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Archive for the ‘climate’ Category

Equinor taking heat from Norwegian investors

Posted in climate, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , , on January 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Equinor’s investment in Orsted and their Empire Wind project in the US Atlantic are featured in this DN article (translated to English). Excerpts follow:

Equinor’s investment of over 26 billion kroner in the Danish wind power company Ørsted has so far been a financial disaster – and now it’s going from bad to worse.

“We are very negative about the whole green initiative, as the return on the investments they make is far too low. When they also buy minority stakes in other green companies that we cannot count on, such as Ørsted, it means that we would rather own other oil companies.” Gaute Eie, Eika Kapitalforvaltning

The market has long been concerned that Equinor will throw money at renewable projects with low or no profitability.

In a recent note, Pareto analysts Tom Erik Kristiansen and Olav Haugerud point out that the Ørsted writedown does not bode well for Equinor’s own US projects either. They foresee a writedown of up to $1.1 billion, given that Equinor faces the same type of challenges as Ørsted.

Eie believes there is no reason why Equinor in particular should have a green initiative:

Aker BP is not doing green, Vår Energi is not doing green, and all the big oil companies are going back on this. Then we’ll see if Equinor has the guts to buy even more Ørsted shares, because now it’s 35 percent cheaper. If they do, we’ll have even fewer Equinor shares.

Sissener believes Equinor should rather focus on dividends and concentrate on oil and gas projects.

– We generally stay away from companies where the state is a major owner, because there you have to be so politically correct all the time. What we need are shareholder-friendly board representatives who know how to run a business and maintain control. In a broader perspective, this helps to destroy trust in Norwegian business.

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Preview of “Day One” Executive Orders related to energy

Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, pipelines, tagged , , , , on January 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

A senior administration official who is familiar with the executive actions and authorized to brief Fox News Digital said Trump on day one will end “Catch and Release;” pause all offshore wind leases; terminate the electric vehicle mandate; abolish the Green New Deal; withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord; and take several major steps to assert presidential control over the federal bureaucracy.

The senior official told Fox News Digital that the energy executive order deals with “every single energy policy,” and addresses liquid natural gas, ports, fracking, pipelines, permitting and more, while also terminating President Biden polices he said “have constrained U.S. energy supply.” 

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As Norway considers cutting the cord to Europe, is transmitting electric power to offshore platforms good public policy?

Posted in climate, energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, UK, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Equinor diagram: power cables from shore to Johan Sverdrup field

“It’s an absolutely sh*t situation,” said Norway’s energy minister Terje Aasland reacting to electricity prices in the country that are six times that of the EU average.

The two ruling parties in Norway want to cut the two power inter-connectors that link the country with Denmark when they come up for renewal in 2026. The smaller coalition party, the Center Party, wants to revisit similar energy links with the UK and Europe.

A related matter is Norway’s push to power offshore platforms with electricity from shore. This policy makes neither economic nor environmental sense, and introduces new safety and operational risks.

This BOE post cites the obvious (per NPD): “The power from shore projects will lead to an increase in electricity prices in Norway.” The post also presents seven other reasons why powering those facilities from shore is not a good idea.

Meanwhile, Total’s plan to partially power the Culzean field (UK) with a floating turbine is similarly irrational. The scheme adds costs and risks with no apparent benefit.

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Encouraging New Year’s energy news: the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion plant is coming to Virginia

Posted in climate, decommissioning, energy, Wind Energy, tagged , , , , , , on January 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Virginia Mercury photo: Gov. Youngkin makes the announcement
  • Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) will independently finance, build, own, and operate a grid-scale fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
  • Dominion Energy will provide non-financial collaboration, including development and technical expertise as well as leasing rights for the proposed site.
  • This pioneering plant will generate 400 MW of continuous energy on 25 acres (total site is 100 acres). By comparison, Dominion Energy’s offshore wind project, which will include 176 turbines and 3 offshore substations, will intermittently produce (on average) 1092 MW (2600 MW x 0.42 capacity factor).
  • Gov. Youngkin emphasized that the project will be financed entirely by CFS, with no costs passed on to Dominion Energy ratepayers. (Good news for us Dominion Energy customers! 😀)
Fusion technology works by combining hydrogen isotopes — deuterium extracted from water and tritium from lithium — under extreme heat and pressure, using powerful magnets to fuse the elements. The process generates heat, which boils water to create steam that spins a turbine, producing electricity. The byproduct is helium.

