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Tag Archives: energy matters
Implementing the Helm Review on the Cost of UK Energy
Implementing the Helm Review on the Cost of UK Energy The UK Government has made a call for evidence on the Helm Review published on 25th October 2017. At the time the review was published I chose not to share my opinions on the consequences of implementing Helm’s proposals since I believe these may be […]
The California Duck Curve isn’t confined to California
The California Duck Curve isn’t confined to California The California Duck Curve is causing concern among California’s utilities, who wonder whether they will be able to ramp generation up quickly enough to meet evening peak demand when all the new solar capacity California plans to add over the next few years comes on line. As […]
Australia, energy storage and the Blakers study
Australia, energy storage and the Blakers study Roger Young’s recent post focused on the question of whether the energy storage requirements listed in Prof. Andrew Blakers’ study “100% renewable electricity in Australia” were realistic, but at the time no hard numbers on exactly how much storage Prof. Blakers’ scenarios would require were available. I have […]
Oil Production Vital Statistics October 2017
Oil Production Vital Statistics October 2017 Last month I drew attention to the fact that the WTI-Brent spread had opened to $7 and that this could be a bullish signal for the oil price. A strong rally in Brent has since continued and the price now stands close to $64 / bbl while the spread […]
Centrally Planned UK Generation Scenarios for 2030
Centrally Planned UK Generation Scenarios for 2030 The economies of the European Union have centrally planned energy delivery strategies where the amount of electricity to be generated from a particular source by a particular time is planned in minute detail by legions of civil servants and academics. This post summarises some of the scenarios for […]
Can Puerto Rico go 100% solar?
Can Puerto Rico go 100% solar? With seasonal variations in output of only around 30% Puerto Rico is at an ideal latitude for solar power, and despite generally low capacity factors (caused by cloudiness) it can be argued that if solar doesn’t work there it won’t work anywhere. And as the results of this post […]
Record surge in atmospheric CO2 seen in 2016
Record surge in atmospheric CO2 seen in 2016 Last week the BBC carried another scare story on climate change, this time citing a report on CO2 from the World Meteorological Organisation: “Concentrations of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere surged to a record high in 2016, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Last year’s increase […]
100% renewable electricity in Australia
100% renewable electricity in Australia Guest post by Energy Matters commentator Roger Young. Roger is a retired businessman from Australia who is concerned by the renewables free-for-all. The object of his post, which was originally submitted as a comment, is an academic study published by Blakers et al that claims Australia can become a 100% renewables […]
The myth of a nuclear-free Austria
The myth of a nuclear-free Austria Since Austria passed a law banning the importation of nuclear electricity in 2015 it has claimed to be 100% nuclear-free. But 25% of the electricity Austria imports and over 8% of the electricity it consumes is still of indisputably nuclear origin. Austria’s claim to be 100% nuclear-free is either […]
Australian Energy Policy – an open letter to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition
Australian Energy Policy – an open letter to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition In this post I publish an open letter submitted by seven retired Australian scientists and engineers to the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Australia (h/t to Jimbro). It captures quite succinctly many of the burning […]
Blowout Week 199
Blowout Week 199 Australia has rejected the Clean Energy Target proposed by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel in favor of an “affordable, reliable” plan, but has adopted Finkel’s recommendation that energy companies “must deliver a certain level of dispatchable power from ready-to-use sources such as coal, gas, hydro or batteries”. We follow with the Kurdistan conflict; […]
Electrifying the A9 Trunk Road in Scotland
Electrifying the A9 Trunk Road in Scotland The Scottish Government recently announced the phasing out of the internal combustion engine by 2032, i.e. in 15 years time. To support the policy it was also announced that the A9 trunk road would be electrified with the provision of charging points along the route. Like all announcements […]
The UK’s Clean Energy Strategy – and the greens are back
The UK’s Clean Energy Strategy – and the greens are back The UK government’s just-published Clean Energy Strategysupposedly leads the way to the low-carbon future that the 2008 Climate Change Act calls for. But all it actually does is dust off all the old, shop-worn green remedies (smart meters, smart grids, EVs, hydrogen, bioenergy, carbon […]
Blowout Week 198
Blowout Week 198 This week we feature the UK’s just-published Clean Growth Strategy, which finally gives the UK a defined energy policy. Or does it? One of the two follow-up articles describes it as “next to worthless”. We continue with our usual mix of energy-related stories, including oil in Brazil; China’s shale oil reserves; Russia […]
Mendacity, Duplicity and Scaremongering
Mendacity, Duplicity and Scaremongering In this post I depart somewhat from our usual format to cover three stories from last week that have a common theme of underlying chaos in and manipulation of energy policy. I begin with veteran SNP politician Jim Sillars (now aged 80) who in a letter to the Scottish Daily Mail […]
