E-Newsletter

Gathered on November 29 in Istanbul for the organisation’s 26th General Assembly, MEDREG Members have elected their new President Mrs. Gülefşan Demirbaş, Head of the Strategy Development Department at the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). Mrs. Gulefsan, who acted as MEDREG Vice President in her former mandate, has been a long-time member of MEDREG Working Groups and is well aware of the organisation’s priorities and challenges. After her election, she declared:
“EMRA is an active member of MEDREG and has supported the objectives promoted by the organisation since its establishment in 2007. Leaning on our three previous mandates as Vice President and on our tireless involvement in the various working groups, we are in a good position to pursue the fruitful cooperation that MEDREG has facilitated over the past 11 years. Our organisation will continue to play a major role in the Mediterranean in enhancing regulatory stability and in contributing to socioeconomic prosperity in the region by supporting the establishment of secure, sustainable and competitive Mediterranean energy markets. As the President of MEDREG, I, together with honourable Vice-Presidents and the new Steering Committee members, and with the support of the Secretariat, will work harder for a more robust MEDREG which is more inclusive and more productive.”
President Demirbas will be supported by three Vice-Presidents, Mr. Petrit Ahmeti President of the Albanian Regulator ERE, Mrs. Christine Chauvet, Commissioner of the French Regulator CRE, and the President of the Italian regulator ARERA, Mr. Stefano Besseghini. The new Board expressed its willingness to give a new impulse to MEDREG’s strategy and voiced their common ambition to support regulators, finding concrete and mutual solutions to the problems they face:
“Our actions should be closer to national realities in order to deliver concrete and effective results. Therefore, MEDREG is fully committed to respond to its Members’ expectations for technical assistance, in particular from our Southern countries, through a constant dialogue and an in-depth understanding of their priorities.”
In order to meet its objectives, MEDREG will continue to provide capacity building activities, technical study visits to fellow regulators, personalised reports, analysis and recommendations as well as peer reviews. These tools revealed to be very effective to implement national reforms in a long-term perspective. Finally, the promotion of a strong and independent regulation will remain at the heart of MEDREG’s priorities.
Beside the election of its new Board of Presidents, MEDREG adopted a series of report meant to reinforce the regulators’ capacities and knowledge in the areas of infrastructure investment and smart grids. An assessment of the opening of the gas market in the last two years as well as of the status of consumer dispute settlement and complaint handling in the Mediterranean were also presented.
Moreover, Mediterranean Regulators approved an ambitious work programme planned for 2019, with a strong emphasis on tailored-made support activities to Northern African and Eastern Members, which will be based on a diagnostic of their particular needs.
MEDREG is the Association of Mediterranean Energy Regulators, which brings together 25 regulators from 21 countries, spanning the European Union (EU), the Balkans and North Africa. Mediterranean regulators work together to promote greater compatibility of the regional energy markets and legislation, seeking progressive market integration in the Euro-Mediterranean basin. Through constant cooperation and information exchange among members, MEDREG aims at fostering consumer rights, energy efficiency, infrastructure investment and development, based on secure, safe, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable energy systems. MEDREG acts as a platform providing assistance to its members as well as capacity development activities through webinars, training sessions and workshops as well as personalised hands-on initiatives. The MEDREG Secretariat is located in Milan, Italy. MEDREG is co-funded by the European Union. For more information, visit www.medreg-regulators.org
EMRA is a public corporation with administrative and financial autonomy. EMRA is the sole regulator of electricity, gas, and fuel and lubricant markets. As an independent regulator in terms of decision making which is guaranteed by the primary law, EMRA is endowed with regulatory functions such as licensing to transcribe the entries and exits to the market; regulating the market to assure non-discriminatory third party access to the monopolistic infrastructures such as grids; ratemaking to inhibit monopoly rents; and supervising and penalizing, if necessary, to make sure that the market participants are in compliance with the rules and regulations. EMRA which is governed by a 7 membered board employs about 500 civil servants and has an independent annual budget of roughly € 50 million.
Source: Medreg

