Ministers in the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on 12 December held an in-depth discussion on a revised version of the draft text, which aims to minimise the impact of land use change on greenhouse gas emissions. The draft indirect land use (ILUC) directive aims to promote the move towards biofuels while limiting the possibility of increased greenhouse gas emissions due to increased biofuels production. It will amend the … [Read more...]
Interview EU Climate Chief Connie Hedegaard: “Climate policy cannot be based on emission reduction alone”
The European Union should adopt EU-wide targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency for 2030, says Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard in an interview with Energy Post. She rejects pleas from the energy sector to base EU climate policy solely on CO2 emission reduction targets. She does note, however, that there has been a tendency to “overcompensate” renewable energy, i.e. too generous subsidies. “It was never the plan to subsidise … [Read more...]
IRENA presents unique overview of renewable energy costs
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has launched a “unique web portal dedicated to renewable energy cost analysis.” The portal provides access to IRENA’s data and analysis at no cost to users. “IRENA has developed the most current and comprehensive global database of renewable energy project costs available to the public. Our new portal makes this resource available for policy makers, businesses and the renewable energy community … [Read more...]
UK electricity market: financiers are holding the government over a barrel
The UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) published new “strike prices” for renewable energy on 4 December, claiming these will lead to additional investment of ÂŁ40 billion in renewable electricity generation up to 2020. But according to Michael Knowles, Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the support scheme is too generous for suppliers and DECC should do much more to drive costs of renewables down. … [Read more...]
WTO should go for Global Green Growth trade deal
The trade facilitation agreement reached by the WTO last Saturday is only a modest step towards a global trade deal. What the world needs now, writes John Mathews, is a Global Green Growth trade deal that would not only enhance the stature of the WTO, but would deliver huge investment in green growth – and far more secure cuts in carbon emissions than any Kyoto-style agreement could ever achieve. … [Read more...]
Renewable Energy Association to UK government: stop “needlessly negative language”
On the eve of the important financial statement from the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer on 4 December, and with the political energy debate getting more and more acrimonious, the UK Renewable Energy Association calls on Chancellor George Osborne to "send a positive signal to investors in the green economy by underlining the Government’s commitment to supporting home-grown renewable energy." On rising energy bills, REA Chief Executive Dr Nina … [Read more...]
Paper industry presents breakthrough decarbonisation technology
The European pulp and paper industry has found a breakthrough decarbonisation technology called “deep eutectic solvents”. It is a brand new technology which, at low temperatures, breaks biomass down into constituent parts which can then be used in the paper and pulp industries. “If utilised at scale this technology could radically change pulp and paper production around the world and replace some of the most energy intensive parts of the current … [Read more...]
Small-Wind Power Market to Reach $3 Billion by 2020, with China in the Lead
With growing incentives announced by various governments and larger end-user awareness, the small-wind power market is expected to increase massively, from $609m in 2012 to $3 billion by 2020, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22%, says research and consulting firm GlobalData. According to the company’s latest report, the global small-wind turbine cumulative installed capacity is also expected to witness a significant increase from … [Read more...]
Auto and oil companies present long-term plan for biofuels in Europe
A consortium of six major car manufacturers and oil companies in Europe - Volkswagen, Daimler, Honda, Neste Oil, OMV and Shell – has today published a “biofuel roadmap” for the EU to 2030. The roadmap, prepared by technical consultancy E4tech, may be seen as an atttempt by industry  to transcend the current deadlock between the European Parliament and EU Member States over new biofuels legislation, which is crippling biofuel investment. The … [Read more...]
The battle over the world’s largest wealth fund – and what it means for the energy sector
A broad movement has emerged in Norway to get the country’s $720 billion sovereign wealth fund to invest in renewable energy. According to Terje Osmundsen, blogger and Senior Vice President of Scatec Solar, a globally leading solar power provider, such a change in strategy would have far-reaching effects on the global energy market. Not only directly, but also indirectly as Norway’s fund is seen as a model by other SWF’s. Meanwhile, pressure is … [Read more...]
International Renewable Energy Agency confirms first permanent diplomatic representatives
Abu Dhabi, 21 November 2013 – The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) this week received its first two permanent representatives – a key step to build up the diplomatic functions of the young organisation’s headquarters in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Representatives of the UAE and Germany – the countries home to IRENA’s permanent headquarters in Abu Dhabi and Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn – presented their … [Read more...]
Interview Ambassador Wu: “An energy revolution is very much needed”
In a speech in Groningen at the Energy Convention 2013, Wu Jianmin, Executive Vice-Chairman of the influential China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, a government-aligned think tank in Beijing, declared that China “very much needs an energy revolution”. China “depends too much on coal”, said Wu. But in an interview with Energy Post he added we should not expect miracles. “We can't get rid of the coal yet.” … [Read more...]
Global electricity producers: credible carbon pricing essential
Electricity utilities see having a credible price level for CO2 and long-term, predictable policies as the crucial factors for driving change in their fuel and technology mix, according to the latest insights from the Global Electricity Initiative (GEI), presented today. Despite important efforts to increase investments in renewables, the GEI utilities expect fossil fuels to continue to be the basis of generation capacity from 2015 to 2035. … [Read more...]
The Mad Scientists at the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories
What energy innovation can we expect to come out of the United States in the coming years? Matthew Stepp, Senior Policy Analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in Washington DC, takes us on a whirlwind tour of some of the most advanced American energy research going on. He visits five of the 17 National Laboratories of the US Department of Energy, where research is carried out on materials (e.g. for better … [Read more...]
Why a carbon tax is a bad idea
With the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) struggling and “carbon credit frauds” in the news, many analysts argue we should get rid of carbon trading and opt for carbon taxes instead. But according to Alex Trembath and Matthew Step, carbon taxes will do nothing to cut emissions because they don’t lead to innovation. “Steve Jobs didn’t develop the PC because the price of typewriters went up.” … [Read more...]
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