Energy Post

Daily reports on the European and Global energy transition

The Iran nuclear deal: to leave or not to leave

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The future of the Iran nuclear deal hangs in the balance as the May 12 deadline set by US President Trump to “fix” the deal or walk away from it approaches. Rachel Brandenburg, director of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Security Initiative interviews Matthew Kroenig, deputy director for strategy in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and Aaron Stein, senior fellow in the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, about whether the … [Read more...]

EU gas and power transmission grid operators map out energy future (Energy Post Weekly)

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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

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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...]

Why it’s possible to be (a little bit) optimistic about climate change (Energy Post Weekly)

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Are we headed for a climate cataclysm? Do we need a World War Two effort to stave off disaster? "Ecomodernist" Will Boisvert explains why the effects of climate change won't be as bad as most people think. Karel Beckman has the story. (This article is published in full on our premium website Energy Post Weekly in Karel Beckman's weekly Energy Watch.) … [Read more...]

Southeast Europe needs more nuclear power to head off energy crisis

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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...]

Germany’s new government deal fails the Paris climate accord test

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On climate and energy It’s three steps forward and four back as Angela Merkel resumes government in coalition with the social democrats, writes Niklas Höhne, founding partner of the NewClimate Institute and Professor at Wageningen University. According to Höhne, with the coalition deal Germany forfeits its position as global climate leader and undermines the Paris Agreement. Courtesy Climate Home News. … [Read more...]

The new EU electricity market design: more market – or more state?

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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...]

BP: oil and gas resilient to “faster transition” – until 2040

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Whatever happens – oil and gas will be needed in 2040 in at least the same quantities as today. That was a key message conveyed by BP’s Chief Economist Spencer Dale on Tuesday when he presented the 2018 edition of the BP Energy Outlook in London. Energy Post editor-in-chief Karel Beckman discusses Dale’s findings and wonders: what about Beyond 2040? … [Read more...]

Corbyn avoids real choices with call for nationalisation of energy

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Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for the nationalisation of the UK energy industry in order to deliver the transition to a low-carbon economy. That may sound radical and ambitious, writes Karel Beckman, editor-in-chief of Energy Post, but it is not a solution at all. According to Beckman, the Labour Leader is shirking the responsibility to come up with realistic and effective climate change policies. … [Read more...]

EU ties itself into knots with capacity market decisions [Energy Post Weekly]

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On 7 February the European Commission approved six new capacity mechanisms in the name of security of supply, insisting that they will not distort the Single Market. Two problems: one, the national decisons come as the EU tries to negotiate Europe-wide power market rules for the next decade. Two, the Commission wants those market rules to exclude coal plants from public support - when it has just authorised Poland to give state aid in the form of … [Read more...]

A step backwards – European Member states threaten to reverse progress on the Single Electricity Market

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The European Council’s proposals on the internal energy market fundamentally weaken the framework that is needed to deliver an integrated market that will benefit European energy consumers, write Philip Baker and Christos Kolokathis from the global energy policy advisors Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). They may even legalise practices that are currently – and should remain – illegal. The authors call on European policymakers to support the … [Read more...]

Europe’s biggest fossil fuel project gets €1.5bn public loan

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The European Investment Bank has approved a loan to the Southern Gas Corridor, in a move environmentalists described as a “historical mistake”, writes Karl Mathiesen of Climate Home News. The move brings the total public backing for Europe's biggest fossil fuel project to $3.5 billion. Courtesy Climate Home News. … [Read more...]

New German government adopts coal phase-out in all but name

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The coalition accord between Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz includes an increase in the renewables target in the electricity mix from 50% to 65% by 2030. Jon Berntsen and Anders Nordeng of Thomson Reuters Point Carbon have analysed how this will impact the German energy sector and conclude that it is a coal phaseout policy in all but name. … [Read more...]