Issues like Brexit and negotiations of the next European budget will also demand a lot of attention, though Germany seeks to prioritise energy infrastructure investment as a means to help accelerate Europe’s economic recovery. To that end, Berlin plans to present its final presidency programme "shortly before" its kick-off on 1 July.

Together with the two next Council presidencies – Portugal and Slovenia – Germany forms the so-called “trio presidency” and will have to develop a more long-term programme for climate policy and designing a sustainable, digital Europe.

EU Green Deal tightens 2030 climate targets

Merkel and the French President Emmanuel Macron Merkel have already thrown their weight behind the idea of a European green stimulus and proposed a €500 billion European recovery programme, emphasising climate targets.

The EU Green Deal accelerates a shift to green power sources with the aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. To that end, Germany and France tightened their 2030 target from 40% to 55% emissions reduction.

Industry calls for tax relief

The industry responded swiftly, calling for emergency support measures during the coronavirus crisis such as tax reliefs and rules to boost investments in climate action. Dieter Kempf, head of the German industry association BDI, said private investments in energy efficiency and digitalisation could be boosted by improving amortisation rules for new project finance.

He also stressed that high power prices remain a burden for the competitiveness of German industry. A reduction of the surcharges and levies on electricity, such as grid fees, could instantly put money into the pockets of companies and private households alike.

Taxes and the renewable energy surcharge (EEG levy) have pushed up Germany’s household electricity prices to the second highest level in Europe, topped only by prices in Denmark. While Danish households paid €29.2 per 100 kWh on average in the second half of 2019, prices in Germany averaged €28.7, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat.

The project's total budget is close to €15.2 million, of which €10.5 million will be contributed entirely by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program.

Engie Solution operates a 12 MWe combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the Smurfit Kappa site which produces steam for the manufacturing company's requirements. This power plant will be used for demonstration project as the conversion of existing infrastructure helps to significantly lower costs and lead time.

To prove the Smurfit’s CHP plant can run up to 100% on renewable hydrogen, Siemens will upgrade a SGT-400 gas turbine needs to convert stored hydrogen into electricity and thermal energy and will also supply the electrolyser for hydrogen production.

Works began in May 2020

Engineering works were launched in May at Smurfit Kappa PRF’s site - a company specialized in manufacturing recycled paper in Saillat-sur-Vienne, France.

Each stakeholder of the European consortium has a clearly defined role: Engie will build the hydrogen production station and the mixing gas/hydrogen mixing station in 2021, which will be followed by Siemen’ installation of the gas turbine in 2020 and initial demonstration of the pilot plant concept.

Centrax will help upgrade and install the new turbine, German Aerospace Center (DLR) - together with University College London, University of Duisburg-Essen and Lund University - will support the hydrogen turbine technology development, Athens’ technical university will assess the concept while attic will support the operational project management

Aiming for full hydrogen firing by 2023

During two demonstration campaigns, the facility will be powered by a mix of natural gas and hydrogen, ultimately aiming for up to 100% hydrogen operation by 2023.

“Our goal is to make our gas turbines usable for 100 percent hydrogen. With that, our gas turbines can be the “technology of choice” for our customers to complement the intermittence of renewables and ensure a secure energy supply in the decarbonized world of the future,” said Karim Amin, CEO of the Generation Division of Siemens Gas and Power.

Project partner see the storing of fluctuating renewable energy as “one of the major challenges of the energy transition.” Striving to store excess renewable energy in the form of green hydrogen, the HYFLEXPOWER project will then test an entirely green hydrogen-based power supply for a completely carbon-free energy mix. This would save up to 65,000 tons of CO2 per year for a SGT-400 at baseload operation.

The energy planning solution has been co-developed by Shanghai Electric Distributed Energy Co., Ltd and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It allows customers to evaluate the financial viability of large-scale energy production projects before commissioning their construction.

Online delivery of spare parts

To that end, the platform covers 90% of the power plant "must-have" spare parts product lists. It can facilitate the online delivery of more than 22,000 spare parts products and 70 standard repair packages—all at near factory price.

Customers can use a standardized format for requirements. This improves the transaction efficiency by streamlining the communication process between buyers and sellers. Through big data analysis, the E-commerce platform stimulates the hope of incubating an integrated data-driven solution for intelligent and customized products and services.

