Energy Post

Daily reports on the European and Global energy transition

Can the U.S. compete in the electric car war?

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The U.S. needs a coherent, unified energy policy with respect to vehicle electrification and automation if it wants to keep up with China, write Leonard Hyman and William Tilles. U.S. and European auto manufacturers have equal or greater resources than their Chinese counterparts. But they don’t have the same level of government support – and therefore cannot rely on their domestic markets. Courtesy Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]

Will China’s Belt and Road Initiative help or hinder clean energy?

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China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the broad infrastructure and market-building initiative of the world’s second-largest economy, has a different feel than trade agreements initiated in the West – and it could have major implications for the future of energy across many parts of the world, writes Sonia Aggarwal, Vice President of think tank Energy Innovation, and Director of America’s Power Plan. … [Read more...]

China just launched the world’s largest carbon market. Here are 3 ways it can succeed

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On December 19, China formally launched its national carbon market. By setting a carbon price on the country’s largest greenhouse-gas emitters, China has launched a new, crucial endeavor in its efforts to tackle pollution and climate change, write Hal Harvey and Hu Min of the San Francisco-based think tank Energy Innovation. … [Read more...]

The quiet power market transformation behind the new carbon market in China

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In December, the Chinese government announced the launch of a national carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS), which is expected to become the largest ETS in the world. This is a major development, writes Max Dupuy, senior associate at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), but its success depends on an even deeper power sector transformation that is taking place in China, which gets much less attention. This reform effort promises to completely … [Read more...]

Winds of change: Britain now generates twice as much electricity from wind as coal

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Just six years ago, more than 40% of Britain’s electricity was generated by burning coal. Today, that figure is just 7%. Yet if the story of 2016 was the dramatic demise of coal and its replacement by natural gas, then 2017 was most definitely about the growth of wind power, write Grant Wilson and Iain Staffell. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]

Roadmap to nowhere: the myth of powering the nation 100% with renewable energy

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Renewables have captured the public’s imagination,but can they actually be scaled up to power the entire nation, ask Mike Conley and Tim Maloney? In their new ebook, available at RoadmapToNowhere.com, they present their reasons why they are convinced 100% renewables is a myth - and why we should rely primarily on nuclear power. … [Read more...]

Exclusive interview Maros Šefčovič: Energy Union is “deepest transformation of energy systems since Industrial Revolution”

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Before the next European elections in 2019, Maroš Ĺ efÄŤoviÄŤ , the European Commission’s Vice-President for the Energy Union, wants to have a new legal framework in place which will “bring in the most comprehensive and deepest transformation of energy systems in Europe, since the [industrial revolution] one hundred and fifty years ago.” In an exclusive interview with Energy Post, he says that the success of the Energy Union project “will decide the … [Read more...]

The world should go for zero emissions, not two degrees

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Two years after the climate summit in Paris, euphoria has largely evaporated, writes Oliver Geden, Head of Research Division EU/Europe at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). There has been little sign of additional ambition in climate change mitigation since. One fundamental reason, according to Geden, is that the target of “holding the temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius” does not commit countries … [Read more...]

Trump’s “America First” energy policy puts China ahead in energy

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China has indicated it is set to launch a crude oil futures contract in yuan, which could be a significant step towards the de-dollarization of the global economy. It is a sign of China’s growing confidence – and the U.S.’s declining influence, writes Friedbert PflĂĽger, Director of the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS). According to PflĂĽger, President Trump’s “America First” policy is having the opposite effect: it is … [Read more...]

Why we shouldn’t be so quick to trust energy modelling

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In Australia a fierce debate is raging over the future of the national electricity market. The arguments from the government and its critics are all based on energy models, but the outcome of models strongly depends on their underlying assumptions, writes Hugh Saddler of Australian National University. These are difficult to verify, since all models that are used are proprietary and cannot be independently evaluated. One way to move past the … [Read more...]

How to ensure that corporate buying of renewable energy really makes a difference

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Many corporations are eager to contribute to the fight against climate change by sourcing renewable energy. Yet, despite some high-profile power purchase agreements, corporate renewables sourcing is still a small market and its real contribution to the energy transition is doubtful sometimes, writes Malte Gephart, energy policy expert at international consultancy Navigant. According to Gephart, this is a missed opportunity. He explains what needs … [Read more...]

A fresh start for climate change mitigation in New Zealand

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The election of the sixth Labour-led government, in a coalition with the Greens, heralds a new direction for climate change policy in New Zealand, writes professor Robert McLachlan of Massey University. That is high time, according to McLachlan: the country’s emission trading system has not delivered, greenhouse gas emissions have risen. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]

Why the future of batteries is lithium and why their impact will be bigger than you think

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The tremendous advances being made in lithium battery technology are being underestimated by many people, writes financial energy specialist Gerard Reid. Competitive EVs are just a few years away. They will be followed by radical improvements that will have huge implications for air and ship transport as well. Courtesy Energy and Carbon blog. … [Read more...]

The case for additional actions within the EU ETS has just become stronger

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It is sometimes thought that total emissions in the EU ETS (Emission Trading System) are equal to the cap, and so any additional actions, such as phase-out of coal power, increasing energy efficiency and deploying more renewables, have no effect. But this is not true, writes climate change economist Adam Whitmore. Indeed, according to Whitmore, recently agreed reforms to the EU ETS strengthen the case for additional actions. For policymakers, … [Read more...]