How renewable energy sources help in reducing the effects of global warming

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Nord Stream 2 should be juxtaposed next to the Berlin Wall — two dying breeds of oppression and a sign that a new day is coming. If the dilapidated Wall represents the fall of communism, Nord Stream 2’s demise embodies autocracy’s death and the rise of renewable energy. Despite the European Union’s dependence on Russian oil and gas, it has said it would speed up its transition to going green — and separate itself from the Russian economy. The continent aims to increase its share of renewable energy to 32% by 2030 while also ending its reliance on Russian fossil fuels. Indeed, its underlying premise is that Russia’s kingpin, Vladimir Putin, is an international menace not just to peace-loving countries but also to environmental security. “ Let's dash into renewable energy at lightning speed ,” said Frans Timmermans, who heads the EU Green Deal. “Renewables are a cheap, clean, and potentially endless source of energy, and … [Read more...] about Russia’s Invasion Kills Nord Stream 2 And Gives Rise To Renewables

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The context is transitioning from fossil energy to renewables. One key aspect of this is transport via gasoline or diesel vehicles and its transition to electric motors driven by batteries or hydrogen. The fossil fuel industry should be concerned about the efficiency and cost of sustainable transport, because that will determine the speed of the transition which will likely affect the decline of oil production and perhaps the oil and gas industry itself. Elon Musk knows batteries. He builds them: to propel cars and trucks, at one bookend, to grid-scale behemoths that store and stabilize electrical power for hundreds of homes and commercial enterprises, at the other bookend. Last week, May 12, 2022, Musk said hydrogen “is the most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage.” This is not the first time, as Musk has made similar negative comments in past years. A few years ago, Musk told reporters that hydrogen … [Read more...] about Is Elon Musk Right Or Wrong To Dismiss Hydrogen Use For Low-Carbon Energy Storage?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As Russia’s war in Ukraine intensifies, the Biden administration banned Russian oil and natural gas purchases. This move represents a departure from initial Western sanctions against the Kremlin, designed specifically to avoid interference in Russian energy flows – particularly to import-dependent Europe. Oil prices have skyrocketed since Ukraine was invaded on February 24, with Brent and WTI oil futures trading at around $117 and $114, respectively (down from a 13-year high of $130 earlier this week ), Biden reportedly had deliberated for days before imposing the embargo as higher gasoline prices hurt him and the Democratic party politically. Although the Biden-led initiative to sanction Russian oil sales is rather symbolic, it is still important. The US could produce all oil it needs, and what it can’t, it could import from North America. America has flirted with net-oil exporter status over the past few years … [Read more...] about The US Bans Russian Energy Imports – Symbolically

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Biden administration has reinstated restrictive policies under the guise of environmental protections that impact the construction of major infrastructure projects in the United States, including pipelines and highways. The timing could not be worse. Federal government regulatory intervention is on the rise. The new rule will require federal agencies to examine the climate impact of infrastructure projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a 1970 law that requires the government to assess the environmental outcomes. Critics say that the Biden administration took these measures to reverse his predecessor’s policy liberalization, leading to an unprecedented increase in America’s hydrocarbon production. This move has come under scrutiny amid the skyrocketing prices for oil and natural gas domestically and internationally and the need for the US to ramp up liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to … [Read more...] about How Biden’s New Energy Restrictions Defeat His Goals For Helping Ukraine

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Last month, House Bill 4, called the Hydrogen Hub Development Act, was voted down by the committee on House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources. There were various reasons for this. The bill would contain tax incentives to start a new industry that would be part of the transition to renewable energies but would link to the booming oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry would provide the natural gas to produce the hydrogen, and then sequester or bury the carbon-dioxide (CO2) bi-product underground – a process called carbon capture and storage (CCS). Hydrogen generated in this way from methane is called blue hydrogen. Additionally, the bill is amongst the first in the United States to include specific incentives for the production of hydrogen from renewable natural gas, which can yield “carbon-negative” hydrogen. Such pathways do not implicate the oil and gas industry, but are a unique feature that … [Read more...] about Headwinds And Tailwinds Clash In Derailed New Mexico Hydrogen Bill