Today, the energy world is undergoing an inevitable transition to green energy alternatives. In this regard, it is essential to understand which global trends are driving energy transition. Energy demand is shifting towards the East; mainly China and Southeast Asia. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2018 (WEO 2018), in the year 2000, more than 40 percent of global demand was in North America and Europe and 20 percent was in Asia. This is expected to be reversed by 2040. For the last two years, the electricity sector has attracted the highest amount of investment compared to other sectors. Within the electricity sector, two-thirds of total installed capacity additions have come from renewables, setting a record high with 178 GW of additional capacity last year. For the first time, electric vehicles (EV) sales exceeded one million in 2017. The main motivation for these trends is decreasing unit production costs. Among most of the new energy technologies, EV battery costs have decreased fastest in recent years.
In the past, two main motivations were driving major energy discussions: security of supply and climate change. However, current discussions are evolving beyond these issues. New phenomena are emerging; namely, decarbonization, decentralization, digitalization, and diversity. Increasing awareness led to innovations on both institutional and technical fronts. These innovations made energy markets more resilient through better pricing, new and cleaner technologies, and increased energy efficiency. New sustainable solutions and demand responses were also incorporated into the policies of many countries. While major transformations are underway, the global energy sector is also facing tremendous challenges. These include fundamental changes in market design and business models through decentralization and digitization. There are still remaining questions over electrification’s capacity to meet demand and the availability of power systems.
The recent trade-related turmoil in the world and its effects on the energy sector have brought energy security into prominence, particularly for energy importing countries. Energy security largely depends on sufficient investments. The IEA’s World Energy Outlook highlights that investment decisions taken today determine how energy supply and demand will unfold tomorrow. The report mentions that a 44 trillion dollar investment in the global energy supply and 23 trillion dollars in energy efficiency is required to cover the estimated growth in energy demand through 2040. Foremost among the prerequisites to attract investment is a political and regulatory certainty.
There are also major uncertainties emanating from both the rapid market changes and the geopolitical dimensions of unconventional gas and LNG supply. Moreover, how a possible renegotiation process of the Paris Agreement will shape the future of climate talks remains an open question. Beyond uncertainty in energy and environmental policy, we are also experiencing uncertainties in other policy areas at global and regional levels including trade, monetary, security, and immigration.
In line with the global transition discussed above, Turkey has also gone through a major transition since 2002, which I refer to as Transition 1.0 throughout the article. Opening the market to competition while meeting the increasing demand was not an easy process, but I believe that strong political commitment, vision, and stability made it possible. During this transformation, the government’s role has shifted more towards regulation and policy-making. In 2017, 16 years following the first transition period, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources announced its National Energy and Mining Policy. I call this policy Transition 2.0 due to its comprehensive approach ranging from energy to industry to employment.
Turkish Energy Transition 1.0
Turkish energy markets can be described by two main characteristics which are also the major challenges being faced. The first one is a growing demand. According to the IEA, Turkey will likely see the fastest medium to long-term growth in the field of energy among IEA member countries, while the second challenge in the market is the dependency on imports. Import dependency ratio is almost 70 percent in primary energy resources.
To meet this growing demand while dealing with import dependency, Turkey decided to transform its energy markets and started implementing major market reforms. The main objectives were to establish financially viable, stable, transparent, and competitive markets under independent regulation to ensure reliable and affordable energy supply to consumers in an environmentally friendly manner. These objectives are based on several laws and covering most aspects of the relevant European Union (EU) acquis. According to the EU’s Turkey 2018 Report, “Turkey has continued to align with the EU acquis. As regards the internal energy market, good progress was made on the electricity market and good progress can be reported on renewable energy and energy efficiency.”
