Contrary to what many critics claim, research shows that driving an EV produces significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than cars powered only by gasoline, writes Silvio Marcacci of think tank Energy Innovation in San Francisco. And much less pollution. This will only get better as the electricity mix becomes cleaner. … [Read more...]
Shortage of electric cars in Norway puts climate strategy at risk
Thousands of Norwegians are currently waiting for their new electric car as car sellers cannot keep up with the surge in demand. This highlights both the success and the risks of the rapid electrification of Norway’s car fleet, write Steffen Kallbekken, HĂĄkon Sælen, Erlend Hermansen and Elisabeth Lannoo of the CICERO Center for International Climate Research. They discuss the lessons the EU, currently reviewing the Clean Vehicles Directive, can … [Read more...]
BP: oil and gas resilient to “faster transition” – until 2040
Whatever happens – oil and gas will be needed in 2040 in at least the same quantities as today. That was a key message conveyed by BP’s Chief Economist Spencer Dale on Tuesday when he presented the 2018 edition of the BP Energy Outlook in London. Energy Post editor-in-chief Karel Beckman discusses Dale’s findings and wonders: what about Beyond 2040? … [Read more...]
Can the U.S. compete in the electric car war?
The U.S. needs a coherent, unified energy policy with respect to vehicle electrification and automation if it wants to keep up with China, write Leonard Hyman and William Tilles. U.S. and European auto manufacturers have equal or greater resources than their Chinese counterparts. But they don’t have the same level of government support – and therefore cannot rely on their domestic markets. Courtesy Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
Why the future of batteries is lithium and why their impact will be bigger than you think
The tremendous advances being made in lithium battery technology are being underestimated by many people, writes financial energy specialist Gerard Reid. Competitive EVs are just a few years away. They will be followed by radical improvements that will have huge implications for air and ship transport as well. Courtesy Energy and Carbon blog. … [Read more...]
Jet fuel from sugarcane? It’s not a flight of fancy
Through genetic engineering, researchers from the University of Illinois have produced a new form of sugarcane, called lipidcane, whose leaves contain 12 percent oil, instead of the natural level of 0.05 percent. They are working to produce a variety they call energycane, with 20 percent oil. The new plant variety could produce enough oil to produce biodiesel and jet-fuel economically, they write. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
India’s green shift to renewables: How fast is it happening?
India is moving at a rapid pace to adopt a green shift in its power sector, across industry and in transport, aiming to reduce dependence on the black fossil fuelled energy economy, write Simran Talwar and John A. Mathews. But finance remains a problem: many banks are complacent in their lending to fossil fuel projects. Attempts in the international trade arena to curb India’s strategies of building green power industries using the tools of local … [Read more...]
A solar transportation system?
Are solar-powered cars the future? According to David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor at Shell, solar augmentation, for example in the form of solar roofs, may become widespread by 2030. By 2050 a vehicle fleet requiring little to no net energy becomes a real possibility. Courtesy David Hone's Shell Climate Change blog. … [Read more...]
In the growing wave of climate litigation, could the automobile industry be next?
The oil industry is increasingly the focus of climate change litigation, writes Martin Olszynski, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Calgary. Carmakers have so far not been targeted, but Olszynski thinks that could change – especially if they continue to urge lawmakers to relax environmental standards and promote the sales of light trucks and SUVs. … [Read more...]
Dutch coalition accord: the Netherlands goes for climate leadership in Europe
While the U.S. government is abandoning Obama’s Clean Power Plan and taking the U.S. back to the age of fossil fuels, the new Dutch government has presented an unexpectedly ambitious climate and energy policy. The Netherlands will adopt a Climate Law and a minimum CO2 price and it wants to persuade the EU to increase its CO2-reduction ambition from the current 40% in 2030 to 55%. It also intends to close all its coal-fired power stations by 2030 … [Read more...]
How Paris and Vienna are struggling to become the clean cities of the future
The success of the clean energy transition will depend to a large extent on the actions of local and regional authorities. Sustainability officers from Paris, Sabine Romon, and Vienna, Bernd Vogl, explain what clean energy goals they have set themselves and how they are planning to achieve them. “The thing to start with is the infrastructure”, says Vogl. “The first task is to work on our public buildings”, says Romon, who warns that Paris' ban on … [Read more...]
America’s electric vehicle future, part 2: EV price, oil cost, fuel economy drive adoption
Due to declining electric vehicle (EV) costs, growth in charging station access, and increased familiarity and acceptance by the public, EVs will play an ever-greater role in the U.S. transportation sector, writes Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, a San Fransisco-based energy and environmental policy think tank.  In part one of our analysis, we reported EVs are likely to represent at least 65% of sales in 2050, and with strong technology cost … [Read more...]
America’s electric vehicle future, part 1: 65-75% light-duty sales by 2050
Rapid battery cost declines, rising commitment from major automakers, strong policy support from state and local governments, and low operational costs (including discounted charging tariffs from utilities) have put electric vehicles (EVs) on track to pass gasoline-powered vehicles, writes Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, a San Fransisco-based energy and environmental policy think tank. Indeed, U.S. EV sales have grown an average of 32% … [Read more...]
Beyond oil: options for clean fuel production
Several options exist for clean fuel production in the long-term future, writes Schalk Cloete in the third and last part of a series on the future of the internal combustion engine. Next-gen biofuels have the potential to approach current oil prices at a low environmental cost. Hydrogen can be produced economically from excess wind/solar power, nuclear heat or fossil fuels with CCS. Ammonia and hydrocarbon synfuels from clean hydrogen can be … [Read more...]
Electric vehicles and the $5 trillion dollar market transition
Change in the world of wheels is accelerating! Momentum is building and some days it’s hard to keep up. Every week, the assumptions about the future of transportation, and the energy systems that turn our wheels, are becoming more Jetson-esque. Peter Tertzakian of Oilprice.com tries to distinguish the reality from the hype. "An electric car is not like a smartphone or a Netflix subscription." … [Read more...]
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