While a government is being formed in Berlin, which will have important implications for the future of the Energiewende, author and scholar Professor John Mathews of Macquarie University in Australia, looks back on what Germany has achieved so far with its unique energy policy and concludes that it has been a spectacular success, whatever its detractors may say. But he also has some advice to offer: the German government, he writes, should be … [Read more...]
How Paris and Vienna are struggling to become the clean cities of the future
The success of the clean energy transition will depend to a large extent on the actions of local and regional authorities. Sustainability officers from Paris, Sabine Romon, and Vienna, Bernd Vogl, explain what clean energy goals they have set themselves and how they are planning to achieve them. “The thing to start with is the infrastructure”, says Vogl. “The first task is to work on our public buildings”, says Romon, who warns that Paris' ban on … [Read more...]
America’s electric vehicle future, part 2: EV price, oil cost, fuel economy drive adoption
Due to declining electric vehicle (EV) costs, growth in charging station access, and increased familiarity and acceptance by the public, EVs will play an ever-greater role in the U.S. transportation sector, writes Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, a San Fransisco-based energy and environmental policy think tank. In part one of our analysis, we reported EVs are likely to represent at least 65% of sales in 2050, and with strong technology cost … [Read more...]
America’s electric vehicle future, part 1: 65-75% light-duty sales by 2050
Rapid battery cost declines, rising commitment from major automakers, strong policy support from state and local governments, and low operational costs (including discounted charging tariffs from utilities) have put electric vehicles (EVs) on track to pass gasoline-powered vehicles, writes Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, a San Fransisco-based energy and environmental policy think tank. Indeed, U.S. EV sales have grown an average of 32% … [Read more...]
Beyond oil: options for clean fuel production
Several options exist for clean fuel production in the long-term future, writes Schalk Cloete in the third and last part of a series on the future of the internal combustion engine. Next-gen biofuels have the potential to approach current oil prices at a low environmental cost. Hydrogen can be produced economically from excess wind/solar power, nuclear heat or fossil fuels with CCS. Ammonia and hydrocarbon synfuels from clean hydrogen can be … [Read more...]
Electric vehicles and the $5 trillion dollar market transition
Change in the world of wheels is accelerating! Momentum is building and some days it’s hard to keep up. Every week, the assumptions about the future of transportation, and the energy systems that turn our wheels, are becoming more Jetson-esque. Peter Tertzakian of Oilprice.com tries to distinguish the reality from the hype. "An electric car is not like a smartphone or a Netflix subscription." … [Read more...]
Can China’s EVs lead to peak oil demand?
China's decision on whether and when to ban cars burning gasoline and diesel could alter our view of how far we are from a peak in global oil demand, writes independent energy analyst Geoffrey Styles. Even though the likely date of such a peak is highly uncertain, the idea of an impending peak could significantly affect investments and other decisions. … [Read more...]
The future for gas guzzlers lies in hybridization
The car of the future will be a hybrid, writes independent researcher Schalk Cloete in the second part of a short series in which he compares costs and performance of various drivetrains. According to Cloete, improvements and cost reductions in electric motors and batteries will, ironically, help the internal combustion engine (ICE) through hybridization. These cost reductions combined with substantial engine downsizing can make hybrid … [Read more...]
Why the electric car hype is overblown
Electric cars offer no clear fuel cost savings relative to efficient internal combustion engine (ICE) options, writes independent researcher Schalk Cloete. CO2 and tailpipe emission benefits are also insignificant relative to efficient ICEs. As a result, notes Cloete, ICE vehicles will remain highly competitive with battery electric vehicles (BEVs). … [Read more...]
DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook: for the first time in history, energy demand will peak
Global energy demand will plateau from 2030, oil demand will flatten from 2020 to 2028 and go to a significant decline thereafter, the shift to renewable energy will be quicker and more massive than most people realize, yet the energy transition will not be difficult to finance. These are some of the momentous conclusions of a set of major new reports from independent energy consultancy DNV GL, under the name Energy Transition Outlook (ETO). They … [Read more...]
The growing potential of green hydrogen
The idea of a hydrogen-based economy has been around since the oil crises of the 1970s, but it has not materialised up to this point. Yet according to Jan Cihlar of Ecofys, a Navigant company, hydrogen could still become a key enabler of the low carbon transition, if it is produced with renewable electricity. The potential of further cost reductions make this a possibility in some applications in transport and industry. … [Read more...]
100% renewable energy for 139 nations detailed in Stanford report
Mark Z. Jacobson, the famed professor at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, and 26 of his colleagues have compiled a report that shows exactly how 139 nations could transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050 without throwing millions of people out of work. In fact, they contend that the changeover would actually spur job growth while dramatically reducing carbon emissions, writes Steve Hanley. Article courtesy of … [Read more...]
The five key characteristics of the future energy company
Energy markets are in the middle of a revolution, triggered by decarbonisation and innovation. History suggests that this is not a safe place to be, not even for the revolutionaries, but especially not for the ‘old guard’. Stephen Woodhouse and Simon Bradbury of Pöyry Management Consulting investigate the key characteristics necessary for a successful future energy company. (This article was adapted from a new book, Innovation and Disruption at … [Read more...]
Petrol car ban won’t work without a huge investment in electric infrastructure
The UK government is proposing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, in a move that echoes a recent announcement in France. Setting this sort of media-friendly target is a positive and welcome response to the challenge of air pollution across UK cities, write Richard Brooks and Jason Begley of Coventry University. But delivering the infrastructure, research and development support and incentives to switch to greener cars … [Read more...]
Does the 2040 ban on new petrol and diesel cars mean the death of biofuels?
One question that arises from the announcement by the UK government that new diesel and petrol cars will be banned by 2040 is what it means for biofuels. According to Raffaella Ocone of Heriot-Watt University, co-author of a recent UK-government-funded report into the biofuels industry by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the 2040 ban could be viewed as an opportunity for the biofuels sector. Article courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
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