During the last 16 years, the Turkish power market attracted more than 60 billion dollars in investment. Whole investment was made by domestic and foreign private companies. In addition, the entire distribution system was privatized through the transfer of operating rights for the next 30 years. In the last 16 years, total installed capacity has grown from 30 GW to 88 GW. More importantly, the share of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the market went up from 25 percent to more than 75 percent. These have all been achieved without any long-term purchasing power agreements and only through renewable feed-in-tariffs. Just last year, 8222 MW capacity was added with over 50 percent of renewables. Additionally, Turkey integrated its power network with the European network and neighboring countries’ grid during the same period. The integration helps to expand the ability of peak load management, reduce strain on the grid, and limit the use of the more expensive and often least efficient plants.
During Transition 1.0, market activities were unbundled and the vertically integrated state monopoly model was turned into a well-functioning competitive market model together with the privatization of generation and distribution assets.
Turkish Energy Transition 2.0
The points discussed above refer to past developments and achievements, but the reality is that Turkish energy markets are still in a transition period. Liberalization and intensive investments are ongoing amidst climate change challenges and sustainability and security concerns.
The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources announced a comprehensive policy in 2017: The National Energy and Mining Policy (NEMP). The new approach brought by these policies marks the second transition period, Transition 2.0, of the Turkish energy market. This policy clearly defined the strengths, shortcomings, threats, and opportunities of the Turkish energy sector. Based on detailed analyses, NEMP was established based on three main pillars: security of supply, localization, and predictability in the markets.
Investment in infrastructure is essential to maintain security of supply. For infrastructure investment in the energy market, Turkey is investing extensively in power grids both at the transmission and distribution levels. When it comes to the gas market, the main objective is to make gas networks and relevant facilities capable of delivering more gas in any direction with the least cost. Investments in the energy sector must continue to meet growing energy demand and ensure a sustainable energy future. In line with this goal, there are three priorities for the energy sector in the upcoming period: financial sustainability, political sustainability, and inclusiveness. These three policy aims are the key elements of a viable investment environment. Turkey has been experiencing the results of these policies for the last decade. According to the World Energy Trilemma Index 2018, an annual report published by the World Energy Council, “Turkey's energy security score has improved relative to other countries and as part of the measure of supply diversity.” According to the report, Turkey’s energy security rating in 2018 rose 15 places, compared to last year.
Through predictability in the markets, Turkey aims to achieve a more competitive structure in the energy sector and create the right price signals for investors. Right price signals are crucial due to their power to translate into affordable energy prices for households, the commercial sector, and the industry. Delivering affordable prices to our industry would, in turn, enable the sector to become more competitive in the global arena.
The third dimension of NEMP is localization. Turkey is increasing the relatively low share of domestic coal in its energy mix through clean coal technologies. In renewables, Turkey has even more ambitious goals. Renewable energy sources are steadily increasing its share in the world energy mix. Given the concerns regarding climate change, the world energy sector has been in a transition for more than a decade. Taking into account the potential of renewable energy sources to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, almost all countries in the world prioritized renewable energy in their agenda. Turkey has also successfully utilized renewable sources. After triggering renewable energy investments through feed-in tariffs-based renewable energy sources support mechanism (YEKDEM), elaborated in December 2010, Turkey announced a new strategy. This entails a “renewable energy resource zone (RE-ZONE) competition mechanism,” which encourages investors not only to build power plants but also to manufacture renewable energy equipment in Turkey. Through our newly established RE-ZONE model, we are aiming to both utilize renewable resources and at the same time reduce our current account deficit with locally manufactured content requirement. Additionally, the projects will bring new employment opportunities into the region, as well as business opportunities to our small and medium-sized enterprises.
Two RE-ZONE competitions of solar and wind for 1,000 MW each were completed with historic low prices. The installed capacity of renewable energy sources excluding hydro has reached 13,328 MW, representing 15 percent of the total installed capacity by the end of August 2018. With the realization of RE-ZONE projects, Turkey will be one of the renewable energy technologies and equipment supplier countries in its region. Currently, installed wind capacity for wind and solar is around 7,000 MW and 5,000 MW, respectively. Turkey is planning to add 1,000 MW capacity for each solar and wind, annually, adding 20,000 MW of wind and solar capacity in total within 10 years. In addition, 28,133 MW of hydro capacity is planned to be increased to 34,000 MW, during the same period. Turkey also has targets to utilize geothermal and biomass sources to the energy mix with a capacity of 1500 MW and 1000 MW, respectively.
