What the future of our energy system will look like continues to be a subject of heated debate. According to one well-established tradition, writes Professor John Mathews of Macquarie University in Australia, the route to decarbonisation will run via massive nuclear power systems to the hydrogen economy. But China and to some extent India are emerging as the principal practitioners of an alternative vision of energy growth, underpinning their … [Read more...]
For China 2016 has not been the Year of Nuclear Power
For Chinaâs nuclear industry, 2016 has been a frustrating year. So far, construction has started on only one new plant, and its target of bringing 58 gigawatts of nuclear capacity in service by 2020 seems impossible to meet, writes Steve Thomas, professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich in London. Article courtesy of China Dialogue. … [Read more...]
The Nordic countries on Nord Stream 2: between scepticism and neutrality
Sweden, Finland and Denmark are unlikely to block or slow down the procedures of issuing national approvals for the construction of Nord Stream 2, write Justyna Gotkowska and Piotr Szymaáš ski of OSW, the Centre for Eastern Studies, in Poland. But according to the authors the Nordic countries do expect the European Commission to assess the compliance of Nord Stream 2 with the EUâs Third Energy Package. In addition, Stockholm and Copenhagen in … [Read more...]
Russia keeps expanding oil production despite low oil prices
Russian federal revenue from oil and natural gas production has declined significantly in response to low oil prices, reports the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, whereas western oil companies have slashed their spending, Russian oil and natural gas companiesâ capital investment programs have been less affected, if at all. As a result, Russian oil production has hit a post-Soviet record high. Article courtesy of US EIA. … [Read more...]
Electric car revolution may drive oil âinvestor death spiralâÂ
Advanced batteries could âtip the oil market from growth to contraction earlier than anticipated,â concludes credit rating agency Fitch in a new study. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has already told investors to expect the âbig crashâ in oil by 2028âââand as early as 2023. Joseph Romm  Joseph Romm, founding editor of the influential weblog Climate Progress, warns of the âinvestor death spiralâ that may await the oil industry. Article … [Read more...]
Who is afraid of Nord Stream 2?
Nord Stream 2, the new gas pipeline that Gazprom is planning to build from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany, has been criticised for reducing Europeâs diversification of energy sources and energy security. But according to Energy Postâs editor in chief Karel Beckman, the EU should welcome the pipeline, despite deteriorating relations with Russia. According to Beckman, Nord Stream 2 has a sound economic rationale behind it and the EUâs … [Read more...]
The collective effort behind Finlandâs new nuclear power plant
Five years after announcing that it had chosen Pyhäjoki, in northern Finland, as the site for a new Russian-designed 1200 MW nuclear reactor, Finnish company Fennovoima is within sight of a 2018 construction start date. No, this is not the notorious Olkiluoto-3 EPR being builty by Arevaâ this is Hanhikivi 1, to be built by Rosatom. Journalist Eric Marx travelled to Finland to find out why Fennovoima is succeeding where other new nuclear projects … [Read more...]
The energy prescriptions of The Atlantic Council: âThereâs a direction relation between climate change and geopoliticsâ
The implications of climate change targets not being met are massive migration, the potential for resource wars and âa further disintegrating of the international orderâ, according to Richard L. Morningstar, Founding Director and Chairman of the Global Energy Center and David Koranyi, Director of the Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative, both part of the Washington DC based think tank The Atlantic Council. Morningstar and Koranyi see a âdirect … [Read more...]
Visions clash at World Energy Congress in Istanbul
The World Energy Council gave out a clear message at the World Energy Congress that took place this week in Istanbul: the world needs to move away from fossil fuels much faster than it is doing today. That contrasted sharply with the message given out by most of the high-level speakers from government and business at the Congress, who stressed that the world needs more oil and gas. Mohammad Barkindo, the new Secretary General of oil cartel OPEC … [Read more...]
Interview IEA Chief Fatih Birol: âWe are once again increasing our expectations for renewables”
In its upcoming World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is âonce again happily increasing our growth projections of renewable energyâ, says Executive Director Fatih Birol in an interview. But a world without fossil fuels is not yet in sight. âThere are fossil fuels and fossil fuels. Coal and oil should be discouraged. Natural gas will continue to play an important role in even our most stringent scenarios.â This interview was … [Read more...]
Interview Spencer Dale, BP Group Chief Economist: âThe energy transition could come faster than we thinkâ
The energy industry faces uncertainties of daunting magnitude on many levels, says Spencer Dale, BPâs Group Chief Economist, in this exclusive interview: the pace of climate change policy, the growth of renewables, the apparent demise of coal, falling energy prices, the role of natural gas in the energy mix, and the likely impact of energy efficiency on demand growth. According to Dale, âitâs possible that we will see forces leading to a faster … [Read more...]
The “new realities for energy”: peak demand, stranded assets
"The world is undergoing a Grand Transition driven by a combination of factors including the fast-paced development of new technologies, an unstoppable digital revolution, global environmental challenges and changing growth and demographic patterns", according to a statement from the World Energy Council, a UN-accredited global energy network with over 3,000 member organisations in over 90 countries. According to the World Energy Council, the … [Read more...]
World Energy Scenarios show: Strong government policies needed to limit climate change
The world will find it difficult to meet the 2°C target set in the Paris Agreement unless it goes down a path of strong enforcement by national governments of international agreements to curb greenhouse gas emissions. That's one of the key conclusions of the World Energy Scenarios 2016 report from the World Energy Council, which looks at how global trends will shape the energy industry over the next 45 years. The report was launched today at the … [Read more...]
Hinkley Point C explained â UKâs attachment to nuclear submarines drives bias towards nuclear power
Why is the UK government so committed to building new nuclear power stations, despite the high costs and many attractive alternatives? Research published by the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex shows that it is the Governmentâs attachment to nuclear submarines which is an important factor in the pro-nuclear bias in UK energy policy. … [Read more...]
Climate change becomes prime investment driver
BlackRock, the worldâs largest private investment fund, has announced that it will include climate change as an important factor in how it assigns risks to its investment portfolio, writes Fereidoon Sionshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. According to Sionshansi, this decision has huge implications for the energy sector. … [Read more...]
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