Morning Brief: China labor is returning, expected to be at 70% in March and over 90% in April

The coronavirus response reduced electricity demand in every country across Europe last week. Every country in Europe has seen electricity demand fall 2% to 7% week-on-week. These are very significant falls in the context of electricity demand, where temperature-adjusted changes are normally small. Italy, Spain and probably France show twice the impact of any other country. UK electricity demand has been least impacted so far. Last Friday, the Italian utility A2A said that coronavirus was responsible for a  15% fall in electricity demand across the whole of Italy and that the fall was as much. Source: Ember

The coronavirus is expected to result in a 4.9 GW decline in 2020 wind additions. The spread of shutdowns into Spain, Italy, Malaysia and parts of the U.S. will impact solar inverters and module production.  The battery supply chain is ramping back up in both China and South Korea, while automotive manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America are closing down or shifting to produce medical equipment. In North America, the global glut of LNG is expected to keep natural gas prices depressed even as LNG exports decline. China labor is returning, expected to be at 70% in March and over 90% in April.   Read more: WoodMac

Coal miners told to keep working during the outbreak despite close quarters, damaged lungs  Source: The Washington Post

Nearly two-thirds of energy storage companies are seeing delays caused by coronavirus that threaten their businesses, according to a storage trade group. Source: E&E News