Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korea Southern Power Company (KOSPO) for exchange of technology for thermal power generation.

The aim of these exchanges is to promote technical collaboration and joint research between MHPS and KOSPO. The MOU also calls for technological liaison with Korea’s Yonsei University, an academic institution with which KOSPO already enjoys a relationship of exchange.

In future, MHPS will work with both KOSPO and Yonsei University on thermal power generation technology.

The technology will be helpful in effective use of resources and reduce environmental footprint of thermal power facilities.

Korea Southern Power is a subsidiary of South Korea’s state-owned power utility Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). It generates electricity through bituminous coal and LNG.

The company also provides power plant development, EPC management, operation and maintenance, commissioning, performance monitoring, remote monitoring, and diagnosis services.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world’s leading heavy machinery manufacturers. MHI’s diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems.

In July, MHPS secured an order from KOSPO to supply a 47MW natural-gas-fired gas turbine combined-cycle (GTCC) power generation system to Youngnam Natural Gas Power Plant.

Poland is considering to stop coal production at several of its mines until at least 2018 in an effort to help prices by reducing a global oversupply, while trying to keep state operations afloat and avoid job cuts.

The conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), which won parliamentary elections in October, would consider merging the country’s top power firms — PGE, Tauron, Enea and Energa :

“We want to identify the most promising mines,” said Grzegorz Tobiszowski, responsible for coal issues. Then added : “Personally I think Poland needs one big power company. This is why we consider to scale some mines down to keep them ready to re-start when prices rebound.”

Poland’s troubled coal mining sector became a focal point ahead of the recent parliamentary election, as the outgoing government failed to rescue the troubled Kompania Weglowa (KW), the EU’s biggest coal miner.

Poland produces 72.5 million tonnes annually and experts say that taking around 6 million tonnes of excess would help boost prices, the amount Tobiszowski said would need to be reduced.

About 90% of the country’s energy is generated from coal, an industry with a strong local union, which can partly explain why Warsaw has long opposed the EU drive to curb carbon emissions.

Due to technological underdevelopment, the productivity of Polish mines is very low, with 648 tonnes of coal produced per worker per year while in the worst US mines it is more then 2,000 tonnes.

Despite that, Polish producers continue to invest billions in modernizing their coal-fired plants or in building new, more efficient ones. At least four new coal-fired power plants are expected to come on line by 2019.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed on Tuesday €285 million of loans to support various energy projects in Greece, improving the electricity transmission and interconnection network across the country, while at the same time bolstering environmental-friendly energy security and efficiency.

EIB president Werner Hoyer said:

“We are determined to enhance our cooperation with the Hellenic Republic, other European development finance institutions and private investors in further assisting recovery in Greece.”

A loan of €110m, which has been granted to the Greek utility Public Power (PPC), is the second tranche of an EIB €190m loan intended to develop power projects on Greek islands.

The project is expected to install fossil fuel fired engines on 18 Greek islands, which are not interconnected to the mainland grid in the North and East Aegean, Dodecanese, Cyclades, and the Diapontia island complex. It also aims at upgrading auxiliary infrastructure for the projects.

EIB has also signed a €70m deal with Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) in the country, with power transmission and the interconnection of the Cyclades islands to the mainland network are expected to be improved under it.

This deal marks the second phase of an EIB €140m loan, which was signed to support IPTO’s power transmission investment programme within the period covering 2012-17.

An additional €65m financing aid has also been allowed by EIB, as a second tranche of an EIB €130m loan intended for the interconnection of the Cyclades islands.

Another €40m loan was offered to the Hellenic National Gas System Operator (DESFA), extending EIB’s support for the natural gas system in Greece.

One of Britain’s last standing coal miners, UK Coal Holdings, is shutting down its remaining underground operation next month, marking the end of a 300-year industry that once employed over a million workers.

“We are the last of the dinosaurs,” said Chris Jamieson, one of the miners that will lose his job in a few weeks’ time, to The New York Times.

The closure of Kellingley Colliery in northern England marks the end of underground mining, an industry that helped make Britain an industrial power and top exporter.

Though open cast mining will continue in Britain, Kellingley’s closing is the final chapter in the story of underground mining, an enterprise that spanned more than two centuries and helped make Britain an industrial power and a thriving exporter.

Over 20% of the nation’s energy needs are still met by coal, which is mostly imported. Since 2000, U.K. power generators Electricite de France SA to RWE AG have bought more of the fuel from abroad, where coal from Australia to Colombia is cheaper, according to the Confederation of U.K. Coal Producers.

