Despite apparent contradictions, the main thrust of Donald Trumpâs energy policy approach is very clear, writes author and energy expert Michael Klare: he aims to abolish all regulations that stand in the way of unrestrained fossil fuel extraction. Even if this spells doom for segments of the fossil fuel industry that will get hurt by low prices â not to mention the planet. Courtesy Tomdispatch.com. … [Read more...]
The OPEC deal: a recipe for volatility
Last weekâs OPEC deal takes place in a very different context than earlier deals from the 1990s, writes Geoffrey Styles, Managing Director of independent US-based consultancy GSW Strategy Group. US shale producers are looking to fill supply gaps, inventories are higher than ever, and alternatives to oil in transport are emerging. If thatâs not a recipe for volatility, Styles wonders, then what is? Original post. … [Read more...]
The big Dutch coal mistake and the future of coal in Europe
RWE, Uniper and Engie have fairly quietly written off billions of euros on three brand new coal power plants in the Netherlands, according to a new report from independent consultant Gerard Wynn for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). In an article for his own website, the Energy and Carbon Blog, Wynn notes that the Dutch experience means no new coal power plants are likely to be built again any time soon in Europe. … [Read more...]
The future of OPEC: it wonât die, but it will become a different animal
Regardless of the outcome of the meeting on 30 November, the future of OPEC looks uncertain. The organisation is facing a perfect storm, squeezed as it is between the revolution in shale oil, which has increased global supply and brought down prices, and the prospect of a global peak demand stemming from climate policies and falling costs of alternatives. Some have even declared the death of OPEC, but according to Thijs Van de Graaf, professor at … [Read more...]
Why the future belongs to decentralised renewables, not centralised hydrogen and giga-scale nuclear
What the future of our energy system will look like continues to be a subject of heated debate. According to one well-established tradition, writes Professor John Mathews of Macquarie University in Australia, the route to decarbonisation will run via massive nuclear power systems to the hydrogen economy. But China and to some extent India are emerging as the principal practitioners of an alternative vision of energy growth, underpinning their … [Read more...]
We canât simply bet on renewable energy to stop global warming
Simply switching to renewables alone will not solve the climate change problem, writes Steffen Böhm, Professor in Organisation and Sustainability at the University of Exeter. We need to start removing carbon from the atmosphere. And we need to tackle the demand side. We cannot simply assume that relentless economic growth is compatible with a green future. Courtesy of The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Oil companiesâ climate initiative lacks initiative
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) formed by ten of the worldâs largest oil companies including Shell, BP, Total, Statoil and Saudi Aramco, has announced it will spend $1 billion over the next ten years âto accelerate the development of innovative low-emission technologiesâ. According to Stuart Haszeldine, Professor of Carbon Capture and Storage, at the University of Edinburgh, this is âsmall change compared to the size of the problem. … [Read more...]
Peak car ownership will speed up peak oil demand
In a new report, the Rocky Mountain Institute makes the stunning prediction that car ownership will peak by 2020. New ownership models and technological advances such as driverless cars will utterly transform the mobility market, concludes Fereidoon Sioshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. The big casualty will be oil companies, which are still in denial. … [Read more...]
Electric car revolution may drive oil âinvestor death spiralâÂ
Advanced batteries could âtip the oil market from growth to contraction earlier than anticipated,â concludes credit rating agency Fitch in a new study. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has already told investors to expect the âbig crashâ in oil by 2028âââand as early as 2023. Joseph Romm  Joseph Romm, founding editor of the influential weblog Climate Progress, warns of the âinvestor death spiralâ that may await the oil industry. Article … [Read more...]
Hereâs how to build 100% clean renewable energy in the US before 2040
There really is a feasible way to build our way out of the climate crisis in time to avoid the worst effects of global warming, writes Tom Solomon of 350 New Mexico. We do it by rapidly replacing all fossil fuel-based energy with renewable energy built with current technology, installed in a smart grid. We pay for it without damaging the economy and actually save money vs. our current reliance on fossil fuels. The âside benefitsâ include cleaner … [Read more...]
Visions clash at World Energy Congress in Istanbul
The World Energy Council gave out a clear message at the World Energy Congress that took place this week in Istanbul: the world needs to move away from fossil fuels much faster than it is doing today. That contrasted sharply with the message given out by most of the high-level speakers from government and business at the Congress, who stressed that the world needs more oil and gas. Mohammad Barkindo, the new Secretary General of oil cartel OPEC … [Read more...]
Interview IEA Chief Fatih Birol: âWe are once again increasing our expectations for renewables”
In its upcoming World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is âonce again happily increasing our growth projections of renewable energyâ, says Executive Director Fatih Birol in an interview. But a world without fossil fuels is not yet in sight. âThere are fossil fuels and fossil fuels. Coal and oil should be discouraged. Natural gas will continue to play an important role in even our most stringent scenarios.â This interview was … [Read more...]
Interview Spencer Dale, BP Group Chief Economist: âThe energy transition could come faster than we thinkâ
The energy industry faces uncertainties of daunting magnitude on many levels, says Spencer Dale, BPâs Group Chief Economist, in this exclusive interview: the pace of climate change policy, the growth of renewables, the apparent demise of coal, falling energy prices, the role of natural gas in the energy mix, and the likely impact of energy efficiency on demand growth. According to Dale, âitâs possible that we will see forces leading to a faster … [Read more...]
Interview Francesco Starace, CEO Enel:Â âWe have stopped investing in projects that take more than 2 or 3 years”
âOur aim is to grow the use of electricity as energy vectorâ. This is how Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel, one of the worldâs largest utilities and perhaps the biggest producer of renewable energy in the world, describes the strategic goal of his company. According to Starace, the utility of the future owns and manages a digitised grid that connects up decentralised green energy sources and is at the centre of a whole new system of energy products … [Read more...]
The “new realities for energy”: peak demand, stranded assets
"The world is undergoing a Grand Transition driven by a combination of factors including the fast-paced development of new technologies, an unstoppable digital revolution, global environmental challenges and changing growth and demographic patterns", according to a statement from the World Energy Council, a UN-accredited global energy network with over 3,000 member organisations in over 90 countries. According to the World Energy Council, the … [Read more...]
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