027 to 2030 required the investment plan for an accelerated coal phase-out to be updated. By Ashima Sharma and Elaine Mills Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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UK T-1 capacity market auction clears at five-year low


06/03/25
News
06/03/25

UK T-1 capacity market auction clears at five-year low

London, 6 March (Argus) — The UK T-1 capacity market auction for the 2025-26 delivery year procured 7.94GW of derated capacity at a clearing price of £20/kW, the lowest since the 2020-21 delivery year. The secured capacity was above the central target of 7.5GW. A total of 9.12GW of derated capacity entered the auction, meaning almost 87pc was awarded capacity market agreements. Liquidity has risen in T-1 auctions in recent years as most nuclear units have moved from T-4 to T-1 as they are coming to the end of their operational lives, pushing down clearing prices. Almost 6.3GW of derated capacity — or 79pc of awarded capacity — went to existing generating units. The majority of this, about 3.64GW, was nuclear capacity, followed by about 1.9GW of derated combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) capacity and 150MW of open-cycle gas turbines. The 850MW Sutton Bridge CCGT was successful for all of its 773MW derated capacity, which it entered as one unit, while the 850MW Severn plant only saw one unit — with a derated capacity of 387MW — win an agreement, while the other unit failed to secure one. Both units had failed to secure agreements in the previous T-1 auction for the 2024-25 delivery year and had been mothballed until recently. Storage dominates new-build capacity A total of 727.1MW of derated new-build generating capacity was awarded agreements, of which the majority — 560MW — came from new-build storage. A further 160MW of existing storage capacity was awarded agreements. Some of the new-build storage capacity might be batteries seeking "top-up" T-1 agreements before their T-4 agreements begin, as batteries have a shorter build-out time than four years, with the scheme originally designed around the length of time to build a gas-fired plant. Of the new-build storage awarded agreements, the majority — 375MW — went to two-hour duration storage units, reflecting the movement of batteries from over-saturated ancillary market services towards more arbitrage trading in wholesale markets. More than 100MW of derated four-hour duration batteries were also successful, which might reflect the abilities of batteries to "self-nominate" their connection capacity and duration in the capacity market. Many battery providers tend to nominate lower connection capacities and input longer durations to capture higher derating factors and make passing tests easier, although the latter point is a bigger issue for batteries that secure 15-year T-4 agreements, as their units degrade over time. And a total of 188.4MW of derated solar and onshore and offshore wind capacity was awarded agreements, including 55MW from the Moray West offshore wind farm, which has a capacity of 573MW eligible for the capacity market. This is up from 118MW in the previous T-1 auction for the 2024-25 delivery year. Renewable units generally favour contracts for difference (CfDs) over capacity market agreements as they are heavily derated in capacity market auctions. But upcoming auctions could see higher levels of renewable engagement as older units begin to see renewable obligation scheme payments end and newer units start to enter the market on a merchant basis without CfD subsidies. And a total of 247MW of derated capacity of the 500MW Greenlink interconnector with Ireland — which began commercial operations in late January — was awarded an agreement, as well as 185MW of derated proven and almost 500MW of unproven demand-side response (DSR). Most capacity which exited the auction was DSR, and 54.3MW of derated capacity of the 200MW Blackhillock battery energy storage system — which was commissioned earlier this week — also failed to secure an agreement. A total of 42.36GW was secured in the T-4 auction for 2025-26 delivery, bringing the total for the delivery year to more than 50GW. The T-4 auction for 2028-29 delivery will take place on 11 March. The auction is seeking 43.7GW, with almost 44.7GW of derated capacity having confirmed entry. By Helen Senior Derated capacity secured by technology MW Technology Secured capacity Nuclear 3,636.1 Gas 2,374.7 DSR 622.7 Battery storage 725.8 Onshore wind 46.1 Offshore wind 116.2 Waste 76.1 Solar 26.1 Interconnector 247.0 — NESO Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Iraq eyes gasoil imports to alleviate power shortage


06/03/25
News
06/03/25

Iraq eyes gasoil imports to alleviate power shortage

Dubai, 6 March (Argus) — Iraq's electricity ministry has asked the government to raise gasoil imports as a precautionary measure to ensure the country has enough fuel for power generation head of the peak demand summer months. The request is pending the oil ministry's approval. If authorised, Iraq's gasoil imports could shortly ramp up to 100,000 b/d, almost three times the 35,000 b/d that was imported last month, the oil ministry told Argus . Iraq typically relies on imported natural gas from Iran to generate electricity for its national grid. But Tehran cut gas supplies to its western neighbour in the last quarter of 2024 because of its own power shortages. Insufficient gas from Iran forced Iraqi power plants to switch to burning gasoil, while private consumers generated power from diesel-run units, further exacerbating fuel shortages. Iraq's power generation shortage could soon become more acute as gas imports from Iran are at risk of stopping completely. The waivers that allow Iraq to import Iranian electricity and gas without falling foul of US sanctions are unlikely to be renewed given President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" policy against Tehran. The latest 120-day waiver is due to expire on 7 March. Meanwhile, Iraq's domestic gasoil production is being curtailed by constraints on crude supply to refineries. Baghdad's commitment to rein in crude production to compensate for past breaches of its Opec+ target has cut available supply for domestic refineries, lowering oil product output, the oil ministry said. Iraq is seeking to address its electricity issues by looking for investment for new power generation infrastructure. The country plans to build new steam and gas plants that could produce up to 35,000MW of electricity, which would bridge the gap between current electricity supply and demand. Baghdad has approached international engineering companies including GE and Siemens to partner in these projects, according to electricity minister Ahmed Moussa, but the government has not disclosed a clear timeline for implementation. By Ieva Paldaviciute and Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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