Remote equipment diagnostics

Prior to placing any order, users of the SEunicloud platform can users can remotely run equipment diagnostics. They can procure and manage supply chains and monitor supplier contracts, source bidding, online purchasing and order coordination.

The intelligent supply chain platform also helps match sellers and buyers through historical data analysis in the procurement pricing process and automatically tracks and documents suppliers' historical performance. This facilitates the overall supply chain management process for due diligence.

"Under the big picture of 'new infrastructure', Shanghai Electric is leveraging its competitive advantage in big data in multiple pipelines, and paving the way for an integrated platform-based solution for the whole power industry," said Huang Ou, the Director and President of Shanghai Electric Group.

“Incoming orders did not match the record-high figure from the previous fiscal year,” the Winterthur-based company said. Operating and net income showed some improvement, but are still not yet at the levels Burckhardt has targeted in its mid-range plan.”

Consolidated order intake amounted to 607.3 million francs, 7.8% below the figure for the previous fiscal year, which was the highest ever recorded in the history of Burckhardt. Net income in fiscal 2019 rose by 23.8% to 39.9 million Swiss francs, or 6.3% of sales.

Targeting stable margins in FY2020

Nonetheless, for full year sales Burckhardt targets of more than 650 million Swiss francs ($676 million), despite the current global uncertainties.

“From today’s perspective, the company expects stable profit margins for the 2020 financial year,” it said, noting; “The longer-term effects of the global coronavirus situation on Burckhardt’s business cannot be estimated at this time.”

The gross profit margin at the System Division increased to 11%, up from 8.1% in fiscal 2018, despite some 10 million Swiss Francs in cost overruns from the Burckhardt’s LNGM business.

Gross profit at the Service Division, meanwhile, was up just 1.7% -- well below the prior-year gross margin of 47.0%. The company notes in its earnings statement this is primarily because the gross margin at Arkos Field Services is much lower than the average margin of the Group’s other services operations. So, excluding acquisition activity, the gross profit margin of the Services business stood at 47.8%.

Net loss amid Arkos acquisition, investment in China

The net financial position in fiscal-2019 amounted to a loss of 91.7 million francs, up from the loss of 49.4 million francs in the previous year.

This figure reflects an increase in net working capital, the acquisition of the remaining 60% interest in Arkos Field Services and the fixed investment at the new factory in Shenyang in the northeast Chinese province of Liaoning.

“Construction of the new factory in Shenyang, China, is well on track despite an interrupt of six weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak,” Burckhardt Compression underlined, so “the new factory will be able to commence operations in autumn 2020, as planned.”

Price calculations and estimates of a fuel displacement need to take into account that Pacific coal prices are free to move with coal’s supply-demand fundamentals, while the oil-indexed LNG cost is only tied to what is happening in the oil market.

“Any large-scale displacement of Australian coal from the Korean import mix would weigh heavily on coal prices,” analysts said, noting the drop in coal prices might help preserve the use of some coal-fired generation units.

Fuel switch might trigger further coal closures in Korea

But analysts also think the fuel switch window could receive policy tailwinds in South Korea and lead to further mandatory closures of coal power plants which would “allow for greater oil-indexed imports at a time when they are cheapest.”  

“This would prevent KOGAS from having to sell its long-term supply on the global spot market,” Energy Aspects said, adding the Korean gas company recently noted a considerable month-on-month downturn in its April gas sales to the domestic power sector, as the mandated coal plant closure ended and while oil-indexed LNG was still uncompetitive against coal and spot LNG in power.

China may halt Australian coal imports if dispute escalates

The thermal coal market in Asia Pacific faces another source of downward pressure from a reduction in Chinese buying as China is in a trade dispute with Australia, after the latter supported an U.S. investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

If the feud is escalating, analysts see a risk that China might halt its coal imports from Australia which would have a knock-on effect on global coal and LNG markets.  

“If China displaces a share of Australian coal with its own domestic production, rather than just importing from another supplier, then it could drag down seaborne coal prices in the Pacific,” analysts said. China’s National People’s Congress last week stressed the importance of domestic ‘clean coal’ in the topic of energy security, indicating support for a domestic output push.

“Collapsing Pacific coal prices would be a headwind against South Korean fuel switching, as well as spot LNG being competitive against coal elsewhere in Asia’s power sector,” analyst said, concluding the affordability of LNG in Asia will continue to lead to demand growth despite residual lockdowns in some countries.

