Analysis
Energy Roadmap 2050
Tuesday 10 April 2012
Down the memory hole
Last week we at EER found out the hard way that Europe is far from being “integrated”. While life went on as usual in the Netherlands, where this publication is made, in many other European countries, including Brussels, people were off from work thanks to the Easter holidays. This resulted in a marked drop in the number of visitors to our website.
For us this was rather unfortunate since we published four major articles last week, which we are convinced are worth your time, but which got a lot less attention than our publications usually get. So we would like to take the liberty to alert those who were out of the office last week to those four articles again, before they disappear down the memory hole.
– Our London correspondent Alex Forbes wrote an important story on UK nuclear policy. The decision by Eon and RWE to pull out of new-build nuclear projects in the UK led many to believe that UK nuclear policy – which is absolutely crucial for the future of nuclear energy in Europe – is in tatters, but according to Alex that conclusion is highly premature.
– Our regular analyst Matthew Hulbert argued in a new, original analysis that US policy to use Saudi Arabia and the emergency oil stocks of the International Energy Agency to fill in any shortfalls left by the boycott of Iran, is endangering the credibility of both Riyadh and the IEA.
– James Stafford, editor of Oilprice.com, held a fascinating interview with astrophysicist Tom Murphy of the University of California in which Murphy shines his light on a wide range of energy technologies, from nuclear to solar power and from shale gas to artificial photosynthesis. Inspirational stuff, even if you may not agree with everything.
– Our editor Karel Beckman produced an in-depth story on how the European gas market is on the point of being radically transformed as a result of EU policies: must-reading if you are interested in where the European gas market is headed for.
Of course we also have many readers who have not had any holidays and who have no catching up to do. For them, we do have a new article on offer today – and, if we may say so, it’s a good one too. In it, Severin Fischer and Oliver Geden of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) ask what we may expect to happen with the Energy Roadmap 2050, the energy future “vision document” which, as you know, was published by the European Commission in December.
Fischer and Geden explain what the current status is of the Roadmap within the complex European decision-making process, and they outline three possible fates that could befall this great piece of energy policymaking. One not unlikely fate is that it could disappear down the memory hole … You can read their lucid analysis by clicking here.
Announcement
27-28 June 2012 | London, UK
European Demand Response and Dynamic Pricing
Demand Response could save utilities billions in capital expenditure on peak demand infrastructure, and create synergies with networks, producers & customers. European Demand Response & Dynamic Pricing will cover stakeholder roles, consumer needs/actions, efforts to shift consumer behaviour, enabling technologies, and programs in Europe & beyond.
Coming up on European Energy Review
Why we do not need to worry about “peak oil”
The battle for the EU emission trading scheme
Interview with Fritz Vahrenholt, (resigning) CEO of RWE Innogy, on why he feels duped about global warming
Vestas and the future of the European wind turbine industry
Interview with Jean-François Cirelli, President of Eurogas and CEO of GDF Suez
More recent posts
How IRENA is reshaping the global energy architecture
by Thijs Van de Graaf
Though it has gone largely unnoticed, the signing of a partnership agreement between the “traditional” energy agency IEA and the new renewable energy agency IRENA last January is a milestone event. With the agreement, the organizations seem ready to overcome the deep distrust that characterized their relationship when IRENA was created three years ago. Thijs Van de Graaf retraces the origins and stormy beginnings of IRENA and analyzes the future impact the new agency may have on the international energy scene.
After Durban it’s back to the trenches
by Sonja van Renssen
As the dust from Durban settles, the mountain left for world governments to climb to agree a new global climate treaty by 2015 is coming sharply into focus. The generous rhetoric of the UN climate conference last December is rapidly giving way to the defensive language of entrenched positions. The future of international climate policy hangs in the balance, reports Sonja van Renssen.
Subsidy cuts show that renewable energy is coming of age
by Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director, International Energy Agency
A number of governments in Europe are introducing measures limiting their financial support for renewable energy. These moves should not be viewed as a backlash against renewables, argues Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). On the contrary, they show that renewable energy is coming of age. Van der Hoeven does warn, however, that policy changes should be made in a transparent and predictable way.
Interview Jean-François Conil-Lacoste, CEO of Epex Spot
by Karel Beckman
Epex Spot, the joint venture that was set up in 2008 between the German and French power exchanges EEX and PowerNext, is now pursuing cooperation with the Nordic power exchange Nord Pool. The overriding goal of the Paris-based power exchange is to be the prime mover in the creation of a single EU-wide integrated electricity market, says Jean-François Conil-Lacoste, CEO of Epex Spot in an interview with European Energy Review.
European Energy Review is Europe’s foremost independent energy journal on the internet. It features original reports, interviews, analyses, viewpoints and debates from across Europe. Registration to our newsletter, which is free and without obligations, gives you full and free access to our website. For more information about EER, click here.