Craig Morris – Energy Transition

The secret recipe for citizen energy: bankability

Craig Morris — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 15:00:27 +0000

When the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) led to a wind and solar boom starting in 2000, many environmentalists abroad looked to Germany - including California. But the proposals in California in the mid aught years met with skepticism from large wind and PV manufacturers – of all people. Solar campaigners did not understand their reluctance; after all, such laws would only make the cake bigger for these companies. But the entrepreneurs were concerned only about the size of their piece of the cake, not the size of the whole cake. To understand why they may have been right, we need to dig a little deeper.

Germany’s losing renewable jobs

Craig Morris — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 13:15:25 +0000

The goal of 500,000 people employed in the renewable energy sector moves further out of reach every year. The trend is now embedding in wider reports of “environmental jobs,” not reported separately. Craig Morris takes a look. In 2000, when Germany passed its Renewable Energy Act, parliamentarian Hermann Scheer stated that the goal was partly to get German industry focused on exporting renewables (in German): “Some types of renewable energy, such as photovoltaics, are still relatively expensive here but are already the cheaper alternative in areas of the Third World with no grid access. And if we want to do more there, we have to get the industry moving here…. We have to keep in mind… that we are an export economy.” Scheer had come to renewables from peace policy; he understood that German manufacturers needed to make money off of something that promoted peace. Renewables seemed perfect. But if he thought that Germany would produce systems and export them, he and many others are increasingly turning out to be wrong. Back in 2004, the …

Let’s talk about values, not just prices

Craig Morris — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 19:45:05 +0000

In Germany, the expansion of wind power collapsed by around 90% in 2019. In 2020 the solar industry is threatened with collapse. One other thing makes less headlines: Citizen energy has almost come to a standstill. Yet, the second European Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) of 2018 stipulates that citizen’s energy must be given special support. And Germany of all countries – once a pioneer in the...

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Germany’s about to Lift Its “Solar Ceiling”

Craig Morris — Tue, 26 May 2020 13:00:13 +0000

In a long-awaited decision in mid-May, the German government announced it will soon lift restrictions on feed-in tariffs (FITs) for solar power, which would have crippled the sector. But why was the limit set at 52 GW in 2011, and what do we think that solar will ever be able to do without policy support? Craig Morris takes us back to the origins of a controversial policy that has been criticized for a long time. Your German word of the day is Solardeckel, which could be literally translated as a “solar lid.” If you are wondering why anyone would want to put a lid on solar during this climate crisis, welcome to German policymaking. Back in 2011, a ceiling was placed on solar FITs. Once 52 gigawatts (GW) had been installed, FITs would no longer be offered. Which raises two questions: why 52 GW – why not something round like 50 GW? And when will solar be cheap enough to compete without any policy support? Listening to the scientists Back in 2010, Germany had a …

How to Get the Renewables Story Wrong: Planet of the Humans

Craig Morris — Wed, 06 May 2020 13:00:04 +0000

Our blogger Craig Morris has a cameo appearance in the new film “Planet of the Humans.” He says the way he was quoted out of context reveals what’s fundamentally wrong with the movie. As we mentioned earlier on Energy Transition, the new picture has created quite a buzz since its online launch on Earth Day and not necessarily for the right reasons. Craig Morris takes a closer look and puts things in perspective. Back in November 2016, I was on a TV talk show in Canada (full interview here). I was asked lots of things, such as whether rural people should have to put up with wind turbines – to which I said: no. If you want renewables, you have to make your case and convince people; we live in democracies, not technocracies. I was also asked about whether Germany is “fueled by dirty energy,” to which I answered: yes. “Germany has 45% coal power. The reason they have coal power is because they have coal. If we had a lot of natural gas like …

Renewables replace nuclear and lower emissions simultaneously

Craig Morris — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 14:00:05 +0000

A myth is haunting the English-speaking world: Germany allegedly shows that emissions rise because renewables can’t replace nuclear – and that France is right to stick with nuclear. What do the data show? Craig Morris reports It’s not just trolls: Cambridge professors are saying it, and top US journalists are saying it, and a US presidential candidate told it to the New York Times: “Germany initially set out to close all of its nuclear reactors by 2022, but as a result, they are now likely to miss their emissions reduction targets. And France is now considering options to extend the life of many of its older nuclear power plants.” — US presidential candidate Marianne Williamson in the New York Times What’s worse, US policymakers are saying it. Five US states now subsidize nuclear to keep reactors from closing, and it’s possible that all of them have done so based on this incorrect assumption. It happened years ago in New York State with explicit reference to German emissions allegedly rising because of the phase-out, it then …

Can Ireland get the definition of community energy right?

