1)
4-8-19
Southeast Asian markets have been perceived as the
next frontier for coal-fired power plant development. Coal has been valued for its ability to provide low-cost base-load power, which is essential in Southeast Asia. Up to 2030, there are many new projects under construction and others in different stages of development that will double the coal-fired power capacity in the region.
However, declining costs and increased deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, combined with dwindling options for developers to permit, finance, and construct new coal plants, are resulting in many countries in the region reducing the contribution of coal in their future fuel mix.
IHS Markit expects construction of new coal plants to slow down. After 2030, new coal-fired power projects will be sporadic and limited to places where no other viable options exist. Challenging business conditions contributing to this slowdown in new coal build projects as more banks balk at financing new coal projects, joined by governments choosing to pursue greener pathways. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms are also scaling back their capability to manufacture and build coal plants owing to declining business prospects. https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/coalfired-power-in-southeast-asia.html
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2) Last year Origin Energy stunned the market by signing a long-term deal to buy electricity from the Stockyard Hill windfarm being developed west of Ballarat in Victoria, reportedly at less than $55 a megawatt hour.
That set a new benchmark. AGL swiftly followed suit at its Coopers Gap windfarm project in south-east Queensland, which is set to be the largest wind farm in Australia. A series of similar deals followed, firmly establishing a wholesale price for wind energy at between $50 and $60 a megawatt hour.
Electricity from large-scale solar power plants is now similarly priced, after dramatic declines in the costs of production for solar modules.
"The numbers right now are between $50 and $60 a megawatt hour," says David Leitch of ITK Services, an independent energy analyst with decades of experience, who has previously worked for major investment banks.
…electricity from a new coal generator using so-called "high-efficiency, low-emissions" technology would be more than $150 a megawatt hour, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-03/angus-taylor-energy-minister-power-price-solution-curious/10188496
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3) 2-13-2017 Farmers across Australia are choosing to invest in on-farm renewable energy sources to cut costs and reduce reliance on electricity providers.
Farm lobby groups have stepped up their campaign to reduce electricity costs on behalf of producers struggling to cope with rising prices.
National Irrigators Council chief executive Steve Whan said high costs were putting particular pressure on irrigators. But some irrigators are taking things into their own hands and have adopted solar panels to help cut costs. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-02-14/irrigators-turn-to-solar/8268004
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4) 11-29-2018 by 2030 new wind and solar will be cheaper than continuing to operate 96% of today’s existing and planned coal plants, the report by London-based environmental think-tank Carbon Tracker said.
“Our analysis shows a least-cost power system without coal should be seen as an economic inevitability rather than a clean and green nicety,” said Sebastian Ljungwaldh, energy analyst at Carbon Tracker and co-author of the report. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-coal/more-than-40-percent-of-world-coal-plants-are-unprofitable-report-idUSKCN1NZ00B
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5) 12-4-18 WASHINGTON The Trump administration is poised to roll back a significant climate change regulation on coal-fired power plants, making it easier to build new coal plants in the United States….
The replacement measure eases those constraints, sending a powerful signal to the coal industry, as well as to other countries struggling with the political difficulties of addressing climate change, that the United States is trying to pave the way for coal-burning plants.
The move is not expected to lead to the immediate construction of new coal plants, which aren’t financially viable because of a combination of cheap natural gas and other environmental regulations. But the Trump administration’s proposal is the latest message that the federal government is embracing the coal industry. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/climate/epa-coal-carbon-capture.html
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6) 2-20-19 the main reason coal may battle to fuel India's future energy needs is that it's simply becoming too expensive relative to renewable energy alternatives such as wind and solar.
In recent months power supply auctions have shown that renewables can be offered at less than 3 rupees (4 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour, a tariff that coal-fired generators have difficulty matching. There is also zero chance that new coal generators can produce electricity at rates competitive to renewables, given higher capital and operating costs. Rajit Desai, the head of engineering, procurement and construction at major private generator Tata Power, told a forum at this week's Coaltrans India conference that his company wasn't looking at developing any new coal plants. Tata Power is instead focusing on buying coal-fired power plants that are effectively distressed assets.
Many of these plants started construction in the past seven years, when power demand and price forecasts for electricity were bullish. Some of the plants under construction or newly completed, though, have been unable to secure power purchase agreements with high enough prices for them to operate profitably. This means a company such as Tata Power can buy these brownfield plants at a discount steep enough to make them viable at the electricity prices currently being offered.
