People are excited about batteries, from electric cars to Tesla’s 129 megawatt-hour energy storage project  in South Australia. But one important issue is often overlooked: the raw materials needed to build this technology – where they come from and their environmental cost. Ben McLellan of Kyoto University takes a closer look at what goes into the lithium-ion battery. Article courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2017
Not your daddy’s oil? Maybe not, but Millennials won’t work in it
Like many industries today, the oil industry is trying to sell its many job opportunities to the fastest growing portion of the global workforce: Millennials. But unlike any other industry, oil and gas is facing more challenges in persuading the environmentally-conscious Millennials that oil is "cool", writes Tsvetana Paraskova of Oilprice.com. “Many Milennials believe the sector is lacking in innovation, agility and creativity, as well as … [Read more...]
Legal challenge to Spain’s capacity market payments well-founded
Two Spanish NGO’s have started a court case against Spain’s capacity market scheme, which they say unnecessarily subsidizes operators of large power plants for billions of euros. Gerard Wynn, independent energy consultant, explains why their arguments are well-founded. According to Wynn, Spain’s capacity mechanism violates EU rules and should be scrapped as soon as possible. This article was first published on the blog of the Institute for Energy … [Read more...]
Europe’s growth rate in offshore wind must triple to get Paris goals into reach
To support the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting temperature increase to 1.5°C, Europe will need a CO2-neutral electricity supply by 2045. A target we cannot meet unless we ramp up Europe’s offshore wind capacity, says Michiel MĂĽller from consultancy Ecofys, a Navigant company. The company’s energy experts calculated that the current offshore wind installation rate would have to triple to get this goal within reach. They argue that an integrated … [Read more...]
The trillion dollar question: will renewables displace natural gas?
Bloomberg’s renewable energy affiliate forecasts that wind and solar power will make major inroads into the global market share of natural gas within a decade. This is a crucially important question for major oil companies who are betting their future on gas, writes Managing Director of independent US-based consultancy GSW Strategy Group Geoffrey Styles. But according to Styles, it is likelier that coal, not gas, faces the biggest risk from the … [Read more...]
Carbon-pusher in Chief: Trump’s fossil-fueled foreign policy
Donald Trump’s efforts to promote fossil fuel consumption has become a defining theme of his foreign policy, writes Michael Klare, expert and author of many books on energy and foreign policy. Trump’s words and actions make that all too clear – although the media and most commentators have so far failed to notice. Courtesy Tom Dispatch. … [Read more...]
Carbon capture and storage: too expensive for reducing power sector emissions
The hope that carbon capture and storage (CCS) can ever play a significant role in the reduction of power sector emissions is misplaced, write Jeffrey Rissman and Robbie Orvis of Energy Innovation, a San Francisco-based energy and environmental policy think tank. Coal-fired power is already more expensive than unsubsidized onshore wind and solar PV. Adding CCS will only increase this gap. The subsidies required to bring CCS costs in line with … [Read more...]
The carbon-capture dream is dying
The collapse of a Dutch “clean coal” power project has ended near-term prospects for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in European power generation. That leaves proponents of the technology having to turn instead to smaller, industrial applications, writes energy analyst and consultant Gerard Wynn. But while CCS may make sense on a more limited scale, big problems remain there too, he adds. This article was first published on the blog of the … [Read more...]
How electric vehicles could take a bite out of the oil market
When could peak oil demand be reached? Not as soon as it seems, even with the latest automotive news out of Europe, write Amy Myers Jaffe and Lewis Fulton of the University of California, Davis. Article courtesy The Conversation. (This is the third article in a short three-part series on the latest developments in EVs.) … [Read more...]
Britain to ban new fossil fuel vehicles by 2040
Great Britain will ban all new diesel and gasoline-powered automobiles after 2040. In an announcement on 26 July, Environment Secretary Michael Gove confirmed that vehicles powered solely by fossil fuels will no longer be allowed to be sold by then in Britain, and will instead be replaced by electric vehicles (EVs), writes Gregory Brew of Oilprice.com. Courtesy Oilprice.com. (This is the second article in a short three-part series on EVs that we … [Read more...]
Electric vehicles enter the here and now
The EV market is accelerating, with both governments and major car manufacturers announcing ambitious new targets and initiatives. Jason Mathers of EDF Energy Exchange takes stock of some of the most recent developments and notes that the U.S. is threatening to fall behind Europe and China, thanks to the Trump administration’s short-sighted policies. Courtesy EDF Energy Exchange/Climate 411 blog. (This is the first article in a short three-part … [Read more...]