Irish wind talks with UK stalled, Ethiopia mulls $2b geothermal

Talks between Ireland and the UK on a potential deal to sell offshore wind generated in Irish waters to the British market continued to drag on. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said last week after a meeting with his UK counterpart, David Cameron, that the countries may miss a target to begin trading by 2020.

Irish wind-farm developers are counting on a trade deal that would allow them to benefit from UK power subsidies.

The levelised cost of electricity of offshore wind is currently at EUR 158/MWh, which is about EUR 90/MWh higher than the revenue awarded to onshore wind projects in Ireland at the moment. Access to the UK market, which in 2018 will offer a strike price of around EUR 180/MWh to successful offshore projects, is therefore essential for offshore wind farms in Ireland.

Mainstream Renewable Power, Bord Na Mona and Element Power plan to develop 10GW of onshore wind projects – provided they can export the electricity.

It is “probably not possible” to finish a deal within the original timeframe, Kenny said after his meeting with Cameron in remarks reported by the Irish Times and confirmed by an Irish government spokesman. Officials from both sides have been given three months to discuss issues including electricity prices and connections between the countries, he said.

Elsewhere, plans are progressing on a USD 2bn geothermal project in Ethiopia. Reykjavik Geothermal, the Icelandic power-plant builder, said last week it is set to begin drilling in the African country by July to develop the renewable energy source. Ethiopia’s government signed a deal with the Reykjavik-based company in October to build a power plant on an imploded volcano in the Rift Valley that will generate 500MW of electricity by 2020.

Finally, Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology, the first company to default in China’s onshore bond market, said last week its notes may be delisted as it heads toward its third consecutive year of net losses. The solar-cell maker plans to announce its final 2013 earnings on 28 April, it said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange. The company said on 27 February it expects to incur a net loss of USD 216.6m for the period.