IEEFA has published its U.S. Power Sector Outlook 2021. Its authors, Dennis Wamsted, Seth Feaster and David Schlissel summarise and explain the projections. They say that coal and gas are set to become the biggest losers as renewable generation climbs quickly. The future for wind and solar ā coupled with storage to address intermittency - is looking very good. They present estimates from NextEra (the largest renewable energy developer in the … [Read more...]
Netherlands: gas phase-out transition must tackle the geopolitical implications of importing from Russia
Until recently, the Netherlands has had no major concerns regarding natural gas security of supply. Thatās just as well, given gas plays a big role primarily in the generation of heat: 90% of buildings and 40-50% of industrial heat are based on gas. Now, decarbonisation plans to cut its own gas production as well as consumption brings with it major dilemmas. Irina Patrahau and Lucia van Geuns at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies present a … [Read more...]
Are Regulations and Climate Activism the main driver for coal exits, not Gas and Renewables prices?
Itās widely thought in the media and politics that market forces are now the primary driver for the demise of coal: mainly natural gas prices, and the rising adoption and competitiveness of wind and solar. However, David Drake and Jeffrey York at the University of Colorado Boulder present their research from the U.S. that suggests the two main drivers are federal policy and climate activism. They studied the retirement of 348 coal-fired units … [Read more...]
“The Role of Gas” in Europe and China: EVENT VIDEO on security of supply, gas to power, competitive markets & renewable gases
We present the videos of the second of our three, 4-session workshops on the opportunities for European energy solutions providers to take part in China's energy transition. In this workshop, held in February, we looked at gas. Demand in China is expected to keep growing. Thatās because China doesnāt just need to replace coal, it simply needs more energy. Europeās gas sector has decades of relevant experience, technology, policy, planning and … [Read more...]
Five practical steps Oil & Gas can take to accelerate their energy transition
The Oil & Gas sector has a role to play in the energy transition, and not just by winding down operations. Thatās because they will, by most projections, continue to be a major part of the energy mix through to 2050. But their activities must transition too, explain Bart Valkhof, Pedro Gabriel Gomez Pensado and Wan Sayuti at the World Economic Forum. The sector must therefore work out which strategies and investments can produce the lowest … [Read more...]
EU Recovery funds: where is the support for District Heating?
District Heating is an efficient way to heat homes, particularly in a country like Latvia where 58% of its primary energy consumption is used for heating. But SelÄ«na VancÄne at Riga City Council is very concerned that the draft EU Recovery plans do not include any support under the climate goals for district heating projects. Perhaps itās because of a blind spot: most of Europe is prioritising individual heating units powered by electricity. … [Read more...]
EU Taxonomy: 5 principles for avoiding unintended consequences
The EU Taxonomy is a classification system that defines a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities.Ā If your activity is on the list you should see green finance flow your way. Hence the heated debate over what is āgreenā. Itās of vital interest to sectors like gas and nuclear (itās green compared to the coal it replaces) as it will have a major effect on the cost of capital and therefore the future of the sector. Indeed, any … [Read more...]
EU Taxonomy: Gas as a transition fuel needs Green Deal support too
PGE Group is Poland's largest energy company. Its transformation plan targets a 50% share from renewable generation and an 85% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. By 2050 it intends to have net zero CO2 emissions and provide 100% green energy to its customers. As with all nations around the world, and certainly in the EU, successful transitions depend on capital flows to the right sectors, signposted by policies and support. What does and does … [Read more...]
The dangers of using Climate Policy as a Social Justice tool
Cap-and-trade has been criticised in California for allowing big emitters to pay their way out of reducing emissions and cause pollution. Itās become a social justice issue as poorer communities tend to be located near where the pollution is being created. James Bushnell at the Energy Institute at Haas warns that such clashes are being caused by the mistaken view that climate policy should be a major tool for reducing inequality. In fact, some … [Read more...]
How Biden can start to find a compromise on Nord Stream 2
The Trump administration and the U.S. Congress threatened sanctions on European companies helping to build the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and that is still the current position of the new U.S. government. To end the deadlock, president Biden needs to change the tone of the debate and focus on the true interests of the affected parties, explains Nikos Tsafos at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He summarises those … [Read more...]
Oilās decline will weaken its political influence
2020 was another bad year for the oil and gas industry. The pandemic made it worse but it was not the cause: a decline has been going on for a long time. Energy firms in the S&P 500 (overwhelmingly oil and gas) make up 2.3% of the total value, down from 16% just over a decade ago, and 30% forty years ago. Clark Williams-Derry and Tom Sanzillo at IEEFA explain why, how and what the likely consequences are for oil firms. For many years itās … [Read more...]
Asiaās record Gas prices expose the need for faster market reform
After record lows in mid-2020, Asian spot prices for LNG rose tenfold to reach record highs in January 2021. This volatility is an obstacle to the development of the gas infrastructure thatās essential to the region where demand for gas is growing, explain Jean-Baptiste Dubreuil and Gergely Molnar at the IEA. There were multiple causes for the price spike, including the cold winter, limits to nuclear and coal generation, and outages at regional … [Read more...]
How to create four major regional Gas hubs in Russia
Kamil Sobczak at the Russian Gas Society has co-authored a report, āOpportunities and prospects for the development of gas hubs in Russiaā, which he summarises here. It scopes out what is needed to create four major gas hubs in the Far East, North West, Central and Southern Russia. The plan will help develop and modernise Russiaās gas sector as well as increase exports. Transparency in prices and transaction volumes will be essential to create … [Read more...]
Chinaās 14th Five-Year Plan will reshape its growing Gas sector
Demand for natural gas in China is set to continue its rise, increasing by 7% to 9% annually to reach up to 500 bcm by 2025, explains Sylvie Cornot-Gandolphe at theĀ IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate. Domestic gas production has continued its significant growth too, driven by a surge in shale gas. Even then, gas imports ā both pipeline and LNG - should increase to fulfil the rising supply/demand gap. This growing importance of gas in the energy … [Read more...]
Decarbonising Industry is key to Chinaās net-zero strategy
China has committed to a CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. Itās 14th 5-year plan will be released in March, followed by sector-oriented plans. For the first time it will include a dedicated plan addressing climate change. Dolf Gielen, Yong Chen and Paul Durrant at IRENA start by laying out Chinaās energy mix for scrutiny, then dive into its industrial sector which accounts for 60% of gross final energy use. Success … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- …
- 19
- Next Page »
![](https://energypost.eu/wp-content/themes/dynamik-gen/images/content-filler.png)