Energie : papiers de recherche moissonnés (18/12/2019)

The role of biomass gasification and methanisation in the decarbonisation strategies / G. Mantulet, A. Bidaud, S.Mima, Energy, Available online 16 December 2019, 116737:1-19 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116737

The study explores future development of biomass uses across different climate policy scenarios and under different assumptions of biomass supply availability and technology performances. Broad bioenergy technology portfolios and generations provide flexibility to allocate bioenergy to supply a specific final energy mix and to remove carbon dioxide by combining bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS). The paper aim is to perform a detailed and focused analysis of the availability of biomass gasification and methanisation and the role of these green gas energy carriers in the decarbonisation strategies using a model based approach to see how some countries technology appropriation evolves through the XXIst century. The results show that the future of bioenergy depends mostly on countries bioenergy supply and demand that are partly triggered by climate policies. Besides, very diverse local biomass end use patterns are highlighted depending on local resource availability, economic growth and climate policies. The majority of modern uses will be possible with a biomass transformation through the gas vector thanks to methanisation and gasification processes. Technology maturities and efficiencies are also essential for bioenergy development for the field competitiveness. In presence of climate policies, the deployment of biomass methanisation and gasification increases two or three times faster due to higher competitiveness compared to highly taxed fossil fuel. The possibility to implement CCS fosters even more the use of bioenergy for decarbonisation strategies in the long term and switching the allocation of the resource in favor of gasification with CCS.

Russian gas pipelines and the European Union : moving from a love-hate relationship « with adults in the room » ? / Jean-Arnold Vinois et Thierry. Paris : Jacques Delors Institute, Dec. 2019, 18 p. (policy paper ; 247) lien

For more than 20 years, in the energy area, the relationship between Russia and the European Union is too often governed by gas pipelines. They are a major tool of the diplomacy played skillfully by President Putin since his accession in 1999 to the Presidency of the Russian Federation. With his open and direct support, offshore pipelines NordStream1, SouthStream, NordStream2, TurkStream1 and 2 have been successively promoted by Gazprom to circumvent Ukraine which is still the main transit country for Russian gas today. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 followed by the western sanctions on Russia and the permanent situation of rampant war in Eastern Ukraine made the Russian pipeline projects a major source of division between the Member States of the European Union. This story tries to identify the main problems raised by the Russian projects and to examine whether and how these problems could be solved for the benefit of all the parties concerned, on a long term basis.

Coal 2019. Analysis and forecast to 2024. Paris : IEA, décembre 2019 lien

Coal remains a major fuel in global energy systems, accounting for almost 40% of electricity generation and more than 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Coal 2019, the latest annual coal market report by the IEA, analyses recent developments and provides forecasts through 2024 for coal supply, demand and trade. Its findings should be of interest to anyone interested in energy and climate issues. The report finds that the rebound in global coal demand continued in 2018, driven by growth in coal power generation, which reached an all-time high. Although coal power generation is estimated to have declined in 2019, this appears to have resulted from particular circumstances in some specific regions and is unlikely to be the start of a lasting trend. Over the next five years, global coal demand is forecast to remain stable, supported by the resilient Chinese market, which accounts for half of global consumption. But the report notes that this stability could be undermined by stronger climate policies from governments, lower natural gas prices or developments in the People’s Republic of China.

Renewables 2019. Analysis and forecasts to 2024. Paris : IEA, décembre 2019 lien

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is driving the growth of renewable power capacity around the world. At the same time, it is raising the prospect of a significant shift in the role of electricity consumers. This is the result of distributed solar PV: the use of solar power systems by households, businesses and industry to generate their own electricity. Distributed solar PV capacity is set to more than double in the next five years, accounting for almost half of all solar PV growth, according to a new in-depth focus in Renewables 2019, the annual IEA market analysis and forecast on renewable energy. The report assesses the current state of play of distributed solar PV and maps out its huge growth potential in the coming years. It also considers the implications for policy makers, utilities and consumers. More broadly, this report analyses the role of renewable energy across the entire energy system – including the electricity, heat, and transport sectors – and provides forecasts for the period from 2019 to 2024.

Canadian LNG Competitiveness / J. Peter Findlay, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, December 2019, 34 p. (OIES Paper: NG 156) lien

This paper examines how Canada stacks up against other exporting countries: how Canadian LNG competes on cost; available LNG business models; security of supply; environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations; and the likelihood of getting a project approved and built — this last factor is where Canada seems to be frustrating, if not undermining its own LNG prospects.

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