EIB to lend Vietnam’s Techcombank €200mn for climate

: Electricity, Emissions
26/03/24

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed a €200mn ($232mn) long-term financing facility with Vietnamese bank Techcombank, to drive climate action and environmental projects across Vietnam.

The financing will support projects implemented by the private sector in Vietnam. It aims to "bridge the financing gap for green initiatives", the EIB said. The funding will allow Techcombank to increase lending for renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transport projects.

The EIB will also work with Techcombank "to strengthen its climate risk management framework, improve climate-related disclosures and support the implementation of the operation", the former said. Techcombank delivered 16.4 trillion Vietnamese dong ($622mn) in "green lending" in 2024, it said.

The funding will support the just energy transition partnership (JETP) that Vietnam signed in December 2022, the EIB said. Vietnam signed the JETP with the EU, UK, France, Germany, the US, Italy, Canada, Japan, Norway and Denmark, but the US withdrew in early 2025.

The JETP aimed to mobilise $15.5bn in public and private finance to support Vietnam's goals to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The country incorporated the JETP into its power plan, which sets out goals to ramp up renewable energy capacity. The share of coal-fired power in Vietnam's electricity generation mix was 44.8pc in 2023, IEA data show.

The EIB is the EU's lending arm and is 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. Several key donors of international development aid have scaled back or announced cuts to funding in the last 18 months, which is likely to affect projects tackling climate change in developing nations. Governments and campaigners have shifted their focus to MDBs and the private sector, in lieu of public funding.

By Georgia Gratton

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26/03/24

Kazakhstan approves $15.5bn national coal power plan

London, 24 March (Argus) — Kazakhstan has approved plans to increase its coal-fired power generation through projects estimated at around 7.5 trillion tenge ($15.5bn) through to 2030, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said. Tokayev approved the plans after assigning coal-fired power generation a national project in January. These include the commissioning and renewal of coal-fired units to add 7.8GW of capacity. The country also plans to build eight new thermal coal-fired power plants, including its largest 2.64GW facility in Ekibastuz. Thermal power plants would also be built in Kurchatov (700MW) and Zhezkazgan (500MW), as well as in the Kokshetau, Semey and Ust-Kamenogorsk regions. Older thermal coal-fired power plants, such as the 1GW Ekibastuz-2 and 2.5GW Aksu power plants, and the Karaganda-1 power station, will be modernised to reduce energy shortages. Kazakhstan expects the projects to create additional thermal coal demand of about 20mn t/yr by 2030. The project is expected to be a collaboration between the mining and transportation sectors. The project will also expand the fleet of gondola rail cars by 600 units/d, modernise railway infrastructure and introduce tariff corridors for the transportation of fuel for domestic needs. Kazakhstan had initially drafted the plan to increase its coal-fired power generation in early February. The country will likely need to rapidly increase coal production. Output fell by 6.2pc on the year to 18.22mn t in January-February, official data show. The country produced 115.9mn t of thermal coal in 2025, about 6.5pc higher on the year on growing domestic consumption and rising export potential. By Shreyashi Sanyal Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan's Kyushu to restart Sendai No.2 nuclear reactor

26/03/24

Japan's Kyushu to restart Sendai No.2 nuclear reactor

Osaka, 24 March (Argus) — Japanese utility Kyushu Electric Power is planning to restart the 890MW Sendai No.2 nuclear reactor on 30 March, to conduct test generation in the final phase of its turnaround. Kyushu is set to reactivate the No.2 reactor at Sendai in southern Japan's Kagoshima prefecture on 28 March and reconnect it to the power grid on 30 March. Normal operations are scheduled to begin on 28 April. Kyushu will have all four of its reactors in operation, given the return of the Sendai No.2 reactor. This is until the planned shutdown of the 1,180MW Genkai No.3 reactor on 30 June for regular maintenance. The combined nuclear capacity of 4,140MW will help Kyushu reduce its reliance on thermal generation, especially at a time when spot LNG prices are surging because of supply disruptions from the Middle East. Seasonally weak electricity demand and relatively ample solar output during the spring shoulder season will also enable Kyushu to cut thermal generation. The nuclear capacity could reduce LNG consumption by about 390,000 t/month, assuming an average gas-fired generation efficiency of 50pc. By Motoko Hasegawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

