While Germany rushes ahead with its nuclear phase-out and France dithers, Switzerland is following a third way away from nuclear and towards renewables. The Swiss version of the Atomausstieg/Energiewende is slow but steady, with concern for economic as well as environmental consequences. Bernâs policy offers important lessons to Paris, Berlin and others â all the more so because Switzerland is one of the most nuclear-dependent countries in the … [Read more...]
Professor Henrik Lund: Denmark proves complete fossil fuel independence is possible
Complete independence from energy generated from fossil fuels is possible. Professor Henrik Lund, of Aalborg University, believes that a system based 100 per cent on renewable energy is a viable option and could be achieved by 2050 in Denmark. Renewable energy systems (RES) planning can also be successfully applied to other countries worldwide. During his extremely well attended plenary lecture at CHISA, the 21st International Congress of … [Read more...]
New report Carbon Tracker: Top 20 high-cost oil projects risk wasting $91 bln of investor cash
The Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) has come out with a new report highlighting some of the worldâs most expensive future oil projects, which the biggest publicly listed oil companies are considering for development. Some of these projects require prices far exceeding todayâs levels, and risk wasting $91 billion of investor cash over the next decade if taken into production. The projects are suggested as prime candidates for … [Read more...]
Moscowâs great new gas game: Russia will become a bigger player â but in a bigger market
Russia has embarked on a strategy to become a major player in the global LNG business, with as many as five or six  big new projects expected to come online by the end of the decade. This new LNG production capacity is part of Russia's broader strategy that involves reducing its reliance on European markets and becoming one of the top gas suppliers to the Asia-Pacific region. Paradoxically, these efforts, if they succeed, are likely to reduce … [Read more...]
US energy independence: fact or fiction?
What do you get when you speak with four American investment analysts about the prospects of US gas and oil production, the sustainability of fracking, the risks of the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the potential of nuclear energy and renewables? You get four different, but outspoken opinions, from people with different  perspectives on the world than what you usually find in Europe. A four-way interview by J.T. Long for The Energy … [Read more...]
Russian energy sector will cease to be engine of growth
The contribution of the energy sector to Russian GDP will decrease by nearly 50% over the coming decades. Although energy will continue to provide an important foundation to the Russian economy, it will cease to be an engine of growth. That is the main conclusion of Global and Russian Energy Outlook to 2040, recently published the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Analytical Centre of the Government of Russia. … [Read more...]
How the EU should deal with the Ukraine gas crisis
The Russian decision, on 16 June, to halt gas supplies to Ukraine spells trouble for the coming winter. Even if the current crisis is resolved, uncertainties over Ukraine will remain. Therefore, the EU needs to prepare for another gas crisis, both in the short term, by establishing crisis mechanisms, and in the medium term, to prevent future crises. Agata Ĺoskot-Strachota of the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Poland sets out the urgent steps … [Read more...]
Shale gas: what it could really mean for Europe
The Ukrainian crisis has revitalized discussions in Europe about the role shale gas could play in the European energy mix and to enhance security of supply. Opinions  on this are very polarized. Whereas optimists declare that Europe could start commercial production in 2020, the pessimists insist that shale gas will never be profitable in Europe. According to Alexander Gusev, the real picture is not black-and-white. Cutting through the confusion … [Read more...]
Reforms needed for Energy Community
The Energy Community High Level Reflection Group has issued a report on how the work of the Energy Community - an international organisation comprising the European Union and eight neighbouring countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine) â may be improved. The Report contains proposed solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the Energy Community, … [Read more...]
Perspectives on Obamaâs clean power plan: small step for US, big step for mankind?
The proposal made by the US Environmental Protection Agency to reduce CO2 emissions from power stations in the US by 30% has been hailed by many as a historic breakthrough in US climate policy. Others, however, argue that the proposal is quite moderate. Some even say the plan will do nothing for the climate at all. Supporters say the main benefits of the plan is the precedent it sets and the message it sends. Energy Post editor Karel Beckman … [Read more...]
IEA: Golden age of gas comes to China
Driven by booming demand, the "Golden Age" of natural gas that is now firmly established in North America will expand to China over the next five years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its 2014Â Medium-Term Gas Market Report released today. The projected near-doubling of Chinese gas demand through 2019 compensates for a slight slowdown in growth in many other areas of the world, the report said. The annual report, which gives a … [Read more...]
Ten take-home messages from the new European Energy Security Strategy
On 28 May the European Commission published a new energy security strategy for the EU that sets out a long list of short-, medium- and long-term actions to reduce dependence on Russian gas. These range from regional âstress testsâ for supply disruptions to new priority gas infrastructure projects to serious examination of centralised gas purchases. For many however, it is energy efficiency that will make or break this strategy. Sonja van Renssen … [Read more...]
The Birth of a Eurasian Century
The signing of the long-awaited $400 billion gas contract between Russia and China is a sign of changing times, writes Pepe Escobar. According to the Asia-based reporter, there are many developments going on, virtually unreported by the western media, that are chipping away at the dominance of the United States in the world. A Russian-Chinese alliance is forming, which will reach out into Europe through energy and trade relations â and  perhaps … [Read more...]
Policy failures have turned Belgium into high-price electricity island in Europe
Wholesale power prices in Belgium are now considerably higher than in its big neighbour Germany. In addition, Belgium is the only country in North West Europe to be faced with an electricity supply shortage. This situation is caused by a long series of policy failures on the part of the Belgian government, which has failed to create stable investment conditions, a competitive market and adequate interconnections, argues Benedict de Meulemeester, … [Read more...]
IEA review of Dutch energy policy: the real work still lies ahead
The Dutch energy sector is proud of the broad National Energy Agreement which was signed on to last year by representatives of the energy industry, consumer and trade associations and NGOâs, and which is now being implemented. But concluding an agreement is one thing, implementing it is another, notes the International Energy Agency (IEA) in an instructive review of Dutch energy policy. The Netherlands still relies heavily on fossil fuels and is … [Read more...]
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