Independent buyers in Korea and India snap up cheap spot LNG

There has been ample LNG buying from Korean independents, second-tier Chinese LNG importers and even Indian refiners returning to the market in recent weeks. A lot of this buying is likely a decision by these firms to capture the low point in global prices, but there will be support for LNG buying through the year.

Starting from late August, a two-month time spread starts is expected to “become economic for [cargoes with] JKM delivery.” According to Energy Aspects, “this will allow for US exports even if the prompt arbitrage remains shut. But the start of this trade will put further pressure on JKM winter2020/21 prices.”

Risco is a gas infrastructure provider to PT Perta Gas Niaga, part of Indonesia’s Pertamina Group. The rental equipment will help transport LNG to decentralized power generation projects, and to set up LNG fuel stations for vehicles and trucks.

Shell signed a letter of intent to install 7 fuelling stations in Germany, and in May the oil major sealed the purchase order for two of these seven stations. Another four stations were ordered from an unnamed customer, Chart said when giving an update on Q2-business activities.

“While the current economic situation continues to be challenging for our oil related product lines, we continue to see demand for our equipment and solutions related to the transition to clean energy infrastructure and our specialty markets,” Chart stated.

India recently extended excise duties on diesel, and Germany is expected to prolong the toll exemption for LNG-fuelled heavy duty trucks on German highways in early June. Such tax breaks incentivise companies to build the relevant infrastructure s, such as LNG fuelling stations and additional over-the-road LNG trucks.

Cutting costs to improve margins, pay off debt

The Atlanta-based company has cut costs by over $60 million year-to-date in a bid to expand its profit margin through 2020, achieve “strong free cash flow” for the year, “with debt paydown a priority.”

April cash-intake from activities for continuing operations amounted to $15.5 million and corresponding free cash flow included capital expenditures of $12.6 million, driven by strong earnings, cash collections and supplier terms extensions.

Over the past two months, the company has approached all their 311 suppliers to negotiate an extension of payment terms of 38 days. New payment terms for those suppliers average 89 days.

Factoring in the cost of storage and gas pipeline infrastructure, the the delivered cost of renewable hydrogen could fall to around $2/kg in 2030 and $1/kg in China, India and Western Europe by 2050. In this event, green hydrogen would effectively outcompete both coal and natural gas as a fuel for power generation.

Clean fuel for energy-intensive industries

Today, some 70 million tonnes of hydrogen are already used for oil refining and in the petrochemical industry worldwide. Falling costs for hydrogen would spiral up the use of that clean fuel and help decarbonizes some of the most energy-intensive industries.

However, a decisive build-out in electrolysers to get hydrogen produced in sufficient quantities will require a determined push by policymakers, BNEF underlined. “The clean hydrogen industry is currently tiny and costs are high. There is big potential for costs to fall, but the use of hydrogen needs to be scaled up and a network of supply infrastructure created,” said Kobad Bhavnagri, head of industrial decarbonisation for BNEF.

“This needs policy coordination across government, frameworks for private investment, and the roll-out of around $150 billion of subsidies over the next decade,” he forecast.

EU-wide push to deliver hydrogen at scale

Across Europe, hydrogen gains momentum with up to 10 MW of larger-scale project announced, amid supportive policies in France and soon also in Germany.

The European Commission is preparing to launch an EU-wide “clean hydrogen alliance” in the summer, bringing together national governments and companies involved in the hydrogen value chain. The initiative will be modelled on the European Battery Alliance, which brought together more than 200 companies, policy makers and research organisations around battery manufacturing.

STEG, short for Société Tunisienne de l'Élecriticité et du Gaz, has contracted Ansaldo Energia in 2018 to build the Mornaguia power plant. The order, worth some 250 million Euros, covers construction, commissioning, equipment supply, as well as maintenance work.

Situated southwest of Tunis, the Mornaguia power plant is driven by two AE94.3A model gas turbines, plus the relative generators and auxiliary systems. All equipment has been manufactured in Ansaldo’s production facilities in Genoa, Italy.

As a quick-start turbine, the AE94.3A can reach baseload condition in less than 25 minutes thanks to a fast load ramp, making it suitable for grid balancing. The turbine can run in both open and combined-cycle mode. The turbine’s hot fuel change-over function allows the turbine to run on a wide range of fuels, from natural gas to liquids.

