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EnergySource

Jun 23, 2020

How can Portugal’s Port of Sines play a bigger role in assuring energy security in the European Union?

By Dr. Ricardo Silvestre

The European Union (EU) currently relies on a small number of external suppliers to meet its energy needs. To minimize reliance on foreign gas imports, the EU should increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to Europe, expand gas storage capacity, and further develop energy distribution mechanisms across Member States. As a potential alternative energy hub, Sines, Portugal is in an excellent position to become an important continental European LNG entrance point as well as a key gas distribution and bunkering center. If the pieces fall into place, Sines, and Portugal writ large, may become key guarantors of European energy security.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

EnergySource

Jun 17, 2020

Innovation can break the gridlock on nuclear waste

By Michelle Brechtelsbauer

Innovation has always been a key tenet of the nuclear power industry. With scientific consensus building that nuclear power must play a significant role in mitigating climate change, there has been renewed focus on fuel design and fuel cycle research to support the next generation of nuclear technology. This attention also creates an opportunity to reinvigorate innovation on back-end technologies that may prove to be the key to circumventing the longtime political impasse on nuclear waste.

Energy & Environment Nuclear Energy

EnergySource

Jun 12, 2020

US foreign policy and Euro-Caspian energy security: The time is now to build the Trans-Caspian Pipeline

By Matthew Bryza, Robert M. Cutler, and Giorgi Vashakmadze

The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) represents a historic success for Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) in regard to their common quest for new energy supply sources and routes. Over the last decade, the EU has intensified its efforts to expand the SGC, seeking to attract gas from Turkmenistan. The time is now ripe to connect Turkmen gas with SGC infrastructure and the European market through a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline.

Central Asia Energy & Environment

EnergySource

Jun 12, 2020

Ukraine’s gas market reform: A success story that needs to be acknowledged

By Dr. Aura Sabadus

Ukraine's experience over the past five years with natural gas market reform and regulatory alignment proves that European Union rule transfer is possible in Ukraine, provided it remains committed to positive policy change.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

EnergySource

Jun 3, 2020

US nuclear energy leadership: The way forward

By Amb. Thomas Graham Jr.

The recently released report, Restoring America’s Competitive Nuclear Energy Advantage, commissioned by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nuclear Fuel Working Group, is an important step forward for US national security, the battle against climate change, and the health of the US economy. After decades of misguided policy, this report puts the United States back on track in leading a worldwide nuclear energy system that is effective, reliable, and carbon free.

Energy & Environment Nuclear Energy

EnergySource

May 30, 2020

Public sector investment opportunities for a green stimulus in oil and gas

By Alex Dewar

In discussions about COVID-19 economic recovery policies, any measures focused on the oil and gas industry are often portrayed as being at odds with a green stimulus. However, a green stimulus within the oil and gas industry is not necessarily a contradiction in terms. Targeted public sector investments in oil and gas activities—especially in the areas of reducing methane emissions, improving energy efficiency, and deploying carbon capture—can curb greenhouse gas emissions significantly and at relatively low costs while maximizing broader near-term economic benefits.

Coronavirus Energy & Environment

EnergySource

May 21, 2020

Carbon capture and the Allam Cycle: The future of electricity or a carbon pipe(line) dream?

By David Yellen

The race to net-zero emissions is an uphill one. Despite the effects of climate change mounting and time running out, global energy demand is set to grow 50 percent by 2050. One solution to decarbonizing the global energy system while also meeting rising natural gas demand is carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). However, CCUS has historically been too expensive to be viable, and deployment remains far off track. Enter the Allam Cycle: a novel natural gas power plant design that can theoretically capture 100 percent of emissions while being cost- and efficiency-competitive with advanced natural gas plants.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

EnergySource

May 18, 2020

Coronavirus emergency measures should persuade Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey to legitimize energy reform, not reverse it

By Dr. Aura Sabadus

For years, Eastern European governments and Turkey have bought into a global trend, arguing that long-term strategies in the energy sector should revolve around market deregulation. In light of the coronavirus outbreak and the emergency measures implemented worldwide to contain it, the energy industry may now face an increase in interventionist policies such as price controls and consolidation of state-owned enterprises as governments push to mitigate the shockwaves of expected consumer impacts. Such measures would be detrimental to economies, and there are compelling arguments that suggest governments should remain committed to their initial market goals.

Coronavirus Eastern Europe

EnergySource

May 11, 2020

Increasing mutual dependence in Sino-Gulf relations is changing the strategic landscape

By Christian Le Miere

The conventional wisdom that the United States is the only viable partner for Gulf states is now being challenged by a new reality: the main importer of Gulf oil is now China. At the same time, China’s strategic goals increasingly encompass stability in the Middle East, while a more activist foreign policy under Xi Jinping ensures greater involvement in the security, as well as economic, discourse in the region.

China Energy & Environment

EnergySource

May 8, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis and US and EU emissions in the new decade: Opportunities for a clean energy recovery

By Robert F. Ichord, Jr.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sudden decline in global electricity demand of up to 20-25 percent in some countries, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects global electricity demand for 2020 will fall by 5-10 percent, contributing to an 8 percent overall drop in energy sector CO2 emissions. This piece updates evaluates the performance of the US and EU power sectors in 2019 within the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus Energy & Environment
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