Wood Pellet News

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• February 2023, the 2600 megawatt Singareni Thermal Power Plant (STPP) at Pegadapalli in Mancherial district is all set to become South India's first public sector coal-based power generating station and the country's first among State Public Sector Undertakings (PSU).
• November 2022, Following the contract award for a 1,320 megawatt (MW) thermal power plant in Talcher, Odisha, NTPC Ltd concluded contracts for four additional coal-fired power projects over the next three years. These four projects will increase energy generation capacity by 4.8 gigatonnes (GW).

• In November 2022, the Indonesian government announced that they would allow the construction of new coal plants, with a combined capacity of 13 gigawatts, that have already been tendered out. The plan is laid out in the country's 10-year energy plan for 2021-2030.
• In November 2022, the Asian Development Bank and a private power firm announced that they were teaming up to refinance and prematurely retire a coal-fired power plant. The 660-megawatt Cirebon 1 power plant in West Java would be refinanced in a USD 250 million to USD 300 million deal on the condition that it be taken out of service 10 to 15 years before its end 40- to 50-year useful life under a memorandum of understanding.

• October 2022: Enviva Inc., the supplier of sustainably derived wood biomass, released a white paper that explored how biomass could be used in industries other than fossil fuels, such as steel, cement, lime, chemicals, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
• June 2022: Mitrabara Adiperdana(MBAP) intended to begin constructing its first wood pellet plant, marking its entry into the renewable energy market. It was the company's subsidiary MalinauHijau Lestari's first venture into the wood pellet manufacturing industry with the construction of the plant, which was expected to be able to produce at least 120,000 tons of pellets per year when fully operational. The plant was expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2024 and gradually ramp up production.

• April 2023: ArcelorMittal announced that the company's Brazilian entity, ArcelorMittal Brazil, formed a joint venture with the Brazilian renewable energy company Casa dos Ventos to develop the 554 MW Babilonia wind power project. The project is expected to be developed at a cost of USD 800 million and will be located in the central region of Bahia, northeast Brazil. ArcelorMittal is anticipated to hold a 55% share in the joint venture, and the remaining share will be held by Casa dos Ventos.
• January 2023: Cepsa announced that it would build three new solar power projects in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. The total capacity of the three solar energy farms is expected to be 400 MW. The projects are expected to be developed with an investment of USD 305 million in the towns of Campo de Criptana and Arenales de San Gregorio.
• May 2022: NJR Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) started construction on an 8.9-MW floating solar installation in Millburn, New Jersey, which is expected to be the largest floating array in the United States. The project uses a floating racking system, and 16,510 solar panels are expected to be installed on a reservoir located at the New Jersey American Water Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant. The clean power generated by the array is anticipated to provide approximately 95% of the facility's annual power needs through a power purchase agreement with CEV.

• February 2024: Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec started commercial operation of 150 megawatt solar PV plants in Pakistan. The solar power projects boast an annual generation capacity of 300 gigawatt hours. Scatec also signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Central Power Purchasing Agency of Pakistan.
• October 2023: The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan (WAPDA) announced issuing a tender notice inviting proposals for the installation, design, commissioning, and testing of a substantial 300 megawatt Floating Solar PV Plant. The project is to be located within the Tarbela - Barotha Hydropower Complex in Pakistan.

• March 2024: Panasonic Energy Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Panasonic Group, a Japan-based multinational electronics company, will form a joint venture with Maharatna PSU Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, the nation's biggest oil firm, to manufacture cylindrical lithium-ion batteries.
• January 2024: Automotive battery maker - Amara Raja Batteries Ltd announced its plans to operate a gigafactory before the end of 2025. In May 2023, the company laid the foundation stone for one of its first gigafactories in the Mahbubnagar district in Telangana, India, that is expected to produce Lithium Cell and Battery Packs with a capacity of up to 16 GWh and 5 GWh, respectively.
• December 2023: Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd announced its plan to invest INR 48.00 billion (USD 576 million) over the next 5-6 years in setting up a plant that is likely to produce 2 lakh tonnes of lithium iron phosphate, a key material for making lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

• March 2024, EDP Renováveis, the fourth-largest renewable energy producer globally, initiated operations at a 202-megawatt (MW) solar energy park in central Portugal, marking its largest installation in Europe. This venture is overseen by its parent company, EDP. Named the Cerca project and situated in the municipalities of Alenquer and Azambuja, north of Lisbon, it features over 310,000 solar panels. With an anticipated annual output of 330 gigawatt-hours (GWh), the facility can power approximately 100,000 households, equivalent to around 1% of Portugal's population.
• September 2023: the United Kingdom government announced the results of its latest renewable energy auction. Around 56 solar projects with a total capacity of 1,927.68 MW secured 15-year CfDs at a final price of USD 57/MW.
• February 2023: A German renewable energy project developed by RWE and Greek state-owned utility PPC announced that it reached an agreement to establish a 450 MW solar photovoltaic project in Greece through a joint venture company, Meton Energy. Construction will begin soon and is expected to come online by the end of 2024. Meton Energy has also signed a 10-year bilateral power purchase agreement (PPA) with PPC post-project completion.

• February 2024: Trontek Group showcased its innovative Lithium-ion Battery and other products at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo, organized by the industry body India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) in New Delhi.
• May 2023: iPower Batteries Pvt. Ltd, a lithium-ion and graphene lead-acid battery manufacturer, announced achieving a significant milestone by developing India’s first lithium magnesium iron phosphate battery series, the Rugpro lithium-ion series, for the electric vehicle (EV) industry. In April 2023, the Indian government approved the batteries under AIS 156 (Amendment III) Phase 2.

• February 2024: ReNew Energy Global PLC, an Indian decarbonization solutions company, collaborated with Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries Ltd to sell 350 MW of solar energy projects. The deal is estimated to be valued at around USD 241 million.
• October 2023: The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) launched a tender in the Indian market to develop about 1 GW of interstate transmission grid-connected solar projects. The solar projects to be developed were likely to witness the signing off of a 25-year power purchase agreement between developers and SECI. The onset of such gigawatt-scale solar tenders and the development of projects are expected to create a spur in the solar energy market in the future.
• March 2023: BELECTRIC Solar Ltd UK and NextEnergy Solar Fund signed a framework agreement for over 150 MWp in O&M, following a competitive tendering process conducted by WiseEnergy. After signing a framework agreement for the next three years, BELECTRIC was to add an anticipated portfolio of at least ten solar farms in the United Kingdom with a total capacity of 150 MWp to its O&M footprint. The solar power plants range from 5 MW to 34 MW in capacity and are located in several counties across England, including Dorset, Lincolnshire, and East Sussex.

• January 2024: Mainstream Energy Solution Ltd commenced operations at a newly constructed facility in Zungeru, central Nigeria. This is in addition to the other two major hydroelectric plants operated by the company in Nigeria. The 700-megawatt new plant, funded by a USD 1.3 billion loan from China, is being run by Mainstream's subsidiary, Penstock Energy Ltd.
• August 2023: GE Vernova initiated the construction of a natural gas-fired power plant in Nigeria as part of the government's efforts to address electricity shortages. The Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant, with a capacity of 1,350 MW and fueled by locally sourced gas, is projected to contribute approximately 11% of the nation's electricity once fully operational. Situated near Abuja, Nigeria's capital, the plant will be developed in three phases, with GE Vernova collaborating with two other entities on engineering and construction tasks.