The general view among analysts is that gas prices in North America, Europa and Asia diverged in the period 2005-2014. This was always a bit odd, since regional markets were becoming more interconnected in those years through increased LNG trade, increased market related pricing and gas hub development. Now it turns out that, according to new research from Floris Merison at the Energy Delta Institute, the conventional view of price divergence is … [Read more...]
EU expects large nuclear new-build programme despite escalating costs
The European Commission estimates that nearly three quarters of a trillion Euros will need to be spent on nuclear power over the next decades to enable it to maintain a market share of about one-fifth of the EU electricity mix in 2050. At the same time it notes that the cost of building new nuclear plants has risen 50% in the last decade. Critics say the Commission is too optimistic and has not analysed what the advent of renewables and changing … [Read more...]
Can Nord Stream 2 be stopped?
Nord Stream 2, the controversial Russian-German pipeline project, is generating fierce opposition in Central and Eastern Europe as well as from the European Parliament and the European Commission. But could the opponents of the pipeline, owned 50% by Gazprom and 50% by some of the largest Western European companies, stop the project? They may be able to follow a complex legal route that could place formidable obstacles in the way of the pipeline. … [Read more...]
Dispelling the nuclear baseload myth: nothing renewables can’t do better
The main claim used to justify nuclear is that it’s the only low carbon power source that can supply ‘reliable, base load electricity. But not only can renewables supply baseload power, they can do something far more valuable: supply power flexibly according to demand, writes Mark Diesendorf, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at UNSW Australia. That, says Diesendorf, makes nuclear power really redundant. (This article … [Read more...]
China’s electricity mix: changing so fast that CO2 emissions may have peaked
China installed a world record of 32.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind power last year, and a world record 18.3 GW of solar power, according to official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics of China on 29 February. Coal consumption fell 3.7%, nuclear power grew 30% and natural gas 3.3%. These trends mark a rapid diversification of China’s electricity generation capacity with reduced dominance of coal. Some even believe China’s CO2-emissions have … [Read more...]
viEUws video: Brussels Briefing on Energy for February 2016
In this latest Brussels Briefing on Energy, journalist Hughes Belin introduces the European Commission's "winter package" on energy security. This is the first real test of the European Energy Union. He describes two sensitive legislative proposals to give the Commission more scrutiny powers over intergovernmental agreements on energy and to improve gas security of supply through more reverse flows, a regional approach and a new solidarity … [Read more...]
EU insists energy security is about more than gas
“When it comes to energy security in the long term, there is no better antidote than focusing on sustainable energy,” said EU Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete at the launch of a new EU energy security master plan in Brussels on 16 February. The Commission defended its proposals – which focus on safeguarding gas supplies – as an aid to moving Europe along to a low-carbon economy as well as preparing it for possible supply … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE: EU paints challenging picture of Europe’s nuclear future
In a leaked draft document obtained by Energy Post, the European Commission outlines the investments in the EU nuclear industry that it believes are needed out to 2050. The document, originally announced for last year, but off the table again for February, paints a challenging picture for the European nuclear industry. €450-550 billion will have to be spent on new plants and lifetime extensions, costs of decommissioning and waste management are … [Read more...]
EU takes on gas in first battle for European Energy Union
The European Commission is heading for a full-on confrontation with Member States with a new set of proposals on gas security of supply: a fresh attempt by Brussels to impose a truly European policy. According to leaked drafts obtained by Energy Post, the Commission will demand more oversight on gas deals with foreign countries and suppliers, and look to replace national gas policies with regional ones. There will also be a first-ever LNG and … [Read more...]
The UK’s plan to become a global centre for small nuclear reactors: can it succeed?
In addition to its plans for building four huge nuclear power stations, the UK government has also announced it wants to become a global centre for the development and manufacturing of small modular reactors (SMRs). Dan Yurman, nuclear expert and publisher of the blog NeutronBytes, assesses the UK’s plans and concludes that it could succeed, but only if the UK is able to scale up its efforts sufficiently and if the government provides active … [Read more...]
Record clean energy investment despite oil price collapse – but Europe stays behind
Clean energy investment surged in China, Africa, the US, Latin America and India in 2015, driving the world total to its highest ever figure, of $328.9bn, up 4% from 2014 and beating the previous record from 2011 by 3%, according to new figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. However, Europe was an exception with the lowest clean energy investment since 2006. In other news the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published a new … [Read more...]
New: renewables can now play important role in industrial development
Thanks to massive cost reduction, renewable energy can now be used by developing countries in their industrial growth strategies, which was unthinkable until recently, writes John Mathews of Macquarie University in Australia in a new publication from UNIDO, "Promoting Climate Resilient Industry". Mathews notes that renewables can help countries expand manufacturing and create jobs, reduce local pollution, increase energy security and reduce … [Read more...]
Why Nordstream 2 risks failure
The Nordstream 2 gas pipeline that Gazprom and a number of major European energy companies, have agreed to build, faces formidable political, legal and economic obstacles that may make the project undeliverable, writes Alan Riley, professor at City Law School in London and nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. According to Riley, the overarching problem Gazprom and its partners Shell, Engie, Wintershall, OMV … [Read more...]
Energiewende is easily affordable – if we don’t go 100% renewable
Researchers from Fraunhofer ISE have published a new report investigating the net cost of Germany’s energy transition. The good news is that the German government’s current goals are likely to be affordable. The bad news is that 100 percent renewable energy is less so, writes Craig Morris of the website German Energy Transition. … [Read more...]
The Chinese dream: Jeremy Rifkin and the economic conquest of Eurasia
While the EU is mired in conflicts between east, south and west over over finance, climate policy and refugees, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is wooing 16 Central and Eastern European leaders at a China-CEE summit in Suzhou. It is all part of the Chinese dream of creating a Jeremy Rifkin-esque infrastructurally and digitally integrated economic space spanning the vast Eurasian continent, writes journalist Pepe Escobar. Some years from now German … [Read more...]
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