2025-06-26 12:58

June 26 (Reuters) - India's power ministry has proposed a new rule that would require electricity distribution companies to take quicker action after signing deals to buy power from clean energy projects. Under the draft rule dated June 25, distribution companies must ask for official approval from the appropriate regulatory commission within 30 days of signing the deal with an intermediary, such as a renewable energy implementing agency. Sign up here. This is a significant step as the industry has flagged delays from power distribution companies, which has slowed down the start of solar, wind, and other renewable energy projects. India is working towards its target of installing 500 gigawatts of clean energy capacity by 2030, nearly triple its current capacity. The sector is grappling with several obstacles, including weak demand for tenders, land acquisition challenges, delays in power purchase agreements and project cancellations. If the approval from a regulatory commission takes too long — more than 60 days after applying or 120 days after signing the deal — the company building the project will get extra time to complete the project without being penalized, the power ministry said in its proposal. The ministry has asked for feedback on the proposal from stakeholders by July 9. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/india-wants-power-distribution-companies-act-faster-clean-energy-deals-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 12:47

CAPE TOWN, June 26 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone will wait for the results of a recently-launched offshore 3D seismic survey, its first in over a decade, ahead of potentially opening its next oil and gas licensing round later this year, a senior government official said on Thursday. In partnership with the government's petroleum directorate, consultancy GeoPartners started the six-week seismic survey last month as part of efforts to de-risk exploration in Sierra Leone's offshore basin. Sign up here. "The reprocessing of that data is happening now with our multi-client partners, TGS, and we are hoping to get something to push to the market in October," Foday Mansaray, director general at the Sierra Leone Petroleum Directorate said of a potential licensing launch date. He said the West African country, where the then Anadarko Petroleum and Russia's Lukoil previously discovered oil but not in commercial quantities, could potentially offer up to 60 offshore blocks in its sixth oil and gas auction round. The previous round concluded in 2023. However, the new blocks are unlikely to include ultra-deep areas that are ordinarily open for direct negotiations, he said. Sierra Leone has an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil equivalent recoverable offshore, Mansaray said, including the large Vega prospect identified by Anadarko previously, which has some 3 billion barrels of oil recoverable. Situated along the Atlantic seaboard and between regional oil-producing countries, such as Ivory Coast to the south and Senegal to the north, Sierra Leone is keen to boost its credentials as an emerging exploration frontier. Over the past 18 months, Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, Petrobras (PETR4.SA) , opens new tab, Hess (HES.N) , opens new tab and Murphy Oil (MUR.N) , opens new tab have purchased some of its licensed data, Mansaray said. Using Namibia and Guyana as examples of how exploration has boomed in those countries following years of inactivity, he said Sierra Leone could be on the verge of a breakthrough. "I firmly believe that Sierra Leone is on the cusp of something big and we are going to be one of the next big and successful stories." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sierra-leone-aims-be-west-africas-newest-oil-gas-exploration-frontier-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 12:47

June 26 (Reuters) - Renewable energy developer Invenergy and social media giant Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab have signed four deals to supply 791 megawatts (MW) more of solar and wind power to operate data centers, the companies said on Thursday. This is the latest in a string of deals by Meta to meet the surging power demand of its data centers needed for artificial intelligence technologies using clean energy. Sign up here. Last year, Meta had signed four contracts with the Chicago-based Invenergy for 760 MW of solar electricity. Invenergy said Thursday's deals bring the companies' total partnership to 1,800 MW. Meta has previously announced deals with several large solar projects, a geothermal startup, and is also seeking proposals from nuclear power developers. The electricity from Invenergy's solar and wind projects in Ohio, Arkansas and Texas will be delivered to the local grid, while Meta will receive the clean energy credits associated with the new generation capacity coming online, the energy company said. The companies did not disclose the financial details of the deals. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/invenergy-supply-meta-with-additional-791-mw-data-center-operations-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 12:45

