Tag Archives: Power Market

Germany

Germany grants second round of permits to close hard coal plants | Instant News


FRANKFURT (Reuters) – More than 1,500 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired power plants will close from December 8 this year, Germany’s energy regulator said on Thursday, announcing the results of a second round of auctions designed to cover closing costs. polluting plants.

FILE PHOTOS: Steam rises from the cooling tower of the coal-fired power plant RWE, one of Europe’s largest electricity and gas companies in Niederaussem, Germany, March 3, 2016. REUTERS / Wolfgang Rattay / File Photo

Germany has pledged to abandon coal by 2038 and achieve a largely carbon-free energy system by 2050, but is also seeking to reduce its impact on utilities, territories, jobs and public budgets.

Under a series of tenders between 2020 and 2027, operators were asked to state what price they would be prepared to close their hard coal plants in exchange for funds to partially offset their losses.

The regulator sets a maximum price per MW of capacity to limit public sector bills. The final price takes into account the bidder and the CO2 emissions of the plant concerned.

Of the 1,514 MW that will go offline in December, the standout is Uniper’s 757 MW Wilhelmshaven plant on Germany’s North Sea coast.

After 2027, compensation is no longer available, so operators are ready to bid as low as possible to avoid losses from competitors.

“The auction is again oversubscribed,” said Jochen Homann, head of the Bundesnetzagentur regulator. “The highest awards lie well below the maximum prices previously set.”

In all, the three successful bidders will receive between zero and 59,000 euros per MW, regulators said.

This is what they offered to close their factory, after the regulator set a maximum price of 155,000 euros / MW.

The third auction bid for the closure of 2,481 MW by the end of 2022 will close on April 30.

After the first auction, regulators closed 4,788 MW of coal-fired power plant capacity on January 1, 2021.

The more highly polluting brown coal is closed through a separate scheme with fixed compensation.

Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Barbara Lewis

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Germany

Germany’s energy drive has been criticized for cost, risk | Instant News


* Federal audit office report has not been published

* Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ transition among the most ambitious in Europe

* Europe’s highest household electricity bill

* Warns of risk of shortages after reactor shuts down

* The network will need about 85 billion euros by 2030

FRANKFURT, March 30 (Reuters) – Germany’s energy transition is proving too costly and an underestimating risk to supply, according to a federal audit office report seen by Reuters.

Reforms are needed for state taxes and fees to fix a system that has left Germany with the highest retail electricity prices in Europe and at risk of a grid outage, the unpublished report said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to abandon nuclear power in 2022 following Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 has forced the sector to radically restructure.

The audit office’s report is a warning about the state of that transition and comes as Germany prepares to go to the polls in September.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier likes to underline Germany’s role in shifting to green energy under his leadership.

“There is a risk of losing Germany’s competitiveness and acceptance of the energy transition,” the report said.

Germany’s energy-intensive industries, including such as steelmaker Thyssenkrupp and chemicals company BASF, enjoy partial exemptions from part of the costs of supporting wind and solar power rollouts.

However, more than 50% of the household electricity bill consists of taxes and fees, most of which support the transition from coal, gas and nuclear power.

This makes them 43% more expensive than the 27 EU country average.

THE RISK OF THE APPROACH

The audit office also warned of looming energy shortages as utilities prepare to shut down their last nuclear reactor and the government pushes for a withdrawal from coal.

There could be a 4.5 gigawatt (GW) shortage, the equivalent of 10 large coal-fired power plants, on the grid between 2022 and 2025, the audit office reported.

The report said the economy ministry’s approach had been “overly optimistic and (the assumptions) partly implausible” and had tip-to-tip tackling worst-case scenarios, a view echoed by network operators.

The government’s strategy calls for increasing cross-border flows to spread the risk of local and temporary supplies, but its neighbors are doing the same.

Network investment is estimated at 85 billion euros ($ 99.77 billion) by 2030, being refinanced through publicly paid network fees.

The government’s strategy calls for increasing cross-border flows to spread the risk of local and temporary supplies, but its neighbors are doing the same.

By certified international standards, German network disruption is currently minimal.

Network investment is estimated at 85 billion euros ($ 99.77 billion) by 2030, being refinanced through publicly paid network fees.

A spokesman said the economy ministry had contributed to the audit office’s report and was studying the final version.

$ 1 = 0.8519 euros Reporting by Markus Wacket, written by Vera Eckert, editing by Jason Neely

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Australia

LNG imports drive the projection of Australia’s gas supply gap until 2026 | Instant News


MELBOURNE, March 29 (Reuters) – Billionaire Andrew Forrest’s plans to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by 2022 mean Australia will not experience a supply shortage until 2026, two years later than previously thought, the energy market operator said. on Monday.

