The fossil fuel industry in the wake of the recent global climate change agreement

The Commodities Now website has published an interesting article on what the oil and gas firms now need to do to adapt to the transition to a low carbon economy. What do you think?   New Energy Futures: transforming the oil and gas industry to meet future challenges Oil and gas firms need to expand … Continue reading The fossil fuel industry in the wake of the recent global climate change agreement

Germany’s energy transition and the concerns about extra transmission lines

There is increased realisation that simply adding solar or wind power to the grid isn’t enough. Often the grid needs expanding to deal with the new load. Maggie Koerth-Baker writes a good article in the New York Times about the issues that arise and how Germany is dealing with them.   Change Isn’t as Easy … Continue reading Germany’s energy transition and the concerns about extra transmission lines

Driving energy innovation in Germany

While Britain visualises a nuclear future, Angela Merkel’s aim of replacing it with renewables by 2022 is well under way, writes Jennifer Rankin in The Guardian.   Germany's planned nuclear switch-off drives energy innovation Hinkley Point will be the first nuclear power plant to be built in Europe since the meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima reactor … Continue reading Driving energy innovation in Germany

Assessing the impact of increased renewable energy on traditional businesses

Chris Bryant writes a good article in the Financial Times about the impact of the low carbon transition on some of the major companies in Europe.   European industrial groups hit by push to renewable energy After years of painstaking development, Siemens was triumphant in 2011 when its new H-class gas turbine, the world’s largest … Continue reading Assessing the impact of increased renewable energy on traditional businesses

Germany’s energy transition and the role of coal

Nick Butler has an excellent blog in the Financial Times about the policy conflicts in Germany in its transition to adopt truly green policies.   The burning issue of German coal The conflict at the heart of Germany’s energy policy is finally coming to a head. Can Germany claim to be an environmental leader while … Continue reading Germany’s energy transition and the role of coal

How the low carbon energy transition can affect insurers

Any major macro-economic transition is going to have winners and losers. This also holds true for the low carbon energy transition that is underway. Tom Bawden writes an important article in The Independent about the big hit that insurance companies could suffer due to huge volumes of fossil fuel reserves that could be left ‘stranded.’ … Continue reading How the low carbon energy transition can affect insurers

Germany’s energy transition includes decommissioning costs of its nuclear industry

Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert write for the Reuter’s news service about how the German public may have to pay for some of the decommissioning costs.   Public may share costs of Germany's nuclear afterlife Germany's biggest utilities have set aside tens of billions of euros to fund the country's exit from nuclear power from … Continue reading Germany’s energy transition includes decommissioning costs of its nuclear industry