DHAKA, June 26 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's interim government directed authorities on Thursday to install solar panels on roofs of government buildings, including schools, colleges, and hospitals, in a push to generate clean energy and curb reliance on costly fuel imports. Bangladesh is currently governed by an interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took charge after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and fled the country in August amid widespread protests. Sign up here. The interim government has struggled to stabilise the power sector due to growing demand and financial constraints. Yunus' directive came during a meeting of the 'National Rooftop Solar Program', held against the backdrop of a worsening energy crisis driven by volatile global fuel prices. Officials at the meeting cited a 2024 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, which showed Bangladesh lagging far behind its regional peers in solar energy adoption. While solar power accounts for 24% of electricity in India, 17.16% in Pakistan, and 39.7% in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh generates only 5.6% of its electricity from solar sources, according to the report. To bridge this gap, the government has already floated tenders for 55 land-based solar power plants with a combined capacity of 5,238 MW. However, those projects are not expected to come online before 2028. Yunus instructed agencies to adopt rooftop solar systems that can be implemented quickly and encouraged a private investment model under which companies would install and maintain solar panels on public buildings, using rooftop space provided by the government. "The institutions won't have to pay electricity bills and can earn rent from their rooftops," Yunus said. The International Monetary Fund approved a $1.3 billion disbursement to Bangladesh this week from a $4.7 billion bailout package the country sought in 2023 amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves and rising import costs following a surge in commodity prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bangladesh-orders-solar-panels-installation-public-buildings-tackle-energy-woes-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 12:03

SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - Bain Capital partner Mike Murphy is confident Virgin Australia's (VGN.AX) , opens new tab domestic business focus will help the airline withstand travel disruptions and oil price volatility created by the ongoing Middle East tensions. Bain, which bought Virgin for A$3.5 billion ($2.3 billion)including liabilities in 2020, raised A$685 million when Australia's second largest airline relisted on the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday. Sign up here. The private equity firm's stake was reduced in the initial public offering to 39.4% from about 70%. Virgin's debut on the ASX came hours after Qatar shut its airspace and prompted the airline to divert two Qatar-bound flights after Iranian missiles were fired at a U.S. base in the state. Virgin started Doha flights earlier this month under a lease deal with Qatar Airways which owns 23% of the carrier. "Our view on Middle East and oil is that as tricky as those issues are for an airline we're pretty well placed geographically and strategically in terms of the domestic focus to be assured as you could be being in this sector," Murphy told Reuters by telephone. "From an oil price volatility perspective, we're very comprehensively hedged out in the short to medium term." Virgin said in an exchange filing on Tuesday it has hedged 98% of its anticipated fuel usage in Brent crude oil at a cap of $70 per barrel for the first half of 2026. It has hedged 86% of its anticipated fuel usage at the same price in the second half. Virgin holds a domestic flight market share of 34.4% as of March versus Qantas' 37.5%, a recent report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission showed. Murphy said the decision made under Bain's ownership to pare back its international routes to be mainly a domestic carrier had strengthened Virgin's balance sheet and profitability. "Long-haul international was not a part of the business that ever made money ... those strategic decisions that the company of that era made resulted in a pretty overstretched balance sheet, a very weak set of margins," Murphy said. Virgin shares closed on Thursday at A$3.25, up 12% from the IPO price of A$2.90. ($1 = 1.5286 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/virgin-australia-can-ride-out-middle-east-volatility-private-equity-boss-says-2025-06-26/

2025-06-26 12:02

COPENHAGEN, June 26 (Reuters) - Danish shipping company Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) , opens new tab said on Thursday it had reopened cargo acceptance to Israel's Haifa port for imports as of June 25 and that it expected to reopen exports from the location once a lower safety risk had been confirmed. Iranians and Israelis have sought to resume normal life after 12 days of the most intense confrontation ever between the two foes and a ceasefire that took effect Tuesday. Sign up here. Maersk on Friday said it had temporarily paused vessel calls at Haifa port, amid Israel's conflict with Iran. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/maersk-reopens-import-cargo-acceptance-israels-port-haifa-2025-06-26/