They are the biggest companies in the world and they are making a huge bet: they are staking their â and our â future on natural gas. At the World Gas Conference in Paris, the major oil companies all avowed their belief that gas will be the worldâs âfuel of choiceâ, because it is âthe cleanest fossil fuelâ, âabundantâ and âcompetitiveâ. But Karel Beckman argues they are overstating the case for gas. And may even be betting on the wrong horse. … [Read more...]
IEA sees âharsh realityâ for gas industry
From a Golden Age of Gas to a âharsh realityâ in just a few years - the 2015 âGas medium-term market reportâ released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on 4 June in Paris sounded a warning note to anyone who believes gas is bound to conquer the world. That can still happen - but only if gas drastically improves its competitiveness, said the IEA. … [Read more...]
Hydropowerâs big splash â Word Energy Council projects decades of strong growth
The global hydroelectric power market, which already represents 76% of all renewable global energy, has the potential to double to 2,000GW capacity by 2050 according to a new report from the World Energy Council, âCharting The Upsurge In Hydropower Developmentâ, presented today in Beijing. This doubling could be achieved even earlier, if governments and multilateral banks give help to emerging economies where hydropower resources are … [Read more...]
China can cut out most coal generation by 2050
A new study from the China National Renewable Energy Centre shows that China can rely on renewables for more than 60 percent of its total energy needs, including transportation, by 2050. Electricity could be supplied 85% from renewables and just 7 per cent from coal, writes Bobby Magill of Climate Central. Â But to achieve these targets, China needs to deregulate its electricity markets. … [Read more...]
Asia at the crossroads: will it choose old energy â or turn to the new?
Asia is at a critical moment in its energy development. Hundreds of millions of people across Asia will be gaining access to modern electricity systems for the first time in the coming years. The question is: will they be supplied with power from traditional central plants, or by low-carbon, distributed power systems? According to David Fullbrook, senior consultant with DNV GL Energyâs Clean Technology Centre in Singapore, people in Asia would … [Read more...]
Tesla batteries: just the beginning of how technology will transform the electric grid
The spread of cost-effective batteries, such as Teslaâs new Powerwall, will fundamentally change the way the electric grid operates, writes Michael McElfresh of Santa Clara University. Combined with other innovations, batteries in homes and businesses will transform how people and businesses treat electricity. Along the way, these batteries will improve the efficiency and reliability of the grid overall. … [Read more...]
Why the Tesla battery heralds the beginning of the end for fossil fuels
The introduction of the Powerwall, Teslaâs new battery, will change the global energy equation fundamentally, writes John Mathews, Professor of Strategic Management, at Macquarie University in Australia. This is because it will make renewable energy âthe new normalâ and will put fossil fuel companies on the defensive. Instead of asking âcan we have our own energy system?â communities will be asking âwhy canât we have it?â … [Read more...]
ExxonMobil gets a cold reception in Brussels
William Colton, Vice President Corporate Strategic Planning at ExxonMobil, came to Brussels this week, to the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), to present ExxonMobilâs view of our energy future to representatives from EU institutions. It was a clash of two worlds. Brussels failed to be impressed. Mike Parr of the independent consultancy PWR was there. … [Read more...]
Less worldly, more wise: a letter to Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell
In a speech given in London in February, Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, called on the energy industry to be "less aloof, more assertive" in the debate about climate change. Van Beurden stressed that "the world's energy needs will underpin the use of fossil fuels for decades to come" and called for "realism and practicality". In a speech given in Paris in March, John Ashton, independent speaker, former UK Special Representative for Climate Change … [Read more...]
Adriaan – ‘Energy for One World’ – Kamp (ex-Shell): âStrategy of oil companies is doomed to failureâ
Oil companies like Shell have unique skills that make them ideally placed to help build the energy world of the future. Yet they seem unable to look beyond their own interests, says Adriaan Kamp, former Shell manager and founder of Oslo-based consultancy Energy For One World. âLike the banks, they canât change their ways. They are still making too much money with oil and gas.â According to Kamp, the growth strategy of the oil companies is still … [Read more...]
Clean Disruption: how Silicon Valley will make oil, nuclear, gas, coal obsolete (book review)
In his new book âClean Disruption of Energy and Transportationâ, famous author, lecturer and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Tony Seba predicts that by 2030 all power generation will be solar and wind and all cars will be self-driving electric vehicles. The existing energy industry will be âobliteratedâ. In a review of the book, JosĂ© Cordeiro, founding energy advisor at Singularity University and Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of … [Read more...]
Cheap oil vs wind and solar: fight for future of energy
This article by Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy is no longer available on Energy Post. See the original article here:published by Reneweconomy.com … [Read more...]
Big Oilâs broken business model: the real story behind the oil price collapse
The underlying cause of the oil price collapse is to be found in the collapse of Big Oilâs production-maximizing business model, writes Michael Klare, professor at Hampshire College and author of many books on the geopolitics of energy. According to Klare, the oil companies were operating according to a business model that assumed an ever-increasing demand for their products, no matter their cost. They also assumed that concern over climate … [Read more...]
Statoilâs big dilemma: should it continue to go for oil and gas â or transform itself into an energy service provider?
Norwegian oil giant Statoil, owned 67% by the Norwegian State, readily acknowledges the need to take drastic measures against climate change. But it nevertheless persists in a strategy aimed at expanding its oil and gas production globally. According to Anders Bjartnes, editor of the website Energi og Klima, the company cannot forever embrace these opposing views, âwhere verbal concerns go in one direction while strategy and cash go in the … [Read more...]
IEAâs projections for renewables continue to look way too low
The IEAâs projections for wind and solar capacity look much too low, continuing a history of vastly underestimating renewables growth.  Their projections are not a reliable basis for projecting the worldâs future power generation mix, argues energy expert Adam Whitmore on his blog On Climate Change Policy. … [Read more...]
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