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As Europe struggles with a power shortage, Asia-Pacific’s power supply remains secure mainly because the region still uses a lot of coal, data has shown.

With liquified natural gas supplies in the region redirected to Europe, power generators in Asia not only have less access to LNG but have had to opt out of buying more expensive LNG driven by strong demand in Europe. 

Europe is struggling with a gas shortage as Russia cuts its supplies, forcing many countries into an energy crisis in the lead up to winter. The U.K.’s National Grid has warned of possible power cuts.

On Tuesday, the EU steered away from a proposed price cap on Russian gas as it laid out new measures to tackle high energy prices. Russia had previously said it would halt all fuel supplies to the EU if the bloc imposed these caps, which suppress Russian revenues and price of commodities.

S&P Global chief energy strategist Atul Aryal said while the crunch in Europe and the war in Ukraine have forced up prices of fuel such as oil and gas globally, it has not hurt Asia’s energy generation. 

According to the International Energy Agency’s latest gas report, in the first eight months of the year, Asian spot or short-term LNG imports were down 28% compared to the same time last year. Overall LNG imports fell 7% year-on-year.

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“In Asia, instead of using gas, countries are using coal because coal is here, coal is domestic and less expensive,” Arya told CNBC.

“The downside is that Asia, which is growing gas consumption, has stopped, at least for now.”

Unlike Europe which relies on gas for energy creation, gas is less relevant to Asia. It only forms 11% of its power mix and imported LNG forms a small part of that with most gas coming from domestic production, Wood Mackenzie head of Asia Pacific power & renewables research Alex Whitworth said.

Coal takes up a larger portion of the mix, although it is falling, Whitworth added. The share of coal in power generation for Asia-Pacific markets is more than 60%, he said.

The deployment of renewables takes time and will not ease security concerns in the short term … therefore, we are likely to see more of a push to boost the supply of fossil fuels and therefore the reliance on these dirtier fuels.

Warren Patterson

ING Economics

Separately, Asia’s LNG imports have fallen due to high prices.

According to the International Energy Agency’s latest gas report, Asian spot or short-term LNG imports fell 28% in the first eight months of the year compared with the same time last year. Overall LNG imports fell 7% year-on-year. 

Imports to China — now the biggest global LNG importer — fell the most by 59%. The decrease in LNG imports for Japan, Pakistan and India were 17%, 73% and 22% respectively, the IEA said. 

The agency explained it wasn’t just high prices deterring Chinese buyers, but also the country’s slowing economy, milder winter temperatures and strong domestic production of its own gas and coal.

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These factors have set up opportunities for more coal use in Asia, amid efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels. For example, Korea Electric Power Corporation has started using more coal in recent months, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

The company used about 26% more coal in July this year compared with the previous month, but that was still lower than the volume used last year, data from IEEFA showed. 

“KEPCO’s data suggests that both coal and LNG power generation have fallen since May as a result of higher prices year on year. However, there is a clear increase month on month of coal power generation,” IEEFA energy finance analyst Ghee Peh said.

LNG imports in China – now the biggest global LNG importer – fell the most at 59%.

Hector Retamal | Afp | Getty Images

This follows that Korea — which, like Japan, uses more gas than other Asian markets — so to some extent, have had to compete for limited gas like Europe. But, because of the availability of domestic supplies, they are more secure than Europe, Whitworth added.

In other words, Asia’s dependence on coal and relatively less reliance on gas imports mean it has higher energy security.

In general, tighter LNG supplies and higher prices now mean that some countries would have to rely on relatively “cheaper and dirtier fuels,” ING Economics head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said in a recent note.

“One would expect that the high fossil fuel price environment would speed up the green push from governments across Asia, particularly given that a number of these economies are large net importers of energy,” Patterson said. 

“However, clearly, the deployment of renewables takes time and will not ease security concerns in the short term.”

“Therefore, we are likely to see more of a push to boost the supply of fossil fuels and therefore the reliance on these dirtier fuels.”

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MAN electric semi truck gets real as series production begins

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MAN electric semi truck gets real as series production begins

MAN Trucks are always good for a headline, but despite the company’s pro-battery bluster they’ve barely managed to get 200 battery electric semi trucks on the road … until now that is: the company announced that series production of its heavy-duty eTruck prime mover is officially underway!

