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Erex plans third biomass co-firing trial in Vietnam
Erex plans third biomass co-firing trial in Vietnam
Tokyo, 15 July (Argus) — Japanese renewable energy developer Erex plans will conduct its third test run of coal and biomass co-firing operations at a Vietnamese power plant in September, the company said today. Erex plans to start the trial combustion in late September at the 30MW Nong Son thermal power plant in the central region of Vietnam, which is held by state-owned company Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries (Vinacomin). The company aims to achieve co-firing rate of 10pc on wood chips and 30pc on wood pellets with coal. The test run is expected to last for one month. Erex has successfully completed trial combustions of coal and biomass co-firing operations at two other Vinacomin plants , burning up to 20pc of wood chips at the 110MW Na Duong plant and up to 30pc of wood pellets at the 115MW Cao Ngan plant. The company also plans to conduct a co-firing test run at the 670MW Cam Pha thermal coal plant around 2027-28. Erex and Vinacomin are expected to renovate Na Duong and Cao Ngan in 2026-27 and start commercial co-firing operations around 2027-28. The companies aim to conduct co-firing operations at six of Vinacomin's thermal coal plants in Vietnam in future, with a total capacity of 1,585MW. The co-firing projects underscore Vietnam's net-zero strategy. The country currently relies on coal to meet around one-third of its electricity demand, with power consumption increasing by 10 pc/yr. Vietnam has looked to biomass fuels as self-sufficient renewable energy sources. Meanwhile, Erex is eyeing carbon credits from the co-firing projects and is in negotiation with the Vietnamese government on this. The company is considering selling some of the carbon credits to other firms in Japan, after commercial co-firing operations begin in Vietnam. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia to create AI regulator, mandate new power
Australia to create AI regulator, mandate new power
Sydney, 15 July (Argus) — A new Australian Office of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be created to manage the boom in investment and associated demand for electricity and water resources, the federal government said, with developers expected to contribute to new power generation. The AI Office will support the growth of an industry in Australia's national interest, prime minister Anthony Albanese said on 15 July, with AI standards designed to regulate impacts on energy, copyright, productivity, education and labour rights. Australia will set rules for large data centres, including where they are built and how they use energy and water, with a legal obligation for developers to underwrite new electricity supply so that increased costs are not passed on to existing consumers, Albanese said. To ensure this, Australia's federal government will need to work with the six states, which have differing approaches to energy policy. Queensland favours gas- and coal-fired generators , while other states are seeking to increase wind power capacity, including Victoria, which is eyeing offshore wind projects to replace its brown coal-fired power stations next decade . Canberra's approach will be considered at a national cabinet meeting of state, territory and federal leaders in August, with the standards expected to be legislated early next year, Albanese said. Regulation roll-out The AI Office plan comes after months of statements by ministers and industry suggesting that copyright concerns and impacts on water and power networks would require intervention, after years of a hands-off approach. The government's national AI plan, released in December, spelled out a loose framework of expectations for data centre developers, with Canberra promising in March that regulation would eventually be enacted. Environmental groups have criticized the speed of data centre development, with the Climate Council last month warning that expansion of data centres is outstripping the pace of renewable energy investment and risks undermining both Australia's climate targets and electricity prices. Data centres developers typically prefer proximity to users in the major capitals of Sydney and Melbourne. State and local authorities have reported community opposition due to the scale of some projects and competition for land use, with some data centre sites planned for future housing. The Australian Industry (Ai) Group welcomed the announcement and said Australia was poised to benefit from more than A$10 trillion ($7 trillion) in data centre investments by 2030, boosting demand for critical minerals for semiconductor-conductors, microchips and processors to supply the sector. But investment could flow elsewhere if over-regulation undermines Australia's competitiveness, productivity and comparative advantages, the Ai Group warned, calling on Canberra to also focus on developing AI-skilled workforce and lift collaboration between Australian businesses and scientific researchers. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Philippines inaugurates MTerra solar plant first phase
Philippines inaugurates MTerra solar plant first phase
Singapore, 14 July (Argus) — The Philippines inaugurated the first phase of its 3.5GW-peak (GWp) MTerra solar project today, with full commercial operations of the first phase expected to start in August this year. The project's first phase is about 91pc complete, and the second phase is set to be completed by 2027, Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos announced at the inauguration ceremony on 14 July. The development will cut about 4.3mn t/yr of carbon emissions once fully operational, Marcos said. The first phase of the project will have a capacity totalling 2.5GWp and a battery energy storage system (BESS) of 3.3GWh. Meanwhile, the project's second phase is set to have a total capacity of 1GWp and 1.2GWh. The development comes at a time when the need to improve the country's energy sector has never been more apparent or more urgent, Marcos said, adding that the Philippines has relied on conventional sources of power, with such an energy mix leaving it more vulnerable to volatile fuel prices. The project will support the country's efforts to increase the share of renewables in its generation mix and support power system stability, Marcos said. The Philippines aims to raise its renewable