New German legislation, which will become effective in 2015, has resulted in a drastic improvement of the climate performance of biodiesel produced in Germany. But the effects the new rules will have on the German and wider EU biofuels market are still highly uncertain, says Elmar Baumann, Managing Director of the VDB, the Association of the German Biofuel Industry, in an interview with Energy Post. “All we know is that they will be profound.” … [Read more...]
EU issues work plan for 2015 – with pared down priorities
The number one priority for Team Juncker is a €315-billion investment plan for Europe. Second, is “better regulation”. First Vice-President Frans Timmermans presented the European Commission’s 2015 work programme to MEPs in Strasbourg on 16 December. Energy Post looks at the new initiatives, scrapped initiatives and those that hang in the balance for energy and climate policy. … [Read more...]
The Five Energy Labours of Juncker
The new team heading the European Commission in Brussels is lucky. Its predecessors closed two sensitive deals before the reshuffle: a European energy and climate strategy for 2030 and a gas winter package between Ukraine and Russia. On top of that, outgoing Energy Commissioner GĂĽnther Oettinger finished off a thick report on the way forward for a European energy market. The new Commission will follow up on these three dossiers, plus two more … [Read more...]
Carefully prepared Cañete dogged by conflict of interest
The candidate for EU Climate and Energy Commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete from Spain, demonstrated an impressive grasp of his subject matter at his hearing at the European Parliament on Wednesday night in Brussels. But he failed to answer repeated questions about his brother-in-law’s involvement in two oil-related companies. Today, his future hangs in the balance as he becomes a hostage in a fight between the Parliament’s different political … [Read more...]
Oil is back – how Obama went from climate president to drill-baby-drill commander
Just a few years ago, president Obama promised he would reduce America’s dependence on oil. Now, energy expert Michael Klare points out, his administration is doing everything possible to boost oil production: opening up the waters off the Eastern seaboard to exploration, ramping up sales of leases for oil and gas drilling, expanding drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, even speeding up the processing of drilling permits. The results are visible: … [Read more...]
Global renewable energy at the cross-roads
Is the renewables glass half-full or half-empty? That’s the central question that appears to run through the International Energy Agency (IEA’s) new comprehensive market report on the state of renewable energy in the world. The answer is complex. Renewables have made “tremendous progress”, notes the IEA, but growth “falls short of global climate change objectives”. Karel Beckman reports. … [Read more...]
UBS and Citigroup expect massive solar-EV revolution
Analysts from UBS and Citigroup, two of the world’s largest investment banks, believe the growth of solar power, in combination with advances in batteries and electric cars, will cause a huge disruption in the energy industry. UBS believes centralised fossil fuel generation  will become “extinct” sooner than most people realise. Citigroup predicts renewables will replace coal and gas in power generation, which will free up the use of gas as a … [Read more...]
What a difference a decade makes: an updated reality check on the global energy system
Robert Wilson takes a very hard-headed look at the state of the global energy system, in particular at the US and China. He comes up with some stunning conclusions. America’s per-capita energy consumption, he argues, is excessive and could easily be halved without any negative impact on the standard of living. But no matter what the US does, China is already by far the largest energy consumer in the world. And unfortunately, despite taking some … [Read more...]
Trouble in oil paradise: domestic challenges in Saudi Arabia and their global implications
Saudi Arabia, the mainstay of the world’s oil system, is faced with mounting problems in its domestic energy market which affect its ability to function as the global swing producer, warns Eckart Woertz in a policy brief written for the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF). The country is faced with such a severe natural gas shortage that half of its electricity production now comes from oil. As a result, its ability to export oil may … [Read more...]
Carbon Delirium: the hazardous impact of fossil-fuel addiction on American foreign policy
The elites in the U.S. and other “petro-states” have become so addicted to the power and riches brought by fossil fuels, they are blind to their ill effects, argues Michael Klare. As an example he notes the “delusional” idea that increased gas and oil production in North America could somehow influence Vladimir Putin’s behavior towards Ukraine. This addiction, says Klare, must be cured, as it poses a “direct danger to humanity”. … [Read more...]
An investor speaks: the oil party is almost over
The fact that environmental activist Bill McKibben is waging a relentless “fossil fuel divestment campaign” may not worry established oil and coal companies too much. But he is joined by an increasing number of mainstream investors and analysts. The latest investor to warn that fossil fuel assets may be overvalued is the famous hedge fund manager Jeremy Grantham, owner of the major US asset-management firm GMO. In a thoughtful piece for the GMO … [Read more...]
Why utilities should embrace electric cars
Navigant Research has recently published an interesting article by Scott Shepard on what the growth of electric vehicles in the US means for utiltiies. Shepard concludes that they represent more opportunities to utilities than problems. Schepard notes that "according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), the average U.S. household consumed 11,321 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in … [Read more...]
Exclusive report – Boeing reveals “the biggest breakthrough in biofuels ever”
Oil companies watch out. Biofuels are on the verge of a breakthrough that will transform the oil market. Not only that: it will also green the planet. In an exclusive interview with CleanTechnica.com and Energy Post, Darrin L. Morgan, Director Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Environmental Strategy at Boeing, reveals that researchers at the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi, funded by Boeing, Honeywell and Etihad Airways, may have achieved "the biggest … [Read more...]
Brussels confines climate policy to emission reduction and emission trading
The European Commission’s 2030 climate and energy package unveiled on 22January confines itself to two main proposals: a 40% binding greenhouse gas emission reduction target and legislative reform of the EU Emission Trading Scheme. Significantly, it does not include post-2020 national renewable energy targets or new energy efficiency targets. It also drops the fuel quality directive which underpins the use of biofuels in the transport sector. The … [Read more...]
BP: “Optimistic for the world’s energy future”
The good news from the BP Energy Outlook 2035, presented on 15 January, is that there will be no problem meeting the world’s energy demand over the next two decades. When it comes to availability of energy, “there is no problem”, said BP’s Group Chief Economist Christof RĂĽhl at the presentation of the report in London. BP’s CEO Bob Dudley said BP is “optimistic for the world’s energy future”. The fourth edition of BP’s annual  Energy Outlook … [Read more...]
