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...]
The UK Government’s delusional energy policy – and what it means for Scotland
The Conservative government in the UK has slashed support for renewables and is going all-out for shale gas and nuclear power. This is setting them on a collision course with devolved administrations in the UK, Scotland most of all, warn Peter Strachan and Alex Russell of Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and Geraint Ellis of Queen’s University in Belfast. It won’t go over too well at the Paris climate summit either. … [Read more...]
Renewables: does the IEA underestimate them?
In a new market report on renewable energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) notes that renewables will represent “the largest single source of electricity growth over the next five years”, reaching a share of 26% of world power supply in 2020, compared to 22% in 2013. Yet critics say the IEA is still underestimating the speed at which renewables like solar and wind are likely to grow. Energy Post editor Karel Beckman tries to figure out … [Read more...]
US desperately needs a national energy policy
The US - and indeed the world - is at a crossroads when it comes to the choice on how we want to provide energy services in the future, writes US energy expert Allan Hoffman. According to Hoffman, the US desperately needs a national energy policy that recognizes the importance of moving to a renewable energy future as quickly as possible. Without such a policy, economic growth, the environment and national security will suffer. … [Read more...]
Steve Holliday, CEO National Grid: “The idea of large power stations for baseload is outdated”
Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the company that operates the gas and power transmission networks in the UK and in the northeastern US, believes the idea of large coal-fired or nuclear power stations to be used for baseload power is “outdated”. "From a consumer’s point of view, the solar on the rooftop is going to be the baseload. Centralised power stations will be increasingly used to provide peak demand", he says, in an exclusive … [Read more...]
Interview Taner Yildiz, Energy Minister Turkey: “We will ensure security of supply through the market”
Turkey, faced with strong demand growth and high import dependency, is undertaking ambitious projects in new nuclear power, coal power and renewables. In an exclusive interview, Taner Yildiz, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, explains how the Turkish government is shaping the country's energy strategy, but notes that the private sector will have to make the investments. “Having put in place a transparent, competitive market structure, I … [Read more...]
The new IAEA-Kazakhstani nuclear fuel bank: key enabler for global expansion of nuclear power
With all the publicity around the Iran nuclear deal, not much attention has been given to an equally significant nuclear move: Â the agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with Kazakhstan to establish an independent Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Fuel Bank. According to energy expert Alan Riley, this initiative could become a key enabler for the worldwide expansion of nuclear power and indeed a key support for a secure future … [Read more...]
“Huge challenge to deliver enough oil and gas for 2ÂşC” – Statoil on Paris climate talks
In this video for viEUws - the EU Policy Broadcaster - journalist Sonja van Renssen is joined by Jos Delbeke (Director General for Climate Action, European Commission), Kathleen Van Brempt MEP (Vice-president of the S&D Group) and Eirik Wærness (Chief Economist and Vice President, Statoil) to debate the question: “Road to Paris: can the EU retain its leadership role at COP21?” … [Read more...]
Top 5 EU energy priorities for rest of 2015
In this video for viEUws – the EU Policy Broadcaster – Hughes Belin introduces the top 5 energy issues that will be discussed by the EU institutions under the Luxembourg EU Presidency (Luxembourg took over the rotating 6-month presidency in July). … [Read more...]
All at sea! UK government is putting future offshore wind at risk
The UK's energy security will increasingly depend on large scale offshore wind power, write Ian Broadbent and Peter Strachan. But while energy secretary Amber Rudd talked the sector up in a recent speech, she revealed feeble ambition. Worse, with its premature cutbacks on onshore wind, and its obsession with nuclear power, the government is undermining confidence among investors. … [Read more...]
The grid will not be disrupted: why Tesla’s Powerwall won’t catalyze a solar revolution
When Tesla Motors debuted the Powerwall home storage battery at a glitzy launch at the end of April, the press and blogosphere hailed CEO Elon Musk as the inventor of the Holy Grail of renewable energy storage – and the nail in the coffin for the centralized grid. But does all the messianic talk of battery-powered “disruption” and solar triumphalism stack up? Hardly. For all their ballyhooed price reductions, Tesla batteries are still too … [Read more...]
Tories are backing the wrong energy horses
By opting for nuclear power and shale gas, and reducing support for wind energy, the new Tory government is betting on the wrong energy horses, write Peter Strachan and Alex Russell of Robert Gordon University. "New nuclear looks a very costly and unreliable drain on the government’s budget, while fracking looks expensive, incompatible with emissions targets and probably uneconomic at current oil prices." … [Read more...]
Dimitri Pescia, Agora Energiewende: “No more baseload in 2030, no case for new nuclear in Europe”
There will be no more baseload power in Germany in 2030 and possibly not anywhere in Europe. There is no business case for new nuclear power in Europe. Renewables, not thermal power, should get capacity payments - and be responsible for balancing. These are some of the explosive messages from a new report from the influential German think tank Agora Energiewende, which represents government, industry and NGO's. In an exclusive interview with … [Read more...]
Danish offshore wind: it’s getting better all the time
Denmark continues to set the pace in driving down the cost of offshore wind. In its latest tender for 350 MW of near-shore wind farms the maximum price has again been reduced. Danish offshore wind now costs roughly half of what the new nuclear plant at Hinkley in the UK will cost. … [Read more...]
The mixed outlook for new nuclear power plants
Nuclear power has had a makeover. What was once seen as a futuristic source of limitless energy has been reframed as a response to global warming, an ideal solution for countries looking for a continuous source of low-carbon power. Nuclear advocates claim that nuclear power capacity is expanding, but according to Paul Dorfman, Honorary Senior Research Associate at the Energy Institute at University College London, in reality the global picture is … [Read more...]
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