Since 1999, Ansaldo has installed over 70 units of AE94.3A turbines at customer sites worldwide with a combined capacity of almost 20 GW.

The Italian manufacturer has developed several power projects in Tunisia such as the Sousse C and Sousse D plants in the Sidi Abdel-Hamid region, and the Rades B plant. It also coordinates service work on the Ghannouch plant.

Siemens’ customer, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) is building the 900 mmcf/d central processing platform on behalf of Petronal Carigali. MMHE has formed a joint venture with Technip to carry out this work.

Thorbjoern Fors, CEO for Siemens Energy Oil & Gas Division pointed out the latest contract award follows the company’s “breakthrough year in 2018 in Malaysia” when Siemens supplied three SGT-300 units based on a Global Frame Agreement with Petronas.

The new order comprises of three SGT-300 industrial gas turbine generators, three mechanical-drive SGT-300 gas turbines and three DATUM centrifugal compressors. The three turbines, with a capacity of 7.9 MW each, will together provide enough electricity for the entire central gas processing platform as well as for the living quarters on the offshore platform.

Lower life-cycle cost, less maintenance

Siemens’ SGT-300 turbine is most renowned for its use in the oil and gas industry and is a popular choice due to the compact arrangement of its high-efficiency dry low emissions (DLE) combustion system.

“Compared to other gas turbines on the market, the SGT-300 GTG offers a lower life cycle cost, particularly a longer overhaul interval, as well as higher reliability,” Siemens said in a statement, specifying the system has more than 7 million hours of operating experience worldwide.

The mechanical drive gas turbines are designed to up to 9 MW power output at ISO condition. Once installed, they will directly drive the DATUM compressors that will compress and export sales gas to the existing riser platform near-shore, before delivering gas to the LNG complex.

Planned start-up in Q1-2023

The core engine for each SGT-300 will be manufactured at the Siemens Gas Turbine Service Center in Lincoln, United Kingdom, and the GTGs and gas turbine compressor train will be packaged and tested in Houston, Texas, U.S.

The units will be delivered to the customer in time for the planned start-up of the central processing plant in the first quarter of 2023.

Working in consortium with Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC), Germany-based MAN Energy Solutions was responsible for the delivery and commissioning of the unit’s four 14V51/60 dual-fuel engines, while the Danish power plant specialist BWSC handled the plant’s construction.

Start-up of the four dual-fuel 14V51/60 engines will allow BELCO to retire several of Pembroke power station’s older units, currently 17 in total. The upgraded plant will ensure reliable and efficient energy supply for 60,000 local inhabitants of the Bermudian capital.

“The complex in Pembroke is the main power station that ensures the energy supply for the island, so the reliability of the technology used has top priority. Our MAN dual-fuel engines provide the operational flexibility and reliability required to operate such a centralized power plant complex," said Thorsten Dradrach, head of power plant sales in the Americas at MAN Energy Solutions.

Long-term service agreement

The four new engines will be serviced and maintained by MAN PrimeServ, which already services four MAN 14V48/60 engines in operation at the Pembroke power plant complex.

The accord covers spare part provision and scheduled plant maintenance assisted by MAN service staff. With the start of construction of the new units in late 2018, the service contract has been extended by five years and now also includes the new dual-fuel engines.

“Smooth operation of the power-plant engines is the basis for a stable power supply to the island and, thanks to our many years of experience in maintaining the Pembroke power plant, we will also ensure this for the new dual-fuel engines,” said Dr. Michael Filous, head of service agreements at MAN PrimeServ.

The Marzahn CHP has an electrical capacity of approximately 260 MW, and a thermal capacity of around 230 MW. Together with a gas-fired power plant in Klingenberg, it will form the backbone of the district heating supply in the eastern part of Berlin with a total of 450,000 households.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Marzahn CHP, Berlin major Michael Müller said the new plant will make an important contribution to the city's climate-neutral energy supply. It not only provides electricity for up to approximately one million inhabitants but can also supply around 150,000 Berlin households with district heating.

From Berlin for Berlin

The heart of the plant is a gas turbine manufactured at the Siemens plant in Berlin-Moabit.

