UK establishes public energy company

Spanish Market: Electricity, Hydrogen
15/05/25

The UK parliament has passed a bill establishing a publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy (GBE), to support the nation's renewable energy ambitions.

The company, funded with £8.3bn ($11.02bn) over the current parliamentary term, aims to accelerate renewable energy projects, enhance energy security, and support job creation, the department for energy security and net zero (Desnz) announced on Thursday.

GBE will invest in clean energy initiatives, including technologies such as floating offshore wind, and collaborate with private companies to expand renewable energy capacity. The government states the company will help stabilise energy costs by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

The bill includes £200mn for renewable energy projects, such as rooftop solar for schools, hospitals, and communities. It has also committed £300mn to develop the UK's offshore wind supply chain, supporting manufacturing of components such as cables and platforms.

The legislation received approval from the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, enabling GBE to operate across the UK.

Desnz secretary of state Ed Miliband is expected to outline GBE's strategic priorities "soon", specifying technology focus areas and investment criteria. The government sees GBE as a key part of its plan to transition to clean energy and stimulate economic growth through a "modern industrial strategy", it said.

Industry body Energy UK welcomed the bill's passage. "[GBE] can play a vital role in making the government's clean energy ambitions a reality by attracting extra private sector investment," chief executive Dhara Vyas said.

By Timothy Santonastaso

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16/05/25

UK offshore wind sector needs stability: Industry

London, 16 May (Argus) — The UK's offshore wind sector requires urgent government action to restore investor confidence and meet 2030 decarbonisation goals, industry leaders warned at the All-Energy conference in Glasgow on 14 May. Speaking at the panel Offshore Wind 2024: A Year in Turmoil, experts called for policy stability, streamlined consenting and stronger supply chains to unlock the sector's potential. Chair of industry body Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) Jonathan Cole criticised the government's proposed locational marginal pricing reforms, arguing they introduce complexity and deter long-term investment. "We're not building coffee shops and bookstores, we're building infrastructure that will sit in one location for generations," he said. Cole warned that a 1pc rise in capital costs could erase £20bn in projected benefits, urging policymakers to prioritise stability over "speculative" market changes. ScottishPower Renewables' chief executive, Charlie Jordan, echoed the need for clarity, highlighting the £75bn investment in UK grid upgrades, particularly in Scotland, as critical for jobs and future-proofing the energy system. He said the ongoing review of electricity market arrangements (Rema) risks undermining grid investment and called for practical measures like general taxation to protect consumers from rising transmission costs. Both panellists stressed the need to accelerate consenting processes to maintain project timelines. They also emphasised strengthening the UK's offshore wind supply chain to compete with nations like South Korea and France. "Without swift action on ports, manufacturing and grid connections, we'll lose opportunities," Jordan said, pointing to Scotland's ScotWind seabed leasing programme and Celtic Sea offshore wind projects. Scotland has 3GW of offshore wind capacity across seven wind farms, including the 1.1GW Seagreen and 30MW Hywind Scotland. Projects under construction, such as the 450MW Neart na Gaoithe and 882MW Moray West, bring the nation's pipeline to 10.2GW expected by 2030, aligning with the Scottish government's 11GW target. The ScotWind seabed leasing round saw 25GW of leasing options agreements awarded in January 2022, with projects like the 2.1GW Berwick Bank, 1.1GW Inch Cape and 560MW Green Volt in planning. But recent setbacks have raised concerns about deliverability. The cancellation of Danish utility Orsted's 2.4GW Hornsea 4 project in May, despite a 15-year contracts for difference (CfD) at £83/MWh, underscores the sector's challenges. Orsted cited rising costs and "execution risks" from installing 180 turbines, highlighting economic unviability under current conditions. Transparency in energy pricing was deemed essential for public support. Jordan said prohibitive costs, driven by taxes and seabed leasing fees, make UK industrial users 70pc less competitive than their European counterparts. Cole added that clear communication is vital as discussions about market reforms and potential EU alignment intensify. With the upcoming seventh round of the CfD scheme and ongoing government consultations, the panel urged decisive action to stabilise the sector. "This is the time for long-term vision, not academic experiments," Cole said. By Timothy Santonastaso Send comments and request more information at [email protected] Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Austrian PV additions fall 100MW on year in 1Q