Britain’s coal industry is not alone. The global sector is suffering from rock bottom prices, oversupply, and weak demand.

Metallurgical coal prices have dropped below $90 per metric ton, their lowest levels in a decade, pushing producers to slash output. Thermal coal, mostly used for power generation in emerging markets, is trading at $42 per short ton, as countries try to switch power generation to lower-emission options like natural gas or renewables.

This event still reverberate around the region, where mining engendered a camaraderie and sense of identity with which few other occupations can compete.

For the first time since 2009, the market value of the global mining sector has dropped below US$1 trillion (€909bn), according to a new report by SNL Metals and Mining.

While not by much, the crossing of the line clearly illustrates how battered mining stocks have been as of late.

In aggregate, the 2,684 listed companies tracked by SNL went down a bit over 9% in September alone and a more impressive 43% since mid-2014.

Only four years ago, during the peak of the so-called “mining boom”, the sector was worth nearly US$2.5 trillion (€2270bn).

To put things in perspective, SNL notes that the entire industry is now worth less than Apple and Google combined, which are valued at $650 billion (€590bn) and $440 billion (€400bn) respectively.

Despite this, SNL’s Pipeline Activity Index, which measures exploration and development activity, improved in September after a healthy increase in drilling activity and a slight uptick in announcements of initial resources:

“The upbeat picture was offset by a 50% drop in the number of financings by companies with annual revenue of less than US$500 million”, says SNL.

There were only 12 such financings of over US$2 million last month, compared with 24 in August and 36 in June. This represented the lowest number of financings by exploration companies since at least January 2012. However, the US$171 million raised in September (70% by Canadian companies) was 15% higher than the month before, although still only a third of the US$513 million registered in June.

Last month, most miners experienced one of the deepest intra-day losses in history, after a series of broker downgrades triggered by continued fears over China’s growth and falling commodities.

About $51 billion were wiped from the ASX alone, while on Asia, Europe and North America resources firms were at the forefront of a general sell-off.

On Tuesday, in a seemingly shocking move, environmental group Greenpeace has announced it plans to acquire coal mines and power plants owned by Swedish utility in eastern Germany.

This decision comes after the Swedish energy giant Vattenfall has decided to shed its eastern German lignite operations, after writing down the business by $1.8 billion in July, citing a drop in power prices and worsening business due to Germany’s transition to renewables.

But what the watchdog really seeks by buying such assets, one of Europe’s largest coal mining operations, is to transfer their ownership to a charitable foundation, paid for by Vattenfall and the German and Swedish governments, that would oversee the gradual closure of the coal field and six attendant power plants.

Greenpeace estimates the costs of phasing out the plants and replanting the nearby lands used for mining is about $2.27 billion (2bn euros). A sum they are, by no means, willing to fork out.

“We don’t want to pay any money for it, it’s worth nothing,” Greenpeace Energy leader, Nils Mueller, was quoted as saying by AFP.

The group says it intends to operate the mine through 2030, though its main goal is to persuade both Vattenfall and the Swedish government to adopt a transition plan that envisions job growth in renewables, storage, power to gas and other technologies.

Vattenfall’s eastern German operations employ around 8,000 in a region already affected by high rates of unemployment.

Finland-based Wärtsilä has won an equipment supply contract for a 378MW Flexicycle power plant in El Salvador from Energía del Pacífico.

The €240m contract entitles the Finnish technology giant to deliver equipment for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) fired power plant, which is expected to be completed by 2018.

Energía del Pacífico managing director Alejandro Alle said: “One of the reasons why we selected Wärtsilä technology was the high reliability offered by Wärtsilä’s multi-unit Flexicycle solution.”

The dry Flexicycle technology features a closed loop cooling system, which can eliminate water usage for cooling purposes. This makes the solution suitable in a country such as El Salvador, which has been coping with one of the worst droughts in 40 years.

Once developed, the plant is claimed to be the largest and most efficient power plant in the North American country and is expected to bring down electricity prices in the region.

It will be equipped with 19 Wärtsilä 50SG engines and a combined cycle steam turbine, which can promise fuel efficiency of up to 50%.

Wärtsilä Energy Solutions business development manager Raúl Carral said: “This landmark project will produce the cleanest thermal energy in El Salvador, and it will lower the price of electricity in the country.”

El Salvador generates about 1600MW of power, 50% of which is based on oil.