“This development comes at a critical juncture, as existing Victoria production is declining faster than previously projected,” Nicola Falcon, group manager of Australian Energy Markets Operators group said in a statement accompanying the closely watched AEMO outlook.

Producers’ estimates for the maximum daily capacity of the existing, committed and anticipated southern farms in 2023 are almost 20% lower now than last year, said AEMO.

Gas fields in the Gippsland Basin, which mostly supply the southern states, are depleted, and lose the flexibility to increase production during peak winter demand.

LNG imports and gas storage will be required to cover peak demand.

Forrest’s Energy Squadron won state approval to build an LNG import terminal at Port Kembla in New South Wales, aiming to be ready by the end of 2022.

The AEMO estimate excludes the controversial LNG import terminal proposed by AGL Energy, which is awaiting approval from the Victorian government. The decision will be made soon. If approved, AGL hopes to start importing by mid-2023.

AEMO highlighted the increasing uncertainty in its demand forecast as producers switch from carbon-based fuels to renewable energy and hydrogen.

AEMO predicts industrial demand for gas will not grow in the next 20 years.

“Surveyed industrial users indicated their demand was unlikely to increase, even if prices fell,” said the report.

Reporting by Sonali Paul; Edited by Simon Cameron-Moore

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Brazil

Broker XP is eyeing the creation of an electricity trading unit in Brazil this year | Instant News


SAO PAULO, March 24 (Reuters) – Brazilian financial services platform XP Inc will launch an electricity trading unit later this year, aiming to transform itself into a leading name in the domestic unregulated electricity market over the next few years, an executive told Reuters . Wednesday.

XP’s trading power will take advantage of the company’s broad portfolio of corporate clients while seeking to invest in technology as a way to have an edge over competitors, said unit head Cristian Nogueira.

The unregulated power market, which allows companies that consume electricity to negotiate contracts and prices with suppliers, has been booming in Brazil due to rising tariffs from power companies.

Banks such as BTG Pactual, Itaú Unibanco, Santander Brasil and Macquarie Australia have created electricity trading units in Latin America’s largest country. Energy companies, including the local branches of European utilities Enel, Engie, EDP and Iberdrola, are also on the market.

“XP is used to improve people’s lives by offering innovative products and education. With energy you can do the same. We will do it in the first place using our extensive customer network, ”said Nogueira.

“We usually offer our customers several hedging options: hedging for exchange rates, interest rates, inflation. Electricity will become another product. “

The executive said that XP could trade annual energy contracts for 3 billion reais ($ 530 million) in the next two or three years.

“We have goals, dreams that are big and ambitious. That in three years, anyone who thinks about the electricity trade in Brazil will have XP as a reference, “added Nogueira. ($ 1 = 5,6211 reais) (Reporting by Luciano Costa; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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uk

The UPDATE 2-EON marks an even faster UK turnaround as CEO Teyssen bows down | Instant News


By Christoph Steitz, Tom Käckenhoff

* UK retail units turn in profits one year ahead

* E.ON is proposing a dividend of 47 euro cents for 2020

* Adj EBIT seen at 3.8 billion-4 billion euros by 2021 (Adding CEO quote, UK context)

FRANKFURT, March 24 (Reuters) – E.ON, Germany’s largest listed energy group, said on Wednesday that its UK retail business is recovering faster than expected, and proposed higher dividends due to the limited impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Amid the biggest economic crisis since World War II, the new E.ON is showing its strength in impressive ways,” said Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen, who will hand over reins to Leonhard Birnbaum in April after 11 years in charge, said.

During his tenure, E.ON separated the former Uniper power generation division in response to Germany’s nuclear shutdown, and agreed to a major asset swap with RWE, turning it into Europe’s largest energy grid operator.

UK’s E.ON retail unit, which includes the Npower brand it acquired as part of the exchange, is likely to generate profits of more than 100 million pounds ($ 137 million) this year, one year ahead of schedule.

“The turnaround in Britain is a success,” Teyssen said.

In the UK, E.ON’s second largest market after Germany, the group still lost around 600,000 clients, or 5.5%, during 2020 as part of its ongoing restructuring.

E.ON said it would propose a dividend of 0.47 euros for 2020, up slightly from 0.46 euros in 2019.

Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) rose 17% to 3.78 billion euros in 2020, while adjusted net profit rose 7% to 1.64 billion, said E.ON. They are seen at 3.8 billion-4 billion euros and 1.7 billion-1.9 billion euros in 2021, respectively.

($ 1 = 0.7294 pounds)

$ 1 = 0.8449 euros Reported by Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Additional reporting by Vera Eckert; Edited by Riham Alkousaa, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Jan Harvey

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