The British governmentâs policy of incrementally upgrading energy efficiency in UK homes is not enough to meet the countryâs 2050 climate targets. Instead, virtually every UK house needs a one-off retrofit, says a new report. It calls for government and cities to commit to pilot schemes for retrofitting whole houses using models such as the Dutch âEnergiesprongâ, which achieves a near net-zero energy home, typically by adding external insulation … [Read more...]
Smart cities: not enough projects make the grade
Despite the hype about smart cities, and the availability of EU funding, there are very few projects out there that qualify for funding, according to Lada Strelnikova, lead fund manager at the European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF). An exception: Belgian bank Belfius has, with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB), provided âŹ1 billion to smart city projects involving more than 100 municipalities in Belgium. According to Joost Declerck … [Read more...]
Replacing copper with negawattsâhow the UKâs RIIO-2 could revolutionise network regulation
Ofgemâs recent framework decision on improving its performance-based regulation scheme, RIIO, indicates that it may be ready to take a much-needed step toward levelling the playing field between supply-side and customer-side resources. However, it is not yet clear what the details will look like. According to Jan Rosenow of the Regulatory Assistance Project, a global group of regulatory experts, Ofgem should put a network regulation scheme in … [Read more...]
Stop worrying about how much energy bitcoin uses
Bitcoin mining is criticized because it uses a lot of energy. But according to Katrina Kelly-Pitou of the University of Pittsburgh, this should be put in context. Many new technologies use large amounts of energy. The important point is how carbon-intensive its energy use is. That depends on where the mining takes place. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Reducing U.K. home energy use by 25% is not âtoo difficultâ
Some energy specialists believe that âall the easy stuff on energy efficiency has been doneâ, but Jan Rosenow of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) disagrees. New research shows that one-quarter of the energy currently used in U.K. households could be âcost-effectivelyâ saved by 2035, he writes. But it canât be done without policy support: the government will have to recognise the broader social benefits of energy efficiency investments, … [Read more...]
How rapidly can we transition to 100% renewable electricity?
Science tells us that, to avoid devastating climate change, we must rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero. How fast is possible, asks Mark Diesendorf  of the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. He believes the sceptics may be wrong. … [Read more...]
Europe aims to have 300 smart cities by end of next year
With the help of the Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership (EIP SCC), 78 cities in Europe have undertaken smart city development. The EIP-SCC aims at a critical mass of 300 smart cities by the end of 2019, according to Andreea Strachinescu of the European Commission. The most difficult part, she says, is not the renovation of individual buildings, but the systems integration. The next step: positive energy districts. … [Read more...]
Three new energy companies finding value in three new business models
Not a day goes by without news of a new start-up or one that has been flying under the radar, writes energy expert and author Fereidoon Sioshansi. In this article, he takes a closer look at three of them, which seem to have promising business models: Open Utility, OhmConnect and Off Grid Electric. Courtesy EEnergy Informer. … [Read more...]
The plethora of better alternatives to wind and solar power and electric cars
Technology neutrality can activate more than ten times greater sustainable development potential than current technology-forcing policies, writes independent researcher Schalk Cloete. In the second part of a series which follows an article about the dangers of technology-forcing of wind and solar power and battery electric vehicles, Cloete reviews eight alternative sustainable development solutions that he believes have greater climate mitigation … [Read more...]
11 ways the Paris climate deal is working in the real world
As climate talks stall, itâs clear the UN process is no longer the major driving force of the climate transition, write Soila Apparicio, Megan Darby and Karl Mathiesen of Climate Home News. While diplomates are negotiating the complex rules of the Paris deal, businesses, researchers, governments and citizens are coming up with new ways to move the climate to a safer place. Courtesy: Climate Home News … [Read more...]
Fancy having your own power plant? “Fuel cell micro-cogeneration is market-ready”
More than 1,000 fuel cell micro-cogeneration units have been installed in homes and business in ten countries over the last several years by the ene.field project. Its successor, the PACE project, aims at bringing costs further down, although manufacturers and users say the technology is market-ready. … [Read more...]
How MEPs misuse energy poverty to water down efficiency legislation
On 28 November, the Industry committee of the European Parliament will deliver a crucial vote on the EU 2030 energy efficiency target. According to ClĂ©mence Hutin, who works for the Climate Justice and Energy Programme of Friends of the Earth Europe, there is cross-party support for an ambitious 40% target, but she warns that two key rapporteurs on the file are no friends of energy efficiency. Both, she says, have incorrectly argued that higher … [Read more...]
Value-added electricity services: who should supply them and how?
Berkeley Lab has released a new report that discusses who should supply the new value-added services that are emerging in the electricity market - and what policies and regulations are needed to nurture this new market. The report applies to the U.S., but includes lots of lessons for Europe as well.  … [Read more...]
The Clean Growth Strategy puts faith in energy efficiency â hereâs how to do it
The UK governmentâs new Clean Growth Strategy gives quite a lot of priority to energy efficiency. Thatâs good news, write Jan Rosenow and Richard Cowart of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). Whatâs needed next is to develop the policies that actually deliver the goods. This can be done by following the principle of Efficiency First. … [Read more...]
How Paris and Vienna are struggling to become the clean cities of the future
The success of the clean energy transition will depend to a large extent on the actions of local and regional authorities. Sustainability officers from Paris, Sabine Romon, and Vienna, Bernd Vogl, explain what clean energy goals they have set themselves and how they are planning to achieve them. âThe thing to start with is the infrastructureâ, says Vogl. âThe first task is to work on our public buildingsâ, says Romon, who warns that Paris' ban on … [Read more...]
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