THE ENERGY INDUSTRY T I M E S
July 2017 • Volume 10 • No 5 • Published monthly • ISSN 1757-7365 www.teitimes.com
Head in the
Cloud
CO2 neutral by 2060?
Utilities are looking at cloud
computing as a genuine
technological gearshift in their
approach to IT. Page 13
The International Energy Agency’s
Energy Technology Perspectives says
much more will have to be done to be
carbon neutral by 2060.
Page 14
News In Brief
GE reshuffles at the top
GE Power will have a new CEO
following Steve Bolze’s decision
to leave the company, after failing
to secure the top job at General
Electric Co.
Page 2
California legislates 100 per
cent renewables
Lawmakers in California have
approved legislation to implement
one of the most ambitious
renewable energy targets in the
world.
Page 4
Vietnam moves to cut
dependence on coal and
hydro
Spurred by an over-reliance on
coal and hydropower that has led to
energy security concerns, Vietnam
has introduced legislation to
support solar power.
Page 6
Offshore wind industry calls
for “robust volumes”
The offshore wind industry is
calling on European governments
to ensure there is 60 GW, or at least
4 GW per year of new deployment
in the decade after 2020.
Page 7
CSP bids hit new low at MBR
solar park
The Dubai Electricity and Water
Authority (DEWA) says it has
received record low bids for its
proposed concentrated solar power
(CSP) plant at the Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum solar park.
Page 8
Fuel Watch: Qatar LNG
unaffected by diplomatic row
Despite the diplomatic crisis,
Qatar is determined to maintain
stability in the global LNG market
by continuing its LNG exports at
normal levels.
Page 12
Technology: Block by block
Blockchain is the new buzzword
in the energy sector and there are
many industry players examining
how they might gain an advantage
with this new technology.
Page 15
Advertise
advertising@teitimes.com
Subscribe
subscriptions@teitimes.com
or call +44 208 523 2573
Final Word
Europe’s utilities are dancing
to a new tune, says
Junior Isles.
Page 16
US withdrawal
from Paris may have
little effect on climate
change Experts say Trump’s decision will see the EU and China take the lead
While many have reacted with disappointment to Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out
of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the move is unlikely to have much effect on global
carbon emissions. Junior Isles
President Donald Trump’s decision to
withdraw from the Paris Agreement
is unlikely to have much impact on
global emissions, as efforts to combat
climate change continue in the US and
abroad.
In response to the decision announced
at the start of June, US states
accounting for more than a third of
national gross domestic product
pledged to meet the country’s commitments
for cutting greenhouse gas
emissions under the Paris climate
agreement.
Under a coalition called the United
States Climate Alliance, California,
New York, Washington and nine other
states have said they are committed
to cutting emissions by 26-28 per
cent from 2005 levels, the reduction
proposed for the US in the Paris
Agreement. The coalition also pledged
to meet or exceed the cuts in carbon
dioxide emissions from electricity
generation envisaged under the
Obama administration’s Clean Power
Plan (CPP), which Trump has promised
to scrap.
Michael Bloomberg, the former
New York City mayor who is now the
UN secretary-general’s special envoy
for cities and climate change, said that
US states, cities and businesses “will
aim to meet the US commitment to
reduce our emissions 26 per cent below
2005 levels by 2025… even
without any support from Washington”.
He is launching a parallel effort
to co-ordinate those state, local and
business commitments, called America’s
Pledge.
Meanwhile, the international community
voiced its unwavering commitment
to the Paris Agreement, with
environment ministers reaffirming
their strong commitment to the swift
and effective implementation of the
Agreement. In a communiqué issued
at the end of the G7 Environment
Ministers Meeting in Bologna, Italy,
on June 12 they stated: “The Paris
Agreement remains the global instrument
for effectively and urgently
tackling climate change and adapting
to its effects.”
Following Trump’s announcement,
the EU and China said they will
deepen their commitment on climate
change. At this year’s 12th EU-China
Business Summit, the two countries
pledged to work together on a range
of areas from clean energy and product
standards to managing risk and
adaptation.
Nick Mabey, Chief Executive of
UK climate change think-tank E3G
said: “This is the strongest bilateral
Continued on Page 2
Reports highlight pace of energy transition
Recent energy market reports from
BP and Bloomberg New Energy Finance
confirm that the transition to
renewable energy is progressing rapidly,
even as demand moves strongly
towards the fast-growing developing
economies of Asia.
Introducing the 2017 edition of the
BP Statistical Review of World Energy,
Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief
Executive, said: “Global energy markets
are in transition. The longerterm
trends we can see in this data
are changing the patterns of demand
and the mix of supply as the world
works to meet the challenge of supplying
the energy it needs while also
reducing carbon emissions.
In 2016 global energy demand was
weak for the third consecutive year,
growing by just 1 per cent, around
half the average growth rate of the
past decade. Once again, almost all
this growth came from fast-growing
developing economies, with China
and India together accounting for
half of all growth.
Renewables were again the fastest
growing of all energy sources, rising
by 12 per cent. Although providing
still only 4 per cent of total primary
energy, the growth in renewables
represented almost a third of the total
growth in energy demand in 2016. In
contrast, use of coal fell steeply for a
second year, down by 1.7 per cent,
primarily due to falling demand from
both the US and China.
Commenting on the publication, Dr
Jonathan Marshall, energy analyst at
the Energy and Climate Intelligence
Unit (ECIU) said: “Striking in this
year’s data is the scale of the shift
away from coal, especially in China
and the USA. The US saw an astonishing
9 per cent fall in demand,
while Chinese hunger for energy is
being tempered by moves to a more
sustainable growth pathway and the
rapid expansion of renewables,
which spells even further trouble for
coal in the years to come.
“On a global scale, the surge in renewable
generation puts it within
touching distance of overtaking nuclear
power as a major contributor to
world energy use.”
Bloomberg New Energy Finance
(BNEF) revealed in its latest longterm
energy forecast, New Energy
Outlook (NEO) 2017, that renewable
energy sources are set to take almost
three quarters of the $10.2 trillion
the world will invest in new power
generating technology over the years
to 2040.
The largest share of new renewable
energy investments will go to solar,
predicted to take $2.8 trillion with a
14-fold jump in capacity, while wind
is expected to draw $3.3 trillion with
a four-fold increase in capacity, according
to BNEF. The report predicts
wind and solar will make up 48 per
cent of the world’s installed capacity
and 34 per cent of electricity generation
by 2040, compared with just 12
per cent and 5 per cent now.
Asia Pacific will see almost as
much investment in generation as the
rest of the world combined, with
China and India alone presenting a
$4 trillion opportunity for the energy
sector, and accounting for 28 per
cent and 11 per cent total regional
investment respectively over the
2017-40 period, BNEF predicts.
NEO 2017 shows earlier progress
than forecasted towards decarbonisation
of the world’s power system,
with global emissions projected to
peak in 2026 and to be 4 per cent
lower in 2040 than they were in
2016.
Although the world’s power sector
carbon emissions are predicted to
reach a peak within a decade, the rate
of decline in emissions is not nearly
enough to meet the climate change
targets, NEO 2017 states. It reveals
that a further $5.3 trillion investment
in 3.9 TW of zero-carbon capacity
will be needed place the power sector
on a 2°C trajectory.
THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES is published by Man in Black Media • www.mibmedia.com • Editor-in-Chief: Junior Isles • For all enquiries email: enquiries@teitimes.com