We’ve been huge fans of MAN Trucks’ CEO Alexander Vlaskamp since last year, when he had the courage to explain a simple truth: that it’s impossible for hydrogen to effectively compete with battery electric when it comes to a viable fuel for transportation.

Since then, we’ve talked a bit about MAN’s early BEV customers — but with just 200 trucks on the road, they’ve been few and far between. That’s all set to change now that MAN Executive Board Member for Production Michael Kobriger, together with Manfred Weber, Member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the EPP, gave the go-ahead to start the eTruck production line at the company’s Munich plant.

From now on, both electric and diesel trucks will be produced in a fully integrated mixed production process on the same line, with enough capacity to produce up to 100 eTrucks per day. (!)

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 “The start of series production of our electric trucks is historic. It marks a turning point in our history,” explains Vlaskamp, enthusiastically. “The future of MAN begins now, at this very moment. The entire MAN team is proud to be actively shaping the transformation from diesel to electric drive. Our highly efficient electric trucks will make locally emission-free freight transport a reality. This is an enormously important step towards achieving our goal of becoming CO2-neutral by 2050. The fact that we can manufacture the electric trucks on the same production line as our state-of-the-art diesel trucks also gives us enormous flexibility and increases production efficiency.”

MAN says the plant’s maximum capacity is 100 trucks per day, citing about 8 hours to produce one of its heavy-duty semis. The interesting thing, though, is that it doesn’t seem to matter whether those 100 trucks are diesel- or battery-powered.

Flexible assembly


“The production of electric or diesel trucks on a single line can be flexibly adapted to market developments, and the vehicles can be built exactly in the order in which they are ordered by customers. This innovative concept is accompanied by extensive changes along the assembly line as well as in the supply chain and logistics,” says Kobriger, citing that while ICE trucks are initially fitted with axles, tanks and exhaust systems, the electric models are instead fitted with two batteries under the cab together with a “power pack” of electrical components.

All 5,000+ Munich-plant MAN employees have been trained in high-voltage technology in preparation for this “transformation” of the facility. The company says it has 700 of its 740 km (about 450 mile) battery electric trucks already sold, with more sales sure to come as availability ramps up to meet demand.

Electrek’s Take


Historic: MAN starts series production of electric trucks
Historic: eTruck production begins; via MAN.

Betting against Tesla has been bad business for well over a decade now, but with MAN now capable of putting out about as many electric semi trucks in a single day as Tesla has in the last ::checks notes:: eight years since the official launch of the Tesla Semi concept, it’s hard to imagine them catching up — and harder still to see them catching up with Volvo or Renault, each of who have logged tens of millions of electric semi miles in recent years.

That said, Tesla has beaten legacy brands with massive, seemingly insurmountable leads before – but the good news is that, when it comes to EVs, whoever wins, we kind of all win, you know? Even Elon! That’s my take, anyway. Head down to the comments and let me know yours.

SOURCE | IMAGES: MAN Trucks.

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NYC creates new department to hassle e-bike delivery riders

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NYC creates new department to hassle e-bike delivery riders

New York City is creating a new department aimed at cracking down on e-bike delivery workers, and critics say it’s the latest move in a growing pattern of targeting micromobility riders instead of the real threats on the road.

Buried inside NYC’s new $116 billion city budget is a plan to hire 45 new unarmed peace officers tasked with enforcing laws against delivery cyclists, particularly those riding e-bikes and mopeds. The new officers will work under the just-announced Department of Sustainable Delivery, a division of the Department of Transportation set to deploy in 2028.

Mayor Eric Adams says the department will help improve street safety and hold delivery app companies accountable for the pressure they put on gig workers. “The newly created Department of Sustainable Delivery is yet another step that we’re taking to support delivery workers, keep pedestrians safe, and hold delivery app companies accountable for placing unrealistic expectations on their workers that put New Yorkers in harm’s way,” Adams explained in a published statement.

But the move is already raising red flags among advocates for delivery workers and cycling safety, who warn that these efforts could lead to increased surveillance and policing of low-income, often immigrant workers, many of whom already operate under grueling conditions just to make ends meet.

