With elections in May, the balance of opinion in Parliament is a climate policy risk factor on the minds of many in Brussels. The national draft 10-year energy plans, just in to the Commission, project widespread growth in costlier renewables. But populists who see climate as a globalist rather than nationalist-first agenda may prove hard to bring on side with an expensive and disruptive transition. The public will be influenced by climate … [Read more...]
UK nuclear plans are in tatters. But current incentives help gas, not wind and solar, step into the gap
The scrapping of plans for a new nuclear power station in Cumbria and the suspension of work on another in Anglesey have put the brakes on the UK’s nuclear future. But the government appears more keen to fill the gap with gas rather than renewables. David Toke of Aderdeen University criticises the current incentives and regulations and makes the case for wind and solar. … [Read more...]
How much subsidy does solar need, and for how long?
Schalk Cloete presents his latest paper looking at what affects the profitability of an investment in a power sector. After reviewing onshore wind and nuclear, he now looks at solar. His analysis of coal and gas are to come. Intermittency, market share, maintenance, integration costs and other factors are modelled in detail to help predict solar’s future. *This article is brought to you via our new author platform. If you have an article you … [Read more...]
Broken public utilities: how to fix them
The recent newspaper reports of financial and operating problems at the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and South Africa’s ESKOM show that these state-owned systems suffer from similar governance and regulatory deficiencies, writes Branko Terzic, Managing Director of Berkeley Research Group and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. According to Terzic, a former Commissioner on the U.S. FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory … [Read more...]
Get this: Germany does not have generous subsidies for renewables
In an otherwise well-written and informative article on the recent decision by the EU Court of Justice on renewables policy, Energy Post repeats the unfounded notion that Germany has generous subsidies. This is wrong – and the difference matters: the German system of feed-in tariffs favours small companies and cooperatives. Now, the EU wants to kill feed-in tariffs, ostensibly because of the cost – but what’s at stake is freedom. … [Read more...]
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