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

30+ nations now subsidise Heat Pumps because lifetime cost is cheaper than fossil boilers

January 10, 2023 by Josh Gabbatiss

The global growth in heat pumps can deliver almost 40% of all possible emissions cuts from heating by 2030 (with most of the rest coming from efficiency, mainly insulation), says the IEA. This is according to their “Announced Pledges Scenario” (APS) which assumes that governments carry out all of the climate commitments they have made. Keeping buildings warm produces one-tenth of global energy-related CO2 emissions. So the APS’s heat pump growth … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: buildings, China, efficiency, emissions, EU, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, IEA, Italy, LCOE, Poland, subsidies, US

How to tax renewable energy firms for windfall profits from high wholesale electricity prices

January 9, 2023 by IEA

Should windfall taxes be imposed on renewable energy firms that have benefitted from the current high electricity prices caused by the increases in oil, gas and coal prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? If so, how, and how much? The IEA has conducted a study of the EU to try to uncover who has (and hasn’t) made extraordinary profits, and how much. Up front they say this is difficult to do as the majority of installed renewable … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Renewables Tagged With: CFD, electricity, Europe, FIP, FIT, Greece, Hungary, hydro, IEA, investment, Italy, profits, renewables, Romania, Russia, solar, spain, taxes, Ukraine, wind, windfall

Distribution Grid Digitalisation – benefits, policy, cost & funding

December 14, 2022 by Gridspertise

About a third of European grids are over 40 years old. A rapid physical overhaul would be impossible, so the addition of a layer of digital technologies is the key to preparing them for the distributed and intermittent generation from renewable sources, the increased electricity demand from transportation, heat pumps and other sectors, and for ensuring energy efficiency at all levels. It’s why the EC expects about €584bn of investment in Europe’s … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: DER, Digitalisation, efficiency, Enel, EU, Europe, EVs, grids, Gridspertise, HeatPumps, investment, Italy, SmartMeters, solar, spain

Europe’s decoupling of electricity and gas prices: the crisis is temporary, so why do it?

September 30, 2022 by Simona Benedettini and Carlo Stagnaro

The debate is intensifying over how to decouple power prices from the extraordinarily high natural gas prices in Europe. Simona Benedettini and Carlo Stagnaro warn that the current problem of high prices is not caused by the mis-functioning of electricity markets, but by the exceptional trend in gas prices. So should the markets be re-designed at all? Will we lose the benefits of the current design, one being the reliable profits that renewables … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal, Policies, Renewables Tagged With: caps, decoupling, EC, electricity, EU, Europe, gas, Greece, Italy, markets, Portugal, power, prices, Russia, spain, subsidies, Ukraine

Net-zero targets delayed by fossil fuel investors suing governments

June 2, 2022 by Rachel Thrasher, Blake Simmons and Kyla Tienhaara

As nations try to phase out fossil fuels, companies are suing them for compensation. Rachel Thrasher at Boston University, Blake Simmons at Colorado State University and Kyla Tienhaara at Queen's University (Ontario) summarise their latest study of the scale of the payouts. The cases are based on treaties – the Energy Charter Treaty being the most significant - that allow investors to sue governments when policy changes overturn their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal, Policies Tagged With: Canada, compensation, Denmark, EnergyCharterTreaty, France, ISDS, Italy, netzero, New Zealand, phaseout, Rockhopper, TCEnergy, treaties, US, Vermilion

Do e-bike subsidies lift sales, change habits and cut emissions?

May 27, 2022 by Lucas Davis

What happened when Sweden introduced a 25% rebate on the cost of an e-bike for 12 months over 2017-18? Lucas Davis at the Haas School of Business reviews a study that digs into the consequences. Sales increased by 70%. E-bike prices remained steady, so the sellers didn’t simply raise prices to eat up the rebate. The study estimates that although a third of those sales would have “happened anyway” (i.e. no additionality) the remaining two-thirds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Transport and energy Tagged With: Austria, congestion, ebikes, emissions, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, micromobility, mobility, Norway, pollution, Scotland, subsidies, Sweden, transport

Russia-Ukraine and Europe’s energy strategy: a snapshot of a fast-moving crisis

March 22, 2022 by Helen Farrell

Every day brings news of how Europe’s energy policy is reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s a big topic and fast moving. Helen Farrell gives a summary of the situation so far. She lists some of the major U-turns at both EU and national levels, the IEA’s ten-point recommendations, the feasibility and repercussions of cutting Russian fossil imports, the prospects for clean energy (solar, wind, nuclear, storage) and our net zero targets. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: China, coal, EU, Europe, gas, Germany, IEA, Italy, Nuclear, oil, renewables, Russia, solar, storage, UK, Ukraine, Versailles, wind

