Natural gas is touted as a great success story in the US, not just by industry but also by the Obama administration and even by many environmentalists. The gas boom is supposed to have led to lower greenhouse gas emissions and to help pave the way to a greener future. But according to Harvard historian of science Naomi Oreskes, this is wishful thinking. There is no evidence that higher gas use has led to lower emissions and there is every reason … [Read more...]
Do we need capacity markets? Do we need Russia?
There are two major issues on which the future of the energy sector hangs, notes EP editor Karel Beckman: 1) Â how far will the renewables revolution go in combination with climate policy; 2) how will growing geopolitical tensions, especially relations with Russia, affect markets? Karel asks whether we need capacity schemes, indicates how utilities could get back on a growth path and how (not) to deal with Russia. … [Read more...]
How the Yukos ruling will further upset relations with Russia
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in July that the Russian government deliberately destroyed oil company Yukos and has ordered Moscow to pay over $50 billion in damages. The importance of this decision can hardly be overstated, writes Anders Aslund, senior fellow of the Peterson Institute, who is also a former advisor to the Russian and Ukrainian governments and author of many books on Russia. According to Aslund, the economic … [Read more...]
One year of Energy Post – and a quick guide for our readers
Editor-in-Chief Karel Beckman looks back on one year at Energy Post. He gives some suggestions on the wealth of information readers can find on the website, including the 10 best-read stories of the year. And he takes a look ahead on what more there is to come – after we come back from our summer break. … [Read more...]
Brussels sets dangerous precedent by clearing UK capacity market
The European Commission has given the green light to a proposed UK capacity market that aims to ensure enough electricity is available to cover consumption at peak times. This is the Commission’s first assessment of a capacity market under new EU guidelines on energy and environment state aid that entered force on 1 July. The Commission says the aid is justified because it will contribute to the UK’s security of supply “without distorting … [Read more...]
European Commission spits forth a 30% energy efficiency target
Europe should adopt a 30% energy efficiency target for 2030, the European Commission finally announced on 23 July – without specifying whether that target should be binding or not. That decision it left to European leaders when they meet on 23-24 October. There, they are set to decide on a 2030 climate and energy package for Europe. But certainly for energy efficiency, the path is far from clear and any legislative follow-up is at least three … [Read more...]
Four scientific breakthroughs that can take us to a new, clean energy world
Discussions on the energy transition usually focus on the economics of renewables and cost comparisons with fossil fuels and other energy sources. What is usually ignored, are innovations in materials and chemical processes, which are nonetheless increasingly important as agents of change in the energy sector. Innovation watcher Denis Kuznetsov discusses four scientific breakthroughs in materials research that could shake up the energy sector in … [Read more...]
Get this: Germany does not have generous subsidies for renewables
In an otherwise well-written and informative article on the recent decision by the EU Court of Justice on renewables policy, Energy Post repeats the unfounded notion that Germany has generous subsidies. This is wrong – and the difference matters: the German system of feed-in tariffs favours small companies and cooperatives. Now, the EU wants to kill feed-in tariffs, ostensibly because of the cost – but what’s at stake is freedom. … [Read more...]
Twenty-first century energy wars: how oil and gas are fuelling global conflicts
Fossil fuels are triggering violent conflicts all over the world, says Michael Klare, Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, the US. Klare zooms in on four areas – Iraq/Syria, South Sudan, the Crimea/Ukraine, and the South China Sea – to argue that the desire to control valuable oil and gas assets is fuelling long-standing historic tensions. “In a fossil-fuel world, control over oil and gas reserves … [Read more...]
Carbon Tracker blasts Shell’s take on Carbon Bubble
In a new report out today, Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI), the NGO that invented the concept of “stranded assets”, blasts Shell’s “climate letter” of 16 May, in which Shell argues that “we do not believe that any of our proven reserves will become stranded”. According to CTI, Shell’s focus on proven reserves is “too narrow” and “understates the risk that its business faces from changes in climate policy”. EP editor Karel Beckman takes stock of … [Read more...]
US energy independence: fact or fiction?
What do you get when you speak with four American investment analysts about the prospects of US gas and oil production, the sustainability of fracking, the risks of the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the potential of nuclear energy and renewables? You get four different, but outspoken opinions, from people with different  perspectives on the world than what you usually find in Europe. A four-way interview by J.T. Long for The Energy … [Read more...]
Russian energy sector will cease to be engine of growth
The contribution of the energy sector to Russian GDP will decrease by nearly 50% over the coming decades. Although energy will continue to provide an important foundation to the Russian economy, it will cease to be an engine of growth. That is the main conclusion of Global and Russian Energy Outlook to 2040, recently published the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Analytical Centre of the Government of Russia. … [Read more...]
Why Brussels is reluctant to adopt an energy efficiency target that’s good for the EU economy
Within weeks, the European Commission will propose an energy efficiency target for Europe for 2030 that is substantially lower than what many stakeholders and policymakers believe is feasible. It will even be lower than what the Commission’s own impact assessment concludes is beneficial for the economy. And it will probably be non-binding although the impact assessment says a binding target would be more effective. Why this reluctance from … [Read more...]
Why the US has not made more progress in moving to a renewable energy future – a personal view
In 1978 a monumental multi-departmental study was submitted to President Carter concluding that “solar energy could make a significant contribution to U.S. energy supply by the end of this century”. The study, backed by 30 federal departments, stated that “even with today’s subsidized energy prices, many solar technologies are already economic.” Yet no action was taken and solar power and other renewable energies stagnated for over 30 years. … [Read more...]
Kurdish oil will find its way out
In May, Iraqi-Kurdistan for the first time ever sold oil to international markets, defying a ban on oil exports from the central government in Baghdad. According to Friedbert PflĂĽger, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) will have no problems finding investors and customers to build up its potentially huge oil and gas business. With the current crisis in Iraq, Baghdad should come to terms with the KRG if it wants to share in the proceeds. … [Read more...]
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