Free Republic

Renewables are reaching the point where they are outcompeting fossil fuels on price — setting the stage for their predicted dominance of the energy sector by midcentury. When it comes to the surging demand for new electric generation, wind and solar prices are now the cheapest options almost everywhere, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Building new wind and solar projects is also cheaper than running existing coal plants, according to a report from Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan climate policy think tank. The fall in price has led to a global rush to install new wind and solar —...

The chief economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday he sees oil rising to near $100 a barrel in coming years, some 40 percent above current prices that have been hit by a supply glut and sluggish global growth. "I think an oil price, which will balance the markets in the next years to come, will be close to $100," Fatih Birol told a conference in Stockholm, when asked to quantify at what level he sees oil prices long-term. "We shouldn't be blinded with what's happening now. Looking at the geology, looking at the economics of the...

High oil prices are here to stay, and they're caused by surging demand and limited new supply, not Wall Street speculators. That's the message from Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency. "Speculators are only responding to what is going on in the markets," Birol said. "We don't see enough oil in the markets. The major driver is supply and demand." Birol said growth in worldwide oil demand is outstripping growth in new supplies by 1 million barrels a day per year. Much of that new demand is coming from China, which is adding 800,000 vehicles to its...