Pattern Energy pauses Newfoundland green H2 plan

Spanish Market: Electricity, Fertilizers, Hydrogen
26/11/25

US clean energy developer Pattern Energy has suspended plans to build a renewable hydrogen and ammonia facility in Newfoundland and will instead move forward with a standalone wind farm.

Pattern's Canadian subsidiary, Argentia Renewable Wind LP, withdrew an environmental-assessment request from the province's Department of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change for a project that would have harnessed wind energy to produce hydrogen and green fuels like ammonia for export to northwest Europe. Pattern will submit a new request in the coming weeks for a wind farm to provide power to the local grid, the company said in an email.

"We are preparing a new Environmental Assessment (EA) that reflects a phased approach," said Frank Davis, head of Canada for Pattern Energy in a statement to Argus. "The revised EA outlines a wind-generation project designed to deliver energy to Newfoundland & Labrador."

Six companies have received permission from the province to pursue wind power-to-hydrogen projects to export either hydrogen or ammonia to buyers in Europe. Project time lines have slipped or stalled as that demand has failed to materialize as expected, sparking speculation that developers could pivot to projects providing only wind power.

Pattern did not comment on what factors lead to its decision to withdraw the hydrogen project for consideration.

Pattern originally conceived building a 300MW wind farm to power the production of hydrogen and green ammonia in partnership with the Port of Argentia. Earlier this year, the Port signed a letter of intent with the Hamburg Port Authority to collaborate on a so-called "hydrogen export/import corridor" between Newfoundland and Germany. The facility would have included storage and distribution infrastructure for an initial capital investment of around C$1.4bn, according to company documents.

The company is now looking to build 150MW of wind power as a first phase and said "potential future phases" involve hydrogen and green fuels.

In July, utility Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro issued a request for expressions of interest to supply energy and/or capacity to the province's Island Interconnected System, seeking 150mw of firm capacity and up to 500GWh of firm energy.

By Jasmina Kelemen

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04/12/25

Brazil increases 2025 coffee crop outlook

Sao Paulo, 4 December (Argus) — Brazil is set to produce its third-largest coffee crop ever this year, despite it being a low productivity year in the crop cycle, according to national supply company Conab's last crop estimate for this cycle. Brazil will produce almost 56.5mn 60kg bags of coffee this year, up from the previous forecast released in September of 55.2mn bags. The upward revision was driven by higher average national productivity, reflecting a better performance of Conilon coffee crops, one of the two major types of coffee grown in Brazil. This is above the 51.8mn bags first projected for the season and surpasses the 2024 crop, which produced 54.2mn bags. Droughts, irregularly distributed rainfall and high temperatures severely hampered yields in the prior cycle, despite initial expectations for a high-producing one. Coffee cycles occur biennially in Brazil, with larger volumes produced in alternating years. During the lower producing years — known as negative years — plants replenish their nutritional reserves, leading to reduced output. The 2025 cycle is considered a negative year, with the current estimate representing an all-time high for a negative year, topping the record registered in the 2023 crop, when Brazil produced nearly 55.1mn bags. It is expected to rank as the third-largest in the nation's history, only behind the positive cycles of 2020 and 2018, which produced 63.1mn bags and 61.7mn bags, respectively. Conab revised the outlook for the current cycle based on an increase in expected yields to 30.4 bags/hectare (ha) from 29.7 bags/ha in the prior forecast. That is up by 5.5pc from 28.8 bags/ha in the positive 2024 year and compares with 29.4 bags/ha in the negative 2023 cycle. Brazil grows two types of coffee: the higher-grade Arabica coffee and the Conilon grade coffee, also referred to as Robusta. These varieties have different taste, caffeine content and productivity levels, as well as distinct producing regions and harvesting calendars. Arabica coffee production is forecast at around 35.8mn bags, ahead of the nearly 35.2mn bags projected in September, but down from 39.6mn bags in 2024. There has been significant vegetative recovery in crops, mainly in southeastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil's largest producer, which contributed to an increase compared to the previous estimate, according to Conab. Yields rose to 24.1 bags/ha from 23.7 bags/ha in September. That is behind the 26.2 bags/ha in 2024. Conilon coffee output should reach an overall record of 20.8mn bags, up from 20.1mn bags in the previous outlook following the consistent weather conditions in major producing states Espirito Santo and Bahia that promoted good conditions for areas and resulted in high yields. That compares with 14.6mn bags in the prior cycle. Yields are up to 55.9 bags/ha, from 53.8 bags/ha estimated in September and 39.2 bags/ha yielded in 2024. Conab continues to expect the total area allocated to both coffee grades to reach approximately 2.25mn ha this cycle, 0.9pc above on the year. The area set aside for coffee is split between space for production and new crops. Areas allocated to crops in production fell by 1.2pc on the year to nearly 1.86mn ha. New areas account for around 396,428ha, up by 12pc, as is usual for negative years. Coffee exports fall on year Brazil exported 34.2mn bags of coffee in January-October, around 17.8pc below the total shipped in the same period a year before, according to trade ministry Mdic data. This reduction in volume exported in the first ten months of 2025 is mainly because of limited domestic stocks at the beginning of the year, following a record shipment of 50.5mn bags in 2024. Tariffs imposed by the US from April onwards, a major buyer of Brazilian coffee, also contributed to the reduction in exports. Brazil exported coffee to 150 countries in the first ten months of 2025. The US and Germany accounted for the largest share of shipments, with 14.1pc and 14pc, respectively. Italy received 8.1pc of exports, Belgium and Japan 6.3pc each. By João Petrini Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

