Germany boosts bioenergy role in power
Germany's government is working on new legislation to support the role of bioenergy as a provider of back-up flexibility in Germany's future renewables-based power system, thus giving a new lease of life to thousands of mainly small biogas plants soon falling out of the subsidy system.
The federal ministry of economic affairs and climate action this week said it will present a "comprehensive biomass package" which will "substantially" improve the prospects mainly of flexible, co-generating biogas plants.
The terms bioenergy and biomass are used interchangeably in Germany. The lion's share of Germany's installed bioenergy capacity is biogas-fired, which is also subsumed as "gaseous biomass".
The ministry said with the bulk of Germany's bioenergy plants built between 2004 and 2011, "many" are now nearing the end of the 20-year subsidy period, while the biomass tenders are "massively" oversubscribed. "We recognise these worries," the ministry said.
"Thousands" of small plants will be forced off line in the next years, with "hundreds" already facing this situation by the end of this year, renewables association BEE president Simone Peter said yesterday.
Under the future biomass tenders, preference will be given to plants connected to a heating grid or a building grid which provides heat for up to 16 buildings. Existing plants will also be able to take part in the new tenders, and will be incentivised to quickly switch to the new model, as this would extend their subsidy period.
Flexible power generation will be incentivised by restricting subsidies to "eligible" operating hours. Biogas plants will also see their so-called flexibility surcharge "improved".
Industry associations welcomed the ministry's plans, which climate action minister Robert Habeck had aired for the first time in an interview at the weekend.
Bioenergy industry association BBE reiterated its demands for a near-doubling of the flexibility surcharge to €120/kW from €65/kW.
Running flexibly is a financial and operational challenge for biogas plants, because they cannot simply ramp up and down as, among other things, fermentation would become out of control. Flexibility is only possible by investing in additional capacity: heat storage, biogas storage and/or generation capacity — hence the flexibility surcharge.
Over the past few years Germany's bioenergy sector has pushed for bioenergy to be included, and supported, in a future renewables-based power system. Germany's biogas industry has repeatedly stressed that given the necessary investments in flexibility, the current 6GW of biogas capacity could be doubled by 2030 and go up up to 24GW in 2045, without the need for any additional crop input, rendering superfluous most hydrogen peak power plants.
The ministry said the new legislation will create "investment security" for the bioenergy sector while also paving the way for the future of bioenergy in the planned capacity market.
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Spanish spot to deliver above expectations in August
Spanish spot to deliver above expectations in August
London, 15 August (Argus) — The Spanish spot index is on track to deliver above expectations in the over-the-counter (OTC) market over August, based on the average spot index over 1-16 August and assessments and trades for weeks 34 and 35. The Spanish spot index delivered at €90.29/MWh over 1-16 August, up from €72.31/MWh over the month of July. Based on the average spot index and the latest assessments and trades for weeks 34 and 35, the spot could deliver at an average of €89.76/MWh across the month, more than €9/MWh above the August contract's expiry. Lower renewable output has supported the spot index. Renewable generation over 1-14 August fell on the month, with hydropower output declining by 150MW from 2.9GW in July. And wind power was down by around 400MW from 5.5GW last month, while solar output has remained flat on the month at 7.8GW. But renewables output has risen on the year, with hydropower generation almost doubling to 2.8GW. Near-decade high hydropower reservoir levels this year have supported generation . Solar photovoltaic (PV) output has also risen by around 1.7GW on the year, and gas-fired generation has fallen to 3.7GW from 4.6GW last year. But wind output has fallen by 1.3GW on the year to 5GW. Maximum temperatures in Madrid have remained at an average of 2.8ºC above the norm over 1-15 August, reaching a high of 40.4ºC. The typical drop in demand from July to August has been tempered by the hot weather, with demand falling by just 200MW compared with an average of almost 1GW over 2019-23. Temperature forecasts point to maximum temperatures remaining above long-term averages for the rest of August, but dropping to an average of 2.6ºC above norms and remaining below 37.8ºC. And as temperatures decline wind output is expected to rise, with generation forecast to average around 5.6GW in the second half of the month, according to data from trade and analytics platform Kpler. Falling temperatures are likely to weigh on demand, with current expectations pointing to demand dropping to 26.3GW in week 34 from a forecast 26.5GW in week 33. And wind output for the second half of the month is expected to average around 5.6GW, according to data from Kpler, while no nuclear unavailability is scheduled for the rest of the month. Increased wind output and falling temperatures could outweigh a decline in solar generation, with output expected to drop from 7.4GW on 15 August to 6.4GW by 21 August. And generation could continue its downward trend across the remainder of the month as daylight hours