Within the scope of NEMP, strategies prioritizing energy security, domestic resources, market predictability, and strengthening international collaborations were put into effect. The recent plans and developments were implemented according to these policies.
Recent Plans & Developments
According to the IEA, fossil fuels will continue to be the world’s primary energy sources until 2040. As Turkey is a net oil and gas importer, recent policies have a particular focus on hydrocarbon exploration. Deep-sea drilling activities are being conducted by Fatih drilling vessel initiated in the Mediterranean since September 2018. A second deep-sea drilling vessel is planned to start its activities in the upcoming months. In addition, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa and Oruç Reis vessels will continue offshore seismic studies in the Black Sea and Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean is a promising region considering the recent oil and gas discoveries. Any finding of oil or gas reserves would support Turkish energy security and in case of reaching a significant reserve, this would be a game-changer for the region.
Globally, we are witnessing changing dynamics in the gas market as well. Following the shale revolution in the US, new explorations in the Mediterranean and other regions make gas not only abundant but also competitive. Flexibility is enhancing in all aspects including contract durations, take or pay requirements and pricing formulas. For instance, contract durations tend to get shorter and hub-pricing is replacing oil-indexed prices.
Apart from the exploration activities, Turkey made important enlargements to its natural gas infrastructure. We currently have two underground storage facilities, Silivri and Tuz Gölü, with a total capacity of 3.3 bcm. Private companies, as well as BOTAŞ, will continue to make investments to expand our underground storage capacity. Two floating storage regasification units (FSRU) were commissioned in 2018. With the expansion of the two existing LNG terminals, total LNG injection capacity has reached 117 mcm per day. Furthermore, the transmission capacity of natural gas networks has extended to more than 300 mcm per day with a target to reach 400 mcm per day with future extensions. Turkey also aims to increase its natural gas storage capacity to at least 20 percent of its annual consumption.
Domestic coal and lignite constitute only 13 percent of Turkish total energy mix. Turkey has approximately 18.5 billion tons of coal reserves. Although our domestic coal has its own technical challenges, we recently had a very successful tender for 800 MW Çayırhan Thermal Power project. Considering the developments regarding clean coal technologies, Turkey has plans to tender certain fields for using electricity generation up to 5,000 MW. Furthermore, studies concerning liquefaction, gasification, and enrichment of domestic coal are ongoing. Turkey has firm plans for adding nuclear power to its energy mix. The Akkuyu province in Mersin was selected as a location for the first nuclear power plant which will be called Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (Akkuyu NPP). Akkuyu NPP is designed under a Build-Own-Operate model and will have 4,800 MW total capacity within four units. The construction license of Akkuyu NPP was granted and the first unit is planned to become operational by 2023. A new regulatory authority was established to regulate the nuclear energy sector.
Energy saving and energy efficiency initiatives can significantly contribute to energy security, the mitigation of import dependency risks, the protection of the environment, and combatting climate change. Energy saving and energy efficiency can be considered as alternative energy sources which are crucial elements of national strategies and energy policies of 2023. Turkey announced the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan in early 2018 which sets out actions to implement a reduction of 14 percent of primary energy consumption by 2023, via a strategy which includes 10.9 billion dollars of planned investment. The return of total projected investment is expected to be 30 billion dollars until 2033. Sectoral measures set out in the plan include buildings and services, energy, transport, industry and technology, agriculture, and cross-cutting areas. According to the plan, Turkey aims to save 23.9 million tonnes oil equivalent of its final energy consumption.
Concluding Remarks       
This article has discussed Turkey’s strategies and actions driving its energy transition. Many of these ambitious plans prioritize securing energy supply, reducing adverse economic impacts of increasing energy imports, making markets more competitive, and increasing investments primarily on renewable energy on both a small and large scale. In this regard, I would like to point out major areas that will shape the country’s energy transition and provide opportunities for new investments:

