Energy Post

Daily reports on the European and Global energy transition

Europe needs a Regional Green Bank to fulfil its Green Deal and match the U.S.

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Three years in, the European Green Deal remains unfulfilled as a long-term vision for decarbonising Europe by 2050, says Esmeralda Colombo at EIEE. To inject new momentum, in this week’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, EC President Ursula von der Leyen sketched out a Green Deal Industrial Plan to subsidise the cleantech industry and compete with the rest of the world, notably the US, and the EU Sovereignty Fund to equalise the … [Read more...]

How to sell Heat Pumps to the public in Europe

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In EU households, 62.8% of energy consumption is for space heating, and another 15.1% for water heating, mostly powered by fossil fuels. Heating and cooling is responsible for 52% of final energy demand in Europe. So, with REPowerEU, the EU has once again strengthened support for heat pumps to achieve energy independence and climate goals. Heat pump sales in Europe grew by an unprecedented 34% in 2021, thanks to a total 2.18m heat pump units … [Read more...]

Making Hydrogen will consume 2% of total global renewable capacity growth by 2027

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25 countries plus the EU have announced big ambitions for renewable hydrogen production. But how much renewable energy will be needed to make the H2 over the next five years? Nations are not keen to expend new clean energy generation on (expensive today) hydrogen production when their grids are still not emissions-free. According to the IEA, for 2022-2027, their main case forecasts around 50GW of renewable capacity will be dedicated to hydrogen … [Read more...]

EU ETS and CBAM: what the big update to emissions trading rules means for Europe’s key sectors

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The EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme is a vital part of the region’s decarbonisation plans. Simon Göss at carboneer digs into the new rules coming in for the existing EU ETS, and the implementation of the new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). Right now, the existing EU ETS covers around 40% of the EU’s emissions (energy sector, industrial installations and aviation). Its scope is being extended to include maritime transport. On top of that, … [Read more...]

2023 lookahead for Sustainable Finance: EU Taxonomy, ESG ratings, corporate disclosure laws, Europe’s “IRA”

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What will be the big issues for sustainable finance in 2023? Luca Bonaccorsi at Transport & Environment points at four. Firstly, the EU Taxonomy defines what counts as “green” investment. There has been much criticism of the inclusion of gas, and critics will continue publishing their analyses of what is truly sustainable and what is greenwash. Next, ESG ratings have also been severely criticised. They are an investor’s main tool for capital … [Read more...]

30+ nations now subsidise Heat Pumps because lifetime cost is cheaper than fossil boilers

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The global growth in heat pumps can deliver almost 40% of all possible emissions cuts from heating by 2030 (with most of the rest coming from efficiency, mainly insulation), says the IEA. This is according to their “Announced Pledges Scenario” (APS) which assumes that governments carry out all of the climate commitments they have made. Keeping buildings warm produces one-tenth of global energy-related CO2 emissions. So the APS’s heat pump growth … [Read more...]

Russia, fossil prices, energy security will boost Renewables to 38% of global power mix by 2027, says IEA

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The IEA has raised its 2027 forecasts for total renewables additions in its main scenario to 2,383GW – around the total power capacity of China. That’s a 28% increase on the previous estimate and up 76% from two years ago, explains Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief who summarises the IEA’s latest forecasts. Globally, solar power will overtake gas by installed capacity in 2026 and coal in 2027. There are two main drivers for this acceleration. High … [Read more...]

Can Global Shipping turn talk into action on reducing emissions?

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This week the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) member states are meeting to find ways and agree on how to step up their climate goals. Strategies and targets have been presented, but agreement and binding commitments are needed urgently. There are big differences of opinion within the IMO, and it might turn out that regional and industry developments will drive change faster, explains Christiaan De Beukelaer at Durham University. For … [Read more...]

Distribution Grid Digitalisation – benefits, policy, cost & funding

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About a third of European grids are over 40 years old. A rapid physical overhaul would be impossible, so the addition of a layer of digital technologies is the key to preparing them for the distributed and intermittent generation from renewable sources, the increased electricity demand from transportation, heat pumps and other sectors, and for ensuring energy efficiency at all levels. It’s why the EC expects about €584bn of investment in Europe’s … [Read more...]

COP 27: a way forward for methane, fossil fuel (not just coal) phase-out, and U.S.-China competition?

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COP 27 was never expected to have the impact that COP 26 did, and that’s how it turned out, explain Ben Cahill, Sandeep Pai and Taiya Smith at CSIS. But there are three issues that can have long term positive impacts if carried forward successfully. The first is some good news on methane emissions. The U.S., the EU, Japan and other countries announced an important producer-consumer effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from traded gas, while … [Read more...]

China’s electricity market design should choose from successes in Europe, UK, Australia, USA

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China has made substantial initial progress in its electricity market reform, but it still faces an uphill struggle in promoting the consumption of renewables, resource allocation across provinces and regions, and unlocking demand side potential. To help choose the best solutions China could do well to look at the “Handbook on Electricity Markets”, says Daisy Chi at ECECP. The 600-page book looks at the current state of power markets around the … [Read more...]

EU Energy Outlook to 2060: how will power prices and revenues develop for wind, solar, gas, hydrogen + more

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Alex Schmitt and Huangluolun Zhou at Energy Brainpool present a summary of their “EU Energy Outlook 2060”. Its scenarios map out how the European (EU 27, UK, Switzerland and Norway) energy system will change dramatically in the coming decades. Current geopolitical tensions are added to climate mitigation and an outdated power plant fleet as the main drivers of change at the EU and national levels. The in-depth modelling is trying to answer the … [Read more...]

EU gas post-Russia: out-of-date regulations are preventing new gas flows from west to east, not infrastructure

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### REGISTER NOW ### for our vitally important 2-panel event “The Energy Crisis and Russian Aggression Against Ukraine – Key Challenges for the Central European Energy Sector”, on Thursday December 8, 13:00 – 17:00 CET (Address: Rue Belliard 40, 1040 Brussels). High-profile confirmed speakers include Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, EC; Leszek JesieƄ, Chairman of the Board, CEEP; Jerzy Buzek, MEP and former president of the … [Read more...]

What was Europe’s dependence on gas prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

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### REGISTER NOW ### for our vitally important 2-panel event “The Energy Crisis and Russian Aggression Against Ukraine – Key Challenges for the Central European Energy Sector”, on Thursday December 8, 13:00 – 17:00 CET (Address: Rue Belliard 40, 1040 Brussels). High-profile confirmed speakers include Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, EC; Leszek JesieƄ, Chairman of the Board, CEEP; Jerzy Buzek, MEP and former president of the … [Read more...]

COP 27: “Loss & Damage” can become the fourth pillar of climate action, along with mitigation, adaptation and finance

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COP27 saw two major outcomes on the finance front: the creation of a “Loss and Damage” fund and a call to reform international financial institutions. It made fewer, if any, advances to reduce emissions, and narrowly missed sending a global call to phase down oil and gas consumption. But funding the emissions reductions of developing and vulnerable nations was a gap that had to be filled, and so this is a big step forward, explains Lola Vallejo … [Read more...]