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Hormuz traffic Monday still low amid attacks
Hormuz traffic Monday still low amid attacks
New York, 1 September (Argus) — Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained low on Monday amid increased attacks on commercial vessels transiting the waterway, according to data from maritime security firm Windward. A total of 13 vessels transited the strait of Hormuz on Monday, split between six inbound transits, including four tankers, and seven outbound transits, including three tankers. All vessel transits on Monday took place on the northern Iranian-controlled traffic lane, Windward data shows, with no vessels in the southern US-protected lane. Iran appears to have struck a Saudi Arabian very large crude carrier in the strait late on Monday, while it was transiting in the southern US-protected traffic lane . This was the second attack on a commercial vessel transiting through the southern lane in three days. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Zim-Rec platform offers large volume of Zimbabwe I-RECs
Zim-Rec platform offers large volume of Zimbabwe I-RECs
Singapore, 1 September (Argus) — Nearly 4TWh of hydropower International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) in Zimbabwe have been put on sale through a domestic trading platform, increasing local supply significantly. A total of 3.8TWh of hydropower I-RECs generated from the 1.05GW Kariba South Bank plant between July 2025-26 are on sale on the Zim-Rec platform, with no expiry date. Domestic hydropower I-RECs have previously traded at around $1-1.50/MWh, although volumes have been small. Total Zimbabwe I-REC issuance has been less than 28GWh since 2023, when the country was approved for I-REC issuance. Apart from the Kariba South hydropower station, first commissioned in 1960, only one other 5MW hydropower station commissioned in 2024 has been registered to issue I-RECs in Zimbabwe. No plants of other generating technologies have been registered. Market participants in Zimbabwe retired 1.53GWh of I-RECs in 2025 and 150MWh so far in 2026. Most of the certificates used are from neighbouring South Africa. Argus last assessed current-year South African solar and wind I-RECs at $0.59/MWh on 27 August. Zimbabwe's National Renewable Energy Policy, adopted in 2019, had called for mandatory renewable purchase obligations, which would require consumers to document a portion of renewables in their electricity consumption. The scheme has not been implemented, but Zim-Rec founding company Silver Carbon is in discussions with the government to finalise and introduce the mechanism. Zimbabwe is part of the Southern African Power Pool, a programme working to connect the power grids of 12 regional countries. Corporate standards such as RE100 do not recognise the pool as a single RECs market, but the Greenhouse Gas Protocol is considering recognising regional African power pools as part of proposed deliverability clauses under its Scope 2 guidance. Zimbabwe is targeting 2.1GW of renewable power capacity, excluding large hydropower, by 2030. The country has 105MW of grid connected solar and 100MW of bioenergy in 2025, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. By Liang Lei Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Q&A: Macse and CM expand options for Italian Bess
Q&A: Macse and CM expand options for Italian Bess
London, 1 September (Argus) — The co-existence of the capacity market (CM) mechanism and the Macse incentive scheme this year offers many options for battery energy storage systems (Bess) operators, Optimize Energy country manager Pablo Lopez de Rego Lage told Argus . Which of the two mechanisms is more attractive for Bess? There is no universally correct answer — it depends on the investor, the portfolio structure and the risk-allocation strategy. Both mechanisms ultimately serve the same fundamental purpose: providing a contracted revenue base that help make a Bess project bankable. The choice between them is therefore a strategic portfolio decision, rather than a project-level one. Bess assets are following, at an accelerated pace, the same path that renewables took over nearly a decade — from dependence on public support schemes to a mature ecosystem of contracted revenue structures, power purchase agreements and direct market participation. The difference is speed, enabled by the availability of proven financial models and a regulatory environment that has rapidly developed bankability tools specifically for storage. Developers managing diversified pipelines increasingly build an optimal mix of Macse, CM and private structures — such as tolling agreements, floor contracts with revenue sharing, and merchant arrangements — tailored to the overall risk-return profile of their portfolio. Macse — with its 15-year duration and public offtaker — can become the foundation that helps stabilise the portfolio cash flows and lower the cost of capital; the CM and alternative structures allow to capture flexibility and upside potential. The second Macse tender has already been scheduled for 24 November, while the CM auction for 2029 delivery has been pushed "past the summer break". If the CM auction were to be held after the Macse one, would that timeline be intended to discourage Bess from participating in the former? The interpretation is understandable, but probably incomplete. Grid operator Terna treats the two mechanisms as communicating vessels: final Macse procurement volumes may be adjusted close to the auction to reflect capacity already procured through the CM, and vice versa. Since the incentive mechanisms are mutually exclusive, capacity contracted under Macse cannot be offered again into the CM. The sequencing therefore reduces the pool of Bess capacity available for the second mechanism, but the effect is structural rather than punitive. The more interesting question is whether this framework is sufficiently adapted to a market in which sophisticated operators increasingly optimise asset allocation between the two mechanisms using complex portfolio-management strategies. Energy regulator Arera has proposed annual maximum remuneration for the second Macse tender of €22,000/MWh/yr, well below the 2025 level. What are your expectations for the premium after the first auction held in September last year surprised everyone on the downside? The outcome of the first auction — approximately €13,000/MWh annually, compared with a reserve premium of €37,000/MWh — was not an accident. It reflected a rational combination of structural