As the cost of renewables goes down, the old approach of subsidizing generation no longer makes sense, writes Johannes Urpelainen of The Center on Global Energy Policy. We need a revolution in energy policy. Article courtesy The Center on Global Energy Policy. … [Read more...]
New Gas Market Directive will change balance of power between EU and Member States
The European Commission has proposed amendments to the Gas Market Directive essentially to acquire control over Nord Stream 2. But once they are approved, the EU will have much more authority over Member States’ overall security of energy supply than it has now, warns Bent Ole Gram Mortensen of the University of Southern Denmark. According to Mortensen, there is no need for such far-reaching legislation: if Gazprom were to abuse its market … [Read more...]
EU gas and power transmission grid operators map out energy future (Energy Post Weekly)
For the first time ever, the gas and electricity transmission system operators in the EU have joined forces to develop a series of joint scenarios for the European energy system out to 2040. Takeaways: high carbon prices, no shale gas, hardly any CCS, less gas in heating/more gas in transport, less nuclear and more biomethane and power-to-gas. The scenarios matter because they will ultimately help decide which energy infrastructure projects get … [Read more...]
Tackling climate change in Poland: 40% fewer emissions, $26 billion annual savings by 2050
Poland must choose whether it wants to continue pouring money into an unprofitable and polluting industry, shift to (mostly Russian) natural gas or embrace clean technology that improves energy security and saves money and lives, write Jeffrey Rissman and Robbie Orvis of Energy Innovation. This US-based think tank partnered with the Polish National Energy Conservation Agency (KAPE) and European Climate Foundation (ECF) to develop a tool to help … [Read more...]
Poland’s love affair with coal: can the EU do anything about it?
The Polish government’s strong commitment to coal goes against EU policy direction and against market conditions, write Anna Mikulska of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and Eryk Kosinski of Adam Mickiewicz University. But coal has a special place in the nation’s collective heart. To wean Poland off coal will require EU support to coal-dependent regions and for alternative energy sources, the authors argue. … [Read more...]
Can the U.S. break Russia’s gas monopoly In Europe?
The U.S. government has said it considers "sending energy supplies" to Eastern Europe to contain Russian influence. But challenging Russia’s dominance in European gas markets won't be easy, writes Tim Daiss of Oilprice.com. Russia already supplies nearly 40 percent of the continent’s gas, and its position may further be secured when the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is completed. … [Read more...]
EU leaders order long-term climate strategy by early 2019
EU leaders have directed the European Commission to produce an update of its long-term climate strategy “by the first quarter of 2019”, writes Megan Darby, deputy editor of Climate Home News. Climate campaigners welcome the move, saying it sends an important political signal. Article courtesy Climate Home News. … [Read more...]
Southeast Europe needs more nuclear power to head off energy crisis
Southeast Europe is headed for an energy crisis. The region has an energy infrastructure that is unreliable, inefficient, and unsustainable, while at the same time it is faced with the need to reduce dependence on external sources and conform to EU climate and air quality regulations. The best way out, argues Tim Yeo, Chairman of the New Nuclear Watch Institute, is to invest in new nuclear capacity. … [Read more...]
EU electricity distributors should not be allowed to police themselves
The European Commission has proposed new European legislation that could put Europe’s distribution system operators in a powerful position to bend market rules to their own advantage, writes Julie Finkler of NGO ClientEarth. According to Finkler, this could seriously hamper other market players, like community energy initiatives, renewable energy producers and aggregators. She calls on the European Parliament and the Member States to ensure this … [Read more...]
Small district heating systems key to improving Poland’s air quality
Small, coal-fired district heating systems are a major source of air pollution in Poland. Applying EU regulations would go some way towards solving this problem, write Edith Bayer and Richard Cowart of global energy policy advisors Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), but more needs to be done. Bayer and Cowart draw four lessons from a new study that looked at practical ways to modernize two small district heating systems in Poland. … [Read more...]
Shortage of electric cars in Norway puts climate strategy at risk
Thousands of Norwegians are currently waiting for their new electric car as car sellers cannot keep up with the surge in demand. This highlights both the success and the risks of the rapid electrification of Norway’s car fleet, write Steffen Kallbekken, Håkon Sælen, Erlend Hermansen and Elisabeth Lannoo of the CICERO Center for International Climate Research. They discuss the lessons the EU, currently reviewing the Clean Vehicles Directive, can … [Read more...]
The new EU electricity market design: more market – or more state?
As a new regulatory design for the EU electricity market is taking shape, there are grave concerns in the sector that the new rules will not advance the internal energy market very much. Or might even undermine it. Energy Post editor-in-chief Karel Beckman talked to a number of key players in the sector who will debate the proposed market design rules at an Energy Post event in Brussels on 20 March. … [Read more...]
What’s behind Gazprom’s decision to cut off supply to Ukraine
Gazprom’s announcement that it would terminate gas supply to Ukraine has been a shock to many observers, but it is not as radical nor as surprising as it may seem, writes Anna Mikulska of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. It will only become effective in 2019 and is consistent with the company’s earlier announcements and long-term plans. Nevertheless, Mikulska adds, there is reason for the EU to … [Read more...]
A grand bargain with Gazprom?
Can Europe, including the Eastern part, continue to profit from cheap Russian gas without succumbing to Russian energy dominance? According to a new paper from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), the EU should not shy away from “countervailing measures”. But these should preferably take the form of a “grand bargain” with Russia rather than a confrontation. … [Read more...]
Industry 2030: how the EU plans to industrialise clean tech [Energy Post Weekly]
New and old industries in Europe are fighting for political - and financial - favour as Brussels sits down to work out a new industrial policy strategy for 2030. At the EU’s annual “Industry Days” last week, three CEOs from the world of clean tech set out their ambitious plans for battery “gigafactories”, renewables representatives called for an EU industrial policy for their sector, and Brussels hinted at trade measures to protect Europe’s … [Read more...]
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