I am writing an article on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) based on an interview I did with one of the key players in Colombia. They are reviewing the draft so it is not ready yet (and I may publish it in Hydrocarbons Colombia as it somewhat fits better there). But stepping back from the details of SAF, it illustrates a higher order principal that I am calling – with no claim for originality – systems thinking.
Read moreMy mother has lived in Napanee Ontario for the past 48 years. One of my sisters lives there too now and a couple of time a year I go for a visit. Standing on my sister’s balcony and watching the Napanee River flow out to the Bay of Quinte and eventually Lake Ontario, I felt a glimmer of hope for the Earth’s environmental challenges.
Read moreI recently read to my 95-year-old mother The Economist’s Technology Quarterly series on high-tech solutions to the climate crisis. She is an able debater and, given her advanced age, she does not worry much about long- or even medium-term impacts (“I won’t have to worry about that”) but recognizes the necessity of doing something today.
Read morePresident-elect Gustavo Petro and his ministers-designate (principally Ambiente and Hacienda) have been clear about the fossil-fuel portion of the broadly defined “energy sector”. But some portions of the electricity market are becoming clearer and some remain unknown.
Read moreThe way MinEnergia talks about the growth of renewable energy you might have thought those “green” electrons were already coursing through the network, elbowing less virtuous ones out of their way. As if in some corny animated ad from the early 1960s, we might see them popping out of the wall socket: bright green for wind and solar electrons, blue for hydroelectric electrons and dirty grey for the fossil fuel generated particles. But no. Not yet. Or at least you would stare at your cartoon wall socket a long time waiting for a green electron.
Read moreOn Tuesday this week BP published its annual energy statistics but that is a mammoth database and it takes time to work through all the numbers. By good fortune, I stumbled across data on energy usage (KWh) per capita and I thought it might make some interesting charts.
Read moreThe concept of ESG – Environment / Social / Governance – is under considerable attack in recent weeks, as more traditional investors react against the concept that this should be the primary criterion for selecting a portfolio. I wrote about the critique that kicked off the debate in this Thursday Thought. But I recently came across a different kind of concern, that ESG-investing was working against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Read moreThis is kind of a follow-up to the article a few weeks ago where I estimated that replacing fossil-fuel-generated electricity with solar would require a ‘park’ the size of the north end of Bogotá or the expanse of the Tatacoa desert. Here I look at the power requirements for converting all of Bogotá’s cars to electricity, one of the government’s net zero objectives.
Read moreSometimes we are too quick to use apply “green” to anything which comes out of the ground and too quick to think one solution fits all situations. This came to mind for me when reading two contrarian articles about biofuels and mixing hydrogen with natural gas. Both essentially said, “We should not be doing this.”
Read moreNo I’m not referring to the pundits’ comments after Sunday’s presidential election round one, although I will briefly comment at the end, if only to bring last week’s pre-election Thursday Thought to a close.
Read moreIf you live in Colombia, are doing business in Colombia or have contacts who do so, the upcoming presidential elections on May 29th have been unavoidable. The survey-leading candidate is Gustavo Petro, who represents the radical left, but with the country’s two-round system (like that of France), poll results will not necessarily translate into a win. If, however, he does manage to be sworn in on August 7th, he promises a restructure of the country’s economic model which could impact all sectors, including energy.
Read moreI was struck by an article we published this week about a shopping mall which was ‘going green’. They were investing CoP$3B (about US$750,000) to build 7,800 square meters of rooftop solar panels that were going to produce just under 500 KWp. And all this effort was only going to offset about 20% of the mall’s electricity. That seems like a lot of effort for very little. I got to wondering about scale and how much it would take to offset Colombia’s fossil fuel-produced thermo-generation with solar.
Read moreI am in Barranquilla this week where there are not one but two energy-related conferences. Last week, President Iván Duque called Barranquilla, Colombia’s “Energy City”. This reflects his government’s energy priorities which have, indeed, made Colombia’s Caribbean business capital into a potential hub, even though the expected energy may not be seen for many years.
Read moreWhen ‘playing’ the Financial Times’ Climate Game, I recalled a very early computer game. But the Climate Game has more serious implications.
