Daily Shorts: Portugal readies offshore wind auction, Thailand crops EV subsidy, and more

Thailand has approved a new subsidy package for the country's booming electric vehicle industry, but decreased individual subsidy amount by 33 percent, citing strong momentum in the sector. The new package offers a subsidy of up to 100,000 baht ($2,764) per EV, down from the current 150,000 baht per car. Officials said the new scheme will commence next year and end in 2027. Thailand is Southeast Asia's largest automotive hub, and has attracted close to $1.5 billion in investments from Chinese EV companies such as BYD and Great Wall.

Portugal has begun preparing for its first offshore wind auction. The government is offering licences for wind farms off the Atlantic coast, and has invited non-binding declarations of interest by November 14. In a statement, the environment ministry said parties who formalize their interest will be invited to participate in a dialogue phase to discuss pre-qualification and bidding models. Portugal plans to launch a series of auctions for a total of 10 GW capacity until 2030. The nation currently has a small, 25 MW floating wind project owned jointly by EDP and Engie.

Britain's King Charles will deliver the opening address at COP28 later this month. This will be the third time that the 74-yeard-old monarch -- who has campaigned on environmental issues for more than 50 years now -- will deliver the opening speech at the annual UN climate conference. He previously did so at COP21 in Paris and COP26 in Glasgow. COP28 will run from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai with global leaders coming under pressure to announce a phase out of fossil fuels. President Dr. Sultan al-Jabbar has urged countries to triple RE capacity by 2030.

Volkswagen has put its eastern European giga factory on ice because of sluggish market conditions, the company's Chairman Oliver Blume said. In a statement release after holding talks with Czech government officials, Blume said there was "no business rationale for deciding on further sites" for the time being. Czech officials, meanwhile, said they would shop their proposed site to other investors. Volkswagen has been scouting for a location to set up its fourth EV battery factory after Germany, Spain and Canada. Earlier, media reports indicated sluggish EV sales were among the factors making Renault rethink its listing of Ampere, the company's EV unit.