India’s urea stocks hold at above 7mn t

04/12/25

India’s urea stocks hold at above 7mn t

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Indian DAP stocks end Nov above 2.1mn t

04/12/25

Indian DAP stocks end Nov above 2.1mn t

London, 4 December (Argus) — High offtake season continues to draw down Indian DAP inventories, but these have stayed above a comfortable threshold of 2mn t because of robust imports, and could end the year around that level. India started November with 2.31mn t of DAP and produced 363,000t over that month, provisional data show. Importers received 1.16mn t in November — the most for any month in over three years and well above the 562,000t November average in 2020-24 — as they were keen to avoid a repeat of the run-down that left stocks at just 1.1mn t at the start of 2025. Importers could afford to line up cargoes because the government is covering losses they would have made if selling at the maximum retail price and only receiving the nutrient-based subsidy. DAP sales rose to 1.54mn t last month, during peak application season, according to provisional data. This is slightly below November's 1.62mn t five-year average. Sales outpaced supply and DAP inventories dropped to 2.16mn t, Argus data show. But high imports prevented further drawdowns, and stocks opened December above the 1.43mn t level reported a year before. DAP offtake typically slows in December. Taken together, December's provisional opening stocks, 403,000t of imports according to Argus line up data, plus production and offtake figures in line with December's 2020-24 average could mean that India ends the year with 1.96mn t of DAP. Indian TSP inventories rose by 146,000t over November to start December at 541,000t, provisional data show. TSP imports hit a 2025 high of 232,000t, Argus line-up data show, while offtake totalled 86,000t. Another 109,000t is expected to arrive in December — the balance of the volume secured under a deal with Moroccan producer OCP that expires at the end of the year. By Adrien Seewald Indian DAP stocks vs price 000't, $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

