Energy Transition - Page 3

Blue Skies and Natural Gas in China

Posted in CEDIGAZ Insights, Country Report, Energy Transition, Gas-Coal Competition on

2017 was a key and challenging year for the Chinese gas sector. All indicators point to an acceleration of natural gas penetration in the energy mix and an intensification of gas market reforms to facilitate this expansion.

Boosted by the recovery of Chinese economic growth, the acceleration of coal-to-gas switching policies, and the rebound in the competitiveness of natural gas relative to competing fuels, China’s natural gas consumption reached a record high level. According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), natural gas consumption rose by 15.3% to 237.3 bcm in 2017. China was the world’s fastest growing gas market: the country alone accounted for a quarter of global growth in gas consumption.

Ten major trends in the European gas market (Part 2)

Posted in CEDIGAZ Insights, Country Report, Energy Transition, Natural Gas Market on

The EU gas and energy sector is in the midst of a profound transformation driven by decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation. The latest report by Cedigaz analyses in ten key points the evolution of the gas sector and includes forward looking views on new trends in EU gas markets.

6. Role of gas in the energy transition in the medium term: Natural gas is expected to be a key pillar of the EU energy transition. As the cleanest of all fossil fuels, it allows a quick reduction of the power sector’s emissions thanks to coal-to-gas switching. Moreover, thanks to its flexibility, natural gas is an ideal partner to renewables. Gas-fired power plants are well suited to follow rapid swings in power supply of variable renewables. In the transport sector, the cleanliness of natural gas is a key advantage for improving air quality, a major health and economic issue. In maritime transport, new regulations to reduce sulphur emissions from shipping play a key role in the development of LNG as a marine fuel. Natural gas, if it cannot decarbonise the heating sector, can make an effective contribution to reducing emissions from the sector and, in the long term, can be replaced by renewable gas.

UK power supply & CO2 emissions from power plants

 

UK power supply & CO2 emissions from power plants

Ten major trends in the European gas market (Part 1)

Posted in CEDIGAZ Insights, Country Report, Energy Transition, Natural Gas Market on

The EU gas and energy sector is in the midst of a profound transformation driven by decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation. The latest report by Cedigaz analyses in ten key points the evolution of the gas sector and includes forward looking views on new trends in EU gas markets.

1. Decarbonisation: The EU has a high decarbonisation objective. With the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2016 and the 2030 climate and energy framework, the EU energy mix requires a profound transformation. The legislative process to implement the 2030 goals was initiated with the Energy Union Package in 2015 and subsequently by the Energy Security Package and the Clean Energy Package. Already, Europe’s energy system is moving fast from a fossil-fuelled energy system to a low-carbon, more digital and consumer centric system. In this new context, the role of gas in the clean energy transition needs to be defined.