THE ENERGY INDUSTRY T I M E S
March 2018 • Volume 11 • No 1 • Published monthly • ISSN 1757-7365 www.teitimes.com
Special Supplement Towards the
The new Zabrze multi-fuel power tipping point
plant in Poland looks set to be a
forerunner for smaller communitybased
CHP projects in the country
and elsewhere.
A new report by Lloyd’s Register looks at
the degree to which renewable energy
has gained traction and what needs to
happen to accelerate it. Page 13
News In Brief
Green shoots for Europe’s
utilities
The outlook for Europe’s utilities
is stabilising after recent years of
turmoil.
Page 2
Chile unveils coal phase-out
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet
says that the country will not build
any new coal fired power plants
without carbon capture technology,
and will look to replace existing coal
capacity.
Page 4
India should target 50 per
cent renewables
India should aim for 50 per cent of
its power generation capacity from
renewable sources by 2030 on the
back of technological advancements
in solar and wind energy, according
to Coal Minister Piyush Goyal.
Page 6
Energy transition at risk,
new study finds
A new report into the state of the
EU electricity sector has found
“worrying failings” in the energy
transition.
Page 7
Wind sector remains strong
in spite of policy ‘gaps’
The global wind energy market is
likely to attract $100 billion per
year of investment globally to 2025
thanks to favourable government
policies and falling technology
prices, according to a new report.
Page 8
Energy Outlook: Controlling
wind farms for maximum
returns
In a bid to wring out every last
dollar of value from their assets,
wind turbine owners are placing
ever more emphasis on optimised
O&M and life extension support
strategies.
Page 14
Technology: Coal seams can
be a clean energy resource
Botswana is eyeing its coal deposits
as a resource for meeting growing
power demand, but its climate
change commitment means the coal
will not be burned directly in new
coal fired plants.
Page 15
Advertise
advertising@teitimes.com
Subscribe
subscriptions@teitimes.com
or call +44 208 523 2573
Final Word
ET is here and here to stay,
says Junior Isles.
Page 16
Trump targets
renewables in
proposed
budget cuts Trump: proposing slash
to energy efficiency and
renewables budget
As many expected, US President Donald Trump’s proposed 2019 budget slashes renewable
energy funding but boosts support for advanced fossil fuel-based power systems.
Junior Isles
US President Donald Trump has unveiled
the budget request for fiscal year
2019 under which he is proposing to
cut spending in the Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE) by more than 65 per cent. The
budget called for the office funding to
be cut by $1.3 billion, compared to the
level enacted for 2017, to $696 million
for fiscal year 2019.
The EERE is the US government’s
primary clean energy technology organisation.
EERE works with many of
America’s best innovators and businesses
to support high-impact applied
research, development, demonstration,
and deployment (RDD&D) activities
in sustainable transportation,
renewable power, and end-use energy
efficiency.
The office depends on funding to
support early stage R&D on energy
technologies, including new approaches
to energy storage beyond
current battery technologies.
A Department of Energy (DOE) official
said the proposed budget reflects
the success the bureau has had with
electric vehicle batteries and wind and
solar technologies.
“The biggest reason for that is the
accomplishments that these individual
programs have made,” DOE under
secretary Mark Menezes told reporters
last month.
Menezes said the DOE is attempting
to refocus its mission on renewable
energy and efficiency to aid technologies
that have a low probability of success,
but are highly risky to invest in,
calling it a “more appropriate role for
the government”.
If approved, the Budget would also
see the complete elimination of the
Advanced Research Projects Agency-
Energy (ARPA-E) programme.
ARPA-E is a programme that issues
grants to energy startups from across
the country. The programme was
nearly discontinued in 2017, but Congress
awarded it an additional $15
million that ensured its survival for
another year. While Trump’s 2018
proposal ensures the DOE’s overall
budget remains almost the same, it
would cut the $305 million required to
keep ARPA-E afloat.
In contrast to last year’ budget, the
proposal calls for a more than 19 per
cent boost to the fossil energy research
and development office to $502 million.
Up by $81 million compared to
last year, the increased funding is
aimed at improving the efficiency of
advanced power systems based on
fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.
The Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation, a US-based research
institute, said the cuts “would
undercut progress toward cheaper,
Continued on Page 2
EU approves greater energy infrastructure funding
EU member states have backed a European
Commission (EC) proposal to
invest €873 million in 17 electricity
and gas projects designed to accelerate
the Union’s transition to a low-carbon
economy.
The funding will see eight projects
in the electricity sector receive €680
million, while €193 million will go to
nine projects in the gas sector. EU
funding will come from the Connecting
Europe Facility (CEF) – an allocation
of €5 billion over six years (2014-
2020) to help modernise and
decarbonise Europe’s energy infrastructure.
The CEF granted €647 million
to 34 projects in 2014, €366 million
to 35 projects in 2015 and €707
million to 27 projects in 2016.
Highlighting the importance of the
investments to wider efforts to curb carbon
emissions, Miguel Arias Cañete,
Commissioner for Climate Action and
Energy said: “An energy infrastructure
which is fit for purpose is also essential
for renewable energy sources
to thrive and for delivering on the
Paris Agreement on climate change.”
A large part of the latest investment,
some €578 million, will go towards
the Bay of Biscay Interconnector, a
370 km long cable between France
and Spain through the Bay of Biscay.
The connection will help double electricity
flows between the two countries
and incorporate renewable energy
across the Iberian Peninsula.
The new link will nearly double the
interconnection capacity between
both countries – increasing it from
2800 MW to 5000 MW, and will bring
Spain closer to the 10 per cent interconnection
target from the current
level of 6 per cent, the EC noted.
“The construction of the Biscay
Gulf France-Spain interconnection
marks an important step towards ending
the isolation of the Iberian Peninsula
from the rest of the European
energy market,” said Cañete. “Only a
fully interconnected market will improve
Europe’s security of supply,
reducing the dependence of single
suppliers and giving consumers more
choice. An energy infrastructure
which is fit for purpose is also essential
for renewable energy sources to
thrive and for delivering on the Paris
Agreement on climate change.”
Some €70 million will also be spent
on the ‘SuedOstLink’ in Germany,
which will run a 580 km underground
cable to connect wind farms in the
north of the country to population
centres in the south.
Commenting on the latest round of
funding, Commission Vice-President
for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič
said: “Once more we demonstrate that
cooperation and solidarity pays off
and that the Energy Union is becoming
a reality with tangible impact on
the ground. These are important projects
with major cross-border benefits
and by implementing them we
strengthen energy resilience of EU
Member States. The Connecting Europe
Facility has yet again shown tremendous
added value in the modernisation
of the European economy.”
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
/www.teitimes.com
/www.mibmedia.com
link
link
link