The bet is that #electricity will be the prime means of delivering #CleanEnergy in the future and will grow rapidly.” #Europe’s Big #Oil Companies Taking the Lead In Turning Electric

Under pressure from governments and investors, industry leaders like BP and Shell are accelerating their production of cleaner energy.

From the NY Times:

Europe's Big Oil Companies Are Turning Electric

By Stanley Reed

Aug. 17, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ET

The Italian oil company Eni's Green Data Center. The chief executive of Eni said he wanted it to rely more on green energy. Nadia Shira Cohen for The New York Times

This may turn out to be the year that oil giants, especially in Europe, started looking more like electric companies.

Late last month, Royal Dutch Shell won a deal to build a vast wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands. Earlier in the year, France's Total, which owns a battery maker, agreed to make several large investments in solar power in Spain and a wind farm off Scotland. Total also bought an electric and natural gas utility in Spain and is joining Shell and BP in expanding its electric vehicle charging business.

At the same time, the companies are ditching plans to drill more wells as they chop back capital budgets. Shell recently said it would delay new fields in the Gulf of Mexico and in the North Sea, while BP has promised not to hunt for oil in any new countries.

Prodded by governments and investors to address climate change concerns about their products, Europe's oil companies are accelerating their production of cleaner energy — usually electricity, sometimes hydrogen — and promoting natural gas, which they argue can be a cleaner transition fuel from coal and oil to renewables.

What do you want? #RenewableEnergy. When do you want it? Now!

Renewables are a public opinion juggernaut. Being against them is no longer an  option. The industry's best and only hope is to slow down the stampede a bit (and that's what they plan to try).

100 percent renewables is a wildly popular goal

The core of the industry's dilemma is captured in this slide (on the left is the industry perspective):

EEI

Utilities don't think it is wise or feasible to go 100 percent renewables. But the public loves it.

And I mean loves it. Check out these numbers from the opinion survey:

In our polarized age, here is something we almost all agree on: Renewable energy is awesome.

Here's the most striking slide in the presentation:

EEI

In case you don't feel like squinting, let me draw your attention to the fact that a majority of those surveyed (51 percent) believe that 100 percent renewables is a good idea even if it raises their energy bills by 30 percent.

The Pangea Advisors Blog: What do you want? #RenewableEnergy. When do you wa...: 100% renewable energy: the public wants it, and quick - Vox Renewables are a public opinion juggernaut. Being against them is no longer an option.

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