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Natural gas is transferred into the SoCalGas system after being collected and purified at a Calgren collection facility in Pixley, California, U.S., October 2, 2019. Through July, the U.S. power sector emitted 495 million tonnes of CO2 from gas-fired generation, a 7.2% increase over the same period in 2022 and 26% more than produced by all of Asia's gas-fired power producers, data from think tank Ember shows. U.S. monthly gas-fired power sector emissionsU.S. gas power emissions are also 51% greater than those of Europe, where shortages of natural gas following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year has forced power producers to scale back output. In turn, this will likely result in a rise in mid-year emissions alongside continued growth in winter month emissions tied to power generation for heating. This suggests that U.S. gas-fired power emissions may continue to climb in the years ahead, even as clean energy capacity growth continues to accelerate.

Persons: Mike Blake, Gavin Maguire, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, United, International Energy Agency, European Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Pixley , California, U.S, LITTLETON , Colorado, United States, Europe, Ukraine, Asia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea

☆ Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry on power grid strains: You've got to have more baseload
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFormer Energy Secretary Rick Perry on power grid strains: You've got to have more baseloadFormer Energy Secretary Rick Perry joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the historic heat wave's impact on the nation's power grid, whether America's infrastructure can regularly handle this kind of demand, and more.

Persons: Rick Perry, You've Organizations: Former Energy

☆ Column: Australia's energy transition stalled by stubbornly high demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sustained growth in Australia's electricity demand has in turn meant that power producers must continue to heavily rely on coal for electricity generation on top of recent additions in supply of renewable energy sources. Even so, electric vehicles accounted for only 5.1% of total Australian car sales in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Heating and cooling for homes and businesses is another major energy demand driver in Australia, and accounts for roughly 40% of total electricity use in the country. To alleviate any potential power shortages Australian utilities are expected to continue rolling out more renewable energy supply capacity, likely at an accelerating pace. However, Australian power producers look set to remain substantially reliant on coal for baseload electricity generation for years, if not decades, more.

Persons: Gavin Maguire Organizations: International Energy Agency, Australian Bureau of Statistics, European Union, EV, New South, RENEWABLES, South, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Australia, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, New Zealand, New South Wales, Oceania and Pacific, South Korea

☆ Commonwealth Fusion has raised $2 billion to make energy like the sun and stars — here's a look inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Bob Mumgaard, the CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems Photo courtesy Commonwealth Fusion SystemsYou don't need to be a nuclear physicist to follow this race. The Commonwealth Fusion Systems campus in headquartered in Devens, Mass., which is between 35 and 40 miles outside of downtown Boston. The 50-acre campus is where Commonwealth Fusion System's corporate headquarters, advanced manufacturing facility and demonstration fusion device are all located. What it looks like to spend $2 billion to build a fusion machineIn the race to deliver fusion, Commonwealth is a frontrunner. The Commonwealth Fusion Systems' SPARC facility under construction in Devens, Mass.

Persons: Cat Clifford, Mumgaard, Wright, Bob Mumgaard, We've, haven't, Andrew Holland, Brandon Sorbom, Sorbom, Ally Yost, Yost, Alex Creely Organizations: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, CNBC, Commonwealth Fusion, United, Commonwealth, Fusion Industry Association, SPARC, ARC, Boeing Locations: Devens , Mass, Boston, Germany, Fukushima, Commonwealth

Senator Joe Manchin said on Wednesday he would oppose all nominees for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posts until President Joe Biden's administration halts what he described as its "radical climate agenda." Manchin, who represents the coal-producing state West Virginia, delivered his ultimatum a day ahead of the EPA's planned roll-out on Thursday of its new carbon emission standards for new and existing power plants. He said he worried the rules could cripple coal- and gas-fired power plants. "If the reports are true, the pending EPA proposal would impact nearly all fossil-fueled power plants in the United States, which generate about 60% of our electricity, without an adequate plan to replace the lost baseload generation," Manchin said in a statement. Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ State leaders targeting climate investing have quiet stakes in the fossil fuel industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Fitzpatrick is among a group of powerful Republican state leaders who have waged similar fights against environmentally conscious investing as they held personal investments in, or saw political support from, the fossil fuel industry. Some of the state officials have received campaign donations from fossil fuel companies or their executives. "He has never 'had private briefings tied back to the fossil fuel industry' nor does he personally direct or execute trades himself. Hegar co-signed an open letter in 2021 with other state financial officers that was addressed to the U.S. banking industry and defended the fossil fuel industry. He also co-signed the 2022 letter to Biden from a slate of other state financial officers defending the fossil fuel industry.

