In focus: Don’t let a good energy crisis go to waste

The volatility within the energy market has forced nations to look inward for solutions to this global issue and cut their reliance on energy imports or diversify their sources of supply.

Looking longer-term, if this approach becomes a policy and not a one-off solution to a one-off problem, this kind of individual approach to tackling a global crisis, if done responsibly, might prove to be exactly what is needed to raise awareness about the importance of energy independence and the importance of developing alternative sources of energy to reach that status.

But this does not seem to be the case thus far.

Russia is currently holding a number of European countries, most notably Germany, over the barrel with threats to cut off the supply of gas and other fuels completely if the gas price caps proposed by the EU are enforced.

Russia’s Gazprom has already shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely, citing “technical problems”.

The Danish Energy Agency has expressed its concern over the shutdown, stating that the security of supply remains under pressure.

Countries are now increasingly looking into ways of maximising the use of their own sources of energy. And the knee-jerk reaction to the energy crisis of a number of governments seems to be to either increase the production of oil and gas, or to revert to sources such as coal or shale gas.

In order to avoid a ”winter of discontent” and stave off the effects of receiving no gas from Russia, Germany is now burning more coal to compensate for the lack of gas.

In the UK, the government headed by the new Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss is planning to launch a new oil and gas licensing round ”as early as next week ”, with over 100 new licences expected to be issued.

The UK government also plans to lift the moratorium on fracking.

Interestingly, some energy industry bodies and associations see the increases in domestic oil and production in the countries such as the United States and the UK as a chance ”to push the transition to low-carbon and clean energy forward”.

The UK’s representative body for the offshore energy industry, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), and the American Petroleum Institute (API), have both separately come out in support of the increase in the oil and gas production this week as a way ”to accelerate renewable and low-carbon developments”, API said in a statement.

According to API EVP & Chief Advocacy Officer, Amanda Eversole, established and more dependable energy sources can have an important role in supporting emerging renewable projects, thus, “natural gas and oil should be recognized as reliable and realistic partners to enable renewables’ growth – as well as the lead energy sources in places without enough wind and sunlight to generate sufficient energy to meet demand.”

OEUK similarly said it believes this energy crisis to be an opportunity to push the transition to low-carbon and clean energy forward by bolstering domestic oil and gas production with long-term investments to strengthen energy security.

Neither of the bodies presented concrete examples of how a boost in domestic oil and gas production is actually beneficial to a faster roll-out of clean-energy solutions.

The offshore industry is, on the other hand, continuing to provide solutions for a sustainable transition to alternative sources of energy and net-zero.

French shipping giant CMA CGM is setting up a $1.5 billion Special Fund for Energies to accelerate its energy transition and achieve net-zero carbon by 2050.

Starting in October 2022, the fund will invest to support the industrial production of new fuels and low-emission mobility solutions across the company’s business base, including maritime, overland and air freight shipping, port and logistics services and offices.

According to DNV’s recent report, the shipping industry will need between $232 billion and $812 billion in onboard technology investments by 2050 to reach full net-zero targets.

This includes carbon-neutral fuels such as the green ammonia coming from production vessels which a Norwegian consortium is trying to pair with offshore wind farms.

H2Carrier and Statkraft have this week entered into a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a study for the possible use of H2Carrier’s green ammonia floating production vessel, the P2XFloater™, on certain offshore wind locations.

The P2XFloater™ will utilize renewable power to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia which in turn can be shipped to the international markets, the companies said.

H2Carrier recently received an Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV for the use of the P2XFloater™ for near-shore production.

In Ireland, the utility company Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and asset-focused energy company dCarbonX signed a joint venture agreement to progress large-scale energy storage projects off the coast of Ireland.

The joint venture will focus on three specific green hydrogen storage opportunities based on proposed decarbonisation clusters, including East of Dublin’s Poolbeg; West of ESB’s Green Atlantic at Moneypoint project supporting the Shannon Estuary cluster; and South of Aghada in Cork (Project Kestrel).

The nascent industries such as marine energy have seen Minesto starting commissioning works for its second Dragon Class tidal power plant in Faroe Islands, Sigma Energy deploying a full-scale wave energy device offshore the city of Bar in Montenegro, and Ghana examining the potential for installing a floating solar power plant in Lake Volta, the world’s largest man-made lake, and Kpong hydropower reservoir.