IHS CERAWeek 2016: Power Markets, Policy, and Technology Plenary

In Thursday's "Power Markets, Policy, and Technology Plenary," Carlos Pascual, Senior Vice President, Global Energy, IHS, highlighted how a number of forces, including the Paris climate agreement, are changing the way energy is produced in the world.

Lisa Davis, Member of the Managing Board, Siemens, said she expects that the global energy system will change at an even faster pace as a result of the Paris agreement and that there will be even more interest in wind and solar following the agreement. Ms. Davis went on to say that the evolution of energy systems will differ by country depending on whether countries are modernizing existing capacity or bringing on additional capacity. Ms. Davis pointed out that energy systems, including transmission and distribution, are getting much more complicated as a broader variety of energy, including renewables, is brought into the mix.

Enrique Ochoa Reza, Chief Executive Officer, Federal Electricity Commission of Mexico, said that as part of the country's power sector reform, Mexico is encouraging the private sector to build natural gas pipelines. He said the country's power industry is using more natural gas and less fuel oil, which is relatively expensive. He added that Mexico is also promoting investments in hydropower, wind, and solar, and is looking at cogeneration.

Mohamed Al Hammadi, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, focused his comments on another technology in the power mix: nuclear. He said that the UAE is currently building nuclear power capacity to provide base-load electricity for the country. Mr. Al Hammadi said that nuclear represents a clean and reliable option for generating power. Ambassador Pascual asked Mr. Al Hammadi if a timeline of roughly 10 years is conducive to the prospects of constructing new nuclear power plants. Mr. Al Hammadi said that the nuclear plants that the UAE is building are expected to operate until around 2075. He also said that it is not sustainable for a country to build just one nuclear power plant, given the scale of the human capital that needs to be developed and the regulatory regime that needs to be put in place to support a nuclear power industry. Mr. Al Hammadi said that countries looking to develop nuclear power need foresight and to stick to a plan.

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This article was published by S&P Global Commodity Insights and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.