THE ENERGY INDUSTRY May 2019 • Volume 12 • No 3 • Published monthly • ISSN 1757-7365 www.teitimes.com TIMES Sleepless nights? Getting closer Final Word Energy storage and digitalisation are Europe’s Clean Energy Package We live in a rebellious two areas that are keeping energy should bring markets closer together climate, says Junior Isles. executives awake at night. but some of its provisions need further Page 16 Page 13 clarification. Page 14 News In Brief Wind to become “truly global market” in five years National Plans The Global Wind Energy Council forecasts that 300 GW of new wind capacity will be added globally by 2024. Page 2 will not deliver Opportunity Zones offer tax breaks A tax break offered to investors in so-called ‘Opportunity Zones’ may provide extra capital for renewable energy developers in the USA renewables as other support mechanisms are phased out. Page 4 Coal still part of balanced energy mix target The Philippines still sees coal as an important part of its future energy mix, as developers continue to outline plans for future coal fired WindEurope’s Giles Dickson says none of the power plants. plans properly spell out policy measures Page 6 Ofgem addresses supplier The EU has concluded negotiations on its Clean Energy Package but recent research shows that rules A series of company collapses in the National Plans might not deliver the previously agreed 32 per cent renewables target. Junior Isles UK’s energy retail sector has forced Europe’s draft National Energy and this. But none of the Plans properly simplifying rules on planning and per- Another issue the Plans need to ad- the regulator to revise the rules for Climate Plans are insufficient to de- spell out the policy measures by which mitting, such as common sense re- dress is how to get more renewables new entrants. liver the EU’s 32 per cent renewables countries will deliver on the objec- strictions on distance or wind turbine into heating and transport. This is es- Page 7 target for 2030, according to analysis tives they outline.” tip height. This is key, as obtaining sential for the decarbonisation of en- released by WindEurope. European countries agreed last year permits for new wind farms is becom- ergy, because heating and transport Congo wins support for The analysis shows that some EU to draw up National Energy and Cli- ing increasingly difficult and more accounts for three quarters of energy green mini-grid countries are pledging to deploy mate Plans to ensure Europe delivers expensive in many parts of Europe. consumption. But the draft Plans pro- The Democratic Republic of good volumes of wind in their Plans. on its climate and energy targets. The National Plans are supposed to vide few detailed proposals or mea- the Congo is to boost off-grid But the Plans are badly lacking in the WindEurope’s analysis rates every detail not only new renewables capac- sures for electrifying heating and renewables with the implementation detailed policy measures that will de- country either insufficient or poor for ity but also what countries will do transport. No European country has of a green mini-grid programme. liver these pledges – which means the the policy measures outlined in the with renewables that come to the end planned to simplify corporate renew- Page 8 pledges are not meaningful, says the draft Plans. of their operational life between now able Power Purchase Agreements organisation. Most of the draft Plans give no and 2030. For wind the latter is up to (PPAs), which is explicitly mandated EC fines GE over WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson long-term visibility on renewable en- 60 GW. But no country provides poli- in the Renewable Energy Directive. ‘misleading’ LM information said: “Europe has a clear target: 32 per ergy auctions, doing little to support cies to deal with this. And only six The report came as the EU ratified GE will pay a €52 million fine cent renewable energy by 2030. Each investment certainty. Only Germany countries even recognise the issue its Clean Energy for All Europeans following an investigation by country has now drafted a National provides an auction schedule to 2030. (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germa- the European Commission into Plan saying how they’ll contribute to Nor does any country commit to ny, Italy and Spain), said WindEurope. Continued on Page 2 information provided by the American firm during its 2017 takeover of LM Wind. Page 9 Financial sector warned on climate risks A recent report has warned that climate gap by making climate-related data announcing they would either tighten to finance independent coal power Technology: GT26 gets a change could wipe out $20 trillion publicly available. rules on financing new coal fired producers,” said Yelland. HE upgrade worth of assets globally. Following this