The coal sector's struggles are starting to show in data compiled by the Global Coal Plant Tracker. As of January, India had 36.12 gigawatts (GW) of coal capacity under construction and 220 GW operating, according to the data. The data also shows, however, a total of 491 GW of planned capacity additions were canceled in the past eight years, a fairly dramatic scale-back of India's coal-fired aspirations. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/20/reuters-america-column-coal-going-from-winner-to-loser-in-indias-energy-future-russell.html
....................................................................................................7) 10-15-17 Last week China announced it was stopping or postponing work on 151 coal plants that were either under, or earmarked for, construction. Last month India reported its national coal fleet on average ran at little more than 60% of its capacity--among other things, well below what is generally considered necessary for an individual generator to be financially viable. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/16/world-going-slow-coal-misinformation-distorting-facts
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8) Speaking to the Sydney forum, Ms. Figueres said the Paris Agreement required countries to bring forward the most ambitious possible national targets every five years. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-07/canberra-inaction-on-climate-change-appallling/11088336?section=business
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9) The Australian Institute of Company Directors' (AICD) biannual Director Sentiment Index--based on a survey of 1,252 public and private company directors undertaken between September 13 and 27--shows directors are heeding warnings from regulators about the risks of climate change and the fact that they may, in future, be held liable for failing to act…. The survey also found more than 80 per cent of directors support stronger penalties for misconduct, and 57 per cent support an increase in funding for regulators. Almost 90 per cent of directors said they were working on cultural change within their organisation.
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10) China's overseas ventures include hundreds of electric power plants that burn coal, which is a significant emitter of the carbon scientifically linked to climate change. Edward Cunningham, a specialist on China and its energy markets at Harvard University, tells NPR that China is building or planning more than 300 coal plants in places as widely spread as Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt and the Philippines...."When you put money down and put steel into the ground for a coal-fired power plant," says Cunningham, "it's a 40- or 50-year commitment." In one sense China's push for coal is not surprising: China knows how to build coal plants. It is the world's largest coal consumer, drawing more than 70 percent of its electricity from coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration....
China has made more than $244 billion in energy investments abroad since 2000, much of it in recent years, according to a Boston University database. The bulk is in oil and gas, but more than $50 billion has gone toward coal https://www.npr.org/2019/04/29/716347646/why-is-china-placing-a-global-bet-on-coal
10) China's overseas ventures include hundreds of electric power plants that burn coal, which is a significant emitter of the carbon scientifically linked to climate change. Edward Cunningham, a specialist on China and its energy markets at Harvard University, tells NPR that China is building or planning more than 300 coal plants in places as widely spread as Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt and the Philippines...."When you put money down and put steel into the ground for a coal-fired power plant," says Cunningham, "it's a 40- or 50-year commitment." In one sense China's push for coal is not surprising: China knows how to build coal plants. It is the world's largest coal consumer, drawing more than 70 percent of its electricity from coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration....
China has made more than $244 billion in energy investments abroad since 2000, much of it in recent years, according to a Boston University database. The bulk is in oil and gas, but more than $50 billion has gone toward coal https://www.npr.org/2019/04/29/716347646/why-is-china-placing-a-global-bet-on-coal
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11) 1-25-19 In 2017 coal generation rose by 3%, after falling the previous two years (-2% and -3%, respectively). There was significant growth in coal generation in Asia, particularly in China and India, and decline elsewhere, including in the United States and the European Union. Coal-fired power generation remains the largest source of electricity generation worldwide, with a share of around 37%.
Coal-fired power generation in the United States continued its decline in 2017 (-33 TWh) as competitive gas generation and renewables--benefiting from tax credits, state-specific expansion targets and cost reductions – further squeezed coal out of the generation mix. Coal generation in the European Union decreased (-22 TWh), mainly due to low gas prices and carbon policies that prompted fuel switching to gas. In the United Kingdom, a phase-out of coal by 2025 has been announced....
Coal-fired electricity generation in India rose by 13%, a substantial rebound of growth in the country, due mainly to strong growth in power demand (+12%). Southeast Asian economies saw strong coal generation growth as well in 2017....Despite the increase in generation, investments in coal-fired power capacity declined sharply in 2017 from over USD 90 billion in 2016 to around USD 60 billion due to a slowdown in commissioning of new coal plants. Moreover, the capacity of new coal-fired power plants receiving final investment decisions in 2017 fell to just over 30 GW, the lowest level in over 15 years and only 35% of that registered in 2015. The slowdown in investment decisions during the past two years has been led mostly by China, followed by India and Southeast Asia. https://www.iea.org/tcep/power/coal/https://www.iea.org/tcep/power/coal/
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12) The 35 billion dollars we will spend on these useless, fraud-prone certificates (carbon credits) is $35 billion we are taking out of the Australian labor market, or not spending on medicine, books or holidays in Bali. Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy, has noticed that this means $10b less tax will be paid too, which means less money for hospitals and schools.
There’s nothing wrong with payments to foreigners for real goods and services. but carbon credits buy us 0.0001C of theoretical cooling we don’t need and won’t be able to measure 100 years from now. It’s the dumbest deal Australia has ever made. Fraudsters and bankers will love it.
Tony Abbott won 90 seats on a promise to Axe The Carbon Tax in 2013. But, without any election, Australians still got e xactly the carbon tax they voted overwhelmingly to stop. It’s one of the biggest lies in politics. It was brought in deceptively and is still being hidden by the Labor-lite unreformed Liberals. Turnbull finally achieved what Rudd and Gillard tried to do for years, but strangely Turnbull didn’t want to brag about it. He knew the voters would hate it. http://joannenova.com.au/2019/05/labor-plan-sends-35b-in-jobs-and-goods-overseas-carbon-tax-is-dumbest-deal-of-the-century/
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