Electricity market design, renewable energies, energy efficiency â the EU Commissionâs recent âWinter Packageâ touches upon some of the core themes of the envisioned âEnergy Unionâ. But finding agreement on all these dossiers will be difficult in this politically turbulent year, writes Severin Fischer of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich. According to Fischer, five aspects deserve closer attention. Courtesy Policy Perspectives. … [Read more...]
What a CO2 price floor can (and cannot) do for German climate goals
Germany can meet its climate goals for the energy sector if it introduces a CO2-price floor of between âŹ50 and âŹ75 per ton, write Fabian Huneke, Carlos Perez Linkenheil and Simon Göà from the Berlin-based independent energy market specialist Energy Brainpool. However, if neighbouring countries donât take similar measures, more than half of the reduced CO2- emissions will be shifted abroad, note the authors. As long as power markets are … [Read more...]
Gazprom plays ball: the depoliticization of the European gas market
Gazpromâs gas supplies to Europe and Turkey reached an all-time record in 2016. This might suggest Europe is becoming more dependent on Gazprom, but according to Danila Bochkarev, Senior Fellow at the EastWest Institute, the Russian company gained market share by playing by the rules of the market. The European gas market is finally becoming depoliticized. … [Read more...]
France canât meet its own power demand
France was heavily dependent on power imports from Germany during the first cold spell of this winter, despite the fact that most of the countryâs nuclear reactors are back online, writes Craig Morris from the Energy Transition blog. As the US is now also investigating 17 nuclear reactors with parts from reactor producer Areva, just rescued by the French state, it shows the perilous state the French power sector is in. Courtesy Energy Transition. … [Read more...]
The new outlook for oil: prepare for a bumpy ride in 2017
After two and a half years of opening up the taps (or rather: not closing them) OPEC has changed course in what is looking to be a gamechanger for the oil market. Market sentiment has shifted and the oil price has gone up. But that doesnât mean we can go back to the status quo ante, writes geophysicist (ex-Shell) Jilles van den Beukel. Some things have changed permanently. Saudi Arabiaâs position within OPEC has weakened, Iranâs has strengthened. … [Read more...]
How utilities can deal with the threat of community energy
Community energy is the next big threat to utility companies â unless they manage to become part of this emerging energy economy. They still have a window of opportunity, says Craig Cavanaugh of software services company Omnetric Group, who spent six months researching the energy community market in Europe and the US. He sees three main opportunities for utilities: they can become âcollaborative partnerâ, âcommunity energy service providerâ or … [Read more...]
Energy may be ripe for the sharing economy, thanks to Bitcoinâs blockchain technology
The marriage of blockchain technology with microgrid applications could transform the way communities and organisations use renewable energy, writes Lexie Briggs of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), an association of businesses in the US that includes companies such as Vestas, Siemens, Microsoft, GE and Schneider Electric. Siemens has just launched a project in Brooklyn, New York, that allows neighbours to purchase solar power from each otherâs … [Read more...]
The OPEC deal: a recipe for volatility
Last weekâs OPEC deal takes place in a very different context than earlier deals from the 1990s, writes Geoffrey Styles, Managing Director of independent US-based consultancy GSW Strategy Group. US shale producers are looking to fill supply gaps, inventories are higher than ever, and alternatives to oil in transport are emerging. If thatâs not a recipe for volatility, Styles wonders, then what is? Original post. … [Read more...]
Victory: Ukraine doesnât need Russian gas anymore â and puts transit at risk
Ukraine has completely âeliminatedâ its dependence on Russian gas, Ukrainian national gas company Naftogaz has declared in an open letter. Last year it stopped importing Russian gas for its own consumption altogether. At the same time, according to a paper written by Thierry Bros, Senior Research Fellow from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), Naftogaz is putting the future of the transit of Russian gas at risk by demanding higher … [Read more...]
Why sharing solar is the next big thing in energy
The disruption and the opportunities being offered by solar PV and battery storage are likely to be accelerated massively by the introduction of new software such as the âblockchainâ system that has already taken root in financial systems, writes Giles Parkinson of the leading Australian energy website Reneweconomy. Courtesy: Reneweconomy.com. … [Read more...]
The future of OPEC: it wonât die, but it will become a different animal
Regardless of the outcome of the meeting on 30 November, the future of OPEC looks uncertain. The organisation is facing a perfect storm, squeezed as it is between the revolution in shale oil, which has increased global supply and brought down prices, and the prospect of a global peak demand stemming from climate policies and falling costs of alternatives. Some have even declared the death of OPEC, but according to Thijs Van de Graaf, professor at … [Read more...]
EU is losing the energy battle with Russia
Europeâs grand strategy to become less import dependent on Russian gas, which has been discussed since the 1990s, looks more and more like a failure, as the new Russian Tsar, Vladimir Putin, is consistently wrong-footing the leaders of the EU, writes Cyril Widdershoven. … [Read more...]
The Nordic countries on Nord Stream 2: between scepticism and neutrality
Sweden, Finland and Denmark are unlikely to block or slow down the procedures of issuing national approvals for the construction of Nord Stream 2, write Justyna Gotkowska and Piotr Szymaáč ski of OSW, the Centre for Eastern Studies, in Poland. But according to the authors the Nordic countries do expect the European Commission to assess the compliance of Nord Stream 2 with the EUâs Third Energy Package. In addition, Stockholm and Copenhagen in … [Read more...]
Why most âgreenâ electricity in Europe isnât green
Brussels is on course to deliver a big shake-up of the EUâs energy markets this December by trying to put consumers in the driving seat of the energy transition. Millions of consumers have already made the switch to âgreenâ electricity tariffs. Or so they think. But these tariffs are misleading and consumers are, in many cases, actually supporting fossil fuels or nuclear plants which are hidden behind a green façade, writes Jörg MĂŒhlenhoff, … [Read more...]
Corporate Americaâs huge appetite for clean energy
An increasing number of corporations are directly buying or building their own clean electricity, writes Elias Hinckley, a US-based strategic energy advisor. Companies across the business spectrum, ranging from Apple to Dow, General Motors and Bank of America, have set goals for 100% renewable power. Hinckley explains the reasons for this trend and notes that energy suppliers and investors cannot afford to ignore this huge new market. … [Read more...]
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