15/05/25

Austrian PV additions fall 100MW on year in 1Q

London, 15 May (Argus) — Austrian solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity additions fell by around 100MW on the year in the first quarter of 2025, solar association PV Austria told Argus , a decrease of around 20pc. Newly installed PV capacity in January-March stood at 399MW, PV Austria said, compared with 497MW added in the first quarter of last year, according to data from grid regulator E-control. But late reports from Austria's distribution system operators may still cause a slight uptick in capacity addition numbers for the last quarter, PV Austria said. The association largely attributed the fall in solar additions to uncertainty around government policies, which "compromised" planning security and "jeopardised" investments into renewable energy, it told Argus . And it cited the "abrupt" end of the VAT exemption for small PV systems as well as the extension and tightening of the energy crisis contribution as further reasons for the decline. PV Austria called on the government to pass the electricity industry act (ElWG) and the renewable energy expansion acceleration act (EABG) as soon as possible. The government in February pledged to pass the ElWG in the summer of this year. Austria had just under 8.3GW of solar capacity installed as of the start of January, the latest data from transmission system operator APG show. Solar output more than doubled on the year in 2024 and APG has several times highlighted the challenges posed by increased PV capacity for demand forecasting and grid stability during times of solar peaks, when excess power must either be transported abroad or to storage power plants and can also lead to curtailments at wind and hydropower units. By John Horstmann Send comments and request more information at [email protected] Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

France consults on expanded biofuels mandate

15/05/25

France consults on expanded biofuels mandate

London, 15 May (Argus) — France has opened consultation on the transposition of part of the recast renewable energy directive (RED III) into national law, which would replace the current system with a new one called "incentive for the reduction of the carbon intensity of fuels" (IRICC). The proposal introduces two separate sets of requirements for transport fuels. The first is for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, broken down by transport sectors — road, aviation, maritime, LPG and natural gas for vehicles, which could be CNG or LNG (see table). In the current draft, the GHG reduction target for the road sector will start at 5.9pc in 2026, rising to 10.6pc in 2030 and 18.7pc in 2035. For aviation, the target starts at 2.5pc in 2026, rising to 5.8pc in 2030 and 18.8pc in 2035. The GHG mandate levels include a gradual phasing-in of new fuel sectors – river and maritime fuels, fuel gasses, and aviation. To meet the overall RED III target of 14.5pc emissions reduction by 2030, the national French target includes the biofuels mandates, a share for rail transport, and a share or private vehicle charging. The second set of requirements is a renewable fuel requirement by energy content, which is broken down by fuel type — diesel, gasoline, LPG and natural gas fuels and marine fuel (see table). The blending requirements for diesel start at 9pc in 2026, rising to 11.4pc in 2030 and 16pc in 2035. For gasoline, the mandates start at 9.5pc in 2026, rising to 10.5pc in 2030 and 14.5pc in 2035. Finally, the proposal includes a set of sub-mandates for advanced fuels and renewable hydrogen . The advanced biofuels mandate would start at 0.7pc in 2026, rising to 1.95pc in 2030 and 2.6pc in 2035. Users of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) would not be subject to the advanced sub-mandate. In feedstock restrictions, the crop cap will rise to 7pc from 6.2pc in 2030 and 2035, while the limit for fuels made from feedstocks found in Annex IX-B of RED will be at 0.6pc in 2026, 0.7pc in 2030 and 1pc in 2035 for diesel and petrol. Aviation fuel will not have a IX-B cap until 2030, and from then it will be 6pc. Mandate compliance would be managed by a certificate system through the CarbuRe registry, with a compliance deadline of 1 March the following year. Public electric vehicle charging would also generate tickets, although the amount of tickets generated by charging light passenger vehicles would be reduced from 2031 to reach 50pc in 2035. Renewable hydrogen used in transport would also generate tickets counting towards the hydrogen sub-quota and reduce the overall GHG savings requirement. Public charging stations will start generating fewer tickets for electric passenger vehicles from 2031 to 50pc by 2035. France is also considering steep penalties for non-compliance, at €700/t CO2 not avoided for the GHG reduction requirement and at €40/GJ for the fuel targets. The penalty for not meeting hydrogen and advanced fuel sub-targets would be doubled, at €80/GJ. The consultation is open for comments until 10 June. By Simone Burgin Proposed GHG reduction by transport sector % 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 Road and non-road diesel 5.9 7.1 8.3 9.5 10.6 13.2 14.8 16.2 17.5 18.7 Aviation 2.5 3.3 4.1 4.9 5.8 8.4 10.8 13.3 15.9 18.7 RFNBO sub-target (% en.) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 1.2 2.0 2.0 2.0 5.0 Maritime 2.5 3.25 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.5 RFNBO sub-target (% en.) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 2.0 2.0 LPG and natural gas fuels 0.0 0.0 2.7 6.3 10.6 13.2 14.8 16.2 17.5 18.7 DGEC Proposed energy content mandate by fuel type % (en.) 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 Diesel 9.0 9.5 10.1 10.7 11.4 12.2 13.0 13.8 14.9 16.0 Petrol 9.5 9.7 10.0 10.2 10.5 11.1 11.8 12.6 13.4 14.5 Natural gas fuels 0.0 0.0 3.0 7.0 12.0 15.0 16.0 18.0 19.0 21.0 LPG 0.0 0.0 3.0 7.0 12.0 15.0 16.0 18.0 19.0 21.0 Marine fuel 2.9 3.8 4.7 5.9 7.1 8.2 9.4 11.8 14.1 17.1 DGEC Proposed caps and sub-targets % (en.) 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 Feedstock caps Crop feedstocks 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 Annex IX-B feedstocks* 0.6 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 1.0 Cat. 3 tallow 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 Tall oil 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.2 Fuel sub-targets Advanced feedstocks 0.7 0.95 1.25 1.6 1.95 2.0 2.1 2.25 2.4 2.6 RFNBOs/Renewable hydrogen 0.05 0.2 0.5 1.0 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 *For diesel and petrol Send comments and request more information at [email protected] Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Grids key to boosting SE Asia’s renewable power: Ember

