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[1/2] An excavator sift through dunes of low-grade coal near a coal mine in Pingdingshan, Henan province, China November 5, 2021. High gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and consequent disruptions to supply have led some countries to turn to relatively cheaper coal this year. Europe's coal demand has risen due to more switching from gas to coal due to high gas prices and as Russian gas has reduced to a trickle. However, by 2025 European coal demand is expected to decline below 2022 levels, the report said. The three largest coal producers - China, India and Indonesia - will all hit production records this year but despite high prices and comfortable margins for coal producers, there is no sign of surging investment in export-driven coal projects.

FRANKFURT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Coal has made a comeback in Germany this year, as Europe's largest economy turns to the dirty fuel to power it through an energy crisis. Gas generation rose slightly, despite high prices, as wind and hydro power output were low, and domestic nuclear output also fell in July-Sept. This has increased coal power generation in the European Union, which is expected to remain at these higher levels for some time," the IEA's annual coal market report said. This includes 1.9 GW of lignite and 4.3 GW of hard coal power plants which are allowed to return to the market until 2024, the IEA report said. The decommissioning of 2.6 GW of hard coal power capacity and 1.2 GW of lignite capacity has been postponed.

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Global renewable power capacity growth is set to double over the next five years, driven by energy security concerns in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. High gas and power prices from a global energy crisis this year have made renewable power technologies more attractive. "The world is set to add as much renewable power in the next five years as it did in the previous 20 years," he added. Global solar photovoltaic capacity is set to almost triple by 2027, becoming the largest source of power capacity in the world, while wind capacity is set to almost double. (This story has been officially corrected by the IEA to show capacity growth (not capacity) is set to double in the headline and paragraph 1)Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Israel's Econergy secures 250 mln eur financing for renewable projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Israel's Econergy Renewable Energy (ECNR.TA) has secured 250 million euros ($258 million) of financing from French asset manager RGREEN INVEST to strengthen its investments in renewable energy projects across Europe, the firm said on Friday. RGREEN INVEST will provide 87.5 million euros in corporate financing to Econergy International Limited, the British subsidiary of the Israeli-listed company, to strengthen the company's pipeline development and growth plans in Britain. Another 163 million euros of investment will be provided to support the construction of solar and wind projects across Europe. Econergy develops solar, wind and storage projects and has more than 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of projects under development in countries such as Italy, Spain, Britain, Romania, Poland and Greece. ($1 = 0.9686 euros)Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spain's Iberdrola to invest $47 bln in energy transition in 2023-25
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Some 17 billion euros of the 47 billion total investment will go on renewables. In its last strategy update, Iberdrola said it planned to invest 75 billion euros in renewable energy, grids and retail operations from 2020-2025. Iberdrola currently has 40 GW of renewables capacity, new chief executive Armando Martinez told the compay's capital markets day in London. Net profit should increase to 5.2-5.4 billion euros by 2025 from an expected 4-4.2 billion euros in 2022, Iberdrola said. It also aims for earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 16.5 billion-17 billion euros by 2025, up from 13 billion euros in 2022 and above analyst consensus of 12.6 billion euros.

Companies European Bank for Reconstruction and Development FollowLONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) does not plan to sell off existing upstream oil and gas loans as part of plans to align its activities with the Paris Agreement on climate change, an executive said on Monday. Last year the bank said it would stop investing in upstream oil and gas projects, namely exploration and production, by the end of 2022 but did not specify whether this applied to new or existing investments. Harry Boyd-Carpenter, EBRD managing director, told an online briefing of journalists that the bank was not planning to divest existing upstream oil and gas loans. It is preferable to keep such loans overseen by the bank to ensure more rigorous oversight rather than sell to other entities, he said. "Some of the countries we operate in see gas as part of their energy security.

☆ Centrica reopens UK's Rough gas storage site in time for winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Nora Buli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 28 (Reuters) - British Gas owner Centrica (CNA.L) has reopened its Rough gas storage site off England's east coast at about 20% of its previous capacity, enough to heat 1 million homes for 100 days this winter, the company said on Friday. Before it was closed, Rough represented more than 70% of UK storage and supplied 10% of peak winter demand. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing concerns over gas supplies this winter, Centrica upgraded the facility and started refilling the site in early autumn. Even at 20% of previous capacity, Rough is the UK's largest gas storage site and adds 50% to the UK's gas storage capacity, though this lags behind European countries, Centrica said. The long-term aim is to turn the Rough gas field into the largest long-range energy storage facility in Europe, capable of storing both natural gas and hydrogen, Centrica said.

These "conditional" pledges, if implemented fully, could reduce expected warming to a 2.4C rise, while unconditional pledges could lead to a 2.6C rise, the report said. "We still aren't anywhere near enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions (to the levels required)," UNEP executive director Inger Andersen told reporters at a briefing. The gap between pledges and limiting warming to 2C is 15 GtCO2e a year and for 1.5C it is 23 GtCO2e a year. According to a separate U.N. report earlier this week analysing the latest pledges submitted by countries, 2.5C of warming is likely by the end of the century. read moreOn Wednesday, the World Meteorological Organization said greenhouse gas concentrations climbed at above-average rates to records last year.

