Energy

The popular narrative put out by the fracking industry (or at least that part of it that makes money selling worthless paper to fools) is that technological developments caused a dramatic fall in the cost of fracking to the point that even with oil prices (which gas prices follow) below …

In a global economy that most people readily agree is unsustainable, sustainability will not be achieved by adding new energy generating technologies to the mix. “Ah,” I hear you say, “but what about countries like Germany that now produce 85 percent of their energy from renewables?” Germany is, indeed, the …

In the (admittedly unlikely) event that Britain elects a Labour government on 8 June, one of its first acts will be to outlaw fracking.  Understandably, this has increased political opposition from the fracking industry, which will take comfort from the apparent lead that the Tory party enjoys in the polls. …

Last year the government committed £80m of public funding to develop new public-private partnership “national colleges” in five key growth areas of the UK economy: High speed rail Nuclear power Digital skills Creative and cultural industries Onshore oil and gas Alongside nuclear power, the National College for Onshore Oil and …

Remember that shiny new multi-billion barrel oil discovery someone found off the coast of Scotland?  It turned out to be a damp squib. This, more or less, has been the story of UK oil and gas for the last decade.  The myth is that there is still a vast quantity of …

We can add hacking to a growing list of threats from the smart meters being rolled out by energy companies around the world. For the time being, the threat is minimal because the smart meters will only send information one-way – providing energy supply companies with our usage information.  But …

For individual motorists, the lure of electric vehicles (EVs) is growing by the month.  A 56 percent increase in global EV sales last year is helping to push the price down below that of equivalent petroleum vehicles.  Government grants and tax breaks are also pushing prices down in the short-term.  …

In a move straight out of the failed Ed Miliband play-book, Theresa May has announced plans to introduce a price cap on energy bills.  May’s proposals are intended to cut £100 off the average annual bill.  However, the proposal has been met with disapproval by investors and energy insiders. The …

One of the ways that you know the UK’s energy system is in jeopardy is when its most grounded and considered newspaper – the Financial Times – begins to sound the alarm: “The UK is in theory an attractive market, since few developed countries are expanding nuclear generation, and approval …

Here’s some “great news:” California now generates so much solar energy that electricity prices have gone negative.  According to Ian Johnston at the Independent: “In March, during the hours of 8am to 2pm, system average hourly prices were frequently at or below $0 per megawatt-hour.” Similar stories regularly hit the …