AUSTRALIA
Storage making headway in the start of 2018
In a ‘first of its kind’ project, a hydroponic agri-business in Victoria will power its entire business with renewable energy. Powering and heating the extension of Nectar Farm’s site from 10-40 hectares with gas proved too expensive – but electrifying the entire operation has meant that it will be able to be powered from a 204MW wind farm and a 20MW/34MWh battery storage facility to be built nearby. A deal between the Bungala Green Power Hub, the Victorian Government and Nectar Farms will see 15% of the energy generated dedicated to powering the new farm operation. This is not part of the current Victoria tender for two 20MW battery storage facilities.
Following the success of the South Australia ‘big battery’ which has been providing frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) as well as back-up generation, the Northern Territory has also called for expressions of interest for a ‘big battery’. It requires 25-45MW to support the grid in Darwin.
In a different version of solar plus storage, South Australia granted approval for a 150MW solar thermal project which incorporates eight hours of storage, essentially allowing it to operate as a coal or gas plant would. It will supply power to the SA government at a cost of no more than AU$78/MWh.
USA
Last Nuclear Power Plant in California to close
The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday voted 5-0 to retire Diablo Canyon, the last nuclear plant in California. Regulators will allow Pacific Gas & Electric to recover $241.2 million for retirement costs, most of which will go towards employ retention.
EUROPE
2018 got off to a positive start for the German energy transition as renewables briefly provided 100 per cent of electricity on 1st January
Germany achieved a symbolic milestone on the first day of the year as, early on the 1st January, a combination of strong winds and low demand meant that wind, biomass and hydropower met 100% of national demand. Wind alone accounted for 85% of power consumption at 6am. Coal, gas and nuclear power generation was cut to a minimum as power prices turned negative and surplus energy was exported to neighbouring countries.
German party leaders agree energy policy blueprint for coalition talks
As coalition negotiations between the Christian Democratic Union bloc and the Social Democrats progress the party leaders have agreed an energy policy blueprint for future talks. The parties currently in talks to form Germany’s next government have agreed to speed up the roll-out of renewable energies and start the phase-out of coal-fired power generation. Contrary to a draft leaked last week, the blueprint agreement between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the SPD no longer explicitly postpones Germany’s 2020 climate target, despite concerns that the target will be missed without further policy measures. The parties now have to decide whether to enter formal negotiations on a renewal of the grand coalition, which are likely to last many weeks.
MEP warns that Europe faces a ‘lost decade’ for renewables
Renewables look more and more like being the mainstay of future energy systems worldwide. The cost of power from onshore wind has declined by around 25% since 2010, whilst that from solar PV has fallen by almost three quarters. But according to MEP Claude Termes, the EU faces the prospect of losing out in global markets because of weak growth of renewables within Europe, due to the unambitious 27% target for 2030. Wind Europe echoed this sentiment, emphasising the importance of strong domestic markets for maintaining industries.
WIDER GLOBE
China dominates global financing of clean energy.
China is recognised as the global leader for the domestic deployment of renewable energy, with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, for example, estimating that new solar PV installation in 2017, reached a staggering 54GW.
However, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has analysed foreign investment in renewables and concluded that the global market is growing rapidly and that this growth is led by China. The report, China 2017 Review: World’s Second-Biggest Economy Continues to Drive Global Trends in Energy Investment, looks at Chinese investment oversees and finds that it has doubled in the last three years and now stands at $US 44 billion. Other highlights of the report are:
- Chinese solar manufacturers account for about 60% of global solar cell production.
- China is outmanoeuvring other economies in securing supplies of new energy commodities, including the minerals necessary for the manufacturing of clean energy, such as cobalt.
- Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are rapidly building domestic capacity. Gaining such a head start in the EV sector domestically is a prelude to a push into international markets.
- China’s energy sector has many major financial institutions at its disposal to support its overseas energy ambitions.
Irena: Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2017 Report
The International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) annual review makes clear the ongoing costs reduction of a wide range of renewable energies, and forecasts that by 2020 all those power generation technologies currently in commercial use are expected to be competitive with fossil fuels. The IRENA analysis is drawn from a cost data-base which includes 15000 data points from projects around the globe, representing over 1000 gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity.
The report concludes that the global weighted average cost of electricity was USD 0.05 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from new hydropower projects in 2017, USD 0.06/kWh for onshore wind, 0.07/kWh for bioenergy and geothermal projects, and 0.10/kWh for new solar PV projects. However, the report also notes that auctioning has delivered significantly lower costs, with recent auctions in Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico and Morocco resulting in onshore wind power as low as USD 0.03/kWh, and for Solar PV 2016 and 2017 results confirm that the LCOE can be reduced to USD 0.03/kWh from 2018 onward, given the right conditions. The lowest auction prices reflect a nearly constant set of key factors, including: a favourable regulatory and institutional framework; low offtake and country risks; a strong, local civil engineering base; favourable taxation regimes; low project development costs; and excellent resources.
Other key numbers from the report include:
- The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from solar photovoltaics (PV) decreased by 69% between 2010 and 2016 – coming well into the cost range of fossil fuels. Solar PV module costs have fallen by about four-fifths, making residential solar PV systems as much as two-thirds cheaper than in 2010.
- Onshore wind, whose costs fell 18% in the same period, provides very competitive electricity,
- As installation accelerates, the cost equation for renewables just gets better and better. With every doubling of cumulative installed capacity for onshore wind, investment costs drop by 9% while the resulting electricity becomes 15% cheaper.
Posted by: HPoulter
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