How Fossil Fuels Power Wind Turbines
Uncover the often-overlooked reliance of wind turbine production on fossil fuels, from raw materials to manufacturing, highlighting industry and global energy challenges.
On Today’s Energy Shots:
Weekly Energy Industry News Recap
The Fossil Fuels Powering Wind Turbines
Weekly Energy News Recap:
Weekly Oil Price Updates:
Brent futures settled 1% to $80.58/barrel Friday.
WTI settled 2% from Wednesday’s close to $75.54/barrel.
A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas, including hostage exchanges, reduced the Middle East risk premium. OPEC+ delayed its Sunday meeting to Wednesday, November 30th.
Brazil’s Petrobras to Invest $102B Between 2024-2028
Petrobras increased its investment forecast from its previous 2023-2027 plan of $78 billion to accommodate potential acquisitions, increased exploration and production, refining, transportation, commercialization, biorefining, wind, solar, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), and hydrogen.
The firm added that the funds will enable a return to the fertilizer sector, with resumed operations at an existing facility and completed construction at a second.
Canadian Oil and Gas Producers to Drill 8% More Wells in ‘24
The Canadian Association of Energy Contractors said it plans to drill 8% more wells in 2024, climbing 481 to 6,229 wells. The majority of the new drilling will occur in 2H24.
The industry group said producers would drill more wells to take advantage of improved access to pipelines like the Trans Mountain pipeline (scheduled completion next year) and the Coastal GasLink (nearing mechanical completion).
India Wants Strategic Natural Gas Reserves
A senior executive at India’s natural gas company, GAIL, said the country aims to build its first strategic natural gas reserves in depleted wells to hedge against global disruption. The projects would be built in India’s northeastern and western regions with an initial capacity of 3-4 bcm of gas.
India consumes approximately 60 bcm of gas annually and hopes to increase the percentage of natural gas in its energy mix from 6.2% to 15% by 2030.
German Economy Shrinks in Q3
Data from Germany’s statistics office released Friday showed the country’s economy shrank 0.1% in the third quarter compared to the three months prior. Similarly, adjusted gross domestic product contracted 0.4% YoY, and private consumer spending decreased 0.3% QoQ.
US Weekly Unemployment Falls
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ending November 18th after a three-month high reached the week prior.
Continuing claims fell 22,000 to 1.84 million in the week ending November 11th after hitting a two-year high at the beginning of November.
Italy’s Enel Focuses Spending on Grid
Enel’s new gross capital expenditure plan through 2026 shows an increased focus on power grids and a more selective strategy toward renewables. The firm plans to spend 19 billion euros of its 35.8 billion plan on modernizing its networks. The firm will allocate a gross amount of 12.1 billion euros for onshore wind, solar, and battery storage through 2026.
China’s State-Owned Banks Buy Yuan
In the past week, China's major state-owned banks have actively purchased the yuan, contributing to its recovery against a weakening U.S. dollar. The yuan gained 2% this week to 7.13 per dollar, the highest in over three months.
The move suggests potential preparatory actions for a policy rate cut by the People's Bank of China, amidst ongoing monetary easing measures and a significant interest rate differential with the U.S. The yuan is down over 3% against the dollar this year. For more on US-China yield differentials, read here.
The Fossil Fuels Powering Wind Turbines
When you drive on I-10 through West Texas’ towering fields of wind turbines, you might think you’re seeing the future of clean energy and the demise of global petroleum dependence.
According to information sources like last year’s Inflation Reduction Act and the IEA, that’s the idea. Renewable technology’s strongest proponents are so optimistic about the success of a subsidized energy transition that they’re ignoring industry calls for continued oil and gas investment as a support mechanism.
In reality, the abandonment of oil and gas producers risks undermining the very technology intended to replace fossil fuels.
Today’s Energy Shots investigates the supply chain for wind turbines and their total reliance on petroleum products from materials to manufacturing to transport. We provide a detailed breakdown of the embodied energy for blades and towers and the petroleum resources that supply that energy in the context of the IEA’s 2030 Net Zero wind capacity targets. Further, we highlight the state of the industry in the US, including import partners, fleet capacity, fleet capacity factors, and the trajectory of wind turbine manufacturing.
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