Asia and Pacific Energy Review, Jan 8-14
This weekly column focuses on energy events in Asia and the Pacific, and all that impact markets in the region.
Australia / Battery storage
Recurrent Energy, a solar energy company, sold its Mannum energy storage project in South Australia to Epic Energy. This is the third Mannum energy storage that Recurrent sold to Epic. Mannum Stage One has a 7 MW capacity, and Mannum Stage Two has a 39 MW capacity.
China / Solar power
Solar production costs reached $0.15 power watt in 2023, declining 42% YoY, providing manufacturers in China with a cost advantage, reports Wood Mackenzie, adding that costs in the EU and the U.S. were at $0.30 and $0.40 / watt, respectively. In India, solar production prices were $0.22 / watt
Coal imports
Asia's imports of seaborne thermal coal reached 83.69 million tons in Dec, up from 78.87 MT in Nov and the highest registered by analysts Kpler since early 2017. Top buyer China scooped up cargoes amid peak winter demand.
India / Solar power
India installed 13 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2023, of which 10 GW was solar PV, a 28% annual drop in PV additions and an 18% drop in overall renewables capacity additions. India’s total renewable energy capacity is now 134 GW, of which solar has a 55% share.
Kazakhstan / Uranium production
Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of uranium with more than 20% of global output, warned that its production this year would be lower than expected because of shortages of sulphuric acid, which is essential to extract uranium from ore.
LNG imports
Asia's LNG imports rose to a record in Dec, but spot prices remained subdued as shipments from Australia and the U.S. also hit record highs. Asia, the top LNG buyer, saw imports reach 26.61 million tons in Dec, according to Kpler. This was up from Nov’s 23.35 MT, eclipsing the previous high of 26.15 MT in Jan 2021
Malaysia / Renewables
Sunview Group inked a MoU with Vision Ambassadors Company (Saudi Arabia). The main focus is identifying and investing in opportunities for renewable energy. Both will work as principal investors. Sunview will also handle engineering, procurement, and construction.
South Korea / Nuclear fusion
The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) upgraded its divertor from carbon to tungsten to longer withstand super hot temperatures. Since the fusion industry achieved “ignition,” the next step is designing components that can withstand plasma many times hotter than the Sun. The divertor handles the hottest surface temperatures in fusion devices known as tokamaks.
Thailand / Wind power
TotalEnergies sold a 25.5% stake in the Seagreen offshore wind farm (UK) to Thailand’s national oil and gas company, PTTEP, for £522 million. TotalEnergies will retain 25.5% of Seagreen, and SSE Renewables will maintain its 49% stake.
Uzbekistan / Clean energy
The UAE’s renewables developer, Masdar, inked a deal with Uzbekistan to develop a 2 GW wind farm and 500 MWh of battery energy storage, as well as 1.15 GWh of battery energy storage capacity on five Masdar projects. The company has over 1.4 GW worth of clean energy projects connected to Uzbekistan’s power grid.