Europe has 25 different countries and 25 different energy policies--there is no coordination among them. Even if we got together and pooled all our purchasing power we would still only represent about 450 million people. At this, we would not even have parity with China or India. The strategic implications are clear.
We in Europe currently import 50 percent of our energy, and imports will inexorably increase to 70 per cent. We do this in direct competition with China, India and the US. We do this against a background of three barrels of oil being consumed for each new barrel found. We do this against a background where the peak of oil and gas is coming within the next five to 10 years.
We are heading into the future with the same vision we had a century ago--hydrocarbons, hydrocarbons and more hydrocarbons. We can't build a secure, environmentally-conscious and cost-effective energy system on imported hydrocarbons, E4engineering.com said.
Our only European energy source that is both commercial and renewable is wind. We see [new exploitation of] wind on land slowing down--declining sharply in Germany and stopped in Denmark. The best sites in Spain have already been exploited. Whereas we will see wind farms built on land in Scotland, Ireland, Portugal, Italy and in France, wind will at best supply eight-10 percent of European electricity needs. Wind on land cannot become mainstream.
But if we tear up the book and move offshore we do ourselves and the rest of humanity a great service. There is an infinity of wind reserves in the seas of Northern Europe. The only limit is the length of grids.
Harvesting electricity from wind is different to harvesting gas. With gas you must go to the gas fields. With wind it is possible to go anywhere in the North Sea, the Celtic Sea and the Bay of Biscay.
With gas you know that the fields will cease to supply product in 40 years. With wind you know that the electricity grids will go on supplying power indefinitely into the future. You will have to change some components, such as blades, nacelles and gearboxes, after 25 years, but having done this the harvesting goes on for another 25 years. The main elements of the infrastructure--the grids, foundations, towers, converter stations--all have much longer lives.
The wind flowing over our Northern seas is ours. It doesn't matter how much stress the Chinese or Indian economies put on the international traded hydrocarbon markets, the wind remains ours.
When wind is seen in this way, as the answer to our continent's energy crisis, wind is rightly structured as a continental rather than a national resource. This means that the variability associated with wind is eliminated when viewed as a continental phenomenon. Because we link up broadly disparate areas where the wind blows randomly, we turn wind from a variable resource into a firm and predictable source of power.
When big grids are built at sea, wind is thereby transformed from a weak variable national asset into a truly great continental one. The technology for achieving this transformation exists now. This is not to say that it won't improve with time. But the one strong point that needs making is that, right now, the technology is okay.
Wind power at sea costs Û2m (£1.34m) per MW to build. The actual grid for 10,000MW would itself cost Û2.5bn. That puts the total investment for our demonstration project at Û22.5bn. If we assume that the project is funded using 90 percent debt at a rate of 1.5 per cent interest above the interbank offer rate (EURIBOR) and equity at a return rate of 20 percent, then we can deliver power for the first 25 years at 7.9 cents per Wh. For the following 25 years the price falls dramatically to 4.9 cents.
These prices are fixed. They can be planned for. We can build our industrial policy in the certainty of stable electricity prices. There are very few examples in history where a major consumable, like energy, is in effect delivered at fixed cost.

A breakthrough device that can be retrofitted to any internal combustion engine to save fuel and reduce carbon emissions is to be internationally launched in Queenstown, New Zealand early next month.
The Hydro Fuel System Hydro-chargerª hybrid device has been developed by American companies Global Energy Options and H to-goª and is heralded as providing an alternative, inexpensive and safe way of powering the internal combustion engine. New Zealand company Vision Energy New Zealand owns the New Zealand distribution rights for the device. The Hydro-chargerª provides an on-demand supply of hydrogen that can transform a standard car, truck, digger or any combustion engine into a powerful, super efficient, ultra-low-emission, Hydro-chargedª machine, Fuelcellsworks.com said.
A special one-day preview event is to be held at the Queenstown Events Centre on December 11. The preview is open to the public and will feature presentations by the manufacturer of the product, renewable energy advocates, product users and government officials. The Hydro-chargerª will be demonstrated in a variety of applications including cars, buses, farm equipment and others.
