Energie : papiers de recherche moissonnés (5/11/2019)

Energy Efficiency 2019. Paris : International Energy Agency, November 2019 lien

Energy efficiency has tremendous potential to boost economic growth and avoid greenhouse gas emissions, but the global rate of progress is slowing – a trend that has major implications for consumers, businesses and the environment. Energy Efficiency 2019 examines in detail the reasons for this recent deceleration in efficiency progress and also includes a special focus on the ways in which digitalisation is transforming energy efficiency and increasing its value.

The Dilemma Continues: OPEC choices amid high uncertainty / Bassam Fattouh and Andreas Economou, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, November 2019, 9 p. (Oxford energy comment) lien

OPEC is faced with a wide range of uncertainties, which are perhaps best reflected in the gulf in narratives between the bulls and the bears. For the bulls, OPEC is in a strong position: the declines in non-OPEC supply are structural while the slowdown in global economic growth is temporary. Based on this view, a mini super-cycle is just around the corner: as demand rebounds, OPEC would be operating close to its maximum sustainable capacity at times when the geopolitical backdrop may reduce spare capacity further—a perfect combination for a sustained rise in oil price. Paradoxically, many of the bulls are the ones calling for deeper OPEC cuts. For the bears, it is the other way around: non-OPEC (US shale) supply would rebound strongly in response to higher oil prices and deeper OPEC cuts and the slowdown in the global economy could persist for longer as there is no end in sight for the US-China trade war. Also, according to this view, there is enough supply held off the market and thus concerns about spare capacity are exaggerated.

The economics of energy efficiency, a historical perspective / Louis-Gaëtan Giraudet et Antoine Missemer. Paris : Cired, septembre 2019, 27 p. (DT/WP No 2019-74) lien

Energy efficiency can be considered as a central pillar of global warming mitigation, with important co-benefits, including productivity gains, resource conservation or national security. It is also a subject of controversy between engineers and economists, who have divergent conceptions of the notion of optimality that delineates energy efficiency potentials. Modern surveys hardly go back beyond the 1970s and do not fully explore the reasons and conditions for the persistent differences between economists’ and engineers’ views. This paper provides such a historical account, investigating the positioning of economic analysis in contrast to the technical expertise on key energy efficiency topics – the rebound effect, the energy efficiency gap, and green nudges, from the 19th century to the present day. It highlights the permanence and evolution in the relationship that economists have had with technical expertise. An extension of the current conceptual framework is finally provided to connect our historical findings with avenues for future research…

A road map to navigate the energy transition / Jorge Blazquez, Rolando Fuentes-Bracamontes, Baltasar Manzano. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, October 2019, 18 p. (Energy insight ; 59) lien

Energy transitions are complex processes that are difficult to characterize using a small number of features. Despite this, this study tries to provide a framework for the energy transition, pointing out that some long-run scenarios have a higher probability than others…

La construction de l’EPR de Flamanville : rapport au Président Directeur Général d’EDF / Jean-Martin Folz. Octobre 2019, 34 p. lien

Le rapport analyse les raisons qui ont conduit au choix de l’EPR , les causes des retards successifs et les écarts entre les prévisions initiales et les coûts à terminaison de la construction du réacteur de Flamanville.

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