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The officers will be trained to issue moving violations and enforce commercial cycling laws, though city officials haven’t clarified exactly how they’ll distinguish between a reckless rider and one simply hustling to meet the often unrealistic delivery windows imposed by apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub.

While Adams frames the effort as a safety initiative, critics argue it’s another example of micromobility scapegoating. Just last month, he imposed a 15 mph speed limit on e-bikes across the city, in a move that advocates say ignores the realities of urban riding and fails to address the vastly greater danger posed by cars and trucks. The administration also moved to undo a redesign of Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, rolling back a protected bike lane project that city data showed had improved safety.

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Delivery riders in NYC, many of whom are immigrants working long shifts in all weather conditions, overwhelmingly use e-bikes to cover more ground, more quickly. These workers have been essential to the city’s economy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet they continue to face increasing scrutiny from law enforcement, often for minor infractions, even as drivers of multi-ton vehicles are rarely held to the same standard.

City Council spokesperson Mara Davis acknowledged the concerns, stating, “There are always concerns about any new policy that could give way to discriminatory policing of delivery workers and immigrants. We remain in discussions with advocates and constructive members of the mayoral administration to advance solutions on e-bike safety, sustainable delivery, and street safety.”

Despite the rhetoric about safety, the data paints a different picture. City statistics show that e-bikes account for less than 4% of traffic-related injuries, and Gothamist pointed out that only six pedestrian fatalities involving e-bike riders were reported between 2021 and 2024. Meanwhile, cars and trucks continue to kill hundreds of New Yorkers every year. But rather than increasing enforcement on reckless drivers or investing more in safe bike infrastructure, the city is spending taxpayer money to police bicycles.

Electrek’s Take

In a city desperately trying to transition to more sustainable forms of transportation, I just don’t think that increasing pressure on the people doing the most riding is the answer. Delivery workers are part of the solution to car dependence, not the problem.

If NYC wants cleaner, safer streets, the focus should be on supporting these riders with safe infrastructure, affordable bikes, and better labor protections – not treating them like traffic scofflaws. Yes, enforcement is important. And yes, dangerous riders should be penalized to the full extent of the law, especially when they pose a real threat to pedestrians. But let’s not pretend like that’s what this about. If we cared about pedestrian safety, we’d be increasing enforcement to prevent the hundreds killed every year by cars in NYC – not the two pedestrians killed by e-bikes.

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BYD is the first to unlock L4 smart parking and it comes with a surprise guarantee

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BYD is the first to unlock L4 smart parking and it comes with a surprise guarantee

China’s EV leader, BYD, just reached another major breakthrough: its smart parking feature now offers L4 autonomy. To sweeten the deal, BYD says it will fully cover any losses associated with the new feature.

BYD becomes the first to achieve L4 smart parking

BYD said it was coming soon. Earlier this week, BYD posted on Weibo that it’s about to launch “the largest-scale smart driving OTA in history.”

On Wednesday, BYD confirmed that its smart parking system now offers L4 autonomy, becoming the first to achieve the feat. In a statement, the company said, “BYD is the first to achieve L4-level smart parking, and the official promise is to provide a safety guarantee​​​.”

The company is also pledging to cover any losses tied to the feature. Instead of going through their insurance company, drivers can contact BYD’s after-sales team to handle the incident.

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All BYD vehicles equipped with its God’s Eye smart driving system can get the upgrade. Earlier this year, the EV maker upgraded 21 of its best-selling vehicles with its God’s Eye system, at no additional cost.

The breakthrough comes after BYD announced earlier this week that there are now over 1 million vehicles on the road with its God’s Eye smart driving system. With L4 smart parking, the vehicle can operate without human interaction under certain conditions.

And that’s not all. BYD also said it’s pushing new OTA updates for its God’s Eye B and C systems. God’s Eye B will gain new functions, including multiple U-turns, detours, and a three-speed parking feature. Meanwhile, God’s Eye C is set to receive front parking and lane change reminders.

BYD’s smart driving system has three levels: A, B, and C. The A system is primarily reserved for the ultra-luxury Yangwang brand, while B is used for Denza and some premium BYD brand models. The God’s Eye C system is used for lower-cost BYD vehicles, such as the Seagull EV, its top seller in China.

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