EDSO for Smart Grids, an organisation representing most of the large European distribution system operators (DSOs), has submitted to the European Commission a proposal to become the “vehicle” for the establishment of an “EU-DSO Entity”. In the Clean Energy Package presented last year, the Commission asked the sector to set up such an EU-wide organisation which would play a key role in the intended transformation of the electricity market. EDSO … [Read more...]
Today’s stunted oil prices could cause oil price shock in 2020
Oil is still essential to the world’s energy needs, writes Haley Zaremba of Oilprice.com. And demand for oil will still be growing over the next few years. After an investment drought of historic proportions, the next oil crisis is looming. Courtesy Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
How blockchain could upend power markets
Talk about a disruptive technology. The “world’s leading software platform for digital assets,” blockchain may be little known, but it could revolutionize electricity markets, according to Dick Munson of EDF Energy Exchange. For utilities blockchain could prove to be a threat – or an opportunity. … [Read more...]
Smart meter data hubs: Europe vs. Germany
The European discussion about data management in the energy sector is driven by the smart meter roll-out and the need to reduce market entry barriers via data access, writes Marius Buchmann, Post-Doc at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. Most European countries are discussing or have introduced Retail Hubs to facilitate data collection and distribution. Germany already has mechanisms in place to do this and is instead discussing the … [Read more...]
Production cuts vs innovation: why OPEC has lost the oil price war
OPEC and its cartel of friends must be sweating condensates in advance of their May 25th meeting, writes Peter Tertzakian for Oilprice.com. The oil price war, triggered almost three years ago, is far from over. Calling a truce with production cuts has been an ineffective strategy. In fact, it’s been a feeble strategy and nobody in the business should rely on its extension to be effective. Courtesy of Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
How to calculate revenues of solar and wind power when the subsidies stop
As the recent offshore wind auction in Germany showed, unsubsidized renewables are rapidly becoming a reality. But how do you calculate the revenues from intermittent solar and wind power plants that receive no financial support, in particular in view of the frequent occurrence of zero or negative power prices? Carlos Perez Linkenheil, Marie-Louise Niggemeier and Simon Göß from Energy Brainpool, independent Berlin-based energy market experts, … [Read more...]
Total makeover: wholesale markets need new thinking
The integration of renewables into the grid is becoming an increasingly acute problem, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, editor of newsletter EEnergy Informer. According to Sioshansi, this is especially true in energy-only markets that have no capacity mechanism of any sort. But market interventions in the form of subsidies are not the answer. Joe Bowring of independent consultancy Monitoring Analytics has an alternative: offering capacity against a … [Read more...]
Politics and economics clash over Nord Stream 2
At a dinner debate in Brussels on European relations with Russia, members of the European Parliament made it clear they regard Russia as an enemy which should be opposed in any possible way. That includes projects such as Gazprom’s planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Whether EU institutions have the means to stop Nord Stream 2, remains to be seen. … [Read more...]
Debate over capacity markets heats up in Brussels
Member States, MEPs and other stakeholders in Brussels are getting ready to develop rules for capacity markets in Europe. Some argue that countries should resort to capacity mechanisms only as a last resort. Other such as France insist on strong capacity markets: they are afraid of blackout risks. And there is disagreement over whether to allow coal power stations to play a role as backup source. Sonja van Renssen reports from Brussels. … [Read more...]
Why oil price forecasting is so difficult now
Analysts have rarely been so divided on their views of where the oil price is going, writes Geoffrey Styles, Managing Director of independent US-based consultancy GSW Strategy Group. This is because the market is in the grip of a number of contradictory trends. Styles takes a closer look at what they are and how they might play out. … [Read more...]
Peak oil? Sooner than you think
The London-based investment advisory firm Redburn thinks that global demand for oil could peak around 2026, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, President of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. The implications for oil majors are ominous. … [Read more...]
Wind power blows away opposition in U.S.
What many regarded as unthinkable just a few years ago, is happening today: U.S. utilities are almost effortlessly handling ever increasing levels of intermittent wind power, writes Washington DC-based energy author Dennis Wamsted. What is more, Democratic and Republican politicians are lauding the unprecedented way in which wind and solar resources are transforming low-income rural areas. Wind power is here to stay, regardless of who sits in the … [Read more...]
Saudi Arabia “leaves oil behind” (says ex-oil minister Al-Naimi)
Is Saudi Arabia serious about making the change from the world’s biggest oil exporter to a significant producer – and exporter – of renewable energy? Time will tell, but the country is certainly taking serious first steps, writes Nehad Ismail. … [Read more...]
Energy Union requires concrete projects and protection of European interests
To deliver the Energy Union, the European Commission should promote concrete projects, such as equipping all European highways with charging points for electric vehicles. It should also act to protect workers and consumers who get hurt by the energy transition, protect European markets from dumping practices and turn Malta and Cyprus into 100% renewable energy islands, write Enrico Letta, Thomas Pellerin-Carlin and Jean-Arnold Vinois of the … [Read more...]
A short guide to greening your energy supply
A growing number of companies are committed to greening their energy supply. But is it better for businesses to buy clean energy or to invest in producing it themselves?  Benedict de Meulemeester, Managing Director of Brussels-based E&C Consultants, discusses the pros and cons of different options and concludes that it may be a good idea to go all the way. … [Read more...]
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