Brazil RNG supply still seeks demand
The mismatch between growing Brazil biomethane supply and consumers willing to pay its higher prices still looms over projects expected to go on line in the next few months.
There are three projects pending final approval from hydrocarbons regulator ANP to begin operating: Adecoagro's 14,400 m³/d plant in Mato Grosso do Sul, H2A Soluções Ambientais's approximately 4,300 m³/d plant in Goias and Raizen-Geo Biogas' 130,400 m³/d plant in São Paulo. The regulator has no timetable for final approvals.
Another 10 biomethane plants, adding up to more than 502,400 m³/d, are scheduled to finish construction this year.
Still, most of the upcoming projects lack customers for the additional supply, according to market sources. Finding buyers for this more-expensive natural gas substitute can be difficult, as relatively few companieshave specific budgets for decarbonization.
Brazil has six plants with ANP authorization to produce and sell about 417,100 m³/d of biomethane. Another 139,000 m³/d of capacity is scheduled to become operational in 2025, bringing total certified biomethane supply to at least 1.2mn m³/d in the next two years.
First movers in the biomethane consumer market have been paying a premium to the parity price against natural gas. This premium represents the value of the lower carbon levels in biomethane, which does not always carry tradable certification.
Brazil's lack of a market for biomethane guarantees of origin, such as biomethane renewable energy certificates (Gas-RECs), is also inhibited by doubts about the main emissions reporting platform, the GHG Protocol. In 2015, the GHG Protocol allowed the use of biomethane certificates to offset emissions, only to remove them from their documents in 2020, citing the need for more studies.
Countries that created regulatory mechanisms before the GHG Protocol changed course have a competitive advantage over Brazil, according to Fernando Giachini Lopes, director of Instituto Totum, which certifies biomethane renewable energy certificates (Gas-RECs) and I-RECs in Brazil.
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New Zealand’s Genesis Energy to resume coal imports
New Zealand’s Genesis Energy to resume coal imports
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EPA sets new oil and gas methane reporting rules
EPA sets new oil and gas methane reporting rules
Washington, 7 May (Argus) — Federal regulators have updated emissions reporting requirements for oil and gas facilities as they prepare to implement a methane "waste" fee for the industry. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday finalized new rules it says will improve the accuracy of data from the oil and gas sector under the federal greenhouse gas emissions reporting program. Oil and gas facility owners and operators will be required to estimate emissions from additional types of equipment under the rule, and they can draw on newer technologies, like remote sensing, to help estimate emissions. "EPA is applying the latest tools, cutting edge technology, and expertise to track and measure methane emissions from the oil and gas industry," agency administrator Michael Regan said. "Together, a combination of strong standards, good monitoring and reporting, and historic investments to cut methane pollution will ensure the US leads in the global transition to a clean energy economy." Data to support new fee The revisions to the "Subpart W" reporting requirements will be used to determine the amount of methane that will be subject to a "waste emissions charge" created by the Inflation Reduction Act. Under the law, the charge will be calculated based on the annual data that about 8,000 oil and gas sources are now required to report. The charge will begin at $900/t for 2024 methane emissions above a minimum threshold using current measurement data. It will then rise to $1,200/t in 2025 and $1,500/t in subsequent years. Industry officials had raised "serious concerns" about several aspects of the original proposal , warning it could lead to inflated emissions data. "We are reviewing the final rule and will work with Congress and the administration as we continue to reduce GHG emissions while producing the energy the world needs," American Petroleum Institute vice president of corporate policy Aaron Padilla said. The industry group previously said it will ask Congress to repeal the fee, which is only likely to occur if Republicans win control of the White House. Data collected since 2010 Oil and gas facilities have reported emissions under Subpart W since 2010. To simplify reporting, operators often count the equipment they have deployed, and use industry-wide averages to estimate emissions, in addition to other direct and indirect measurements. The industry has argued the Subpart W data is not accurate enough to collect the methane charge, which is expected to cost operators more than $6bn over the next decade. Environmental groups have had their own criticisms of the data, which they say omits vast amounts of emissions such as those from "super-emitter" events and poorly maintained flares. The final rule seeks to respond to some of those concerns by relying on updated emission factors, incorporating additional empirical data on emission rates, collecting data at a more granular level and relying on remote sensing technologies to detect large emission events. EPA also revised Subpart W to include more types of sources, including produced water tanks, nitrogen removal units and crankcase venting. The final rule also sets a threshold of 100 kg/hr of methane for requiring the reporting of emissions from "other large release events." The new data rules will take effect on 1 January 2025 and will first apply to reports submitted in early 2026 for next year's emissions. EPA is allowing the use of the new methodologies for calculating 2024 emissions, but operators can still use the existing rules. By Michael Ball Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil state faces power outages after record flood
Brazil state faces power outages after record flood
Sao Paulo, 6 May (Argus) — Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state is facing power outages following record floods that killed more than 80 people and forced over 130,000 people out of their homes. The extreme weather took three substations, 25 transmission lines, five hydroelectric plants and 11 power transformers off line, according to grid operator ONS. In response, ONS started importing power from neighboring Uruguay and requested that the 250MW hybrid natural gas and diesel Canoas and 345MW coal-fired Pampa Sul power plants increase power generation. Earlier today, an estimated 435,000 consumers did not have electricity. The rains affected 341 of the 497 cities in the state, where the government declared a state of emergency in 336 municipalities. The government is working to re-establish power to the state as quickly as possible, the mines and energy ministry said in a social media post. The ministry also held an emergency meeting early yesterday and today to guarantee fuel supplies in the state . State capital Porto Alegre is expected to receive more rain later this week, according to Rio Grande do Sul-based weather forecaster MetSul. Metsul warned that parts of the Porto Alegre metropolitan area could remain uninhabitable for weeks or months. Brazil's airline association Abear said that the Salgado Filho international airport will remain closed indefinitely, after the airport's runway flooded. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil hydroelectric dam bursts under record rains
Brazil hydroelectric dam bursts under record rains
Sao Paulo, 3 May (Argus) — Brazilian power generation company Companhia Energetica Rio das Antas (Ceran) found a partial rupture in its 100MW 14 de Julho hydroelectric plant following record precipitation in Rio Grande do Sul state. Flooding from the record rains has left 37 dead and forced more than 23,000 people out of their homes, causing widespread damage across the state, including washed out bridges and roads across several cities. Ceran reported that the dam of the hydroelectric plant on the Antas River suffered a rupture under the heavy rains and the company implemented an emergency evacuation plan on 1 May. Ceran's 130MW Monte Claro and 130MW Castro Alves plants are under intense monitoring, the company said in a statement. Rio Grande do Sul state governor Eduardo Leite declared a state of emergency and the federal government promised to release funding for emergency disaster relief. Leite said the flooding will likely go down as the worst environmental disaster in the state's history. Brazil's southernmost state along the border with Argentina has been punished by record precipitation over the past year owing to the effects of the strong El Nino weather phenomenon, according to Rio Grande do Sul-based weather forecaster MetSul Meteorologia. Brazilian power company CPFL Energia controls Ceran with a 65pc equity stake. Energy company CEEE-GT, which is owned by steel manufacturer CSN, owns another 30pc, and Norway's Statkraft owns the remaining 5pc. The state had declared a state of emergency as recently as September 2023 because of unusually heavy rains that resulted in the death of more than 30 people. Weather forecasters expect El Nino conditions to abate in the coming months over the eastern Pacific. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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