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Brazil opens distributed gen rules to comment

  • Market: Electricity
  • 04/11/22

Brazil's electricity regulator Aneel will take public comments and hold an open hearing on plans to regulate distributed generation.

The legal framework for distributed generation was approved at the beginning of 2022, with Aneel tasked with issuing specific regulations for the sector. The comment period seeks input on a wide range of issues, including the transition for new distributed generation projects to progressively pay more transmission and distribution tariffs, the rule for existing units to not pay these tariffs until 2045, and payment for power supplied to the grid through the government's energy development fund (CDE).

Aneel will also regulate the connection of distributed generation to storage systems, payment requirements if the unit does not go online for plants above 500kW, the consumer's compensation for generated surplus, and billing when compensation for generating plants do not meet conditions indicated by law.

The public consultation runs from 4 November to 19 December and will accept contributions via email at cp051_2022@aneel.gov.br. A public hearing will be held on 8 December.


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Australia’s Cleanaway, LMS to produce landfill gas


20/12/24
News
20/12/24

Australia’s Cleanaway, LMS to produce landfill gas

Sydney, 20 December (Argus) — Australian waste management operator Cleanaway and bioenergy firm LMS Energy will partner on a 22MW landfill gas-fired power station at Cleanaway's Lucas Heights facility near the city of Sydney. Cleanaway, Australia's largest publicly listed waste management firm, will receive exclusive rights to landfill gas produced at Lucas Heights for 20 years, the company said on 20 December. LMS will invest A$46mn ($29mn) in new bioelectricity assets, including a 22MW generator. Tightening gas markets owing to underinvestment in new supply has led to speculation that more waste-to-energy plants could be brought on line in coming years, especially in the southern regions. Landfill gas projects receive Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by avoiding methane releases, with the total ACCU quantity calculated after a default baseline of 30pc is deducted for projects beginning after 2015. A total of 42.6mn ACCUs were issued to landfill gas projects since the start of the ACCU scheme in 2011, 27pc of the total 155.7mn and the second-largest volume after human-induced regeneration (HIR) methods at 46.68mn. Canberra is reviewing ACCU issuance for these projects, and wants most projects to directly measure methane levels in captured landfill gas to avoid overestimation. Landfill gas operations which generate electricity from the captured gases can also receive large-scale generation certificates (LGCs). LMS has 70 projects currently registered at the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) and has received 24.57mn ACCUs since the start of the scheme. This is the largest volume for any single project proponent, just ahead of Australian environmental market investor GreenCollar's subsidiary Terra Carbon with 23.57mn units. Cleanaway received almost 1mn ACCUs from two projects and has four other projects that have yet to earn ACCUs. By Tom Major and Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Reliability drives New Zealand power mix: Minister


19/12/24
News
19/12/24

Reliability drives New Zealand power mix: Minister

Sydney, 19 December (Argus) — New Zealand's conservative coalition government wants to ensure reliable generation, whether that is from coal, oil, gas, or geothermal resources, the country's resources minister Shane Jones told Argus this week. Jones was also clear about the need to draw a distinction between "the expectations on [a] small, open trading nation like [New Zealand] not to use coal and the major hope[s] and needs of the average New Zealander for affordable power, reliable power." "If [reliable power] comes from coal, that's the mix and the menu for the future," he added. Jones argued that existing renewable power sources cannot exclusively provide for New Zealand's energy needs. He instead suggested that his government is interested in promoting alternative power sources such as oil, gas and geothermal, through investments and policy changes. New Zealand's coal-fired power generation surged between July-September, according to the New Zealand's Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Coal rose to 8pc of total generation from 3pc a year earlier, following a drop in hydroelectric power production. The country burned 363,513t of coal over those months, more than tripling its use for power generation purposes compared to the same period last year. Oil, gas Jones has taken steps to boost the country's oil sector since taking office in late 2023, following the coalition's victory over the centre-left Labour party. The minister introduced the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill in June, a piece of legislation that he described as being "aimed at increasing investor confidence in petroleum exploration and development." Jones told Argus that under the previous government, "people who may have been willing to [make] investment[s] and bring patient capital concluded that New Zealand was no longer available as a destination for oil and gas and this has resulted in a diminution in [oil] investment." The Crown Minerals Amendment Bill will overturn a 2018 ban on offshore oil exploration, which was introduced while Jones was serving in an earlier Labour-led coalition government. New Zealand's oil sector increased its annual well spending from NZ$110mn ($63.2mn) in 2018 to NZ$403mn, in the years following the ban in 2018. The total number of active oil permits in the country has plunged from 56 to 37 over the same period, MBIE data show. New Zealand likely houses at least 223.5bn m³ of undiscovered, offshore gas reserves; 249mn bl of undiscovered, offshore oil reserves; and 177mn bl of undiscovered, offshore NGL reserves, mostly scattered around the North Island, according to US Geological Survey (USGS) estimates in 2022. The country's discovered, recoverable reserves are at between 38.3mn-52.7mn bl of oil; 29.4bn-39.8bn m³ of gas; and between 1.2mn–1.4mn t of LPG as of 1 January 2024, according to the MBIE. Besides restarting oil exploration, the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill also seeks to change permitting processes to drive capital into the sector. Permits are currently allocated through a competitive tender process, Jones told Argus this week. The government wants "the flexibility to use alternative processes to match investor interest in the most efficient and effective way by allowing the option of using non-tender methods." MBIE has indicated that the government may start using ‘priority in time' tenders, which allocates permits to the first eligible projects that apply for them, once the bill passes. But the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill does not specify how the government will manage non-competitive tenders. The government is also not using the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill to "specifically intervene in coal mining operations" in New Zealand, Jones said. But coal demand will fall "in the event that [the government is] able to expand the supply of indigenous gas," he noted. Geothermal The government's energy strategy also appears to involve doubling down on domestic geothermal generation, which is New Zealand's second most common source of power. Geothermal generators produced 2,363GWh of power between July-September, accounting for 20.5pc of total generation, in line with historical averages, according to MBIE data. New Zealand's government seems to be trying to push that share up. The government in early December decided to allocate up to NZ$60mn of public infrastructure funding to research for deep, geothermal energy production. The work will focus on drilling geothermal wells up to 6km deep, nearly twice the depth of standard wells. Jones told Argus that New Zealand officials are currently in Japan, discussing supercritical geothermal generation opportunities with engineers and scientists. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Western Australia's near-term gas supply rises: Aemo


