India facing record power shortfall for June, and other top energy stories this month

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.

Author: Roberto Bocca, Head, Centre for Energy and Materials; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

• This round-up brings you the key energy stories from the energy sector over recent weeks.
• Top energy stories: India forecasts largest June power shortfall in 14 years; US announces increased tariffs; Electric vehicle uptake in China and US set to slow global petrol demand.
• For more on the World Economic Forum’s work in the energy space, visit the Centre for Energy and Materials.

1. India anticipating significant power shortfall

India’s government has told Reuters it is expecting the country’s biggest power shortfall for June in 14 years. A peak shortage of 14.2 gigawatts (GW) is forecast for the month in night-time hours when solar capacity is offline, according to the country’s Central Electricity Authority.

The shortfall follows a steep decline in hydroelectricity output due to erratic rainfall and delays to the commissioning of 3.6GW of coal-fired power plants that had been due to be online by March.

India’s Power Minister Raj Kumar Singh has held an emergency meeting to assess the situation, where it was decided to revive 5GW of idled coal capacity and delay the planned shutdown of power plants for maintenance.

“All efforts have been made to maximize generation, and with the measures in place, it is expected that the power demand would be adequately met during the day and the non-solar hours in the coming months including June 2024,” a statement said.

2. US announces 100% tariff for Chinese-made EVs

US President, Joe Biden, has announced a series of tariffs on Chinese-produced green technology, as part of a package of measures designed to protect US manufacturers from cheap imports.

As part of the measures, the tariff on Chinese-produced electric vehicles (EVs) will quadruple from 25% to 100%, The Guardian reports. Levies will double from 25% to 50% on both solar cells and semiconductors; the levy on critical minerals will rise from zero to 25%; and levies on lithium batteries will increase from 7.5% to 25%.

Officials said the tariffs will be phased in over the next three years.

3. News in brief: More energy stories from around the world

Increasing shift to EVs will mean petrol demand growth is likely to slow in 2024, analysts say. Wood Mackenzie predicts that demand is likely to rise 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 26.5 million bpd this year – less than half the growth of 700,000 bpd seen in 2023. “Penetration of electric vehicles has been increasing in the US and China,” said Wood Mackenzie analyst, Sushant Gupta, said. “For this year, Chinese demand will grow by only 10,000 bpd, due to higher EV uptake.”

Australia is planning to ramp up its extraction and use of gas until 2050 and beyond as part of its Future Gas Strategy. Minister for Resources Madeleine King said: “The strategy makes it clear that gas will remain an important source of energy through to 2050 and beyond, and its uses will change as we improve industrial energy efficiency, firm renewables, and reduce emissions. But it is clear we will need continued exploration, investment and development in the sector to support the path to net zero for Australia and for our export partners, and to avoid a shortfall in gas supplies.”

China’s crude oil imports increased 5.45% year on year in April. Data from the country’s General Administration of Customs showed crude imports for the month were 10.88 million bpd.

Microsoft announced that its emissions had increased by 29.1% since 2020. In its annual sustainability report, the technology company said the increase was in large part due to the construction of data centres for AI and cloud computing. The announcement follows Microsoft signing a recent deal to invest more than $10 billion in renewable energy capacity to help power data centres.

Rolling power outages in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states were caused by unseasonably warm weather, according to the country’s President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. “This was something exceptional that was not expected,” he told reporters. “But we’re going to be very attentive to this special situation we’re dealing with.”

Chinese EV makers Neta Auto and BYD announced plans to build their presence in Southeast Asia’s largest car market, Indonesia. “Neta Indonesia is committed to increasing our investment in Indonesia by initiating local production,” Neta Auto’s managing director Jerry Huang said. Meanwhile, BYD has revealed it will build a $1 billion factory in West Java province, the Financial Times reports.

France’s first European Pressurised Reactor nuclear power plant has been approved for operation by the country’s nuclear safety authority. The Flamanville plant, located in the Normandy region, will be France’s most powerful nuclear reactor when fully operational.

Biofuel firms have collectively committed more than $1 billion for a plant that will turn waste cooking oil into sustainable aviation fuel, which will be the first of its kind in China.

The UK installed a record number of public EV chargers in the first three months of 2024. Figures published by the country’s Department of Transport showed 6,000 chargers were added in the first quarter of the year, giving the UK a total of 61,232 charging points across 32,697 charging stations.

4. More on energy from Agenda

Battery energy storage systems can help address the challenge of intermittent renewable energy. In this article, we look at how to finance large-scale deployment of the technology.

Buildings are responsible for almost 40% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. While 80% of those buildings will still be standing by 2050, here are four solutions to decarbonize them.

From fostering innovation and job creation to promoting gender equality or making civic participation more accessible, renewable energy solutions drive progress towards a more equitable and sustainable world. Read more here.

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