Croatia almost doubles solar capacity this year

Spanish Market: Electricity
10/11/23

Croatia added 184MW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in the first 10 months of 2023, according to a report by domestic renewables association RES Croatia — almost doubling the country's capacity.

Croatia had just above 400MW of solar capacity installed as of October, according to the association, up from just over 200MW at the beginning of 2022. Croatian solar output has risen to 274GWh so far this year, accounting for 1.7pc of the country's generation mix, according to RES Croatia. This is up sharply from 80GWh for the whole of 2022, with generation in July and August alone reaching a combined 84GWh this year.

RES Croatia predicts that solar output could rise to 300GWh this year. If this is the case, it would be more than the 297GWh generated over the past three years combined.

Wind output hit slightly over 2TWh in the first 10 months of this year, up by 156GWh on the year, RES Croatia said. Croatia has just over 1.1GW of wind capacity, according to data from transmission system operator Hops — up by 221MW from 2022.

And hydropower plants generated almost 6.3TWh in January-October, up by 2.4TWh on the year owing to more favourable hydrological conditions.

Total Croatian renewable generation rose to 9.3TWh in the first 10 months of this year, up by more than 2.6TWh from the same period in 2022. Renewables have accounted for almost 59pc of Croatian generation this year, RES Croatia said.

By Matt Bowen

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05/02/25

Equinor Norwegian gas output up on year in 2024

London, 5 February (Argus) — Norwegian state-controlled Equinor's gas output on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) edged up on the year, driven by record-high output from the giant Troll field and fewer unplanned outages at NCS assets, the firm said on Wednesday. The firm's Norwegian gas output rose by 4pc on the year to 758,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) or 107mn m³/d in 2024. This was driven by "strong contributions" from the Troll and Johan Sverdrup fields, Equinor said. Gas production from Troll — in which Equinor holds a 31pc stake — reached an all-time high last year at roughly 116mn m³/d, the Norwegian producer has said. And there were fewer "unplanned losses" on the NCS last year than in 2023, Equinor said. The firm was the largest producer on the NCS in 2023, accounting for more than a third of total gas output on the shelf, the latest available data from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate show. Equinor's global gas output rose by 2pc to 985,000 boe/d or 139mn m³/d last year. But the firm's combined oil and gas global output was slightly lower in 2024, with a small increase in gas production insufficient to offset lower liquids output. Equinor's equity liquids production was 1.08mn boe/d in 2024, down by 3pc on the year. Equinor expects "more than 10pc growth from 2024-27" in oil and gas production, reaching a peak at 2.3mn boe/d in 2027. And the firm estimated that hydrocarbons output would grow by 4pc from 2024 to 2025. Equinor's reported Norwegian gas prices dropped by 22pc on the year to $9.47/mn Btu, or €31.01/MWh, in 2024, using Wednesday's exchange rate. And the average reported price for its US gas decreased by 4pc to $1.70/mn Btu, or €5.57/MWh. Equinor made a profit of $8.83bn in 2024, down by 26pc on the year. Profit was $1.99bn in the fourth quarter, 23pc lower on the year. The company has cut its 2030 expected renewables capacity to 10-12GW, from 12-16GW, noting that the pace of the energy transition is slower in some markets. It did not give a new target for capital expenditure allocation to this sector. Equinor also modified some net carbon intensity goals, setting ranges rather than absolute targets. By Georgia Gratton and Jana Cervinkova Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Equinor scales back renewables plan

