Inpex invests in Australian solar, battery project

: Battery materials, Electricity, Metals
24/06/14

Japanese upstream firm Inpex has decided to invest in a hybrid solar and battery project in the Australian state of New South Wales, aiming to boost its renewable energy business abroad.

Inpex reached a final investment decision on the Quorn Park Hybrid project in Australia, a joint venture project with Italian utility Enel's wholly-owned Australian renewable energy firm Enel Green Power Australia (EGPA), the Japanese firm announced on 14 June.

The project consists of solar farm construction and power generation with a photovoltaic and battery system. Batteries are usually a necessary back-up power source to stabilisepower grids that utilise renewable energy.

The project aims to produce around 210GWh/yr from solar power with around 40MWh/yr from battery storage, according to EGPA, with an operational capacity of around 98MW for solar and 20MW for battery.

The firms plan to start construction during the second half of 2024, before it starts commercial operations during the first half of 2026, according to an Inpex representative that spoke to Argus.

The Japanese firm did not disclose the investment amount but the investment value for construction of the project is estimated at "over $190mn", according to EGPA's website.

Inpex bought a 50pc stake in EGPA in July 2023, with an aim of expanding its renewable generation portfolio. The firm regards Australia as a "core area" for boosting its renewable energy business, according to Inpex.

By Yusuke Maekawa

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25/03/24

Electricity drove surge in energy demand in 2024: IEA

London, 24 March (Argus) — Electricity demand drove a jump in overall global energy consumption growth in 2024, lifting it well above the average pace of increase in recent years, energy watchdog the IEA said today. Global energy demand rose by 2.2pc in 2024 — higher than the average annual demand increase of 1.3pc between 2013 and 2023 — according to the Paris-base agency's Global Energy Review . Global electricity consumption rose by 4.3pc, driven by record-high temperatures that led to increased cooling demand, growing industrial consumption, the electrification of transport and from data centres and artificial intelligence, the IEA said. Renewables and nuclear covered the majority of growth in electricity demand, at 80pc, while supply of gas-fired power generation "also increased steadily", it said. New renewable power capacity installations reached around 700GW in 2024 — a new high — while renewable power sources and nuclear together made up 40pc of total generation in 2024, it said. Global gas demand rose by 2.7pc in 2024, with an increase in "fast growing Asian markets", the IEA said. It noted growth of more than 7pc and 10pc in China and India, respectively. But "growth in global oil demand slowed markedly in 2024", the organisation said. Oil demand rose by 0.8pc — compared with 1.9pc in 2023 — and oil's share of total energy demand fell below 30pc last year "for the first time ever". A rise in electric vehicle (EV) purchases was a key contributor to the drop in oil demand for road transport, and this offset "a significant proportion" of the rise in oil consumption for aviation and petrochemicals, the IEA said. The rate of increase in coal demand slowed to 1.1pc in 2024, half the pace seen in 2023. "Intense heatwaves" in China and India "contributed more than 90pc of the total annual increase in coal consumption globally", for cooling needs, the IEA found. Renewables limit rise in emissions The IEA repeatedly noted the significant effect that extreme weather in 2024 had on energy systems and on demand patterns. Last year was the hottest ever recorded, beating the previous record set in 2023. "Weather effects contributed about 15pc of the overall increase in global energy demand", the IEA said. Global cooling degree days were 6pc higher in 2024 on the year, and 20pc higher than the 2000-20 average, it said. But the "continued rapid adoption of clean energy technologies" restricted the rise in energy-related CO2 emissions, which fell to 0.8pc in 2024 from 1.2pc in 2023, the IEA said. Energy-related CO2 emissions still hit a record high of 37.8bn t in 2024, but the rise in emissions was lower than global GDP growth, it said. "The majority of emissions growth in 2024 came from emerging and developing economies other than China," the IEA said. Emerging and developing economies accounted for more than 80pc of the increase in global energy demand last year, it said. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Mineral Resources reopens Australian iron ore haul road

