Fsr Energy & Climate

In this episode, António Mexia, CEO of EDP Group, joins us to discuss the challenges that utilities are facing in adapting their organization, skills and culture to the energy transition environment. António Mexia starts by noting that we are living in the middle of a revolution: digitalisation is totally transforming most sectors, including the energy sector, which was for decades a very traditional one. An open innovation approach is crucial in facing this new context, as “most opportunities will probably come from outside our walls, from outside the company”. In the specific case of EDP, of which António Mexia is CEO since 2006, the growth of the renewables business segment was one of drivers of the company’s cultural change – “People understood that everything would be different”. The need for a cultural change is now an issue for all the players along the value chain. Regarding grid operators, they have been mainly focused on the security of supply, but now they are also being challenged to change very

What role will Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies play in the energy transition context? In this episode, Mechthild Wörsdörfer, Director for Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks at International Energy Agency (IEA), shares her views on the opportunities and challenges arising from CCUS technologies with Net Zero host Joana Freitas. According to IEA, industry currently accounts for almost 25% of CO2 emissions and 40% of global energy demand. Continued economic growth and urbanization, particularly in developing countries, is expected to drive up the demand for cement, steel and chemicals. In Wörsdörfer’s perspective CCUS is “the only known technology to be able to put these sectors on a pathway to this net zero emissions”. She also sees a role for CCUS in the power generation segment, especially in Asian countries, like China and India, where most of coal power plants are still very young and able to operate for decades: “One of the options here is to retrofit them and put also CC

In this episode, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson discusses the energy taxation policy in EU and the challenges behind a just transition with Joana Freitas, Ambassador for the FSR Lights on Women initiative. To achieve the level of ambition that is proposed in the Green Deal, the EU needs to set an effective carbon pricing policy. However, as Commissioner Simson notes, in some European countries, there are still some inconsistencies in the energy taxation system – there are cases in which taxation is more favorable to fossil fuels than to renewables. One of the most disruptive measures proposed in the EU Green Deal is the creation of a Carbon Border Tax. As some segments of the population and some regions are particularly affected by this green transition, political initiatives, as the Just Transition Mechanism, play an important role in funding the transition and bringing the entire society on-board. Despite different starting points, the Just Transition Mechanism will be available to support all the

In this episode, Kadri Simson, the Energy European Commissioner, discusses the EU's energy policy vision for the EU Green Deal with Joana Freitas, Ambassador for the FSR Lights on Women initiative. As 75% of EU’s greenhouse gas emissions come from using or producing energy, energy policy will play a major role in delivering the climate targets. Member States have been working on their National Energy and Climate Plans to set the targets and the action plan for the next decade. As they have very different starting points, the European Commission will provide assistance and financial support to those that are still reliant on fossil fuels. In Part I of the Net Zero Special Edition with Commissioner Simson she discusses key pillars of the European Green Deal: ensuring no one is left behind, innovation as a driving force, and the importance of R&D for energy storage solutions. Commisioner Simson also touches on the role hydrogen will play, stating “in the upcoming years, definitively the most innovative and e

Community energy is one of the current buzzwords in the public discourse over the electricity sector and the energy transition. Within a community, citizens can adopt new models for the production and consumption of energy. Among them, there are peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading and collective self-consumption. In this podcast, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Josh Roberts (REScoop) discuss the concept of community energy and its relation with new energy models like P2P trading and prosumption. According to Mr Roberts, community energy should not be defined by a set of activities or functions, but it is rather an organisational concept that refers to a certain type of governance. In an energy community, citizens or users must have the control and possibly the ownership of the assets used by the community itself. Third parties may be involved, but they cannot have the lead. If someone accepts this definition, then it is clear that P2P trading and collective self-consumption can be of different types and do not repre

End users have traditionally played a limited and rather passive role in the provision of electricity. However, the decentralisation and digitalisation of the energy sector today are changing the way electricity is produced, exchanged and consumed. New energy models, for instance peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, community self-consumption, and transactive energy, are emerging. In this podcast, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Alexandra Schneiders (UCL) present the new Global Observatory on P2P, community self-consumption and transactive energy models. Established in September 2019, the Observatory is part of the Users-centred Energy Systems Technology Collaboration Programme (Users TCP) of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Eight countries are members of this Observatory, whose primary goal is to create a platform where all the stakeholders involved in the roll-out of these new energy models can exchange information and build new knowledge. The outcomes of the Observatory are then expected to support the policy-maki

