Energy Post

Daily reports on the European and Global energy transition

  • Newsletter
  • Search Categories
    • Renewables
    • Policy
    • Oil, Gas & Coal
    • Hydrogen
    • Outlooks
    • Grids
    • Nuclear
    • Markets
    • Transport
    • Videos
  • 24-linkedin 24-twitterfacebook Follow-Us

Carbon-emitting gas, not renewables, is replacing U.S. nuclear

June 25, 2019 by James Conca

Ohio, USA, subsidises renewables. Now the Ohio State Legislature is fighting over a bill that will re-shape and extend that support to all clean energy, including nuclear. That’s how it should be, says Jim Conca. He reviews a report by regional transmission organisation PJM that says keeping nuclear plants open is far cheaper. Moreover, it’s far better for emissions. That’s because whenever a nuclear plant is shut down in the U.S. it is replaced … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Nuclear Tagged With: emissions, gas, Nuclear, Ohio, renewables, subsidies, US

BP Review of 2018: record CO2, energy use as gas outstrips wind & solar

June 21, 2019 by Zeke Hausfather

Energy use grew at 2.9% in 2018, the largest rise since 2010. It’s what happens when economies grow. But gas, oil and coal's contribution to that growth saw global CO2 emissions rise by 2% in 2018, the largest year-on-year increase in seven years. Wind and solar growth, driven by China though slowing in the US, EU, and India, achieved its second fastest rate on record - but still lagged behind gas additions. These are not the trends we need to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate policy, Energy Tagged With: CO2, coal, electricity, emissions, gas, hydro, Nuclear, oil, solar, wind

$400bn in global fossil fuel consumption subsidies, twice that for renewables

June 20, 2019 by Wataru Matsumura and Zakia Adam

At over $400bn in 2018, global fossil fuel consumption subsidies are more than double those for renewables. That makes sense while governments worldwide use energy subsidies to help poor consumers, and clean energy still makes up a smaller proportion of the global energy mix. But it makes the transition harder: cheaper fossil energy means more is consumed, and it’ll take longer for clean energy to compete it away. The IEA’s WEO Energy Analysts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: coal, electricity, fossil-fuels, gas, oil, pricing, renewables, subsidies

U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2: the global realpolitik of Russian gas for Europe

June 18, 2019 by Alan Riley

The proposed US sanctions aimed at Nord Stream 2 (NS2) are yet another hurdle in the way of the controversial Russian gas pipeline for Europe. But they are not an attempt by the Americans to prevent Gazprom from supplanting them as a supplier, says Alan Riley at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, because NS2 will deliver no more gas than the current route via Ukraine, just replace it. He argues the sanctions are to constrain Russia’s … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: Austria, EU, gas, Gazprom, Germany, Nord Stream 2, OMV, Russia, US

New gas-to-methanol technology OxE could end oil well “flaring”

June 13, 2019 by Nichole Liebov

Oil wells also release natural gas. But it’s burnt off on site whenever the economics of collecting and piping it don’t add up (gas can’t use the existing petroleum infrastructure). What if it could be converted into methanol, says Nichole Liebov at the University of Virginia. She describes a new process called oxyesterification (OxE) that converts methane (the main constituent of natural gas) into methanol cost effectively at low temperatures … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: CO2, emissions, flaring, gas, methane, methanol, oil

U.S. Coal: firms go bankrupt as share of generation halves over 10 years

June 3, 2019 by Seth Feaster and Karl Cates

In the U.S. coal’s market share for power generation has halved in 10 years to 24%, from close to 50% in 2008. That year a record 1,172m tons was produced. But a combination of the rapid drop in solar and wind costs, continued competition from cheap gas, and ageing coal plants (most were built between 1965 and 1985) means that steep decline is set to continue, say Seth Feaster and Karl Cates of IEEFA U.S.. It’s why Cloud Peak Energy, the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: Cloud Peak Energy, coal, electricity, gas, IEEFA, Powder River Basin, solar, Westmoreland, wind

IEA: Global energy investment stabilises at $1.8tn after 3 years of decline

May 21, 2019 by IEA

Three consecutive years of declining global energy investment has ended. But it’s not risen, just stabilised at $1.8tn, according to the IEA’s latest report World Energy Investment 2019. To meet the Paris targets investment in efficiency needs to rise substantially, and double by 2030 for renewables: they have stalled for both. To meet soaring global energy demand oil and gas investments need to rise too. That demand is seeing cheap coal still … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Investment Tagged With: China, coal, efficiency, gas, IEA, India, investment, oil, renewables, shale, US

UK oil & gas keeps rising. Clean Energy blueprint can reverse it

May 20, 2019 by Greg Muttitt

In the UK the ÂŁ2.3bn (=$2.9bn / €2.6bn) in new oil and gas subsidies introduced since 2014 will state-fund the addition of twice as much carbon as its coal phaseout saves, says a new report “Sea Change: Climate Emergency, Jobs and Managing the Phase-out of UK Oil and Gas Extraction”. Can the UK call itself a climate leader if its existing policies push it over its emissions limits? It can, if you consider this: the UK took 16 years to become the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate policy, Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: carbon, clean energy, emissions, gas, jobs, oil, transition, UK

Carbon Capture: Can CO2-EOR really provide carbon-negative oil?

