The world's best thinkers on energy and climate
In 2016, natural gas provided 34% of total electricity generation, surpassing coal to become the leading generation source. Natural gas first exceeded coal as the most common electricity fuel on a monthly basis in April 2015 and on an annual basis in 2016. The increase in natural gas generation since 2005 is primarily a result of the continued cost competitiveness of natural gas relative to coal. … [Read more...]
Two of the largest utilities in Europe, E.on and RWE, have drastically changed strategies since 2016. In this post we argue that competition from third parties was the key driver behind this strategic decision. The following is a summary of the key findings from three different research papers that we have published. … [Read more...]
After a banner year for solar power installation in the United States, reports on the progress of solar power in the first quarter of 2017 have industry advocates hopeful that renewable energy will continue to grow throughout the year, despite competition from fossil fuels, U.S. government support for traditional energy sources and resistance towards cheap imported solar panels by domestic manufacturers. … [Read more...]
Gas could be the ideal partner for renewable energy generation in a future sustainable energy mix, writes Remi Eriksen, Group President and CEO of DNV GL, one of the largest risk management providers in the world with operations in more than 100 countries. … [Read more...]
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in April requested a study to assess the effect of renewable energy policies on nuclear and coal-fired power plants. Some energy analysts responded with confusion, as the subject has been extensively studied by grid operators and the Department of Energy’s own national labs. Others were more critical, saying the intent of the review is to favor the use of nuclear and coal over renewable sources. … [Read more...]
With US electricity demand stalled, expanding wind and solar power is increasing the economic pressure on equally low-emission nuclear power. New state incentives for nuclear plants are facing resistance from the beneficiaries of renewable energy subsidies, as both battle for market share. It's an old adage that a growth market has room for all participants, including new entrants. … [Read more...]
Last week, after WTI dipped to $48, it seemed to firm up a bit on assurances from OPEC regarding compliance with its cuts, and a better-than-expected report from the EIA showing a slight drawdown in crude oil inventories also provided a boost to oil prices. Crude closed out the week slightly up from the week before. The post, Oil Has Room To Fall As Speculators Bail On Bullish Bets, was first published on OilPrice.com. By Nick Cunningham But … [Read more...]
I just finished filling out my March Madness brackets (for recreational purposes only, I assure you), so I think we also should start a pool on when the next utility will ask its state regulators for permission to build a new, large-scale nuclear power plant? If we did, should ‘never’ be one of the options? Anyone willing to put their money on Georgia Power? The company actually had gotten state approval to do some preliminary work at a … [Read more...]
Nigeria’s Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said that OPEC producers need to lower their production costs if they want to be able to compete effectively with U.S. shale boomers, articulating what many already suspect or fear: that the production cut is simply not enough as a long-term solution of the global glut. The post, Panic In Vienna: OPEC Needs To Bring Down Costs To Compete With U.S. Shale, was first published on OilPrice.com. By … [Read more...]
It was bound to happen, and apparently it has: utility-scale solar-generated power, certainly in sunny parts of the world, appears to be cheaper than wind and both are cheaper than fossil-fuel generated power, writes Fereidoon Sionshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. The headline news – long awaited by renewable enthusiasts – is based on a number of recent competitive auctions in sunny … [Read more...]
The Shale oil industry has revolutionized the oil markets, rendering the once powerful OPEC oil cartel powerless in dictating the price and production of oil. The shale oil producers have taken the battle to OPEC head on, and have not only survived, but have won it in some aspects. They have forced OPEC and Saudi Arabia to change their initial strategy of maintaining high production in the wake of falling oil prices to gain market share. The … [Read more...]
The Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter famously described the “winds of creative destruction”: a process of industrial transformation in which product and process innovations revolutionise the existing industrial structure, destroying the old one by creating a new one. But the Chancellor’s 2016 Autumn Statement – delivered just five days after the UK ratified the Paris climate change agreement – provided more of a waft than a gale. If we are … [Read more...]
The energy world is changing fast. Investments into renewable energy are outpacing investments into conventional energy. The incumbents, unused to this pace of change and tied down by large asset bases and long-term investment strategies, are struggling. But they are not the only ones. The disruptors are also finding it difficult to build new energy businesses. In fact, many of the companies that will in the end be able to benefit from the energy … [Read more...]
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