Europe

30Apr

It’s Good to Have a Reliability Backstop

With Spain, Portugal and parts of France still reeling from a stunning blackout, grid reliability is once again top of mind. While it remains to be seen what caused the grid failure, the complexities of moving away from dispatchable power and towards heavy reliance on intermittent energy are understandably in the spotlight. Regardless of what […]
12Feb

Choosing Energy Insecurity

Europe is once again reaping the rewards of its energy policy failures. Natural gas prices are surging, jumping 30 percent in the past two months to reach a two-year high. Cold, windless weather has meant rapidly depleting gas storage and rising prices. For the lucky few, dispatchable fuel diversity is helping temper price spikes. In […]
04Dec

Europe’s Masterclass on What Not to Do

The trajectory for the nation’s electricity supply is alarming. Reserve margins are rapidly eroding, power demand is soaring and the price of electricity has jumped nearly 30% since 2019. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency keeping its boot on the neck of the power sector and the Department of the Interior deciding in the 11th hour […]
03Jan

A Critical Year for Grid Reliability

As energy transition policy enters a pivotal year, the challenges of maintaining a reliable and affordable supply of electricity are coming into sharper focus. The era of lab modelling is coming to an end as on-the-ground, real-life curveballs have proven how difficult and unpredictable a transition from baseload – or “always on” – power to […]
12Oct

Germany’s Coal Conundrum

Despite ongoing talk across Europe of weaning off coal, European coal-generated power production grew by around 9 percent in September. With winter cold approaching and Europe’s energy crisis far from over, that growth may well continue, and Germany, specifically, is once again turning to its coal fleet as an energy security failsafe. Germany’s cabinet has […]
27Sep

A Transition to Deindustrialization?

The European energy crisis is not over. The fear of natural gas rationing may have abated but the costs of Europe’s energy policy missteps continue to reverberate. There has been so much energy demand destruction in Europe from high energy prices that European economies are barely keeping their heads above water. In fact, for some, […]
19Jul

Meeting Global Demand

How important is American coal to the global energy mix? Consider that in 2022 U.S. coal exports went to 71 countries and U.S. coal played a critical role in helping Europe pivot away from Russian energy, filling yawning supply gaps during the worst energy crisis since the 1970s. The U.S. exported 84.8 million short tons […]
16Mar

COAL TO The Rescue in Europe

The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out an uncomfortable truth for the keep-it-in-the-ground crowd: Germany avoided energy shortfalls over the past year by turning to coal. In fact, for the second year running, coal use in Germany has grown. Coal now provides a full third of the nation’s power as use of natural gas has […]
25Jan

U.S. Coal is Backstopping European Energy Security

The worst fears of an out-of-control energy crisis in Europe this winter appear not to be coming to fruition, and coal power and U.S. imports have played a significant role in shoring up European energy supplies and getting our allies through the storm. Coal has been particularly important for Germany. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, […]
22Dec

A Year in Review

The year is coming to a close, but before we look forward to 2023 it’s worth looking back on the stories and themes that shaped the energy conversation in 2022 and coal’s role in it. An ongoing global energy crisis continues to upend markets and trade flows. Coal – so often the recipient of premature […]