Solar photovoltaic accounts for 11 per cent of Australia’s national electricity generation capacity and 3.3 per cent of total demand.
“We are pursuing one of the most ambitious renewable energy development programs globally, installing 9.5 GW of wind, solar and other technologies over the next six years.
China aims to build a world-class nuclear energy innovation hub in Shanghai, planning to become a global nuclear forerunner and establishing itself as a nuclear tech leader, high-end facility manufacturer and exporter.
“While the Petra Nova project will certainly benefit Texas, it also demonstrates that clean coal technologies can have a meaningful and positive impact on the nation’s energy security and economic growth,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
Global clean energy investment was $53.6 billion in the first quarter of 2017, down 17 per cent from the same period in 2016.
The German company E.ON is investing in the development of airborne wind energy, which offers “game-changing technologies for renewable energy production”.
In the Middle East North Africa region $622 billion worth of development is planned in the energy sector for the next five years. The power sector accounts for the largest share at $207 billion, with the oil and gas sector at $195 billion and $159 billion respectively. Leading the drive will be Saudi Arabia, and Iraq and Iran will play catch-up. Algeria will pump billions into its upstream sector, and much is expected from Egypt’s recent gas. Renewable-energy projects will be at the forefront of efforts to meet rising power demand in Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan.
President Trump has issued an executive order to dismantle the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. The “Energy Independence” order lifts a moratorium on federal coal leasing, triggers a review of methane and hydraulic fracturing restrictions, and eliminates use of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “social cost of carbon” in policymaking. From a climate action perspective, there is widespread agreement that the order is bad news for U.S. emissions. Interestingly, 62 percent of Trump voters support taxing and/or regulating pollution causing global warming, and nearly three-quarters think the U.S. should use more renewable energy in future.
Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Eni are moving into multi-billion-dollar offshore wind farms in the North Sea and beyond. The oil companies have many reasons to move into the industry. They’ve spent decades building oil projects offshore, and that business is winding down in some areas where older fields have drained. Returns from wind farms are predictable and underpinned by government-regulated electricity prices. Current projects entering operation are delivering power at about half the price of farms finished in 2012 helping the technology start to compete with traditional forms of energy.
The objective of this joint International Energy Agency and The International Renewable Energy Agency study “Perspectives for the Energy Transition. Investment Needs for a Low-Carbon Energy System”, requested by the German Government, is to analyse the scale and scope of investments in low-carbon technologies in power generation, transport, buildings and industry that are needed to facilitate such a transition in a cost-effective manner, while also working towards other policy goals. The findings of this report will inform G20 work on energy and climate in the context of the 2017 German G20 presidency.
Elon Musk has promised to install and get working a Tesla Inc. battery storage system designed to prevent blackouts in South Australia, the Australian mainland state most reliant on renewable energy.
Nigeria is debating the allocation of $30 million to solar projects in this year’s budget with funding expected for off-grid solar projects, photovoltaic manufacturing, and transmission upgrades.
The largest U.S. government agency – the Department of Defense, which is also the world’s largest single petroleum buyer – plans to forge ahead under the new administration with a decade-long effort to convert its fuel-hungry operations to renewable power. Why? In combat zones, green energy saves lives. The military’s zeal for renewable power has already had broad impacts on energy contractors, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts for solar companies and helping to reduce fuel consumption. Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, has long supported efforts to reduce troop dependence on petroleum.
According to Renewable Energy World, the wind industry globally has good prospects for 2017 and beyond: China could push back towards 30 GW of installations and India has set a new national record with 3,612 MW of new installations; Europe’s numbers were surprisingly strong. Additionally, there are clear indications that the offshore industry could spread beyond its northern European home to North America, East Asia, India and perhaps elsewhere in the near future as a result of technological advances and growing investor confidence.
Petra Nova is the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture system, being able to capture more than 5,000 tons of CO2 per day. It is built on an existing coal unit, and delivers captured CO2 through an 80-mile pipeline to the West Ranch oilfield. This captured CO2 will boost production at the oilfield through Enhanced Oil Recovery operations. Over the next few years, oil production at the field is estimated to increase from approximately 300 barrels per day to up to 15,000 barrels per day using captured carbon dioxide.
Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade it could be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere.
According to BP, electric vehicles are not likely to be a game changer for the growth of oil demand over the next 20 years where the increasing prosperity in emerging Asia is likely to swamp the impact of even a very rapid increase in electric cars. In fact, there may well be more cost effective methods of reducing CO2 emissions over this period, for example greater improvements in vehicle efficiency, a switch away from coal in the power sector, or increased investment in Carbon Capture and Storage. But these considerations should not detract from the many potential benefits that electric vehicles may bring.
A transformation is happening in global energy markets that’s worth noting: solar power is becoming the cheapest form of new electricity.
Latin America is leaping ahead into a renewables-led future: Chile is currently the leader of this pack, but Brazil has moved fast on capturing and exploiting the growth in renewable energy markets. In Africa, Egypt is one of the most attractive destinations in the renewables market, whilst Kenya is eager to be a regional clean energy leader and geo-thermal superpower. In Asia, the push for a giant leap towards renewable energy in Taiwan has come all the way from the top of the government, thanks to the President’s de-nuclearization policy.
The oil industry must brace for five energy “tsunamis” that threaten to drag prices as low as $10 a barrel in less than a decade, according to Thierry Lepercq, head of research, technology and innovation at Engie SA. The falling cost of solar power and battery storage, rising sales of electric vehicles, increasingly “smart” buildings and cheap hydrogen will all weigh on crude: “Even if oil demand continues to climb until 2025, its price could drop to $10 if markets anticipate a significant fall in demand.”
