Policy Uncertainty Threatens to Slow Renewable Energy Momentum
necessary part of energy security. However, just when they are becoming a cost-competitive option in an increasing number of cases, policy and regulatory uncertainty is rising in some key markets. This stems from concerns about the costs of deploying renewables,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. “Governments must distinguish more clearly between the past, present and future, as costs are falling over time,” she added. “Many renewables no longer need high incentive levels. Rather, given their capital-intensive nature, renewables require a market context that assures
World Petroleum Congress to be held in Moscow
gas industries. Confirmed speakers include: HE Ali Al Naimi, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Saudi Arabia Rex Tillerson, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Exxon Mobil Corporation HE Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the OPEC Secretary General Robert Dudley, Chairman of the Board, BP Maria van der Hoeven, the Executive Director of the IEA Dr. Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, IHS Over 500 other industry leaders and decision makers. The recent geopolitical situation in Ukraine, including sanctions and other macroeconomic and political factors, could have a strong impact on the world&rsquo
Study Finds Power Flexibility is Key
to develop system flexibility over the long term. Managing this transition will be more difficult for some countries or power systems than others, the study says. "Integrating high shares of variable renewables is really about transforming our power systems," IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said as she launched The Power of Transformation - Wind, Sun and the Economics of Flexible Power Systems, the latest in a series of IEA reports shedding light on the challenges and opportunities of integrating VRE into power systems globally. "This new IEA analysis calls for a change
Renewables to Surpass Gas by 2016 in Global Power Mix
and geothermal in total power generation will double, reaching 8% by 2018, up from 4% in 2011 and just 2% in 2006. “As their costs continue to fall, renewable power sources are increasingly standing on their own merits versus new fossil-fuel generation,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven as she presented the report at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in New York. “This is good news for a global energy system that needs to become cleaner and more diversified, but it should not be an excuse for government complacency, especially among OECD countries.” Even as
North American Oil Supply Shocks Markets
trading patterns. European refiners will see no let-up from the squeeze caused by increasing US product exports and the new Asian and Middle Eastern refining titans. “North America has set off a supply shock that is sending ripples throughout the world,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, who launched the report at the Platts Crude Oil Summit in London. “The good news is that this is helping to ease a market that was relatively tight for several years. The technology that unlocked the bonanza in places like North Dakota can and will be applied elsewhere, potentially
IEA Reports Stalled EffortsToward Clean Energy
spots in an otherwise bleak assessment of global progress towards low-carbon energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in an annual report to the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). “The drive to clean up the world’s energy system has stalled,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven told the CEM, which brings together ministers representing countries responsible for four-fifths of global greenhouse-gas emissions. “Despite much talk by world leaders and despite a boom in renewable energy over the last decade, the average unit of energy produced today is basically
February 2024
