THE ENERGY INDUSTRY T I M E S April 2017 • Volume 10 • No 2 • Published monthly • ISSN 1757-7365 www.teitimes.com Rethinking energy policy Small ideas can lead to big things Insights on how research could impact energy policy in the European Union. Page 13 The US and the UK are both moving to speed up small modular reactor development. Page 14 News In Brief Coal continues to suffer under clean energy agenda Demand for new coal fired plants has fallen dramatically, according to a new report. Page 2 NRC accepts SMR for review Designs for the first small modular reactor have come one step closer to approval and production following the acceptance of NuScale’s plans for review by the USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Page 4 China keeps the lid on emissions growth China’s fossil fuel emissions have stalled for a third year running, according to analysis by Greenpeace. Page 6 Committee slams UK energy policy UK energy policy has prioritised renewables ahead of energy prices and security, according to a new report from a government committee. Page 7 Westinghouse troubles Toshiba A number of nuclear power plant projects around the world have been thrown into uncertainty because of financial troubles at Toshiba’s nuclear arm. Page 9 Fuel Watch: Additional system eyed for Southern Gas Corridor If Eni and Gazprom succeed in routing Russian gas across northern Greece and the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy, it will add another dimension to the idea of transporting European gas supplies through southern Europe. Page 12 Technology: Chugach puts microgrid to the test An Alaskan utility is demonstrating an innovative solution to help it cope with grid stability issues. Page 15 Advertise advertising@teitimes.com Subscribe subscriptions@teitimes.com or call +44 208 523 2573 Final Word Moving with the times can be painful, says Junior Isles. Page 16 Renewables transition takes hold in MENA countries Diversifying the energy mix: Saudi Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih Countries in the Middle East and North Africa are accelerating the shift towards renewables after a long period of slow activity. Junior Isles The transition from a fossil based energy economy to one based on renewables is gathering momentum in oil and gas producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A study by EY showed that renewables activity picked up in 2016 across the Middle East and Africa after a long period of slow activity and would continue to do so going forward. According to the report on ‘Power transactions and trends’, the focus in 2017 will be very much on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy programme, now that this has been launched by the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources. Moreover, a tender in 2018 for 300 MW will boost solar capacity in the kingdom, followed by other tenders for 900 MW in 2019 and 750 MW in 2020. In February Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, took the first step towards a goal of generating 9.5 GW of energy from solar and wind by 2023 when it issued a request for qualification (RFQ) for two projects. One is for 300 MW of solar energy to be built in Al-Jouf province, in the kingdom’s north. The second is for a 400 MW wind power development in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia, the energy ministry said in a statement. Those that have successfully prequalified to bid will be announced on April 10th. Selected companies will then move on to further elimination rounds, with the final project award expected on October 20th. Virtually all of the kingdom’s power currently comes from crude, refined oil or natural gas but the government’s Vision 2030 economic reform programme, plans to wean itself off its dependency on fossil fuels for power production. The EY report also noted that Egypt, one of the top 40 most attractive destinations planning to build solar plants with an an estimated capacity of 250 MW. In December, Jordan, another top 40 destination, announced its third renewable energy tender for 200 MW and 100 MW of wind energy. Meanwhile, Morocco plans to build 800 MW of solar plants in 2017 and Tunisia plans to attract $429 million in foreign investment energy by 2020. The region’s particular interest in Countries join forces to accelerate global energy transition for renewable energy, is to build 320 MW of renewable Continued on Page 2 Ministers and representatives from frontrunner countries in the energy transition met on the sidelines of the Berlin Energy Transition dialogue in Germany to discuss the urgency for the world to move onto a trajectory of sustainable low carbon economic growth, while meeting increasing global energy demand and addressing climate change. They also emphasized that the technologies and business models to do so are available today. At the meeting, ministers and highlevel representatives from China, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates, agreed to work together to establish an Energy Transition Coalition in the course of this year for accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy future. The Coalition will assemble countries leading in developing long term energy transition strategies to foster investments in a low carbon energy sector. Ensuring increased investor certainty for low carbon economic growth by developing energy transition strategies will be at the heart of the Energy Transition Coalition. “Few people would have imagined the scale and pace of the energy transition which we are witnessing today. Renewable energy deployment has considerably expanded thanks to reduced costs and record new investments in power generation from renewables. Energy efficiency is picking up and we see important synergies emerging with renewable energy,” said International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) Director-General Adnan Z Amin. “Many countries are proving that the ongoing energy transition in fact has multiple positive social, economic and environmental impacts. By working together, we can hasten the transition to a sustainable energy future,” he added. During the meeting Irena and the International Energy Agency (IEA) launched a joint report, which claims that decarbonisation of the global energy system, led by renewables and efficiency could be achieved by 2060, while creating economic gains. The study – Perspectives for the Energy Transition: Investment Needs for a Low-Carbon Energy Transition – states that global energy-related CO2 emissions can be reduced by 70 per cent by 2050 and completely phasedout by 2060 with a net positive economic outlook. While overall the energy investment needed for decarbonising the energy sector is substantial – an additional $29 trillion until 2050 – it amounts to a small share (0.4 per cent) of global GDP, it claims. Furthermore, Irena’s macroeconomic analysis suggests that such investment creates a stimulus that, together with other pro-growth policies, will boost global GDP by 0.8 per cent in 2050; generate new jobs in the renewable energy sector that would more than offset job losses in the fossil fuel industry, with further jobs being created by energy efficiency activities; and improve human welfare through important additional environmental and health benefits, thanks to reduced air pollution. Renewable energy now accounts for 24 per cent of global power generation and 16 per cent of primary energy supply. To achieve decarbonisation, the report states that by 2050 renewables should be 80 per cent of power generation and 65 per cent of total primary energy supply. THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES is published by Man in Black Media • www.mibmedia.com • Editor-in-Chief: Junior Isles • For all enquiries email: enquiries@teitimes.com
Energy Industry Times April 2017
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