海角大神

Recharge is a weekly e-mail digest of energy news and analysis聽written by Monitor reporters David J. Unger and Jared Gilmour.

H2O: When 12 percent of your electricity comes from water, severe drought is doubly bad news.聽California鈥檚 years-long dry spell聽is聽crimping its hydroelectric dams鈥� output, which means the state needs even more water to cool the thermal plants that are now working overtime. It鈥檚 a dynamic that plays out in Brazil, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere, as nations struggle to extract resources and produce power in water-stressed regions. In the end, water may be cheaper than oil, gas, and lithium, but it will always be the world鈥檚 most precious commodity.

Double dip: US oil stores are filling up, OPEC鈥檚 Kuwait says the cartel has no choice but to keep producing, and new oil from Iran remains a possibility, too.聽It鈥檚 no wonder, then, that prices are dipping again, much to the worry of smaller OPEC nations. But US shale production is finally beginning to show signs of a slowdown, and聽ISIS is taking a page from Al Qaeda鈥檚 playbook in its continued attacks on North African energy infrastructure. As with every price drop, this one won鈥檛 last forever.

Offense: In Washington, Republicans and Democrats can agree on one thing: Energy is worth the fight. While聽Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doubled down on efforts to block the EPA鈥檚 Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration unveiled an ambitious plan to cut emissions from, well,聽itself. On Friday, the Interior Department rankled GOP lawmakers with聽new rules for fracking on public lands. White House senior adviser Brian Deese told reporters Thursday that the administration would stay 鈥渙n offense鈥� on climate and energy. It appears the same could be said for Republicans in Congress.

In the pipeline

• Saturday, March 28: ABUJA, NIGERIA 鈥撀燦igeria holds its postponed presidential election. Regardless of who wins, cheap oil is taking its toll on the country, which gets about 70 percent of its revenue from petroleum.

Drill deeper

Calls for Scottish independence rise even as North Sea oil prices fall聽[海角大神]
If anything, the crude oil collapse has only bolstered calls in Scotland for independence from the United Kingdom. Nationalists accuse the British parliament of mismanaging vast 鈥� if diminished 鈥� oil and gas resources under the North Sea. With oil prices so low, many say more must be done to attract and retain industry as many companies consider abandoning the region.

Crude glut: A lesson in supply and demand聽[The Globe and Mail]
With a glut of crude supply and little demand, oil producers are putting more and more oil in storage. But the industry isn鈥檛 saying how much storage space is left 鈥� and if tank farms in places like Cushing, Okla., hit capacity, it could send prices into a tailspin, forcing drillers to shut off wells until demand returns. That鈥檚 a growing concern in Alberta, where low oil prices are already straining the province鈥檚 finances and scuttling drilling plans.

Keys to a low-carbon future on both sides of the pond
[The German Marshall Fund via 海角大神]
鈥淸T]he larger forces of climate change, technology development, and market evolution in the utility sector are leading both America and the EU in the same direction when it comes to low emissions electricity policy,鈥� writes Paul Bledsoe of The German Marshall Fund. 鈥淲hich should be good news, for both consumers and climate protection, in the long run.鈥�

Energy sources

• Germany鈥檚 Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy on Germany鈥檚 solar-heavy grid passing the test of Friday鈥檚 eclipse: "Energiewende: 1, Sonnenfinsternis: 0"

• White House adviser Brian Deese via Monitor Breakfast: "We believe that in order to have a durable industry in the future you need to strike an appropriate balance between protecting public health and safety, and allowing for responsible production 鈥� If you look at the [fracking] rules Interior will put out later today, they appropriately strike that balance. They鈥檙e focused on pragmatic but very important steps like disclosing the fluids that are used in the fracking process."

• UN: "Because 90% of thermal power is water intensive, the estimated 70% increase in [global] electricity production by 2035 would translate into a 20% increase in freshwater withdrawals. "

Unplug

Recharge is a weekly e-mail digest of energy news and analysis聽written by Monitor reporters David J. Unger and Jared Gilmour.