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Poland, Bulgaria eye AIB membership

  • : Electricity, Emissions
  • 23/10/11

Poland is paving the way to join the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) guarantee of origin (GOO) hub with the necessary legislation set to come into force at the start of next year, while Bulgaria could also join the hub next year.

Polish energy regulator URE is assessing the prospect of AIB membership and expects to make a decision soon, the AIB said. But the process will take some time as it will require a detailed review, discussions and alignment of the Polish domestic market with the European Energy Certificate System (EECS), the AIB said.

"We are aware of challenges that lay ahead, stemming from differences between the Polish GOO system and the EECS standard, both within the regulatory framework and IT systems design," AIB secretary-general Liesbeth Switten told Argus. "Joining AIB as a full member can take six months to several years, depending on this alignment and on the co-operation of all involved parties."

Polish GOO trade fell by two-thirds last month following the introduction of a 97pc tax on revenues from GOOs that was applied in August as part of a package of regulations aimed at protecting consumers. The tax is due to be removed at the end of this year, but the framework could change depending on the outcome of Polish parliamentary elections due this week.

Bulgaria is also taking steps to join the AIB hub and could become a member next year following finalisation of the country's new renewable energy act and subsequent signing of the domestic draft GOO ordinance. "This key step will allow the already advanced application process to resume, making AIB membership in 2024 not just feasible, but promising," Switten said.


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25/05/15

Grids key to boosting SE Asia’s renewable power: Ember

Grids key to boosting SE Asia’s renewable power: Ember

Singapore, 15 May (Argus) — Up to 30GW of solar and wind power could be unlocked along planned grid routes in southeast Asia, which would help meet growing power demand in the region, according to a report released today by think-tank Ember. The Asean group of nations is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, but solar and wind power are expected to constitute 23pc of the energy mix by 2030, up from 4pc currently, according to Ember. Asean as a region targets a 51GW increase in solar, and a 109GW increase in wind, hydro, geothermal and bioenergy combined by 2040. Electricity demand is rising in the region, because of economic growth as well as greater demand from data centres and transport electrification. Expanding and modernising the region's grid infrastructure would help to allow for the development of more clean energy, improve system flexibility and support regional power sharing. Up to 24GW of potential solar power and 5.6GW of wind power are situated in Indonesia's Riau islands and Sumatra, Malaysia's Sarawak, Cambodia and Brunei, where there are existing and planned grid projects. But the electricity generated from these projects needs transmission lines to be transported to demand centres. Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand collectively plan to add 45,078km of transmission lines between 2023-30. But this is slightly less than half of IEA's projections that indicate southeast Asia needs to expand transmission lines by 100,000km between 2021-30 to meet its clean energy targets. Regional variance There is significant disparity between Asean countries in their clean energy potential, with some having abundant wind and solar capacity, and others having hydropower and geothermal resources. These resources also tend to be subject to seasonal variations. Regional grid interconnection is hence "key to using these resources in combination, boosting renewables use and economic growth" states the report. The Asean Power Grid has seen some progress through the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore (LTMS-PIP) project and the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines Power Integration Project (BIMP-PIP). But grid development plans still vary significantly across the region. Only Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore have signed the UN's Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge, which aims to deploy 1,500GW of energy storage and 25mn km of grid infrastructure globally by 2030. Additionally, investment required to expand electricity grids, including regional interconnections, could reach $22bn/yr by 2035, the IEA said. Asean's clean energy future hence depends on cross-border data sharing, addressing infrastructure requirements, momentum in policymaking for regional co-operation, and aligning investments with future energy demand, says Ember. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Mauritania weaves GTA project into industrial strategy


25/05/14
25/05/14

Mauritania weaves GTA project into industrial strategy

Paris, 14 May (Argus) — Offshore gas production could help to meet Mauritania's power demand by 2030 while also supporting mining activity, particularly of iron ore, energy minister Mohammed Ould Khaled told the Invest in African Energy forum today. BP last month loaded the first LNG shipment from its 2.7mn t/yr Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) joint venture in Mauritanian and Senegalese waters. GTA is export-oriented, but Mauritania could still tap the project for power, Khaled said, although he added that infrastructure would need to be built to facilitate this. A tender to build a power plant fired by GTA gas will be launched in the next couple of weeks, he said. Mauritania wants to become a regional power hub within 20 years, Khaled said, and hopes to see construction of a power link "to the north" — in the direction of Western Sahara/Morocco. The Mauritanian power grid is already connected to Senegal and Mali, he said. Future power generation projects will be funded by the private sector and incentivised through tax breaks, Khaled said, with 550MW set to become available to the domestic market through private-sector projects over the next couple of years. Mauritania is also looking for partners to develop the 50 trillion-60 trillion ft³ Bir Allah gas field for export and domestic markets. The area lies 50km north of GTA and exclusively in Mauritanian waters, according to Khaled, with two wells already having been sunk. Bir Allah is "three times bigger than GTA", he said. BP and Kosmos Energy signed an exploration and production-sharing agreement for the site in late 2022 , with BP saying gas from the field will be used to expand GTA to 10mn t/yr. It is unclear whether BP or Kosmos Energy are still partners in the Bir Allah development project. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