05/02/25

Equinor scales back renewables plan

London, 5 February (Argus) — Norwegian state-controlled Equinor said today it has cut by up to 25pc its target for renewables capacity by 2030, and abandoned a plan to allocate half its capital expenditure (capex) to low carbon projects by that same year. The company has cut its 2030 expected renewables capacity to 10-12GW, from 12-16GW, noting that the pace of the energy transition is slower in some markets. It did not give a new target for capex allocation to this sector. Equinor also modified some net carbon intensity goals, setting ranges rather than absolute targets. It now plans to reduce net carbon intensity — which includes scope 3 emissions, from sold products — by 15-20pc by 2030 and by 30-40pc by 2035, from a 2019 baseline. The previous targets were at the higher end of these ranges. Equinor made a profit of $8.83bn in 2024, down by 26pc on the year. Profit was $1.99bn in the fourth quarter, lower on the year by 23pc. The company's oil and gas output was slightly lower in 2024, with a small increase in gas production not quite offsetting lower liquids output. Equinor's equity liquids production was 1.08mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) in 2024, down by 3pc on the year, and its equity gas production rose by 2pc to 985,000 boe/d over the same timeframe. It expects "more than 10pc growth from 2024-27" in oil and gas production, and estimated that hydrocarbons output would grow by 4pc from 2024 to 2025. Liquids and gas prices fell in 2024. Equinor's reported Norwegian and US gas prices rose by 5pc and 26pc, respectively, on the year in the October-December period, but this was not enough to assuage a decrease across the year. The average reported price for its Norwegian gas dropped by 22pc on the year to $9.47/mn Btu in 2024, and the average reported price for its US gas decreased by 4pc to $1.70/mn Btu. Equinor reported an average liquids price of $74.1/bl in 2024, 1pc lower on the year. Its reported fourth-quarter 2024 liquids price fell by 10pc from the same period in 2023, to $68.5/bl. Equinor's power generation rose in 2024, boosted by additions in Brazil and Poland in 2023 and the start of the 531MW Mendubim solar plant in Brazil in 2024. Equinor's share of power generation stood at 4,917GWh in 2024, up by 19pc on the year — but its renewables share rose faster, by 51pc to 2,935GWh. Equinor has maintained its target of 30mn-50mn t/yr of CO2 storage by 2035. Equinor trimmed 600,000 t/CO2 equivalent (CO2e) from its absolute scope 1 and 2 — or operational — emissions over 2023-4. Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its operated production stood at 11mn t/CO2e in 2024. The company's upstream carbon intensity fell to 6.2kg CO2/boe in 2024, down by 7.5pc on the year. Equinor will buy back $5bn of shares in 2025, having bought $6bn in 2024. It completed the fourth $1.6bn tranche of its 2024 programme on 14 January and will launch the first tranche — of up to $1.2bn — of its 2025 programme on 6 February. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

S Korea to invest $89.5mn in net zero, energy security

05/02/25

S Korea to invest $89.5mn in net zero, energy security

Singapore, 5 February (Argus) — South Korea today announced plans to invest 129.3bn won ($89.5mn) this year in new research and development projects in the energy sector, to achieve carbon neutrality and ensure domestic energy security. About W78.7bn will go to 41 projects in the first round of funding this year. These projects will focus on technologies related to "carbon-free" energy such as renewable energy, nuclear power, and hydrogen, among others, South Korea's energy ministry (Motie) said on 5 February. The ministry will also invest W46.2bn to improve energy efficiency and in power systems, especially given surging power demand driven by artificial intelligence. Motie also plans to invest W56.9bn in securing technologies such as next-generation solar power, flexible operation of nuclear power plants, and large-capacity water electrolysis facilities, to "respond to the climate crisis". South Korea's science ministry in December 2024 unveiled plans to invest W2.75 trillion in technologies this year to respond to climate change, which included renewable energy technology and "carbon-free" technologies like nuclear power. It is unclear if the latest W56.9bn commitment is part of the W2.75 trillion announced last year or a separate investment. South Korea in December 2024 also announced plans to invest W450 trillion won in green finance by 2030, then acting president and prime minister Han Duck-soo said before he was impeached later that week . This made deputy prime minister and finance minister Choi Sang-mok the current acting president and acting prime minister. President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on 14 December and has since been arrested. If Yoon is removed or resigns, a presidential election must be held within 60 days, instead of the original election date in 2027. By Tng Yong Li Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