energy share to 35pc by 2030 and 50pc by 2040, its department of energy said in June. The Philippine government has raised the country's total installed capacity of energy storage systems to 845MW as of May this year from 93MW in July 2022 as part of these efforts, Marcos said. The Philippines' energy generation totalled 117.9TWh in 2025, data from independent electricity market operator IEMOP show, with coal making up the largest share of power generation at 56pc. Solar generation came in at 4.81TWh in 2025, up from 3.7TWh in 2024. Hydro output rose to 11.9TWh in 2025, from 9.53TWh in 2024. Philippine power company Meralco PowerGen successfully exported 250MW of power from the MTerra solar farm to the grid, it said in March. The project contributes to the Philippines' Renewable Portfolio Standards programme, which requires power companies to procure renewable energy certificates from local generating assets. By Hykel Quek Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
German HVO demand held back by low Rhine water levels
German HVO demand held back by low Rhine water levels
London, 13 July (Argus) — Low water levels on the Rhine have recently weighed on northwest European hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) prices by curbing demand from German buyers, but market participants expect the weakness to be temporary as stronger mandate-driven consumption and tighter global supply fundamentals are likely to support prices later this year. The Argus used cooking oil (UCO)-based HVO Class II and palm oil mill effluent (Pome)-based HVO Class IV outright prices have averaged around $2,765/t and $2,990/t during June and July so far, down from around $2,945/t and $3,290/t during April and May. The decline has been driven largely by weaker demand from Germany, one of Europe's largest biofuel consumers. The water level at Kaub — a critical chokepoint on the Rhine — is forecast to fall to 50cm today, the lowest since August 2022. The resulting logistical disruptions have encouraged some German buyers to meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction obligations through buying GHG quota compliance from other companies, rather than buying physical HVO. Companies generate the compliance by placing eligible renewable fuels that deliver greenhouse gas reductions compared with fossil fuels on the market. In Germany, when converted to the same unit as the GHG quota compliance certificates, HVO classes II and IV ended the week at €343.97/t CO2e and €451.90/t CO2e, according to Argus calculations ( see chart ). The 2026 Advanced and Other GHG quota were at €372.50/t CO2e and €480/t CO2e because of strong buying from obligated companies. Comparing in the same unit, called the cost per ticket (CPT), shows whether physical compliance or buying GHG quota is cheaper at any given time. Renewed volatility in gasoil prices, brought on by the collapse of the fragile ceasefire that followed the signing of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, has also weighed on HVO buying interest. Traders said the uncertainty has encouraged many market participants, particularly smaller buyers, to delay purchases and adopt a wait-and-see approach. But market participants expect prices to strengthen once Rhine water levels rise, with HVO-specific drivers also pointing to a tighter supply-demand balance in the months ahead. The case for HVO RED III compliance targets are set at record levels across many European demand centres this year. In Germany alone, Argus Analytics estimates HVO demand at around 2.1mn t in 2026, up from around 800,000t in 2025, after Germany's RED III implementation entered into law in early June. The new legislation abolished the practice of double counting for advanced feedstocks listed in part A of RED's Annex IX, which is expected to significantly boost HVO demand this year. Germany will require higher absolute volumes of renewable fuels to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction quotas, supporting demand for drop-in fuels such as HVO. Increased demand from the Netherlands could also lend support to the market, participants said. Dutch renewable fuel tickets have traded at a discount to physical HVO for most of 2026, partly because ticket generation has increased as a larger volume of renewable transport credits has been created from electric vehicles (EVs) and biomethane than in previous years. In the Netherlands, on an equivalent basis as the tickets, HVO classes II and IV ended at 40.52c/kg CO2e and 51.69c/kg CO2e on 10 July, respectively, compared with 37.62c/kg CO2e and 48.50c/kg CO2e for the equivalent tickets, LRE-B and LRE-G. On the HVO supply side, the finalisation of the new US renewable volume obligation in April has created a domestic requirement that is expected to outpace US HVO production. This has effectively eliminated the exportable surplus that previously flowed to Europe, which made the US one of the region's biggest HVO importers. The US had an exportable surplus into Europe of around 750,000t in 2025, according to Argus Analytics. Europe will have to increasingly rely on HVO supply from Singapore, China, Malaysia and Canada, which could also flow in part to the US. US output has also faced operational challenges. A reported explosion at PBF's facility in May, combined with hydrocracker maintenance at Phillips 66's Rodeo refinery has reduced available supply. A third US facility may undergo a turnaround this summer. In Europe and Asia, expected maintenance at several production facilities this summer — including Ecoceres and Neste — is expected to constrain supply in the near term, lending further support to prices. Expectations of firmer prices are reflected in the Class II forward curve. The HVO Class II Argus -settled Ice contract as a differential to gasoil has remained in contango since 6 July and peaks in October. This structure is partly driven by the backwardation in the gasoil curve, reflecting expectations that tensions between the US and Iran will ease and HVO premiums to gasoil adjust higher as a result. But the outright HVO curve is also slightly in contango, with prices peaking in September. This suggests that HVO-specific fundamentals are likewise pointing to higher outright prices in the near term. By Evelina Lungu HVO fob ARA outright $/t Cost difference: Blending vs ticket purchase (Germany) €/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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