Articles by
Craig Morris
Renewables International: EU turnaround on feed-in tariffs
By
Craig Morris
Yesterday, Brussels approved French feed-in tariffs for wind but said it would investigate industry exemptions. In related news, a draft of the latest energy policy proposals leaked earlier this month probably provides so many backdoors for feed-in tariffs as to make the policy viable going forward.
GET: The right to make your own energy
By
Craig Morris
The switch from state-run water services to the private sector made the public aware of the difference between the two options, but the possibility of energy democracy is poorly understood outside Germany even among proponents of renewables. Do citizens have the right to make their own energy? Should such a right be made law explicitly?
Renewables International: Carbon emissions from German power sector “balanced” in 2013
By
Craig Morris
In any normal situation, such hard facts would simply be reported – it's not like there's no way to say "carbon emissions are slightly down year-over-year" in German.
Renewables International: Feed-in tariffs: unleashing market forces
By
Craig Morris
If those calling for market competition and free enterprise understood FITs properly, they would love the policy.
GET: German imports of nuclear power – the myth revisited
By
Craig Morris
So no, Germany has not imported more nuclear power from abroad during its nuclear phaseout. We do, however, continue to run the risks. From my home in Freiburg, Germany, it is 25 kilometers as the bird flies to France’s oldest nuclear plant – and around 60 kilometers to the world’s oldest in Switzerland. Needless to say, if you buy a house here, no insurance firm will cover you against a nuclear accident. Nuclear remains un-insurable.
Renewables International: The right to make your own energy–Liebreich’s Law, meet Craig’s Lists
By
Craig Morris
Over at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), Michael Liebreich now claims responsibility for the cost breakthroughs of renewables. Adding insult to injury, he then argues that the policy that actually produced these breakthroughs is an obstacle and must go.
GET: Net-metering not “self-reliant”
By
Craig Morris
As an American living in the EU, I sometimes marvel at the ability of Europeans to adopt best practices from each other. Likewise, I marvel at the tendency of Americans to label foreign best practices un-American.
Renewables International: Corridors and ceilings
By
Craig Morris
Baake says the proposal would work the same as the current corridor for solar does; there is no limit on how much can be installed, but if more than the upper "limit" is built in a year, feed-in tariffs for the next year would be reduced
Renewables International: The Power Grab–Citizens as producers, not just consumers
By
Craig Morris
Beckman writes that "analysts" speak of "gross inefficiencies" in national schemes: "wind and solar power get built where subsidies are highest rather than where there is most wind or sun in Europe." What the RECS and the ECJ are proposing might sound like a free market, but the outcome will be an oligopoly – a concentration of the renewables market among conventional energy firms that have slowed down the transition up to now. It's a power grab
Renewables International: DG Competition’s stance would reduce competition
By
Craig Morris
Brussels is increasingly investigating feed-in tariffs and says it wants to switch to auctions, ostensibly to keep prices from rising further. Ironically, the outcome of the DG Competition's intervention will be higher prices and less competition.
GET: Feed-in tariffs – do they discourage efficiency?
By
Craig Morris
As someone with a moderately open mind, I promote the sharing of best practices. If you support renewables, feed-in tariffs (FITs) seem an obvious choice; they have been used successfully – even predominantly – for practically all types of renewable energy. The IEA says more than 70 percent of PV installed worldwide by the end of 2012 was the result of FITs.
GET: What future role for today’s utilities?
By
Craig Morris
The push against renewables is also a desperate attempt to protect incumbent firms on a market that might trend away from big business and towards small producers if market forces and democracy prevail. At the same time, the pushback means that the trend towards energy democracy will not happen on its own – we have to fight for it.
