The UK government has proposed changes to the way it procures offshore wind as it now needs to claw back capacity after the massive Hornsea 4 project ground to a halt. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) confirmed changes to the way it will run its contracts for difference (CfD) auctions, starting with the upcoming Allocation Round 7 (AR7), expected this year. Under the reforms, the government would no longer set a monetary budget for the various technologies across the auction, such as the £1.5 billion allocated for offshore wind in AR6, at the start of the auction. Instead, the government would publish a “capacity ambition,” stating instead the amount of power it aims to procure. However, it would still publish a budget for the auction after the process has run. In addition, the reforms envision allowing the secretary of state to see the anonymous bids, including price and capacity. They would use this information to determine how much capacity to procure and to set the final budget. AR7 The amendments will also end flexible bidding for fixed-bottom offshore wind applications. According to the proposals, flexible bids are no longer useful if the auction sets the budget after seeing the bids in advance. Finally, the proposed reforms also considered accelerating the offshore wind part of the auction if developers get their bids in on time and there are no appeals. However, the government said that legislation needed to make change could not be delivered before AR7 – though it did not rule it out for subsequent auctions. © Supplied by OrstedOrsted’s Hornsea One wind farm. It added that the government is exploring non-legislative routes to accelerate a fixed-bottom offshore wind auction in time for AR7. In comments to Energy Voice, Aegir Insights market analyst Signe Tellier Christensen

Aberdeen business leaders and the SNP are calling on the Prime Minister to visit the north-east of Scotland as they blamed Labour policies for yet more job losses in the oil and gas sector. On Wednesday, Harbour Energy announced that it would cut 250 jobs from its onshore operations, accounting for a 25% reduction in headcount. The UK’s largest producer of oil and gas has claimed that the hostile fiscal policy facing oil and gas businesses prompted the decision as it slows investment in the country, opting to allocate funds overseas. On the day of this announcement, Aberdeen South MP and SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn brought the news to the attention of prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. © BloombergEmissions from chimneys at the British Steel Ltd. plant in Scunthorpe, UK. He asked Starmer to “explain to my constituents why he is willing to move heaven and earth to save jobs in Scunthorpe while destroying jobs in Scotland.” The SNP leader was referring to the government’s recent move to nationalise British Steel. The UK government took control of the British steel company from its Chinese owner, Jingye Group, after losses from its steelmaking operations forced it to the brink. Now the SNP MP, alongside his colleagues in Westminster and Holyrood, has written to the Labour Party leader, inviting him to see the impacts his government’s energy policy is having on Aberdeen and its people. “We are writing to you as the local MPs and MSPs for Aberdeen, to invite you to urgently visit Aberdeen to meet with local representatives, businesses, trade unions and workers to hear about the damaging impact that Labour government policies are having on Scottish energy jobs – and to discuss the urgent investment needed to protect jobs and deliver prosperity,” the letter reads. ‘Haemorrhaging investment in

Oil rose as President Donald Trump announced a trade framework with the UK, spurring some optimism about deals to come. West Texas Intermediate climbed 3.2% to approach $60 a barrel. Trump said the UK would fast-track US items through its customs process and reduce barriers on billions of dollars of agricultural, chemical, energy and industrial exports, including ethanol. Notably, the terms are limited in scope and a 10% baseline tariff remains. The British deal is raising investors’ confidence that agreements can be reached in the more complicated trade talks that lie ahead, specifically negotiations between US and Chinese officials kicking off this weekend. Trump said that the 145% levy against China, the world’s largest crude-importer, could be lowered if talks go well. “The real driver of risk assets today appears to be renewed optimism around progress in the US–China trade talks,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group. “It’s also worth noting that sentiment toward crude remains overwhelmingly bearish.” Crude has slid since Trump took office on concerns that his global trade war will dent economic growth and slow energy demand. Adding to the bearishness, OPEC+ has decided to revive idled output faster than expected. Already, the drop in oil prices is spurring American shale producers to cut spending in the Permian Basin. Still, small pockets of bullishness are visible in the options market. There was active trading of Brent $95 September call options, which profit when futures rise. The US on Thursday sanctioned a third Chinese “teapot” oil refinery and various other entities associated with Iran, days ahead of a fourth round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran. The failure of the negotiations could push Brent up toward $70 a barrel, Citigroup analysts including Eric Lee said in a note. In the US,

