Japan’s Yatsushiro biomass plant starts operations
The 75MW Yatsushiro biomass power plant in south Japan's Kumamoto prefecture started commercial operations on 16 June.
Yatsushiro is planning to generate around 480 GWh/yr and sell the electricity under Japan's feed-in-tariff scheme for 20 years. It burns 240,000 t/yr of wood pellets mainly imported from southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and 60,000 t/yr of wood chips that are domestically produced.
The power plant was built by Japan's engineering firm IHI, which began construction in April 2022. IHI will also carry out regular maintenance and inspections.
Chubu Electric Power own 49pc of Yatsushiro, along with 37pc held by Toho Gas and 14pc by energy joint venture Ene-Vision. Ene-Vision is 56.5pc owned by Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho, 26.1pc by domestic farm machine and industrial engine manufacturer Yanmar, 8.7pc by engineering services firm Toyotsu Machinery and 8.7pc by Toho Gas.
Another two biomass power plants are scheduled to become on line in Japan this summer, with Renova's 75MW Omaezaki venture in Shizuoka in July and the 50MW Ozu project in Ehime of Japanese upstream firm Japex and its partners in August.
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Mexico to tap economist for energy minister
Mexico to tap economist for energy minister
Mexico City, 27 June (Argus) — Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum appointed economist and lawyer Luz Elena Gonzalez to become energy minister in her government that will take office on 1 October. Gonzalez has a long record in public service and served as finance director of the Mexico City government during Sheinbaum's tenure as the capital's mayor from 2018-2024. She has no direct energy industry experience. Sheinbaum won a convincing victory in the 2 June presidential elections and will take office on 1 October when Morena political party founder and current president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ends his six-year term. Gonzalez will face a range of challenges as energy minister including completion of the long-delayed Olmeca refinery, development of a plan to tackle state-owned Pemex's enormous debt, expansion of Mexico's electricity generation and grid capacity with a renewed focus on clean energy and the construction of natural gas storage. She will also be in charge of policy decisions that will define the role of private-sector investors in the energy sector. Gonzalez will replace Miguel Angel Maciel, appointed following energy minister Rocio Nahle's resignation in October 2023 to pursue the Veracruz gubernatorial election. Nahle, who took office as energy minister in 2018, led efforts to build the Olmeca refinery and has been a strident supporter of Lopez Obrador's energy sovereignty policy that has sought to restrict private-sector investment. Sheinbaum also appointed Jesus Esteva as transport minister, Raquel Buenrostro as civil service minister, David Kershenobich as health minister and Edna Elena Vega as urban and rural development minister. All of the candidates appointed today have either worked with Sheinbaum during her period as Mexico City mayor or in Lopez Obrador's government. By Rebecca Conan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UK election pledges show different paths to net zero
UK election pledges show different paths to net zero
The outcome of the election will have a significant impact on the pace of energy transition, particularly regarding North Sea gas production, writes Georgia Gratton London, 26 June (Argus) — The UK's two main political parties have set out their plans on energy and climate change in their manifestos, ahead of the country's general election on 4 July. Energy security and the cost to consumers is a common theme, but the two parties diverge on their approach to the energy transition. Both the incumbent Conservative and opposition Labour parties are committed to the country's goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, which is legally-binding and was passed with significant cross-party support under a Conservative government in 2019. The Conservatives have promised a "pragmatic and proportionate" route to achieve that target — guaranteeing "no new green levies or charges". Labour, which according to recent polls is on course to secure a sizeable majority, has pledged to accelerate the path to net zero, and has committed to a zero-carbon UK power system by 2030. Labour has pledged to "maintain a strategic reserve of gas power stations to guarantee security of supply", but its manifesto does not clarify whether that would involve building any new plants to replace ageing units. In contrast, the Conservative manifesto reiterates previously announced plans to build new gas-fired power stations. The party had previously committed to a decarbonised power network by 2035, in line with a G7 pledge, although that is not mentioned in its manifesto. Both parties are considering measures that could reduce residential gas demand in the long term. They have pledged to invest similar amounts of public money in energy efficiency schemes — £6.6bn ($8.3bn) over the next parliament for Labour, which it says will be used to upgrade 5mn homes, against £6bn over the next three years for the Conservatives, which their manifesto says will "make a million homes warmer". Labour also plans to work with the private sector, including banks and building societies, to facilitate the provision of further private finance in such schemes. The Conservative Party announced that it will fund an "energy efficiency voucher scheme", without providing further details. The different pace of the parties' energy transition plans is apparent from their respective renewable energy targets. Labour's plans to "double onshore wind, triple solar power, and quadruple offshore wind by 2030" would result in installed capacity of 31GW, 48GW and 59GW, respectively, against an end of 2023 baseline. The Conservatives' target to triple offshore wind by the end of the next parliament would put installed capacity at 44GW in 2029 — below the 50GW target for 2030 set in 2022 — while it said it supports solar and onshore wind in some circumstances. The two main parties support nuclear power, including small modular reactors, although those are unlikely to be operational until after 2030. And both pledge to cut planning bureaucracy and tackle grid connections. Diverging upstream The parties have adopted markedly different positions with regard to North Sea oil and gas production. Labour is clear that it "will not revoke existing licences" in the North Sea, but it will not issue any new licences for oil, gas or coal exploration or production, and has pledged to "ban fracking for good". The Conservatives have restated their aim to legislate for annual North Sea licensing rounds, and to "retain the current moratorium on fracking". The Conservative Party aims to keep the windfall tax — which effectively results in a 75pc rate — on oil and gas producers' profits in place "until 2028-29, unless prices fall back to normal sooner". Labour has confirmed plans to lift the rate to 78pc and to retain the tax until the end of the next parliament, which is likely to be mid-2029. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Western Australia’s Strike plans gas-fired power plant
