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Energy Post

The best thinkers on energy

German Environment Ministry says CO2-neutral Germany “almost possible”

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Can an industrialized country such as Germany avoid nearly all of its man-made greenhouse gas emissions? “Clearly yes”, answers a new study by the German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt). And it can be done without carbon capture and storage, nuclear power and first generation biomass. However, energy demand must be reduced by half and “unnecessary transport” must be avoided. “It is technically possible to reduce greenhouse gas … [Read more...]

EPEX Spot and Swissgrid prepare for market coupling

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The European Power Exchange EPEX SPOT and the Transmission System Operator Swissgrid AG started cooperating with the aim to be ready to launch day-ahead market coupling projects in cooperation with other neighboring Transmission System Operators (TSOs). The partnership is based upon the Price Coupling of Regions (PCR), which was chosen as the market coupling solution for the integration of the European electricity market. It is therefore … [Read more...]

“France’s fracking ban to remain for foreseeable future”

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The decision to uphold the ban on hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) in France by the constitutional court, preventing further exploration activities for shale gas reserves, is unlikely to change in the near future, despite the warnings of advocates that France will miss out on a significant source of cheap energy, says a new report from research and consulting firm GlobalData. According to the company’s latest report, France Upstream Fiscal … [Read more...]

Top climate scientists call on environmentalists to support nuclear

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In an open letter addressed to "those influencing environmental policy but opposed to nuclear power", four top climate scientists in the US have called on world leaders and environmental activists to support the developmnet of nuclear power to protect the climate. The scientists are James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Kerry Emanuel and Tom Wigley. Here is their letter, published by CNN: "As climate and energy scientists concerned with global climate … [Read more...]

EU Commission: feed-in tariffs should be abandoned

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The European Commission has presented a Communication which gives guidance to Member States on “how to make the most of public interventions” in the electricity market. The Communication discusses “how to reform existing” interventions, especially renewable energy subsidy schemes, and how to effectively design new ones, especially for back-up capacity schemes." The Commission notes that “in some very specific cases public intervention might be … [Read more...]

IEA: energy efficiency the world’s first fuel

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The scale of global investment in energy efficiency and its contribution to energy demand are as significant as those of other developed supply-side resources, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said as it has unveiled a new report that for the first time describes the wide range of energy efficiency activities worldwide in market terms. The inaugural Energy Efficiency Market Report joins the IEA market reports for oil, gas, coal and … [Read more...]

North Africa and Middle East to double renewable energy capacity by 2015

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The capacity of renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa will nearly double from 1.7 gigawatts (GW) today to 3.3 GW by 2015. This is shown by research from Desertec Industrial  Initiative (DII). Morocco plays a leading role in expanding the currently capacity, around 0.6 GW, to 1.7 GW by 2015. "North Africa and the Middle East are at the beginning of an impressive energy transition based on wind and sun. I am particularly pleased … [Read more...]

PWC study: Economies generate growth thanks to decarbonisation

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New research by PwC, using historical data from five EU member states, shows that countries can decarbonise at faster than average rates without reducing economic growth or losing competitiveness while still generating new sources of economic growth and jobs. This is the conclusion based on analysis of the long-term economic impact of energy policies in five European countries (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom) … [Read more...]