The growth of renewable energy in the US is based on fundamental economic, environmental and security benefits that it provides, writes David Littell of the Regulatory Assistance Project. This is why the renewables train canât be stopped anymore. … [Read more...]
How much can the next president influence the US energy system?
There have been dramatic changes in the U.S. energy system under our current president â a big drop in the use of coal, a boom in domestic oil and gas development from fracking, and the rapid spread of renewable energy. But in terms of influencing energy technology deployment, the next president will have a lot less influence than you might expect, writes Carey King, Research Scientist at the University of Texas. … [Read more...]
US shale oil: the day of reckoning will come
The financial state of the US shale oil industry is much worse than the still impressive production figures would lead us to believe, writes energy expert Jilles van den Beukel, a former geophysicist with Shell. Shale oil producers and investors have managed to postpone the day of reckoning, but the fundamentals of the industry make a shake-out inevitable. … [Read more...]
Brexit Britain: the balance sheet on energy and climate policy
In the energy sector, the disadvantages of EU membership overwhelmingly outweigh the advantages, the Business for Britain lobby group has argued. David Buchan and Malcolm Keay of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) and authors of a new book on the Energy Union, conclude, however, that EU constraints on UK energy policy have been minimal and benefits have been many. The consequences of a Brexit for the UK energy sector are not clear, … [Read more...]
Delusions or lies? The UK governmentâs five spurious reasons to back Hinkley Point C
The UK's Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) on 12 March published a short list of reasons why the proposed 3.2 GWs of nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point should be built. The publication, 5 Reasons why we are backing Hinkley Point C, is a mix of truth, unprovable assertions and omissions which could also be construed as lies, writes independent energy consultant Mike Parr. … [Read more...]
Is oil becoming stranded?
The risk of stranded oil assets may be greater than many people think, writes Paul Spedding, former Global Co-Head of Oil and Gas Research at HSBC and advisor to the non-profit financial think tank Carbon Tracker, which popularised the term âcarbon bubbleâ. According to Spedding, climate policies may well lead to a drop in demand that will leave oil reserves destined for future production stranded. … [Read more...]
The looming Nordic energy crisis
Sweden is faced with the possible shutdown of its entire nuclear generating capacity. This could result in grid instability, price hikes and much higher greenhouse gas emissions, writes Rauli Partanen, an independent analyst and author on energy and the environment. Partanen calls on policymakers to take action to avoid a Swedish nuclear phaseout. … [Read more...]
Obama’s Clean Power Plan: wounded, not dead yet
The US Supreme Court has issued a judicial stay of President Obamaâs Clean Power Plan (CPP).  Scott Fulton, former General Counsel of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and current President of the Environmental Law Institute, explains the ramifications of this decision for US and international climate efforts, in an interview with Talia Fox, fellow of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute, "This will raise questions in the minds of … [Read more...]
New data debunks clean energy claims Apple, Amazon, Google
Recent claims by owners of large data centers that a large part of their operations are powered by renewable energy have skeptics coming out of from under their solar panels. Now, there is hard data proving that skepticism is valid, writes energy consultant and author Jim Pierobon. He applauds the efforts of companies like Amazon, Apple and Google to strive for clean energy, but calls for more transparency on their actual practices. … [Read more...]
National Parliaments should approve Paris Climate Agreement before it is a done deal
The European Commission is taking steps to have the Paris climate agreement ratified and signed at EU level, without involving the parliaments of the Member States. Although this may be formally acceptable, it is a bad idea, writes Lucas Bergkamp, Partner at the Brussels-based law firm Hunton & Williams: it will aggravate the EUâs âdemocratic deficitâ, weaken popular support for climate action and will leave intact key weaknesses in the … [Read more...]
BPâs view of electric cars looks unrealistic
BPâs latest long term outlook for the energy sector looks particularly unrealistic in its projection of a âmost likelyâ case of almost no uptake of electric vehicles by 2035, writes independent energy expert Adam Whitmore. According to Whitmore, even very moderate assumptions lead to substantially higher growth rates for EVs. … [Read more...]
BP says not to worry, good times will return
Aside from minor adjustments, BPâs latest Energy Outlook is mostly business-as-usual, writes Fereidoon Sionshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. BP seems to have missed out entirely on the agreement reached in Paris in December 2015, as if it did not happen, notes Sionshansi: "The Outlook seems more of a wish list than a forecast." … [Read more...]
Exxonâs never-ending big dig
ExxonMobil not only appears to have ignored its own scientists when they warned about the dangers of greenhouse gas emissions in the 1980s, the company even took advantage of its inside knowledge by leasing large tracts for Arctic oil exploration, writes famous author and activist Bill McKibben in a revealing essay. What is worse, says McKibben, is that even today Exxon continues to spend billions finding and producing ever more fossil fuels. But … [Read more...]
Wind top new power capacity source in Europe
In 2015 12,800 MW of new wind power capacity was installed in the EU, an increase of 6.3% over 2014, and more than any other form of power generation, according to recent new figures from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). Wind power accounted for over 44% of total power capacity installations in the EU last year. … [Read more...]
World Energy Council: unconventional gas will conquer the world
The growth of unconventional gas is spreading across the world with major implications over many years for markets and prices according to a new World Energy Council study âUnconventional gas, a global phenomenonâ. The report notes that many countries have similar shale gas potential to the US and predicts an âaccelerated spreadâ across the world. … [Read more...]
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