It’s no secret that the rise of distributed generation is fundamentally altering the traditional centralized power generation, transmission and delivery system, but utilities are dealing with these changes in different ways and NRG appears to be embracing new models instead of fighting to preserve the status quo. In this letter originally printed on the company’s… Keep reading →
Skip down about halfway through this article if you’ve been following coverage of the Ukraine situation’s impact on European gas markets. The interesting stuff is towards the end where analysts discuss Gazprom’s gas pricing strategy aimed to undercut competition post-2020. It’s funny that the piece basically debunks its own headline. [Financial Times] US natural gas… Keep reading →
Scientists at the UAE’s Masdar Institute conducted detailed regional power consumption analysis that found GCC countries plus Iran, Iraq and Egypt (GCC+) need considerable incremental renewable energy capacity to meet power demand without increasing hydrocarbon consumption. “We found that if current energy supply and demand trends continue, regional electricity production capacity growth will outpace GDP… Keep reading →
The US Energy Information Administration – DOE’s statistical arm – today released its Short-Term Energy Outlook, which includes commodity price forecasts and anticipated supply/demand fundamentals. Included below are some comments from EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski about the report: Crude Oil “EIA expects strong U.S. crude oil production growth will help reduce WTI prices to an… Keep reading →
Ukraine’s political crisis continues, with Russian troops in Crimea, reformist forces in power in Kiev, and Europe, the US and Russia vying to broker a lasting solution. Just below the surface is the critical issue of natural gas. Europe gets approximately one-third of its gas from Russia and the majority passes through Ukraine. Will Ukraine… Keep reading →
US natural gas in storage could reach a symbolic low this week. Extreme cold throughout the country is sending heating demand soaring, which is sucking gas from storage at record levels. “Natural gas in underground storage hasn’t dropped below 1 tcf since 2003, but the latest EIA report showed inventories on February 14th at 1.4 tcf and… Keep reading →
This concluding article in a 3-part series details Gazprom’s changing European natural gas export strategy as it bumps up against EU regulations designed to promote market liberalization by unbundling energy production, transmission, delivery and storage from single-company ownership. The new Gazprom-designed gas transit system outlined earlier in this series – here and here – is not… Keep reading →
Many Americans lack knowledge on key energy issues, which could be problematic when they vote later this year for congressional representatives who will shape the country’s energy policies. “What is the solution to this ongoing problem of voters not having sufficient energy knowledge? It is information. Women and men need to understand both sides of the… Keep reading →
This second of three articles on how Gazprom is attempting to revamp its natural gas export strategy in Europe addresses a crucial element for the strategy’s success: Gazprom’s accumulation of gas storage capacity in Germany. Driven by the fact that many governments in OECD Europe have made commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 20… Keep reading →
This first of three articles on how Gazprom is attempting to revamp its natural gas export strategy in Europe reviews Germany’s central role in this endeavor with specific focus on the traditional role of underground gas storage facilities. Germany is the second largest natural gas consumer in the EU, closely trailing the United Kingdom. Moreover,… Keep reading →