"Normally we deliver our gas turbines all over the world. Today, however, we are pleased to be able to commission a gas turbine from Berlin for Berlin," said Jochen Eickholt, member of Siemens Energy’s managing board.

"Siemens Energy is also at home here in Berlin and we are an important employer here. With the new combined heat and power plant, almost a quarter of a million tons of CO2 are avoided each year, which corresponds to the typical emissions of around 125,000 cars. This is how we support the capital on its individual path to climate neutrality."

Tanja Wielgoß, CEO of Vattenfall Wärme Berlin commented the commissioning of the Marzahn CHP the operator has taken “a big step toward meeting the Paris climate protection goals by 2030 with the city of Berlin"

Aiming for hydrogen-fired CHPs

At the same time, a CHP plant like the one in Marzahn can play an important role in the currently hotly debated hydrogen strategy for Germany.

Green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis from excess wind and solar power supply, is currently being tested for use as fuel in replacement for natural gas which could potentially reduce power plant emissions to zero. Siemens is

“The truth here, however, is that a lot of research and development still has to be done, “Wielgoß cautioned, suggesting it might still take a while for this technology to be future-proof for both heating and power supply.

Though pump storage remains important, new-build flexibility assets will focus largely on interconnectors, gas peakers and energy storage. Combined deployments of the three technologies will grow from 122 GW in 2020 to 202 GW by 2030 and reach 260 GW by 2040, Wood Mackenzie forecast, stressing “without this new fleet, the system would become unmanageable.”

“The only dispatchable assets – those that can be used on demand – constructed will be purpose-built flexibility assets. These will be designed to compliment and capitalise on a new system architecture.” WoodMac’s principal analyst Rory McCarthy stressed. The Edinburg-based consultancy has used its hourly dispatch model and forecast technology costs to create a new European energy storage outlook.

Energy storage to overtake gas peakers

Gas peaking plants have for long been used to balance intermittent renewable energy supply. They can ramp up to full output from warm in a couple of minutes for modern systems, have increasing efficiency levels at part loading and boast unlimited duration – assuming a reliable gas supply.

“Yet, by 2030, energy storage will beat gas peakers on cost across all our target markets, resulting in a cloudy outlook for any new future peaking turbines. Fuel and carbon prices are on the up, technology costs are not set for any major decreases and net-zero policies will eventually target the decarbonisation of all power market services,” McCarthy noted. “Unabated gas is likely to be the EU’s next target after coal, although market forces are already pushing it out.”

Although energy storage will dominate the build out during the 2030s as gas peaker capacity plateaus, gas peakers will continue to be critical and will fulfil the role of backup and grid balancing. However, gas units, including large combined-cycle power plants (CCGTs) that cannot find a way to operate profitably with reduced utilisation and increased flexibility, will be forced to close.

New energy storage to near 90 GW by 2040

Storage across all segments will to grow from 3 GW in 2020 to reach 26 GW in 2030, and up to 89 GW by 2040, according to Wood Mackenzie findings.

System durations are set to increase in line with falling battery cost. By 2040, some 320 GWh of energy storage (excluding pump storage) capacity could be available to balance the system on a second-to-second basis.

“For storage and solar-plus-storage, technology costs will continue to decline. The levelised cost for a standalone 3-hour system will reduce by 33% through 2030. Its ability to take advantage of peaks alongside gas plants and capitalise on low and negative prices, which gas plants cannot, pushes it into preferred flexible asset territory,” McCarthy explained.

Coal and nuclear power to lose out

The rise of renewables will go at the expense of coal generation, which is being phased out in Germany by 2038. Nuclear power will also lose out throughout Europe, forecast to fall 41 GW in operational capacity by 2040.

Large gas plants are also expected to experience a net reduction of 40 GW over this period as utilisation is pushed down. Energy storage and interconnectors, alongside demand response, meanwhile are expected to become the key tools when dealing with common low and negative net load hours.

“Without these tools at the system operator’s disposal, we would have to curtail an eyewatering amount of clean energy,” McCarty warned. In his view, “the market needs to provide the right signals for a high capex renewables build-out.” This could mean paying for flexibility services instead of just paying for the electricity produced.

Hydrogen emits only water when burned and if this hydrogen is produced from via electrolysis from solar PV or wind power, the process results in a 100% carbon-free fuel source. IPA is striving to minimize its carbon footprint across Utah, Nevada and California.

