Electricity Demand News

Wind power production outpaced gas plants in Europe for the first time last year as fossil fuel electricity generation plummeted, cutting the region's carbon emissions, data from think-tank Ember showed.Europe is ramping up its renewable electricity generation as part of efforts to wean the bloc off Russian fuels and to help meet its climate goal of net zero emissions by 2050.Europe's fossil fuel power generation fell by a record 19% year-on-year in 2023, with gas-fired electricity production down 15% and coal electricity production down 26% the report by Ember showed.At the same time wind pow

“In the first 10 months of 2023, coal shipments to advanced economies fell by 17% y/y, as demand for electricity declined and the share of electricity produced using renewable energy rose. Also slowed economic activity and high energy prices affected electricity demand,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Between January and August, electricity production in advanced economies fell by 4% y/y, according to data from the International Energy Agency. In 2023, measures against high inflation slowed economic growth in advanced economies.

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell in August as some processing plants reduced output and a heat wave increased gas demand for power, leaving less gas available for LNG production, according to vessel monitoring data and analysts.Above-normal temperatures and drought hit the U.S. Southwest last month, triggering record electricity demand and forcing providers to ask users to voluntarily reduce consumption. Maintenance outages also curbed processing at two Cheniere Energy facilities: Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas.Gas supply to the seven largest U.S.

Major Asian buyers of LNG could seek US cargoes in the coming weeks if worker-related disputes at key LNG facilities in Australia escalate, analysts said, as electricity demand continues surge due to warm weather.Uncertainty over labour disputes at western Australian facilities run by Woodside Energy Group and U.S. major Chevron have spurred Asian LNG prices to their highest in five months, and analysts say they could rise further.As many as 700 workers at the Australian facilities could potentially down tools over pay and job security, the first of them as early as Sept.

WindServe Marine, a U.S. offshore wind support services company, has secured a loan from The Washington Trust Company, for the construction of three new 88-foot crew transfer vessels (CTV), recently commissioned by Ørsted, the largest offshore wind developer in the world. "Washington Trust was founded on the southwestern shoreline of Rhode Island and as a good corporate citizen, we are committed to protecting and preserving the local environment. Providing financing for alternative sources of energy that benefit this community aligns both with our business and sustainability benchmarks…

With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains US$370 billion for climate and energy programs, policy experts are forecasting a big expansion in clean electricity generation. One source that’s poised for growth is offshore wind power.Today the U.S. has just two operating offshore wind farms, off of Rhode Island and Virginia, with a combined generating capacity of 42 megawatts. For comparison, the new Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma has 356 turbines and a 998-megawatt generating capacity.

The Biden administration has announced ambitious plans to scale up leasing for offshore wind energy projects along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. In an announcement released on Oct. 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior stated that it will “use the best available science as well as knowledge from ocean users and other stakeholders to minimize conflict with existing uses and marine life.” University of Massachusetts Boston public policy scholar David W. Cash, who worked at senior levels in state government for a decade…

As part of his Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (EO 14008)—issued on the first day he took office—President Biden made significant commitments to renewable energy. These commitments include collaborating with multiple federal agencies in the United States and promoting critical industry support for the acquisition of electric vehicles for the federal fleet, as well as rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, the landmark international agreement signed in 2015 to limit global warming.

Borssele III & IV, one of the largest offshore wind farms in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, has reached full commissioning, Van Oord a partner in the Blauwwind consortium behind the 731.5 MW wind farm's development, said Thursday.Blauwwind is a consortium between Shell, Partners Group, Eneco, DGE and Van Oord.Located 22 kilometers off the Dutch coast and the Province of Zeeland, the wind farm is capable of powering 825,000 Dutch households with electricity. Roeland Borsboom, Project Director for Blauwwind said: "This is a great achievement by everybody involved.

An impressive recovery in Chinese dry bulk imports has protected the industry from the effects of falling demand in the rest of the world. High deliveries and low contracting have left the orderbook at multi-year lows, but – with the poor outlook – the current influx of new dry bulk ships orders is not what is needed.Demand drivers and freight ratesThe biggest story in the dry bulk industry in recent months has been the strength of the recovery in major Chinese imports. These are up across the board…

Malaysia's Petronas has delivered the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import cargoes to Myanmar, the company said on Thursday, marking a new consumer for the super-chilled fuel.The state-owned company's subsidiary Petronas LNG delivered two LNG cargoes to Yangon, Myanmar, in May and June as part of a sales and purchase agreement it had signed with joint-venture company CNTIC VPower earlier this year, Petronas said.As part of the deal, the cargoes were sold on a free-on-board (FOB) basis from the Petronas LNG complex at Bintulu…

Brazil has agreed to release water at the giant Itaipu hydroelectric dam to raise low water levels in the Parana River, a key thoroughfare for grains shipments, Argentina's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.Decade-low water levels on the Parana are forcing Argentine exporters to load less soy and other grains on ships bound largely for China, adding a new problem to a sector already beset by bottlenecks due to the coronavirus pandemic.The agreement with Brazil will allow for an additional 1,400 cubic meters of water flow to be added to the river, the ministry said in a statement.