The December 11 technology launch will also mark the start of the Hydrogen Challenge: New Zealand where a variety of retrofitted vehicles will have fuel use and emissions carefully monitored and measured against pre established benchmarks. The Hydrogen Challenge: New Zealand has been designed to prove the efficiency of the unit to high fuel use businesses such as taxi drivers, transport firms and tourism operators. H to-go CEO Richard Presley says the Hydro-chargerª is capable of delivering on-demand hydrogen power for all internal combustion engines.
ÒThe applications for on-demand energy generated from hydrogen are almost limitless. The Hydro-chargerª eliminates many of the previous challenges surrounding the establishment of a hydrogen economy. The on-demand extraction of hydrogen from water eliminates issues such as the safe carriage of compressed cylinders of explosive gas, the need for safe storage, transportation and associated distribution logistics. It is also far more economical than hydrogen extracted from fossil fuels.Ó
ÒThe Hydro Fuel System will save New Zealand and New Zealanders carbon credits and money. While not yet on sale here, it will soon offer fuel savings of up to 70% and emission reductions of 70 Ð 80% at a very affordable price.Ó
H to-go and Global Energy Options were invited by Renewable Energy New Zealand (RENZ) to launch its Hydro-chargerª in Queenstown, New Zealand.
RENZ is a Queenstown based charitable trust dedicated to supporting projects that promote the use of renewable energy. RENZ Chairman and Professor Emeritus of Otago University, Blair Fitzharris said RENZ discovered the Hydro-chargerª product and immediately forged plans to launch it in New Zealand,
ÒThe Hydro-charger ª is not truly renewable energy, however, it may provide such an affordable and simple step forward in the drive to reduce carbon emissions and save fossil fuel that RENZ could not possibly ignore the opportunity.
ÒNew Zealand is a perfect venue for such a launch. The government has voiced intentions to become carbon neutral, the country is internationally regarded as Ôclean and greenÕ and recognized for providing enthusiastic support for climate change ambassadors such as Al Gore.Ó
ÒThe impact of the Hydro-chargerª, if it does what it purports to do, could be a major turning point in the move towards sustainable energy. New Zealand spends $4.6 billion every year on imported fossil fuel, anyone with a calculator can figure out the immense potential for savings,Ó says Gary Rovin, Managing Director of Vision Energy Ltd.
The potential of hydrogen power has long been heralded as the next big thing in energy but to date no system has delivered on the promiseÉ until now and the debut of the Hydrogen Hybrid.
On Dec. 11, an international collaboration lead by RENZ (Renewable Energy New Zealand) a New Zealand based Charitable Trust, will introduce a Hydro Fuel Systemª that can be installed on almost any internal combustion engine to enhance fuel economy, engine performance and energy efficiency. Perhaps best of all the new system dramatically reduces harmful emissions--a source of growing global concern.

A worker stands in front of the new oil refinery in Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad, October 7. (Reuters Photo)

Senior Iraqi officials will resume negotiations to try to resolve a dispute over a bill intended to encourage foreign investment in the oil and gas industry, the government's economy chief said.
Control of the world's third largest oil reserves divides Iraq's three main communities, the Arab Sunni and Shiite Muslims and ethnic Kurds. Most of the oil lies in the mainly Shiite south and close to Kurdistan in the north.
The issue of who has the power to sign contracts--the provinces or the national government-- is critical because a major regional say will devolve more power over resources to Iraq's majority Shiites and the Kurds than the national government.
Minority Sunni Arabs, the dominant group under Saddam Hussein, fear regional devolution will leave them with nothing.
'The Oil Committee is going to resume its meetings on Thursday to discuss the Oil Law,' Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said.
'Signing contracts remains a matter of dispute,' he added.
Salih, a Kurd, said earlier this month the legislation should be enacted by the end of the year, according to Reuters.
He chairs a government committee on oil and energy policy, composed of key ministers, which had struggled to overcome deep differences on the components of a new law to replace provisions dating from the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Oil Minister Hussain Al Shahristani has said his office must have ultimate control over Iraq's oil reserves and has criticized deals already signed with Norwegian and Turkish firms by the autonomous Kurdish regional government in Arbil.
Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has hit back, defending his constitutional rights in the sector. Some of Shahristani's fellow Shiites also oppose his desire to centralize control and would like to see more power for regions.
Ashti Hawramani, the Kurdistan region's natural resources minister, said, 'I'm optimistic about reaching an understanding between the two sides ... This understanding will be on the basis of the permanent Iraqi constitution.'
