The EU’s great power transition – the liberalisation and integration of its energy markets and the expansion of renewables – has reached a crucial stage. According to three seasoned energy experts, the EU's energy project - one of the greatest missions ever to be undertaken by the European Union - has delivered some positive results, but it is also faced with mounting challenges - political uncertainty being the most prominent one. The … [Read more...]
Samuele Furfari: “If Russia cuts the gas tap, it can forget its dream of selling gas to China one day”
The EU has made remarkable progress in improving its security of supply over the last decade and should not worry that Russia will cut off its gas supplies, says Professor Samuele Furfari in an interview with Energy Post Brussels Correspondent Hughes Belin. A long-time senior advisor at the European Commission, Professor Furfari, author of a brandnew provocative book in French - "Vive les Ă©nergies fossiles!" - says the world has entered a new … [Read more...]
How competition works in the electricity sector? This is how!
The EU has set itself a deadline to “complete” the internal energy market by 2014. However,  many EU member states have not yet adequately implemented the EU’s energy directives. There is still a lot of scepticsm in Europe about the blessings of a competitive, integrated  energy market. One of the countries that has done most to liberalise its energy market is the Netherlands. So what has been the result for energy consumers? Energy Post’s editor … [Read more...]
Welcome to Modelgate: Brussels’ justification for a small climate target is based on a big lie
The European Commission has recommended a low greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030, because it says that higher targets would hurt the European economy. But according to its own impact assessment, the opposite is true, writes Brook Riley of Friends of the Earth Europe. According to Riley, the Commission’s impact assessment shows that a more ambitious target has a more positive impact on GDP than a less ambitious one. … [Read more...]
Trouble in oil paradise: domestic challenges in Saudi Arabia and their global implications
Saudi Arabia, the mainstay of the world’s oil system, is faced with mounting problems in its domestic energy market which affect its ability to function as the global swing producer, warns Eckart Woertz in a policy brief written for the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF). The country is faced with such a severe natural gas shortage that half of its electricity production now comes from oil. As a result, its ability to export oil may … [Read more...]
Mr Tusk, on what planet do you live (and in which century)?
The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk proposes to counter the EU’s dependency on Russian gas by forming an “energy union” – a “single European body charged with buying its gas”. According to Energy Post’s editor-in-chief Karel Beckman, this implies that we should fight the Russians by imitating the Russian command-and-control system. Apparently Mr Tusk has not understood what the EU – or EU energy policy – is about. … [Read more...]
A story of ice and fire: how methane hydrates could change the world
A recent technological breakthrough in Japan might soon render economically viable the large-scale exploitation of methane hydrates. The potential of this new (and global) form of unconventional natural gas is mind-blowing. Although a number of countries have already displayed strong interest in exploring their reserves, Japan is most likely to lead this new “dash for gas”. It has already made the development of methane hydrates an important … [Read more...]
Fracking in the UK: engineers say they can do it safely
The UK is rapidly coming to a pivotal point in its engineering policies. Will it exploit its massive potential of shale gas or will it let itself be steered away from a new gas revolution out of environmental fears? At a recent special summit organised by the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), engineers explained why the fears are overblown. They argued strongly that fracking can be done safely and with minimal impact on the … [Read more...]
Professor Ye Qi’s inside view on Chinese climate policy: “There is no way we can peak in 2015”
Although China is tackling climate change and air pollution in a serious way, there is no way the country’s greenhouse gas emissions will peak anytime soon, says the influential Chinese climate scientist Professor Ye Qi in an interview with Energy Post. Professor Qi, who is Director of China’s Climate Policy Institute School of Public Policy and Management – part  of Tsinghua University – and responsible for the publication of an important annual … [Read more...]
State aid: Commission adopts new rules on public support for environmental protection and energy
The European Commission has adopted new rules on public support for projects in the field of environmental protection and energy. The guidelines will support Member States in reaching their 2020 climate targets, while addressing the market distortions that may result from subsidies granted to renewable energy sources. To this end, the guidelines promote a gradual move to market-based support for renewable energy. They also provide criteria on how … [Read more...]
Carbon Delirium: the hazardous impact of fossil-fuel addiction on American foreign policy
The elites in the U.S. and other “petro-states” have become so addicted to the power and riches brought by fossil fuels, they are blind to their ill effects, argues Michael Klare. As an example he notes the “delusional” idea that increased gas and oil production in North America could somehow influence Vladimir Putin’s behavior towards Ukraine. This addiction, says Klare, must be cured, as it poses a “direct danger to humanity”. … [Read more...]
Owners make final commitment to Fennovoima
Fennovoima’s owners Voimaosakeyhtiö SF and RAOS Voima Oy have today on April 15th made the binding decision to construct and finance Fennovoima’s nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki. According to Fennovoima, the nuclear plant "supports Finland’s competitiveness and the operations of its owner companies. The project increases Finland’s self-sufficiency in electricity generation and strengthens the security of supply. According to the agreed … [Read more...]
The Nuclear Power Imperative
As the world’s richest and most innovative economy and second largest source of carbon emissions, the United States should be leading a grand global innovation challenge encompassing the entire range of low-carbon options, including nuclear, argues Richard Lester, Japan Steel Industry Professor and Head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to Lester, climate policy “is about … [Read more...]
Clean energy investment picks up in first quarter after stagnation last year
Clean Energy Pipeline,  “the online financial news and data service dedicated to the clean energy sector”, reports that “new investment in the global clean energy sector totalled $61.0 billion in 1Q14, representing a 14% increase on the $53.4 billion invested in the corresponding period in 2013." “New clean energy investment was encouraging in 1Q14, marking a welcome change from recent press releases where we have been reporting year-on-year … [Read more...]
The Age of Renewables has begun – as solar power continues to shoot down the cost curve
A new report by investment analysts from Citigroup says that in the US “the Age of Renewables” has begun. This is confirmed by the most recent public announcements from First Solar and SunPower, two of the largest solar power producers in the US, which both continue to see solar costs coming down rapdily. Analysts from McKinsey have become convinced that the developments in the solar power sector will have a seriously disruptive effect on the … [Read more...]
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