Wärtsilä Energy Solutions regional director Sampo Suvisaari said: “This project proves that LNG can be imported into a relatively small country, and to a mid-sized power plant in a well-designed LNG-to-power project.”

Last year, Energia del Caribe picked the Finnish firm to deliver a 139MW Flexicycle power plant in Mexico.

To be equipped with seven 50SG gas engines and a combined cycle, the plant is expected to start operations in 2016.

German industry giant Siemens has secured a contract to deliver turbines and related equipment for the 615MW Valle de México II combined cycle power plant.

Situated in the municipality of Acolman in Mexico, the natural gas-fired plant will feature two SGT6-8000H gas turbines and one SST6-5000 steam turbine, manufactured by Siemens.

The German firm will also supply three SGen-1000A generators and the SPPA-T3000 control system for the turbines.

Under the terms of the contract, Siemens will also be responsible for delivering auxiliary equipment, materials, spare parts and special tools, along with TFA onsite engineering support for the facility.

Siemens has won the contract from the consortium comprising Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, Initec Energía, and Avanzia Instalaciones, which is the developer for the power plant under an EPC deal with Mexican power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).

Commissioning of the power plant is expected to be done in December 2017.

Once operational, the power plant will support rising energy demands in the country, which are expected to increase at an average of 4% annually in the central region.

Siemens Latin America Power and Gas Division vice-president José Aparicio said: “This second order of Siemens’ high efficiency H-class power plant technology demonstrates CFE’s commitment to generate affordable, reliable and sustainable power.”

The first order for the H-class technology in Mexico was placed in May for the 770MW Empalme I combined cycle power plant (CCPP) in Sonora.

Under the terms of a contract from the Sener-led consortium, Siemens will be delivering two SGT6-8000H gas turbines and two SGen-2000H generators for the plant, which is expected to start commercial operations in November 2017.

Last week, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, attended the signing of the grant agreement on the GIPL (Gas Interconnector Poland – Lithuania), the first pipeline connecting Poland and Lithuania. The gas interconnector will end the long lasting isolation of the Baltic Sea region and bring the energy needed for a new economic dynamism to the area.

The gas pipeline will stretch some 357 km in Poland and 177 km in Lithuania. It will be capable of delivering 2.4 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Poland to Lithuania, and 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Lithuania to Poland.

Witnessed by Prime Minister of Poland Ewa Kopacz, with the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaité, the Prime Minister of Latvia, Laimdota Straujuma and the Prime Minister of Estonia, Taavi Rõivas, the signature is also a breakthrough increasing the security of supply and bringing more resilience to the European energy market.

Construction of the project is set to start by December 2019. Its total cost is €558 million which will be funded by the Baltic States and private investment alongside the Commission’s contribution, made under the Connecting Europe Facility.

GIPL is the first gas interconnector between the Eastern Baltic Sea region and the Continental Europe. It is one of the energy infrastructure projects that benefits of the status of Project of Common European Interest. Projects of Common Interest are critical for completing the European internal energy market and for the attainment of the Juncker Commission priority to establish an Energy Union to secure, affordable and sustainable energy.

The EU accounted for only 5.8% of the world’s energy production in 2013, compared to China with 19.2% and the US with 13.8%, according to the EU’s latest statistical energy pocketbook. Meanwhile, the EU consumed 12% of the world’s total energy, China accounted for 22.4% of energy consumption and the US 16.1%.

The latest statistics reveal that, in 2013, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta were the most fuel import dependent EU countries with over 80% of their energy imported. Denmark, Estonia and Romania were the least import dependent with less than 20% of their energy imported.

Other figures show that in 2013 the EU imported 39% of its natural gas from Russia, 29.5% from Norway and 12.8% from Algeria. For crude oil, 33.5% came from Russia, 11.7% from Norway, 8.6% from Saudi Arabia and 8.1% from Nigeria. Overall in 2013, the EU’s import dependency for all energy products was at 53.2%, rising to 65.3% for natural gas alone and 64.6% for hard coal.

In 2013, the renewable energy share in gross final energy consumption reached 15% for the whole of the EU, and the primary energy intensity – a measure of energy efficiency calculated as units of energy per unit of GDP in 2010 – decreased by about 15.6% from 2005 levels.

The 2015 statistical pocketbook covers a whole range of energy statistical data and indicators including energy intensity, carbon intensity, renewable energy shares, energy efficiency, employment and EU country profiles.