Many observers have been surprised by the willingness of Saudi Arabia to let the oil price collapse. But according to geophysicist and former geoscientist at Shell, Jilles van den Beukel the policy of the Saudis makes perfect sense. What is more, it is likely to succeed. … [Read more...]
Connect North Sea oil and gas platforms to offshore wind farms to produce green gas
Abandoned oil and gas platforms in the North Sea can be profitably converted into production and storage units that convert electricity from offshore wind farms into hydrogen and synthetic gas. That’s the main finding of a new study carried out by the Dutch Energy Delta Institute (EDI). A positive business case can be made for this application if the gas can be sold to a dedicated niche market for green gas, e.g. the chemical industry or the … [Read more...]
The UK’s plan to become a global centre for small nuclear reactors: can it succeed?
In addition to its plans for building four huge nuclear power stations, the UK government has also announced it wants to become a global centre for the development and manufacturing of small modular reactors (SMRs). Dan Yurman, nuclear expert and publisher of the blog NeutronBytes, assesses the UK’s plans and concludes that it could succeed, but only if the UK is able to scale up its efforts sufficiently and if the government provides active … [Read more...]
What Energy Efficiency can learn from Solar, Uber and Spotify
The “as-a-service” business model, which substitutes pay-as-you-go options for ownership  with its high upfront costs, is conquering such diverse sectors as solar panels, digital music and transport. It will also be increasingly applied to energy-efficiency projects, writes Angela Ferrante of US-based financial technology company SparkFund. The long-awaited energy efficiency breakthrough may finally be here. … [Read more...]
UK government must save North Sea oil and gas sector
The UK government is abandoning the North Sea oil and gas sector to its fate, despite the fact that there is still enough oil and gas in place in the region to generate the same amount of revenue that has been reaped up to now, argue Alex Russell and Peter Strachan of Robert Gordon University. They advocate that full control of energy and oil within the Scottish section should go to the Scottish government, so that at least this part can be … [Read more...]
My 2016 energy predictions: US oil and gas production will decline, Hillary new president
US oil production will decline for the first time in 8 years, US gas production for the frist time in 11 years, the oil price will bounce back to $60 – and Hillary Clinton will become the next US president. Robert Rapier, Managing Editor & Director of Analysis at Energy Trends Insider, announces his predictions for 2016. … [Read more...]
Record clean energy investment despite oil price collapse – but Europe stays behind
Clean energy investment surged in China, Africa, the US, Latin America and India in 2015, driving the world total to its highest ever figure, of $328.9bn, up 4% from 2014 and beating the previous record from 2011 by 3%, according to new figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. However, Europe was an exception with the lowest clean energy investment since 2006. In other news the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published a new … [Read more...]
Interview Christoph Frei, Secretary General World Energy Council: “The key message from Paris: be part of the innovation frontier”
The key message of the Paris Climate Agreement is that the energy sector should be part of the drive towards renewable energy and part of the “innovation frontier”, says Christoph Frei, Secretary-General of the World Energy Council, the largest global network in the energy business, with member committees in over 90 countries. “The long road from Paris is to build on the best technology, to develop and deploy innovation. If you are not on the … [Read more...]
The oil pricequake will doom the global political order
Given the centrality of oil and oil revenues in the global power equation, it is inevitable that depressed oil prices will doom the current global political order, writes Michael T. Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College. Political turmoil is already raging across the oil heartlands of the planet – and the tremors from the oil pricequake have yet to reach their full magnitude, notes Klare. … [Read more...]
China pushes global renewable capacity beyond 900 GW
China was the world’s leading market across a number of renewable energy technologies in 2015 and helped to drive global renewable installed capacity to an estimated 913.48 Gigawatts (GW), says research and consulting firm GlobalData. … [Read more...]
How realistic is the UK government’s promise to phase out coal?
The conservative UK government boosted its climate credentials last year with its promise that all coal plants will be shut down by 2025. However, notes Mike Parr of consultancy PWR, this ignores certain inconvenient facts that will make delivery of this promise unlikely. … [Read more...]
Gasland EU: upcoming energy security package is all about gas
The European Commission’s first big energy initiative in 2016 will be a “winter package” on energy security, due in February. This will revise EU legislation on security of supply for gas and electricity, propose to give the Commission a greater role in international gas buying deals and set out new strategies for LNG and energy storage, and heating and cooling. Sonja van Renssen explains what’s at stake. … [Read more...]
We need to get serious about negative emissions – fast
The Paris agreement was a diplomatic triumph, but there is a distinct disconnect between the ambition and the action required to achieve that goal, writes Tim Kruger, James Martin Fellow, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. Kruger notes that to stabilise the climate, emissions need to fall to zero and we are nowhere close to that. In fact, we are almost certain to overshoot, which means that emissions will have to go negative at some … [Read more...]
Let’s not kid ourselves: curbing carbon and stopping smog are not the same
There is a widespread belief that stopping smog will also reduce carbon emissions, or vice versa, that reducing carbon emissions will reduce air pollution. But according to Christopher Sellers, professor of history at Stony Brook University in the US, this is a mistake. Experience in the US shows that taming air pollution actually made it possible to burn more carbon. … [Read more...]
The hidden trigger of Paris: why the climate battle will now be taken to the courts
What will happen if the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement are not achieved? Most people assume that since the agreement is non-binding, failure to reach the targets will necessitate new political action, writes Lucas Bergkamp, Partner at the Brussels-based law firm Hunton & Williams LL.P. But according to Bergkamp, what is likely to happen is that climate activists will instead turn to the judiciary to enforce the treaty. This, he … [Read more...]
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