Grid Operator News

Con Edison Transmission and National Grid Ventures submitted a plan to carry offshore wind power to New Jersey's electric grid as the state aims to meet renewable energy goals, according to a press release on Thursday.If awarded, the 'Garden State Energy Path' proposal involves building transmission infrastructure that would be operational by early 2029 and deliver about six gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power, Con Edison said."This project is foundational to helping New Jersey reach its goal of 11 GW of offshore wind by 2040," it said.Earlier this week, California’s grid operator recommende

Energy storage group VTTI will get a 70% stake in Italy's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, with grid operator Snam owning the rest, the Milan-listed group said on Wednesday, announcing a deal to be finalised by year-end.Snam, which is controlled by the Italian government, said in a statement it had exercised its pre-emption right to increase its stake in the infrastructure dubbed Adriatic LNG to 30% from 7.3%.The move comes after ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy last week agreed to sell their stakes in the terminal to a consortium led by Dutch group VTTI.

German utility RWE on Jan. 1 handed over floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure at Brunsbuettel on the North Sea to state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) as agreed when first imports arrived 10 months ago, it said.DET is now the sole operational manager and markets the capacity of the Brunsbuettel Elbehafen LNG project.Germany's quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores has intensified as it seeks to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas…

Scandlines has contracted Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) to deliver an onshore charging system to the ferry operator’s berth in Puttgarden, Germany.NES will deliver the system and connect the equipment to the power grid of the regional grid operator, Schleswig-Holstein Netz. The required components onshore include a 30MVA grid transformer, medium and low voltage transformers, and switchboards, in addition to control system and data collection system. NES will also deliver additional equipment to the ferry.Scandlines’ new zero direct emissions ferry…

How the Maximum Contingency of 2,200 MW Was Recast to a 1,200 MW CeilingAs policy makers and energy developers look to develop and interconnect large offshore wind projects in the most economically efficient and least environmentally impactful way, an issue has developed. A relatively recent limit, set in place by the grid operator in New England in a planning process document, states that no single system loss of energy, or “contingency”, can be larger than 1,200 megawatts (MW). This 2016 addition to ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) Planning Procedure No.

Snam has finalized the 400 million euro acquisition of a new floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal that will be located offshore from the city of Ravenna, the Italian gas grid operator said on Monday.The new ship dubbed BW Singapore has a storage capacity of about 170,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas and a regasification capacity of about 5 billion cubic meters per year and will help Italy to diversify its energy supplies.The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is expected to start operations in 2025.That will follow the conclusion of the related permitting and reg

Italian gas grid operator Snam will invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in a new LNG offshore terminal near Ravenna, the company's CEO said on Tuesday.The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) will add to another LNG terminal already set up in Tuscany, increasing Italy's gas import capacity and reducing dependence from its traditional suppliers, including Russia."To increase energy security for Italy we decided last year, together with the government, to increase the country's LNG import capacity in order to have more flexibility and diversify energy supplies…

Exxon Mobil Corp chose BlackRock as the potential buyer for its majority stake in Italy's main liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, the U.S. oil producer said in a statement.The stake sale drew interest from infrastructure funds and international groups as Italy is expected to increase its LNG imports to partly replace the gas it used to get via pipeline from Russia.In March, Exxon said it was considering selling its 70.68% interest in the offshore Adriatic LNG Terminal…

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel moored in the Tuscan port of Piombino will be moved off the coast of Vado Ligure and Savona in Italy's northwestern region of Liguria, the president of Liguria said on Tuesday.Italian gas grid operator Snam bought the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) last year as part of the Italian government's plan to reduce dependence on Russian gas, but the infrastructure was opposed by the local administration in Piombino.The decision on the proposed site was made after Liguria President Giovanni Toti met Snam's chief executive, a spokesperson for the Liguria president said. The decision on the…

Four international groups are competing to buy Exxon Mobil Corp's majority stake in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal offshore Italy, two sources familiar with the matter said. The deal could value the entire LNG terminal at around 800 million euros ($881 million), the sources said. Exxon said in March it was considering selling its majority stake in Adriatic LNG, Italy's main regasification terminal, as part of a wider strategy to divest non-core assets. The U.S. group is being advised by Rothschild & Co. on the process.

The new floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) set up in the Tuscan port of Piombino will start its commercial operations at the end of this month, the CEO of Italy's gas grid operator Snam said on Friday.The terminal will make available around 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas this year and around 5 bcm next year said Snam's Stefano Venier at a press conference to mark the arrival of the first LNG tanker in Piombino."This ship is a great service to the country," Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said at the same event.The expansion is part of the Italian government's

Exxon Mobil Corp is considering selling its majority stake in Italy's main regasification terminal as part of a wider strategy to divest from non-core assets, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The Rovigo liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal is owned by Exxon's subsidiary ExxonMobil Italiana Gas (70.7%), QatarEnergy subsidiary Qatar Terminal Company Limited (22%) and Snam Spa SRG.MI (7.3%). Snam, an Italian gas grid operator, has the first right of refusal should a partner decide to divest.

