Crunch time is here: energy security and affordability concerns are colliding with the need to reduce CO2 emissions, writes Malcolm Grimston of Imperial College London. That's why the UK government is right to want to get new nuclear power plants built, argues Grimston. (See the previous article, by Peter Strachan and Alex Russell of Robert Gordon University. for a different viewpoint.) … [Read more...]
UK nuclear policy takes another step in the wrong direction
In its annual National Infrastructure Plan, published on 2 December, the UK government announced it has signed a cooperation agreement with Toshiba, GDF Suez and NuGen toward the financing of a new 3.4 GW nuclear power plant at Moorside. This is one of three new nuclear megaprojects being planned in the UK, next to Hinkley Point C (3.3GW) and Wylfa Newydd (3GW). The UK plans to spend ÂŁ45 billion on these projects until 2021 and hopes to raise … [Read more...]
Lima: a trillion reasons why climate talks may still fail
Hopes are high at the UN Climate Conference that has started this week in Lima, Peru. There are many signs that a turning point has been reached, writes Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com. But the hurdle is still high: to meet the 2C target, two-thirds of known fossil fuel reserves have to stay in the ground, costing the oil and coal sector $1 trillion a year in lost revenue. … [Read more...]
What Eon and Gazprom have in common
What does Eon’s change in corporate strategy and Gazprom’s decision not to build South Stream have in common? Quite a lot. Both decisions are responses to the increasing speed in which Europe is moving towards a low-carbon society. Both are also bold and risky decisions for the two companies involved. The rest of us probably need not be (too) concerned, writes Energy Post editor Karel Beckman. … [Read more...]
Eon’s new strategy: focus on renewables, distribution, customer solutions, get out of old power generation
Eon, the largest German energy company, will henceforth “focus on renewables, distribution networks, and customer solutions and combine its conventional generation, global energy trading, and exploration and production businesses in a new, independent company, a majority of which will be spun off to Eon SE’s shareholders. … [Read more...]
US national interest requires clean energy, not fossil fuels
Many vested interests with short-term perspectives are fighting to maintain US dependence on fossil fuels. The long-term national interest, however, requires that the US makes a speedy transition to a clean energy society, writes energy expert Allan Hoffman. According to Hoffman, the shale revolution is only a temporary phenomenon. A continued reliance on oil and gas will imperil the nation’s future. … [Read more...]
IEA: coal, nuclear, shale should be part of EU energy mix, Energy Union should not be buyers’ cartel
The European Union “has made progress in liberalising energy markets, and its global leadership on climate change is to be commended”, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today as it released its review of EU energy policies. But the IEA also had criticisms to make. … [Read more...]
Can we use gas as a ‘bridging fuel’ to a low carbon world?
Gas can be a bridge fuel, displacing coal and reducing carbon emissions, concludes a new report from the UK Energy Research Centre. But only for the next twenty years, and only if the world sorts out carbon capture and storage (CCS) and sees a dramatic cut in coal use. Christian Hunt of the Carbon Brief has the story. … [Read more...]
In the new energy security war, Europe has the upper hand over Russia, say top US officials Â
Concerns about energy security have shot to the top of the political agenda in Europe. But the US has no intention of letting the EU down. “The United States will be working with the EU to develop a plan for the mid- to long-term evolution of a more energy-secure future”, said US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz at a conference of the Atlantic Council in Istanbul. At this summit, top US officials and energy experts showed themselves surprisingly … [Read more...]
Juncker’s €300bn investment gamble – and what it might mean for energy
The EU and European Investment Bank (EIB) have teamed up to launch a new investment programme for Europe – with energy, as well as transport, research, innovation and education, its key objects. A modest €21bn in public money is set to be multiplied up to a whopping €315bn in total investments over the next three years, pushing Europe toward that long-hoped for economic recovery. There is no dedicated share of the money for individual sectors or … [Read more...]
World Energy Council: Germany and Spain less energy secure, UK and Japan on watch list
The new release of the World Energy Council’s annual Energy Trilemma Index, a ranking of countries based on their energy security of supply, affordability and sustainability, shows that Germany and Spain have gone down in their ratings. The UK and Japan have been placed on “negative watch”, showing a downward trend in energy security. In an interview with Energy Post, Joan MacNaughton, Executive Chair of the World Energy Trilemma work, notes that … [Read more...]
Why Google gave up on renewables (hint: because they don’t know much about energy)
The two scientists responsible for Google’s failed attempt to launch a renewable energy revolution have written an article explaining what, according to them, went wrong with their project. They have come to the conclusion that fighting climate change with today’s renewable energy technologies won’t work – but they present no evidence for it, writes Energy Post editor Karel Beckman. … [Read more...]
The Five Energy Labours of Juncker
The new team heading the European Commission in Brussels is lucky. Its predecessors closed two sensitive deals before the reshuffle: a European energy and climate strategy for 2030 and a gas winter package between Ukraine and Russia. On top of that, outgoing Energy Commissioner GĂĽnther Oettinger finished off a thick report on the way forward for a European energy market. The new Commission will follow up on these three dossiers, plus two more … [Read more...]
SunPower: "solar the greatest market opportunity world has seen”
The head of one of the world’s leading solar PV manufacturers and developers, SunPower’s Tom Werner, predicts that solar will be a $US5 trillion industry within 20 years, and represents one of the greatest ever opportunities in the history of markets. Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com reports on a recent investment briefing given by Werner. … [Read more...]
World’s first power-to-liquids production plant opened in Dresden
A Power-to-Liquids (PtL) demonstration rig which is the first of its kind in the world was officially inaugurated on 14 November by Dresden-based sunfire GmbH. The ceremony was attended by German Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka, Board Member Pieter Koolen of venture capitalist Bilfinger, Â as well as a number of other high-ranking representatives from the worlds of politics, industry and research. French energy companies … [Read more...]
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