SE Asia's EV push intensifies as energy crunch drags on

26/03/24

SE Asia's EV push intensifies as energy crunch drags on

Singapore, 24 March (Argus) — Southeast Asian countries, hit by energy disruptions following the now weeks-long Middle East war, are now backing swifter electric vehicle (EV) transition in efforts to mitigate similar fallout in the future. Growing uncertainty in regional fuel supply has prompted countries in southeast Asia to diversify their energy or fuel import sources in the more immediate term. Meanwhile, a quicker shift to EVs and renewable energy is seen as a longer-term measure, even as EV sales in the region recorded big jumps in 2025. "This is a wake-up call," Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto said last week, in a call to push for electrification and renewable energy. Indonesia aims to have 100GW of solar power in "no later than two years", up from its current 11GW, he said, with earlier plans including battery energy storage system (Bess) deployments. "We will convert all motorcycles into electric motorcycles. All cars, all trucks, all tractors must [also] be electric," he added. Meanwhile, the Laos government has slashed EV fees and service charges by 30pc while raising charges for fuel vehicles by the same amount, according to a statement from the prime minister's office on 13 March. The government has also mandated that transport companies' EV fleet share reach at least 10pc by the end of 2026. The Laos government will also simplify import procedures for EVs and is considering raising the excise tax rate for fuel vehicles. The Vietnamese government called for 50pc of city public transport to switch to EVs and for greater biofuels use, according to a directive that it issued on 19 March. The directive was part of a sweeping energy conservation effort, with the government citing the country's dependence on energy imports given the current conflict in the Middle East. It also aims to further integrate Bess to support the power grid. Vietnam is already targeting up to 16.3GW of ESS by 2030. By June, Vietnam's finance ministry is required to look into measures to encourage EV production and adoption, according to the directive. Similar instructions went out to all its provinces and cities' people's committees, responsible for local administration. The government directed them to issue measures by September to promote EV charging station investment and develop "clean transportation vehicles", including electric public transport. The Philippines' senate committee's energy vice-chair Win Gatchalian last week also called for a quicker EV transition for its public utility vehicles (PUVs). The country's landmark Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act — authored by Gatchalian — is currently offering its EV drivers priority vehicle registration and renewal, alongside access to public charging infrastructure. The Philippines, under the more optimistic clean energy scenario in its EV roadmap , envisions 50pc EV adoption by 2040, or at least 10pc by 2040 under its conservative scenario. But dwindling incentives in other regional EV leaders such as Singapore and Thailand are also signalling hesitancy to extend domestic sales boosters in more mature EV markets. Thailand recorded a big jump in battery EV registrations in 2025. But the government altered its EV policy late last year to encourage exports instead of domestic sales to avoid a potential supply glut. Meanwhile, Singapore's preferential additional registration fee rebate, aimed at encouraging early de-registration of older, more pollutive cars, was cut by 45pc earlier this year, now capped at S$30,000 ($23,453). Its neighbour, Malaysia, removed its excise duty exemptions on completely built-up EVs since the beginning of 2026. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US grid overhaul urgently needed to meet AI load: FERC

