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Photo: Roman PeklajWBIF: Overhaul of Western Balkans’ Power Generation Sector Too Slow
January 21, 2020 | Tanja SrnovršnikElectricity | RES and EE | Energy policy
Unlike most EU countries, the Western Balkans countries have not yet committed to phasing out coal but instead plan to add significant new coal power capacity by 2030, according to the publication ‘Investing in Clean Energy in the Western Balkans’, prepared by the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). Meanwhile, the total new renewable energy capacity coming online or expected over the...
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Photo: Roman PeklajOIES and SGI Renewable Gas Report: The Gas Industry Needs to Accelerate the Level of Project Activity
January 17, 2020 | Valerija HozjanNatural gas | RES and EE | New technologies
In recent months several reports have been published making bold projections on the level of renewable gas production that could be achieved in Europe by 2040 or 2050. The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) and the Sustainable Gas Institute (SGI) took three of them for further analysis and published the report titled: ‘A mountain to climb? Tracking progress in scaling up renewable gas...
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Photo: Keter OrganicaWhat Role Will Renewable Gases Play in Decarbonising the EU?
January 14, 2020 | Valerija HozjanNatural gas | RES and EE | New technologies
Renewable gases currently account for 7% of renewable gross inland energy consumption in the EU. In order to reach the EU’s climate neutrality objective, production of renewable gases will have to surge by at least 1,000%. The Slovenian TSO for gas, Plinovodi, says the main driver of renewable gas production is low-cost surplus renewable electricity. According to the Slovenian Ministry of...
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Photo: ACERSlovenian HSE: Wholesale Power Prices Expected to Stay Relatively Stable in 2020
January 13, 2020 | Tanja SrnovršnikElectricity | Energy policy
In 2020, and perhaps also in 2021, the wholesale power prices will stay relatively close to the current levels, mostly on account of (increasingly frequent) mild winters, as well as low gas prices, while the supply side will remain dominant in the emission allowance market, said Matjaž Večernik, Head of Production and Trading at the Slovenian energy company Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE),...
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Photo: pixabay.comEU Needs 15 Times More EV Chargers by 2030 to Become Climate Neutral
January 9, 2020 | Peter PalčecElectricity | RES and EE | Transport | Energy policy | CO2 emissions
“Some 3 million public charging points will be needed for 44 million electric vehicles in 2030 if the EU is to become climate neutral by 2050,” shows a report from the green campaign and research group Transport & Environment (T&E). That is over 15 times the 185,000 public chargers currently available in the EU, which are enough for the current electric fleet but not to keep pace with the...
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Photo: Siniša KanižajParavan: Understanding the Future Very Important in a Changing World
December 30, 2019 | Tanja SrnovršnikElectricity | RES and EE | Transport | Energy policy | New technologies
“The world is changing at an increasingly faster pace and this trend is set to continue,” noted Dejan Paravan, Chief Innovation Officer at the Slovenian energy trader GEN-I, in a podcast published by the research and advisory company Gartner. Paravan stressed that it is impossible to develop a sustainable business without innovation and adapting to trends. “That is why it is important to...
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Photo: Shutterstock2020 Looks Set to Deliver Record Low Gas Prices
December 16, 2019 | Tanja SrnovršnikElectricity | Natural gas | Coal | Energy policy | CO2 emissions
Next year looks set to deliver record low gas prices amid a perfect bearish storm of an ongoing supply glut, mild weather, record high storage levels and a possible agreement in the Ukraine-Russia transit deal, according to Montel’s new weekly podcast....
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Photo: S. Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.netIRENA: Coming Decade Pivotal for Development of RES in SEE
December 12, 2019 | Tanja SrnovršnikElectricity | RES and EE | Energy policy
The coming decade (until 2030) could prove pivotal for the development of renewable energy sources (RES) in South East Europe (SEE) “as costs for renewables continue to fall and SEE governments undertake energy sector reforms”, wrote the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in its Renewable Energy Market Analysis series dedicated to SEE....
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Photo: Alenka Lena KlopčičNorth Macedonia’s Energy Strategy Unrealistic in Plans for Hydropower
December 9, 2019 | Peter PalčecElectricity | RES and EE | Coal | Energy policy
Two out of three scenarios in North Macedonia’s draft Energy Strategy foresee a coal exit by 2025, which is excellent news in a country traditionally dominated by coal-fired electricity. However, the strategy’s plans for hydropower are unrealistic, states a press release from the CEE Bankwatch Network. North Macedonia’s new draft Energy Strategy is the first in the Western Balkans to put a...
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Photo: TAP AGTurkey and Azerbaijan Mark TANAP Completion; SEE Expects Increased Energy Security
December 3, 2019 | Tanja SrnovršnikNatural gas | Energy policy
Turkey and Azerbaijan formally marked the completion of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on Saturday. According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy, construction of the TANAP gas pipeline “guarantees the security of gas supply for the region of South East Europe (SEE)”....
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