Slowly but surely the global energy oil tanker is changing course. The long journey to a low-carbon energy future has finally gotten underway – and there is no turning back anymore. That’s the central message that can be deduced from the 2015 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO), released today by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Fatih Birol, the new Executive Director of the IEA, tells Energy Post he is “more optimistic” for the … [Read more...]
Klaus Schäfer, future CEO of E.ON spin-off Uniper: “EU should set a target for gas”
The EU should define how much gas it wants by when, and recognise that Nord Stream 2 can provide additional security of supply, argues Klaus Schäfer, the incoming CEO of E.ON spin-off Uniper in this exclusive interview with Energy Post. Schäfer, who is currently Board member of the E.ON Group, says Europe is further away than ever from a single market for electricity and calls on policymakers to recognise that security of supply has a cost. He … [Read more...]
A quiet gas revolution in Central and Eastern Europe
Turkish Stream, Nord Stream, South Stream, Nabucco - the discussion about the European gas market centres on big gas pipeline projects which are supposed to make Europe either more or less dependent on Russia. However, unnoticed by most observers, Central and Eastern European countries have been carrying out numerous smaller projects that together are radically transforming the European gas market, write Colin Harrison and Zuzana Princova of … [Read more...]
The Hinkley Point C boondoggle: a dangerous waste of money
The UK Government’s pursuit of a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point C represents not just a colossal waste of money, but could also be real danger to the UK’s national security, write Professors Alex Russell and Peter Strachan of Robert Gordon University. “Let us hope that the Prime Minister and Chancellor's actions do not lead to the radicalisation of unemployed steel workers who are now being joined by unemployed renewable industry personnel.” … [Read more...]
Why Brussels should not interfere with Nord Stream 2
In its efforts to increase European energy security and create a common European energy market – and ultimately an Energy Union worth its label – the European Commission preeminently emphasizes the diversification of supply routes. For this reason it has criticised the Nord Stream 2 project of Gazprom and a number of European companies. But while diversification certainly remains one of the basic principles of energy security, it is only one of … [Read more...]
viEUws Brussels Briefing on Energy: all you need to know for October/November
Hughes Belin gives details on what to expect in the first State of the Energy Union report due from European Commission Vice-President, Maroš Ĺ efÄŤoviÄŤ, on 18 November. In the meantime, he reports on the official signing off of a new gas interconnector between Lithuania and Poland, and looks ahead to an EU LNG strategy due next year. A public consultation on redesigning the European electricity market has closed and legislation on the back of … [Read more...]
The Price of Oil: why it rose stupendously, why it is likely to remain low and what this means for the world
Although oil has experienced an extraordinary price increase over the past few decades, a turning point has now been reached where scarcity, uncertain supply and high prices will be replaced by abundance, undisturbed availability and suppressed price levels in the decades to come, write Roberto F. Aguilera of Curtin University in Australia and Marian Radetzki of LuleĂĄ University of Technology in Sweden. In this article they provide a synopsis of … [Read more...]
“I fear we will see radicalisation” if Paris flops, says Connie Hedegaard, chair of 2009 Copenhagen summit
If 'Paris' flops, “there will still be lots of climate summits, but ministers will stop coming, the top people will not attend, the air will go out of it”, said Connie Hedegaard, former EU Climate Commissioner who led the word’s  last crucial climate talks in Copenhagen in 2009, at a meeting of the Sydney Democracy Network. She warned that “Paris will probably deliver, but if it doesn’t, I fear we will see a radicalisation”. Professor Nick Rowley … [Read more...]
Why Ukraine has to reform its gas sector
Ukraine has embarked on “the mother of all reforms”: that of the gas sector. This is one of the most important and most difficult reforms Ukraine has to undertake. Yet without the marketisation of gas prices and an improvement in Naftogaz’s financial standing, it will be impossible to reform Ukraine’s public finances and end the long-standing economic crisis. Energy sector reform is a central goal of the post-Euromaidan government and indeed the … [Read more...]
Interview Taner Yildiz, Energy Minister Turkey: “We will ensure security of supply through the market”
Turkey, faced with strong demand growth and high import dependency, is undertaking ambitious projects in new nuclear power, coal power and renewables. In an exclusive interview, Taner Yildiz, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, explains how the Turkish government is shaping the country's energy strategy, but notes that the private sector will have to make the investments. “Having put in place a transparent, competitive market structure, I … [Read more...]
Sustainable oil from algae: the technology is ready, what about the politics?
Algae ponds covering an area the size of Sydney could satisfy the entire crude oil demand of Australia, according to a recent study from Australian researchers Bojan Tamburic and Arunima Malik. But some form of government support is critical to bring the technology up to scale. … [Read more...]
The new IAEA-Kazakhstani nuclear fuel bank: key enabler for global expansion of nuclear power
With all the publicity around the Iran nuclear deal, not much attention has been given to an equally significant nuclear move: Â the agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with Kazakhstan to establish an independent Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Fuel Bank. According to energy expert Alan Riley, this initiative could become a key enabler for the worldwide expansion of nuclear power and indeed a key support for a secure future … [Read more...]
RWE sets up its lignite plants for a taxpayer bail-out
German utility RWE has kept uneconomic lignite plants open with the explicit intention of securing a public bail-out, argue Julian Schwartzkopff, Chris Littlecott and Sabrina Schulz at E3G. It would apear the energy giant has taken a bet on being “too big to fail” that might just pay off: RWE is set to be the biggest beneficiary of a new 2.7GW capacity reserve in Germany which will pay lignite plants for going on standby. The alternative, a … [Read more...]
A system of unconnected vessels: the gas market(s) in the Baltic States
An internally integrated gas market independent from Russia is an official goal of the Baltic States’ energy policies. Above all the launch of the LNG terminal in Klaipeda, Lithuania, at the end of 2014, was intended to provide an alternative to Russian gas. However, Latvia rejects the opportunity to import gas from Lithuania, and Estonia is pursuing its own projects, including cooperation witn Finland.  This makes the creation of a regional … [Read more...]
Image of gas suffers another blow as trilateral gas talks fail
Russia, Ukraine and the EU failed to reach an agreement to govern gas flows between Russia and Ukraine at a meeting in Vienna because of a “lack of political will”. European Commission Vice President for Energy Union Maroš Ĺ efÄŤoviÄŤ is frustrated with the Ukrainians as much as with the Russians. “The lack of a deal is not good for the image of Russia as a reliable supplier or Ukraine as a reliable transit country”, he said. He added that “Gazprom … [Read more...]
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