factors that are unlikely to be repeated: an already-developed project pipeline, available grid connections linked to decommissioned capacity, lower equipment costs and a market eager to secure the first long-term bankable contract in the Italian storage sector. In that environment, Macse was effectively the only available bankability vehicle. For 2026, the context has changed. Tolling agreements, floor structures with revenue sharing, settlement-based swaps, and combinations involving the CM now represent credible alternatives. This changes how sophisticated operators price their bids. The premium is no longer determined solely by capital expenditures or by Macse being the only bankable structure available, but also by the opportunity cost relative to these alternatives, the investor's return targets and the project's role within a broader development pipeline. The price offered into Macse implicitly reflects the level of contracted revenue that a developer wants within its overall portfolio mix, while recognising that competitors may have very different cost structures and return requirements. On the equipment side, trends in commodity markets and evolving Chinese export conditions introduce uncertainty that could significantly influence bidding levels. With more than 32GWh in advanced permitting stages against a requirement of 16GWh, competitive pressure remains intense. However, the final clearing price will reflect the quality of each operator's value chain, as much as broader market conditions. Enel secured over 60pc of available capacity in the first Macse auction. Is there a risk of market concentration in the coming tender? The Macse framework does not include any award cap for a single operator or corporate group. The issue is already being discussed by regulators. In its comments to the February 2026 CM consultation, solar association Italia Solare explicitly called for the introduction of such limits, acknowledging the excessive concentration observed in Macse auction outcomes. For the second auction, however, the rules remain unchanged. Several structural factors continue to favour large players: extensive authorised project pipelines in eligible zones, economies of scale in equipment procurement, shared grid-connection infrastructure across multiple assets and the ability to spread development costs across larger portfolios. These advantages create a structural gap that is difficult — but not impossible — for smaller developers and investors to overcome. Will Bess also dominate the CM for 2028 delivery, or will there be room for combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs)? The answer depends primarily on derating factors. Terna has proposed reducing the coefficients applied to batteries — a four-hour storage system would see its qualified capacity fall from 67pc to 53pc of nominal power. Each MW of battery capacity would therefore contribute less to the auction, creating more room for other technologies and likely pushing clearing prices upward. In such a scenario, the most efficient CCGTs could become competitive again. However, there is a more fundamental dimension. Bess and gas-fired generation provide different and complementary adequacy services: batteries excel at rapid response and energy arbitrage, while CCGTs provide dispatchable generation during periods when renewable output is insufficient. The key variable will not simply be who participates and at what cost, but whether the CM design is calibrated to properly recognise this complementarity. By Ilenia Reale Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran says it will reciprocate if US honors June deal
Iran says it will reciprocate if US honors June deal
Dubai, 1 September (Argus) — Iran will immediately reciprocate if the US returns to its commitments under an interim agreement reached in June, president Masoud Pezeshkian said on 1 September, as tensions between Tehran and Washington flared again around the strait of Hormuz. "If the US returns to its commitments under the memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate," Pezeshkian said during a speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, according to Iran's state-run news agency Irna. The June agreement, reached after around three months of negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, sought to end the conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February. But the accord quickly began to unravel amid disagreements over its implementation. Pezeshkian said Washington began violating its commitments less than two weeks after the agreement was reached, adding that Iran had responded "proportionately". Tehran has repeatedly linked the restoration of free navigation through the strait of Hormuz to US implementation of the June agreement. The comments came a day after the US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time in more than a month. The US said it had taken "limited, precise action" against Iran's IRGC minelaying forces on Larak island in the strait of Hormuz, while the IRGC said it retaliated with ballistic missile attacks against US bases in Jordan. The latest exchange followed a period of relative calm after daily strikes between 11-23 July. Commercial shipping through Hormuz remains severely disrupted. Maritime security risks have also increased in recent days. A tanker was struck by three unidentified projectiles during an outbound transit through Hormuz late on 31 August, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations, a day after another tanker was hit by an unknown projectile during an inbound transit. SCO cooperation Pezeshkian said on 31 August that war was in no one's interest and that Tehran remained open to a negotiated solution with Washington. He used the SCO summit to also call for deeper economic and energy cooperation among member states, proposing the creation of an "SCO energy consortium" spanning production, supply, transportation and consumption. Pezeshkian also proposed the establishment of an SCO bank, greater use of national currencies in settlements between member states and a common export and investment insurance mechanism. He argued that the measures could strengthen trade, financing and supply-chain resilience among SCO members and reduce vulnerability to external disruptions. The SCO includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran and several central Asian states. By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US Flat-Rolled Contracts Under Negotiation
US Flat-Rolled Contracts Under Negotiation
