Featured Posts
Time to accept that wind farm costs are not falling
There has been a consistent narrative that the cost of building new wind farms is falling, with falling subsidy [...]
Windfall tax harms oil and gas production and must be cut
In May last year, the UK Government introduced a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies [...]
Why Norway’s views on energy security should ring alarm bells across Europe
Norway's energy security would appear to be a done deal, yet the past couple of years have been very [...]
Addressing the high real cost of renewable generation
Over the past few months we have been inundated with claims from interested parties that more renewables are the [...]
Recent Posts
More harm than good: scope 3 emissions disclosures risk being too broad
The other evening, I was a panellist at an event bringing together energy companies, investors, bankers and other interested parties, to discuss the ways in which companies and investors communicate on issues relating to the energy transition. We discussed [...]
Middle Eastern conflicts often lead to high oil prices and recessions
Since the appalling attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists on 7 October, oil prices have been volatile. Historically, conflicts in the Middle East have had a major impact on oil prices, from the price shocks of the 1970s to [...]
Hostile political attitude to North Sea oil and gas threatens energy security
Despite the recent high-profile approval of the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, the picture for domestic oil and gas production remains bleak. The Conservative Government has recently spied an opportunity for re-election by deferring the costs of [...]
Major headwinds threaten off-shore wind targets
The pervasive narratives about off-shore wind in recent years have been that costs are falling, and that wind power is cheap. But as I noted in a previous blog, and in my latest article for The Telegraph, things are [...]
Heavy industry is hard to de-carbonise – small-scale nuclear could be the answer
In my latest article for The Telegraph, I discuss the latest US Department of Energy (“DoE”) de-carbonisation liftoff report covering eight industrial sectors: chemicals, refining, iron & steel, food & beverage processing, pulp & paper, cement, aluminium, and glass. [...]
CfD auction round failure underscores Government’s wrong thinking on subsidies
Earlier this month, the UK Government completed its latest subsidy round for renewable electricity generation - the fifth allocation round ("AR5") for the Contracts for Difference (CfD") scheme. And it has widely been seen as a failure since no [...]
Stabilising US power grids using synchronous condensers
Recent posts have explored some of the issues the US power grids are facing as the premature closures of fossil fuel and nuclear power stations are creating problems for security of supply. Something discussed less often in this context [...]
Are we seeing signs of a US nuclear renaissance?
There appear to be some tentative signs of a US nuclear renaissance against a backdrop of growing grid instability as coal and gas power stations are pushed out of the market in favour of wind and solar. In my [...]
Hope is not an acceptable strategy: new policy risks US electricity shortfalls
In my previous post I covered the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and the way challenges with grid infrastructure will act as a brake on climate goals. In this post I will look at another major challenge being [...]
The Inflation Reduction Act will boost renewables but won’t be enough for net zero
The USA has often been seen as at the forefront of the energy transition (or at least some states such as California have), although progress has been relatively slow - the first half of 2023 was the first time [...]
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