Community Biomass: for energy independence, stable prices and local control

March 11, 2022 by Marine Perrio

Energy independence is now at the top of the EU’s agenda. Almost all Europe’s biomass is already locally produced, contributing around 60% of the EU’s renewable energy. Marine Perrio at IEECP makes the case for promoting biomass prosumer projects. She points at regions dependent on biomass that have reported stable energy prices in the midst of the drastic increases in gas, oil and coal prices. Biomass uses organic feedstock from agriculture, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Biofuels, Energy Tagged With: BECoop, bioenergy, biomass, community, EU, forestry, Italy, prosumer, renewables, Russia, Ukraine

Our Hydrogen future: 27 authors imagine the world in 2030-2050

February 15, 2022 by Erik Rakhou

Here’s something very different for our readers today, and an opportunity for you to register for our Webinar and Q&A on Wednesday Feb 16th at 09:00 CET (register here). It’s to mark the book launch of “Touching Hydrogen Future”, where 27 energy experts from around the world have written a chapter each. They are fictional accounts of what our world could like in the near future. The countries covered are the Netherlands (2029), Denmark … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Hydrogen Tagged With: australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, electrolysers, France, Germany, Greece, hydrogen, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, pathways, Peru, Romania, Russia, scenarios, SouthAfrica, spain, Sweden, transition, turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, Uruguay, US, Uzbekistan

Buildings: France and Flanders lead on decarbonising new builds

January 20, 2022 by Clare Taylor

Buildings are responsible for 36% of total EU carbon emissions. So, since the start of 2021 European legislation requires all new buildings to be ‘nearly zero energy’. The frontrunners are France and Flanders in Belgium, according to a new report from the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), writes Clare Taylor. Both jurisdictions have plans for phasing out fossil fuels in new buildings within five years. Taylor explains how Flanders … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy Tagged With: Belgium, biogas, buildings, construction, DistrictHeating, efficiency, embodied, emissions, Flanders, France, Germany, HeatPumps, HVAC, Italy, JustTransition, Poland, renewables, solar, spain

Concern over auto job losses as Europe transitions to EVs

October 22, 2021 by Benjamin Wehrmann and Sören Amelang

The state premier of Lower Saxony, home of Volkswagen, says he would not tolerate a large-scale reduction in staff at Germany’s largest carmaker. There is talk of axing 30,000 VW jobs nationwide, though messages have been mixed. Benjamin Wehrmann and Sören Amelang at Clean Energy Wire look at the latest news, then summarise the implications of the EV transition for the auto industry across Europe. Highlights include the observation that a Tesla … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Transport and energy Tagged With: Czech Republic, EU, EVs, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, jobs, Poland, Romania, spain, suppliers, Tesla, transport, UK, VW

Clean transport in Europe: key trends to watch out for

October 11, 2021 by Thomas Earl

T&E’s quarterly trends series gives a snapshot of the key developments that will define the future of clean transport in Europe. And what Europe does – given it wants to lead this field – should influence what happens worldwide. T&E’s Thomas Earl brings attention to four issues. First, proven progress in this major sector makes it a contender for a significant role in Europe’s new industrial strategy. It ranges from battery and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Transport and energy Tagged With: batteries, carmakers, charging, Czech, EU, Europe, EVs, France, Germany, Italy, LNG, manufacturing, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, spain, subsidies, transport, trucks, UK

Energy-efficient and affordable housing will increase public support for the Green Deal

September 21, 2021 by Clare Taylor

Energy poverty – the inability to afford basic household energy needs – affects up to one-third of U.S and European households. The energy transition can be part of the solution, says Clare Taylor. Targeted energy-efficient retrofits and newbuilds for low-income households will cut bills and improve living conditions. This will not only cut emissions, but get the beneficiaries behind wider climate change policies like the Green Deals in Europe … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy Tagged With: buildings, CEE, CIS, efficiency, Energiesprong, France, GreenDeal, housing, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, renovation, retrofits, UK, US

Case study Italy: Optimising emissions cuts means we’ll need “grey” and “blue” Hydrogen too

June 1, 2021 by Carlo Stagnaro

Europe is committing to hydrogen. The ideal is “green” hydrogen, produced from renewable energy alone. Carlo Stagnaro at Istituto Bruno Leoni analyses emissions and costs in Italy to make the case for policy-makers to consider including “grey” and “blue” hydrogen in their strategies too. Because grids are far from green today, a new wind and solar plant will reduce more emissions by feeding the grid than by making hydrogen. “Grey” hydrogen, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Hydrogen Tagged With: blue, CCS, EU, green, grey, grids, hydrogen, Italy, solar, turquoise, wind, yellow

German Geothermal: from 1.2TWh to 100TWh by 2050?