An explosion in medium and small electricity prosumers has been observed in the past decade across the EU, mainly driven by generous support measures and PV cost reduction. This era is now coming to an end with the phase-out of net metering schemes and feed-in tariffs. Therefore, new business models ensuring economic sustainability are essential. In this podcast, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Donal Brown (University of Leeds) discuss how electricity prosumers can extract more value from their distributed generation assets. According to Dr Brown, prosumers might do at least three things: 1) increase their self-consumption rate behind the meter (e.g., via a micro-grid) or in front of it when allowed by regulation (e.g., Mieterstrom in Germany); 2) trade energy locally via peer-to-peer platforms or blockchain; 3) aggregate their loads and generation profiles to sell flexibility and other ancillary services. The development of digital technologies is making all these options potentially available, but regulation is n

In this podcast, Professor Kim Talus from Tulane University discusses the latest controversies surrounding the OPAL gas pipeline, which links the Nordstream gas pipeline to Eastern Europe, and the implications of the recent judgment from the European Court of Justice for the interpretation and application of EU energy law. On 10 Sept 2019, the General Court of the ECJ annulled an earlier Commission decision to modify the exemption of the OPAL pipeline, by drawing on the principle of energy solidarity introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, as laid down in Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. In this podcast, Professor Talus gives a brief overview of the case, discusses the salient features of the judgment, particularly the meaning of the principle of solidarity, and reflects on the consequences of such an interpretation.

In this podcast, Dr Leonie Reins from Tilburg University discusses the role of the energy solidarity principle (as outlined in Article 194 TFEU) and the foreign direct investment (FDI) screening regulation in the development of a more integrated EU regulatory framework and a fully-fledged Energy Union. In particular, she examines how the General Court’s recent interpretation of the energy solidarity principle as seen in the OPAL case and the FDI screening will impact the energy sector.

In this podcast, Elina Hautakangas and Tatu Pahkala, from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland, discuss the changing role of distribution system operators (DSOs) in the EU Clean Energy Package and reflect upon the implications of this shift for the EU internal electricity market and, specifically, Finland’s energy sector.

In this podcast, Dr Seita Romppanen, from the University of Eastern Finland, discusses the key aspects of two interrelated regulatory instruments of the EU climate and energy policy framework for 2030 under the Clean Energy Package: the Effort Sharing Regulation and the so-called LULUCF Regulation on land use, land-use change and forestry. Dr Romppanean introduces the overarching regulatory framework for the two regulations and analyses the main provisions of the Effort Sharing Regulation and the LULUCF Regulation before, finally, discussing these regulations in the context of EU climate and energy law and highlighting the next steps of development in this dynamic field of EU law.

According to the IEA, an average of 1.7% of total gas production is leaked into the atmosphere before it reaches the consumers. The phenomenon constitutes both a serious climate threat and an economic loss. In 2016, US EPA adopted new rules aimed at reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector. The rules include standards for periodic monitoring of possible leakage. In this podcast, Maria Olczak (FSR) and Robert L. Kleinberg, PhD (Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University and the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Boston University) discuss the consequences of the revision of the 2016 Obama-era methane regulations initiated by President Trump. Thanks to this podcast, you will learn: • what is the current state of the US regulations targeting methane leaks • how the industry responded to the rollback of 2016 regulations • why restoring 2016 Obama administration rules would be a mistake • what are the Methane Guiding Principles and OGCI • how to enable the u

Brussels, Professor Jonathan Stern, distinguished Research Fellow (Natural Gas Research Programme), from Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, was a moderator of a session “Energy transition: how can LNG contribute?”. In this podcast, Professor Stern discusses LNG as an important asset to reach 2050 decarbonisation targets, as well as potential problems regarding emissions. He points out that in the next few years serious work will have to be devoted to certification of emissions, as to provide a more accurate tracking. According to Professor Stern is emphasising that decarbonisation of LNG and emission reduction, in the next two decades, will depend on CCS, bio-LNG and potentially from other sources.