Why BOE, and most everyone else, likes nuclear fusion:

  • Clean and sustainable power source.
  • Unlike traditional nuclear power plants that rely on fission, fusion replicates the energy-producing process of the sun.
  • Modest space requirements.
  • Generates four times more energy per kilogram of fuel than fission and nearly four million times more energy than burning oil or coal.
  • No radioactive waste
  • Safe energy source; no risk of a meltdown event
  • Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that fusion technology, unlike fission, does not require a federal license.

Tempering the optimism a bit, the plant won’t be operational until the early 2030’s. As we all know, there could (will likely) be delays. CFS is currently building a demonstration plant in Massachusetts that will use their SPARC “tokamok” technology.

The implications of advanced nuclear technology, not only the holy grail of fusion energy, but also modular fission reactors, for intermittent wind and solar power are substantial. Ultradeep geothermal is on a similar timeframe, and could also supersede wind and solar.

The logic behind costly offshore wind projects is therefore questionable, and the regulators better make sure that the decommissioning of these facilities is fully funded. The most likely long-term scenario is for natural gas to continue meeting most power generation needs as the nuclear and ultradeep geothermal alternatives are phased in.

More about fusion. Most of you can start at Level 3. 😉

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Democracy vs. climate ultras in the State of Washington

Posted in climate, energy policy, natural gas, tagged , , , , on December 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Seattle Times: “Don’t block the will of voters on natural gas”

“Nearly 2 million residents voted to approve Initiative 2066, which aims to protect the use of natural gas as an energy source in state law and within Washington’s building codes. This month, climate advocates, joined by King County and the City of Seattle, filed suit in court to block the will of those voters.“

“While the courts will have final say, Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic legislative leaders support killing off what they see as a misguided and overly broad initiative. Their view brushes aside the concerns of the majority of state voters. Those leaders fail to see a genuine fear that, during the clean energy transition, the fundamental supply of energy to homes and businesses — the basic ability to stay warm, cook food and bathe — is under threat.” 

Kudos to the Seattle Times for their common sense editorial. In addition to noting the economic and social necessity of natural gas, it would have been nice if the editorial board had also acknowledged natural gas’s environmental benefits. However, that would have probably been a bridge too far in Seattle.

The reasons for transitioning to natural gas are arguably clearer and better substantiated than the reasons for transitioning from natural gas.

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Carbon disposal moving forward in the North Sea, stalled (hopefully forever) in the GoM

Posted in CCS, climate, Gulf of Mexico, UK, tagged , , , , , on December 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Northern Endurance Partnership (bp, Equinor, and Total) has been awarded the UK’s first permit to “store” CO2 beneath the North Sea. NEP plans to begin construction in the middle of 2025 with start-up expected in 2028 (bet the over!). Climate solution or costly virtue signaling at the public’s expense?

Fortunately, from the standpoint of US consumers and taxpayers, the push for carbon disposal in the Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico has stalled, perhaps permanently. Oct.1 marked the 2 year anniversary of the 94 leases improperly acquired by Exxon at Sale 257 for carbon disposal purposes. Those leases will expire in 33 months (with the remaining 105 rogue leases expiring 1-2 years later) barring another legislative maneuver by industry advocates.

All of the previously posted questions about carbon disposal in the Gulf of Mexico remain, and most apply elsewhere. In particular, detailed cost-benefit analyses and risk assessments for these projects have not been provided. The intended permanency of offshore, subsurface carbon disposal raises complex monitoring, maintenance, liability, and decommissioning issues.

What are the carbon disposal proponents selling and why should governments be buying? If CO2 emissions are a significant threat to society (and informed opinions differ), is carbon disposal a cost effective solution? Policy decisions on subsidies for carbon disposal will be a good indication of how serious the new administration is about cutting Federal spending.

199 GoM oil and gas leases were wrongfully acquired for carbon disposal purposes. At Sale 261, Repsol acquired 36 nearshore Texas tracts in the Mustang Island and Matagorda Island areas (red blocks at the western end of the map above). Exxon had acquired 163 nearshore Texas tracts (blue in map above) at Sales 257 (94) and 259 (69).