• Offshore exploration of oil and natural gas activities will continue. Turkish Petroleum will be more active in drilling operations in the near future.
• We are expecting national oil and gas exploration and production companies to become very active through international partnerships.
• Assets have recently become very attractive to foreign investors. Therefore, many mergers and acquisitions are expected to occur in the near future.

The Turkish energy market has gained a lot of maturity in terms of competitiveness primarily due to successful market reforms carried out during transition periods. Therefore, any new player planning to enter the market, whether through an LNG, nuclear, natural gas or renewables project should be competitive. Additionally, some of our gas supply contracts are expiring in 2020. Thus, we are at a very important stage to renegotiate or make new contracts on competitive terms.
Finally, our approach to new projects is based on three main principles according to which all stakeholders should mutually benefit and all risks should be fairly allocated. More importantly, any project should contribute to Turkey’s national and regional supply security as well as to regional peace, stability, and prosperity.
Source: Turkish Policy

Turkey's Zorlu Energy's Kizildere 3 geothermal energy power plant in the Denizli province of Turkey's Aegean region has set the bar high globally in terms of its efficiency and as the largest plant in terms of combined installed capacity at 165 megawatts (MW), Ali Kindap, the general manager responsible for investments, operations and maintenance of Zorlu Energy, said yesterday.
Kındap, in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) during a visit to the Kızıldere 3 plant, said the plant started electricity production at full capacity this year.
The Kızıldere 3 plant has two units, one with 100 MW and the second with 65 MW of installed capacity.
"We already have Kizildere 1 with 15 MW and Kızıldere 2 with 80 megawatts of installed capacity in operation. With Kızıldere 3, our investment volume for these three plants reached $700 million," Kındap said.
He said Kizildere 3 has the highest capacity in the world as a power plant located on a single site.
"Geothermal is a domestic and renewable energy source. We are doing our best to make it sustainable. Thus, we try to feed our sources underground with the reinjection of water," he explained.
Kindap stated that Kızıldere 3, with a water temperature of 246 degrees Celsius, has the highest efficiency as ensuring high water temperature increases productivity of the plant.
"In the world, the highest percentage is 15. The reason we have 18 percent efficiency is because we use waste steam in a separate part of the plant. So, it contributes a lot to our productivity," Kındap said. This plant has set a precedent worldwide as the first in the world to use waste ste
"Now a number of investors are using the example of Kızıldere 3 for their power plants," he underlined, adding that this production model devised at the Kızildere 3 is now called a "combined geothermal plant."
This production model is currently called "combined geothermal plant" thanks to Kizildere 3, he stated.
Kındap also said that Kızıldere 3 plans to meet the energy demand of Turkey's first specially administered greenhouse site to be located next to the power plant. He stated that the huge 600-acre area plans to be operational next year. He added Zorlu Energy wants to expand its geothermal energy capacity.
"As our domestic source, geothermal energy could be used both for electricity generation and heating and cooling. Turkey has 3,000 megawatts of electricity generation potential from geothermal in western Turkey while this amount is 30,000 megawatts for heating-cooling," he said.
Kindap said this potential could replace 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which corresponds to $2.2 billion worth of imports, based on current prices.
Source: Daily Sabah

G3-PLC Alliance member devolo AG has been very active in the area of G3-PLC applications. The Germany-based expert for Powerline and smart metering devices is involved in various G3-PLC activities, with a particular focus on national and Europe-wide funding projects CALLIA and ENERGY.
The EU-funded CALLIA project
Europe’s ambitious climate protection goals require a safe and comprehensive integration of Renewable Energies on all voltage levels of the electricity grid. Currently, cross-border transmission of electricity is limited to the high voltage grid. Within CALLIA, the partners will investigate how direct energy transfer between distribution grids in two different countries is able to foster the integration of Renewable Energies. The important goals of the project include: more efficient integration of decentralized generation units and stabilization of the European electricity grid. Therefore, grid operators, research institutes and industrial partners from Austria, Belgium, Germany and Turkey will join forces in a multilateral project consortium coordinated by ISC Konstanz. devolo supports CALLIA with its longstanding expertise in Powerline communication.
Smart Metering in Turkey – pilot project within CALLIA
Turkey offers huge opportunities for G3-PLC. For example, BEDAS, which has been distributing electricity of 26,6 TWh to approximately more than 5 million subscribers on an area of 3,573 km² on the European Side of Istanbul, is the biggest distribution company of Turkey. Within the EU-Project Callia, BEDAS together with devolo started a G3-PLC pilot project, which aims to gain experience on planning, implementation and demonstration of a new AMI system.
In Kumburgaz and Bakirköy, two districts of Istanbul, the utility BEDAS and powerline-expert devolo installed now the field trial to test the G3-PLC technology to connect smart meters to the grid control centre for remote meter readout. In the smart grid, devolo provides an innovative IP-based data transmission with G3-PLC technology in the frequency range 150-500 kHz. G3-PLC uses the mains supply in the low-voltage level as infrastructure for communication. This provides the benefit of making the integration of G3-PLC exceptionally cost-effective.
The ENERGY project – awarded with the GreenTec Award
In the meanwhile successfully accomplished ENERGY project, devolo AG – together with municipal utility Krefeld Netze GmbH and Janitza electronics GmbH, and academic partners, the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf and the University of Duisburg-Essen, researched the application of G3-PLC technology at the distribution network level. The overarching goal of the joint project "Measurement of the low-voltage side network state variables in real time" (ENERGIE - Erfassung der niederspannungsseitigen Netzzustandgrößen in Echtzeit) was to determine, using sensors, the network condition at only important strategic points on the low-voltage side and to use this data for network planning and operational concerns of network management. The state of the power system was detected in real time. These were measured at relevant points with network analyzers. Their data was sent immediately to the network operator by means of power line communication. New computer-aided analysis methods enabled direct reaction to unpredictable fluctuations. Due to such measures of the network, expansion is done purposefully, costs are reduced and the environment is protected. This is an important contribution to the development of renewable energy within the meaning of the energy revolution.
devolo AG tested and optimized in this project, the powerline communications in real time. The devolo G3-PLC modem 500k operates in the frequency band 150-500 kHz and convinces in real-time communication with a very high distance range. Measuring instruments for the power grid are simply connected via Ethernet or serial interface with a devolo G3-PLC modem. The modem modulates the data to the existing power line. Thus, the data is transferred securely and reliably to a local substation, from where they are transmitted via fiber optic to the network operator. Data communication via G3 Powerline technology does usually not require repeater(s). It is therefore a rapidly installed and cost effective form of communication for the smart grid. The ENERGY project was successfully completed in 2016.
devolo AG won, on behalf of the consortium of the ENERGY project, the GreenTec Award 2016, Europe‘s largest environmental and economic prize. The jury of GreenTec Awards honored with this award the commitment of the consortium for the exploration of innovative methods for management of the power grid. With the practical knowledge of the project, future expansion of the electricity grid will be far more targeted, cost saving and environment protective. For data communication in the smart grid, the devolo G3-PLC modem 500k has been proven.
Source: G3-PLC

