Focused, well-designed energy policy in a robust regulatory environment is key to achieve energy security, sustainability and affordability. That’s the major conclusion from the 2016 World Energy Trilemma report of the World Energy Council, presented at the Clean Energy Ministerial in San Francisco on 1 June. According to Joan MacNaughton, Executive Chair of the study, “it’s still hard for most countries to balance all three aspects of the energy … [Read more...]
Why both incumbents and disruptors are struggling in the new energy market
The energy world is changing fast. Investments into renewable energy are outpacing investments into conventional energy. The incumbents, unused to this pace of change and tied down by large asset bases and long-term investment strategies, are struggling. But they are not the only ones. The disruptors are also finding it difficult to build new energy businesses. In fact, many of the companies that will in the end be able to benefit from the energy … [Read more...]
A bipartisan US climate policy – crazy? Here is what it could look like
In the middle of one of the United States’ most contentious elections seasons in living memory, talk of a bipartisan climate policy may seem like an esoteric idea. Climate action appears to cause particularly deep divisions between the Republican and Democratic parties. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, refuses to even acknowledge the problem of anthropogenic climate change, while Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton … [Read more...]
Phasing out fossil fuels for renewables may not be a straightforward swap
To have any chance of preventing dangerous climate change, the world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero or even negative by mid-century. Many experts suggest this means we need to completely phase out fossil fuels and replace them with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. But according to Anthony James, lecturer with the National Centre for Sustainability, Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, new … [Read more...]
Elena Bou, KIC InnoEnergy: “If we want our energy companies to succeed, we need one European market”
We are at the beginning of a new era of innovation in the European energy sector. Energy companies will be opening up to new collaborations, investing in startups, creating new technologies and developing new business models that will be much more service and customer oriented. That’s the conviction of Elena Bou, Innovation Director at KIC InnoEnergy, an EU-wide company investing in renewable energy technology. What worries Bou is the … [Read more...]
Why the UK Green Deal failed and why it needs a replacement
The National Audit Office in the UK has concluded that the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) ÂŁ240 million Green Deal has achieved virtually nothing. David Thorpe, independent consultant and author of several books on energy efficiency in buildings, explains what went wrong. He compares the British approach with the successful German scheme and argues that a new scheme is urgently needed. … [Read more...]
Injecting energy into the agenda of trade negotiators
Barriers to trade and investment in energy goods and services, long neglected, are starting to  be addressed by trade negotiators in the World Trade Organisation and outside of it. The process of integrating the energy dimension to trade policy is however still in its infancy. An upcoming report from the World Energy Council aims to offer trade officials a policy agenda. Iana Dreyer, editor of Borderlex.eu, a newsletter specialised in EU trade … [Read more...]
Jeroen van der Veer, ex-CEO Shell, Chairman ING: “Moving away from fossil fuels presents great opportunities for oil companies”
“The energy transition presents great opportunities for oil and gas companies to develop new forms of energy and gradually move away from fossil fuels”, says Jeroen van der Veer, former CEO and Chairman of Shell in an exclusive interview for World Energy Focus, a monthly publication of the World Energy Council produced by Energy Post. But the former Shell boss rejects the idea that the oil companies are in danger of ending up with large “stranded … [Read more...]
China’s electricity mix: changing so fast that CO2 emissions may have peaked
China installed a world record of 32.5 gigawatts (GW) of wind power last year, and a world record 18.3 GW of solar power, according to official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics of China on 29 February. Coal consumption fell 3.7%, nuclear power grew 30% and natural gas 3.3%. These trends mark a rapid diversification of China’s electricity generation capacity with reduced dominance of coal. Some even believe China’s CO2-emissions have … [Read more...]
Europe’s energy investment crisis: “the EU energy market needs a makeover”
Europe’s electricity market, which has some of the highest renewable energy shares in the world, is suffering from a profound investment crisis. Sonja van Renssen spoke with top experts from government, business and academia about the causes and possible solutions. Conclusion: “tinkering around the edges” won’t do - “a complete makeover” of Europe’s market design is needed. Courtesy of World Energy Focus. … [Read more...]
viEUws video: Brussels Briefing on Energy for February 2016
In this latest Brussels Briefing on Energy, journalist Hughes Belin introduces the European Commission's "winter package" on energy security. This is the first real test of the European Energy Union. He describes two sensitive legislative proposals to give the Commission more scrutiny powers over intergovernmental agreements on energy and to improve gas security of supply through more reverse flows, a regional approach and a new solidarity … [Read more...]
EU insists energy security is about more than gas
“When it comes to energy security in the long term, there is no better antidote than focusing on sustainable energy,” said EU Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete at the launch of a new EU energy security master plan in Brussels on 16 February. The Commission defended its proposals – which focus on safeguarding gas supplies – as an aid to moving Europe along to a low-carbon economy as well as preparing it for possible supply … [Read more...]
Behavioural change could deliver half of industry energy saving potential
Expert studies show that there is still vast untapped energy efficiency potential of up to 25% in European heavy industry. Moreover around half of that, or 10-15%, could be delivered through behavioural change at zero capital cost. So far, the EU has mandated energy audits for large companies, but not application of their results. Energy Post looks at how a new heating and cooling strategy due on 16 February and a review of the EU’s energy … [Read more...]
Future is hi-tech, high value-added and non-energy-intensive
The growth of advanced economies depends increasingly on hi-tech information rather than traditional commodities, writes Fereidoon Sionshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. It is no coincidence that ExxonMobil, long the largest US company, is no longer in the top three. “Future growth will depend on every smaller amounts of energy.” … [Read more...]
What Energy Efficiency can learn from Solar, Uber and Spotify
The “as-a-service” business model, which substitutes pay-as-you-go options for ownership  with its high upfront costs, is conquering such diverse sectors as solar panels, digital music and transport. It will also be increasingly applied to energy-efficiency projects, writes Angela Ferrante of US-based financial technology company SparkFund. The long-awaited energy efficiency breakthrough may finally be here. … [Read more...]
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