Indian liquefied natural gas importers have signed a flurry of long-term purchase agreements linked to the US price benchmark, the latest effort by the nation’s buyers to protect themselves from volatile markets. State-owned companies have signed at least four contracts since December, totaling nearly 11 million tons per year, priced to the Henry Hub index, according to the executives familiar with the deals. Until now, most of India’s long-term contracts have been linked to crude oil, the traditional way to price LNG deals. Pricing the fuel to the Henry Hub index doesn’t necessarily mean that the fuel will come from the US, rather it is a move to hedge risk.  India’s consumers — from power plants to petrochemical facilities — are highly price-sensitive as gas competes head-to-head with cheaper and dirtier alternatives. Companies that relied on the spot market or oil-linked contracts have periodically been forced to cut back purchases due to price spikes. US gas futures have also been relatively less volatile and more liquid than the Asian spot benchmark, the Japan-Korea Marker. “The last ten year average shows that there have been periods during winter months JKM benchmark surged beyond imagination, while Henry Hub prices saw proportionally smaller growth,” Bharat Petroelum Corp Ltd’s Director Finance V.R.K. Gupta said. BPCL in February signed a deal with ADNOC Trading for 2.5 million tons of LNG for five years. The Mumbai-based refiner will evaluate the performance of the deal and may sign more such contracts, Gupta said.  Indian Oil Corp. last week signed a deal with Trafigura for 2.5 million tons, or 27 cargoes, spread over five years, with supplies starting the middle of this year. The recent deals have been signed at a 115% link to Henry Hub plus $5 to $6 per million British thermal units. The supply is

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should reject a call for a 90-day pause in its deliberations over the PJM Interconnection’s rules for colocating data centers at power plants, according to PJM, major utilities and other organizations. “The national interest will be best served by a quick dismissal of this proceeding, and a ruling that the existing PJM Tariff remains just and reasonable,” PJM transmission owners said in a Wednesday filing urging FERC to dismiss a call for stakeholder settlement talks. “Rather than fighting about a wish list of new rules, the parties will then instead begin to focus on obtaining service under the rules in place today.” The transmission owners include utility companies such as American Electric Power, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Exelon, FirstEnergy and PPL Electric. “The record is clear — no matter how connected to the PJM transmission system, large loads pose both a safety and a reliability concern,” the utilities said. “It is unrealistic to ask the [transmission owners] to accede to these demands in the context of settlement procedures while those questions remain unresolved.” PJM also wants FERC to ignore the call for settlement discussions that was made in late April by the Electric Power Supply Association, the PJM Power Providers Group, Calpine, Cogentrix Energy Power Management, Constellation Energy Generation and LS Power Development. “The Commission should not pause its work on offering the industry guidance on a path forward for co-location arrangements,” PJM said in a Monday filing. The call for settlement talks lacks broad stakeholder support, PJM said, noting it is holding a workshop on “large load” issues on Friday. American Municipal Power, a wholesale power provider for public power utilities, and Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative and Northeastern Rural Electric Membership Corp. also oppose holding settlement talks. Beside the power generators and trade organizations,

Dive Brief: The Inflation Reduction Act – which passed in 2022 without any Republican support and is anticipated to cost taxpayers between $780 billion and $2 trillion over its first ten years – is likely to be targeted for cuts as the Republican-controlled Congress aims to cut spending by $2 trillion in order to cut taxes by $4.5 trillion. However, certain provisions of the IRA have won support with Republican lawmakers, setting up likely disagreements over cuts in the budget reconciliation process. That process is already expected to be “very contentious,” said Harry Godfrey, who leads Advanced Energy United’s federal investment and manufacturing working group. “[House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith] and the Ways and Means Republicans will need revenue and will be seeking it, and have been saying all along that the IRA is an area they’re going to look at,” said Ryan Abraham, a principal with Ernst & Young’s Washington Council advisory practice. “But obviously there are some concerns among some members.” Dive Insight: Abraham noted the May 1 letter sent by 26 House Republicans to Chairman Smith, advocating for the preservation of the IRA’s 45U, 45Y, and 48E tax credits. The letter advocates on behalf of nuclear power specifically, “[urging Smith] to maintain federal investment in the existing nuclear energy fleet while accelerating deployment of the next generation of nuclear power technologies.” The 45U credit is the IRA’s zero-emission nuclear power production credit, while 48E and 45Y are technology-neutral credits, which were targeted in legislation introduced in April by Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D. “There’s a lot of concern that some of the bonus items that have been created in the IRA, like direct pay and transferability, which were also in that Fedorchak bill, could also get targeted,” Abraham said. However, he said, “Chairman Smith is aware