Interview with Chairman Pekka Ottavainen: âIt was a very simple choiceâ. The Finnish company Fennovoima has signed a contract with Rosatom to build a 1200 MW greenfield nuclear power plant, Hanhikivi I, in Pyhäjoki in northern Finland. It is the first time in the post-Soviet era that the Russian company will be building a new nuclear power station in the EU. The plant will cost roughly âŹ6 billion and will deliver electricity at âno more than … [Read more...]
Eastern Mediterranean Gas â Plea for a peace pipeline!
To exploit the exciting new gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean in the most profitable way, both economically and politically, the best option is to build a pipeline from Israelâs Leviathan field via Cyprus to Turkey, argues Friedbert PflĂźger, Director of the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at Kingâs College London. Such a pipeline is less costly than an LNG terminal in Cyprus â and it could serve as an instrument … [Read more...]
EU energy ministers unable to agree on biofuels policy
Ministers in the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on 12 December held an in-depth discussion on a revised version of the draft text, which aims to minimise the impact of land use change on greenhouse gas emissions. The draft indirect land use (ILUC) directive aims to promote the move towards biofuels while limiting the possibility of increased greenhouse gas emissions due to increased biofuels production. It will amend the … [Read more...]
New gas discoveries in southern periphery may transform European energy landscape
Cyprus may have what it takes to become an important gas supplier and energy hub for Europe. Natural gas discoveries in the country's offshore areas could form the foundation of a large liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cyprus, additionally supplied by gas from Israel. The creation of such a âsecond Southern Corridorâ would give an important economic boost to southeast Europe, significantly improve European security of energy supply and … [Read more...]
Interview EU Climate Chief Connie Hedegaard: “Climate policy cannot be based on emission reduction alone”
The European Union should adopt EU-wide targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency for 2030, says Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard in an interview with Energy Post. She rejects pleas from the energy sector to base EU climate policy solely on CO2 emission reduction targets. She does note, however, that there has been a tendency to âovercompensateâ renewable energy, i.e. too generous subsidies. âIt was never the plan to subsidise … [Read more...]
“Integrated EU market + ETS = best way to decarbonisation”
The European Climate Foundation (ECF) has released a new report, From Roadmaps to Reality, which shows how the current EU energy framework can be improved to drive the decarbonisation of the power sector in Europe. From Roadmaps To Reality, the latest report in the ECFâs âRoadmap 2050â series, finds that a fully integrated Internal Energy Market in combination with a functioning Emissions Trading System is the most cost-effective and … [Read more...]
Interview with Johannes Teyssen, CEO of Eon: âRenewables can become biggest without subsidiesâ
Dr Johannes Teyssen, CEO of Eon and President of Eurelectric, doesnât beat about the bush: in an exclusive interview with Energy Post, he says that Europe needs a single climate target for 2030 of âbetween 40% and 50%â emission reduction. At the same time all energy subsidies and âgreen leviesâ should go. Renewables âhave all the chance in the world to take the biggest chunk of the marketâ even without subsidies. The European Commission should … [Read more...]
Energy Community: upgrading power plants in Eastern Europe delivers huge benefits
The Energy Commuity, the energy associaton of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine, has published a study assessing the costs and potential benefits of modernizing large combustion plants in their countries to comply with EU environmental regulations. According to the study, the benefits of complying with EU environmental law are on average 17 times as large as the costs of compliance. This … [Read more...]
Auto and oil companies present long-term plan for biofuels in Europe
A consortium of six major car manufacturers and oil companies in Europe - Volkswagen, Daimler, Honda, Neste Oil, OMV and Shell â has today published a âbiofuel roadmapâ for the EU to 2030. The roadmap, prepared by technical consultancy E4tech, may be seen as an atttempt by industry  to transcend the current deadlock between the European Parliament and EU Member States over new biofuels legislation, which is crippling biofuel investment. The … [Read more...]
The failure of Kyoto and the futility of European energy policy
The EU has been one of the front-runners on climate policy ever since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997. However, according to geologist and energy author Euan Mearns, who runs the blog Energy Matters and is a former editor of the famous "peak oil" website The Oil Drum, Kyoto has been an outright failure and current EU energy policy is futile and counterproductive. He wonders why EU governments "continue to pursue this futile course of … [Read more...]
Why an EU-US trade deal matters for the energy sector
This week the second round of negotiations for an EU-US free trade agreement is taking place. Energy has not been making headlines in the context of these talks, but a TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) will have far-reaching implications for the energy sector, e.g. with regard to oil sands, LNG and shale gas. NGOâs worry that the TTIP will give big business the chance to undermine Europeâs environmental legislation. Sonja van … [Read more...]
“Franceâs fracking ban to remain for foreseeable future”
The decision to uphold the ban on hydraulic fracturing (âfrackingâ) in France by the constitutional court, preventing further exploration activities for shale gas reserves, is unlikely to change in the near future, despite the warnings of advocates that France will miss out on a significant source of cheap energy, says a new report from research and consulting firm GlobalData. According to the companyâs latest report, France Upstream Fiscal … [Read more...]
EU Commission: feed-in tariffs should be abandoned
The European Commission has presented a Communication which gives guidance to Member States on âhow to make the most of public interventionsâ in the electricity market. The Communication discusses âhow to reform existingâ interventions, especially renewable energy subsidy schemes, and how to effectively design new ones, especially for back-up capacity schemes." The Commission notes that âin some very specific cases public intervention might be … [Read more...]
EU Court upholds primary importance of internal energy market
In its first ruling on mandatory unbundling, the European Court of Justice has deemed this principle so vital to the internal market that it supersedes fundamental freedoms enshrined in the EU Treaties, such as free movement of capital. It is a victory of public interest over pure economics. The ruling in the case of the Netherlands vs. three energy companies comes on the eve of fresh EU guidance intended to better align the state interventions … [Read more...]
EU renewables sector fears for future subsidies
Brussels wants both a single European energy market and 20% renewables in the energy mix by 2020. The latter goal, however, Â risks disrupting the former. The Commission must resolve this tension in new state aid guidelines for energy for 2014-2020. Â The renewables sector warns that the conditions the Commission is currently considering threaten the renewable energy sector. (Photo: uSwitch) … [Read more...]