19/12/24
News
19/12/24

Western Australia's near-term gas supply rises: Aemo

Sydney, 19 December (Argus) — The short term supply outlook for Western Australia's (WA) gas market has improved, but gaps in the next decade need to be addressed, according to an Aemo annual report. The near-term gas supply is stronger than last year's outlook, with supply now forecast to exceed consumption through to 2027 on increased flows from LNG projects and declining near-term consumption, according to the 2024 Western Australia Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO) paper from the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo). Ample gas supply is expected because of increased flows from Wheatstone and Pluto LNG projects and new supply including forecast volumes from 2026 onwards from Woodside's Scarborough project and Strike's 87 TJ/d (2.3mn m³/d) West Erregulla plant . But demand is weak on the back of the shutdown of several nickel mines for maintenance in 2024 and the closure of the 2.2mn t/yr Kwinana alumina refinery announced in January. Aemo's 10-year outlook to 2035 now forecasts surplus gas until 2028, when some gas users will reopen projects. It also forecasts a less steep shortfall in the 2030s, with 2033 supply now 13pc below demand, down from the 27pc decrease in the 2023 GSOO. New gas supply will still be needed as WA plans to close its state-owned fleet of coal-fired power stations, but increasing renewable generation will shift gas usage in the power grid to a firming capacity, with gas-fired power demand tipped to increase in the early 2030s but stabilise at present levels of about 190 TJ/d by 2040. But uncertainty remains about the future of coal in the WA grid. The 416MW Bluewaters coal-fired plant, owned by Japanese firms Kansai Electric and Sumitomo, is expected to retire by 2030-31 but may be forced to close earlier because its supplier, the 2mn t/yr Griffin coal mine , cannot guarantee deliveries beyond October 2026. This will increase gas demand. The WA state government reversed a blanket ban on exporting onshore gas as LNG in September after a parliamentary inquiry into the state's domestic gas policy prompted by concerns from major gas users such as fertilizer manufacturers and metals refiners. Developers are now permitted to export 20pc of production as LNG until 2031 to boost upstream investment in the prospective Perth basin. By Tom Major WA gas supply and demand 2024-34 (TJ/d) 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 Potential gas supply 1,143 1,190 1,121 1,207 1,192 1,412 1,335 1,301 1,214 1,173 1,144 Gas demand 1,119 1,069 1,082 1,154 1,354 1,342 1,357 1,378 1,371 1,343 1,336 Difference (% ± of demand) 2 11 4 5 -12 5 -2 -6 -12 -13 -14 Source: Aemo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Indonesia’s Pertamina seeks UCO for SAF output


19/12/24
News
19/12/24

Indonesia’s Pertamina seeks UCO for SAF output

Singapore, 19 December (Argus) — Indonesia's state-owned refiner Pertamina is seeking around 500t of used cooking oil (UCO) for trial production of co-processed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Cilacap refinery in the first quarter of 2025, sources close to the company said. The refiner is seeking UCO with better specifications from domestic Indonesian suppliers, said traders and sellers. The UCO will likely have a maximum of 2pc free fatty acid (FFA) content — compared with Argus -assessed maximum 5pc FFA Indonesian UCO — as well as low metals and chlorides content, said a trader, although this could not be confirmed with Pertamina. Earlier in December, Pertamina's refining and petrochemical subholding company, Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI), signed an initial agreement with Indonesian UCO supplier, PT Gapura Mas Lestari. Gapura will be supplying UCO to Pertamina in 2027, sources from both companies said. Indonesia's co-ordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment had announced in September that international flights departing the country will be required to use 1pc SAF in their fuel mix in 2027. This will rise to 2.5pc by 2030, 12.5pc by 2040, 30pc by 2050, and 50pc by 2060. Pertamina's "green refinery" at its 348,000 b/d Cilacap plant aims to process 6,000 b/d of UCO to produce hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and SAF, when its second phase comes on line, targeted to be in 2026 . Cilacap is eventually expected to produce around 300,000 kilolitres of HVO and SAF annually. Pertamina said Cilacap's HVO will be used as a blending component in diesel fuel with better quality, compared with traditional fatty acid methyl ester biodiesel. The firm added that its HVO is also designed to meet stringent market standards in countries like those in Europe and North America. Its SAF will meet Indonesia's demand, which is likely to rise after the country released its national roadmap for SAF development in September. Cilacap currently produces HVO, but from refined, bleached and deodorized palm oil, and SAF from refined, bleached and deodorized palm kernel oil, a product of palm kernel oil processing. By Sarah Giam Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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