continue to shorten. Spanish net imports from France have increased so far in August to 2GW from 1.4GW in July, and from 524MW over August 2023. French nuclear unavailability has been lower so far this summer, averaging 17.2GW during the first half of August compared with 29.2GW over the same period last year. Spanish net exports to Portugal have increased on the year to 1.9GW from 1.6GW in August 2023, but they were below the 2.2GW in July. Despite the increase in net exports, the two spot indexes have cleared at parity every day in August aside from 7 August, when Portugal cleared at a €0.03/MWh premium. Portuguese renewables output in the first half of August has fallen by around 1.1GW on the month and 1GW on the year. The decrease has largely been the result of lower wind output, which averaged 1.9GW over 1-15 August, compared with 4.5GW in July and 4GW in August 2023. By Thess Mostoles Evolution of renewable output and Spanish spot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
S Korea should meet power demand with renewables: IEEFA
S Korea should meet power demand with renewables: IEEFA
Singapore, 15 August (Argus) — South Korea should prioritise deploying renewables instead of fossil fuels to meet increasing power demand, said the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) on 14 August. The IEEFA suggests that the country meet its UN Cop 28 climate summit pledge of tripling its renewable power capacity by 2030, as this would generate an additional 113,434GWh from 2023 levels, outstripping the projected power demand increase of 53,186GWh over the same period, according to IEEFA calculations based on data from South Korea's trade, industry and energy ministry (Motie), state-owned utility Kepco and government-affiliated Korea Energy Economics Institute. Doing this would also help the country fully meet increased demand from emerging semiconductor clusters and AI-driven data centers. Renewable energy — which does not include nuclear power — comprises 9.64pc of South Korea's power generation mix in 2023, which is far below the world average of 30.25pc and the average of 26.73pc in Asia, according to IEEFA, citing OECD data. The country's share of clean energy rises to 40.32pc when including nuclear power, but this is still below the OECD average of 49.96pc. Under the scenario where renewables are tripled, the share of renewables in the power mix would rise to 25.08pc by 2030, above the aim of 21.6pc in South Korea's latest 11th long-term electricity plan. Gas-fired power generation would rise by 3,008GWh to a 23.7pc share, in line with a target to cut the share to 25.1pc by 2030 and 11.1pc by 2038. This contrasts with IEEFA's second scenario — where new LNG power plants requested by various industrial sectors, including semiconductor clusters, are built — which would result in an excess of 55,706GWh in gas-fired capacity by 2030. This means LNG would account for 30.53pc of the power mix in 2030, while renewables would make up just 19.79pc. "Building more LNG plants contradicts the country's net-zero goal and increases the risk of stranded assets," said IEEFA. South Korea released its latest 11th long-term electricity draft in early June, which continues to prioritise gas-fired and nuclear generation, over that from renewable sources. The plan raises the share of gas-fired output to 25.1pc in 2030 and 11.1pc in 2038, up from 22.9pc and 9.3pc in the previous plan. "South Korea's historical reliance on fossil fuels to provide energy security has hampered its renewable energy deployment," the report said. "The belief that fossil fuels guarantee stable and affordable energy has stunted the development of renewables, which are perceived as expensive and unreliable." Economic competitiveness South Korea's lagging renewable energy deployment could have "significant financial consequences", given international decarbonisation initiatives such as the RE100, carbon border adjustment mechanism, as well as Scope 1, 2, and 3 regulations, the report warns. South Korea also risks missing out on potential cost reductions by delaying its transition, which may make its exports less competitive, especially with grid parity for renewables expected by 2027. The IEEFA also asserts that embracing renewable energy is "critical to safeguard [the South Korean semiconductor industry's] economic competitiveness", as well as securing future suppliers and customers. The EU, Japan, and China are already outpacing South Korea in renewable energy adoption, and stricter regulations could lead to environmentally conscious customers reducing the market share for South Korean chipmakers, IEEFA added. Companies across various sectors that participate in decarbonisation initiatives may also increasingly require their supply chain partners to adopt similar climate commitments. By Tng Yong Li Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s JAPC to extend Tokai Daini reactor safety work
Japan’s JAPC to extend Tokai Daini reactor safety work
