Most analysts believe Saudi Arabia refuses to cut production because it wants to shake out its higher-cost competitors or because it wants to punish Iran and Russia. There may be some truth in those theories, writes Elias Hinckley, strategic advisor and head of the energy practice with international law firm Sullivan and Worcester, but they miss the deeper motivation of the Saudis. Saudi Arabia, he says, sees the end of the Oil Age on the horizon … [Read more...]
New clean energy investment surges 12% in 2014
New investment in the global clean energy sector rose 12% last year to $274.2 billion, the highest annual investment volume since 2011, reports Clean Energy Pipeline, the online financial news and data service dedicated to the clean energy sector in a report released on 21 January. … [Read more...]
Deutsche Bank: solar at grid parity in most of world by 2017
Investment bank Deutsche Bank is predicting that solar systems will be at grid parity in up to 80 per cent of the global market within 2 years, and says the collapse in the oil price will do little to slow down the solar juggernaut. Giles Parkinson of the Australian-based website Reneweconomy.com reports. … [Read more...]
Why cheap oil will not wreck the prospects for renewable energy â this time around
When oil prices collapsed in the 1980s, most large renewable energy programs were dismantled. But that wonât happen this time, writes John Mathews, Professor of Strategic Management at Macquarie University's Graduate School of Management in Sydney, and author of a brand new book âThe Greening of Capitalismâ. The reason is that China has made a strategic commitment to renewables. Donât forget, Mathews writes: coal prices have also been falling, … [Read more...]
Christoph Frei, World Energy Council: âThe real hope for âParisâ is to see a connected carbon market started by the big players”
On 20 January, the World Energy Council (WEC) will publish its World Energy Issues Monitor â an annual survey of over 1,000 energy leaders in over 80 countries. WECâs Secretary-General Christoph Frei notes the biggest changes compared to last year are that energy leaders have become more concerned with security of supply (Russia) and cyber-security. Price volatility and climate framework remain at the top of the worries list. In an in-depth … [Read more...]
Failure to liberalise energy retail markets jeopardizes Energy Union
The liberalisation and integration of European energy retail markets is still far from complete, conclude Simona Benedettini of Italian consulting firm Lear and Carlo Stagnaro of the Italian think tank Bruno Leoni Institute on the basis of extensive research. According to Benedettini and Stagnaro retail competition is still weak in many EU member states. Moreover, there are still large regulatory differences between countries which prevent the … [Read more...]
Measuring the CO2 impact of big infrastructure projects: the case of Keystone XL
Major energy infrastructure projects will be more and more put to a climate test. In the US, for example, draft environmental legislation adopted last year stipulates that climate analysis of federal projects should include âdownstreamâ emissions. In future it will not be so easy for companies to say âif we donât do it, somebody else willâ. But how do you measure indirect climate effects? The Stockholm Environment Institute is one place where … [Read more...]
The implications of $50-a-barrel oil for the worldâs energy mix
Oil prices keep sliding, sending economic shockwaves around the world. Analysts are scrambling to try and understand what it means for the world's future energy mix and efforts to cut emissions. But the relationship between oil prices and energy investments is complex, writes Mat Hope for The Carbon Brief. Much depends on how low the price goes as, beyond a certain point, lots of projects are no longer economically viable. … [Read more...]
Eon sells Italian coal and gas power plants
Eon, Germanyâs largest energy company, has decided to sell its Italian coal and gas generation assets to Czech energy company EnergetickĂ˝ a PrĹŻmyslovĂ˝ Holding (EPH). … [Read more...]
Business and policy: Paris 2015 needs the best of both worlds
Global climate negotiations have hardly led to tangible climate policy tools over the last five years. The latest UN Climate Summit in Lima was no exception. By contrast, both businesses and local and regional authorities are developing plenty of new initiatives. Could the crucial 2015 conference in Paris take a cue from these alternatives? And to what extent do business initiatives need a supranational climate deal? Rolf de Vos from energy … [Read more...]
Wind industry shake-up as policy uncertainty drives 25% of suppliers out of business
More than 120 suppliers have collapsed or stayed out of the wind business in the past two years, including 88 from Asia, 23 from Europe and 18 from North America, as the result of a "prolonged market contraction". That is the major conclusion to come out of the 2015 edition of the annual Global Wind Supply Chain Update  published by FTI Consulting. … [Read more...]
South Stream Is Dead. Long Live South Stream
South Stream is not dead â rather it has morphed into a new project which is part of a complex commercial power play on the part of Russia and Turkey, writes Anca Elena Mihalache, Senior Analyst with the Romanian think tank Energy Policy Group. According to Mihalache, the new South Stream, if it happens, will offer new opportunities to Europe, but also new threats. In particular, the EU will see its diversification strategy come under pressure … [Read more...]
Scientists: large fossil reserves must stay in ground
Christophe McGlade and Paul Ekins of the Institute for Sustainable Resources at University College London have published a paper in the scientific journal Nature presenting their research on "the carbon bubble" aka as "stranded assets". They come to alarming conclusions for fossil fuel producers: no new exploration should be undertaken anymore if climate change is to be contained. … [Read more...]
Je Suis Charlie
We also are Charlie at Energy Post, because we are an independent online newspaper made by journalists with the help of guest writers, like any other newspaper. The brutal assault on Charlie Hebdoâs cartoonists and writers during their editorial meeting in Paris, France, on 7 January is shocking because it introduces incertitude at the very heart of our daily existence. Itâs a bit like from one second to another having to doubt whether the light … [Read more...]
UK capacity market: success for new gas, old coal
A new government policy designed to ensure the UK's future energy supply appears to have successfully incentivised companies to build over two gigawatts of new gas power, to sit alongside nine gigawatts of coal and biomass power. It should ensure the UK will have at least 48.6 gigawatts of fossil fuel power stations available in 2018. … [Read more...]
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