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Use and Abuse of Energy and Climate Scenarios—A Week of Controversy on Scenarios
Energy and climate scenarios, and all other scenarios, are controversial, because they touch strategic issues, and also affect very basic operational discussion, such as the choice of the fuel mix, or the degree of trading between companies and nations. This article documents a controversial exchange of ideas via email between the two opponents, about energy…
Energy Outlooks Compared: Global and Regional Insights
We compare prominent global energy scenarios of organizations and companies. We supplement the analysis with four own scenarios, which were derived from structured analytic techniques in combination with a numerical global energy and resource market model (Multimod). Our paper provides three central contributions: (i) a compact survey of selected outlooks with meta characteristics (conceptual nature,…
Cost Efficiency Evaluation of Thermal Power Plants in Bangladesh Using a Two-Stage DEA Model
The power sector in Bangladesh is based on fossil fuel based electricity generation. The recent increase in generation capacity in the country has been through the addition of power plants using higher cost imported fossil fuels, which have increased the overall cost of electricity. In this study, we aim to compare the cost efficiencies of…
Electricity Markets in the Resource-Rich Countries of the MENA: Adapting for the Transition Era
The Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) resource-rich economies are pursuing two parallel strategies in their electricity sectors: (i) increasing and integrating renewables into their power generation mix to mitigate the impact of rising domestic oil and gas demand on their economies and boost hydrocarbon export capacities; and (ii) undertaking power sector reforms to attract…
Energy Markets Under Stress: Some Reflections on Lessons From the 2021–2023 Energy Price Crisis in Europe
This paper examines the 2021–2023 energy crisis in Europe exacerbated by the energy consequences of the full-scale Russia—Ukraine war which began in February 2022. We show that this was an historically unprecedented price shock to both gas and electricity prices. We then draw on lessons from UK energy policy in World War Two to inform…
Electric Vehicles are Good, Actually
Electric vehicles are the primary alternative to transportation based on internal combustion engines and the most promising route to decarbonization of light- and medium-duty transportation systems. A transition to electric vehicles does face important challenges in terms of scaling of battery production, charging infrastructure, and grid coordination, which may make aggressive EV targets difficult to…
Winter Ends
There is a common assumption that all-electric automobiles, powered by lithium-ion batteries, are the future of vehicle transportation. It is argued here that this is not the likely outcome, especially in the less-developed countries. Use of photovoltaic (PV) cells, in conjunction with gasoline or hydrogen-hybrids, will be less expensive, and more likely to be adopted…
Empower the Consumer! Energy-related Financial Literacy and its Implications for Economic Decision Making
Untapped energy savings potential in the residential sector might lead to substantial welfare losses. While several studies have focused on the role of behavioral biases in explaining the lack of adoption of energy-efficient durable goods, little is known about the role of limited energy-specific knowledge and financial literacy. In this paper, we propose an integrated…