15/05/25

Grids key to boosting SE Asia’s renewable power: Ember

Singapore, 15 May (Argus) — Up to 30GW of solar and wind power could be unlocked along planned grid routes in southeast Asia, which would help meet growing power demand in the region, according to a report released today by think-tank Ember. The Asean group of nations is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, but solar and wind power are expected to constitute 23pc of the energy mix by 2030, up from 4pc currently, according to Ember. Asean as a region targets a 51GW increase in solar, and a 109GW increase in wind, hydro, geothermal and bioenergy combined by 2040. Electricity demand is rising in the region, because of economic growth as well as greater demand from data centres and transport electrification. Expanding and modernising the region's grid infrastructure would help to allow for the development of more clean energy, improve system flexibility and support regional power sharing. Up to 24GW of potential solar power and 5.6GW of wind power are situated in Indonesia's Riau islands and Sumatra, Malaysia's Sarawak, Cambodia and Brunei, where there are existing and planned grid projects. But the electricity generated from these projects needs transmission lines to be transported to demand centres. Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand collectively plan to add 45,078km of transmission lines between 2023-30. But this is slightly less than half of IEA's projections that indicate southeast Asia needs to expand transmission lines by 100,000km between 2021-30 to meet its clean energy targets. Regional variance There is significant disparity between Asean countries in their clean energy potential, with some having abundant wind and solar capacity, and others having hydropower and geothermal resources. These resources also tend to be subject to seasonal variations. Regional grid interconnection is hence "key to using these resources in combination, boosting renewables use and economic growth" states the report. The Asean Power Grid has seen some progress through the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore (LTMS-PIP) project and the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines Power Integration Project (BIMP-PIP). But grid development plans still vary significantly across the region. Only Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore have signed the UN's Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge, which aims to deploy 1,500GW of energy storage and 25mn km of grid infrastructure globally by 2030. Additionally, investment required to expand electricity grids, including regional interconnections, could reach $22bn/yr by 2035, the IEA said. Asean's clean energy future hence depends on cross-border data sharing, addressing infrastructure requirements, momentum in policymaking for regional co-operation, and aligning investments with future energy demand, says Ember. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at [email protected] Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

IDB to finance R1.4bn for Sao Paulo's EV fleet

14/05/25

IDB to finance R1.4bn for Sao Paulo's EV fleet

Sao Paulo, 14 May (Argus) — The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) will provide R1.4bn ($250mn) in financing for Brazil's Sao Paulo city to further expand its electric vehicle (EV) bus fleet. Sao Paulo has 527 electric buses and forecasts more 2,200 clean fuel buses by 2028, the government said. The city has a total fleet of 12,000 buses. In April, the Bank of China approved $100mn for Sao Paulo to buy more electric buses. But the city did not disclose how many buses it would buy. Sao Paulo also received R2.55bn from Brazil's development bank Bndes to buy 1,387 electric buses in December. By Maria Frazatto Send comments and request more information at [email protected] Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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