Plan to convert IPP to 100% hydrogen by 2045

Black & Veatch was chosen for the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) Renewal Project due to its long-standing relation with the operator, having designed the original coal-fuelled IPP in the early 1980s. The conversion will see the coal power unit get replaced by a gas-fired unit, driven by two single-shaft combustion turbines in combined-cycle mode.

These turbines will be commercially guaranteed capable of blending 30% green hydrogen at start-up, with plans to increase hydrogen utilization to 100% by 2045.

In addition to installing the two combined cycle units at the Intermountain power plant, Black & Veatch will support expansion of existing switchyards, new HVDC converter stations, and conversion of the two existing 900 MW generators into synchronous condensers.

Flexible dispatch to respond to renewable swings

The hydrogen co-fired CCGT s being designed with high thermal efficiencies and an operational flexibility that will allow it to quickly ramp up and down in response to California’s challenging “duck curve.” Hence, it can be dispatched for baseload power, to follow load and renewable generation swings, or in response to long-duration energy storage needs that far exceed current battery capabilities.

Going forward, the IPP Renewal Project envisions development of long-duration hydrogen storage in geologic salt caverns that are adjacent to the power plant. If feasible, this would result in a fully dispatchable zero-carbon energy resource capable of providing highly reliable and resilient electricity r on demand.

“Using renewable energy in the form of green hydrogen will help California meet its zero-carbon state goals for 2045,“ said Brian Sheets, project manager with Black & Veatch’s power business.

“The location in central Utah is significant,” he stressed, explaining that the local geology allows for storing excess hydrogen in large underground caverns. Moreover, existing regional transmission infrastructure will serve as a hub for collecting and transporting renewable energy to southern California.

Nearly 90% of Germany's coal plants were not profitable last year, and E3G, an independent climate change think tank, points out that the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated the situation as the share of coal power dropped to a record low of 16% in April.

"If renewables are expanded rapidly, it is likely that Germany can and, for economic reasons, must phase out coal earlier," analysts stressed. Otherwise, the government might lose the chance of orchestrating a regulated coal exit which gives planning security to power plant operators, employees and regional states.

Germany has officially set in motion a gradual withdrawal from coal, but key parts of the necessary legislation are still missing

A slowing economy and mild weather in April and May lowered Germany's energy demand significantly in the first quarter of 2020. Recent data AG Energiebilanzen show renewable energy sources accounted for more than half of the electricity fed into Germany's power grid over the full quarter — the first time this has happened.

Renewables energy supply rose 6% in the first quarter of 2020, compared to Q1-2019, while the contribution of oil fell by-3.2%, natural gas by 5.5% and the share of nuclear power plunged by -17%.

Petronas LNG stated the deliveries were part of a sale and purchase agreement with CNTIC and VPower, signed in early 2020.

The two cargoes, with a total LNG volume of 190,000 cubic metres, were shipped from the Petronas LNG plant at Bintulu in the eastern state of Sarawak and arrived at the port of Yangon on May 7. Further cargoes will follow in due course to ensure a stable fuel supply for CNTIC and VPower’s three power projects.

VPower fast-tracks 900 MW emergency power

During the past summer, the Yangon area of the country was subjected to power cuts of up to six hours a day. The government wants to avoid a repeat of this dire situation; hence it launched a tender for three emergency power units.

The Chinese joint venture of CNTIC and VPower Group won the tender and is now fast-tacking works on two LNG-to-power projects to serve in the wider Yangon region as well as a third project in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Wärtsilä was awarded an order in February to deliver eight 50SG engines for two power plants with 292 MW combined capacity. The Finish manufacturer said the LNG-fuelled gensets are meant to be “installed and operational within a matter of months.”

“Endeavouring to deliver the much-needed electricity to millions of households in Myanmar, we set stringent requirements on product efficiency, reliability and safety, and also the suppliers’ capability of timely delivery,” said VPower Group’s chief commercial officer, Earnest Cheung. “Wärtsilä has proven in previous projects that it can be relied on to deliver on a fast-track schedule, and the high efficiency of its gas engine solutions is what is needed here,” he added.

Once commissioned, the flexible power plant can operate base load at high efficiency but can also provide balancing power. This will allow introducing more intermittent renewable energy sources to Myanmar’s power grid in the future.

