The main claim used to justify nuclear is that itâs the only low carbon power source that can supply âreliable, base load electricity. But not only can renewables supply baseload power, they can do something far more valuable: supply power flexibly according to demand, writes Mark Diesendorf, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at UNSW Australia. That, says Diesendorf, makes nuclear power really redundant. (This article … [Read more...]
Barclays: Germany’s coal generation may be worthless by 2030
Reneweconomy.com The 46,000MW of black and brown coal fired generation currently in service in Germany will be worthless in little more than a decade if the country adopts the targets embraced at the Paris climate change conference, a new analysis from Barclays says. … [Read more...]
Carbon capture for natural gas as the missing climate solution
Natural gas with carbon capture and storage could be an ideal long-term cheap and reliable low-carbon energy source, writes Albert Gilbert, cofounder of US-based energy research platform Spark Library. Compared to coal, using carbon capture for natural gas is both cheaper and cleaner. However, much more needs to be done to make commercial development of natural gas with CCS possible. … [Read more...]
Oil won’t stage a serious rebound until this happens
Oil prices have shown signs of life over the past few weeks, as production declines raise expectations that the market is starting to adjust. But according to Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com this price rally may be short-lived: prices won't recover until global inventories are reduced substantially. … [Read more...]
The inexorable shift of the US power sector
The growth of renewable energy in the US is based on fundamental economic, environmental and security benefits that it provides, writes David Littell of the Regulatory Assistance Project. This is why the renewables train canât be stopped anymore. … [Read more...]
How much can the next president influence the US energy system?
There have been dramatic changes in the U.S. energy system under our current president â a big drop in the use of coal, a boom in domestic oil and gas development from fracking, and the rapid spread of renewable energy. But in terms of influencing energy technology deployment, the next president will have a lot less influence than you might expect, writes Carey King, Research Scientist at the University of Texas. … [Read more...]
US shale oil: the day of reckoning will come
The financial state of the US shale oil industry is much worse than the still impressive production figures would lead us to believe, writes energy expert Jilles van den Beukel, a former geophysicist with Shell. Shale oil producers and investors have managed to postpone the day of reckoning, but the fundamentals of the industry make a shake-out inevitable. … [Read more...]
Brexit Britain: the balance sheet on energy and climate policy
In the energy sector, the disadvantages of EU membership overwhelmingly outweigh the advantages, the Business for Britain lobby group has argued. David Buchan and Malcolm Keay of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) and authors of a new book on the Energy Union, conclude, however, that EU constraints on UK energy policy have been minimal and benefits have been many. The consequences of a Brexit for the UK energy sector are not clear, … [Read more...]
Delusions or lies? The UK governmentâs five spurious reasons to back Hinkley Point C
The UK's Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) on 12 March published a short list of reasons why the proposed 3.2 GWs of nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point should be built. The publication, 5 Reasons why we are backing Hinkley Point C, is a mix of truth, unprovable assertions and omissions which could also be construed as lies, writes independent energy consultant Mike Parr. … [Read more...]
Is oil becoming stranded?
The risk of stranded oil assets may be greater than many people think, writes Paul Spedding, former Global Co-Head of Oil and Gas Research at HSBC and advisor to the non-profit financial think tank Carbon Tracker, which popularised the term âcarbon bubbleâ. According to Spedding, climate policies may well lead to a drop in demand that will leave oil reserves destined for future production stranded. … [Read more...]
How can we move beyond oil?
The US is moving beyond coal, but when it comes to oil, the energy transition has only just begun, writes Justin Guay, Program Officer, Climate at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Oil still dominates the transport market â and the political landscape. According to Guay, to move beyond oil, there is only one solution: to embrace the opportunity of shared, autonomous, electrified mobility. Article co-authored with Anthony Eggert of … [Read more...]
The looming Nordic energy crisis
Sweden is faced with the possible shutdown of its entire nuclear generating capacity. This could result in grid instability, price hikes and much higher greenhouse gas emissions, writes Rauli Partanen, an independent analyst and author on energy and the environment. Partanen calls on policymakers to take action to avoid a Swedish nuclear phaseout. … [Read more...]
Obama’s Clean Power Plan: wounded, not dead yet
The US Supreme Court has issued a judicial stay of President Obamaâs Clean Power Plan (CPP).  Scott Fulton, former General Counsel of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and current President of the Environmental Law Institute, explains the ramifications of this decision for US and international climate efforts, in an interview with Talia Fox, fellow of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute, "This will raise questions in the minds of … [Read more...]
New data debunks clean energy claims Apple, Amazon, Google
Recent claims by owners of large data centers that a large part of their operations are powered by renewable energy have skeptics coming out of from under their solar panels. Now, there is hard data proving that skepticism is valid, writes energy consultant and author Jim Pierobon. He applauds the efforts of companies like Amazon, Apple and Google to strive for clean energy, but calls for more transparency on their actual practices. … [Read more...]
National Parliaments should approve Paris Climate Agreement before it is a done deal
The European Commission is taking steps to have the Paris climate agreement ratified and signed at EU level, without involving the parliaments of the Member States. Although this may be formally acceptable, it is a bad idea, writes Lucas Bergkamp, Partner at the Brussels-based law firm Hunton & Williams: it will aggravate the EUâs âdemocratic deficitâ, weaken popular support for climate action and will leave intact key weaknesses in the … [Read more...]
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