ENERGY NEWS - TURKEY
Turkey to Offer 'Green Only' Power Tariff to Consumers

Turkey completed draft regulations to allow power producers and suppliers to prove they produce energy from renewable energy resources so consumers can see the source of their electricity purchases, according to data obtained by Anadolu Agency from Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) Wednesday.

EMRA completed the draft regulations for the Renewable Energy Source Guarantee Document (YEK-G), which will prove that power generated by renewable producers is green and clean.

According to the draft, YEK-G documentation will be produced and registered for green electricity producers for a newly formed market on Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST) where the cost of renewable electricity will be traded.

The draft regulations, which will allow consumers to choose the source of the electricity they use, will be opened for public consultation, according to EMRA.

Every megawatt-hour of produced electricity will be documented in the system to allow for complete transparency for consumers, EMRA explained. This will be communicated through the billing system and other communication channels of the power suppliers.

The system will also be aligned with the European Union's Guarantees of Origin, which are market-based instruments that offer an effective way to increase the market momentum for renewable energy.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey Should Prepare for European Green Deal

Turkey needs to prioritize sooner rather than later the European Green Deal, the European Union’s roadmap to tackle environmental challenges, if it wants to avoid being hit by a new barrier in its trade with Europe, according to Turkey’s top business diplomat.

“The European Green Deal will be one of the most important topics in Turkey’s foreign trade agenda in the period ahead; it is not a side issue, but a key topic for us to discuss,” Nail Olpak, the president of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) of Turkey, said on June 29.

The Green Deal aims to make Europe a carbon-neutral continent through a transition to climate and environment-friendly production. However, in order to avoid harming European competitiveness, the EU is seeking to impose a carbon tax on imports, which could hurt Turkey’s trade with its biggest trade partner.

“We need to work to reach green standards in each phase of the production,” said Olpak. “EU countries are preparing ardently, as the Turkish business community, we should also get prepared,” the DEIK president told journalists.

“We might face a non-tariff barrier and when it happens it won’t help to cry. This is an important issue which the Trade Ministry is working on,” he added.

Olpak spoke to a group of journalists ahead of the meeting today, June 29 in Ankara of the coordination board to improve investment environment which he will attend.

When asked about the taxes introduced during the pandemic to imports and whether this means a process of self-isolation for Turkey, Olpak said, “I see this as part of the glocalization process. The urgent priority currently is to stand on our feet, to pass this period with the least possible damage. I believe the restrictions brought to imports will not be permanent. Otherwise, we would be the first to raise our voice.”

Olpak said the Turkish trade community is demanding the set-up of Turkish logistical centers in different regions in the world.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News

ENERGY NEWS - WORLD
Huge Acceleration of Clean Energy Innovation Needed to Meet Met Zero Target: IEA

A global goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 will not be met without a huge acceleration in clean energy innovation, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.

The 2015 Paris Agreement set a target to curb global warming and reach net zero emissions in the second half of the century.

In a special report, the IEA analysed more than 400 clean energy technologies and said that although renewable technologies in use now can deliver a large amount of emissions reductions, they are not enough on their own.

It found that there are currently few technologies available for reducing emissions to zero in sectors such as shipping, trucking, aviation and heavy industries.

“Without decarbonising the transport sector there is no chance whatsoever of meeting climate targets,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol told Reuters.

“Around half of emissions reductions that are needed still require major innovation of clean technologies. Whatever we do with renewables will not be enough on their own and it will be all but impossible to meet net zero by 2050,” he added.

The four most critical clean technologies needing innovation are battery technologies, carbon capture and storage, bioenergy and low-carbon hydrogen, which are currently mostly in the development phase and/or costly.

Global CO2 emissions are expected to be 8% lower this year than in 2019 - their lowest level since 2010 - as energy demand has slumped due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they are likely to rebound as economies recover unless action is taken.

Although there are likely to be less funds available for bringing new technologies to market right now, economic recovery plans being developed by a range of countries provide an opportunity for governments to support clean energy technology progress, the IEA said.

Source: Reuters

Global Transition from Coal to Clean Energy Has Reached a Financial Tipping Point

Rocky Mountain Institute, Carbon Tracker Initiative, and Sierra Club have released a report – How to Retire Early: Making Accelerated Coal Phase-Out Feasible and Just - that reveals that new renewable energy is already cheaper than continuing to operate coal plants in much of the world. 

It lays out specific financial strategies that utilities and policy-makers can use to engineer a faster phase-out of coal in various regions of the world.