The World Bank Group announced a major new set of climate targets for 2021-2025, doubling its current 5-year investments to around $200 billion in support for countries to take ambitious climate action. The new plan significantly boosts support for adaptation and resilience, recognizing mounting climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods, especially in the world’s poorest countries. The plan also represents significantly ramped up ambition from the World Bank Group, sending an important signal to the wider global community to do the same.
“Climate change is an existential threat to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. These new targets demonstrate how seriously we are taking this issue, investing and mobilizing $200 billion over five years to combat climate change,” World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim said. “We are pushing ourselves to do more and to go faster on climate and we call on the global community to do the same. This is about putting countries and communities in charge of building a safer, more climate-resilient future.”
The $200 billion across the Group is made up of approximately $100 billion in direct finance from the World Bank (IBRD/IDA), and approximately $100 billion of combined direct finance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and private capital mobilized by the World Bank Group.
A key priority is boosting support for climate adaptation, recognizing that millions of people across the world are already facing the severe consequences of more extreme weather events. By ramping up direct adaptation finance to reach around $50 billion over FY21-25, the World Bank will, for the first time, give this equal emphasis alongside investments that reduce emissions.
“People are losing their lives and livelihoods because of the disastrous effects of climate change. We must fight the causes, but also adapt to the consequences that are often most dramatic for the world’s poorest people,” said World Bank Chief Executive Officer, Kristalina Georgieva. “This is why we at the World Bank commit to step up climate finance to $100 billion, half of which will go to build better adapted homes, schools and infrastructure, and invest in climate smart agriculture, sustainable water management and responsive social safety nets.”
The new financing will ensure that adaptation is undertaken in a systematic fashion, and the World Bank will develop a new rating system to track and incentivize global progress. Actions will include supporting higher-quality forecasts, early warning systems and climate information services to better prepare 250 million people in 30 developing countries for climate risks. In addition, the expected investments will build more climate-responsive social protection systems in 40 countries, and finance climate smart agriculture investments in 20 countries.
“There are literally trillions of dollars of opportunities for the private sector to invest in projects that will help save the planet,” said IFC CEO Philippe Le Houérou. “Our job is to go out and proactively find those opportunities, use our de-risking tools, and crowd in private sector investment. We will do much more in helping finance renewable energy, green buildings, climate-smart agribusiness, urban transportation, water, and urban waste management.”
The new targets build on the World Bank Group’s 2016 Climate Change Action Plan. In 2018, the World Bank Group provided a record-breaking $20.5 billion in finance for climate action: doubling delivery from the year before the Paris Agreement and meeting its 2020 target two years ahead of schedule.
The World Bank Group will continue to integrate climate considerations into its work, including screening projects for climate risks and building in appropriate risk mitigation measures, disclosing both gross and net greenhouse gas emissions, and applying a shadow carbon price for all material investments.
To increase system-wide impact for countries, the World Bank Group will support the integration of climate considerations in policy planning, investment design, implementation and evaluation. It will also support at least 20 countries implement and update Nationally Determined Contributions and increase engagement with Ministries of Finance in the design and implementation of transformative low-carbon policies.
In key sectors, efforts will include:
· In Energy: Support the generation, integration, and enabling infrastructure for 36 GW of renewable energy and support 1.5 million GWh equivalent of energy savings through efficiency improvement;
· In Cities: Help 100 cities achieve low-carbon and resilient urban planning and transit-oriented development;
· In Food and Land-Use: Increase integrated landscape management in up to 50 countries, covering up to120 million hectares of forests.
Source: World Bank