Zeya and VPower build further four units

Together with Zeya Associates, VPower Group is building another four emergency power projects in Myanmar, after having won a competitive tender in mid-October 2019.

The LNG-fuelled power units are being built in the town of Kyaukphyu, Rakhine state, as well as in Thanlyin and Thaketa, Yangon state. VPower also secured a 20 MW project in Kyun Chaung that will be supplied by pipeline gas by Myanmar’s state pipeline company.

All these emergency power projects are due to start commercial operation in time for peak summer demand -- and way before Myanmar’s upcoming general parliamentary election which is likely to be held in November.

The revamp divides Eni’s operations into two groups - Natural Resources and Energy Evolution. The latter focuses on power generation from natural gas, renewables and biomethane as well as retail gas & power, mobility marketing and Eni’s the refining and chemicals businesses. The companies Versalis (chemical products) and Eni gas e luce will also be consolidated in this business group.

Eni pointed out its new Energy Evolution business unit will coordinate the bio and circular evolution of the Company’s refining system and chemical business, and it will further develop Eni’s retail portfolio, providing increasingly more decarbonized products for mobility, household consumption and small enterprises. Thanks to the business group’s coordination, the Company will be able to develop these activities in an integrated way, both geographically and in terms of business line, maximizing results in terms of product development, customer service and profitability.

The company’s Natural Resources segment, meanwhile, incorporates Eni’s oil & gas exploration, development and production activities, natural gas wholesale via pipeline and LNG. The company said the focus hereby will be on technological development, and increased efficiency to maximise of cash generation, even in challenging scenarios.

“This new structure reflects Eni’s pivot to the energy transition,” said CEO Claudio Descalzi said. “With our new plan, we have set our path for the next 30 years. We are creating two new business groups [with] specific objectives, but they will also cooperate to deliver on the transition and to provide our customers with the widest range of sustainable products,” he explained.

The reorganization comes against the background of a global fight against climate change and promotion of sustainable development. “Only those who pursue these in an innovative way will create value in the long term,” Descalzi said, stressing; “We want to be main actors in a Just Energy Transition, in which we believe, and is central to Eni’s transformation.”

Saudi Oil Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told participants at Saturday’s virtual OPEC meeting “we all have made sacrifices to make where we are today.” He said remained shocked by U.S. oil futures having fallen below zero for a few days in April -- a phenomenon that needs to be avoided from repetition.

UAE oil minister Suhail al-Mazrouei called the OPEC’s latest move a “courageous decision,” but market observers are uncertain if the limited extension of production cuts is deep enough to avoid prices from falling so low that it creates a global financial risk.

Saudis aim to keep prices below $50/bbl

Saudi Arabia, OPEC dominant member state, and Russia are trying to push up prices meet their budget needs and stabilize them around $40-45/bbl. At the same time, they want to avoid driving prices much above $50/bbl as to not incentivize a rebound in rival U.S. shale production.

“Lower oil prices, if sustained, are bad news for highly responsive US oil companies, but we are unlikely to see an impact on output growth until later in the year,” analysts at the International Energy Agency (IEA) commented.

Shale oil and gas fracking in North America is very sensitive to price. Latest projections by the U.S. Government see Brent crude oil prices average $34/b in 2020 and in this event exploration & development spending could fall to less than $10 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe).

Iraq, Nigeria failed to comply with initial cuts

Eager to prop up prices, OPEC+ had initially agreed in April to cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May-June. Those cuts were meant to taper to 7.7 million bpd from July to December.

However, these supply cuts proved not steep enough to balance the plunge in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, there was a lack of compliance of members like Iraq and Nigeria with the reduced production quota. Saudi Arabia is now adamant to enforce compensations in the coming months.

Demand is now recovering, albeit slowly. Though lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus have been lifted in several major economies across Asia and Europe, excess oil production keeps weighing down prices as global aviation remains largely grounded.

Electric cars are gradually becoming competitive in some countries on the basis of the total cost of ownership (which includes fuel expenses as well as purchase costs), even if the recent plunge in oil prices has eroded that somewhat. But analysts cautioned “the high upfront investment for consumers – electric car prices are still higher than those of conventional cars,” meaning the electric car market still relies on government support.

