Weekly Energy Charts
July 29, 2022
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Featured Stories
Air travel numbers
Andrew Leach
I took a quick look at air travel security data this week after a conversation with a friend, and I thought you might be interested in the results. According to CATSA data, air travel is still way down after the pandemic. So, the travel delays we’re all seeing? It’s not because more people are travelling than before the pandemic. But, if you’re looking for reasons, start with the fact that air travel volumes have more than tripled since February.
Energy Independance on PEI
Marc Vermette
PEI sources approximately 60% of its electricity from New Brunswick, primarily via an underwater cable.
Summerside is a city of 16,000 on Prince Edward Island. For decades, they’ve relied on this imported electricity.
However, PEI has abundant renewable energy available, primarily
from wind and solar.A new project in Summerside is healping wean the
island off imported electricity.
The ‘Summerside Sunbank’ under construction. Image credits to Volatus Aerospace.
The ‘Summerside Sunbank,’ shown above, is expected to supply 25% of the city’s electricity demand upon completion in late 2022.
“When residents can see where the money has gone, it gives you a better social licence to continue to build.” says the mayor. “A municipality is no different than any other business. If you’re not moving ahead, you’re moving back.”
Graphs from CER. Original Article
South Asia’s Energy Crisis
Debosree Mukherjee
For the past few months, energy shortages caused by high fuel prices have been seen around the world. Earlier this summer, India faced unprecedented power shortages due to high temperatures and low coal supplies. Reports suggest that India may be heading towards another power crisis in August.
There are fears the crisis will worsen in some parts of South Asia due to plummeting foreign exchange reserves and increasing import costs. Growing numbers of fuel suppliers are avoiding selling to Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to concerns about payment capabilities. About a quarter of Pakistan’s power-generation capacity has been shut because of fuel shortages. Despite 21.3% inflation, highest in over a decade, the country raised its power prices due to rising generation costs. Sri Lanka amid bankruptcy and crippling fuel shortage, introduced a National Fuel Pass to ration fuel.
Recently, Bangladesh joined Pakistan and Sri Lanka and became the third South Asian country to seek monetary support from the International Monetary Fund due to rising energy and food prices. Like Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is heavily dependent on imports for power generation, and often relies on spot prices. In 2021, the country bought 42% of its LNG from the spot market. Due to declining foreign reserves and skyrocketing prices, the country is struggling to import LNG and also diesel fuel. The government suspended operations at diesel-run power plants and announced that fuel stations will be closed for a day every week. From July 19, two hours of mandatory power cuts every day was made official to manage the situation. However, some semiurban and rural parts of the country are only getting 12 hours of electricity per day.
Impact of Company Procurement on Power Systems
Erica Beattie
More and more companies are setting clean electricity goals. An IEA article explains various methods to assess the system value of different company procurement strategies in developing economies, and its impact on power systems.
A key component according to the article is the time it takes for a company to procure clean power. Some recommendations for efficient corporate procurement outlined in the article were the following:
Establish streamlined and effective processes for companies wanting to obtain clean energy to gain access to the grid for new generators and meet other requirements
Banking and wheeling arrangements with longer periods of energy balancing should recognize any costs imposed on the rest of the system, then account for these costs accordingly
Make sure that tariff and wheeling arrangements reward flexible resources that provide higher system value
Establish clear policies for how all system costs will be covered by consumers to maximize long-term certainty for developers
The article went on to explain a few options available to companies for procuring clean energy, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Behind-the-meter generation, common in Alberta, is recognized for ease of demonstrating incremental impacts and for high availability, although it is not the most simple procurement strategy. Power purchase agreements (PPA) may make it more difficult to show that new green power is additional to what would have otherwise been generated, and may be challenging due to the complex financial conditions involved. Energy attribute certificates, for example the RECs commonly used in the US, face some of the same additionality concerns, but are simpler and more attainable than a full PPA.
Barriers still stand in the way of the procurement of clean energy for many companies. This article provides some great insight for companies looking to make an energy transition and establish a greener procurement strategy.
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