There is literally and figuratively calm winds on the energy market. Awaiting the results of the American elections, the price of oil will remain stable, while the price of gas will have to cope with a small increase.
The price drop that started last week due to new measures regarding the corona crisis has come to a halt this week. The price of agricultural diesel (excluding VAT, but including members' discount) is at a price level between €0,85 and €0,90 per litre. It is still unclear what effect the results of the US presidential election will have on the price of oil. It is a given that the continuous reporting on production restrictions by OPEC has a price-supporting effect.
Calm weather above sea and land
This 'status quo' in the oil market does not apply to the gas and renewable energy markets. Gas prices rose slightly this week. Electricity prices also tended to rise. The increasing demand due to the decreasing temperatures is probably the main reason. On the other hand, more supply of liquefied natural gas from the United States is expected in the coming period, as the hurricane season is coming to an end.
High pressure areas are gaining the upper hand in regions around the Atlantic Ocean and in Western Europe. Looking at that forecast for western Europe, the supply of wind energy will decrease in the coming weeks, although the capacity is constantly growing. The high pressure areas will probably dominate over Europe for a longer period of time, so there is little wind. This also applies above sea. The sun does shine more often than average for the time of year, but the position of the sun is too low to calculate with a peak in the supply of electricity from solar panels.
Investments in hydrogen
The fluctuating supply of solar panels and wind turbines is causing an imbalance in the market for sustainable energy. This must be solved by investing in hydrogen. This became apparent on Thursday evening 5 November during the House of Representatives debate on the budget of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.
In addition to investments in hydrogen, the government is also keeping the option open to substantially scale up the supply of green gas. That idea does not have to count on full support from the House of Representatives, given that a large number of parties are against the production of gas (from manure, among other things) from biomass plants. The sustainability of green gas from biomass is being questioned. Left-wing parties regard biogas production from manure as anything but as a solution to accelerated CO2 reduction.
Parliamentary debate
Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate says that he is not happy with the outcome of the 'Regional Energy Strategies'. Many of the regions (30 in the Netherlands) mainly opt for solar energy instead of wind energy. Windmills evoke a lot of resistance from citizens. In addition, solar parks are controversial, especially in agricultural circles. During the debate in the House of Representatives, a motion by D66 and CDA was also adopted calling on the government to encourage energy cooperatives.
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