BP and Shell are scaling back electricity ambitions to escape the ‘valley of death,’ according to the Financial Times website (behind a paywall). Over the past five years, the two companies had spent a combined US$18 billion to be major players in electricity. But now Shell has sold its retail electricity business in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, and has also withdrawn from the Chinese electricity market. BP “placed its offshore wind assets in a joint venture with Japanese partner Jera, allowing it to halve its expected capital expenditure on offshore wind by the end of the decade and move any future debt off its balance sheet.” Not all are worried. The FT quotes a renewable energy advisor saying they had a negative impact, and “they lacked the cost discipline of utilities and smaller developers, overpaid for assets and tried to squeeze the supply chain in an effort to succeed. . . . Then they complained loudly that the economics did not work and gave the sector a bad name.” The FT quotes Alon Carmel, head of offshore wind at PA Consulting, that the pullback in the sector followed some “bold bets” from oil companies in areas “where the risks have turned out to be greater than perceived.
Enerdata has published an executive brief on energy sufficiency. The brief looks at the role of energy sufficiency levers in long-term energy scenarios on the road to net-zero in Europe. It draws on recent energy scenarios, IPCC reports and on Enerdata’s EnerGreen pathway (the most ambitious of their three EnerFuture scenarios.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here is some useful ideas to help you along:
- Lonely Planet’s train expert provides his top 5 rail journeys in Europe for 2024.
- Much Better Adventures provides us with 10 of the best winter walks in Europe.
- For those who want to combine hiking with food and wine in Europe and Australia, check out the Hedonistic Hiking website.
- Check out the blog on how Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE is taking sustainability seriously.
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), an English writer of romantic, devotional and children’s poems, asks an important question: “Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA assessment on Europe’s air quality health impact
- Latest study reveals is that governments and industry have taken the original concept of net zero and redefined it to the point where is it meaningless
- What the EU Emissions Trading System can teach the world about a global carbon credit market
- Some ways in which the spread of AI data centres is challenging utilities and grid managers, and how the power industry in the US is responding
- US support for backing outstanding mortgages giving only vague guidance on climate-related catastrophe
- One major bank in UK will factor in energy performance certificate ratings when deciding how much to lend to borrowers from this week
- Serious challenges ahead in reducing emissions from tourism
- There is a definite global crackdown against climate activists
Please send your comments on any of the posts. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 
Good thought Rod, good thought! rgds D
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This is such an eye opener for me. This short article show the importance of efficiency and careful planning in achieving long-term sustainability goals, rather than relying solely on investments in renewable energy.
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