EU Energy Policy Blog

Grids are already developing offshore, and this development will continue even though at what pace and how they will develop is still uncertain. Indeed, there are different possible configurations for a future offshore grid: it can be a simple multiplication of standalone lines that provide each a single service (either connection of generation, or connection between transmission grids); or it can be a more integrated infrastructure like an offshore meshed grid that combines and interconnects dozens of offshore lines and generation units (hereafter combined solution). Continue reading »

One outcome of the recent Durban climate negotiations is a non-binding agreement to reach an agreement by 2015 that will bring all countries under the same legal regime by 2020. This “Durban Platform for Enhanced Action” – has opened an important window. To explain what I mean requires a brief review of some key points from twenty years of history of international climate negotiations.

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Huge investments in new transmission power lines are required on both sides of the Atlantic in the next two decades. Financial, technological and regulatory uncertainties jeopardise their timely implementation. The European Commission (EC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have recently started to design a more favourable regulatory framework. Will they succeed? And do their proposals differ? Continue reading »

There is little disagreement that, with a few exceptions, renewable energy technologies tend to be more expensive than conventional options, especially considering their intermittent and unpredictable nature, which often requires backup generation or storage. Their main selling point is that they are non- or significantly less polluting. Renewables gain comparative advantage if a price were put on greenhouse gas emissions. This has always been among the main arguments for providing subsidies and encouraging their growth.
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The European Union is wracked by sovereign debt, budget deficits, monetary weakness, slow economic growth, trade deficits with the Emerging economies, an ageing population, and mass unemployment – but it has the supposedly proud role of world leader in Green Energy Transition. The main goal of this is reducing dependence on fossil fuels and increasing dependence on new, renewable, unconventional, alternate and “low carbon green” energy sources and systems, and improving energy efficiency, conserving energy and rationalising the energy economy.
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China may not be where cutting edge research takes place or innovative technologies emerge, and Chinese manufacturers are not usually the first to develop and market new products. But once they identify a product as globally marketable, Chinese manufacturers typically copy and apply reverse engineering techniques and then undercut their Western competitors in their own markets. With substantially lower wages, they can be fierce competitors. This pattern is repeated to one product after another, and in one market after another. A recent example is the market for utility-scale wind turbines where China has made impressive progress in the last few years.
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In the current context, where public budgets are overstretched due to the economic crisis, there is a pressing need to understand the fiscal implications of climate policies. Decarbonization will impact both sides of a country’s budget via changes in the tax levels and composition of taxes on the one hand, as well as transfer payments and direct investments on the other. Climate policies increasing public revenues could help to reduce state debt, while policies significantly increasing public expenses could be difficult to implement.
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The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Annual Energy Outlook, released in April 2011, not only offers the usual reams of information and data, but also a number of useful insights that are sometimes lost in such bulky documents. The overall message, however, resonates with a number of other recent reports and studies, all – more or less – coming to the same conclusions.
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The term “politically correct” can be defined like conforming or adhering to what is regarded as orthodox liberal opinion on matters of sexuality, race, etc. In our time, other similar terms like “historically correct” have seen the day. I suggest a new term, “energetically correct”, in an attempt to explain the common ground of understanding of the complex energetic challenge of XXI century.
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If the EU is to meet its 2050 climate objectives, the future energy mix will have to rely on a significantly increased share of low-carbon (low-C) generation technologies. Substantial additional RD&D activities are required in order to achieve the ambitious target of limiting global warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and cut emissions by 80% or more for industrialized countries.
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