Latest news with #SudarshanVaradhan
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
India coal-fired power output falls at fastest pace in five years in May
By Sudarshan Varadhan and Sethuraman N R SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India's coal-fired electricity generation in May fell at the fastest pace in five years, as overall power demand declined for the first time since August and renewable energy generation rose to a record high, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Increased generation from less polluting power sources including hydro and nuclear also led to a decline in natural gas-fired power output, which fell at the steepest rate in nearly three years, a review of data from the federal power grid regulator Grid India showed. The decline in demand for fossil fuels for electricity generation in India - the second largest importer of coal and the fourth biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) - comes at a time when benchmark prices of the fuels are under pressure. "Demand from the power sector - typically strong during peak season - remained limited. Additionally, economic headwinds have weighed on non-power industries," Indian coal trader I-Energy said in a note this week. Asian spot LNG prices have declined more than 15% this year, while benchmark prices of thermal coal have plunged to more than 4-year lows due to weak demand from China and India - the top coal importing countries. India's coal-fired power generation fell 9.5% in May on an annual basis to 113.3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), a review of data from the federal power grid regulator Grid India showed, marking the sharpest year-on-year decline since June 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a nationwide lockdown. A sustained slowdown in demand for fossil fuels for power generation could help the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases slash emissions after it previously boosted its reliance on coal to power a post-pandemic economic recovery. India has repeatedly cited lower per capita emissions compared with richer nations to defend its high coal use. Utilities in China and India have cut dependence on coal and LNG imports this year also due to record coal stocks and slower growth in power demand. India had forced gas-based power plants to operate last year to meet high power demand as temperatures soared. As power demand is lower and prices are high for gas-fired power to be competitive with other sources such as solar this year, utilities will buy fewer volumes, said Prashant Vashisth, vice president at Moody's affiliate ICRA. Total electricity generation in May fell 5.3% year-on-year to 160.4 billion kWh, the data showed, with the highest peak demand about 8% lower on-year at 231 GW, mainly due to milder temperatures, government officials said. Peak demand - a measure of the maximum electricity requirement over any given time - reached 250 GW during a heatwave in May 2024. Meanwhile, renewable energy output surged to a record high of 24.7 billion kWh in May, up 17.2% from a year earlier, with its share in the overall power mix rising to 15.4% - the highest since records began in 2018. The share of coal in India's power mix dropped to 70.7% in May, down from 74.0% a year earlier and the lowest level since June 2022, according to the Grid India data. Hydropower generation jumped 8.3% to 14.5 billion kWh, accounting for 9.0% of total generation compared to 7.9% in May 2024, the data showed. Natural gas-fired power generation fell 46.5% annually to 2.78 billion kWh in May, the steepest decline since October 2022.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
India coal-fired power output falls at fastest pace in five years in May
By Sudarshan Varadhan and Sethuraman N R SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India's coal-fired electricity generation in May fell at the fastest pace in five years, as overall power demand declined for the first time since August and renewable energy generation rose to a record high, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Increased generation from less polluting power sources including hydro and nuclear also led to a decline in natural gas-fired power output, which fell at the steepest rate in nearly three years, a review of data from the federal power grid regulator Grid India showed. The decline in demand for fossil fuels for electricity generation in India - the second largest importer of coal and the fourth biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) - comes at a time when benchmark prices of the fuels are under pressure. "Demand from the power sector - typically strong during peak season - remained limited. Additionally, economic headwinds have weighed on non-power industries," Indian coal trader I-Energy said in a note this week. Asian spot LNG prices have declined more than 15% this year, while benchmark prices of thermal coal have plunged to more than 4-year lows due to weak demand from China and India - the top coal importing countries. India's coal-fired power generation fell 9.5% in May on an annual basis to 113.3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), a review of data from the federal power grid regulator Grid India showed, marking the sharpest year-on-year decline since June 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a nationwide lockdown. A sustained slowdown in demand for fossil fuels for power generation could help the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases slash emissions after it previously boosted its reliance on coal to power a post-pandemic economic recovery. India has repeatedly cited lower per capita emissions compared with richer nations to defend its high coal use. Utilities in China and India have cut dependence on coal and LNG imports this year also due to record coal stocks and slower growth in power demand. India had forced gas-based power plants to operate last year to meet high power demand as temperatures soared. As power demand is lower and prices are high for gas-fired power to be competitive with other sources such as solar this year, utilities will buy fewer volumes, said Prashant Vashisth, vice president at Moody's affiliate ICRA. Total electricity generation in May fell 5.3% year-on-year to 160.4 billion kWh, the data showed, with the highest peak demand about 8% lower on-year at 231 GW, mainly due to milder temperatures, government officials said. Peak demand - a measure of the maximum electricity requirement over any given time - reached 250 GW during a heatwave in May 2024. Meanwhile, renewable energy output surged to a record high of 24.7 billion kWh in May, up 17.2% from a year earlier, with its share in the overall power mix rising to 15.4% - the highest since records began in 2018. The share of coal in India's power mix dropped to 70.7% in May, down from 74.0% a year earlier and the lowest level since June 2022, according to the Grid India data. Hydropower generation jumped 8.3% to 14.5 billion kWh, accounting for 9.0% of total generation compared to 7.9% in May 2024, the data showed. Natural gas-fired power generation fell 46.5% annually to 2.78 billion kWh in May, the steepest decline since October 2022. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US tariffs, Europe slowdown reshape global solar panels trade