Most new gas plants currently do not pay for emitting carbon, so the rules could make it harder for them to compete with solar and wind power. Second, the Inflation Reduction Act created tax credits making carbon capture and hydrogen more affordable and affirmed EPA's authority to regulate power plants. Existing technology can capture and store approximately 90% of carbon emissions, Lynch said. The EIA projected that this year, 54% of new generation (21GW) will be solar and 14% will be natural gas (7.5GW). Southern, which also runs the National Carbon Capture Center with the Department of Energy, said commercial deployment of carbon capture technology "is many years away" despite the cost-reduction potential of the Inflation Reduction Act.

☆ Column: Germany goes all in on energy transition with nuclear shutdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

To combat that vulnerability, and ensure Germany's energy system can accommodate a recovery in power demand from last year's stunted levels despite lower gas-fired and nuclear output, Germany's power producers must continue to retool the country's entire power system at record pace. FIT FOR PURPOSEThe key near-term challenge for Germany's energy producers is to generate as much power and electricity as was delivered before Russia's incursions into Ukraine upended power markets. The lower electricity generation totals also indicate that power producers may be struggling to lift overall generation levels given the falling supplies of nuclear power output and continued tight availability of natural gas. The extent of coal's demand growth will be determined by overall power demand needs in Germany over the coming months. But with low-emitting nuclear power now off the table, more coal use looks inevitable, at least over the near term.

☆ Column: Electric grids need major upgrades to aid global energy transition: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LITTLETON, Colorado, March 30 (Reuters) - Modern electricity grids that can optimize clean power production from a constantly changing flux of renewable and fossil energy sources will play a vital role in enabling global energy transition efforts. With renewable energy supplies climbing at a record pace just as global car fleets, households and businesses supercharge electricity demand, robust grids that can bridge both sides of the energy equation will be critical. The global power sector is also a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and so is incompatible with international efforts to drive pollution steadily lower from all sectors over the coming decades. Many ambitious grid alteration plans are also running in to stiff opposition from powerful organisations that object to the laying of miles of new transmission lines across open areas. But if renewable energy supplies surge as expected, and if those supplies are to be made available to power-hungry customers, global grids must grow in both scale and density in every major economy - and in record time.

☆ Column: India's coal + renewables mix makes for messy energy transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While China also added record solar and wind capacity in 2022 to widen its overall renewables lead, India's record build out of solar capacity last year has been widely celebrated by energy transition advocates. But even with such rip-roaring green energy momentum, India's utilities still struggled to keep up with the country's voracious energy demand growth, and had to crank coal use to record highs alongside the breakneck growth in renewables. Only 2.2% of total India's electricity was produced from gas in 2022, according to Ember - the lowest in over 20 years. COAL CONUNDRUMSuch low utilisation of natural gas for power generation forced utilities to burn through coal at a record pace, straining the country's domestic coal supply system and pushing coal imports to historic highs. On paper, such conflicting government stances on power sector priorities may appear to be counterproductive, and may potentially undermine India's energy transition efforts.

☆ Strikes hit French nuclear output, disrupt EDF maintenance plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoPARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - Strikes in France are impacting maintenance plans at EDF's (EDF.PA) nuclear plants, curbing production just as the utility hoped to rebound from a 34-year output low last year. At least 14 nuclear reactors in EDF's fleet of 56 have suffered some delay affecting their maintenance plans, data from the CGT union showed. For EDF that has meant nuclear power output in 2023 even lower than last year when it had swathes of reactors offline for repairs and checks for stress corrosion cracks. EDF declined to comment on the impact of the strikes on its maintenance plans. French nuclear safety watchdog ASN requested EDF revise its maintenance program due to new cracks discovered this month in some reactors.

☆ Column: Future of nuclear power growth lies outside Europe and N. America: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Nuclear power generation by key regionThese divergent trends are being fuelled by contrasting and somewhat contradictory views of nuclear power's role in the global energy mix. In Western economies, nuclear power is commonly characterized as an outdated and potentially harmful component of a legacy energy system that requires urgent overhaul if ambitious climate targets are to be achievable by 2050. Similarly, the most recent expansion phase for nuclear power in the United States was in the late 1980s, meaning that many of the country's youngest plants are already in their fourth decade of deployment. China, by far the world's most aggressive renewable energy deployer, is also leading the charge in terms of planned expansions to nuclear power. The country is expected to account for 44% of the prospective total increases in nuclear capacity, which would see it handily leapfrog the United States as the global nuclear leader.

