Offshore wind may seem like a pricey option, but it’s actually an extremely valuable investment, writes Mike O’Boyle of San Francisco-based think tank Energy Innovation. According to a new analysis, the market value of electricity generated by offshore wind will soon exceed its cost in New York and several New England states. … [Read more...]
The plethora of better alternatives to wind and solar power and electric cars
Technology neutrality can activate more than ten times greater sustainable development potential than current technology-forcing policies, writes independent researcher Schalk Cloete. In the second part of a series which follows an article about the dangers of technology-forcing of wind and solar power and battery electric vehicles, Cloete reviews eight alternative sustainable development solutions that he believes have greater climate mitigation … [Read more...]
11 ways the Paris climate deal is working in the real world
As climate talks stall, it’s clear the UN process is no longer the major driving force of the climate transition, write Soila Apparicio, Megan Darby and Karl Mathiesen of Climate Home News. While diplomates are negotiating the complex rules of the Paris deal, businesses, researchers, governments and citizens are coming up with new ways to move the climate to a safer place. Courtesy: Climate Home News … [Read more...]
For Eastern Europe, controllable renewable power is a good alternative for new nuclear power
Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary are all planning to build new nuclear power plants. But according to a new study by Energy Brainpool, commissioned by Greenpeace Energy, they could also opt for controllable renewable power plants. These are cost-competitive with nuclear, at least as reliable, and also allow for energy independence, write Philipp Heidinger, Fabian Huneke and Simon Göß from Energy Brainpool. … [Read more...]
Investors have a choice: vote for Shell’s “whatever world” or the world of the Church of England
The climate resolution which will be voted on at the upcoming Shell annual shareholdings meeting on 22 May, is not about Shell alone, writes Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, the investor group who introduced it. Van Baal calls on investors to follow the advice of the Church of England to vote for the resolution, and not that of the directors, who are demanding they will be given  “the flexibility to continue to thrive in whatever world … [Read more...]
How the European Commission, European Court of Justice and Member States are scaring away investors in the energy sector
Both EU institutions and member states are actively undermining the investment climate in the energy sector, writes Alan Riley, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Statecraft in London. The European Commission is undermining investor protection by its determination to apply EU state aid law to arbitration awards. Member States are disrupting investor expectations through arbitrary political interventions in the energy sector. Worst of all, the … [Read more...]
China’s growing oil demand creates a new geopolitical dilemma
China has become the world’s largest oil importer, and despite establishing the largely successful yuan-denominated oil futures, Beijing will have to grapple with an overlooked geopolitical and economic consequence as it seeks to quench its thirst for oil and gas, writes Tim Daiss of Oilprice.com. The country, mighty as it is, will become more dependent on OPEC, Russia - and even the U.S. Article courtesy Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
Gas Geoeconomics in Europe: make Russia a “normal” gas supplier again
To protect Europe from Russian gas coercion, the U.S. should take the unorthodox step of investing in European gas infrastructure, write Gabriel Collins and Anna Mikulska of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies.  Such a "geoeconomics-based strategy" would help blunt and deflect the Kremlin’s gas wedge. … [Read more...]
Egypt’s $60 billion bet on nuclear energy
Rosatom’s recent deal with Egypt to build a 4800 MW capacity nuclear plant is one of the largest nuclear energy deals in this century, writes Dan Yurman nuclear energy specialist and author of the Neutron Bytes blog. It is one of several giant nuclear projects taking shape in the Middle East, Yurman notes. … [Read more...]
German electricity market in 2017: records for battery storage and redispatch
Renewable energy generation is still on the rise in Germany, though at a much lower pace than in the years around 2010, writes Marius Buchmann of Jacobs University in a detailed overview of the German electricity market in 2017. Costs of the feed-in tariff are stagnating, notes Buchmann, but redispatch costs which grid operators incur to keep the system stable, reached a new record far above €1 billion. Courtesy of Buchmann’s blog Enerquire. … [Read more...]
The secret of the great American fracking bubble
While politicians and the mainstream media trumpet fracking as a great American energy revolution, it has in fact been a financial disaster, writes Justin Mikulka of DeSmog blog. The American shale oil and gas boom, he writes, may be "one of the largest money-losing endeavors in the nation's history". Courtesy DeSmog blog. … [Read more...]
New Gas Market Directive will change balance of power between EU and Member States
The European Commission has proposed amendments to the Gas Market Directive essentially to acquire control over Nord Stream 2. But once they are approved, the EU will have much more authority over Member States’ overall security of energy supply than it has now, warns Bent Ole Gram Mortensen of the University of Southern Denmark. According to Mortensen, there is no need for such far-reaching legislation: if Gazprom were to abuse its market … [Read more...]
Poland’s love affair with coal: can the EU do anything about it?
The Polish government’s strong commitment to coal goes against EU policy direction and against market conditions, write Anna Mikulska of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and Eryk Kosinski of Adam Mickiewicz University. But coal has a special place in the nation’s collective heart. To wean Poland off coal will require EU support to coal-dependent regions and for alternative energy sources, the authors argue. … [Read more...]
How energy storage is starting to rewire the electricity industry
A world of low-cost batteries will transform the way the electricity and automotive industries operate and how homeowners, businesses and utilities produce and use power, write Eric Hittinger and Eric Williams of the University of Rochester. What is more, their research shows that storage is "future-proof" - it works no matter how the energy system evolves. Article courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Can the U.S. break Russia’s gas monopoly In Europe?
The U.S. government has said it considers "sending energy supplies" to Eastern Europe to contain Russian influence. But challenging Russia’s dominance in European gas markets won't be easy, writes Tim Daiss of Oilprice.com. Russia already supplies nearly 40 percent of the continent’s gas, and its position may further be secured when the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is completed. … [Read more...]
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