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Quaise/ERCOT Renewable Grid Analysis

Posted in climate, energy policy, tagged , , , , , , on December 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Quaise Energy, an ultradeep geothermal energy pioneer, investigated 2022 and 2023 data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to examine what the grid would look like without fossil fuels.

The full report is attached. Key points:

  • On average, solar produces full power 25% of the time, whereas wind does so 35% of the time.
  • Without fossil fuels, Texas would need to scale up its wind and solar capacity by 3.4x and energy storage by 42.4x just to meet the average hourly demand.
  • Despite these high values for renewables and 5 GW of firm nuclear power, the system only meets demand 76% of the time, equivalent to 176 days over the two-year period when generation and storage fall short.
  • Even with a 5x overbuild and corresponding 10x in storage capacity, only 88% of demand can be fully satisfied, not considering transmission challenges.
  • Just meeting the average demand, with a 3.4x capacity expansion, would require more than 50,000 km2 of land, equivalent to the size of Lake Michigan.

Quaise-ERCOT-AnalysisDownload

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Let’s hope GE Vernova’s quality control is better for modular reactors than it is for wind turbines

Posted in accidents, climate, Wind Energy, tagged , , , , on December 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

modular nuclear reactor
Vineyard Wind

Per CNBC:

“GE Vernova is aiming to deploy small nuclear reactors across the developed world over the next decade, staking out a leadership position in a budding technology that could play a central role in meeting surging electricity demand and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.“

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More on the absence of bidders for Danish offshore wind leases

Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , on December 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Jens Christiansen offers this explanation for the absence of bids for wind leases offered in the recent Danish sale:

“The value of offshore wind energy in Denmark has declined.

The capture price remains consistently lower than the market price throughout 2024. When the wind blows, the market saturates and the capture price drops This is why the latest offshore wind tender yielded nothing.”

A related BOE post points to the sharp decline in bids for US offshore wind leases.

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Die Dunkelflaute and the emperor’s new clothes

Posted in climate, energy policy, natural gas, Wind Energy, tagged , , , , , , on December 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Germany: Coal and gas vs. Die Dunkelflaute

Reuters

Spot-on from Bernie, a UK poster on X:

“NET ZERO – I want to be clear: I am not against advancement in energy technologies. Humanity should always develop and progress.

What I oppose is bankrupting the country by gambling taxpayers’ money on the emperor’s new clothes. Because that’s what these experimental technologies are currently. The misinformation being fed to the public is a disgrace.

Technologies like carbon capture, flywheels, and large-scale battery storage are being sold to us as the future and that we can lead the world! I don’t want to gamble with my tax thanks. The only thing we will lead the world in, is being the first country to bankrupt itself on the alter of Net zero and they haven’t even given us a choice!

These experimental technologies will cost not £ billions but £ TRILLIONS and provide little benefit to the average citizen, they simply benefit global corporations and those with vested interests.

The government should have focused on upgrading the national grid as a first step. At the very least it would enable us to use the renewable energy we are creating currently, rather than paying £ billions in subsidies for providers not to supply.

Instead, we’re rushing headlong into experimental technologies that are still in test phase. We are investing in these theoretical technologies before we can even observe their real world performance, evaluate value for money, or knowing if practically they will even work! And let’s face it, installations of both fly wheels and carbon capture machines have both failed financially or practically worldwide.

The hypocrisy around emissions and claims that these new technologies are “cleaner and greener” is an outrageous lie. Whether deliberate or misguided, this misinformation is unacceptable. The British public deserves open-book transparency on costs, timelines, and actual impacts. If the government cannot provide this, they must step aside and bring in independent teams—free from vested interests—to evaluate and advise. And then the British public should be offered a vote.

The ideological, socialist pipe dream of hitting a fictitious 2030 target will bankrupt the country. Worse, it will make us entirely dependent on banks and foreign entities that will dictate our policies for decades.

And we are doing all of this whilst we have at least 200 years of domestic energy resources in the ground, the ‘emergency’ propaganda is simply untrue. But instead of bringing energy prices down in order to enable growth, which in turn would generate GDP, which in turn frees up domestic funds to invest in research, we’re sacrificing our economic stability and sovereignty for technology that will be outdated before we’ve even finished building it!.. because technology works like that!

Some people are getting very rich, some people are gaining global attention and others are simply fools. It is unacceptable to me.“

https://twitter.com/Artemisfornow/status/1864251706751787403

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