June 29, 2020 by Paul Hockenos

The IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario sees the world's geothermal power generation tripling to almost 300 TWh by 2030. That’s because there’s an almost unlimited supply that can provide power, heating and cooling. It’s also a continuous supply uninterrupted by the weather, unlike solar and wind. The plants are small and quiet. For heating, ground-source heat pumps use significantly less electricity than other technologies. Writing for CLEW, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Geothermal Tagged With: buildings, CO2, drilling, fracking, geothermal, Germany, HVAC, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, nitrogen, Philippines, Sweden, turkey, US

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Most read this week

  • Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals by Dolf Gielen | posted on January 26, 2023
  • Utah: 140MW Geothermal bid can beat the cost and performance of the proposed Nuclear SMR by Dennis Wamsted | posted on January 27, 2023
  • Biofuel is approaching a feedstock crunch. How bad? And what must be done? by IEA | posted on January 23, 2023
  • 10 Carbon Capture methods compared: costs, scalability, permanence, cleanness by Ella Adlen | posted on November 11, 2019
  • Concrete: 8% of global emissions and rising. Which innovations can achieve net zero by 2050? by Ben Skinner | posted on January 24, 2023
  • Can Aluminium-air batteries outperform Li-ion for EVs? by Helena Uhde | posted on September 8, 2021
  • EU ETS and CBAM: what the big update to emissions trading rules means for Europe’s key sectors by Simon Göss | posted on January 16, 2023
  • Micro-nuclear reactors: up to 20MW, portable, safer by Christina Nunez | posted on April 22, 2021
  • 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
  • Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world by Christoph Gatzen | posted on January 25, 2023
  • Gravity Batteries: any nation can do it at scale using rocks by Simon Read | posted on July 27, 2022
  • What’s best for Hydrogen transport: ammonia, liquid hydrogen, LOHC or pipelines? by Herib Blanco | posted on May 5, 2022
  • Hydrogen production in 2050: how much water will 74EJ need? by Herib Blanco | posted on July 22, 2021
  • Why hydrogen fuel cell cars are not competitive — from a hydrogen fuel cell expert by Zachary Shahan | posted on June 17, 2016
  • The 10 big problems with simply replacing fossil cars with electric by Schalk Cloete | posted on December 6, 2021
  • Europe needs a Regional Green Bank to fulfil its Green Deal and match the U.S. by Esmeralda Colombo | posted on January 20, 2023
  • How to sell Heat Pumps to the public in Europe by Helena Uhde | posted on January 19, 2023
  • The U.S. should support the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by Joseph Majkut | posted on January 30, 2023
  • Critical Raw Materials for the energy transition: Europe must start mining again by Frank Umbach | posted on January 10, 2022
  • 2023 lookahead for Sustainable Finance: EU Taxonomy, ESG ratings, corporate disclosure laws, Europe’s “IRA” by Luca Bonaccorsi | posted on January 12, 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
  • Wind (and Solar) need their own Financial Transmission Rights to hedge their unique congestion risks
  • The U.S. should support the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
  • Utah: 140MW Geothermal bid can beat the cost and performance of the proposed Nuclear SMR
  • Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals
  • Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world
      • Wind (and Solar) need their own Financial Transmission Rights to hedge their unique congestion risks
      • 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
      • financing
      • gas
      • geopolitics
      • grid
      • grids
      • hydrogen
      • infrastructure
      • investment
      • natural gas
      • nuclear energy
      • oil
      • renewables
      • Russia
      • shale gas
      • smart grids
      • solar
      • solar power
      • sustainable mobility
      • transport
      • unconventionals
      • US
      • US energy policy
      • wind
      • wind power

      Recent Posts

      Wind (and Solar) need their own Financial Transmission Rights to hedge their unique congestion risks

      The U.S. should support the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

      Utah: 140MW Geothermal bid can beat the cost and performance of the proposed Nuclear SMR

      Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals

      Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world

      Copyright © 2023 Energy Post. All Rights Reserved