The blueprint for Australia’s future electricity market released recently by Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel pleases some but not all market watchers, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. For some critics, the real work on climate and energy policy in Australia has still to be done. … [Read more...]
How much do ultra-supercritical coal plants really reduce air pollution?
The coal industry and some power utilities have been talking up the supposed benefits of ultra-supercritical power plants – leading some decision-makers and commentators to mistakenly believe that the choice of ultra-supercritical technology for a power plant will substantially mitigate air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, writes Lauri Myllyvirta of Greenpeace East Asia. Courtesy Reneweconomy.com … [Read more...]
Germany’s first renewables auctions are a success, but new rules are upsetting the market
The introduction of renewables auctions in Germany, replacing administratively set feed-in premiums, has led to considerably lower prices and very high realization rates. However, community participation was very low in the first solar PV auctions. Now a new rule favouring community projects in onshore wind auctions turned out to be so attractive that most bidders created community projects to profit from them. This is turning the market upside … [Read more...]
Why investing in the big 4 German utilities is still not for the faint of heart
Now that EON and RWE have both been split up, there are four utilities investors can put their money in. Surprisingly perhaps, the conventional generation businesses do better on the German stock exchange than the renewables and grid businesses so far. Gerard Reid, founding partner of Alexa Capital, financial analyst and co-founder of the Energy and Carbon blog, explains why and discusses the prospects of the four companies. Courtesy Energy and … [Read more...]
Interview bio-energy expert AndrĂ© Faaij: “So much nonsense has been told – high time for the real story”
“An enormous amount of nonsense” has been told about bio-energy, says AndrĂ© Faaij, scientific director of Energy Academy Europe and professor Energy Systems Analysis at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. According to Faaij, it is high time for the real – scientifically validated – story. “The bio-based economy is indispensable for our climate policy and can mean huge progress for agriculture and nature in developing countries”. … [Read more...]
EU’s Mediterranean neighbours struggle with energy transition
Taking a cue from the EU, members of the Arab League have adopted renewable energy and energy efficiency plans and targets. But they lack incentives and a stable policy framework to drive growth. “There are local initiatives, but no process to underpin an energy transition”. … [Read more...]
To slow climate change, India joins the renewable energy revolution
India has embarked on a remarkable renewables revolution, made possible by falling prices of solar power, writes Arun Agrawal, Professor of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. According to Agrawal, what is needed above all to make the energy transition succeed, is robust grids and careful land use planning. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Climate change (II): overcoming the difficulty of acting to reduce emissions
Why is the climate change problem so hard to fix, asks energy and climate change economist Adam Whitmore? In the second of a two-part series, he addresses the political, social and psychological barriers to action. But he also identifies a number of trends that give grounds for optimism. … [Read more...]
Climate change (I): How did we get here, and why is it so hard to fix?
Why is the climate change problem so hard to fix, asks energy and climate change economist Adam Whitmore? The answer in a nutshell: activities that cause emissions are ubiquitous, diverse and deeply embedded in modern life. The world’s energy system is huge and long-lived. In addition, there are considerable political and psychological barriers. Whitmore addresses both these aspects in a two-part series. … [Read more...]
The Petro-Powers vs. the Greens: is Trump launching a New World Order?Â
There may be more method behind Donald Trump’s madness than people think, writes energy expert and author Michael Klare. His attempts to forge alliances with Russia and Saudi Arabia show that Trump is laying the foundations for a new world order, in which fossil-fuel powers will contend for supremacy with post-carbon, green-energy states. If we let him get his way, warns Klare, the world may soon be divided into two camps: the carbonites versus … [Read more...]
Interview David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor Shell: “Net zero emissions are achievable. The timing is challenging”
EU climate and energy policy is “reasonably effective”, but it could achieve more for the climate if it focused purely on reducing CO2-emissions, says David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor at Shell, in an interview with Energy Post. “There are too many goals and too many targets.” Hone also argues that first generation biofuels are needed to make advanced biofuels work and that a “new approach” towards CCS is urgently needed. Globally, Hone … [Read more...]
Remi Eriksen, CEO DNV GL: Gas and renewables can be best of ‘frenemies’
Gas could be the ideal partner for renewable energy generation in a future sustainable energy mix, writes Remi Eriksen, Group President and CEO of DNV GL, one of the largest risk management providers in the world with operations in more than 100 countries. However, for this to happen, the oil and gas industry must help policymakers and the public become aware of all the benefits of gas, notes Eriksen, not just the economic ones. Also, the … [Read more...]
New Energy Challenge calls on European energy startups to submit game-changing ideas
Shell Technology Ventures, Rockstart and YES!Delft today have launched the second edition of the New Energy Challenge, a competition for European start-ups offering innovative, low-carbon energy solutions. The competition aims to accelerate the development and implementation of breakthrough technologies. The winning start-up will receive a €100,000 convertible loan from Shell. … [Read more...]
The woman who is building a nuclear power plant
Minna Forsström is responsible for a unique project: the first Russian-made nuclear power plant to be built in the E.U. outside of the former Soviet Union. In a personal interview with Energy Post, she reveals how her company, Fennovoima, has coped with extremely demanding regulatory challenges (“you can’t expect to submit a project and have it approved all in one go”), why they chose to work with Rosatom (“they have huge engineering capacity and … [Read more...]
Brussels should stick with its proposal to remove barriers to demand response schemes: the U.S. is doing the same
Energy suppliers are lobbying against a proposal from the European Commission to remove barriers to demand response schemes, writes Philip Baker, Senior Adviser at the Regulatory Assistance Project, an independent consultancy. According to Baker, the Commission should stick with its proposal. Demand response, he argues, will bring great savings to energy consumers. What is more, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the United States … [Read more...]
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