New e-car models, financial incentives

Concerning buyers of electric cars are increasingly spoiled for choice. Around 100 new electric car models will become available over the course of 2020; hence, IEA analysts say it is “quite possible that global electric car sales in 2020 will continue their upward trend.”

The Paris-base agency estimates global electric car sales to slightly exceed 2019’s total to reach more than 2.3 million and achieve a record share of the overall car market of more than 3%. This brings up the total number of electric cars on the road worldwide to a new record of about 10 million, around 1% of the global car stock.

Today, electric cars in many markets are subject to a host of incentives and regulatory efforts. Most global electric car sales involve a financial incentive from governments that often takes the form of direct purchase subsidies or tax reductions.

Concerns that the coronvirus crisis might prompt national government to relax fuel efficiency standards have not happened so far. China announced it would extend the purchase subsidies that it had originally planned to discontinue this year until 2022 – albeit at a slightly reduced rate. In addition, the typical electric car buyer in many countries still tends to be wealthier than the average consumer and might be less affected by the economic downturn.

Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works were carried out by BPC Milner, a joint venture of PCL Construction and Black & Veatch. During the construction phase, the project has created over 120 jobs.

Operating at full capacity since mid-May 8, the M2 peaking power plant is the largest simple-cycle power unit in Alberta and a milestone in the province’s transition away from coal generation.

Maxim specified it built the M2 power project with capital expenditure of C$147 million before borrowing costs, and is considering increasing the plant’s capacity from currently 204 MW to about 300 MW by converting the plant into combined-cycle mode.

Replacing Milner-1 coal power unit

The new M2 gas peaking power unit has been built adjacent to the HR Milner Generating Station -- a 150 MW dual fuel steam turbine generator capable of burning both natural gas and coal. Milner 1 is currently permitted to run at a 9% capacity factor until December 31, 2029.

As a result of commissioning M2, the mostly coal-fired M1 has been laid up with the option to restart at a later date as a stand-alone unit or in combined-cycle operation with Milner 2.

Power produced from both the M2 and the M1 unit is sold to the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), the operator Maxim Power specified.

As one of Canada’s largest independent power producers, Maxim is focussed entirely on power projects in Alberta. The utility stressed the M2 and M2 power unit generate a stable revenue stream for the Grande Cache regional government and stable electricity supply to local businesses.

As the UK economy reels under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, pressure is building on the Government to deliver a recovery plant that prioritizes funding for energy infrastructure, notable renewables, energy storage and electric vehicles.

A letter signed by national business leaders argues that funding “projects such as building renovation, offshore wind, electric vehicles, environmental improvements and low-carbon industrial clusters” will boost private investment and create jobs across the UK.

Whitehall has not come forward with concrete spending commitments, but analysts at the consultancy Delta-EE anticipate a growth in the e-vehicle segment -- not least because of the UK’s legally binding targets, enacted in July 2019, to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, compared with the previous target of at least 80% reduction from 1990 levels.

“We expect a significant drop in new vehicle sales in 2020 due to Covid-19 – as much as a 30% reduction. But we believe charge point installations will continue to grow across all segments, backed by renewed government funding,” said John Murray, head of electric vehicles at the consultancy Delta-EE.

Removing the lack of e-chargers to boost EV acceptance

To date, the low availability of charge points is one of the key barriers to widespread EV adoption. BP recently revealed through research in France, Germany, Spain and the UK that the availability of charge points was second only to price as the most significant barrier to EV adoption.

Ultra-fast charging is seen as key to EV uptake with the public. Hence the industry is calling on the private and public sector to work out an implement policy measures to make this a reality. “We’re all eager to see the transition to electric happen as quickly as possible, but if more emphasis is put on the infrastructure behind it, we could see an accelerated EV uptake in line with the government’s vision,” Murray underlined.

By 2030, the majority of charge points, or around 71%, are likely to be still installed at home.  But this figure is forecast to fall by 5% over the next decade as a rising number of EV owners will not have access to off-street parking.

Delta-EE expects workplace charging will grow by 7% by 2030, as this option will increasingly substitute home charging. “While workplace charging currently looks set for the biggest growth, COVID-19 may also have a lasting impact on working practices and mobility habits,” Murray said, adding: “The reality is that for people with EVs, and no access to off-street parking, they will need to charge their vehicles somehow, and workplace charging will still play a very important role in this.”