Representatives from around the world will meet from Nov. 6-18 at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt to try to agree pledges to limit warming to below 2C above pre-industrial levels and ideally to 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Policies in place, without strengthening, will likely lead to a 2.8C rise in temperature by the end of the century, 0.1C higher than was estimated last year. Only a root-and-branch transformation of our economies and societies can save us from accelerating climate disaster," UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said. The gap between pledges and limiting warming to 2C is 15 GtCO2e a year and for 1.5C it is 23 GtCO2e a year. read moreOn Wednesday, the World Meteorological Organization said greenhouse gas concentrations climbed at above-average rates to new records last year.

LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - European benchmark gas prices have been steadily declining over the past few months to near their levels before war broke out in Ukraine. WHY HAVE GAS PRICES BEEN FALLING RECENTLY? The European Union as a whole also met a target for refilling gas storage sites to 80% by Nov. 1 ahead of time. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and Norwegian pipeline supply have been strong. Added to that, wind power output has been quite high, which reduces demand for gas from power plants.

German chemicals maker Covestro (1COV.DE) lowered its 2022 earnings guidance for the third time this year, blaming gas and raw material prices. Gas prices in Europe have eased in response to an unusually warm October and projections of a mild winter. The group, which relies heavily on natural gas, is buying from outside Europe, where prices are lower. RACE TO CUT COSTSCompanies across Europe are racing to reduce their energy use ahead of the winter when demand increases as households turn up the heat. Chemical companies are among the hardest hit by the energy crisis because they use gas as a raw material for production and as an energy source.

☆ Factbox: Europe's alternatives if Russia shuts off gas supply
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Germany halted certification of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia because of the Ukraine war so it never went into operation. Germany, Europe's biggest consumer of Russian gas, can import gas from Britain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands via pipelines. Southern Europe can receive Azeri gas via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline to Italy and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to Europe have increased from producers such as the United States, Qatar and other countries. OTHER OPTIONS TO COPE WITH A GAS SUPPLY CRUNCH?

The spot where a floating storage and regasification unit will be set up is seen in front of the port city of Piombino, Italy, October 20, 2022. Such a big-scale project will help Italy avert a supply crunch it could otherwise face next winter, but keep it hooked on gas for longer, slowing down its transition to renewable energy. A new rightist government, widely expected to be led by Giorgia Meloni, could be sworn in as soon as next week, with no sign that Rome's line on Piombino project - endorsed by Italy's industrial lobby Confindustria - could be changed. With little domestic gas production and a ban on nuclear power generation, Italy heavily relies on imports for its energy needs. Some local and environmental grassroots associations and unions gathered in Piombino on Thursday for a rally against the project.

☆ Explainer: Strikes at French nuclear plants - what's at stake?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRolling strikes over wages by the FNME-CGT union at some plants have added to the problem. France is a net importer of electricity and the strikes will further boost power imports, particularly from Britain, the consultancy said. Power grid operator RTE warned on Tuesday that prolonged strikes further delaying the restart of reactors could have "heavy consequences" for electricity supply over the winter. Britain's National Grid has also cited maintenance issues at French nuclear reactors as a factor that could affect UK energy supplies this winter. read moreRTE still expects France's nuclear power production to rise to between 40 and 45 gigawatt (GW) a day in December and January, up from 25-30 GW at the end of October.

☆ Factbox: Energy crisis revives coal demand and production
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

France - The Emile Huchet coal power plant restarted in early October, only six months after it closed, according to local media. Netherlands - Dutch energy minister Rob Jetten said in June the Netherlands will remove a production cap at coal-fired energy plants to preserve gas. In June, it said it plans to "increase thermal coal production from existing mines this year maximum by 1.5 million tonnes". Spain - The ministry for the ecological transition requested in May the delay of Endesa's As Pontes coal power station closure. (** Note that Ukraine's government has stopped releasing coal production data since the start of the war).

Grey hydrogen extracts hydrogen from coal or gas using steam methane reforming and is currently the standard industry process. With gas prices having soared more than 70% on international markets since the start of the war in Ukraine in February, the cost of producing hydrogen from fossil fuels has become more expensive than green hydrogen, the report said. In Europe, fossil-fuel hydrogen asset owners will see their costs of production rising by roughly 50% more than average green hydrogen costs to $7.60/kg, while new blue hydrogen in Asia costs 35% more at $6.40/kg and grey hydrogen is 29% more than green hydrogen. The continued rapid investment in green hydrogen over the next few years could mean the production cost falls under $2/kg by 2030, from an average $3.80-$5.80/kg before the war in Ukraine. This puts more than $100 billion worth of existing fossil hydrogen assets at risk of becoming stranded assets by 2030, the report said.