Years of UN sanctions, mismanagement under Saddam and now daily violence since the March 2003 US-led invasion have severely degraded Iraq's oil sector and it now needs billions of dollars of capital investment.
Sabotage attacks have made Iraq's northern export pipeline unusable for most of the time since the invasion so Baghdad relies mostly on its main southern Basra oil terminal for exports.
Oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said exports now stand at 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd). Salih said this month Iraq aims to double exports by 2010 and raise output to 6 million bpd from 2.3 million bpd.
Major oil companies are waiting for the oil investment law to set out the regulatory backdrop before they commit, but analysts say, even then, violence and insecurity are likely to delay investment, perhaps for years to come.
Jihad said formation of an oil company for the southern province of Maysan, which includes oil fields around Amara, has already been approved by the cabinet, and the provinces of Wasit and Kirkuk would also get their own companies, though they would be 'fully supervised by the oil ministry'.
Shahristani told state television Iraqiya this week that any province that produced at least 100,000 to 150,000 bpd would be able to have its own oil company.
Another Iraqi official said the new petroleum law would call for re-establishing the Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) as a holding company with affiliates that could be defined geographically, technically or along both lines. Their role would be to operate the oilfields.
Jihad said Iraq planned to open the bidding for contracts to build three major oil refineries at the beginning of next year.
He said the refineries in question were Al Nahrain, near the southern city of Kerbala, with a capacity of 140,000 bpd, Nassiriya in the south with a capacity of 300,000 bpd and Goya in the northern province of Sulaimaniya with a capacity of 70,000 bpd.

Nuclear has long been recognized as the future source of energy. Many countries, especially the developing ones are now joining the world's big powers in the race to tap the benefits of nuclear power.
This is due to the fact that nuclear, which was first used to generate power in the 1950's, has since become one of the most sustainable energy sources available.
Nuclear power is not only clean, reliable and safe, but also highly cost effective, compared to fossil fuels or renewable energy such as solar or wind in the long run.
But the question is whether Malaysia is ready to use nuclear as an alternative source of energy in line with its target to achieve the status of a developed nation by 2020.
According to Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) director-general Dr Daud Mohamad, the country might have little choice but to use nuclear technology to generate electricity in the near future. He said developing nuclear energy from now was the only way forward for the country to stay competitive.
"Fossil fuels like gas, petroleum and coal would be exhausted one day. But we need energy. Thus, we should now think ahead into the future before it is too late.
"Like it or not, we would one day need to use nuclear energy as a source of power because we must ensure that we have sufficient energy supply to drive the economy.
"If not, we may be pushed back five or ten years behind other countries," he said in an interview with Bernama here.
Today, the country can still comfortably depend on fossil fuels and hydro power as sources of energy, but to Daud, this should not be taken for granted.
He suggested that in order for the fossil fuels to last longer, they should be utilized for value added products for the benefit of future generations, instead of for generating electrical power. "Why not use them for value added products instead of energy? If they are exhausted now, we would have nothing left for future generations."
Daud also said that Malaysia had yet to have any national nuclear policy, although the country's only nuclear agency had been in existence for the past 34 years.
He said the agency was only involved in non-power application, producing products and services for the manufacturing, industrial, medical and agricultural sectors, and for environmental and geological purposes.
However, Daud said Nuclear Malaysia was moving forward to focus on building its human capital for nuclear energy development and management.
"Developing the human capital is one of our prime objectives after the re-launching of Nuclear Malaysia (on Nov 3).
"We are now focusing on building a dynamic pool of human resources in nuclear technology so that we are ever ready with the knowledge and technological know-how whenever the country wants to embark on nuclear development for power generation," he said.
Previously, the agency was known as the Malaysian Institute of Nuclear Technology (MINT). Currently, Nuclear Malaysia has more than 60 nuclear scientists with doctorate qualification, about 100 with Master's degree while the rest are holders of first degrees in various nuclear-related disciplines.
"All of them are local scientists. Plans are underway to train these scientists and officers and equip them with the latest expertise through multilateral or bilateral co-operation with other countries," he added.
He said a technical feasibility study on using nuclear as alternative energy was also being undertaken by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).
It includes the possibility of building two bigger reactors, with a capacity of 20 or 30 megawatts.
The EPU report is expected to be presented to the Cabinet during the Ninth Malaysia Plan's mid-term review in 2008.