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The electricity system in the U.K. was its greenest ever on Easter Monday 2021: 76%. The very next day it fell to 45%. Obviously, it varies widely with how much sun is shining and how strongly winds are blowing. The energy mix on Easter Monday was 39% wind, 21% solar, and 16% nuclear. Gas power plants provided 10% and coal plants provided zilch. Wood-burning biomass was 4%. But the race to renewables had already been won by a large state with low population in Australia. In October 2020, South Australia’s electricity was carbon-free – for one hour – powered by large-scale wind and solar but also by rooftop solar collectors (one in four houses have rooftop solar in Australia). What large daily variations in green electricity tell us is that backup supplies are needed for renewables. In the U.K., backup is mainly gas-fired power plants. In the U.S., reliability of renewables is a concern and it’s important to … [Read more...] about Green Electricity Can Be Unstable. Big-Battery Backups Are The Solution.

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Donald Trump’s battle against China has taken on a new dimension. The target is ByteDance, which is the parent of the social app TikTok and the one used mostly by teenagers who post short video clips. It’s the latest iteration of the trade dispute between the two countries and one that got started in early 2018 with tariffs on Chinese solar panel makers. But the fight has escalated to the point where the countries’ 40-year friendship has deteriorated. Just this week, the World Trade Organization said that U.S. tariffs imposed on China have violated global trading rules. Specifically, the three-member panel said that the duties assessed were unfair and disproportionate. The Trump administration will no doubt appeal the decision — a move that would likely become moot if Joe Biden is elected U.S. president. Trade wars don’t work. For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Businesses will often pass those … [Read more...] about How The TicTok Controversy Could Inflame The Chinese Trade War And U.S. LNG Markets

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 08: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin ... [+] Trudeau talk ahead of panel discussion titled 'Launch Event Women's Entrepreneur Finance Initiative' on the second day of the G20 summit on July 8, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Leaders of the G20 group of nations are meeting for the July 7-8 summit. Topics high on the agenda for the summit include climate policy and development programs for African economies. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) U.S. crude oil output is now closing in on 9.5 million b/d, the highest levels in two years and almost double what we were producing a decade ago. But, while our demand has basically been flat , oil is a global commodity and imports have long been ingrained in our own market, so we still import about 35-50% of the oil that we use. Imports though have been falling, yet probably not as much as some energy security advocates … [Read more...] about The Good News About High U.S. Oil Imports

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin On Monday, I wrote about my experience of losing electricity at 6:00 a.m. in the midst of the most powerful winter storm to hit Texas in a decade. At that time, without power, I was hoping to be able to finish the piece before my computer’s battery ran down. Today, Thursday, we are still without power at our home in semi-rural Tarrant County just south of Fort Worth, but we are safe and warm thanks to my daughter and her husband, whose home in Mansfield has retained electric service throughout. So, no worries about finishing this one. In Monday’s piece, I expressed my hopes that everyone in the state would avoid the finger-pointing and blame-shifting that poisoned the atmosphere in the wake of the Big Freeze of 2011, which saw rolling blackouts implemented by ERCOT, which manages the Texas power grid, impact millions of Texans. Those hopes were quickly dashed as state officials and the state’s news media started … [Read more...] about Texans Deserve Better Than The Epic Power Generation Failure They Have Endured This Week

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Naturally, the war in Ukraine and its impact on Russian oil flows is the dominant factor in today’s oil market, but few wars last forever. It is possible that Putin will declare victory and leave in the near future, but equally possible that the conflict will revert to pre-invasion status, that is, continuing but low-level fighting in eastern Ukraine. Aside from these unknowns (or at least, known only to Putin), there are a number of salient facts that need to be considered but are often overlooked. The most important thing, and a lesson that never seems to penetrate the public mind: wars and crises tend to be transient and temporary, and many — if not most — factors will soon revert to pre-crisis behavior. First, sanctions will ease: Russian oil and gas have not been put under sanctions by any major consuming nations; the biggest impact has come from companies that have voluntarily ceased purchases primarily of oil. … [Read more...] about The Oil Market After The War