By Sudarshan Varadhan SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Solar panel makers in Laos and Indonesia, mostly owned by Chinese firms, boosted their share in the U.S. market after steep tariffs hit exports from other Southeast Asian countries including Cambodia and Thailand, trade data showed. The U.S. government finalised steep levies on imports of solar cells and modules from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia in April, following two rounds of tariffs in June and November last year, to prevent dumping by mostly Chinese-owned factories in these countries. However, Chinese companies have moved their production to Indonesia and Laos and boosted exports to the United States, Reuters reporting showed. The combined share for Indonesia and Laos in the U.S. solar modules market rose to 29% in the three months after the second round of U.S. duties were imposed on neighbouring producers in late November, from less than 1% in 2023, a Reuters review of U.S. trade data showed. Analysts and industry experts say the southeast Asian capacities owned by Chinese companies were almost exclusively set up to sidestep tariffs and supply the U.S. markets at premiums to global prices, exposing the limits of Washington's trade interventions. Yana Hryshko, head of global solar supply chain research at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said all solar manufacturing capacity in the four Southeast Asian countries hit with high tariffs would now likely "be shut down or reduced dramatically". CHANGING TRADE ROUTES Solar panel exports from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia to the U.S. fell by 33% on an annual basis in the nine months since the first round of tariffs in June. In the same period, exports from regional neighbours Indonesia and Laos grew around eight-fold, the trade data showed. Overall U.S. solar panel imports have fallen 26% since June, with the four countries' combined share of the market plunging from 82% in the full year 2024 to 54% in the three months following the second round of tariffs in late November. U.S. imports of solar cells, which can be assembled in the United States to create panels, have tripled since the first round of tariffs despite higher costs of imports from the targeted countries. However, Indonesia and Laos still ate into the market as their exports surged about 17-fold. Solar cells accounted for roughly 28% of all U.S. solar imports since the first round of tariffs, compared with 6.5% in 2023, the data showed. Chinese manufacturers are already revising export strategies due to concerns about tariffs on Indonesia and Laos, said Fei Chen, solar research analyst at consultancy Rystad Energy.
Zawya
10-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
India's thermal coal imports fall for sixth straight month in February
India's imports of thermal coal - mainly used in power generation - fell for a sixth straight month in February, ship tracking data showed, as coal-fired power generation grew at a muted pace on the back of a slowdown in manufacturing activity. This is the longest such streak since February 2022, when imports declined for eight consecutive months. Manufacturing activity in the world's fastest growing major economy slowed to its weakest pace in over a year, stifling appetite for seaborne coal in the country and adding to pressure on declining on global thermal coal prices. Imports of thermal coal by India - the second largest importer in the world - fell 15.3% to 12.16 million metric tons in February, data from Indian consultancy Bigmint showed. In the six months ended February 28, imports fell 20% to 77.3 million. In addition to the manufacturing slowdown, increasing domestic production and a higher share of renewable generation also contributed to the lower imports, with the country's coal-fired power generation staying largely flat in the first two months of the year. While coal consumption is expected to pick up in the coming months as utilities prepare to address a surge in electricity consumption during the summer months between April and June, it might not necessarily lead to a pickup in imports as domestic production is also increasing. "Coal demand is expected to remain strong in the coming months during the summer season. However, the non-power sectors continue to experience sluggish market conditions," India-based coal trading firm I-Energy said in a note on Monday. Thermal coal prices have rebounded slightly in recent weeks after plunging to multi-year lows in 2025 amid market concerns about weaker global demand. However, they are still trading over 30% higher than levels seen in the second half of the previous decade. A sustained decline in Indian thermal coal imports comes at a time when shipments purchased by top importer China are growing, though analysts and industry officials have flagged potential risks in the months ahead. (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US coal exports to India expected to rise due to China tariffs
By Sethuraman N R and Sudarshan Varadhan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States is expected to boost coal exports to India after China imposed tariffs on energy imports from the U.S., five industry officials said, potentially eroding Australia and Russia's market shares in the Indian market. China's Finance Ministry last week said it would impose levies of 15% on imports of U.S. coal, which the officials said could push U.S. miners to ship to India - the world's second-largest coal importer behind China. "Three U.S. cargoes that were supposed to go to China have landed in India and around 10 more cargoes are waiting. These are huge capesizes and that could further drag down prices," Vasudev Pamnani, director at India's I-Energy Natural Resources, said. "More U.S. coal imports could have an impact on Australia," Pamnani told the Coaltrans India conference on Monday. In volume terms, the U.S. accounts for a small part of Chinese imports of coal, but the value of coking coal shipments - used mainly by steelmakers - rose by nearly a third to $1.84 billion in 2024. Malcolm Roberts, chief marketing officer at the biggest U.S. coal miner Peabody Energy, said on a conference call with analysts last week that more U.S. coal could go to India and more Australian coal to China as a result of the tariffs. Australia was the dominant coking coal supplier to India in the last decade, accounting for about 80% of all such shipments. Its share dwindled to 62% in 2024, as supplies from the United States as well as Russia and Mozambique helped India to diversify. Australia could now regain some share in China - its main market where it made up over two-thirds of coking coal imports before China announced an unofficial ban on such imports in 2021. Mongolia and Russia are currently the biggest exporters of coking coal to China. The U.S. accounted for 9% of the coking coal market in China in 2024, while Australia made up 8% of all such imports, Chinese customs data shows. Sign in to access your portfolio