LNG to fill the gap as Seoul pledges faster coal exit

03/12/25

LNG to fill the gap as Seoul pledges faster coal exit

South Korea is scrambling for alternatives to coal-fired power to maintain sufficient base-load capacity, writes Evelyn Lee London, 3 December (Argus) — South Korea's pledge to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2040 has thrown its energy strategy into sharp focus, exposing a looming 40GW capacity gap. With nuclear expansion stalling and renewables facing infrastructure hurdles, LNG has become the most likely bridge to fill the potential shortfall. South Korea has formally confirmed its plan to retire 40 out of its 61 existing coal-fired units by 2040, following its declaration during the UN Cop 30 climate summit in Brazil last month to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) — a coalition of countries committed to ending coal use for power generation. The phase out timeline for the country's remaining 21 units — some of which were built relatively recently — will be determined through public consultation taking into account economic and environmental feasibility, and a detailed phase-out strategy is expected to be finalised next year, the PPCA says. This aligns with Seoul's intention to establish its 2026-40 long-term power plan by the end of next year. The firm phase-out pledge leaves South Korea scrambling for alternatives to maintain sufficient base-load power capacity. Its current long-term power plan covering 2024-39 was established in February under the previous administration of then-president Yoon Suk-Yeol. It earmarked 28 aging coal-fired units with a combined 14.1GW of capacity for conversion to LNG, and 12 units with 6.8GW of capacity to transition to carbon-free generation, such as pumped storage, hydrogen or ammonia co-firing, all by 2038. The current administration under President Lee Jae-Myung has indicated it does not intend to allow plants to switch to ammonia co-firing , signalling a decisive break from earlier strategies that sought to keep coal in the mix under a low-carbon guise. In line with this, Lee's administration in October cancelled the second round of a clean hydrogen power generation bidding market, which would have subsidised hydrogen and ammonia co-firing under 15-year contracts. Seoul searching An accelerated coal phase-out alongside a ban on approving new nuclear reactors has led to growing expectations that South Korea will lean more heavily on gas-fired plants to maintain its power system at least until renewables capacity catches up. The current electricity plan stipulates building two new 1.4GW reactors and continued use of expiring reactors, resulting in nuclear capacity rising to 35.2GW in 2038 from 26.1GW in 2025. But the Lee administration has ruled out building new reactors, although construction of reactors already under development can proceed as planned. The government has approved the restart of the 650MW Kori reactor 2, in line with the president's stance that expiring reactors may continue operating if safety standards are met. But even with these measures, Seoul must identify more than 40GW of replacement capacity by 2040, based on information currently available. This is roughly equivalent to the country's entire coal-fired fleet, which has accounted for around 28pc of total power output this year. The government aims to expand South Korea's renewable energy capacity to 100GW by 2030 from a previous target of 80.9GW and current capacity of 37.9GW, but its renewables rollout continues to be constrained by insufficient transmission capacity upgrades, mainly driven by local opposition. A law to accelerate grid projects came into force on 26 September, but progress is now being held up by local governments, which are reluctant to approve project permits in a bid to maintain positive public opinion ahead of municipal elections in June next year. Persistent grid bottlenecks have increased the country's reliance on gas-fired generation in recent years, as these plants are located close to the main demand centre around Seoul. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Adecoagro makes offer for remaining 50pc in Profertil

03/12/25

Adecoagro makes offer for remaining 50pc in Profertil

Sao Paulo, 3 December (Argus) — Argentinian agribusiness company Adecoagro submitted a binding offer to buy YPF's 50pc stake in Argentinian nitrogen producer Profertil. YPF's stake in Profertil is expected to be of around $600mn, Adecoagro said. YPF's board of directors needs to approve the proposal and that is expected to take place this month. Adecoagro would become the controlling shareholder of Profertil, holding 90pc of the total share capital. Argentinian grain cooperative ACA will hold the remaining 10pc. The proposal mirrors terms and conditions agreed between Adecoagro and North American fertilizer producer Nutrien. Nutrien agreed in September to sell its 50pc stake of Profertil to Adecoagro and ACA. Adecoagro will finance the transaction through a combination of existing cash reserves, an already committed long term credit facility and proceeds from share sales. Profertil is Argentina's leading fertilizer producer, supplying around 60pc of Argentina's urea consumption. It can produce 1.3mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of urea and 790,000 t/yr of ammonia. It operates a distribution network at major ports and the Bahia Blanca nitrogen complex, with warehouses in Puerto General San Martin, San Nicolas, Necochea and Loma Paraguaya. The firm is also a large importer of other finished fertilizers, such as DAP, MAP and potash. Profertil has storage capacity for 150,000t of urea and 20,000t of ammonia at its Bahia Blanca site. By João Petrini Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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