Financial Times: Ukraine Stand-off Aids Case for Renewables April 4, 2014

Financial Times:

But the idea that Russia could threaten to turn off Europe’s gas is likely to change the way people think about the cost of renewable energy, some analysts say. “It creates a different mindset about renewables,” says offshore wind analyst, Sophia von Waldow, of the Bloomberg New Energy Finance research group. “People no longer think, ‘This is very expensive and it’s affecting our energy bills’.” Instead, they start to see the benefits of having an independent source of electricity, she adds Offshore wind power companies are among the most likely beneficiaries of such a shift in opinion, if it lasts. Offshore wind is newer and more expensive than the two leading renewable technologies, onshore wind or solar power, meaning it will rely on subsidies for longer than its older counterparts.

Green power pioneer, Germany, is already looking at scaling back its support for offshore wind. The market leader, Britain, which has more offshore wind power than the rest of the world combined, wants to retain its dominance but is nervous about the costs. That may be one reason offshore wind proponents such as UK energy secretary, Ed Davey, has seized on tensions with Russia. Wind farms are not just a way of getting the green energy needed for a low carbon future, he told reporters as he welcomed the news in late March that German industrial group Siemens will build an offshore wind turbine blade factory in Yorkshire. They also “play an important role at a time of international uncertainty that we see with now Russia and Crimea”, Mr Davey said. Siemens has installed most of the 1,000-odd turbines in the 22 wind farms off the UK coastline and would clearly benefit from a Russian-inspired resurgence of support for the sector. Denmark’s Vestas, and France’s Areva would also be beneficiaries. A plethora of other companies in the offshore wind supply chain would also welcome such a move.

CNBC:

In a climate of political, military and economic upheaval, the idea of self-sufficiency through renewables is fast gaining traction. The European Commission has set ambitious targets for the continent, proposing that the EU reduce carbon emissions, to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, while at the same time seeking to increase the proportion of energy produced by renewables to 20 percent by 2020. And whilst such ambition is admirable, for some utility companies more clarity is needed. (Read more: Trouble with trash? Try turning it into fuel) “First of all, we don’t know what to invest in,” Peter Terium, CEO of RWE, one of Europe’s leading gas and electricity companies, said in a report for CNBC’s Energy Future. “How… [many] renewables do we need? How much CO2 reduction do we want to achieve? What about coal, what about gas? That’s not clear, so we don’t know what to invest in. Secondly, we don’t have the money to invest in those things,” he added.