Mitsubishi to supply solar power to Amazon in Japan
Japanese trading house Mitsubishi will supply solar power to US conglomerate Amazon in Japan as a part of its efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Mitsubishi today announced that it signed a term contract to supply solar power to Amazon for an undisclosed period. The project consists of more than 450 solar power locations currently under construction in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Tohoku region, with maximum capacity totalling 22MW. The solar power stations will start commercial operation in 2022-23, Amazon said. It is Japan's largest solar power generation project utilising corporate power purchase agreements, it added.
Mitsubishi will have to buy electricity through the Japan Electric Power Exchange when the amount of solar power generated is not enough to meet that contracted to supply Amazon. Mitsubishi subsidiary ElectroRoute will hedge against price risks by using the electricity futures market and non-fossil energy certificates to avoid any volatility in wholesale prices.
Mitsubishi has set a goal of doubling its renewable energy output by 2030 compared with 2019, while aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Amazon has also set a goal of using all of its power consumption as renewable energy by 2030 and aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
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Energy firms on alert after flooding in central Europe
Energy firms on alert after flooding in central Europe
Warsaw, 16 September (Argus) — Torrential rain has led to major flooding across large swathes of central and eastern Europe, causing power outages and significant damage to transport infrastructure in southwest Poland and the Czech Republic. Parts of Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania are also affected. In Poland, most of the affected areas so far are in the southwest part of the country close to the border with the Czech Republic including the towns of Jelenia Gora, Klodzko, Nysa and Glucholazy. Urban areas further down the Odra river are also at risk including the cities of Wroclaw and Opole, where elevated water levels are expected in the coming days. The Polish government held an emergency meeting earlier today. Prime minister Donald Tusk said he has ordered preparations for the declaration of a state of natural disaster. Polish utility company Tauron, which operates the electricity distribution system in the worst affected area, said some of its infrastructure was disconnected in several towns including Klodzko and Glucholazy. Polish train operator PKP Intercity suspended passenger rail traffic to and from the Czech Republic on 15 September until further notice. And local TV showed images of damaged road and waterways infrastructure, including bridges and dams as well as retail fuel stations. Polish biofuel firm Bioagra, which operates a bioethanol plant near the flood-hit town of Nysa, told Argus that the facility continues to operate normally. In the Czech Republic, Orlen Unipetrol — operator of 108,000 b/d Litvinov and 66,000 b/d Kralupy refineries — said all its production sites continue to operate although the company has shut 11 of its service stations in the country. The firm said its crisis management team at each production site is monitoring the situation and is in contact with authorities. Hungarian oil firm Mol — which operates service stations in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as refineries in Hungary and Slovakia — told Argus that preparatory flood prevention works are underway. It is in contact with authorities and there is currently no threat to security of fuel supply, it said. By Tomasz Stepien and Bela Fincziczki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Data centers may be 'wild card' for gas demand
Data centers may be 'wild card' for gas demand
Chicago, 12 September (Argus) — The propagation of data centers in coming years could lead to a huge increase in daily natural gas demand, industry forecasters say, with one projecting up to 30 Bcf/d (850mn m³) in higher demand. Data centers represent a "global wild card" that could increase gas demand by 3-30 Bcf/d in coming years to satisfy the facilities' needs for consistent air conditioning and power, energy infrastructure company Tallgrass director of analytics Robert Applegate told participants at the Midcontinent LDC Gas Forum in Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday. Financial services firm Macquarie head of economics David Doyle said power demand from data processing centers is a "theme that's not going away". Gas market consultancy East Daley Analytics senior director Jack Weixel projects the US will need 20GW of combined cycle units to handle the increase in power demand generated by data centers, with cities like Phoenix and Chicago requiring more gas to accommodate the growth of data centers. The panelists' views were largely aligned with the current discussion within the natural gas sector about the effects of data centers. Canadian pipeline company TC Energy chief operating officer Stan Chapman has projected that 300 new data centers would need between 45-50GW of power to run , while gas producer EQT's most aggressive scenario predicted an 18 Bcf/d increase to meet data center electrical demand. By Anna Muthalaly Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s Victoria seeks further gas storage capacity
Australia’s Victoria seeks further gas storage capacity
