Around the world, cheaper renewables, improved technology, and risks over reputation, financial performance and the environment are driving finance away from coal. In the early days it sometimes looked like “greenwash”, but over time commitments have ratcheted up to make it a reality. Europe and the U.S. have already made a good start, and Asia is now catching up. As renewables get cheaper nobody wants to be left holding billions in stranded … [Read more...]
The European Battery Alliance is moving up a gear
Europe needs batteries, primarily for clean mobility and grid stabilisation. But EU lithium-ion cell manufacturing is less than 3% of the global share, and mainly for high-end niche markets, not the automotive sector. If Europe doesn’t act fast, catching up with Asia will become impossible, writes Carole Mathieu of the IFRI’s Centre for Energy, reflecting the views of the European Battery Alliance (EBA). It’s a strategic imperative, given the … [Read more...]
IEA: Global energy investment stabilises at $1.8tn after 3 years of decline
Three consecutive years of declining global energy investment has ended. But it’s not risen, just stabilised at $1.8tn, according to the IEA’s latest report World Energy Investment 2019. To meet the Paris targets investment in efficiency needs to rise substantially, and double by 2030 for renewables: they have stalled for both. To meet soaring global energy demand oil and gas investments need to rise too. That demand is seeing cheap coal still … [Read more...]
IEA: Renewables growth worldwide is stalling
It’s bad enough that 2018 net capacity additions did not exceed 2017’s after two decades of strong growth. It is far more troubling that nobody saw it coming, says the IEA, who have laid out the data and main cause: stop-go policies. 2018's 180 GW is only 60% of what needs to be added each year to meet climate goals. China, the EU, India and Japan all fell back. Only emerging economies, developing countries and the US (slightly) saw growth. … [Read more...]
EU oversight of foreign investment in energy projects lacking
At the 21st EU-China Summit on 9 April, both sides hailed a new era in the trade relationship. Increasingly confident of its domestic technological capabilities, China will soon no longer oblige foreign companies active in China to share their tech know-how. And a new Foreign Investment Law in China allows for greater inward investment to the country, but maintains restrictions and scrutiny mechanisms on 48 sectors of key strategic interest (the … [Read more...]
There’s a limit to raising CO2 taxes. Re-focus on energy innovations to reverse emissions
Stop obsessing about raising CO2 taxes, says Severin Borenstein at the Energy Institute at Haas. It’s good, but not enough. Why? Textbook economics says if you tax something bad, innovators are incentivised and rewarded for coming up with something better. That’s true for cigarettes (vaping), plastic wrapping (recyclables, biodegradables), traffic (public transport). But there’s a limit with CO2 taxes, says the author. In developing countries … [Read more...]
Developing World: cashflow analysis shows gas, coal far more profitable than clean energy
80% of future energy infrastructure will be built in the developing world. Schalk Cloete has already written for us on the purely economic viability of developed world onshore wind, utility-scale solar PV, nuclear, natural gas and coal. He now presents his detailed cashflow analyses of the major generator technologies applied to the developing world. Because costs tend to be much lower the returns are higher. But gas and coal still easily … [Read more...]
SMR reactors: questions the “new nuclear” industry needs to answer
The new energy world is full of ambition about future developments, not least nuclear. At some point hard questions have to be asked and answered. Dan Yurman is asking questions about next generation Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). For example, why take on the unknown material and regulatory risk of SMRs over the known risks of proven LWRs? Which governments and/or investors will back the $500m needed to get an SMR into production? Where are the … [Read more...]
Children today must emit eight times less CO2 than their grandparents
No wonder young people have taken the reins of the climate demonstrations away from the adults. Zeke Hausfather at Carbon Brief shows that the global budget for avoiding warming of 1.5C or 2C has already been mostly used up. To put that in numbers, if children emit like their parents they’ll exhaust their carbon budget in just 9 years. It’s why emissions must peak in the next few years and then rapidly decline to hit the Paris targets. That’s … [Read more...]
China plans UHV transmission lines that span continents
China’s Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) project aims to create a worldwide network of UHV transmission lines that can deliver electricity between continents. If successful, generating electricity in the most remote areas – think deserts and the Arctic – becomes viable, as does China’s ability to sell electricity directly to Europe. First, two main technological challenges have to be overcome: energy loss along transmission lines spanning … [Read more...]
Transition: nation-by-nation review of race to phaseout coal
The global effort to phase out coal consumption is speeding up. However, a lot of necessary work is still to be done, both to align with the ambition of the Paris Agreement and to ensure a just transition for affected workers and citizens. Oliver Sartor at the IDDRI runs through the leading examples of coal's phase-out across the world, nation by nation, and warns that coal producing and consuming countries that do not adapt are in danger of … [Read more...]
Electric buses: China leads through policy ambition but Europe could overtake
News comes of another renewables record for China. Shenzhen based manufacturer BYD has launched the world’s largest pure electric double decker bus fleet, to be delivered to the city of Xi’an. To illustrate China’s drive to dominate this market, they have already won the international tender to deliver 37 of a total of 68 new electric double decker buses to London, where the red double decker is an icon. That’s more than the remaining 31 that … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE: Chinese government’s plan to meet the Paris goals
China is leading the energy transition as the world’s largest producer, exporter and installer of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles. It has a clear lead too in renewable energy patents, ahead of the U.S. and twice that of the EU. But it is also still heavily dependent on coal, the air pollution in its cities is legendary, and the economy is expected to quadruple by 2050. Against this background, Kaare Sandholt, Chief … [Read more...]
The Saudi Dilemma: To Cut Or Not To Cut
Following November's G20 meeting in Buenos Aires and the ensuing OPEC meeting earlier this month, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still left scratching its head. 90% of the Kingdom's income comes from Oil. As US shale keeps piling on the pressure, some argue they have enough in the bank to fund higher production levels and even lower prices for another 10-years. But their Vision 2030 initiative, to radically diversify their economy, also requires … [Read more...]
China’s Belt and Road as a conduit for clean power projects
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is arguably the biggest regional connectivity and cooperation programme in operation today. But with China being a major polluter, there are also concerns the Initiative could just be adding to global environmental stress. Not so, argue John A Mathews and Carol X Huang of Macquarie University, Sydney: it’s actually a magnet for renewable energy investments. Courtesy of The Asia-Pacific Journal. … [Read more...]
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