25/03/24

Mineral Resources reopens Australian iron ore haul road

Sydney, 24 March (Argus) — Australian iron ore producer Mineral Resources (MinRes) reopened its private Onslow haul road late on 21 March, following conversations with Western Australia's (WA) safety regulator Worksafe WA. The company had closed the 150km highway, which links its Onslow iron ore project to the Port of Ashburton, on 19 March. Two ore-filled road train trailers heading towards the port tipped over on 17 March, prompting Worksafe WA to issue MinRes a notice about safety risks along the road. The Onslow haul road has faced significant challenges over recent months. Cyclone Sean hit WA in late January and damaged it, after four road trains moving ore along the highway toppled over between August-November 2024. But MinRes is taking steps to improve its private road. The company in January announced plans to look at a possible redesign of the highway in January, and on 24 March announced it will finish upgrading parts of it by September. MinRes is planning to ramp up production at Onslow to 35mn t/yr during the July-September quarter, having expanded the site's export capacity from 21mn t/yr to 28mn t/yr on 22 March. The company also chose to leave its full-year Onslow export guidance unchanged at 8.8mn-9.3mn wet metric tonnes (wmt) of ore on 24 March. MinRes produced 58.4pc Fe grade iron ore at Onslow over July-December 2024. Argus ' prices for iron ore fines 58pc Fe cfr Qingdao have been volatile over the last three months, rising from $88/t on 23 December to $94.70/t on 21 February, before falling back down to $85.70/t on 21 March, when it was last assessed. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Low snowpack, rain may lift Italian summer power prices

25/03/21

Low snowpack, rain may lift Italian summer power prices

London, 21 March (Argus) — Low snowpack and hydro reserves in Italy may increase the call on gas-fired power plants this summer, likely supporting power prices in days when renewable generation is weakest. Hydro generation from run-of-river installations, pumped-storage plants and hydroelectric reserves accounted for almost 20pc of the power mix on average over 2020-24 in the third quarter — the second-highest share after the second quarter at 22.2pc — compared with gas-fired generation covering 45pc. But prevailing conditions suggest that without unusually wet weather this summer, Italian rivers could be drier than normal, limiting scope for hydro output and potentially opening more space for gas in the power mix, driving up electricity prices. Snow water equivalent — or the estimated water content of snow — moved back to a deficit to last year's levels on 23 February after showing signs of improvement over the first three weeks of the month, according to Italian meteorological association Cima. Snowpack was at a deficit of 57pc to the 2011-23 average as of 8 March, narrowing slightly compared with a 58pc deficit around the same time in February. The deficit in the Po basin, which accounts for almost half of Italy's snow water resource, is currently at a 44pc deficit to the seasonal norm, Cima data show. In the Apennines, the Tiber basin is at a 95pc deficit to the long-term average, marking the worst balance of the last 13 years. And hydro reserves have been at a consistent deficit to last year since January and moved to a deficit to the five-year norm in the middle of February. Rainfall in Malpensa and Paganella, in the north of the country, was at an average deficit of almost 2 mm/d and 1.6 mm/d, respectively, to the seasonal norm over November and December last year. While precipitation picked up in January and moved to a surplus to the norm of 1.9 mm/d in Malpensa and 1.4 mm/d in Paganella, minimum temperatures were 1.6°C above the long-term average in Milan, reducing snow accumulation. The latest data show that hydro reserves have picked up for the first time this year in week 11, reaching 2.1TWh and narrowing their deficit to the 2020-24 average to 0.8pc compared with 5.2pc a week earlier. Still, they remain 6.6pc below last year, with the deficit standing even wider at 9.1pc, when compared with the 2015-24 average. Looking ahead, forecasts indicate that minimum temperatures in Milan will hold around 2°C above the 10-year norm until the end of April, possibly leading some snowmelt to support run-of-river generation early in the second quarter, when power demand is typically at its lowest. But this would also leave less snow to melt later in the summer, when cooling demand peaks and drives up overall demand for electricity. While solar capacity increased steadily by over 500MW a month last year, the share of the power mix covered by solar output in the third quarter of 2024 remained almost unchanged from the same period in 2023. Assuming a similar monthly growth in photovoltaic (PV) capacity this year, the solar load factor is expected to increase by 1.8 percentage points to 17.8pc in the third quarter of 2025 on the year. This means that even if solar capacity and output continue growing, it may not be enough to offset a lack of hydro generation in the third quarter of this year, and thermal generation may still need to cover a significant amount of residual demand. The third quarter of 2025 has averaged €135.85/MWh ($146.83/MWh) so far this quarter, well above an average €91.60/MWh seen over the same period last year. Clean spark spreads for 55pc-efficient gas-fired units for the third quarter of 2025 have averaged around €19.60/MWh since the start of the year, compared with an average of €15.50/MWh over the same time last year. As solar and wind capacity is set to increase over the coming years to reach a national target of 110GW by 2030, renewable output will cover an increasing share of Italian electricity demand — estimated to reach 335TWh in 2028. Thermal plants may become less economically viable and will likely be decommissioned unless they are kept operating through ancillary services. But turning on gas-fired plants from cold and with a stop-start operation would lead to exaggerated costs and higher maintenance prices, Argus heard on the sidelines of the KEY25 Energy Transition Expo in Rimini earlier this month. This could lead to electricity prices spiking in periods of scarce hydro availability, as hydro-run-of river is Italy's largest single source of renewable generation, accounting for 17pc of the power mix last year compared with less than 5pc of hydro-pumped storage and reservoirs. By Ilenia Reale Italian hydro stocks TWh Gas and hydro output, hydro reserves GW, TWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia's Simcoa may buy carbon credits until 2028