The revised Energy Efficiency Directive, the revised Renewable Energy Directive and the new Governance Regulation were formally adopted at today’s Transport, Telecommunications & Energy Council, following on from the strong support that all three dossiers got from MEPs at last month’s European Parliament Plenary session.
Today's decision means that means that the EU has now adopted four of the eight legislative acts which make up the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, published by the European Commission on 30 November 2016. This package is a key element in one of the Juncker Commission's priorities - “a resilient Energy Union and a forward-looking climate change policy",aimed at giving Europeans access to secure, affordable and climate-friendly energy and making the European Union world leader in renewable energy.
Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete added:
“These three dossiers are central to achieving our climate goals – in terms of defining our targets for 2030. Coming just after the Commission outlined its long-term strategy for emissions reduction, today’s adoption sends a further strong signal to climate talks in Katowice underlining the EU’s commitment to meeting our Paris Agreement objectives.”
The new regulatory framework, in particular via the introduction of the first national energy and climate plans, brings regulatory certainty and enabling conditions for essential investments to take place in this important sector. It empowers European consumers to become fully active players in the energy transition and fixes two new targets for the EU in 2030: a binding renewable energy target of at least 32% and an energy efficiency target of at least 32.5%, which will stimulate Europe's industrial competitiveness, boost growth and jobs, reduce energy bills, help tackle energy poverty and improve air quality. When these policies are fully implemented, they will lead to steeper emission reductions for the whole EU than anticipated – some 45% by 2030 compared to 1990, instead of 40%. To strive towards a long-term greenhouse gas reduction objective, the framework sets up a robust governance system of the Energy Union.
Main Achievements
Renewable Energy

• Sets a new, binding, renewable energy target for the EU for 2030 of at least 32%, including a review clause by 2023 for an upward revision of the EU level target.
• Improves the design and stability of support schemes for renewables.
• Delivers real streamlining and reduction of administrative procedures.
• Establishes a clear and stable regulatory framework on self-consumption.
• Increases the level of ambition for the transport and heating/cooling sectors.
• Improves the sustainability of the use of bioenergy.

Energy Efficiency

• Sets a new energy efficiency target for the EU for 2030 of at least 32.5%, with an upwards revision clause by 2023;
• Will extend the annual energy saving obligation beyond 2020, which will attract private investments and support the emergence of new market actors;
• Will strengthen rules on individual metering and billing of thermal energy by giving consumers - especially those in multi-apartment building with collective heating systems – clearer rights to receive more frequent and more useful information on their energy consumption, enabling them to better understand and control their heating bills.
• Will require Member States to have in place transparent, publicly available national rules on the allocation of the cost of heating, cooling and hot water consumption in multi-apartment and multi-purpose buildings with collective systems for such services.

Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action

• Puts in place a simplified, robust and transparent governance for the Energy Union which promotes long-term certainty and predictability for investors and ensures that EU and Member States can work together towards achieving the 2030 targets and the EU's international commitments under the Paris Agreement.
• Calls for each Member State to prepare a national energy and climate plan for the period 2021 to 2030, covering all the five dimension of the Energy Union and taking into account the longer-term perspective.
• Aligns the frequency and timing of reporting obligations across the five dimensions of the Energy Union and with the Paris Climate Agreement, significantly enhancing transparency and reducing the administrative burden for the Member States, the Commission and other EU Institutions.

Next steps
Following this approval by the Council of Ministers, and the previous adoption by the European Parliament, a formal signature will take place in coming days. This will be followed by the publication of the texts in the Official Journal of the European Union later this month, with the new legislation entering into force 3 days later. The new Governance Regulation requires Member States to present their draft National Energy and Climate Plans before the end of 2018. 
Source: European Commission

The US Department of Energy (DoE) and Israel’s Ministry of Energy (MoE) along with the Israel Innovation Authority have selected seven clean energy projects to receive a $6 million investment.
The opportunity falls under the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy programme.
Selected projects address energy challenges and opportunities of interest to both countries and focus on commercialising clean energy technologies that improve economic competitiveness, create jobs and support innovative companies.
Projects that qualify for BIRD Energy funding must include one US and one Israeli company, or a company from one of the countries paired with a university or research institution from the other.
BIRD Energy began in 2009 as a result of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Since then, BIRD Energy has funded 43 projects, with a total investment of about $34 million, including the most recent seven projects valued at $12.4 million.
Rick Perry, U.S. Secretary of Energy, said: “The Department of Energy continues its strong support for collaborative research with Israel through the BIRD Energy
programme. The programme brings together the brightest minds from innovative companies and institutes to develop and commercialise new energy technologies that deliver tangible economic benefits to both countries.”
Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Minister of Energy, said: “We feel very privileged to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our binational programme with the DOE. The BIRD Energy programme is undoubtedly a success story of cooperation based on the strategic vision of the two economies. It also promotes partnerships among the most innovative companies, generating significant value and benefit for both countries. This success is a result of a true commitment by both governments who continuously seek opportunities to expand energy related collaboration that benefits both Israel and the U.S.”
The seven approved projects are:

• Beam Semiconductors (Rehovot, Israel) and BannerSolar (Eagle, Idaho), will develop a 60GHz active phased array module for wireless gigabit applications with autonomous solar power supply & storage.
• Brightmerge (Jerusalem, Israel) and Introspective Systems (Portland, Maine), will develop and test dynamic grid pricing with edge load responsive device control.
• mPrest Systems (Petach Tikva, Israel) and Southern Company (Atlanta, Georgia), will develop integrated primary and secondary volt VAR control and conservation voltage reduction for the distributed grid.
• Nostromo (Even Yehuda, Israel) and Centrica Business Solutions US, Inc. (Bellevue, Washington), will develop IceBrick - shifting the electricity grid's peak demand using disruptive ice-battery technology.
• OneOPI (Herzliya, Israel) and Presidio (Albany, New York) will develop an automated simulation system and service for intelligent microgrid systems.
• RazorLabs (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Exacter, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio) will develop an AI based grid resiliency forecasting system.
• Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd. (Haifa, Israel) and Primus Power (Hayward, California), will develop a high energy density gridscale storage battery.

The companies must present a project that involves innovation in the area of energy and is of mutual interest to both countries.
BIRD Energy has a rigorous review process that selects the most technologically meritorious projects along with those that are likely to commercialise and have a significant impact. Qualified projects must contribute at least 50% to project costs and commit to repayments if the project leads to commercial success.
Source: Smart Energy International

China, India and the U.S. will be the driving forces for the global power transmission and distribution conductors markets over the next four years, according to GlobalData
The company’s report: ‘Power Transmission and Distribution Conductors, Update 2018’ reveals that the aggregate global market value of power transmission and distribution conductor markets were valued at $25.99 billion and $103.50 billion during the period 2013–2017 and are estimated to be valued at $29.58 billion and $114.38 billion in the forecast period 2018–2022.
China, India and the U.S. are estimated to be the major driving forces behind the global transmission and distribution conductors markets during the forecast period. The aggregated market values of the three nations are estimated to account for 63.7% and 41%, respectively of the global transmission and distribution conductors’ markets values in 2022.
Nirushan Rajasekaram, Power Analyst for GlobalData, comments: “There is a shift in trends within the global power market, with China and India growing in stature. The large populations and domestic manufacturing might have provided the necessary critical mass to substantially influence global market trends.
“The expansion of the power grid is a consequence of initiatives focused on improving rural electrification and grid reliability, increasing the penetration of renewables, accommodating smart technologies, and importantly sustaining their strong economic growth.”
Environmental factors, fuel resource constraints, geopolitical risks and evolving technologies are transforming the global power sector. The growing emphasis on reduction of carbon emissions is also creating a promising market for renewables and other grid assets.
Developed nations with established power networks are expected to focus on transitioning their power systems to reduce environmental impacts or on gradual replacement of ageing assets. Developing nations face a myriad of challenges such as changing power generation model, power theft, supply reliability, grid constraints, market reformation, electricity deficit, growing urban population, and poor utility finances, which influence changes within the power sector.
According to the report, connecting remote power generation with far-off load centres in countries such as China, Germany, and South Africa, and the push for an interconnected grid in the EU and Japan, present the need for new transmission infrastructure to facilitate power supply to consumers and to maintain grid flexibility.
Rajasekaram concludes: “There is a strong requirement for new grid infrastructure to support the trends taking place within the generation and consumer segments of the power sector. The economic growth in most nations is intricately connected with resource consumption such as electricity. As countries seek to improve their growth prospects, the demand for electricity and consequently the investments into the power sector will grow and drive the power transmission and distribution conductors market.”
Source: Open Access Government

Climate Change Needs Behavior Change

Climate change is the defining global challenge of our time. Rapid changes to the global climate over the past several decades have already resulted in widespread impacts across human societies and natural systems. Continued changes of this magnitude will have severe and irreversible planetary impacts lasting hundreds of thousands of years, further threatening people and communities everywhere.

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