Britain’s extraordinary energy transition is in part down to increased energy efficiency: put simply, less electricity was needed, whatever the source. But coal is still essential during spikes in demand. Given coal generation is due to be phased out by 2025, the country will need to find alternative power sources to cope during extreme weather events. And that overall decline in electricity demand is sure to be reversed as more vehicles and … [Read more...]
Bioenergy carbon capture: Climate snake oil or 1.5C panacea?
Most models for meeting 1.5℃ or 2℃ climate change targets suggest we will be using bioenergy carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) to mop up the world’s total annual CO2 emissions by around 2070 (for 2℃). This means moving from today’s three BECCS power plants to 16,000 by 2060. But, explains Paul Behrens of Leiden University, large-scale BECCS is a “monumentally tricky idea,” and, while aiming to fix climate disruption, it makes many things … [Read more...]
Estonia needs a plan – and support – to get rid of its dirty oil shale
The need for a transition to sustainable energy is widely felt in Estonia, but after twenty years of talking, Estonia’s dirty oil shale industry is still carrying on. In fact, thanks to lower taxes, a boom in oil shale mining is expected. Estonian Green Movement, a member of Bankwatch, recently presented the national parliament with a proposal for a strategic oil shale exit plan. According to Teet Randma, national campaigner for Bankwatch in … [Read more...]
Decarbonising heavy industry can’t be done without large-scale CCS effort
The decarbonisation will require a profound transformation, writes David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor at Shell. Shell’s Sky climate scenario shows it can't be done without large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS). A new initiative should boost progress on CCS. … [Read more...]
EU policy must wake up to carbon dioxide removal
Most scenarios to meet the Paris Agreement’s targets require negative emissions technologies. However, carbon dioxide removal is not part of the EU’s climate policy yet. Its integration presents a serious challenge to the EU’s low-carbon policy paradigm and experience, write Oliver Geden of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Vivian Scott of the University of Edinburgh and James Palmer of the University of Bristol. … [Read more...]
Poland’s love affair with coal: can the EU do anything about it?
The Polish government’s strong commitment to coal goes against EU policy direction and against market conditions, write Anna Mikulska of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and Eryk Kosinski of Adam Mickiewicz University. But coal has a special place in the nation’s collective heart. To wean Poland off coal will require EU support to coal-dependent regions and for alternative energy sources, the authors argue. … [Read more...]
Green Gold: a documentary filmmaker unearths the shocking story behind biofuels
On 22 November, the impressive documentary “Green Gold” by veteran filmmaker Sergio Ghizzardi premieres at the Aventura cinema in Brussels. Over a period of nearly ten years Ghizzardi travelled to all corners of the globe, interviewing politicians, farmers, oil industry representatives, biofuel producers and NGOs to understand “a political project” that began in Brussels and kicked up a worldwide storm that is still getting bigger every day. … [Read more...]
Trading biomass like oil: Lithuania shows how it can be done
European biomass markets are fragmented and intransparent, writes Jakub Kucera, economic analyst at RSJ, a Prague-based investment company. With one exception: Lithuania has a well-functioning biomass spot market, Baltpool. Could this become a model for other European countries? The Lithuanians would like to expand. … [Read more...]
Biofuel breakthroughs bring ‘negative emissions’ a step closer
Recent breakthroughs in biofuel research have brought the prospect of ‘negative emissions’ a step closer, writes Andrew Hopkins, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Australian National University. With the help of pyrolysis, biomass in the form of algae can be converted into char, which can be used as soil additive, returning carbon to the soil. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Interview bio-energy expert André Faaij: “So much nonsense has been told – high time for the real story”
“An enormous amount of nonsense” has been told about bio-energy, says André Faaij, scientific director of Energy Academy Europe and professor Energy Systems Analysis at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. According to Faaij, it is high time for the real – scientifically validated – story. “The bio-based economy is indispensable for our climate policy and can mean huge progress for agriculture and nature in developing countries”. … [Read more...]
A new energy bible: Samuele Furfari explains why technology is king
If you’re in the energy business, here is a new manual for you that lays out the essentials of what energy is and how it shapes geopolitics today. Professor and long-time European Commission official Samuele Furfari has condensed his 39 years of experience in the energy sector into a two-volume tome of more than 1,250 pages that goes right from the fundamentals of physics through Britain’s rule of the Middle East to modern day realities such as … [Read more...]
Biopower (part 3): what does the future hold?
The future of bioenergy is uncertain. The many constraints it faces suggest it could see very little growth. But the huge challenge of solving climate change makes some think it could be the savior of the planet in the long run. This is part 3 of a three-part series that first appeared on the Energy Transition blog, at energytransition.org. … [Read more...]
Biopower (part 2): Climate science for bioenergy is lost in the woods
Producing electricity from biomass is one of the most controversial and least understood forms of renewable energy. In this three part series, we first explored myths and facts about biopower. In this second installment we’ll try to make sense of a seemingly simple question – is biopower good for cutting our carbon emissions? It is anything but simple. This series first appeared on the Energy Transition blog, at energytransition.org. … [Read more...]
Myths and facts about biopower (part 1 of 3)
While wind and solar are widely popular, and nuclear and energy storage hotly debated, much less is said about the role bioenergy could play in the transition to a low-carbon society. In a three-part article, Bentham Paulos argues that bioenergy has an important role to play in the green future and exposes some of the myths around it. This article originally appeared in the Energy Transition blog. … [Read more...]
Costs of electricity generation compared: beware of simple metrics
With the rapid growth of renewables, comparing costs of different forms of power generation has become important for policymakers, investors and analysts. In these comparisons, the metric of LCOE (levelized cost of energy) is often used, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) warns that this metric does not cover all the complexities involved. The EIA has written a short primer on comparing power generation costs. … [Read more...]
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