Europe

16Nov

A Vote for Realistic Energy Policy

Last week, we covered President Biden’s speech made in California in which he boasted that “we’re going to be shutting these (coal) plants down all across America.” The comment was remarkable in its apparent disregard for the loss of high-paying American jobs such a move would cause, the seeming indifference to the record electricity prices […]
12Oct

Transatlantic Energy Negligence

The months of warnings about energy rationing and the threat of blackouts in Europe are about to be put to the test. Winter is quickly approaching and there’s growing discomfort from policymakers that while much was done to prepare for a winter without Russian energy perhaps it was too little, too late. The European Union […]
05Oct

Sweater Weather

It’s getting cold out there. And across energy-strapped Europe, government officials are taking note Last week, Danish authorities ordered one of its electricity providers to continue and resume operations of power station units that use coal and oil for fuel. And while the move is absolutely what needs to be done to keep the lights […]
31Aug

The U.S. Coal Solution for Europe

The European energy crisis continues to deepen, and European leaders are now scrambling to break the link between the cost of natural gas and the price of electricity. Natural gas prices are 12 times higher than at the start of 2021 and power prices have exploded in tandem. The cost to consumers is enormous and […]
24Aug

Europe’s Energy Crisis Underscores the Need for Fuel Diversity

The energy crisis in Europe keeps getting worse. Months of warnings are now becoming grim reality. European power prices are now equivalent to more than $1,000 per barrel of oil. The price of natural gas is 13 times its normal seasonal price. As winter draws nearer, so does the pain of crushing energy costs. Britain […]
10Aug

Global Coal Use is on the Rise  

While domestic energy policy continues to dominate headlines, it’s important policymakers don’t lose perspective on global energy reality. For all the talk of energy transition, the global story is one of energy addition where renewable sources of power are largely being added in addition to existing infrastructure and fuels. The world can’t pump enough oil, […]
13Jul

European Energy Independence with U.S. Coal

This week, Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, warned that the global energy crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better, adding the coming winter for Europe, “will be very, very difficult.” His remarks reflect the increasing likelihood that Russia will completely cut off the flow of its natural gas […]
15Jun

The Nation Braces for Blackouts

Warnings of blackouts this summer are quickly becoming a dangerous reality for much of the country In the Midwest, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which manages the region’s grid, issued a warning of tight capacity conditions on June 13 as the grid struggles to keep up with soaring demand from a heatwave. Utilities were […]
08Jun

U.S. Coal to Europe

Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, recently warned that the current global energy crisis is in fact bigger than the oil crises of the 1970s and 80s. “Now we have an oil crisis, a gas crisis and an electricity crisis at the same time,” he said. He also warned it’s likely to last […]
25May

Soaring Energy Prices are Swallowing Economic Recovery

Contrasting the painful immediacy of an oil price shock to that from electricity prices, Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas wrote, “akin to a rising tide, it is slow but relentless and then, surprise, you are overwhelmed.” Blas penned that description about the crushing electricity costs about to overwhelm Europe, but the metaphor neatly describes the electricity crisis […]