This new analysis shows that new renewable energy is not only cheaper than new coal plants virtually everywhere, but that it is already cheaper to build new renewable energy capacity including battery storage than to continue operating 39 percent of the world’s existing coal capacity.

The share of uncompetitive coal plants worldwide will increase rapidly to 60 percent in 2022 and to 73 percent in 2025. Replacing the entire global coal fleet with clean energy can be done at a net savings to society as early as 2022.

“A faster transition from coal to clean energy is within our grasp, and we show how to engineer that transition in ways that will save money for electricity customers around the world while aiding a just transition for workers and communities,” said Paul Bodnar, Managing Director at Rocky Mountain Institute. The authors estimate that replacing the entire fleet of global coal plants with clean energy plus battery storage could be done at a net annual savings as early as 2022.  The rapidly declining costs of renewables push net annual savings to $105 billion in 2025.

All this, the report states, is before considering coal’s dire health, climate, and environmental impacts, or accounting for the social and environmental benefits of reducing pollutants. Currently, coal phaseout hasn’t kept pace with eroding economics. To keep the Paris Agreement’s temperature targets within reach, global coal use must decline by 80 percent below 2010 levels by 2030, requiring rapid transition in OECD countries over the next decade and phase-out in the rest of the world by 2040.

“Coal power is quickly facing economic obsolescence, independent of carbon pricing and air pollution policies. Closing coal capacity and replacing it with lower cost alternatives will not only save consumers and taxpayers money, but could also play a major role in the upcoming economic recovery,” said Matt Gray, Managing Director, Co-Head of Power and Utilities at the Carbon Tracker Initiative.

How to Retire Early lays out options for governments and public finance institutions to accelerate coal phase-out. The authors offer an integrated three-part approach: 1) refinancing to fund the coal transition and save customers money on day one, 2) reinvesting in clean energy, and 3) providing transition financing for workers and communities. In 2020, U.S. policymakers could help customers save up to $10 billion annually using the three-part approach to phase out the 79 percent of the 236 GW coal fleet that is uncompetitive today.

“Tackling the climate crisis requires a swift transition off of coal and onto clean, renewable energy. This report shows just how much cheaper it is to invest in renewable energy, and why it makes less and less sense to keep running coal plants, even before climate change is taken into account. What’s more, this report shows how innovative financial tools can be used to retire coal plants while saving consumers money, cleaning the air and water, improving public health, and ensuring a just transition for workers and communities,” said Mary Anne Hitt, National Director of Campaigns.

Meanwhile, outside the United States, a third of the global coal fleet is already costlier to continue operating than building new renewables with storage today. By 2025, that number will reach nearly 80 percent globally with several regions and countries seeing next to no competitive coal. In the European Union, 81% of the coal fleet is uncompetitive today and that percentage will reach 100% by 2025. In China, 43% of the coal fleet is uncompetitive today, and that number will reach nearly 100% by 2025. In India, 17% of the coal fleet is uncompetitive today, and that number will reach 85% in 2025.

“Given the long lead times for electricity system planning and decision-making as well as the size of the opportunity,” said Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of Rocky Mountain Institute, “now is the time to start structuring accelerated coal phase-out in all regions.”

Source: Carbon Tracker

EDF Launches Major UK Solar-Plus-Storage Hybrid Hunt

French utility EDF is launching a major solar-plus-battery storage hybrid initiative in England and Wales as part of plans to double its installed renewable base.

However, EDF will not be alone, with an ex-state owned green investment fund having also unveiled plans to bring forward at least 1GW of subsidy-free solar farms in the UK, the majority of which are to be developed using trackers and bifacial panels.

EDF Renewables’ UK division announced today that it has enlisted the help of Welsh developer Octo Energy to identify and deliver 200MW worth of co-located solar-plus-storage projects throughout England and Wales.

Under the partnership, Octo will identify potential projects for EDF to deliver, collaborating with landowners and farmers in particular.

Mark Vyvyan-Robinson, director of solar and onshore wind development at EDF Renewables, said the utility was “regularly looking at innovative ways to invest in solar” while expanding its existing portfolio of sites in the UK, which stands at around 1GW, the firm said.

“These projects will enable us to contribute to the UK’s green economic recovery from COVID-19 and help the country reach its net zero targets,” he said.

The wider EDF Group has the established aim of operating a 50GW renewables portfolio by 2030 alongside another target of becoming Europe’s market leader in energy storage with an additional 10GW of storage by 2035.

