The debate is intensifying over how to decouple power prices from the extraordinarily high natural gas prices in Europe. Simona Benedettini and Carlo Stagnaro warn that the current problem of high prices is not caused by the mis-functioning of electricity markets, but by the exceptional trend in gas prices. So should the markets be re-designed at all? Will we lose the benefits of the current design, one being the reliable profits that renewables … [Read more...]
EU Solar has avoided 20bcm of gas imports and saved €29bn
Solar generation in the EU has avoided the import of 20bcm of gas that would have cost €29bn, explains PaweĹ‚ CzyĹĽak at Ember, writing for Carbon Brief. The new solar power added since 2021 alone avoided €6bn of gas imports. Record EU solar generation increased by 28% in the summer of 2022, compared with the same period a year earlier. And it’s growing very quickly, with a consistent 15% year-on-year increases in installed solar capacity – from … [Read more...]
As spot market electricity prices break all records, what is the prediction for winter?
Spot market prices for electricity have been breaking all records, as European leaders and their ministers intensify their discussions on how to deal with the crisis. Simon Göss at cr.hub, writing for Energy Brainpool, starts by explaining how the markets work, noting that price rises are indeed being driven by fossil prices and not CO2 certificates. Göss looks at how prices have climbed in Germany, France, the Baltics and Spain, and how the … [Read more...]
Electricity market re-design should focus on the root cause of the crisis, Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels
Amidst the perfect storm of the pandemic, war in Ukraine, and extreme weather events, Bruce Douglas at Eurelectric urges us all not to lose focus on our decarbonisation targets. Energy savings, electrification and renewables are more important than ever to help reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Douglas explains that Europe’s electricity sector remains totally committed to the drive towards clean energy, citing examples. He summarises the … [Read more...]
Don’t cap gas prices for consumers. It won’t reduce demand. Instead, subsidies must reward cuts in gas use
European nations are considering capping the price of gas that consumers pay, a subsidy that governments will pay for, to ensure households don’t freeze this winter. Daniel Gros at CEPS warns that this strategy will remove the incentive for consumers to cut their gas use, keeping international market prices high. Instead, governments should incentivise a reduction in gas use. Gros has modelled two strategies. The first is to pay households for … [Read more...]
Poland can become a major player in Offshore Wind, says PGE
PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna’s goal is to have at least 6.5 GW of offshore wind capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2040. The first projects will come online within the next few years. The offshore projects are one of PGE’s key steps towards climate neutrality, and PGE hopes to become a leader in offshore wind in Poland. Here, Wojciech DÄ…browski, PGE’s President of the Management Board, answers questions to explain their strategy, and how it fits into … [Read more...]
How to ramp up Hydrogen under the new REPowerEU targets
What needs to be done to develop hydrogen as a major fuel in Europe as the continent looks to diversify away from Russian oil and gas supplies? The war in Ukraine has led to the EU substantially raising its hydrogen ambitions. While the earlier “Fit for 55” target for 2030 was set at 5.6 Mt, the new REPowerEU strategy has increased the target to 20 Mt, to replace 50 bcm of Russian gas. That means, for example, the use of hydrogen in industrial … [Read more...]
Hydrogen project pipelines need new ways of matchmaking investors and developers
What is required to catalyse private investment in the new hydrogen economy? Isabelle Huber at the Center for Strategic and International Studies has looked at a European Investment Bank survey of hydrogen investors in the EU to find some answers. One obvious challenge is the cost of moving to hydrogen. An example of dealing with this is Germany’s H2Global mechanism which uses government funds to bridge the gap. But another major problem … [Read more...]
If Russia cuts off its gas supply can we achieve EU storage targets for winter?
Calvin Triems at Energy Brainpool summarises their analysis of whether and how Europe can achieve its storage targets for 2022. There are four scenarios: “Base Case”; “Nordstream@40%” where there’s no change to Russia’s mid-June gas flow cut to 40%; “Nordstream@40% + No Freeport” where the unexpected fire in early June at the U.S. Freeport LNG terminal remains unresolved for months; “Nordstream@0% + No Freeport” where Russia cuts off supply … [Read more...]
Will price caps on Russian oil work? Three experts debate
Whatever the G7 does, the objective is to cut revenues flowing into Russia, not oil flowing out. And whatever the sanctions, getting compliance from neutral and pro-Russian countries will need a strong positive incentive. Hence the idea of a price cap which would keep prices low. Here, three experts – Edward Fishman and Brian O’Toole at the Atlantic Council, and Mark Mozur at S&P Global Commodity Insights (with background by Atlantic … [Read more...]
Project Air: building a first-of-a-kind, large-scale sustainable methanol plant for the chemicals industry
Project Air is creating a first-of-a-kind, large-scale sustainable methanol plant. It uses CCU for converting CO2, residue streams, green hydrogen and biomethane into methanol. It’s a collaboration between specialty chemicals innovator Perstorp (Sweden) and energy firms Fortum (Finland) and Uniper (Germany). Perstorp aims to be the first chemical producer to replace all fossil-based methanol for its European production facilities (200,000 tons … [Read more...]
Event summary: “45% RES by 2030: EU’s latest investment challenge to DSOs”
Sara Stefanini provides a written summary of our panel discussion held on Thursday June 30th 2022. It’s a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights. Investment in and the modernisation of the electricity distribution grid is one the biggest challenges the EU has to overcome in the next decade. It’s a €400bn investment challenge by 2050 says Eurelectric, an … [Read more...]
Imposing a $50/barrel tariff on Russian oil is the best sanction
Is there a way to impose sanctions on Russia that cuts its revenues without causing fossil fuel prices to balloon? The current strategy has seen oil prices rise to $120/barrel by mid-June, so although volumes are down Russia has seen no reduction in revenues. In other words, it has not achieved its objective, says Edward Chow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Instead, he argues for imposing a big import tariff – like … [Read more...]
Implementing Poland’s national Recovery and Resilience Plan
How should Poland implement its national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP)? Sonia Buchholtz at Forum Energii outlines some important answers. First, a deep analysis of the challenges and assessment of the solutions and reforms must start now. Buchholtz says though the directions set out in the RRP are correct, the details are out-of-date. Policy reforms and more ambitious targets are needed in all the main areas: energy efficiency and heating; … [Read more...]
If Russia cuts its gas supplies to Germany, what happens next?
Replacing Russian pipeline gas to Europe in the short term is much more difficult than finding alternative sources for coal and oil. It’s why the EU hasn’t banned Russian gas. But what if Russia cuts off the supply? Benjamin Wehrmann at Clean Energy Wire looks at what the consequences and options are for Germany. Though Germany aims to wean itself off Russian supplies almost entirely by 2024, a sudden cut would have serious consequences. Storage … [Read more...]
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