Read moreMinEnergia Diego Mesa tweeted a World Economic Forum (WEF) ranking which showed Colombia as the 29th best in the world at energy transition, third-best in Latin America. Researching this, I was inspired to write again about preparedness for transition.
Read moreThe country’s president, Iván Duque went to New York this week. The main headlines were about presenting results of the peace process to the UN Security Council. But he also went to the world’s financial capital to talk about green finance.
Read moreLatin American thinktank, The Dialogue, recently asked a panel of experts “Is Colombia on Track to Make the Shift to Renewables?” Their answers highlighted some key themes and got me thinking about related issues, especially in the light of other recent studies and, importantly, Colombia’s upcoming presidential elections.
Read moreHow much will energy transition cost and who will pay for it? Are we willing – are we able – to pay for net zero?
Read moreI opened an oil industry newsletter this morning to a photo of a group of oil workers (with remarkably clean overalls) around a drill rig and a title that said “These men produce the oil for my diesel truck”. Below it was a picture of kids playing in a dirty street with the title “These children produce the lithium for your electric car”. Like all such Internet memes, much has been exaggerated for effect and there is a grain of truth somewhere deeply buried.
Read moreColombia finds itself in an asymmetric situation: it is expected to be one of the most affected by climate change but it is way down on the list of those causing the phenomenon. So whatever it might contribute to lowering its carbon footprint will have only a minimal impact on its own outcomes. As a recent IEA study emphasizes, lowering its carbon footprint is less important than preparing the country for the damage that climate change might bring.
Read moreControl Risks is a specialized consultant firm “committed to helping our clients build organizations that are secure, compliant and resilient”. Every year at this time they publish the results of a survey sent to their clients and those who follow the company on LinkedIn. It was interesting to see where climate change ended up in the list of risks and in the list of opportunities.
Read moreIRENA, which stands for International Renewable Energy Agency, recently published a study it called “Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor”. It is largely based on a survey it did of its 164 members and 162 global experts on hydrogen or energy. Colombia is mentioned five times in the 118-page report (six counting an anonymous appearance on a map) but the survey results did make me think about the country’s chances of success in this new industry.
Read moreAlthough late for Glasgow, a number of studies have recently come out dealing the energy transition and some of these have mentioned Colombia explicitly or provided guidance on how transition might evolve.
Read more“Green” these days means “environmentally friendly” obviously and, in the energy context, the topic of this website. But before we were so aware of our effect on the planet, “green” usually referred to “greenbacks”, a slang term for US dollars. “Green financing” means going for greenbacks for environmentally friendly projects.
Read moreI had not planned a sequel to last week’s Thursday Thoughts article on energy efficiency but then I stumbled upon a New Yorker piece about refrigeration and an apparent energy-efficiency death spiral.
Read moreBeing in Canada for several weeks over the year-end holiday period is a reminder of the differences between Colombia and North America in term of energy consumption. Despite these, the Colombian government believes there is still much that the country can do to be more efficient.
Read moreThe American Football Conference team in Los Angeles (late of San Diego) is called the Chargers and its logo (and nickname) is a lightning bolt. But none of the three origin myths of the name have anything to do with electricity so, none have anything to do with electric vehicles biggest challenge.
Read moreWith the help of the French government, the Ministry of Environment (MinAmbiente) and the National Planning Department (DNP) have written a game plan for Colombia to achieve its climate goals by 2050. We looked at the key points concerning energy.
Read moreYesterday we published the third article this year about Colombia’s plans for adding nuclear energy to the country’s energy matrix. The topic of what is “green” has been getting increasing attention in the local and international press.
Read moreIn policy-making, the relative often takes precedence over the absolute, not the least because it is often a more positive story. Such is the case with Colombia’s solar generation capacity.
Read moreLast week COP26 ended and we are still seeing stories about what it means and what it means for Colombia.
Read moreWe really dislike writing about scandals. Most of the time, they are a sideshow of no importance to investors or even to consumers. Writing about them just seems morbid. Sometimes it is hard not to write about them because the newspapers fill up with one story, crowding out other reporting on an industry. Sometimes it is hard not to write about a scandal because of the long-term consequences.
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