So-called capacity markets are driving what appears to be a major new trend in energy policy across Europe: more public subsidies for electric utilities, writes independent consultant Gerard Wynn. In a new report for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Wynn takes a critical look at capacity payments in Spain, which cost taxpayers €1 billion annually. Meanwhile, the UK just forked out ÂŁ1.2 billion in a capacity … [Read more...]
Open letter to policymakers: make Europe Renewable Energy World Leader by 2020
Europe should embark on a collective project to become the world leader in renewable energy by 2020, write Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Herman Van Rompuy, President Emeritus of the European Council and President of the European Policy Center and Bertrand Piccard, pilot of the Solar Impulse, in an open letter to policymakers. Such a leadership effort would go a long way to addressing a multitude of challenges facing … [Read more...]
EU energy package: What it means for coal, renewables and efficiency
The literature on EU energy regulations got longer by about a thousand pages [on 30 November], as the European Commission put forward its vision for achieving a “clean energy transition”, writes Sophie Yeo for Carbon Brief. The vast collection of documents — including revisions to directives, impact assessments, enquiries and new regulations — will determine the future of energy in the EU up to 2030. It touches upon subjects including coal … [Read more...]
EU is losing the energy battle with Russia
Europe’s grand strategy to become less import dependent on Russian gas, which has been discussed since the 1990s, looks more and more like a failure, as the new Russian Tsar, Vladimir Putin, is consistently wrong-footing the leaders of the EU, writes Cyril Widdershoven. … [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 Szymaáą…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 EU’s Third Energy Package. In addition, Stockholm and Copenhagen in … [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 Europe’s diversification of energy sources and energy security. But according to Energy Post’s 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 EU’s … [Read more...]
Demand response can drastically lower energy bills – if suppliers don’t get “compensated”
New research commissioned by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) finds that demand flexibility can save many billions of euros in electricity costs. As the European Commission is pondering the design of a new and interconnected energy market for Europe, it needs to make sure these benefits are realised, writes Phil Baker, Senior Advisor at RAP. Brussels should resist calls to “compensate” energy suppliers for perceived losses as a result of … [Read more...]
Interview Maroš Šefčovič, VP Energy Union: “I made the promise 2016 would be year of delivery and I intend to keep it”
“If we want a cost-effective transition to a low-carbon economy, we have to create an internal energy market where European rules apply”, says Maroš Ĺ efÄŤoviÄŤ, the European Commission’s Vice President for the Energy Union, in an exclusive interview with Energy Post. According to Ĺ efÄŤoviÄŤ, “big parts of our energy market are [still] overregulated”. To take a decisive leap towards the Energy Union, the Commission has decided to put all its energy … [Read more...]
Europe should look at consumption of renewables not just production
European consumers actively chose to buy more than 550TWh of renewable electricity last year, 20% of all electricity consumption. Yet EU member states are not required to report on consumption of renewables, only  production. This gives a false picture of what is happening in the market, say business representatives involved in purchasing and producing green electricity. Dual reporting - of consumption and production - would show that some … [Read more...]
Jean-Paul Chabard, Scientific Director at EDF’s R&D: “Electrical storage is the grail for an electricity producer”
In this exclusive interview with Energy Post, the man in charge of EDF’s flagship new research centre just outside Paris, Jean-Paul Chabard, explains where the company sees its future opportunities. With an R&D budget of €650 million, EDF has the largest R&D effort of any utility in Europe. The EDF Lab at Paris-Saclay, which opened in March, houses half the company’s 2,000-strong R&D staff. Chabard says “electrical storage is the … [Read more...]
Britain is only just beginning to exploit its vast resources of offshore wind
A new study finds that the UK can install up to 675 GW of economically feasible offshore wind, writes Simon Watson, Professor of Wind Energy at Loughborough University. This could provide more than six times the UK’s present national electricity demand.  As current capacity is only 5 GW, there is ample room for growth. Yet there are also still major challenges to overcome. Article courtesy of The Conversation. … [Read more...]
The elusive gas connection between Spain and France
The French energy regulator has recently said that a long-awaited gas interconnector between Spain and France, which the European Commission says would help reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, is not needed and too costly in the current market environment. Juan Vila, President of the Spanish company Gasindustrial, disputes the CRE’s assumptions and calls its viewpoint short-sighted. “The people and industries in Spain and Portugal need to … [Read more...]
Ukrainian crisis can be solved – with an Energiewende
A Ukrainian Energiewende could go a long way to resolving the current geopolitical crisis around the country, writes Oleg Savitsky of the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine in a new report for the Succow Stiftung. According to Savitsky, it would reduce Ukraine’s dependence on Russian gas and uranium as well as on coal from the breakaway regions, while at the same time reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and the risk of a nuclear … [Read more...]
The EU’s climate plan is not enough – and everyone knows it
On Wednesday the European Commission will release its plans to share out the EU's 40% by 2030 greenhouse gas target among the 28 member states. The Commission will claim its proposal is ambitious, but everyone in Brussels knows this is not true, writes Brook Riley of Friends of the Earth Europe. European policymakers need to come clean and admit the EU is not doing enough. What would help is that they stop presenting climate policy to the public … [Read more...]
Nord Stream 2: a bad deal for Germany and Eastern Europe
Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal both for Germany and its Eastern European partners, writes Georg Zachmann, Senior Fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. According to Zachmann, the proposed pipeline from Russia to Germany would “work against efforts to diversify gas supplies”. It may also lead to Eastern European countries having to pay higher prices for gas than Germany and would give Russia a tool to discriminate between countries.  Moreover, … [Read more...]
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