Western Australia’s Strike plans gas-fired power plant
Sydney, 24 June (Argus) — Australian independent Strike Energy plans to build and operate an 85MW peaking gas-fired power plant that could come on line by October 2026 near its South Erregulla operations in Western Australia (WA). Strike applied to the Australia Energy Market Operator (Aemo) for capacity credits and network access to develop the power plant. It is targeting a final investment decision in November this year subject to Aemo's decision. Gas supplies of around 1.3 PJ/yr (34.7mn m³/yr) would come from Strike's South Erregulla reserves . The power plant would be on land owned by Strike 280km north of Perth and around 15km of existing power transmission lines within the South West Interconnected System, the electricity network that covers Perth and the southwest region of WA. The WA system will need around 3.9GW of new flexible gas-fired power capacity by 2042 to firm increasing renewable generation as the state exits coal-fired power generation, the state government said last year. It plans to close the two remaining state-owned coal-fired power plants by 2030 , while the private-sector Bluewaters coal-fired power plant is expected to retire by 2030-31, according to Aemo. Aemo has identified a supply shortfall of 391MW emerging in 2027-28 because of a progressive coal-fired power phase-out and increasing electricity demand. The shortfall could reach as high as 2.88GW by 2033-34, highlighting the need for continued capacity investment particularly from 2027 onwards, Aemo said in its latest electricity statement of opportunities for WA's Wholesale Electricity Market, which is not connected to east Australia's National Electricity Market. Strike estimates total annual revenues of A$40mn-50mn ($26.6mn-33.2mn) for the gas-fired peaking plant over the first five years of operation, of which almost 40pc would come from payments under WA's capacity credit scheme. The plant would operate for over 25 years, with investment costs currently estimated between A$120mn-160mn. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US urges EU to delay deforestation regulation: Update
US urges EU to delay deforestation regulation: Update
Adds comment from an EU official in paragraph six London, 21 June (Argus) — The US government has urged the European Commission to delay the implementation of the EU's deforestation regulation (EUDR), which is due to come into force from 30 December. "We are deeply concerned with the remaining uncertainty and the short time frame to address the significant challenges for US producers to comply with the regulation," US authorities said in a 30 May letter seen by Argus that was signed by agriculture secretary Thomas Vilsack, commerce secretary Gina Raimondo and US trade representative Katherine Tai, and addressed to the commission's vice-president, Maros Sefcovic. The US authorities have together with "several stakeholders" identified four "critical challenges" for US producers to understand and comply with the EUDR: no final version of the EUDR information system for producers to submit the mandatory due diligence documentation has been established yet; no implementation guidance has been provided — with the traceability system expected to launch in November; many EU member states have not designated a competent authority to enforce the regulation; and finally, the EU has an interim decision to classify all countries as standard risk, regardless of forestry practices. Should these issues not be addressed before the EUDR starts being enforced, it "could have significant negative economic effects on both producers and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic", the letter said. "We therefore urge the EU Commission to delay the implementation of this regulation and subsequent enforcement of penalties" until the challenges have been addressed, it added. An EU official confirmed receipt of the US letter to Argus and said the commission would reply in due course. A number of EU member states had also urged the EU to revise the EUDR in March, although the EU environment commissioner said at the time that the EU was ready for implementation and that they did "not see any issues". The EUDR requires mandatory due diligence from operators and traders selling and importing cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, rubber and wood into the EU. Derivative products that contain, have been fed with or made using cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, rubber and wood — such as leather, chocolate and furniture as well as charcoal, printed paper products and certain palm oil derivatives — are also subject to the regulation. Firms must ensure that products sold in the EU have not caused deforestation or forest degradation. The law sets penalties for non-compliance, with a maximum fine of at least 4pc of the total annual EU turnover of the non-compliant operator or trader. The regulation requires geolocation data for proof of traceability, and does not accept the widely used mass-balance approach, which has often been cited by industries as one major challenge for implementation. The EUDR will establish a system to assess the risk for individual countries, but the US Department of Agriculture has previously said that even if the US were classified as a low-risk country, compliance would still be costly and challenging, and at least $8bn/yr of US agricultural exports to the EU would be affected. By Erisa Senerdem and Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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