26/03/23

US grid overhaul urgently needed to meet AI load: FERC

Houston, 23 March (Argus) — The nation's power transmission system is the main barrier to meeting the explosive electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, said Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioner Judy Chang. "If we had a grid that's sufficiently reliable and has sufficient capacity, then we could integrate the amount of generation that the large loads are asking for," said Chang on a panel at CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston, Texas, on Monday. "It's because we don't have adequate transmission that we're encountering these delays of having the generation meet the demand." AI's power needs arrived with a speed and scale that have blindsided even veteran energy regulators, forcing a historically slow-moving industry to accelerate timelines in unprecedented ways. Hyperscale data centers now routinely plan 1,000MW per site and come on line far faster than utilities have ever had to accommodate, said Chang. "Even just two years ago, we did not anticipate the pace and the size of the growth," said Chang. "The pace of change has been the surprising factor." The rapid scramble has forced utilities, developers, and data-center operators to immediately shift into "problem-solving mode," debating who pays for new infrastructure, how to structure agreements, and how to rebalance supply and demand on a grid that was never built for gigawatt-scale loads arriving all at once. With communities pushing back against data center development and higher electricity prices, developers and officials are increasingly settling on a framework in which the technology sector foots the bill for the necessary overhauls. Developers are increasingly pairing data-center growth with their own behind-the-meter generation, investing directly in new energy projects or situating facilities in regions with stranded or underutilized supply, said Chase Lochmiller, chief executive of data center builder Crusoe. "This is the most well-capitalized infrastructure opportunity ever and much of that capital is going into building the energy systems needed to power AI," said Crusoe. Bigger and smarter Aside from infrastructure, regulators also must design market signals to incentivize large-load users to develop more flexibility that allows them to respond quickly to the grid's power needs, said Chang. Large data centers rarely operate at their full peak load, meaning they could reduce consumption or switch to backup resources when the grid is stressed. But because they aren't paid for that flexibility and in many markets aren't allowed to offer it the way power plants can, most never invest in the equipment needed to respond. But Chang emphasized that fixing the demand-side incentives is not enough. The grid also needs to be upgraded so operators can see and manage power flows in real time. As a result, a potential tool for managing the strain of AI-driven growth remains largely unused, even as prices rise and the system struggles to keep up, she said. Tackling demand-side incentives will require a smarter grid that deploys the computing benefits offered by AI, said Chang. The US is "overdue" in deploying real-time sensors and modern monitoring systems that would let operators understand line conditions minute-by-minute rather than relying on preset limits. With those upgrades in place, she said, AI could help optimize how power flows across the system and unlock capacity from both existing and new infrastructure. By Jasmina Kelemen Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

WMO says 2025 was 1.43°C above pre-industrial era

26/03/23

WMO says 2025 was 1.43°C above pre-industrial era

London, 23 March (Argus) — Global weather and science agencies have confirmed that the global average temperature for 2025 was 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels, making it either the second- or third-hottest in the 176-year observational record, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said today. The WMO collated nine datasets to reach the global average temperature for 2025, which has a margin of uncertainty of 0.13°C either higher or lower — meaning that 2025 could have exceeded 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average. The Paris climate agreement seeks to limit the global rise in temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursues a 1.5°C threshold. The past 11 years, 2015-25 inclusive, were the 11 warmest on record and the past three years, 2023-25, were the three hottest across all nine datasets, the WMO said. Science and weather agencies agree that 2024 is the hottest year on record . The atmospheric concentration of CO2 reached its highest level in the last 2mn years in 2024, the most recent full year with consolidated global observations, the WMO said. Key greenhouse gases (GHG) methane and nitrous oxide in 2024 reached their highest levels in at least the last 800,000 years, it added. Data show that levels of those three GHGs continued to increase in 2025. CO2 stood at 423.9 parts per million (ppm) in 2024 — 3.5ppm higher than 2023 and 152pc of the estimated pre-industrial concentration, the WMO said. The concentration of 423.9ppm represents about 3.3 trillion t/CO2 in the atmosphere. The rise in CO2 concentration on the year in 2024 was the biggest annual increase since modern measurements began in 1957, "driven by continued fossil CO2 emissions, and reduced effectiveness of land and ocean carbon sinks", the WMO said. The concentration of methane in the atmosphere rose to 1,942 parts per billion (ppb) in 2024 and that of nitrous oxide to 338ppb — 266pc and 125pc of pre-industrial levels, respectively. But the "human-caused increase in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is the largest driver of climate change", the WMO said. "In this age of war, climate stress is also exposing another truth: our addiction to fossil fuels is destabilising both the climate and global security. Now more than ever, we must accelerate a just transition to renewable energy", UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said, when the WMO data were released. "Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural equilibrium and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years", WMO secretary general Celeste Saulo said. The WMO collates data from the EU's Copernicus, Japan's Meteorological Agency, the UK's Met Office, the US' National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and US non-profit Berkeley Earth. It also uses a UK-US dataset, DCENT and two Chinese datasets. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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