DeepSeek undermines AI power demand forecasts

31/01/25

DeepSeek undermines AI power demand forecasts

Gas and power suppliers predicting an AI demand boom hope that greater efficiencies could still underpin their plans through wider use, writes Julian Hast New York, 31 January (Argus) — Unexpected efficiency achievements by Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek have cast a shadow over a bullish narrative on booming US electricity demand in the coming decade to power data centres running AI software. Share prices for US independent power producers, natural gas producers and gas pipeline companies fell sharply at the beginning of the week as investors feared DeepSeek's achievement implied significantly less electricity might ultimately be needed to run and train AI models than has been expected. This greater efficiency "calls into question the significant electric demand projections for the US", as the investment case for independent power producers and integrated utilities is "dependent on data centres", US bank Jefferies says. DeepSeek's apparent ability to achieve comparable results to some major US AI companies using far less computing power — and so far less electricity — may also be bad news for what is widely expected to be the main fuel source to generate incremental power for AI this decade — natural gas. EQT, a leading US gas producer, has called growing power demand from planned data centres the "cornerstone" to its "natural gas bull case". Large US gas pipeline companies such as Williams, operator of the Transcontinental pipeline, have also touted recent forecasts showing surging demand for gas-fired power, as greater gas generation would require greater pipeline capacity to move those incremental volumes from wellhead to generator. Even the US oil majors are getting in on the act. Chevron announced this week a team-up with investment firm Engine No 1 and energy firm GE Vernova to build gas-fired generation plants to power data centres. DeepSeek's achievement could even cast doubt on the investment case for nuclear power, which has been recast as a silver bullet for US technology giants looking to secure zero-emission electricity to enable AI development. Revise the revisions? News of DeepSeek's efficiency achievements are a shock to prevailing expectations for surging US power demand in the coming decade, when those expectations have already been substantially revised over the past year, following decades of stagnant power demand. PJM, the largest US grid operator, on 24 January released a report showing significant upward revisions in its peak seasonal power demand projections. Peak summer power demand in PJM's territory in the mid-Atlantic was projected to surge to 210GW in 2035 and 229GW in 2045, substantially steeper than PJM's load forecast just one year earlier, which showed peak summer power demand rising to 177GW in 2034 and 191GW in 2039. Consultancy firm McKinsey recently forecast US data centre power demand to reach 606TWh by 2030, up from 147TWh in 2023. Under this scenario, data centres at the end of the decade would comprise 12pc of total US power demand. If efficiency gains in AI reduce power demand as much as some investors fear, those big forecasts might require big revisions. But efficiency improvements can go two ways — they can reduce demand for fuel, or simply increase output. In the case of AI, more efficient operations could be exploited to accelerate the development of more powerful models — using the same amount of power that was previously expected, but to greater effect. That latter explanation is why, "despite uncertainties", data analytics firm FactSet's head of power markets Matthew Hoza tells Argus he remains "bullish" on power demand growth in the coming years. "With AI's increasing integration into company tech stacks and its growing presence in daily life through AI agents, we anticipate continued growth in AI adoption and the resulting power needs," Hoza says. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EIB's transition, climate finance hit €50.7bn in 2024

30/01/25

EIB's transition, climate finance hit €50.7bn in 2024

London, 30 January (Argus) — The European Investment Bank (EIB) lifted its finance for the energy transition, climate action and environmental sustainability to a record €50.7bn ($52.8bn) in 2024 — 57pc of the bank's total financing last year. The EIB lifted its "green" financing by 14pc on the year . The bank signed €88.8bn in new financing in 2024, with the majority — €68.2bn — going to EU members. The projects financed in 2024 are expected to result in 21GWh of renewable power generation, as well as 107,370km of installed or upgraded power lines, the EIB said. The bank has an existing target for more than 50pc of its total annual financing to go to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. It surpassed this goal in 2021, 2022 and 2023, with 51pc, 58pc and 60pc, respectively, going towards climate action in those years. The EIB also aims to support €1 trillion of climate and sustainability investment by 2030 and remains "well on track" to reach this goal, it said. The EIB is the EU's lending arm, owned by EU member states. It is classed as a multilateral development bank (MDB). Countries often call on MDBs to do more to address climate change, as the institutions have significant leveraging power. The bank expects to lift its signed financing to €95bn this year, with plans to support renewable energy, grids and interconnectors, green hydrogen and storage and reduced emissions in heavy industry. "Far-reaching technological changes, the increasing costs of climate change and demand for more investment in defence, housing and global needs are the expected focus for 2025 to 2027," the EIB said today. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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