Jun 05 2023
A permitting package tucked into a must-pass debt ceiling bill last week to avoid a US government default had little support for building new electric transmission lines to bolster the US energy transition, but grid expansion advocates in the US Congress are not giving up. The legislation was signed by the president over the weekend after being approved by the House and Senate last week. The Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers still want to boost transmission capacity to accommodate more renewable resources and improve US grid resilience. In other US legislative action, the US House did not reach the two-thirds majority needed to override President Joe Biden's veto of a bipartisan resolution from Congress that would overturn his two-year solar tariff moratorium. Biden vowed not to extend the two-year moratorium on solar tariffs, which postpones any new duties on solar cells and modules imported into the US from China. Meanwhile, US battery storage capacity reached 10.7 GW at the end of the first quarter with the California ISO holding nearly half that total with 5.2 GW.
The rapid expansion of global battery capacity and an anticipated shortfall in essential raw materials are contributing to surging demand for recycled battery materials, known as black mass, Recyclus Group told S&P Global Commodity Insights. The global lithium market could see a deficit of up to 220,000 mt by 2030, according to forecasts released by S&P Global Market Intelligence in January 2022. Sweden's Vattenfall plans to produce electrolytic hydrogen using power from the Ringhals nuclear power site and the Kattegat Syd offshore wind farm, the utility said June 2. "There are good conditions for building electrolyzers at Ringhals and creating a very flexible production facility for both fossil-free electricity and hydrogen," Andreas Regnell, Head of Strategy at Vattenfall, said.
In Asia Pacific, Indian Energy Exchange threw its hat in the Voluntary Carbon Market ring by announcing plans to start trading carbon credits this year following setting up of a carbon exchange in 2022, and Chairman SN Goel said he betted on more trades moving to exchanges from the bilateral market. Policy for the India compliance market is still in the works, and Goel said the exchange would also be ready to launch this market segment that promises to be much larger. New South Wales in Australia floated mega wind and solar energy tenders at low strike prices to boost energy supplies amid shortages. Hydrogen industry watchers said the move will be good in the long term as excess renewable capacities could be used to fulfil the state's hydrogen ambitions. Australia's Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain, or HESC, said it is in talks for producing hydrogen derivatives such as clean ammonia, urea and jet fuel, a year after successfully shipping out liquid hydrogen via the Suiso Frontier tanker to Japan. – Rocco Canonica
Americas
SPGlobal.com
US coal-fired power plant retirements, hydropower output remain important this summer
Biden's solar tariff veto stands after US House vote doesn't reach majority
US BATTERY STORAGE: Capacity reached nearly 10.8 GW in Q1, 3.17 GW planned in Q2
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Grid expansion backers keep pushing permit updates after debt bill cold shoulder
Pembina, Marubeni to establish blue ammonia supply chain linking Alberta to Japan
Atlantic Canada targets startups of two green hydrogen projects in 2025
Clean air advocates flag 'worrisome' hydrogen-flaring trend to US lawmakers
EMEA
SPGlobal.com
German offshore wind to enter new era as 7 GW auction closes
Recyclus prepares to ramp up battery recycling as black mass demand takes off
UK carbon prices dive to multi-year lows, EU ETS disconnect widens
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Vattenfall targets Ringhals for nuclear, wind-fueled hydrogen production
Spain's Cepsa, Ibereolica agree 5-GW green power supply for electrolyzers
Equatic signs carbon removal credits, hydrogen deal with Boeing
Asia-Pacific
SPGlobal.com
Indian Energy Exchange unit looks to start trades under VCM in 2023
New South Wales' cheap renewables drive sets stage for hydrogen era
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Inspection shows 20% third-party emissions verifiers in China do not meet standards: state media
Japan bolsters loan insurance for LNG, critical minerals purchase, hydrogen supply chains
Australian HESC in talks for low carbon urea, jet fuel production
Charts of the week:
US battery storage capacity reached 10.7 GW at the end of the first quarter with the California ISO holding nearly half that total with 5.2 GW, followed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas with 3.3 GW.
New South Wales: Hydrogen projects and infrastructure
UK carbon prices have fallen close to three-year lows amid fragile compliance demand and growing macroeconomic concerns.
Price of the week:
GBP8.85/MWh
The price of Platts-assessed UK bio renewable Guarantees of Origin has more than doubled year on year
Quotes of the Week:
"The electricity transmission measures included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act are woefully inadequate," US Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) said in a statement. "We do not need to waste taxpayer dollars to tell us what we already know — if we want to fully realize the economic, reliability and environmental benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, we need to increase the rate at which we deploy electricity transmission."
"Get on, get back or get out of the energy queue" – UK National Grid ESO on moves to accelerate 10-year connection waits for essential energy transition generation projects
"The transition to clean renewable energy in New South Wales is essential and underway. These projects will fill the gap that will be left with the planned closures of coal-fired power stations in the coming decade." – New South Wales state's Energy minister, Penny Sharpe.