25/03/21

Australia's Simcoa may buy carbon credits until 2028

Sydney, 21 March (Argus) — Australia's silicon producer Simcoa will likely need to buy and surrender Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) until 2028 for safeguard mechanism compliance obligations before it completes a key decarbonisation project, it told Argus today. The project was awarded federal funds on 20 March. Australia's federal Labor government granted Simcoa A$39.8mn ($25mn) under its Powering the Regions Fund (PRF) to expand charcoal production at its Wellesley facility in Western Australia (WA) and remove the use of coal in silicon production. The project is expected to reduce the company's scope 1 emissions by around 90pc, or approximately 100,000 t/yr of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). Simcoa is Australia's only silicon manufacturer, which is a key component of solar panels. The funding will help maintain silicon manufacturing capability in the country in addition to cutting emissions, energy minister Chris Bowen said. The company currently uses 35,000 t/yr of metallurgical low ash coal in its operations, and anticipates usage will drop to zero after it doubles its charcoal production capacity by 25,000 t/yr to 50,000 t/yr. The completion date for the expansion is not expected before 2028. The firm may continue to buy [ACCUs] as it must use coal as a reducing agent for part of its production for calendar years 2025-27, or until the expansion project can be commissioned, the company told Argus on 21 March. Simcoa surrendered 22,178 ACCUs in the July 2022-June 2023 compliance year as it reported scope 1 emissions of 122,178t of CO2e with a baseline of 100,000t CO2e at its Kemerton silicon smelter. Figures were lower for the July 2023-June 2024 compliance period, the company said, without disclosing details. Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (CER) will publish 2023-24 safeguard data by 15 April . Simcoa anticipates scope 1 emissions at the Kemerton smelter to be "considerably below" the baseline once the charcoal expansion is completed and could make it eligible to earn and sell safeguard mechanism credits (SMCs), which traded for the first time in late February . "We will take whatever opportunity is available to us," the company said on potentially holding or selling SMCs in future. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

25/03/20

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

Houston, 20 March (Argus) — The first towboat arrived at St Paul, Minnesota, today, marking the start of the 2025 navigation season on the upper Mississippi River, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Neil N. Diehl passed through Lock 2 at Hastings, Minnesota, with nine barges, crossing into St Paul on 19 March. Tows reaching St Paul signify the unofficial start of the navigation season, as St Paul is the last port to open on the Mississippi River after winter ice thaws each year. This is considered an average start time for the navigation season, which typically opens the third week of March. The first tow to reach St Paul in 2024 arrived on 17 March. The Corps released the final Lake Pepin ice measurements of 17in on 12 March and was unable to take new measurements this week since the ice had melted significantly. Lake Pepin measurements help determine when the ice will be thin enough for barges to transit up river. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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