May 10, 2019 by Christophe McGlade

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) injects CO2 into oil reservoirs, increasing the pressure and forcing the oil out. 20% of global oil production uses EOR. But if that CO2 doesn’t stay underground it hasn’t been captured. If it was itself extracted from natural underground CO2, there is no benefit – or worse. Ideally, it should come from already captured CO2. But most oil wells are nowhere near a CCUS (carbon capture, usage and storage) facility: in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: bioenergy, CCUS, CO2, emissions, gas, IEA, oil

50% Hydrogen for Europe: a manifesto

May 7, 2019 by Frank Wouters and Ad van Wijk

Electricity has well known limitations, mainly for bulk and long-range transport, industrial processes requiring high temperature heat, and the chemicals industry. To entirely replace fossil fuels we need hydrogen, say Frank Wouters and Prof. Dr. Ad van Wijk. It has an energy density comparable to hydrocarbons. There's more: Europe’s electric grid can’t cope with 100% electrification, yet hydrogen would use the existing gas pipe networks. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Hydrogen, Renewables Tagged With: electricity, emissions, Europe, gas, grids, hydrogen, networks

Developing World: cashflow analysis shows gas, coal far more profitable than clean energy

April 24, 2019 by Schalk Cloete

80% of future energy infrastructure will be built in the developing world. Schalk Cloete has already written for us on the purely economic viability of developed world onshore wind, utility-scale solar PV, nuclear, natural gas and coal. He now presents his detailed cashflow analyses of the major generator technologies applied to the developing world. Because costs tend to be much lower the returns are higher. But gas and coal still easily … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal, Renewables Tagged With: carbon taxes, China, coal, gas, grids, India, integration, Nuclear, solar, wind

EU election risk: policymakers should go for real decarbonisation now while efficiency savings can help

March 15, 2019 by Energy Post Premium

With elections in May, the balance of opinion in Parliament is a climate policy risk factor on the minds of many in Brussels. The national draft 10-year energy plans, just in to the Commission, project widespread growth in costlier renewables. But populists who see climate as a globalist rather than nationalist-first agenda may prove hard to bring on side with an expensive and disruptive transition. The public will be influenced by climate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, EU Policy, PREMIUM Tagged With: carbon taxes, Clean Energy Package, coal phase-out, Czech Republic, energy efficency, energy union, EU elections, France, gas, Germany, gilets jaunes, just transition, NECPs, Nord Stream 2, Poland, populists, subsidies, UK

Utilities are starting to invest in big batteries instead of building new power plants

March 13, 2019 by Jeremiah Johnson and Joseph DeCarolis

There has been a dramatic drop in battery costs in recent years. Jeremiah Johnson and Joseph F. DeCarolis, of North Carolina State University, say if this continues grid-scale batteries could supplant the usual solutions to peak electricity demand: gas power plants and transmission lines. Inevitably, this will depend on the future price of gas, and the changing policy environment. But one thing is for sure: utilities don’t want to invest in peak … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Storage Tagged With: batteries, electricity, gas, grid, lithium, storage, utilities

Investing in gas: the effect of carbon taxes, gas prices, and the growth of renewables

February 28, 2019 by Schalk Cloete

Schalk Cloete presents his latest article looking at what affects the profitability of an investment in a specific power sector. After reviewing onshore wind, nuclear and solar, he now looks at gas. His analysis of coal is to come. The major variables are increasing CO2 prices, and natural gas pricing. He adds that the growth of wind and solar should benefit load-following gas power plants: they are plugging the intermittency gap when electricity … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: baseload, carbon, carbon tax, discount rate, electricity, gas, investment, renewables, solar, wind

Does the U.S. really need new gas infrastructure?