Tokyo, 15 August (Argus) — Japanese nuclear power operator Japan Atomic Power (JAPC) is likely to face a delay in completion of safety reinforcement work at the Tokai Daini reactor to an unspecified date. JAPC was required by Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to modify reinforcement work of the 1,100MW Tokai Dani reactor's seawall in east Japan's Ibaraki prefecture, as its foundations were identified to have technical issues. JAPC explained to NRA its plan to fix the issues on 7 August but said it will be difficult to complete the reinforcement work by September, as previously targeted. It is also unsure when it can resume operations at Tokai Daini. The reactor, which was built in 1978, has been closed since March 2011 when a devastating earthquake and tsunami and several subsequent nuclear meltdowns hit northeast Japan's Fukushima. JAPC has previously postponed completion of safety reinforcement work at Tokai Daini, previously aiming for a December 2022 completion . Japanese utility Tohoku Electric Power has also delayed a planned restart of the 825MW Onagawa No.2 nuclear reactor from September to November. It revised the fuel loading schedule for the Onagawa reactor in northeast Japan's Miyagi prefecture to September from a previously targeted July. It said it will need more time to ensure the smooth transportation of portable equipment such as water trucks needed to cool down the reactor, in case of emergencies such as earthquakes. Delays in nuclear reactor restarts are expected to maintain demand for thermal fuels like LNG and coal. Japan's LNG consumption for power generation totalled 10.5mn t during January-March, according to trade and industry ministry data. Coal use for power generation was 27.4mn t during the period. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China seeks to achieve climate goals with new framework
China seeks to achieve climate goals with new framework
Singapore, 13 August (Argus) — China has announced new guidelines to accelerate the country's energy transition and achieve its decarbonisation goals. Under the guidelines, China expects the scale of its energy conservation and environmental protection industry to reach about 15 trillion yuan ($2.1 trillion) by 2030, according to a statement by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council. The country aims to accelerate progress in carbon emission reduction, resource utilisation and green development by 2030. It targets installed capacity of pumped-storage hydropower to exceed 120mn kW by then, and the carbon emission intensity of commercial transport for each unit of turnover to drop by about 9.5pc compared with 2020. China targets to establish a green, low-carbon circular economy by 2035, with carbon emissions declining after reaching their peak. China aims to hit peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2060. China's installed renewable capacity reached 1.653bn kW as of the end of June, accounting for 53.8pc of total installed capacity, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The country achieved almost double its target for non-fossil power generation additions last year at 300GW, compared with a goal of 160GW, according to state-linked China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute. In the new framework, the target for non-fossil fuels in the country's primary energy consumption remains at 25pc by 2030, unchanged from its 2021 nationally determined contribution (NDC), and up from 15.3pc in 2019. China's 2021 NDC also states that it will lower its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by over 65pc from the 2005 level, and that it will bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2bn kW. The country is expected to submit its 2035 climate targets to the UN early next year, including updates to its pre-existing 2030 targets. The framework targets five main areas. It aims to optimise land space planning for green and low-carbon developments and seeks to accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the industrial sector. This includes the steel, non-ferrous metals and petrochemical industries. It also targets to advance the low-carbon transformation of the energy sector and develop non-fossil fuel energy and promotes the green transformation of the transportation sector. Lastly it aims to advance the green transformation of urban and rural construction, including agricultural developments. Challenges ahead China's green transformation faces significant challenges despite progress, the NDRC said. The country's energy and industrial sectors remain heavily dependent on coal, straining environmental goals, the commission said. Under the latest framework, the country still aims to promote the clean and efficient use of coal and reasonably control the growth of coal consumption during the 14th five-year plan period, but to gradually reduce it in the subsequent five years. The National Energy Administration (NEA), China's energy regulator, expects the percentage of thermal generation capacity to fall to 45pc by the end of 2024, from 47.6pc by the end of 2023. China in July announced plans to explore co-firing renewable ammonia and biomass at its coal-fired plants , as well as carbon capture, utilisation and storage. These measures will be applied to a number of projects by 2025. The government also plans to develop a fiscal and taxation policy to promote low-carbon developments under the new guidelines, and aims to implement relevant tax incentives, as well as improve the green tax system. It also aims to bolster financial instruments such as green equity financing, green financial leasing, as well as central budgetary investment to provide support for key projects. The new guidelines did not provide any details on methane cuts. The country has yet to set firm methane-reduction targets although it agreed in November to set goals to cover all greenhouse gases. China, dubbed by the Paris-based IEA as the "clean energy powerhouse," is projected to spend $675bn on clean energy this year alone. Its renewable energy power generation deployment has progressed rapidly , but it remains unclear if this will prompt Beijing to raise its decarbonisation ambitions. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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