Singapore, 12 September (Argus) — The state Labor government of Victoria will introduce laws to allow offshore gas storage projects in its waters as it grapples with a predicted supply deficit because of declining Bass strait production. Victoria, which is Australia's largest user of household and commercial gas, will allow gas to be stored in empty gas reservoirs offshore in a bid to boost supply security, Victorian energy minister Lily D'Ambrosio said on 11 September. But the state's waters extend three nautical miles offshore, meaning the laws will not cover most of the state's depleted fields in the Otway and Gippsland basins which lie in federally administered zones. Victoria's largest storage is the 26PJ (694.3mn m³) onshore Iona facility in the state's west, owned by domestic gas storage firm Lochard Energy which plans to expand its capacity by 3PJ . But further capacity is needed to help bridge seasonal gaps, with the new laws possibly advancing privately-owned GB Energy's Golden Beach gas project, which could add 12.5PJ of storage to the grid. The Gippsland basin joint venture (GBJV) and Kipper Unit JV which feed the three Longford gas plants in the state's east have historically supplied about 60pc of southern states' gas, but operator Exxon plans to close one of the plants in July-October , cutting the 1.15 PJ/d facility's capacity to 700 TJ/d and further to 420 TJ/d later this decade. GBJV operated just 50 producing wells and six gas platforms in the 2024 southern hemisphere winter, with Exxon expecting a 70pc reduction in the number of wells from 2010 levels by next winter. The Australian Energy Market Operator's (Aemo) 2024 Victorian Gas Planning Report (VGPR) update confirmed the need for greater supply in Victoria, as declining demand would not offset the loss of supply from the GBJV. Peak southern state winter demand exceeds 2 PJ/d, but at full capacity, pipelines linking Queensland state's coal-bed methane fields to the southern states can meet only 20pc of such demand. Coal and gas-dependent Victoria this year approved its first nearshore gas project in a decade as the government softens its anti-gas stance. LNG import plans The possibility of LNG imports is firming in Victoria, with Australian refiner Viva Energy announcing public consultation has begun on its supplementary environmental effects statement (EES) for a planned floating storage and regasification unit, adjacent to its 120,000 b/d Geelong refinery. The Geelong LNG terminal would have the capacity to supply more than half of Victoria's current gas demand, Viva said on 12 September. The terminal's surplus gas could also flow into the connected southern states of South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. A public hearing into the proposal, which could see the import of 45 cargoes/yr, is expected to be held in December before an independent committee reports to the state's planning minister next year. Subject to a final investment decision, works could commence in 2026 to deliver first gas for winter 2028, Viva said, aligning with Aemo's expected shortfall of 50PJ in that year. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU needs to shake up energy markets: Draghi report
EU needs to shake up energy markets: Draghi report
Brussels, 9 September (Argus) — The EU should take measures in energy markets that are "dominated by vested interests", including antitrust investigations, a report from former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi found today. The call came as part of Draghi's report into the EU's future competitiveness, which was requested last year by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. It identified cost-efficient decarbonisation as a major challenge, and said the bloc must focus on accelerated innovation and growth and overcome geopolitical dependence and vulnerability. The report, which runs to more than 300 pages, says the EU should carry out antitrust investigation into electricity and gas markets, and into energy imports, to deter "anti-competitive behaviour and tacit collusion" among companies, it said. There should be a common maximum level of energy surcharges in the EU covering all energy taxes, levies and network charges, the report found. Draghi — a former Italian prime minister — put forward specific proposals for energy markets including the development of an EU-level gas strategy, progressively moving away from spot-linked sourcing and increasing EU bargaining power, and reinforcing long-term contracts. He argues for decoupling inframarginal generation from natural gas prices through long-term power purchasing agreements (PPAs) and contracts for difference (CfDs). Draghi wants compensation mechanisms for offering flexibility on markets as well as joint purchasing of energy in addition to demand aggregation. Other ideas tackle speculative behaviour via position limits and dynamic caps as well as an EU trading rule book with "an obligation to trade in the EU". A further proposal is a review of a so-called "ancillary activities" exemption, under EU financial regulation, whereby non-financials, typically energy, firms can trade energy derivatives more freely without being authorised as investment companies. Speaking alongside Draghi today, von der Leyen noted the need to shift away from fossil fuels and support industry through decarbonisation, also by bringing down energy prices. Draghi's report noted the difficulty of cutting emissions in hard-to-abate industries, as well as in the transport sector. Planning is crucial, the report noted. For industry, it recommended "a mixed strategy that combines different policy tools and approaches for different industries", importing some "necessary technology" while ensuring the bloc retains some manufacturing capacity. It called for "a joint decarbonisation and competitiveness plan where all policies are aligned behind the EU's objectives." Von der Leyen did not react to specific proposals put forward by Draghi, and she is not obligated to act on the report's proposals. By 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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