electricity prices

The United Kingdom’s most energy-intensive manufacturers, already exempt from 85% of the contributions paid by other companies for green incentive schemes, could be spared from them entirely, according to a new consultation exercise.

With the finances of national utility the Bangladesh Power Development Board in disarray thanks to rising capacity payments for often-inactive conventional power plants, renewables offer the hope of fiscal sustainability, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Brazil’s deployment of distributed generation PV (below 5 MWp) has exploded from a total capacity of 500 MW in 2018 to 7 GW by September of this year. The trigger for this increase, alongside rocketing electricity prices, was the 2019 proposal of law 5829, writes IHS Markit analyst Angel Antonio Cancino. The proposal is expected to pass into law at the end of this year and will gradually introduce grid-access charges for residential and commercial system owners.

Although wind power dominates the renewables scene in the Republic of Ireland and the North – and even natural gas has a bigger role to play – the grid companies of the neighbors have revised up their estimates of how much solar will be needed, after talking to the public and industry.

Iberdrola has revealed plans to halt new projects and renegotiate supply contracts in Spain, while companies and associations have asked the European Commission for help, amid warnings about investment risks and rising electricity prices.

In a short interview with pv magazine, Indra Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how keeping a cap on gas and electricity prices is crucial to avoid long-term political damage and a loss of support for decarbonization plans. While it is difficult to say what the overall impact on the world economy will be, high costs and instability are rarely beneficial for economic growth, he says.

Antonio Delgado Rigal, chief executive of energy forecasting service AleaSoft, tells pv magazine that skyrocketing gas and electricity prices are putting the global economy under strong pressure, while also opening up huge opportunities for solar, renewables and green hydrogen. He says current gas and electricity prices, along with rising CO2 prices, already make green hydrogen competitive. He therefore calls for immediate action on building new capacity, but acknowledges that a quick end is not yet in sight for rising prices.

AleaSoft analyses fuel market prices, carbon emission rights, European electricity markets and renewable energy production. Last week most prices rose on the previous reporting period as solar and wind power production varied by country.