Triple digit oil price regardless of peak
The real value of oil is “way, way, way above $80” according to a leading analyst. (more…)...
Supergrid could provide 30% of Europe’s electricity
A high voltage electricity grid connecting countries from the North Sea to the Bay of Biscay could provide almost a third of Europe's power by 2030, according to the company behind the idea. (more…)...
The great coal hole
First published in New Scientist, 17 January 2008
There used to be a joke about taking coal to Newcastle but these days the laughing stock is getting the stuff out. (more…)...
See no peak: letter to the Financial Times
Just as the Financial Times’ news coverage of oil was beginning to improve (“Oil watchdog reworks reserves forecasts”, 27.12.07), Lex goes and spoils it with a truly shoddy analysis: “Peak no evil” (03.01.08) rehearsed all the old myths that have been comprehensively debunked in recent years. (more…)...
IEA to blame for $100 oil spike – Groppe
When the oil price soared to over $99 per barrel earlier this year, the cause was not surging demand, nor speculation, nor even impending peak oil, but a forecasting error by the International Energy Agency. (more…)...
Surfing the ultimate peak
First published in Surfer's Path, November 2007
The two longboards jammed between the hull and the wheel-house seem oddly superfluous. Two miles out in the bay, and sheltered from the choppy Gulf of Mexico by the sandbar of Galveston, the murky green water slaps gently against the hull of our tiny Boston whaler, glinting in the early morning sun. On the face of it the chances of a wave are minimal. (more…)...
$100 oil and British energy policy built on sand
First published as $100 oil: the terrible truth in the Guardian, 24 November 2007
As the price of crude oil sets new records almost daily, the British government remains stunningly complacent. With the $100 barrel looming, the prime minister’s website blithely proclaims “the world's oil and gas resources are sufficient to sustain economic growth for the foreseeable future.” Officials refuse to define what is meant by “foreseeable”, but it is clear they suffer from extreme myopia or worse. (more…)...