From a banking perspective, energy efficiency is difficult to classify in terms of business opportunities because its benefits are so widely dispersed,  writes Stephen Hibbert, global head of Energy & Carbon Efficiency at ING Wholesale Banking. For this reason, to close the “investment gap” in energy efficiency, “a historic level of public-private cooperation” is needed, according to Hibbert. He sees many signs that this is happening. … [Read more...]
The great battery race
The coming of cheap and effective lithium-based batteries will cause the greatest changes in the energy and automobile sector since Henry Ford built the model T, writes Gerard Reid, founding partner of Alexa Capital, financial analyst and co-founder of the Energy and Carbon blog. But European countries like Germany and France have no significant production, in contrast to China, which views batteries and their raw materials as key factors in the … [Read more...]
UK’s French Connection shows: cross-border links are the way to go
Few people realise that despite Brexit, the UK is embarking on a large expansion of its electricity interconnections with the European mainland. Is this a good idea, asks energy finance consultant Gerard Wynn? Wynn, who has just co-written a report on the Electricity Grid Transition in the UK, points out that the UK-France interconnector came under tremendous pressure last year, but in the end proved its usefulness. Courtesy Energy & Carbon … [Read more...]
French election 2017: where the candidates stand on energy and climate change
The French presidential elections are fast approaching with the first voting round set to be held on 23 April and the run-off between the top two candidates – if neither wins a majority – on 7 May. Jocelyn Timperley of Carbon Brief takes a look at where the major candidates stand on energy and climate change. Courtesy Carbon Brief. … [Read more...]
How much will it really cost to decommission the aging French nuclear fleet?
A recently published French governmental report has blown a significant hole in the French nuclear decommissioning strategy, writes Paul Dorfman, Honorary Senior Research Associate at the Energy Institute, University College London and founder of the Nuclear Consulting Group. According to Dorfman, the report found that the clean-up of French reactors will take longer, be more challenging and cost much more than French nuclear operator EDF … [Read more...]
Why Germany needs a European Energiewende
Neither the German Energiewende nor the EU's Energy Union can succeed in isolation. We need a European Energiewende, writes Rebecca Bertram, who leads the European Energy Transition work at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin. Courtesy Energy Transition/Global Energiewende. … [Read more...]
Don’t throw out the energy efficiency baby with the Brexit bathwater
Will Brexit put energy efficiency progress in the UK at risk, ask Jan Rosenow, Pedro Guertler and Richard Cowart of RAP (Regulatory Assistance Project)? In electric appliances and heating systems – probably not. The biggest risk is in the building sector.UK policymakers will need to put efficiency first if they want to reach carbon targets and keep costs down. … [Read more...]
Saudi Arabia “leaves oil behind” (says ex-oil minister Al-Naimi)
Is Saudi Arabia serious about making the change from the world’s biggest oil exporter to a significant producer – and exporter – of renewable energy? Time will tell, but the country is certainly taking serious first steps, writes Nehad Ismail. … [Read more...]
How Germany’s plan for 100% electric cars could backfire
Germany has ambitious plans for both electric cars and renewable energy. But as things stand,  writes DĂ©nes Csala of Lancaster University, Germany’s well-meaning but contradictory ambitions would actually boost emissions by an amount comparable with the present-day emissions of Uruguay or the state of Montana. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Mr Energy Transition Claude Turmes cheered in Brussels, but across EU divisions run deep
As Green MEP Claude Turmes launched his vision for pursuing the green energy revolution in Europe, EU energy ministers remained strongly divided over the depth and pace of the energy transition. … [Read more...]
Nuclear crisis: even if facts no long matter, consequences still do
The example of Germany shows that trying to decarbonize electricity supply while also removing nuclear power from the mix is simply too high a mountain to climb, writes Milton Caplan, President of MZConsulting. And this is not just about Germany, he adds. … [Read more...]
Energy Union requires concrete projects and protection of European interests
To deliver the Energy Union, the European Commission should promote concrete projects, such as equipping all European highways with charging points for electric vehicles. It should also act to protect workers and consumers who get hurt by the energy transition, protect European markets from dumping practices and turn Malta and Cyprus into 100% renewable energy islands, write Enrico Letta, Thomas Pellerin-Carlin and Jean-Arnold Vinois of the … [Read more...]
California wants to go even greener – in defiance of Trump
While Donald Trump is turning back the clock on climate and renewable energy policy, politicians in California vow to maintain their ambitious "green" policies, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. State  lawmakers have even introduced new bills that go much further, requiring all new buildings to be equipped with solar power, and taking the State to 100% renewables. … [Read more...]
How to get the Visegrad Group to sign up to the EU’s Clean Energy Package
This year European energy ministers will have to come to a decision on the European Commission’s legislative package “Clean Energy for all Europeans”. Many observers expect the alliance between Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia (known as the Visegrád Group), to try to rein in European ambition on clean energy. But this year may be the start of something different, writes Manon Dufour, head of the Brussels office of independent think … [Read more...]
Here comes the end of the Energiewende again
Yet again, an expert – this time, a German – has announced that Germany’s energy transition cannot succeed. He has a surprising insight for Energiewende proponents: the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. How could we have missed that, wonders award-winning energy author Craig Morris? Courtesy Energy Transition/Global Energiewende. … [Read more...]
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