• Opinion

  From federal spending to Texas blackouts: key themes shaping the US grid edge

  • 03 3月 2021

  The growth of distributed energy resources on the grid edge continues to influence many sectors of the energy industry. In recent weeks we’ve seen this play out in everything from the way the federal government is investing in the electricity grid of the future, to the response to blackouts in Texas.

• Opinion

  The Texas energy crisis: its causes and consequences

  • 19 2月 2021

  Freezing conditions in the southern US led to blackouts and a slump in gas production. What can we learn from the crisis?

• Opinion

  The challenge of negative emissions

  • 12 2月 2021

  Elon Musk is offering $100 million in prizes for carbon removal technologies. Costs need to come down a long way for them to be viable

• Opinion

  Electric vehicle sales are in the fast lane

  • 11 2月 2021

  EV sales shifted up a gear in 2020, surging 38% even while global sales of passenger vehicles fell. Will sales growth continue to outpace ICE vehicles? As we buy more and more EVs, how and where will we charge them? And what will drive the rise in commercial EV adoption? Find out in our look at the road ahead.

• Opinion

  Carbon emissions: a new challenge for US LNG

  • 05 2月 2021

  President Joe Biden adds to the pressure on US gas exporters to consider climate impacts

• Opinion

  A £2.5 trillion transformation: the economic impact of a net-zero North Sea

  • 04 2月 2021

  Low-carbon technologies have the potential to transform the energy industry. They could also have a powerful effect on local economies – as the UK is on a mission to demonstrate.

• Opinion

  What President Biden’s first day means for energy

  • 22 1月 2021

  Blocking the Keystone XL pipeline, rejoining the Paris climate agreement, and a 60-day restriction on drilling permits on federal lands and waters are a statement of intent from the new administration

• Opinion

  2021 – cheerful or fearful?

  • 13 1月 2021

  And after the 12 months we’ve all just experienced, making bold predictions for the year ahead is more fraught than ever: nothing is off the table.

• Opinion

  Asia Pacific’s energy transition conundrum – is net zero possible?

  • 10 8月 2021

  The net zero race is on and Asia Pacific has joined the chase. But the scale of the APAC energy transition challenge is enormous.

• Opinion

  Who will foot the bill for the energy transition in Asia-Pacific?

  • 04 8月 2021

  At Wood Mackenzie's Power and Renewables Conference: APAC, Prashant Khorana led a panel discussion on who might pick up the energy transition tab in the region – and whether, in fact, there is an excess supply of capital.

• Opinion

  Harnessing the sun: how rising solar power demand impacts base metals

  • 09 8月 2021

  Falling production costs and improving efficiency are set to drive up demand for solar power, and that could be good news for base metals like aluminium, copper and zinc.

• Opinion

  Sustaining the onshore wind boom in the Nordics

  • 26 7月 2021

  The onshore wind market in the Nordics is undergoing phenomenal growth. The region’s operational wind turbine fleet will grow by more than 50% in the 2021-2023 period. What's driving the boom?

• Opinion

  The battle over wind, solar and storage

  • 03 8月 2021

  In this podcast episode from CohnReznick Capital: what does the surging M & A activity tell us about the health of renewables?

• Opinion

  Can wind power become truly carbon neutral?

  • 08 7月 2021

  Wind is one of the cleanest power technologies, but there’s still potential to cut life cycle emissions.

• Opinion

  Opportunities abound in Asia Pacific’s transforming power markets

  • 01 7月 2021

  Last week we hosted our inaugural Asia Pacific Power & Renewables Conference. This three-day event tackled all aspects of the region’s power markets and their roles in the energy transition.

• Opinion

  Nord Stream 2 nears the finish line

  • 24 6月 2021

  The gas pipeline from Russia to Germany has been acknowledged as a “fait accompli” by the US. The European market will still need more LNG

• Opinion

  Electric vehicles continue to get the green light

  • 28 6月 2021

  In Q1 of 2021, electric vehicle sales rocketed to 550,000 – a 66% increase over the same period last year. This surge has seen our outlook upgraded to 950 million EVs on the road by 2050.

• Opinion

  Alerts send warnings about the future of power

  • 18 6月 2021

  As a heatwave hit the southwest US this week, electricity demand surged, putting strain on the grids in Texas and California. Grid operators issued alerts urging customers to conserve electricity where possible by turning up thermostats and not running appliances in the late afternoon and evening. The measures worked: blackouts were avoided in both states. But the alerts were a reminder of the pressures facing grids in extreme weather conditions, which will increase as their reliance on wind and solar power grows. Demand response programmes and other measures to improve the flexibility of the grid are becoming increasingly important.

• Opinion

  Investors exert their influence over the energy transition

  • 11 6月 2021

  Oil and gas companies have been coming under mounting pressure from large shareholders to address climate risks, and that pressure has stepped up sharply this year. The world’s six largest investors by assets under management have signed up to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, committing them to supporting the goal of global net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner. In total the signatories to the initiative have $37 trillion under management.

• Opinion

  Onshore wind: tackling cost escalation in operations and maintenance

  • 16 6月 2021

  Competitive bidding has become the norm in the onshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) market, pushing price-points down. Meanwhile, operational costs have escalated. How will the industry combat the cost challenge and secure cheaper onshore wind?

• Opinion

  The road to COP26

  • 08 6月 2021

  This is a big year for climate policy. The Paris agreement of 2015 set up a five-yearly cycle for countries to increase the ambition of their goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. So right from the outset, the COP26 climate conference originally scheduled for 2020 was going to be particularly significant.

• Opinion

  Supply chain constraints loom for US solar

  • 15 6月 2021

  While record growth continues for US solar, attention is now turning to supply chain constraints. How are different segments being affected by elevated commodity prices and equipment delays?

• Opinion

  Winter reliability and the road to net zero

  • 28 4月 2021

  Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc on electric and gas systems unprepared for the challenge. What are the implications for ensuring reliable electric supply as the energy transition progresses?

• Opinion

  Demanding new emissions goals set course for low-carbon future

  • 23 4月 2021

  At a US-hosted climate summit this week, large economies discussed their ambitious objectives for cutting emissions. Now comes the hard part.

• Opinion

  Investing in the energy transition

  • 21 4月 2021

  What do major investors need to know to capitalise on the opportunity offered by the energy transition over coming decades?

• Opinion

  The US energy transition rides on the electric F-150

  • 21 5月 2021

  Ford has launched the electric version of its best-selling F-150 truck. Its success or failure will have a big impact on the electrification of transport in the US, and on climate policy.

• Opinion

  Major growth ahead for US commercial solar

  • 17 5月 2021

  2021 will be an interesting year for US commercial solar. In our latest outlook, annual capacity additions are expected to grow 25% – an impressive return to growth for a market that has declined for three years in a row. But it’s not all plain sailing.

• Opinion

  Which technologies will drive the energy transition?

  • 10 5月 2021

  The energy transition is a transformational force, with technology at its heart. What are the technologies that are driving change? Which innovations are on track to help unlock the world’s lower-carbon future? And where do we need to pick up the pace?

• Opinion

  Three global wind turbine technology trends to watch

  • 05 5月 2021

  How will changes to onshore and offshore turbine technology impact the industry?

• Opinion

  The US government speeds up drilling permit approvals

  • 04 6月 2021

  The Biden administration this week issued an order suspending further work on oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, pending a new environmental review. The order follows through on a commitment that President Joe Biden made on his first day in office. Drilling in ANWR has always been highly controversial, and the lease sale in January attracted only limited interest.