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are expected to rise by just under 1% this year, as the expansion of renewables and electric vehicles outweighed coal demand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. “The global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted a scramble by many countries to use other energy sources to replace the natural gas supplies that Russia has withheld from the market," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. Without this increase, global CO2 emissions would have been more than 600 million tonnes higher this year. Despite droughts in several regions, global hydropower output is up year-on-year, contributing over one-fifth of the expected growth in renewable power. The European Union’s CO2 emissions are on course to decline this year despite higher coal emissions.

Firefighters work in the field near the Druzhba pipeline where an oil leak was detected, near the village of Zurawice, Poland, October 12, 2022. Poland said the leak in one of the Druzhba pipelines on the main route for oil to Germany was probably caused by an accident. EU nations have been seeking to reduce their reliance on Russian energy in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. EU energy ministers were meeting in Prague on Wednesday to try to agree new measures to tackle the crisis. Rocketing gas prices across Europe and Britain have driven up the cost of electricity.

☆ Britain plans 'de-facto windfall tax' on low-carbon energy producers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Britain has set out plans for a temporary revenue limit on low-carbon electricity generators, which the industry said was a "de-facto windfall tax" on renewable energy producers. The package, which is called The Energy Prices Bill and gives the government new emergency powers to carry out the proposals, was introduced in parliament on Tuesday. RWE UK Country Chair Tom Glover said the cap was a "de-facto windfall tax on low-carbon generators". The CfD scheme is the is the government’s main mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation. RWE's Glover said this was the most efficient and investor-friendly way to de-link the electricity price from the marginal gas price.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (on screen), Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner attend a news conference about how to handle high gas prices, at the Chancellery in Berlin, September 29, 2022. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday that Germany could not expect energy deliveries from Russia for the foreseeable future but that the situation could be managed. "If we all continue to adapt to the changed situation - the citizens, the companies and the politicians - then we will get safely through this winter," Scholz told an engineering conference. Other European countries once dependent on Russia gas, such as Italy, have also been building up storage and sourcing supplies from other countries including Algeria and Azerbaijan. If adopted, the plan would be paid for by a 200 billion euro ($194 billion) relief package Chancellor Scholz's government announced last month to reduce the impact of energy prices.

Any hope of the Nord Stream network resuming shipments to Germany was dashed last month by suspected sabotage. Even then, it is unlikely to make up for the missing Russian gas. A risk is that as energy supplies dwindle, energy demand will not shrink enough. European industrial gas demand has fallen as high gas prices have led factories in energy-intensive sectors such as aluminium, steel and ammonia, have shut production. Europe can't afford any surprises this winter without Russian gasA more comfortable energy supply situation could be many winters away.

Such sanctions would prohibit Gazprom from paying Ukraine transit fees, which analysts say could end Russian gas flows to Europe via the country. "(Sanctions) would make into reality the worst-case scenario that European governments have been preparing for all summer, a European gas market without Russian gas," said Natasha Fielding, head of EMEA gas pricing at Argus Media. "Transit through Ukraine is the only Russian gas delivery route to Europe still in use besides the Turkish Stream pipeline, which serves southeast European countries," she added. Gas flows via the only operational Ukraine transit route through Sudzha are currently around 42 million cubic metres a day. As a result, European gas storage was 88% full as of Sept. 26, although there are variations between countries.

Gas leak at Nord Stream 2 as seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm, Denmark September 27, 2022. The operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline reported a sudden drop in pressure overnight on Monday, with a spokesperson suggesting there could have been a leak. A few hours later, Nord Stream AG, operator of another undersea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, said it was looking into a drop in pressure in Nord Stream 1. read moreSweden's Maritime Authority said on Tuesday it had warned of two leaks on Nord Stream 1 in Swedish and Danish waters. Analysts and experts say such leaks are very rare and Nord Stream AG has called leaks on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines "unprecedented". Gas leaking from the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea will continue for several days and perhaps even a week, the Danish Energy Authority said.

Now it bustles with vessels loading up with coal, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine drives a worldwide race for the polluting fuel. The resurgent coal demand, driven by governments trying to wean themselves off Russian energy while keeping a lid on power prices, clashes with climate plans to shift away from the most polluting fossil fuel. Global seaborne thermal coal imports reached 97.8 million tonnes in July, the highest level on record and up more than 9% year-on-year, an analysis from ship broker Braemar shows. The bloc's ban on Russian coal imports has further increased pressure on electricity generators to find alternative sources of the fuel. Russia usually provides about 70% of the EU's thermal coal, according to the Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel, while it typically supplies 40% of the bloc's natural gas.

Energy companies pay a wholesale price to buy the gas and electricity they sell to consumers. Some 80% of household gas demand is from heating while the rest is from hot water and cooking. According to Bernstein analysts, certain measures by households could reduce household gas demand by a third. Turning a thermostat down by 1 degree to 19 degrees Celsius from 20C could reduce household gas demand by around 7%. Lowering the temperature by another one degree could reduce household gas demand by a further 7%.

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