German transmission system operator Tennet recently announced an 80% increase in its transmission fees because of the high construction costs of new power lines to accommodate renewable energy. A study of the DĂĽsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics found that by 2025 costs of the Energiewende could exceed €25,000 for an average four-person household. Jeffrey Michel concludes that the Energiewende is running up against its limits – but may … [Read more...]
To keep European offshore wind world-leading, we need an industrial policy
To retain the global lead European companies have in offshore wind, the EU should develop an industrial policy that will guarantee a steady pipeline of projects, writes independent energy expert Mike Parr. This would ensure continued investment by companies in cost reduction and technology improvements. Failure to do so could mean the offshore wind sector would suffer the same fate as the European solar PV industry. … [Read more...]
Interview Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO EDF: “Our future lies in combination nuclear and renewables”
EDF, one of the largest electricity producers in the world, has embarked on a “2030” strategy focused on renewable energy and customer solutions in addition to its large nuclear business. According to CEO Jean-Bernard LĂ©vy, "EDF’s future lies in a generation mix that combines nuclear and renewable energies.” LĂ©vy says EDF will tackle the problems with its EPR nuclear reactor design by introducing a "New Model"  EPR that will be cheaper. He also … [Read more...]
Interview IEA Chief Fatih Birol: “We are once again increasing our expectations for renewables”
In its upcoming World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is “once again happily increasing our growth projections of renewable energy”, says Executive Director Fatih Birol in an interview. But a world without fossil fuels is not yet in sight. “There are fossil fuels and fossil fuels. Coal and oil should be discouraged. Natural gas will continue to play an important role in even our most stringent scenarios.” This interview was … [Read more...]
Corporate America’s huge appetite for clean energy
An increasing number of corporations are directly buying or building their own clean electricity, writes Elias Hinckley, a US-based strategic energy advisor. Companies across the business spectrum, ranging from Apple to Dow, General Motors and Bank of America, have set goals for 100% renewable power. Hinckley explains the reasons for this trend and notes that energy suppliers and investors cannot afford to ignore this huge new market. … [Read more...]
Europe should look at consumption of renewables not just production
European consumers actively chose to buy more than 550TWh of renewable electricity last year, 20% of all electricity consumption. Yet EU member states are not required to report on consumption of renewables, only  production. This gives a false picture of what is happening in the market, say business representatives involved in purchasing and producing green electricity. Dual reporting - of consumption and production - would show that some … [Read more...]
Climate change becomes prime investment driver
BlackRock, the world’s largest private investment fund, has announced that it will include climate change as an important factor in how it assigns risks to its investment portfolio, writes Fereidoon Sionshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. According to Sionshansi, this decision has huge implications for the energy sector. … [Read more...]
The economic and moral bankruptcy of UK energy policy
With its choice for Hinkley Point C - a ÂŁ100 billion boondoggle – its enthusiastic support for expensive and environmentally harmful fracking, and its relentless attack on renewable energy, the UK government’s energy policy is both morally and economically bankrupt, write Peter Strachan, Professor of Energy Policy at the Robert Gordon University, and Alex Russell, Professor and Chair of the Oil Industry Finance Committee. Westminster must … [Read more...]
South Africa’s rapid energy transition derails its giant nuclear and coal projects
South Africa shows how quick an energy transition can be. In four years, the country’s renewable energy program has mushroomed, while the building of coal power stations and the planning of a $50-$100 billion nuclear power project have come to a grinding halt. Recent events, however, have raised some uncertainty for renewables, writes South African based science writer Leonie Joubert. Article courtesy of the Energy Transition blog. … [Read more...]
Tesla Gigafactory 1 – will it succeed or fail?
The success or failure of the Tesla Gigafactory, which opened in July in Nevada could have far-reaching consequences for the transition to renewables and electric cars. Stephen J. Veneruso attended the opening and took a good hard look at the people involved in this huge project. He concludes that they don’t regard it as an ordinary job. Article courtesy of Cleantechnica.com. … [Read more...]
IEA sees “major shift” – but not major enough
“A major shift in investment towards low-carbon sources of power generation is underway”, according to a first-ever detailed analysis of investment across the global energy system from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Yet, in non-OECD countries, “investment in conventional generation remains strong”, with over 75 GW of coal-fired power plants starting operation in 2015 in “developing Asia” – “as much as all renewable capacity additions in … [Read more...]
China’s continuing renewable energy revolution – can it save the world?
China has made strategic choices favouring renewables over fossil fuels that are still not widely understood or appreciated, writes John A. Mathews, Professor of Management, Macquarie University, Australia. In this article he gives an overview of the latest trends in Chinese eletric power generation, which shows that the system is still "greening" faster than it is becoming black. But whether it is changing fast enough to save the world, is still … [Read more...]
Jean-Paul Chabard, Scientific Director at EDF’s R&D: “Electrical storage is the grail for an electricity producer”
In this exclusive interview with Energy Post, the man in charge of EDF’s flagship new research centre just outside Paris, Jean-Paul Chabard, explains where the company sees its future opportunities. With an R&D budget of €650 million, EDF has the largest R&D effort of any utility in Europe. The EDF Lab at Paris-Saclay, which opened in March, houses half the company’s 2,000-strong R&D staff. Chabard says “electrical storage is the … [Read more...]
Paris deal, rapid transition means deepening doldrums for energy incumbents
Even as the earth is heating up, established oil, gas and nuclear companies are increasingly feeling the heat of the energy transition, writes famous author and entrepreneur Jeremy Leggett. Signs are everywhere that the fossil fuels game is almost up. This article was republished from Leggett's blog. … [Read more...]
The Age of the Lithium Barons has arrived
We've gone electric, and there's no going back at this point, writes James Stafford of Oilprice.com. Lithium is our new fuel, which will power pretty much everything on which our economy is built. But like fossil fuels, the reserves we're currently tapping into are finite. Those who start tapping into them now will be extremely well positioned in the future. … [Read more...]
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