Research by HR Wallingford at the SeaGen tidal power project site at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland has shown that the impact of tidal power turbines on marine wildlife may be significantly lower than previously estimated.As questions are asked about the impact of turbine blades on marine wildlife, scientists have developed a sophisticated fish collision model for the burgeoning tidal power industry.The model, developed by HR Wallingford, predicts collision rates more accurately than ever before by incorporating the real swimming behaviors of different species of fish for the first time. The journal of ‘Renewable Energy’ has just published a study using the model…

The global offshore wind market grew nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, benefiting from rapid technology improvements and about 150 new offshore wind projects are in active development around the world.Europe in particular has fostered the technology’s development, led by the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark, but China added more capacity than any other country in 2018, says 'Offshore Wind Outlook 2019',  a report funded by the governments of Denmark and Germany.Yet today's offshore wind market doesn't even come close to tapping the full potential – with high-quality resources available in most major markets, offshore wind…

Belgium-based Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering NV (DEME) said that its installation vessel ‘Innovation’ will set sail to the Belgian North Sea with the first load of 58 turbine foundations and transition pieces for installation at the SeaMade offshore wind farm.Currently the first monopiles and transition pieces are being loaded at SIF Holdings' Maasvlakte terminal in Rotterdam.With a 487 MW capacity SeaMade is the largest offshore wind farm in Belgium. SeaMade stands for a combination of two offshore wind projects, previously known as Mermaid (235 MW) and Seastar (252 MW).DEME’s scope includes the installation of the 58 foundations and all inter-array cables, the installation of two offshore substations and the 220 kV submarine high voltage cable installation.

The consortium including DEME and Eiffage Métal has won an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract for 80 foundations at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm in France.The scope includes the design, fabrication, and installation of full face drilled monopile foundations. The consortium contract has a total value of more than EUR 500 million.Design activities already kicked off in order to start the production of the foundations in the spring of 2020.The first foundations will be installed on a rocky seabed in the spring of 2021 and the project is set for completion in the summer of 2022.The 480 MW wind farm, belonging to EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge, will be built between 12 and 20 km off the Guérande peninsula in western France.

Global energy demand grew 2.3% last year, marking its fastest pace in a decade, amid a robust global economy and stronger heating and cooling needs in many regions, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).Natural gas emerged as the fuel of choice, posting the biggest gains and accounting for 45% of the rise in energy consumption. Gas demand growth was especially strong in the United States and China.Demand for all fuels increased, with fossil fuels meeting nearly 70% of the growth for the second year running. Solar and wind generation grew at double-digit pace, with solar alone increasing by 31%. Still, that was not fast enough to meet higher electricity demand around the world that also drove up coal use.Global gas demand expanded at its fastest rate since 2010…

The world will need less energy from the 2030s onwards, but it will still require a significant amount of oil and gas in the lead-up to mid-century according to DNV GL’s 2018 Energy Transition Outlook, an independent forecast of the world energy mix in the lead-up to 2050.The report says, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will remain the main global supplier of oil and gas for decades to come."Among its forecasts for 10 global regions, DNV GL’s Outlook sees the MENA region accounting for most onshore conventional gas production in the lead-up to 2050, while North America will continue to dominate unconventional gas production.

DNV GL has successfully completed a lenders’ technical due diligence on Ørsted’s Hornsea Project One, the world’s largest offshore wind farm with a total capacity of 1.2 GW.The project, which is currently under construction, consists of 174 7 MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines and is located 100 km offshore, making it the furthest offshore wind farm in the UK. The exceptional distance is made possible by an innovative electrical transmission system using the world’s first offshore reactive power compensation mid-station, enabling power to be transmitted 100 km to shore.Working in close collaboration with Ørsted and the lenders, legal, financial and insurance advisors…

Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp has agreed to take a 25% interest in Summit's Bangladesh LNG import terminal project - which will be the country's second such terminal.The other 75% of the Summit LNG terminal will remain with Summit Corp.Mitsubishi is planning to help in the development of an offshore receiving facility in the country. It will also develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal that uses a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Bangladesh.Under the project, Summit LNG will install an FSRU 6 kilometre off the coast of the island of Moheshkali in the Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh, where it will receive and regasify LNG procured by Petrobangla…

Total and Singapore's Pavilion Energy have signed a non-binding deal through their subsidiaries to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker supply chain in the port of Singapore, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions, the French oil major's affiliate in charge of worldwide ship fuelling, or bunkering, activities, and Pavilion Gas signed a heads of agreement which covers the shared long-term time charter of a new generation LNG bunker vessel to be commissioned by Pavilion Gas by 2020…

DemandThe improved fundamentals during 2017 are clearly seen in the freight rate levels during the first four months of 2018. Freight rates for Handysize, Supramax and Panamax went up by 25-27 percent as compared to the same period of last year. All three sectors moved from loss-making average earnings in the full year of 2017 to a profitable level in first four months of 2018.Meanwhile, capesize freight rates improved by only 5 percent as compared to the same period last year…

Despite some 7,000 miles separating Ireland and Hawaii, the two islands have a lot in common. The islands’ peoples have always looked to their respective oceans for resources, inspiration and opportunity. Today, Irish company Ocean Energy announced its wave energy convertor OE Buoy will be built by Oregon-based Vigor and deployed at the U.S. Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site on the windward coast of the Hawaiian Island of O’ahu in the fall of 2018. The contract value is $6.5 million out of a total project value of $12 million for this first of a kind grid scale project at the U.S.