“When it comes to energy security in the long term, there is no better antidote than focusing on sustainable energy,” said EU Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete at the launch of a new EU energy security master plan in Brussels on 16 February. The Commission defended its proposals – which focus on safeguarding gas supplies – as an aid to moving Europe along to a low-carbon economy as well as preparing it for possible supply … [Read more...]
The cheapest way to scale up wind and solar energy? High-tech power lines
A new study from researchers at the prestigious National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US concludes that the US can cut greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector by 80 per cent while keeping prices at or below current levels. The key to achieving this is to build a nationwide, modernised grid that will allow large-scale systems integration of renewable energies.Scientist Christopher Clack explains how the … [Read more...]
EU takes on gas in first battle for European Energy Union
The European Commission is heading for a full-on confrontation with Member States with a new set of proposals on gas security of supply: Â a fresh attempt by Brussels to impose a truly European policy. According to leaked drafts obtained by Energy Post, the Commission will demand more oversight on gas deals with foreign countries and suppliers, and look to replace national gas policies with regional ones. There will also be a first-ever LNG and … [Read more...]
UK government must save North Sea oil and gas sector
The UK government is abandoning the North Sea oil and gas sector to its fate, despite the fact that there is still enough oil and gas in place in the region to generate the same amount of revenue that has been reaped up to now, argue Alex Russell and Peter Strachan of Robert Gordon University. They advocate that full control of energy and oil within the Scottish section should go to the Scottish government, so that at least this part can be … [Read more...]
Interview Christoph Frei, Secretary General World Energy Council: “The key message from Paris: be part of the innovation frontier”
The key message of the Paris Climate Agreement is that the energy sector should be part of the drive towards renewable energy and part of the “innovation frontier”, says Christoph Frei, Secretary-General of the World Energy Council, the largest global network in the energy business, with member committees in over 90 countries. “The long road from Paris is to build on the best technology, to develop and deploy innovation. If you are not on the … [Read more...]
The electricity network is changing fast – here is where Australia is heading
The Australian electricity sector is changing extremely fast, writes Paul Graham, Chief Economist CSIRO Energy at CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in Australia. CSIRO Energy sees solar and storage costs still dropping rapidly. According to Graham, scenarios under which a third of people may be leaving the grid and 25-45% of electricity will be generated on-site are “plausible”. … [Read more...]
Why Nordstream 2 risks failure
The Nordstream 2 gas pipeline that Gazprom and a number of major European energy companies, have agreed to build, faces formidable political, legal and economic obstacles that may make the project undeliverable, writes Alan Riley, professor at City Law School in London and nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. According to Riley, the overarching problem Gazprom and its partners Shell, Engie, Wintershall, OMV … [Read more...]
The Chinese dream: Jeremy Rifkin and the economic conquest of Eurasia
While the EU is mired in conflicts between east, south and west over over finance, climate policy and refugees, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is wooing 16 Central and Eastern European leaders at a China-CEE summit in Suzhou. It is all part of the Chinese dream of creating a Jeremy Rifkin-esque infrastructurally and digitally integrated economic space spanning the vast Eurasian continent, writes journalist Pepe Escobar. Some years from now German … [Read more...]
EU’s first State of the Energy Union report: how it will deliver on climate and energy goals for 2030
The EU’s first-ever “State of the Energy Union” report is determinedly optimistic on progress, but offers little new information and appears to take just a small step towards resolving the biggest challenge of all: uniting national interests around EU priorities. Published by the European Commission on 18 November, the report is accompanied by a whole suite of studies in areas from energy security to climate action. The package sets out … [Read more...]
Security alert: Europe needs more grids, more power plants – say grid operators and generators
Under any decarbonisation scenario, whether dominated by fossil fuels or renewables, centralised or decentralised, €10 to €20 billion  in annual investments in grid infrastructure will be needed in Europe in the decades out to 2050, concludes a multi-stakeholder consortium led by European Transmission  System Operators in a landmark report. In another report, the European technical association for electricity and heat generation VGB PowerTech, … [Read more...]
Interview Marko Delimar, IEEE: “Technologists need to demystify energy”
“Right now renewable energy is still in the single digits in Europe. That’s a disaster”, says Marko Delimar, Professor at the University of Zagreb and Chair of the European Public Policy Group of the engineers association IEEE, the largest professional association in the world. According to Delimar, the energy transition is still at a very early stage. Technologists, he says, in an interview with Energy Post, have an important task: “We need to … [Read more...]
Klaus Schäfer, future CEO of E.ON spin-off Uniper: “EU should set a target for gas”
The EU should define how much gas it wants by when, and recognise that Nord Stream 2 can provide additional security of supply, argues Klaus Schäfer, the incoming CEO of E.ON spin-off Uniper in this exclusive interview with Energy Post. Schäfer, who is currently Board member of the E.ON Group, says Europe is further away than ever from a single market for electricity and calls on policymakers to recognise that security of supply has a cost. He … [Read more...]
Power-to-gas: how carmakers can go green (without cheating)
European carmakers are required to reduce their CO2-emissions, but the Volkswagen affair has shown they find it increasingly difficult to do so. There is a way out, however, writes energy consultant Mike Parr: they could follow the example of Audi and invest in power-to-gas systems. This would kill two birds with one stone, argues Parr: it would help decarbonise the transport sector and could enormously help the integration of variable renewables … [Read more...]
Toyota vs. Tesla – can Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles compete with electric vehicles?
Author: Tony Seba Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) appear to be making a comeback. But according to author, lecturer and entrepreneur Tony Seba, HFCVs can't compete with electric vehicles. "The hydrogen economy would be a massively wasteful economy that would at best use three to six times more energy than an electric vehicle and solar/wind infrastructure and many times more water than even gasoline uses." … [Read more...]
viEUws Brussels Briefing on Energy: all you need to know for October/November
Hughes Belin gives details on what to expect in the first State of the Energy Union report due from European Commission Vice-President, Maroš Ĺ efÄŤoviÄŤ, on 18 November. In the meantime, he reports on the official signing off of a new gas interconnector between Lithuania and Poland, and looks ahead to an EU LNG strategy due next year. A public consultation on redesigning the European electricity market has closed and legislation on the back of … [Read more...]
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