☆ China leans on coal amid energy security push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Andrew Hayley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Soaring global energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and domestic supply disruption have prompted Beijing to step up its focus on energy security in recent years. Fluctuating output from renewable plants, however, has led policymakers to lean on reliable and easily dispatchable coal power to shore up the country's baseload supply. "The energy security narrative is still going strong," said Greenpeace China policy advisor Li Shuo. Concerned about supply shortages amid high global prices, the planner pledged to "strictly control the expansion of projects to replace coal with natural gas". "(We shall) develop sound mechanisms to adjust urban end-user prices of natural gas in step with procurement costs," the report said.

☆ China's new coal plant approvals surge in 2022, highest since 2015 -research
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 27 (Reuters) - China approved the construction of another 106 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity last year, four times higher than a year earlier and the highest since 2015, driven by energy security considerations, research showed on Monday. Many of the newly approved projects are identified as "supporting" baseload capacity designed to ensure the stability of the power grid and minimise blackout risks, the CREA-GEM report said. However, many are being built in regions which already have a clear capacity surplus, and power supply problems would be better addressed by improving grid reliability and efficiency, the authors said. China suffered a wave of blackouts in September 2021 as a result of coal supply shortages, cutting off thousands of homes and factories. However, renewable power capacity additions have remained at record levels, with solar installations at 87 GW in 2022 and expected to rise further in 2023.

☆ China's new coal plant approvals surged in 2022, highest since 2015, research says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China approved the construction of another 106 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity last year, four times higher than a year earlier and the highest since 2015, driven by energy security considerations, research showed on Monday. Over the year, 50 GW of coal power capacity went into construction across the country, up by more than half compared to the previous year, the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, or CREA, and Global Energy Monitor said. "The speed at which projects progressed through permitting to construction in 2022 was extraordinary, with many projects sprouting up, gaining permits, obtaining financing and breaking ground apparently in a matter of months," said GEM analyst Flora Champenois. Many of the newly approved projects are identified as "supporting" baseload capacity designed to ensure the stability of the power grid and minimize blackout risks, the CREA-GEM report said. However, many are being built in regions which already have a clear capacity surplus, and power supply problems would be better addressed by improving grid reliability and efficiency, the authors said.

SummarySummary Companies Ministry plans for low-carbon power systemAims for 80% green power in 2030Will prepare tenders to attract stable capacityFRANKFURT, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Germany will do most of the work this year to prepare its power market for greater reliance on renewable supplies by the end of the decade, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. "We will do most of the necessary work in 2023," he said at a consultation meeting on power market reform. To back up swings in green power as more reliable nuclear and coal production is phased out, the government will prepare tenders for gas-fired power capacity, Habeck said. A further challenge will be the simultaneous increase in demand for power to run electric cars and heat pumps. Germany's plan could set it apart from some other European Union countries holding on to more stable sources of power, said Habeck.

☆ Germany to speed up power market reform in 2023, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Germany will do most of the work this year to prepare its power market for greater reliance on renewable supplies by the end of the decade, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. "We will do most of the necessary work in 2023," he said at a consultation meeting on power market reform. To back up swings in green power as more reliable nuclear and coal production is phased out, the government will prepare tenders for gas-fired power capacity, Habeck said. Habeck said the government was working on the assumption that national power usage would reach 700-750 TWh by the end of the decade. Germany's plan may set it apart from some other European Union countries that may hold on to more stable sources of power, said Habeck.

With Europe's winter energy crisis abating and power prices falling, there are growing expectations that idled zinc smelter capacity will restart. The exchange's latest positioning report shows four dominant long positions on cash zinc as of Monday. All of which serves to underline just how depleted LME zinc stocks are. STOCKED OUTLME zinc stocks total just 25,075 tonnes, less than one day's worth of global consumption. LME zinc pricing is going to remain volatile for a while yet as shorts betting on a return to surplus have to navigate today's low-stock reality.

☆ Column: South Asia's LNG import appetite on radar after price plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LNG imports by regionA key factor that complicates the outlook for South Asian LNG demand is how cost-sensitive buyers are across the region. In 2022, South Asian imports of LNG dropped by their most on record in response to the steep climb in LNG prices to record highs, ship tracking data from Kpler shows. FUEL MISMATCHThe 16.5% drop in LNG imports in 2022 from 2021 was the first annual decline in South Asia's LNG imports since 2013, according to ship tracking data from Kpler. That reversed a declining trend in coal imports into South Asia since 2019, and pushed up coal purchases by more than any other region last year. South Asia LNG imports vs benchmark LNG pricesIndia relies on imports for roughly half of its natural gas supplies, mainly in the form of LNG, so higher LNG imports look likely at least until the coal ban is eased.

