We present the videos of the third of our three, 4-session workshops on the opportunities for European energy solutions providers to take part in China’s energy transition, held on April 13th and 14th 2021. In this workshop the theme was efficiency, with special reference to finance, buildings, heating and cooling, and smart solutions. Both regions need to go beyond the efficiency "easy wins" so we take a close look at what Europe can offer as … [Read more...]
Buildings Efficiency in China, and what EU partners should know
To set up our upcoming online event (April 13th & 14th) "China: Carbon Neutral by 2060 -EFFICIENCY FIRST” we look at how Buildings Efficiency is being tackled by Energy Management Contracting (EMC), when an ESCO (energy service company) provides energy retrofit services and gets paid for the future energy savings. The up-front investment cost is recouped over the multi-year lifetime of the service contract by taking a cut of the genuine … [Read more...]
Policy-makers still undervalue Energy Efficiency as a grid resource
Supply-side solutions to grid stability are few in number, and expensive. More baseload generation, electricity networks, capacity markets that pay power plants all year round to be available for dispatch during a few peak hours. Demand-side solutions are usually smaller, and multitudinous: building fabric improvements, equipment upgrades, customer behaviour interventions, and more. So, for grid stability, the principle of “Efficiency First” - … [Read more...]
Five countries to become the field of behavioural experiments to encourage energy efficiency habits
The EU has ambitious targets for increasing energy efficiency and mitigating climate change, aiming that there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. To achieve this and other targets, much effort and investment are focused on digital infrastructure (e.g., smart meters) that enables energy consumers to monitor and manage their energy usage more actively and efficiently. … [Read more...]
Guiding SMEs and national authorities through the energy transition by taking profit of multiple benefits and energy management approaches
Improving energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to reduce energy-related emissions, improve economic competitiveness and increase energy security. In the European Union, several pieces of legislation aimed at guiding states and companies, regardless of their size, on ways to improve their energy efficiency: one of them is the Energy Efficiency Directive, establishing a common framework of measures and requirements with the goal to … [Read more...]
The importance of energy efficiency for a carbon neutral society
Energy efficiency has proven to be an effective solution for curbing carbon emissions from fossil fuels. But what if we imagined a future energy system without fossil fuels, will it still make sense to invest in energy efficiency or will it be sufficient to develop enough renewable energy to cover demand? A recent COGEN Europe study, conducted by consultancy Artelys, underscores the importance of energy efficiency for a cost-effective energy … [Read more...]
The nexus between data centres, efficiency and renewables: a role model for the energy transition
How much will electricity consumption from data centres grow from today’s 1% of the global total? 40-fold by 2030? Or a more manageable 5-fold? Or less? Sean Ratka and Francisco Boshell at IRENA try to answer this question by looking at the innovations being made by the tech industry to drive down power costs and emissions. The evidence is promising. Though data centre computing output jumped 6- fold between 2010 and 2018, their energy … [Read more...]
Developing nations: Efficiency is cheaper than Coal in Indonesia
Developing economies face a particularly big challenge in reducing emissions. Their economies are growing rapidly, industrialising and urbanising. Their populations surely deserve the same rewards of wealth that the rich countries – the historical and per capita big emitters - have experienced. Can they get there without all the emissions? Indonesia believes so, committing itself to 29% unconditional emissions reductions by 2030. Virginie … [Read more...]
From Buildings to Solar Thermal: using electric charge to vary insulating properties tenfold
The insulating properties of a material don’t normally vary. Applying an electric charge to a material can vary its electronic and magnetic qualities, but not its thermal conductivity, normally. David Chandler at MIT says now a team of researchers there have found a way to do it. Their “electrical heat valve” can increase the thermal conductivity of thin-film strontium cobalt oxide (SCO) on demand by running a charge through it after adding … [Read more...]
Energy Efficiency should target inefficient use, not all use
Energy efficiency should not just be a matter of reducing energy consumption. As renewables grow pricing and profits should encourage renewable consumption. After all, renewables aren’t a problem. And greater renewables consumption means less fossil fuels. Yet consumer pricing models with a low fixed price + high variable rate are designed to discourage all consumption, warns James Bushnell of the Energy Institute at Haas. He says we must … [Read more...]
Energy Data prototype: the “Living Lab” households
Everyone in the energy sector is talking about big – and intelligent – data. But it’s still early days and the benefits from all that potential are yet to register. The goal is greater energy efficiency; in consumption but also in planning future infrastructure and services that are tailored to local – not just regional - needs. Smart meters are only the first step, says Dr Richard Dobson at Energy Systems Catapult. The end game is the emergence … [Read more...]
Majority of EU countries unable to keep citizens warm this winter
Press releases this week from Friends of the Earth Europe and the European Greens highlight energy poverty levels on our doorstep in Europe. This followed the publication of new research on OpenEXP. It reminds you of the vital benefits of maximising energy efficiency - getting the same for less energy or getting more from the same. Amory Lovins (Rocky Mountain Institute) called upon us to "Imagine being able to save half the electricity for free … [Read more...]
Driving energy efficiency investment beyond 2020
With rising GDP, the European Union is once again at risk of missing the 2020 targets for energy efficiency, and yet more ambitious targets for 2030 lie ahead. Regulation, especially for energy efficiency in buildings, is already driving demand, according to the European Investment Bank, with commercial banks acting as aggregators. Peter Sweatman, rapporteur of the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group is optimistic on the future … [Read more...]
Energy as a service: light, heat, mobility, information
Large scale electricity generators, unconcerned with end-use, want to sell you more electricity, argues Walt Patterson of the Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy, based at Chatham House. But the arrival of small-scale, localised and micro-grid suppliers could see the electricity generation business turned on its head. It opens the door to the selling of the service – light, heat, refrigeration, motive power, information – rather than … [Read more...]
Cañete: CCS will play a vital role in delivering a net-zero emissions economy
Commissioner Cañete confirmed this week that natural gas and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will be central to achieving a competitive and climate-neutral economy, notably in closing the circle for the energy intensive sectors for which other solutions for decarbonisation do not exist. Moreover, combined with renewable biomass, CCS could create negative emissions compensating for remaining CO2. Eurogas Secretary General, James Watson, … [Read more...]
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