report, an open letter, plants or not finance them at all. In late March, UBS Group AG said it GE has launched a significant According to the report by the Net- published on behalf of the Bank of In April, Standard Bank became the would no longer provide project-level upgrade for the GT26 gas turbine. work for Greening the Financial Sys- England, Banque de France and the latest finance corporation to stop fi- finance to new coal fired power plants The high efficiency (HE) upgrade tem (NGFS), there is still a significant Network for Greening the Financial nancing coal fired power plants in the around the world, as it outlined tighter will deliver improved efficiency, amount of analytical work to be done System, called for the financial com- future, unless they met strict parame- rules on funding such transactions. power output and flexibility while in order to equip central banks and munity to act on recommendations ters set by the bank. It was the second Switzerland-based UBS noted it reducing maintenance costs for its supervisors with appropriate tools to provided by the NGFS to ensure the to do so in the space of a week. will only finance existing coal fired customers – the first of which will be identify, quantify and mitigate cli- transition to a low carbon economy. Energy expert Chris Yelland said it operators – defined as being more Uniper, at its plant in Enfield, UK. mate risks in the financial system. To The letter, in support of the report, appeared as if all the major banks than 30 per cent reliant on coal – that Page 15 address the issue, the NGFS says it states that the catastrophic effects of were pulling out of funding coal fired have a transition strategy that sup- will prepare a number of technical climate change are “clearly visible” plants. “Nedbank, First Rand, and ports the Paris climate agreement, or documents. around the world and that financial now Standard Bank – which has been transactions that are related to renew- Advertise [email protected] The report provides a number of rec- policy makers and prudential supervi- on the cards for some time – have all able energy. UBS said its carbon-re- ommendations for central banks and sors cannot ignore the “obvious” risks. pulled out.” Standard explicitly stated lated assets amounted to $2.7 billion supervisors, including integrating cli- Banks have already been taking ac- it would not be funding the Thabam- in 2018, down from $6.6 billion a year Subscribe [email protected] mate related-risks into financial sta- tion to reduce carbon-related assets. etsi or Khanyisa plants in South Afri- before. Climate-related sustainable or call +44 208 523 2573 bility monitoring and micro-supervi- In recent months, there has been a ca. “It is a significant move by all the investments totalled $87.5 billion, up sion. It also recommends bridging the growing wave of financial institutions banks as they are under pressure not from $74 billion in 2017. THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES is published by Man in Black Media • www.mibmedia.com • Editor-in-Chief: Junior Isles • For all enquiries email: [email protected] THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - MAY 2019 2 Headline News Continued from Page 1 Package (CEP) aimed at enabling Wind to become “truly global the bloc to realise the energy transi- tion, follow up on the 2030 climate legislation and meet the Paris Agreement commitments. market” in next five years At the end of March, the Euro- pean Parliament completed the par- liamentary approval of the new The Global Wind Energy Council forecasts that 300 GW of new wind capacity will be added Electricity market Regulation and globally by 2024. The falling costs of offshore wind and energy storage are both contributing Electricity market Directive as well as of the Regulations on Risk Pre- factors. paredness and on the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators between 58.7 GW and 65.1 GW in 4 per cent of the total, though Spain storage outlook 2019: 2018 year-in- (ACER). The Governance of the Junior Isles 2021-2023 (see page 11). In that pe- and Poland will pick up this year. review and outlook to 2024’, the glob- Energy Union Regulation the re- riod, offshore wind is expected to WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson al energy storage market is forecast to vised Energy Efficiency Directive, Wind power installations globally in reach the 10 GW mark for annual said: “Wind energy got 60 per cent of reach 158 GWh in 2024, marking a the revised Renewable Energy Di- the next five years will amount to more installations for the first time. GWEC’s all the new investments in power gen- 13-fold expansion from 2018, with the rective and the Energy Performance than 300 GW, including roughly 40 forecast is for 9.9 GW and 10.1 GW eration capacity in Europe last year.