The Italian trade union USB filed a legal complaint against a plan by gas grid operator Snam to set up a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Tuscan port of Piombino, it said in a press release on Friday.USB alleged Snam had committed serious "environmental crimes" while performing works to build the terminal.USB criticised in the statement the choice to set up the terminal in an area already polluted by an old steel plant, saying regasification processes would increase…

The number of ships loading liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Spain and taking it across Europe doubled in 2022 compared with the previous year, helping ease the energy crisis driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gas grid operator Enagas said on Thursday."Our plants are contributing very significantly to the energy security of other countries and from the Barcelona plant, especially for Italy," Enagas chief executive Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri told reporters, adding that a total of…

Germany boosted its offshore wind power capacity by 357 megawatts (MW) to 7,036 MW last year, inching towards a planned 30,000 MW by 2030, power grid operator TenneT said.The German arm of the Dutch transmission group will play a key role in achieving the target, linking the majority of new wind farms to onshore high-voltage transmission grids, with a commitment to provide six 2,000 MW links by 2031.

Italy plans to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity to 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) from nearly 17 bcm currently as it seeks to completely replace Russian gas supplies following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.In 2021, Moscow provided Rome with 29 bcm of gas via pipelines, equal to around 40% of Italy's total imports but Russian supplies have fallen in recent months to around 10% of total imports. Italy, which can now count on three LNG terminals, has mandated gas grid operator Snam SRG.MI to buy and set up two additional floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) near the cities of Piombino and Ravenna.A timely start for the Piombino FSRU is crucial to allow Italy to fill gas storage facilities in time for winter 2023…

Italy's Emilia Romagna region has approved a project for a new floating LNG terminal off the coast of Ravenna in the upper Adriatic sea, it said on Monday, part of the country's broader efforts to replace dwindling Russian gas supplies. Almost one billion euros ($998 million) in total will be invested in the project, Emilia Romagna's Economic Development Councillor Vincenzo Colla told a news conference. The clearance took only about four months to be secured -- rather than years for similar projects in the past. As part of its energy strategy, Italy is adding two floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) to its existing three facilities. One will be off Ravenna, the other moored in the Tuscan port of Piombino on the other coast.

Itay's Snam will choose the offshore site for its new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in the next 100 days, Italy's special commissioner for the project said on Friday, with its initial location already facing a legal challenge.Under the government's plan to diversify energy supply away from Russian gas, Italy's gas grid operator plans to moor the newly-bought FSRU in the port of Piombino, on Italy's west coast, for the next three years. After this period, it has…

Dutch energy company VTTI said on Monday it plans to build a new floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Netherlands with capacity to import 5 billion cubic meters of gas annually. On Friday the Dutch government said it was in talks with two different groups over new LNG terminals to increase Dutch import capacity by 5-8 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually as it seeks to ensure the country's energy security. Rotterdam-based VTTI said in a statement it was "striving"…

Italian gas grid operator Snam confirmed on Thursday its guidance for full-year net profit after reporting a rise of 10% in nine-month revenue to 2.4 billion euros ($2.41 billion). The state-controlled group said it planned to boost Italy's gas storage and transport facilities after getting the go-ahead to set up two new LNG terminals. The new floating LNG terminals and investments in gas infrastructure are part of a broader effort by the Italian government to replace dwindling Russian gas supplies and keep a lid on energy costs. The gas grid operator reported a decline of 9% in gas consumption by the industrial sector between January and September, in a sign that companies in Italy have cut activity in the face of high commodity prices and supply difficulties.

An underwater pipeline to carry green hydrogen between Barcelona and Marseille will cost around 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion), according to preliminary estimates of the project agreed between Spain, Portugal and France, two sources told Reuters. It comes as an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has accelerated European plans to bolster renewable energy as an alternative to Russian gas. Spain and Portugal aim to become clean hydrogen hubs and net energy exporters, causing…

Spanish gas grid operator Enagas said on Friday a backlog at its terminals that had forced it to warn it could reject deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) had eased.On October 17, Enagas had issued a special situation notice due to unexpectedly full LNG tanks at its Spanish ports as mild weather hit demand for the fuel.Although the system operator expected the situation to end in early November, the overcapacity has lasted almost four weeks longer and has led to delays in planned offloading, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter."All firm operations contracted by users

Dutch offshore survey services firm Fugro has secured a contract with the Danish grid operator Energinet for geotechnical site investigations for the North Sea I offshore wind development.The Danish government plans to expand offshore wind capacity by 4GW by 2030, and the geodata acquired by Fugro will be used to inform future bids in the area. "This award follows Fugro’s success working on the North Sea Energy Islands project for Energinet throughout 2022, a project that is the first of its kind…