February 25, 2019 by Andrew Campbell

Gas prices within the U.S. vary considerably, largely due to poor local gas infrastructure: Boston’s gas prices can be triple New York’s, and Los Angeles’ over 50% higher than San Francisco’s. Should the U.S. spend billions upgrading that infrastructure? Not if money spent on assets that may one day be stranded is money wasted. Andrew Campbell, Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Haas at the University of California, says the best … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: dynamic pricing, gas, infrastructure, policies, protests, regulators, smart meters, U.S., utilities

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • Next Page »

Most read this week

  • U.S. Inflation Reduction Act: one year on, a summary of impressive progress in the energy transition by Hannah Perkins | posted on September 19, 2023
  • 10 Carbon Capture methods compared: costs, scalability, permanence, cleanness by Ella Adlen | posted on November 11, 2019
  • Industry’s EU ETS reforms and CBAM: how firms can turn the rising cost of carbon into competitive advantage by Pablo Ruiz | posted on September 25, 2023
  • Affordable €25k EVs by 2025: Europe’s carmakers can do it. Instead they’re making more profitable SUVs by Transport & Environment | posted on September 22, 2023
  • Sodium-ion batteries ready for commercialisation: for grids, homes, even compact EVs by Carlos Ruiz | posted on September 11, 2023
  • Oil & Gas business is fatally flawed: Russia-Ukraine only delayed the relentless decline in prices by Clark Williams-Derry | posted on September 21, 2023
  • Understanding the new EU ETS (Part 2): Buildings, Road Transport, Fuels. And how the revenues will be spent by Simon Göss | posted on February 6, 2023
  • Micro-nuclear reactors: up to 20MW, portable, safer by Christina Nunez | posted on April 22, 2021
  • Concawe Symposium tackles climate and pollution as RED commits fuel companies to 29% renewable content from 2030 by Matthew James | posted on September 22, 2023
  • Though the price shocks hurt, Renewables installed between 2021-23 saved Europe €100bn by Joe Myers | posted on September 18, 2023
  • Space-Based Solar Power: getting closer as SpaceX and Blue Origin bring down the cost of heavy-lift launches? by Matteo Ceriotti | posted on September 20, 2023
  • Agrivoltaics: GWs of solar power from farmland using strategically placed panels (and raising crop yields) by Joshua Pearce | posted on September 26, 2023
  • What’s best for Hydrogen transport: ammonia, liquid hydrogen, LOHC or pipelines? by Herib Blanco | posted on May 5, 2022
  • EU Energy Outlook to 2060: how will power prices and revenues develop for wind, solar, gas, hydrogen + more by Alex Schmitt | posted on December 6, 2022
  • Gravity Batteries: any nation can do it at scale using rocks by Simon Read | posted on July 27, 2022
  • The 10 big problems with simply replacing fossil cars with electric by Schalk Cloete | posted on December 6, 2021
  • Farming Algae for Carbon Capture: new research cuts “fouling.” Scale-up in 3 years? by David Chandler | posted on June 21, 2023
  • EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework: new rules to turn greenwashing into genuine removals by Simon Göss | posted on May 16, 2023
  • Can Aluminium-air batteries outperform Li-ion for EVs? by Helena Uhde | posted on September 8, 2021
  • Can we expect Gas price volatility and spikes this winter? Why? by Michael Bradshaw | posted on September 8, 2023

Information

  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy including Cookies
  • Terms and conditions for posting content
  • Comment Policy

More Information

  • About us
  • Authors
  • Contact Us

Most read in last 24 hours

  • Recent Posts
  • Recent Comments
  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Tags
  • Concrete supercapacitor: works like a battery, much cheaper, easy to make
  • Agrivoltaics: GWs of solar power from farmland using strategically placed panels (and raising crop yields)
  • Industry’s EU ETS reforms and CBAM: how firms can turn the rising cost of carbon into competitive advantage
  • Concawe Symposium tackles climate and pollution as RED commits fuel companies to 29% renewable content from 2030
  • Affordable €25k EVs by 2025: Europe’s carmakers can do it. Instead they’re making more profitable SUVs
      • Concrete supercapacitor: works like a battery, much cheaper, easy to make
      • carbon bubble
      • CCS
      • China
      • climate change
      • coal
      • coal power
      • diversification
      • electric cars
      • electricity
      • electricity market
      • emissions
      • energy2030
      • energy efficiency
      • energy security
      • energy storage
      • energy trade
      • energy transition
      • EU
      • EU energy policy
      • EU ETS
      • European gas market
      • EVs
      • financing
      • gas
      • geopolitics
      • grid
      • grids
      • hydrogen
      • infrastructure
      • investment
      • natural gas
      • nuclear energy
      • oil
      • renewables
      • Russia
      • smart grids
      • solar
      • solar power
      • sustainable mobility
      • transport
      • unconventionals
      • US
      • US energy policy
      • wind
      • wind power

      Recent Posts

      Concrete supercapacitor: works like a battery, much cheaper, easy to make

      Agrivoltaics: GWs of solar power from farmland using strategically placed panels (and raising crop yields)

      Industry’s EU ETS reforms and CBAM: how firms can turn the rising cost of carbon into competitive advantage

      Concawe Symposium tackles climate and pollution as RED commits fuel companies to 29% renewable content from 2030

      Affordable €25k EVs by 2025: Europe’s carmakers can do it. Instead they’re making more profitable SUVs

      Copyright © 2023 Energy Post. All Rights Reserved