1. US oil production exceeded expectations.
A year ago, the Energy Information Administration estimated that US crude production would increase in 2018, below 600,000 barrels. This proved to be an inadequate statement: the actual increase was about 1.6 million v / g. This is a bit ahead of the previous summit in 1970, and also a bit ahead of Russia, the second largest producer in the world, which reported that October produced a record record of approximately 11.4 million v / g.
2. Tensions have taken place in the US-Saudi alliance.
The US’s friendship with Saudi Arabia is the longest-standing alliance in the Middle East. This friendship has passed many tests since the 1940s. However, the re-emergence of the US as the world’s largest oil producer has changed the quality of the relationship and there are signs that new tensions
3. Coal country China has become a battleground to combat policy priorities.
China accounts for about half of the world’s coal consumption, so its decision on fuel use is critical to global market and greenhouse gas emissions. Coal demand peaked in 2013 and fell about 4% between 2013-2016. Because the government tried to reduce local air pollution. This effort brought with it a number of successes: the weather in Beijing was the cleanest air in ten years. However, the disadvantages of the restrictions on the use of coal have become increasingly apparent. In the harsh cold of last winter, the regulations on coal burning had to be facilitated. Because the gas supply to the northern regions was insufficient to meet the demand for heating. China’s coal consumption increased in 2017 for the first time in four years. China is trying to avoid a similar gas crisis this year, and more moderate weather helps. This winter was described as ”so far good Bu.
4. Emerging economies have become leaders in renewable energy.
Since 2015, most of the world’s investment in renewable energy has taken place under the leadership of China in developing economies. When 2017 data were collected and analyzed, it was clear that this year, low-income countries now dominate renewable energy capacity additions worldwide. According to the BNEF, in 2017, these countries added approximately 114 gigawatts of low carbon electricity generation capacity, including wind and solar power, as well as nuclear and hydro-energy, which are almost twice the 63 GW added to OECD members.
5. Energy storage was the newest technology investment.
Bill Gates talked about his interest in energy storage for many years. Electricity networks, which are increasingly dependent on variable wind and solar energy, need to manage these fluctuations. Energy storage through batteries or other technologies is expected to be increasingly important in safeguarding reliable supply materials. The Groundbreaking Energy Initiatives, a $ 1 billion fund for the new energy technologies launched by Gates in 2016, reflected Gates’s interest in the subject in June with its first two investments. The cost of lithium-ion batteries is rapidly dropping, and large-scale mass production, especially in China, is expected to continue to decline. But even so, at least for the next few years, lithium-ion batteries will continue to be expensive solutions for fixed storage.
Source: ”The Year in Energy“, Financial Times