☆ Column: India's economy - and emissions - primed for big jumps in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Climate trackers will be alarmed by such a robust outlook, as India's power sector already spewed out near record emissions in 2022 when its economy was stuck in a lower gear, and will likely elevate pollution totals further as momentum builds. RECORD USE OF COALIndia's power sector emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and equivalent gases are on track for a record in 2022, according to data from think tank Ember. The emissions tally for January through November - the latest monthly data available - is 7.5% above the same period in 2021, which registered a record annual power sector emissions total of 1.091 billion tonnes. Strong, sustained electricity demand from households, retail outlets and offices - mainly for air conditioners - helped push India's overall electricity demand higher in 2022, despite the soft showing from manufacturers. India's electricity generation and emissions scale record highs in 2022Total electricity generation through November increased by 8.3% from the year before, indicating that India's power producers successfully deployed larger amounts of new clean power in 2022 (up 13.3%) than new fossil-fuel power (up 6.7%).

☆ Column: Germany needs more baseload power for vital industrial reboot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Germany output of key industrial productsOther major employers, including steel firms and fertilizer makers, have also been forced to aggressively throttle back production. Germany's power producers have also aggressively ramped up power from intermittent renewable sources, with solar and wind generation totals both rising by more than 50% since 2015. TRIPLE WHAMMYIn 2022, Germany's power sector was roiled on multiple fronts as gas supplies dried up due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict just as dry conditions reduced hydro power and planned reactor shutdowns curbed nuclear power supplies. But Germany's renowned manufacturing economy will not be able to return to its previous dominant position without abundant baseload power. Related columns: Germany energy transition needs faster CO2 cuts from autos, industryThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Global aluminium production rose by a marginal 2.0% last year, a rate of growth that was down from 2.7% in 2021 and the slowest since 2019, according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Global aluminium production by region change versus 2021EUROPE POWERS DOWNWestern European aluminium output was running at an annualised 2.73 million tonnes in December, down by 540,000 tonnes on December 2021 and the lowest production rate this century. Latin America was the fastest-growing aluminium production region last year with output up 10.7% year on year. As ever more smelters switch to green energy sources, global aluminium production is ever more dependent on seasonally variable power availability. Such regional adjustments are now part and parcel of the global aluminium production landscape but they have injected a new degree of volatility into aluminium's previously slow-changing supply side.

☆ Column: Model no more? Turkey's energy transition reversed in 2022: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

As Turkey's overall coal imports grew by only 8.8% in 2022, the surge in Russian purchases came at the expense of other suppliers such as Colombia and Australia. In contrast, Turkey's electricity generation from solar and wind averaged 16% in 2022, meaning that an overwhelming majority of power was generated from other sources. Share of electricity from solar + wind in Turkey, Germany & SpainAn additional 22% of Turkey's electricity came from hydro facilities in 2022, which provided valuable dispatchable clean power for utilities. Yet solar and wind supplies come with the headache of intermittency, when power generation totals slump at night and during cloudy or windless days. Until 2022, Turkey had been on a path to use cleaner-burning natural gas as that main source of baseload supply, with plans to phase out high-polluting coal use over time.

☆ Column: China's power sector emissions set to jump as economy reboots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LITTLETON, Colo., Jan 9 (Reuters) - Pollution levels from China's mammoth power sector are set to climb to new highs in 2023 as Beijing's efforts to spur growth across the economy result in increased burning of fossil fuels. The energy sector accounts for roughly 90% of emissions in the country, the world's top polluter, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). SOFT PATCHThe 1.6% rise in China's power sector emissions through November was the smallest increase during that period on record aside from 2020, when China first tackled COVID outbreaks, Ember data shows. China power sector emissionsA more than 10% rise in electricity generated from clean sources such as solar and wind - compared with a 1.5% rise in fossil fuel electricity generation - helped curb overall power sector emissions, according to the Ember data. Diminished energy demand from shuttered factories and several key industries also capped overall power sector pollution, with China's industrial output through most of 2022 holding at suppressed levels.

☆ French winter power supply risk cut to 'medium', says RTE
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The risk to French power supply from the start of January through the rest of winter has been reduced to 'medium' because of higher nuclear and hydropower availability as well as reduced demand from consumers, French grid operator RTE said on Tuesday. Nuclear power utility EDF (EDF.PA) has faced an unprecedented number of reactor outages this year owing to delayed maintenance and stress corrosion, reducing nuclear output to 30-year lows just as Russia's war in Ukraine hit Europe's energy supplies. Nuclear power availability topped 40 GW on Dec. 12, lifting supply to the top of the expected availability range, RTE said. The filling level of French gas stocks has dropped to about 85% after beginning the winter near full, which is higher than previous years, RTE said. There is no concern for the first part of winter thanks to high gas supply across the continent, but vigilance will be needed for the second half of winter and especially winter 2023-24, RTE added.

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