On energydesk today...
Catch up on all the energy and climate news from the Conservative party conference
Though we must admit that the Prime Minister didn't say a great deal of note yesterday.
If you only read three stories:
1) Mixed news for fracking. Public support falls - but remains high. Bloomberg suggests it won't lower bills and radiation is found in waste water in Pennsylvania.
2) Could the global coal boom be petering out? From Europe to China there are signs it is - see our round-up below.
3) The UK could see a deal on Hinkley 'within weeks' says the FT.
Arctic
The Times calls for release of Greenpeace activists - including Times Videographer
Piracy? Really? The charges brought yesterday by a Russian court against a former Times video journalist and 13 Greenpeace activists would be laughable if the predicament that they create were not so serious.
Time: Russia stakes it's claim to the Arctic
Greenpeace could not have chosen a worse time to set sail for the Russian Arctic, reports the magazine. On Sept. 15, as the eco-activists were making their way into the Barents Sea, Russia‘s main news networks were trumpeting the return of the Russian military to the northern frontier.
Eco-Audit: What is the environmental impact of drilling in the Arctic
"Put simply oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean cannot be done safely," says Professor Rick Steiner "there will be chronic degradation, there will be spills. So the policy question is whether we wish to expose the Arctic Ocean and its people to such risk." There are others, of course, who don't agree with him.
Russian views on Greenpeace charge
The BBC has been speaking to people in Russia about their views of the piracy charges for (so far) 14 activists. They got a predictably mixed reaction.
Fracking
Public support for fracking falls (but remains positive)
Polling by the University of Nottingham has shown support for shale gas extraction in the UK steadily rising for more than a year, peaking at 61% in favour in July. But that number fell in September, to 55%. Pollsters put the drop down to the protests focused on the Balcombe fracking site over the late summer.
Bloomberg: Cost of UK shale means unlikely to lower bills
Extracting gas from shale in areas such as the Bowland basin in northern England would cost $7.10 to $12.20 per million British thermal units compared with $5 to $6 in the U.S., Bloomberg New Energy Finance wrote in evidence to a House of Lords committee. The greater cost, because of higher land prices and lack of rigs and infrastructure, is close to the $8-to-$11 range in which U.K. spot prices have traded in the last two years, it said.
“The reliance on continued imports will ensure that U.K. gas prices remain tied to European and world markets and so the direct impact of shale on the cost of electricity in the U.K. will be limited,” it said. The times said any reduction could work out around 2%.
Dangerous levels of radioactivity found at fracking waste site in Pennsylvania
Fracking may be contaminating a Pennsylvania river with radioactive waste, a Duke University study to be published this week shows.Scientists found elevated levels of radioactivity in river water at a site where treated fracking wastewater from oil and gas production sites in western Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale is released into a creek.
IPCC revises up impact of methane
The IPCC report on global climate change has revised up its estimate of the potency of methane both over a 20 and 100 year time horizon. The report suggests that methane is now 34 times more potent than Co2 over a 100 year period (up from 25) and 86 times more potent over 20 years (up from 72). The report also warns there is no particular reason to use the former figure over the latter - it really depends what you are worrying about. IT comes as studies suggest that methane emissions from fracking can be limited - but any emissions there are could now be seen as more serious.
Low energy prices don't spur an export led recovery
Energy prices have little impact on whether a country is a competitive exporter of manufactured products, according to researchers at Brussels-based think tank Breugel.
Fallon: Tory MP's can't be picky about fracking
The energy minister said that it would be unacceptable for Conservatives to “say they’re not going to have it in their constituencies”. The minister also said the UK would soon see around 40 shale gas wells.
UK
Hinkley nuclear deal expected within weeks
Michael Fallon, energy minister, told the Financial Times he was “working intensely” to conclude negotiations that have dragged on for a year. “We’re not quite there yet, but I hope we will be in the next few weeks,” he said. The news comes as Toshiba has announced it wants a majority stake in UK nuclear project, NuGen.
London demand response trial slashes energy use
Ends reports on new trials of demand response technology in the UK which could be used to reduce peak demand on the grid (and so reduce the amount of backup needed for renewables)
Good energy offers 7% returns on renewable bonds
The bonds will be sold in 500-pound tranches offering an annual coupon of 7.25 percent, with payments made every six months, Chippenham, southern England-based Good Energy said today in a statement. Customers of the utility who buy the four-year bonds will get an extra payment on maturity worth 0.25 percent for each year they are clients and bondholders.
International
Rally in coal peters out
The rally in the European price of coal appears to have ended. An analysis by Bloomberg suggests gas plants are expected to remain unprofitable compared to their more polluting coal alternatives until at least 2016. It comes as the FT reports that global increasing regulation and China's slowing demand is threatening the once dominant fuel of the world economy.
The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had previously been thought, a report says.A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), warns that oceans are being heated by climate change, turned slowly less alkaline by absorbing CO2, and suffering from overfishing and pollution.
Fukushima: Another tank leaked toxic water
The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Thursday another tank holding highly contaminated water overflowed, probably sending the liquid into the Pacific Ocean, in the second such breach in less than two months.The new s comes as Japan's former pro-nuclear Prime Minister Mr Koizumi announced a unexpected change of heart calling instead for Japan to abandon nuclear and build a renewable grid.
Danish energy giant - Dong - seeks investment from Goldman Sachs
Troubled Danish state owned energy giant - and renewable energy investor - Dong is to receive investment from Goldman Sachs and two Danish pension funds.
Tracking global warming - think like a stockbroker
Interesting piece compares climate change graphs to charts showing the progress of the stock market.
EU tar sands law will have almost no impact on fuel costs
Arthur Neslen reports on a stalled internal EU report that has found that draft proposals to apply a high-polluting tag to unconventional fuels such as tar sands would have an effect on oil prices too minimal to be felt at filling stations.
BP wins review of oil payouts
BP Plc (BP/) persuaded an appeals court to order a re-examination of key terms of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill settlement that the company said could have cost it billions of dollars in improper payouts.
