Ever since new natural gas resources have become available as a result of horizontal hydraulic multi-stage fracking, there have been many attempts to quantify how beneficial these new resources are to the U.S. economy. Since natural gas is often used for power production and as a feedstock for the petrochemical industry, it makes sense to… Keep reading →
Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected Prime Minister of India in May with a strong platform of less government, more governance. Modi’s campaign stood on the pillars of development, growth, and good governance. Now, Prime Minister Modi and recently-appointed Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal,… Keep reading →
Yesterday the 37th annual International Association for Energy Economics International Conference kicked off in New York. Renewable energy is not only a hot topic in the media but also a frequent topic of discussion among experts at this year’s highly interesting sessions. Issues addressed range from impacts of steadily rising shares of renewables on the… Keep reading →
This summer, the Mexican Congress is finally expected to approve the secondary legislation tied to Mexico’s energy reform. Prior to the announcement of energy sector reforms, Mexico was characterized by a very closed oil sector regime alongside a rudimentary electricity sector. While most industry observers focus their attention on the oil sector – conceiving Mexico’s… Keep reading →
Last week Barclays downgraded the high-grade bond market for the entire electric utility sector because “we believe that a confluence of declining cost trends in distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and residential-scale power storage is likely to disrupt the status quo.” While this is not the first statement about vulnerability of electric utilities to competition from new technology… Keep reading →
Many in developed economies often think and speak about Africa in a one size fits all context, and of course nothing could be further from the truth. The vast continent is a diverse tapestry of sovereign nations with varied geography, demographics, religions and energy-related challenges. One challenge many countries share with regard to energy, however,… Keep reading →
As militants spilling over from Syria advance toward Baghdad, oil traders are jittery and market observers are trying to evaluate the level of risk posed to Iraq’s main southern oil export facilities. Analyst Michael Lynch proposed potential oil price scenarios that range from relatively minor geopolitical risk premiums to more severe spikes that could see… Keep reading →
In general, when discussing global progress on climate change the ideas often floated with respect to the structure of regulating carbon emissions from fossil fuel-fired power generation have two starting points: They either propose a carbon tax on emissions (e.g. Australia before July 1, 2014) – meaning that a price is basically set for the… Keep reading →
A key indicator of global energy production and consumption growth is mega-project construction. Where are the world’s largest power plants, mining operations, oil & gas developments, utility-scale renewable energy projects or desalination plants being built? These mega-projects require a company to oversee the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) aspects of the capital intensive investments. It’s… Keep reading →
Opinion: Why Obama’s ‘Clean Power’ Plan May Prove Counterproductive for 2015 Global Climate Agreement
By Roman KilisekThe US EPA recently unveiled its Clean Power Plan. This time it proposes carbon pollution emission guidelines for existing stationary sources; namely, electric utility generating units (EGUs). Owners or operators of fossil fuel-fired EGUs will be subject to carbon emission limits if the rule is implemented as currently proposed. It appears this plan constitutes the centerpiece of… Keep reading →