Craig Morris — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 13:00:40 +0000

The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive of 2018 requires member states to provide special support for “community energy.” Doing so requires a definition of “community renewables” that is eligible for that special support. Ireland may be the most interesting case at present. Craig Morris takes a look. In 2018, Ireland’s then-Climate Minister Denis Naughten announced auctions for a renewable electricity support scheme (RESS) with a “separate, ring fenced community category” for 2019. The official proposal describes one main benefit: “increased actor diversity is expected through the community-led category,” adding that “larger scale developer-led projects are excluded.” Some demarcation between developer-led and community-led is thus inevitable. The EU’s definition… ‘renewable energy community’ means a legal entity: (a) which, in accordance with the applicable national law, is based on open and voluntary participation, is autonomous, and is effectively controlled by shareholders or members that are located in the proximity of the renewable energy projects that are owned and developed by that legal entity; (b) the shareholders or members of which are natural persons, SMEs or local authorities, including …

Is democracy too slow to fix the climate?

Craig Morris — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 13:00:40 +0000

As “we only have 12 years left” morphs into “11 years” because emissions keep rising, the question of whether benevolent dictators wouldn’t be better than sluggish, ineffective democracies is being posed more often. Will someone please tell people why democracy still matters? Craig Morris is searching for answers Back in 2018, I wrote about the growing call among some climate hawks for democracy to be done away with because it’s too slow. In a recent episode of the Talking Politics podcast, host and politics professor David Runciman sums up the issue (around minute 23:00) when discussing the potential need for geoengineering (changing the climate intentionally because we didn’t reduce carbon emissions enough). He calls the need to develop and use geoengineering technologies (such as refreezing the poles) “a very technocratic project”, whereas “reducing carbon emissions would, at some level, be a democratic project.” In other words, if democracy fails, technocracy will have to come in.# Runciman then asks his guest, Sir David King (former chief scientific advisor to the British government, a provocative question: “How …

Germany debates a carbon tax – this time, for real

Craig Morris — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 10:00:48 +0000

On July 12, a group of economists called on the German government to take quick climate action. This new proposal packs because the messenger officially advises the government – and doesn’t come from the climate camp. Craig Morris reports The German Council of Economic Experts says (in German) that Germany doesn’t have time to wait until the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS), which only covers 45% of emissions, is expanded to cover everything even if that expansion were officially planned (it isn’t). A national carbon tax, the Council says, should be implemented soon. Critics of national proposals often charge that German emission reductions amount is too little if other countries don’t pull their weight: Germany shouldn’t “go it alone.” But Germany needs to meet its own targets if it wants reciprocity, the new report argues, and a carbon tax may be the only way to do that. The Council doesn’t propose a specific price, but rather shows the impact (see the second chart here) of a sliding price. And then they give the example of …

The Norwegian dilemma: fossil-funded energy transition

Craig Morris — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 13:00:20 +0000

In 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “’No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and just leave them there.” And yet, that’s what needs to happen: leave it in the ground. The situation in Norway is illustrative of the challenge. Craig Morris explains. In March, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, aka the Oil Fund, announced that it aims to step away from some holdings in fossil fuels – not because of the climate, but in order to diversify. Notably, holdings in big firms like Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil are to be retained. On June 12, the Fund approved the deal. Created in 1990 to manage revenue from tiny Norway’s oil and gas resources, it now holds some $200,000 dollars per Norwegian citizen – worth $800,000 for a family of four. The national debt – yes, Norway has one – is much smaller at some $30,000 per citizen. Norway has done good things with the money, such as invest in renewables, and it now plans to step up such investments. …