MCSC confirms 15-minute SDAC power trading delay


25/05/14
25/05/14

MCSC confirms 15-minute SDAC power trading delay

London, 14 May (Argus) — The Market Coupling Steering Committee (MCSC) has confirmed that Europe's transition to 15-minute settlement periods in the Single Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC) market will be delayed to 30 September, citing some parties' lack of "non-technical readiness". The joint committee of nominated electricity market operators (Nemos) and transmission system operators (TSOs) had planned to launch 15-minute settlements on 11 June, and it stressed that most parties are technically ready for this date. But as some parties are not ready, the first delivery date for 15-minute trading will now be 1 October, after market launch a day earlier. The MCSC said it had considered "alternative go-live scenarios", but concluded that these could not be accommodated. Eleven Nemos confirmed their "readiness and commitment" to Argus in April , with only French-based exchange Epex Spot saying it would vote against the 11 June start date, citing "operational concerns" and "too many failures in testing". The Nemos — including Oslo-based Nord Pool, Spain's Omie and Italy's GME — did not "share [Epex Spot's] misgivings", and said the decoupling risk cited by Epex Spot was "not due to a lack of reliability" in the system. Instead, they attributed this to certain parties' internal initial local testing problems. The MCSC confirmed that "performance tests of the joint systems and procedural tests have been successfully completed" and that they "were on a good track". By Daniel Craig Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EVs to make up quarter of 2025 European car sales: IEA


25/05/14
25/05/14

EVs to make up quarter of 2025 European car sales: IEA

London, 14 May (Argus) — European emissions targets are expected to push electric vehicle (EV) sales to 25pc of total car sales in the EU and the UK in 2025, according to the IEA, with a projection for that share to reach 60pc by the end of the decade. Europe and China are expected to continue to lead the surge in EV sales worldwide, according to an IEA report published on Wednesday that provided an updated outlook on the global EV market. Records have been broken across all major European markets, with EV sales up by 20pc on the year in the first quarter of 2025, although lagging the 35pc increase in China. Emissions targets are the main driver of increased European sales, outweighing the fact that the cost differential between EVs and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles is higher than in other regions, according to the IEA. Higher fuel costs in Europe have also supported the surge in Europe's EV sales by incentivising the adoption of battery-powered technologies. But EV sales growth stagnated in many European markets across 2024. The share of EVs in total vehicle sales remained the same or fell in 13 of the 27 EU member states over the course of the year, according to the report. The IEA attributed stagnation in 2024 in major EU markets such as France and Germany to the phasing out or progressive reduction of subsidies that incentivise EV sales. EV sales grew substantially in the UK, with their market share in 2024 reaching 30pc — up by six percentage points from a year earlier. The IEA highlighted the UK's annually changing targets for emissions as a possible reason for the growth differential with major EU markets, which have fixed five-yearly targets, due to be reassessed in 2025. The IEA projects European public charging points for light-duty vehicles to reach 2mn by 2030, requiring annual additions of around 210,000 charging points until the end of the decade to reach this target. This would result in 115GW of total public charging capacity across the continent, according to the IEA's projections. Additions across Europe in 2024 totalled 275,000. By James Doran Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

NRG to buy gas power plants in $12bn deal


25/05/13
25/05/13

NRG to buy gas power plants in $12bn deal

New York, 13 May (Argus) — NRG Energy will purchase 18 natural gas-fired power plants in the northeastern US and Texas in a $12bn deal aimed at meeting growing US power demand from data centers and expanding electric vehicle fleets. The acquisition from LS Power will double NRG's power generation capacity to 25 GW as plans for data centers running artificial intelligence (AI) software are driving expected US power demand growth, which has languished for more than a decade. "We are in the early stages of a power demand supercycle," said NRG chief executive Larry Coben. About 61pc of the 12.9 GW of generation capacity being acquired is located in the mid-Atlantic grid operator PJM Interconnection area, 16pc is in New York's NYISO power grid, 7pc in New England's ISO-NE, and 16pc in Texas' ERCOT grid. The deal includes $6.4bn in cash, $2.8bn in stock and $3.2bn of assumed debt. PJM in January revised its power demand forecast substantially upward on projected load growth from planned data centers. Constellation Energy in January agreed to buy the largest US gas-fired power generator Calpine Energy for $16.4bn in stock and cash, citing the need to rapidly enter the fast-growing Texas power market. The companies expect the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2026. By Julian Hast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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