The EU has adopted a 10% electricity interconnection target that all member states have to meet by 2020. However, experts question this one-size-fits-all approach. They do agree that new investment in power grids is crucial - but not which type should get priority: interconnection, transmission, distribution, "smart" or even microgrid. A new French report shows that most investment is actually going to gas grids where it may be less … [Read more...]
Interview André Merlin: “Europe needs regional System Operators like in the US”
Developing electricity interconnectors should be a shared competence of the EU and individual Member States, with costs shared out at least across regions, says AndrĂ© Merlin, President of Medgrid, a consortium looking to facilitate the exchange of electricity across the Mediterranean, in an interview with Energy Post. Merlin, former Chairman of both RTE, the French transmission system operator (TSO) and ERDF, the main French distribution system … [Read more...]
Greece: Russian backdoor to fortress Europe?
An alliance between Greece and Russia could have far-reaching consequences for EU-Russia energy relations and for the success of the EU’s energy policy in South Eastern Europe, writes Constantine Levoyannis, Deputy Head of the Greek Energy Forum in Brussels. According to Levoyannis, it could open the door for Gazprom’s proposed gas pipeline Turkish Stream and even lead to a rapprochement between Turkey and Greece. … [Read more...]
Dramatic shale gas plea falls on deaf ears in Paris, but Brussels “opens back door to fracking”
A report from the French Ministry of the Economy and Industrial Recovery concludes that France could have its own shale gas revolution, with hundreds of billions in revenues and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. What is more, with the help of a unique new technology, based on propane stimulation, the shale gas could be produced without harm to the environment. The report, already produced in June 2014, was, however, ignored by the French … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: Brussels Briefing on Environment – biofuel compromise, carbon trading clash
In this Brussels Briefing on Environment for viEUws.eu, Sonja van Renssen provides an overview of the latest EU environment and climate policy developments. Highlights: the European Parliament is heading for a compromise deal on new biofuel legislation, but for a clash with Member States on the reform plan for the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). … [Read more...]
No shale gas in Eastern Europe, after all: implications of Chevron’s exit from Romania
Chevron’s decision to give up on Romanian shale gas exploitation, after earlier having departed from Poland and Lithuania, marks the final departure from the US company’s Eastern European shale gas adventure. According to Anca Elena Mihalache, Senior Analyst with the Bucharest-based Energy Policy Group, Chevron’s exit makes it clear that there is little hope for successful shale gas development in Central and Eastern Europe. She hopes that … [Read more...]
EU announces Treaty change to realise Energy Union
The European Commission has announced a plan to amend the EU Treaties to make regions, not national governments, responsible for decisions over the so-called “energy mix”, or what energy is produced where. … [Read more...]
The myth of expensive offshore wind: it’s already cheaper than gas-fired and nuclear
Analysing public data on offshore wind in Denmark, energy consultant Mike Parr concludes that existing offshore wind is already cheaper than gas-fired power plants. Future offshore wind farms will be cheaper still – and up to 60% less expensive than the proposed nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C in the UK. This means, writes Parr, that government support for offshore wind can be quickly and substantially reduced. … [Read more...]
A vision of a Gas Union in Central and South East Europe
We will never have a unified European energy policy as long as Central and East European gas markets remain fragmented and divided, writes Peter Poptchev. Now, however, under the impetus of the Energy Union, the EU has a unique opportunity to put its Eastern gas house in order. Poptchev sets out the main steps that need to be taken to achieve this goal. … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: Brussels Briefing on Energy – All you need to know for April
In this Brussels Briefing on Energy for viEUws.eu, journalist Hughes Belin provides an overview of the latest EU energy policy developments. … [Read more...]
Catch 2030 the webinar: a debate on the European energy system of the future
How can we transform the European energy system while improving security of supply and competitiveness? In a webinar hosted by Energy Post and sponsored by EDF, four energy experts discuss the future of the European energy system and answer questions from listeners. … [Read more...]
A new framework for climate policy: why carbon pricing is not enough
It is often argued, especially by representatives from the energy sector, that climate change policy should be based exclusively on carbon pricing. In the EU this means: on the EU Emission Trading Scheme. However, a new book by Professor Michael Grubb convincingly shows why such a policy approach is misguided. We also need policies on energy efficiency and renewables as well as policies that drive system change. … [Read more...]
Russia’s Grand Gas Strategy – the power to dominate Europe?
For Russia, energy resources, especially gas, are viewed as a tool to project power beyond its borders. However, Russia’s room for “gas games” is constrained by its own capacities, the gas strategies of other players, and the EU’s ability to project its regulatory power, write Zuzanna Nowak and JarosĹ‚aw Ćwiek-Karpowicz of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and Jakub Godzimirski of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs … [Read more...]
Ex-Polish Prime Minister Tusk reclaims Energy Union agenda
Energy security through new fossil fuel supplies and transport infrastructure, not energy efficiency and renewables, dominates the conclusions issued by EU heads of state and government after their first debate on an Energy Union for Europe in Brussels on Thursday. Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk – now President of the European Council of Ministers – appears to have reclaimed in large part the Energy Union he helped set in motion, … [Read more...]
Europe’s Energy Union: a big deal – but is it a good deal?
The Energy Union, writes Jonathan Gaventa, Associate Director of E3G, offers Europe a unique opportunity to move to a more modern, efficient and technologically advanced energy system, to bring down Europe’s outrageously high energy import bill and to lead global clean energy markets. Unless we allow it to be hijacked by incumbent utilities and oil and gas players who will use it to advance their own interests. … [Read more...]
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