Renew Extra Weekly

The world seems to have accepted that the combustion of coal for energy supply cannot continue. Although some countries are still locked into it (most notably China), many emerging global scenarios see coal being phased out. Some say fossil gas should go the same way- especially since it can now be cheaper to generate power using renewables . The Netherlands already have a gas phase out plan, with heat pumps being ramped up instead .  The Russian attack of Ukraine has led more to look at options like that, but it may be too hard for some countries just now, and, in any case, many scenarios see natural (fossil) gas as a transitional fuel, used in the interim to replace the use of coal, but with its use gradually being reduced via the increased use of low or zero carbon gasses of various types and by elecrification. That’s how the EU’s gas plan sees it. It also seems to be the why natural gas has been allowed into the new EC Sustainable energy investment taxonomy – if emissions f...

The idea of supergrid power links around and across the Mediterranean is not new. There were plans by the Germany-based Desertec initiative, set up in 2009, to build links to major concentrated solar power (CSP)  projects in North Africa. However, despite a lot of early enthusiasm and detailed analysis , along with debates over the strategic pros and cons , it came to naught. It was seen as easier to generate power from solar and wind in Europe- Germany’s indigenous renewables were starting their big boom. There were also political issues – wasn’t it just a bit of rich Northern exploitation of resources in the poor South?   Nevertheless some of the ideas and individual projects survived, as did the idea promoted by the EU of a ‘med ring’ for power trading. And as the use of renewable spreads across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area, Desertec-type ideas may now be moving ahead again. That should not be surprising. The desert solar resource is after all vast, an...

Renewables are on the up most places, the UK especially. S&P Global Platts forecasts that renewables will account for over 56% of UK power demand in 2026, with wind output set to double from current levels. And UK energy minister Greg Hands said UK renewables were ‘on track to deliver the majority of electricity by 2030’. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine adding to the pressure on gas prices and energy security, Energy and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said ‘with gas prices at record highs, and the price of renewable energy plummeting, we need to accelerate our transition away from expensive gas. Now, more than ever, we must focus on generating cheaper, cleaner power in Britain, for Britain. This is how we become energy independent in the long term’.  Expansion of renewables will hopefully be accelerated by the UK government's decision to move to annual Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions. Previously they were biannual. BEIS said that ‘The auction scheme has already p...

Amongst many other things, the horrendous Russian invasion of Ukraine seems likely to change energy futures dramatically. Some of it will be about gas.  Ukraine has been a major transit state for much Russian gas and oil, but who knows what role it will play in future? Its intermediary role in EU gas supply was already an issue. Russia had tried to work around the transit problem with the Nord Stream 2 offshore pipeline, but Germany, in protest at the invasion, has now decided not to use it. Many other EU countries may now feel the same- no to Russian gas, whatever way it is delivered.    However, many of these countries are heavily reliant on their gas imports from Russia, and reducing that will hard for some of them. It has even been suggested that, with Nord Steam 2 off, in addition to importing more LPG/LNG from elsewhere, Germany may have to delay its nuclear and/or coal phase out deadlines- the last nuclear plants are due to close this year and reliance on coal is ...