UK start-up company Brill Power has won the top prize at the New Energy Challenge 2017 in Amsterdam. The company has developed new technology that greatly increases the lifetime and reliability of lithium-ion batteries. … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2017
Can China’s EVs lead to peak oil demand?
China's decision on whether and when to ban cars burning gasoline and diesel could alter our view of how far we are from a peak in global oil demand, writes independent energy analyst Geoffrey Styles. Even though the likely date of such a peak is highly uncertain, the idea of an impending peak could significantly affect investments and other decisions. … [Read more...]
Energy traders sound alarm: “electricity borders in the EU are closing instead of opening”
Regulations governing the EU wholesale electricity market have become so complex that the integration of the market is regressing instead of progressing, says Peter Styles, Chairman of the Electricity Committee of the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET), in an interview with Energy Post. He notes TSOs (transmission system operators) on average now make less cross-border electricity transmission capacity available on the EU high voltage … [Read more...]
Interview Claude Fischer Herzog: “EU needs a nuclear industrial policy”
Europe is in danger of losing its leading position in nuclear power, warns Claude Fischer Herzog, Director of ASCPE-Les Entretiens EuropĂ©ens et Eurafricains, a prominent Paris-based pro-nuclear civil society organisation. Fischer calls on the EU to develop an industrial policy of which nuclear power will form an integral part. … [Read more...]
Beyond Harvey and Irma: climate action will become top military priorityÂ
The devastating hurricanes Harvey and Irma saw the U.S. military involved in emergency operations on a massive scale, writes energy expert and author Michael T. Klare. The future will hold more of the same. As the planet heats up, the armed forces and the nation will face an existential crisis, according to Klare, which will result in the need for a new, largely non-military strategic posture that puts climate action above other geopolitical … [Read more...]
The future for gas guzzlers lies in hybridization
The car of the future will be a hybrid, writes independent researcher Schalk Cloete in the second part of a short series in which he compares costs and performance of various drivetrains. According to Cloete, improvements and cost reductions in electric motors and batteries will, ironically, help the internal combustion engine (ICE) through hybridization. These cost reductions combined with substantial engine downsizing can make hybrid … [Read more...]
A pragmatic proposal for supplier compensation
The European Commission has proposed that independent aggregators should not be required anymore to pay compensation to suppliers, as is the case in many EU member states today. According to Philip Baker of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) this proposal should be supported, as it will improve the flexibility of the market and lead to lower prices for consumers. However, it may not be appropriate in the long term: once it has achieved its … [Read more...]
Stimulating demand response by forbidding supplier compensation is neither fair nor efficient
The European Commission has proposed a general framework for independent aggregators in its new draft Electricity Directive to incentivise the development of Demand Response in Europe. According to the Commission, aggregators should not be required to compensate suppliers for the electricity sourced and only exceptionally for the imbalances induced. But a new study carried out by independent experts from consultancy DNV GL for Eurelectric shows … [Read more...]
U.S. Energy Department sees sizable increase in world energy use till 2040
Whereas DNV GL in its recent Energy Transition Outlook forecasts an energy demand peak in the 2030s, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will have none of this: it projects a 28% increase in world energy use by 2040. Consequently, it sees a much slower transition to a low-carbon energy system. … [Read more...]
Shell executive describes inevitable transition to carbon-free energy
"Shell wants to be a voice and a leader in the energy transition", said Harry Brekelmans, the projects and technology director for Royal Dutch Shell, a founding member of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). But the company must "not abandon the process that made us a leader", namely production and distribution of oil and gas. Brekelmans met with groups of MIT students and faculty members for a public discussion about energy issues with MITEI … [Read more...]
Chasing electrification: progress is too slow
Shell scenarios show that the rate of electrification of the energy system needs to triple over the coming years to achieve the Paris goals. This is a much more challenging task than most people realize, writes David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor for Shell. … [Read more...]
Why the electric car hype is overblown
Electric cars offer no clear fuel cost savings relative to efficient internal combustion engine (ICE) options, writes independent researcher Schalk Cloete. CO2 and tailpipe emission benefits are also insignificant relative to efficient ICEs. As a result, notes Cloete, ICE vehicles will remain highly competitive with battery electric vehicles (BEVs). … [Read more...]
UK offshore wind boom concentrates power in the hands of a few very large developers
The price of offshore wind continues to fall dramatically. The UK government’s latest round of contracts for renewable generation have just been announced, and they show the costs of subsidies have halved in just two years, writes Bridget Woodman of the University of Exeter. This is good news, but there are downsides, Woodman notes. The scale of the projects concentrates power in the hands of a few very large developers. Courtesy The … [Read more...]
Nuclear power, weapons and national security
The nuclear power industry, under pressure economically, is arguing that it deserves government support because it is essential for “national security”, notes Jim Green, editor of the Nuclear Monitor newsletter. Green explains why he finds this argument disingenuous and unconvincing. … [Read more...]
Trading biomass like oil: Lithuania shows how it can be done
European biomass markets are fragmented and intransparent, writes Jakub Kucera, economic analyst at RSJ, a Prague-based investment company. With one exception: Lithuania has a well-functioning biomass spot market, Baltpool. Could this become a model for other European countries? The Lithuanians would like to expand. … [Read more...]