GreenergyDaily

Aug. 30, 2024

1. The world's largest clean energy corridor, consisting of 6 mega hydropower stations on China's Yangtze River, has set a new high for 2024 with a record single-day power generation of 1.5 billion kWh as of July 23. Boasting a total installed capacity of over 71 million kW, the corridor produced over 276 billion kWh of electricity in 2023, up 5.34% YoY.

2. South China's largest natural gas storage-transportation base finished construction Fri in Zhuhai, with 5 LNG tanks each with world's largest single storage capacity of 270,000 m³. The 2-phase base with 8 tanks in total can process 7 mln tonnes of LNG a year upon full operation.

3. Some Russian companies are facing growing delays and rising costs on payments with trading partners in China, leaving transactions worth tens of billions of yuan in limbo, according to Reuters citing Russian sources. Chinese state banks are shutting down transactions with Russia "en masse" and billions of yuan worth of payments are held up. China is Russia's largest trading partner, accounting for a third of Russia's foreign trade last year. It also provides a lucrative market for many Russian exports that China relies on, from oil and gas to agricultural products.

4. In a regional first, a 750kV ultra-high voltage power transmission project spanning 880km across railways and deserts in northwest China's Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture marked full-line completion on Wednesday. The project is expected to launch operation in November.

5. New car sales in the EU rose 0.2% in July, slowed by declines in France and Germany, while battery-electric vehicles continued to lose market share, data from Europe's auto industry body showed on Thursday. Improvements in the Belgian, Dutch and French electric-vehicle markets failed to offset a drop of almost 37% in Germany's battery-electric sales, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said.

6. U.S. nuclear firm Westinghouse said on Thursday China has given it approval to supply four nuclear reactors for two separate Chinese power projects. The company said China's State Council has greenlit building two AP1000 reactors for the Bailong nuclear power project, owned by the country's State Power Investment Corp, in the Guangxi province. The other two Westinghouse-designed AP1000 reactors were approved for China General Nuclear Power Corp's Lufeng Nuclear Power Plant in the Guangdong province.

7. Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom, opens new tab said on Thursday its first-half net income more than tripled from a year earlier to more than 1 trillion roubles ($10.9 billion), thanks to rising gas exports and cost controls. Gazprom plunged to a net loss of around $7 billion in 2023, its first year in the red since 1999, as its gas trade with Europe, once its main sales market, dwindled due to the military conflict in Ukraine.

8. Mining giant Rio Tinto and Chinese EV-maker BYD are among the six companies eligible to proceed with proposals to develop a lithium project in Chile's Altoandinos salt flats, state-run mining company ENAMI said on Thursday. The salt flats in the northern region of Atacama are one of the areas where the Chilean government is aiming to boost lithium production in partnership with the state by kicking off new projects.

9. Import tariffs imposed by the EU and the U.S. on China-made electric vehicles will harm European based companies, the chief financial officer of Swedish EV maker Polestar said on Thursday. Steep tariffs recently imposed by the U.S., the EU and Canada on cars made in China have prompted many automakers to speed up plans to move parts of their production to other countries.

10. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Thursday gave a strong endorsement to Canada's decision to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25% on Chinese steel and aluminum as she finalizes U.S. duties planned at similar rates. In a statement issued by her office, Tai applauded Canada's decision to take strong action against China's "state-directed, unfair, and anti-competitive non-market policies and practices, which threaten the existence of our market-oriented industries."