March 3, 2017 by Craig Morris

Yet again, an expert – this time, a German – has announced that Germany’s energy transition cannot succeed. He has a surprising insight for Energiewende proponents: the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. How could we have missed that, wonders award-winning energy author Craig Morris? Courtesy Energy Transition/Global Energiewende. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: *, Energy, Energy Outlooks, Renewables Tagged With: capacity markets, demand response, electricity market, Energiewende, energy transition, energy2030, grid, infrastructure, renewables, smart grids, solar power, wind power

January 24, 2017 by Craig Morris

France was heavily dependent on power imports from Germany during the first cold spell of this winter, despite the fact that most of the country’s nuclear reactors are back online, writes Craig Morris from the Energy Transition blog. As the US is now also investigating 17 nuclear reactors with parts from reactor producer Areva, just rescued by the French state, it shows the perilous state the French power sector is in. Courtesy Energy Transition. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: *, Energy, Networks, Nuclear, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: coal power, diversification, electricity market, energy security, energy trade, grid, infrastructure, internal market, natural gas, nuclear energy, renewables

December 3, 2015 by Craig Morris

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...]

Filed Under: *, Energy, Energy Outlooks Tagged With: coal power, diversification, electricity market, Energiewende, energy efficiency, energy transition, energy2030, EU energy policy, EU ETS, natural gas, renewables, solar power, wind power

July 16, 2014 by Craig Morris

In an otherwise well-written and informative article on the recent decision by the EU Court of Justice on renewables policy, Energy Post repeats the unfounded notion that Germany has generous subsidies. This is wrong – and the difference matters: the German system of feed-in tariffs favours small companies and cooperatives. Now, the EU wants to kill feed-in tariffs, ostensibly because of the cost – but what’s at stake is freedom. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: *, Energy, EU Policy, Renewables Tagged With: Brussels, Energiewende, feed-in tariffs, Germany, renewables, subsidies

March 10, 2014 by Craig Morris

RWE has posted its first loss since World War II. Everyone – not only proponents of renewables – now claims that the firm's management failed to see how renewables would affect its bottom line. That's true, but even if they had, what should they have done? More importantly, what should they do now? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: *, Oil, Gas & Coal, Renewables Tagged With: electricity market, Energiewende, EU energy policy, EU ETS, European gas market, financing, renewables