British oil major BP issued its annual energy outlook and reported that rising energy demand in the coming decades will cause increasing carbon emissions despite efforts to draw them down. BP projects that the growing global economy will cause energy demand to rise 40% in the next twenty years and two-thirds of the demand will… Keep reading →
Ahead of the new European Commission’s highly anticipated publication of “proposals on a more closely-linked single energy market” in the first quarter of 2015 as part of a drive to loosen Europe’s energy dependence on Russia, leaked non-papers drawn up by governments of EU member states on the topic are being circulated in Brussels, according… Keep reading →
We all want easy answers. And often times the harder the question, the easier we want the answer to be. Increased natural gas use, for example, can help decrease U.S. greenhouse gas emissions as it has a lower carbon content compared to coal or oil. Natural gas also can help transition our energy mix to… Keep reading →
During his first stint as prime minister in 2006, Prime Minister Abe’s Nuclear Energy National Plan from December 2006 talked about a “re-recognition of the importance of energy security in industrialized nations” with the direction of energy policy not being “Nuclear energy “OR” Renewable energy but Nuclear energy “AND” Renewable energy.” As a previous article… Keep reading →
For many utilities there is a razor-thin difference in the price of electricity generated by natural gas and by coal. Slight changes in fuel price can produce dramatic swings in production costs, creating market opportunities for utilities with both gas- and coal-fired assets. Utilities considering new gas-fired assets have several options. Key among them is… Keep reading →
Shale gas revolution will result in cleaner electricity generation mix Coal is slowly retreating as natural gas and renewables gain market share in the electric power generation. That is old news. What is new is the accelerating speed in a sector not known for moving fast. The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Energy Outlook projections,… Keep reading →
U.S. Commerce Chamber’s new energy advocacy platform proposes actionable recommendations to capitalize on the nation’s energy potential. On January 15, 2014, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy launched its new energy advocacy platform titled “Energy Works for US,” a comprehensive plan with recommendations for 2014 and beyond. The plan, an update… Keep reading →
The Washington Post had an interesting article last week on a letter sent by 18 environmental groups to the White House. Interesting because it shows the extreme disconnect between their acknowledgement of reality and their demands. First the reality, from their letter: “We understand that the U.S. cannot immediately end its use of fossil fuels and we… Keep reading →
Rising energy costs are increasingly dominating political agendas in many countries around the world both developed and developing. The U.S. shale revolution with domestic cheap natural gas has started to bite into coal’s U.S. power generation market share, which can be attributed to the coal-to-gas switch of power utilities. Note, that any change in U.S.… Keep reading →
