Renew Extra Weekly

In theory, hydrogen is a very flexible energy vector – it can be used for power generation, heating and for transport. However, there may be limits and some say its use needs to be restricted to those parts of the economy where electrification/decarbonize is going to be hard, such as aviation and steel-making. For example, Michael Liebreich’s Hydrogen Ladder highlights those areas where hydrogen would be most useful and those areas where it would be uncompetitive. He has made it clear that he doesn’t see hydrogen cars as viable- we should stick to EVs. Provocatively, he claims that the Oil sector is lobbying for inefficient hydrogen cars ‘because it wants to delay electrification’. He feels the same about home heating- hydrogen in not a sensible option. There has certainly been much debate over its viability for direct domestic space heating, with electric heat pumps widely seen as much more efficient, at least for some parts of the annual heating cycle. The UK government’s recent Hydr...

Full ahead for hydrogen? With its analysis suggesting that 20-35% of the UK’s energy consumption by 2050 could be hydrogen-based, the government has launched a public consultation on a new preferred hydrogen business model.  It is built on a similar premise to the offshore wind CfDs, and is designed to overcome the cost gap between low carbon hydrogen and fossil fuels, helping the costs of low-carbon alternatives to fall quickly. In addition, the government is consulting on the design of the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which aims to support the commercial deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production plants across the UK.  The Hydrogen Strategy also includes a commitment to a ‘twin track’ approach to supporting multiple technologies including ‘green’ electrolytic and ‘blue’ carbon capture-enabled hydrogen production. That’s controversial. Why back both? Blue Hydrogen maybe cheaper just now, but it may lead to up to 20% more emissions than using gas direct, due in part t...

An article by Rachel Morison relayed by Bloomberg notes that, due mainly to gas price rises, ‘wholesale electricity prices have pushed above 100 pounds ($139) per megawatt-hour for the first time since 2008. That’s higher than the guaranteed rate the government agreed Electricite de France SA would get for the power produced from the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant being built in southwest England’. So Hinkley is no longer an expensive energy option! However, it’s a bit more complicated than that. The £92.5/MWh Contract for a Difference (CfD) strike price that Hinkley was given in 2013 is inflation index linked, so it would now be around £112/MWh, well above the £105/MWh the Bloomberg article quotes as the current market price. And no doubt inflation will push the Hinkley price even higher by the time it is running, in 2026 perhaps, while market prices may fall, as cheaper renewables spread.  EDF did at one time talk about being able to reduce costs with a second EPR project at Size...

With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) having produced a new very grim report on climate issues, all eyes are now focused on COP 26, the 26th meeting of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change to be held in Glasgow in November. COP 26 has the obvious formal agenda of continuing with the negotiation process over climate policy, developing on the outline COP21 Paris agreement in terms of national and global emission targets and aid funding. There is a lot to do, with many key countries still dragging their feet and the main focus will be trying to improve on that.  However, there are also underlying policy agendas reflecting different views as to how best to cut carbon, and they may shape what goes on and what is seen as important.  Most are backed by specific groups or interests. Most familiar, there are the vested fossil fuel interests- global/local oil, coal & gas companies. Some in the past backed climate change denial, but most ar...