The evolution of the structure of electricity systems and the new possibilities offered by digital technologies are leading to an evolution of electricity market designs around the world. In Italy, the need for new providers of flexibility and the increasing amount of distributed energy resources (DER) have prompted a reform of the market for ancillary services and its opening to virtually aggregated units of generation and consumption. In this podcast, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Jan Marc Schwidtal (Università di Padova) address the results of the recent auctions that took place in Italy and that awarded the right to mixed virtually aggregated units (UVAM) to offer their capacity into the Italian market for ancillary services. Jan Marc highlights the positive result of the auction, with around one GW of capacity awarded to 26 companies. However, he also notices that for the time being, most of the UVAM are made of a relatively few large-scale distributed generation units and industrial loads. Retail-size units

In this podcast, Dr Ruven Fleming from the University of Groningen discusses electricity storage in EU law specifically from the point of view of the Clean Energy Package. He provides a brief introduction to what electricity storage is and why it is needed. He then focuses on how the new provisions of the Clean Energy Package address electricity storage and he discusses the practical implications of these new rules to four groups of market participants: energy consumers, energy producers, network system operators and, finally, private companies.

At the 2nd edition of the FSR Innovation Bootcamp, Bjarne Steffen, senior researcher at ETH Zürich and visiting researcher at MIT, gave a presentation around his work on renewable energy financing. In this podcast, Bjarne discusses his work around the cost of capital of investments in renewables with Tim Schittekatte, researcher at the FSR. Bjarne and his co-authors found that between 2005 and 2017, the cost of capital for wind and solar reduced significantly in Germany and explains how three types of drivers contributed to this decline. Learnings around these drivers can aid to foster investment conditions for new technologies in a global context and can help to understand how the levelised cost of electricity can be impacted by changes in general interest rates. Finally, Bjarne's findings are also important to inform policymakers when wanting to revise the renewable support schemes of which the design can strongly influence the cost of capital. Introducing support schemes that give more market signals can

Prof. Poul Erik Morthorst of the Danish Technical University (DTU)’s ideas are clear: carbon pricing cannot be the excuse to delay or avoid investments in technology supporting renewable energy development. On the contrary, taking immediate action could lead to short-term benefits: “We should invest in RES now, and have an immediate effect on CO2 reduction” urges Professor Morthorst. [Listen to the full podcast, recorded in the context of the FutureGas annual meeting in Vaerloese, Denmark].

Climate change is likely to modify significantly patterns of capital investments and constitutes both a risk and an opportunity for investors and financial institutions. A framework aligning the decisions of financial institutions with long-term climate goals is taking shape, and carbon intensive investments will likely face an increasing risk of being stranded. Within this framework, banks must be transparent and clear about how their products and services create value for their customers, clients, investors, as well as the environment. The Principles for Responsible Banking help banks to align their business strategy with society’s goals through ESG – Environmental Social and Governance – investments. The Principles provide the framework for a sustainable banking system, and help the industry demonstrate how it makes a positive contribution to society. They are accelerating the banking industry’s contribution to achieving society’s goals as expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climat

On 28 March 2019, the European Court of Justice annulled the Commission’s decision that the German law on renewable energy (EEG 2012) involved State aid. This annulment, in turn, has cast similar support schemes previously deemed State aid in a contentious light. What was the Court’s reasoning, and what does this ruling mean for the development of case law in State aid? In this podcast, Dr Max Klasse of Blomstein discusses the background to the case and what led to this decision before considering the implications of the judgment, and how it may reframe the criteria that constitutes State aid.

In this interview, Valerie Reif (FSR Energy) talks to Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, about the newest developments in solar. We look at the uptake of solar around the world, touch upon technological developments and discuss the implications of the Clean Energy Package for the evolvement of solar and other renewables in Europe. Check out SolarPower Europe's Global Market Outlook report here : solarpowereurope.org/global-market-outlook-2019-2023/ Never miss a new episode! Subscribe to our channel on Soundcloud and iTunes and sign up for our newsletter: bit.ly/2Sk4diT Connect with us on twitter @FSR_energy