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Energy Post

The best thinkers on energy

Peak coal on the horizon: a country-by-country review

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Though the global coal fleet still increased by 17GW in the first half of 2019, net of retirements, the pipeline is definitely shrinking. Two thirds of proposed projects never even get started. Notably, in China existing coal plants have been running, on average, only 50% of the time since 2015, evidence of a large excess of capacity. But is it enough? The IPCC’s pathway to 1.5C requires unabated coal power generation to fall by 55-70% by 2030 … [Read more...]

Why coordinated Dutch-German climate action is critical for Europe

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Both the Netherlands and Germany are about to propose major new national climate measures. If the proposals become law, they will enforce some of the most stringent national targets for GHG reductions in the world. It’s why, on 22 August, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will host a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ‘climate cabinet’. Coordinated Dutch-German climate action can make these neighbouring countries role models for … [Read more...]

Summer break! We’re back in September

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Energy Post would like to thank all of our readers and contributors for a great first half of the year. We’re particularly grateful for your sharing on social media – please keep it going. It’s surely one of the reasons our traffic continues to rise. Given the global importance of climate change the energy sector is front page news these days, and the inevitable Transition will shape everything we do. Like no other sector, decisions made by us … [Read more...]

Cybersecurity: the knock-on cost of digital efficiency

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The oil and gas market slump of 2015 brought extra pressure to bear on majors to reduce their breakeven barrel price. The quest for deeper efficiencies included a tidal shift toward digitalisation. According to Gaurav Sharma, vulnerable systems are in urgent need of upgrading and require constant protection at an estimated cost of $40 billion plus per annum. With existential external factors already putting the squeeze on investment, the growing … [Read more...]

NDC reporting: making the Paris Agreement Transparency Framework work

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For the system of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to be effective, every country’s reporting processes need to be appropriate to their economic level, honest and accurate. That means the Paris Agreement’s Transparency Framework, including the Common Reporting Tables (CRT) for greenhouse gas inventories, and Common Tabular Formats (CTF) to track progress on their NDCs, needs to be finalised and agreed upon, and fast, says the IDDRI’s … [Read more...]

Wind power predictions doubled by factoring in far-future design improvements

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Existing studies estimate all Europe’s potential total maximum annual generation from wind is between 16 and 21 petawatt hours (PWh), already over five times Europe’s existing electricity total from all sources (3.6PWh). A new study doubles that figure to 34.3PWh. The study claims to improve on the accuracy of two factors used in making these predictions, explains Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief. Firstly, it uses what it believes are realistic … [Read more...]

EU ETS Modernisation Fund: putting the wind in the sails of the Transition

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Transforming the power system to reach climate neutrality by 2050 will cost approximately €100bn per year according to Eurelectric. In recognition of the different starting points for Member States, the European Commission has introduced the new EU ETS Modernisation Fund (MF) which could be worth as much as €25bn* to the beneficiaries between 2021 and 2030. According to Monika Morawiecka, CEO of PGE Baltica, offshore wind already makes business … [Read more...]

New solar cell allows a photon to release two electrons, not just one

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In conventional silicon-based solar cells, each photon of light can only knock loose a single electron, creating electricity. That’s even if the photon carries more than enough energy to do so. One hammer, one nail. Now, for the first time researchers at MIT and Princeton University in the U.S. have got high-energy photons to strike silicon and kick out two electrons instead of one, opening the door for a new kind of solar cell with greater … [Read more...]

Cheaper than coal: IRENA’s comprehensive report on cost declines, all renewables categories

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The International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) latest report Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018 details the global weighted-average levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for all commercially available renewable technologies. It states that renewables are already the lowest-cost source of new power generation in many parts of the world today. By as soon as 2020, onshore wind and solar PV will join hydropower in consistently offering a … [Read more...]

Is selling nuclear plants for decommissioning a safety issue?

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In the U.S., last month, the $48bn nuclear firm Exelon sold its Oyster Creek power plant to a smaller privately-owned firm, Holtec International, that specialises in decommissioning. It’s one of several similar recent transactions that sound sensible. But Lucas Davis, at the Haas School of Business, and Catherine Hausman, of the University of Michigan, argue this may present an economic text book case of “moral hazard”. Big firms are more likely … [Read more...]

China’s coal needs Carbon Capture. Can U.S. knowledge help?

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To limit global warming to 1.5°C, carbon capture and storage (CCS) plays a crucial role. We still live in a world where coal (mainly in developing countries) and gas (almost everywhere) continues to power growing economies. But the pipeline of new large-scale CCS facilities is nowhere close to what we need: around a hundred new units every year between 2020 and 2040, according to the Global CCS Institute. A report by the IFRI Centre for Energy … [Read more...]

OPEC is driving itself to irrelevance with farcical aplomb

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It took months of delays but even before the cartel’s latest ministers meeting began in Vienna, the Saudis and Russians rendered it meaningless by largely deciding an outcome that failed to surprise the market. Not that long ago, a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) carried great weight in the global energy market and was accompanied by intense anticipation. The powerful oil producer’s cartel at one point held … [Read more...]

Grid-scale batteries: further price drops result in concrete investments

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With so much focus on renewable gas and heat as a means of offering dispatchable power it was interesting to note ScottishPower’s announcement of a new, gigantic battery storage facility. Lest we forget, battery energy storage is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the clean energy field and it is scaling up at an astonishing rate, not just in terms of overall capacity but also in terms of the size of individual projects, as the extent of the … [Read more...]

Investing in renewables in China: relatively good times

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With the Chinese state increasingly confident of its renewable energy technologies and manufacturing, European firms are finding conditions right to invest in the sector there. Joe Mitton looks at the conditions for investors, and why EU-Chinese energy partnerships must not be caught up in the US trade war. Energy Post’s Matthew James spoke to Sebastian Meyer, Vice President at EDF Renewables, about his experiences. To read FULL ARTICLE login … [Read more...]