Chinese make key LNG investment
SINGAPORE: A group of niche Chinese gas firms is set to make waves in the global market with plans to invest tens of billions of dollars and double imports in the next decade as Beijing opens up its vast energy pipeline network to more competition.
The companies, mostly city gas distributors backed by local authorities, are ramping up purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as newly formed national pipeline operator PipeChina begins leasing third parties access to its distribution lines, terminals and storage facilities from this month. China could buy a record 65-67 million tonnes of LNG this year and is expected to leapfrog Japan to become the world's top buyer in 2022. Imports could surge 80 per cent from 2019 to 2030.
Lightsource BP reports growth
LONDON: Solar power developer Lightsource BP has generated returns of 10 per cent and more on projects.
London-based Lightsource BP, which is half-owned by oil major BP, has rapidly grown around the world in recent years and aims to reach 10 GW of solar capacity by 2023 from a current 2 GW .
It is a key element in BP CEO Bernard Looney's plan to grow BP's renewable power generation capacity 20-fold by 2030 to 50 GW from solar and wind power.
But many BP investors have cast doubts over BP's vow that the renewables business could generate returns of 8 per cent to 10 per cent, higher than the sector's average of 5 per cent to 6 per cent.
Plans for $20bn US clean powerhouse
MADRID: In a $8.3-billion deal, Spain's Iberdrola has added PNM Resources to its Avangrid business to create the third-largest US renewable energy operator.
Absorbing PNM into Avangrid will create an operator present in 24 states, Iberdrola said, and bring together firms with a combined market value topping $20 billion.
PNM could also benefit from Avangrid's renewables experience as it works to cut emissions. A plan has now been approved to close its coal-fired San Juan plant in 2022. The merged company would have assets worth $40 billion, generate core earnings of around $2.5 billion and net profit of $850 million.
Oxford launches net zero principles
OXFORD: A multi-disciplinary team from the University of Oxford has released ‘The Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting’; guidelines on how offsetting should be done to ensure it is trustworthy and effective in helping the world achieve carbon net zero.
The experts recommend a shift to verified carbon removal offsetting and to long-lived carbon storage, stating "users of offsets should increase the portion of their offsets that come from carbon removals, rather than from emission reductions, ultimately reaching 100 per cent carbon removals by mid-century to ensure compatibility with the Paris Agreement goals".
The principles include cutting emissions, shifting to carbon removal, shifting to long-lived storage, and supporting the development of net zero aligned offsetting.
Clean energy wages 25pc higher
WASHINGTON: Clean energy jobs paid 25 per cent more than the national median wage in 2019 and were more likely to include health care and retirement benefits, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of federal occupational wage and benefits data prepared for E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs), the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), and the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) by BW Research Partnership.
According to the report, workers in renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernisation and storage, clean fuels and clean vehicles earned a median hourly wage of $23.89 in 2019 compared with the national median wage of $19.14. In addition, jobs in many clean energy sectors are more likely to be unionised and come with health care and retirement benefits than the rest of the private sector, the analysis shows.
Japan to close petchem plant
TOKYO: Japan's biggest oil refiner Eneos Holdings has said it will stop production at its Chita petrochemicals plant in central Japan next October, citing a drop in local demand and fierce competition in Asia.
The production halt at the plant would reduce Eneos' paraxylene capacity by only 400,000 tonnes a year, leaving it with a total paraxylene output capacity of more than three million tonnes a year. Eneos said it will hold talks with rival Idemitsu Kosan to transfer some of its production facilities at the plant, including those for paraxylene, to Idemitsu. Eneos will retain all employees of Chita plant.