And the firm has had a successful 2020 so far, having been widely reported as being behind the winning bid – alongside module manufacturer JinkoSolar – in Abu Dhabi’s tender to launch the 2GW Al Dhafra project in the Emirate. At US$0.0135/kWh, the winning tender is a world record low with a power purchase agreement (PPA) set to be signed later this year.

Performance within EDF Renewables also helped offset the impact of nuclear power outages which dampened the utility’s 2019 full year financial results, leading chief executive Jean-Bernard Lévy to say in February that the company was “forging ahead in all renewable energies”.

Meanwhile, there were also further positive signs for a continued rebound in the UK’s solar market as Green Investment Group (GIG) – the Macquarie-owned investment fund formerly of the UK government – unveiled plans to develop 1GW of subsidy-free solar projects and additional battery storage facilities.

GIG has today announced a joint venture with UK-based renewables developer Enso Energy to bring forward a raft of unsubsidised solar farms, starting with an initial tranche of projects in England and Wales which are awaiting planning approval.

These projects will be backed by power purchase agreements and many of which, GIG said, would utilise trackers and bifacial solar modules to bolster the energy generation per area.

“The UK’s solar market holds huge potential to create green jobs and help the UK get closer to its aim of becoming a Net Zero economy. By combining GIG’s deep technical and financial capabilities with Enso’s highly experienced development team, our partnership has the skills and expertise to unlock that potential, bringing low-cost, low-carbon power to communities right across the UK,” Edward Northam, head of Green Investment Group Europe, said.

Source: Pv-Tech

German E.ON to Invest EUR 210 Million in Power Business in Romania

E.ON earmarked EUR 375 million for capital expenditure by 2023 in Romania, of which EUR 210 million is for the electric power division. It is also developing energy products and services and electric mobility infrastructure.

Marking 15 years since the entry into Romania, E.ON said its priority has been the rehabilitation and modernization of distribution networks in order to increase safety and quality and develop products and services. Germany’s second-largest utility revealed it intends to invest €375 million in the Southeastern European country by 2023, of which EUR 210 million is earmarked for the power distribution and supply division.

Of note, the domestic media has learned the company submitted an offer together with German insurance giant Allianz for CEZ’s assets in Romania. The Czech firm’s units there have been estimated at more than EUR 1 billion.

As ČEZ is leaving Romania, E.ON is in the race for its renewable energy and distribution businesses and a supply firm.

According to news reports from March, E.ON has given the best preliminary bid for the power distribution units controlled by ČEZ. In 2005, E.ON took over the state-owned regional power distribution Electrica Moldova and natural gas business Distrigaz Nord. In the meantime, it became the first in Romania to offer integrated supply. It vowed in the statement to spend EUR 165 million on the gas unit.

The number of customers grew by 650,000 to more than 3.2 million during the said 15 years. E.ON’s plan for electricity networks implies the further implementation of the SCADA system – supervisory control and data acquisition. It said it would continue with automation efforts, the expansion of smart metering, improvement of overhead network and substations and replacement of transformers. As for smart grids, 13 stations are up for a makeover this year in the Moldova region. E.ON runs 133 units and 118 have already been integrated, at least partially, with SCADA.

Its ten-year program through 2028 includes EUR 26 billion for the installation of 397,000 smart meters. In the past years, 320,000 have been mounted. Consolidated turnover has doubled by 2019 to almost 1.3 billion euros, said Manfred Paasch, General Manager of E.ON Romania. The company added it invested EUR 1.7 billion by the end of last year.

Since its entry into the Southeastern European country’s market, the German energy giant invested EUR 1.7 billion in total.

It said it has placed special emphasis on innovative and digitalized energy solutions. The portfolio for companies and local authorities was expanded with cogeneration, trigeneration and photovoltaic systems and energy-efficient and intelligent LED lighting. For residential customers, there are integrated solutions for home heating, air conditioning, technical assistance and electric mobility.

The utility has 48 electric car charging stations in Romania in the E.ON Drive network and so far it installed 16 units for rapid charging at MOL’s filling stations out of 19 that should be operational by the end of the year.

Source: Balkan Green Energy News

REPORT OF THE WEEK

Performing while transforming: In collaboration with PwC The role of transmission companies in the energy transition

Transmission of electricity plays a crucial role in meeting growing demand for clean, affordable, reliable, and equitable power. The role and position of transmission companies is changing in fast and fundamental ways in this time of energy transition. The importance of electricity transmission is not in question, but the who, operating and business models involved are expected to transform in the decades to come.

Please click here to read the full report.

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