The U.S. state of Utah is processing an agreement for a new Small Modular Reactor (SMR) to provide baseline and dispatchable power. The SMR bid quotes a price of $89/MWh. But cost overruns will tie the stateās consumers to whatever high prices entail, says Dennis Wamsted at IEEFA. Now a geothermal bid from NV Energy has been presented that offers the same capacity at around $70/MWh. Wamsted explains why the 140MW geothermal project would meet … [Read more...]
Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals
The new hydrogen economy will not just be global, it must be used as a major economic development opportunity for low income nations and promoting shared prosperity, explain Dolf Gielen, Silvia Carolina Lopez Rocha and Priyank Lathwal at the World Bank. They carefully lay out the obstacles and pathways for making hydrogen in developing countries. Itās very capital intensive, but such projects ā think of existing fossil fuels, mining, etc. ā have … [Read more...]
Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world
The pandemic made on-site testing of power stations and their components more complicated ā and considerably so in some cases. But it also made a wide range of product and services companies aware of the availability of technology to monitor, manage and repair units remotely. Rather than fly several experts to a single site, the experts can stay where they are and watch the inspection happen virtually, while giving advice and instructions on the … [Read more...]
Concrete: 8% of global emissions and rising. Which innovations can achieve net zero by 2050?
Concrete manufacture is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions, with the ingredient āclinkerā accounting for most of it. Global demand for cement (which hardens into concrete) is expected to increase 48% from 4.2bn to 6.2bn tons by 2050, mainly driven by developing nations. China used more concrete between 2011 and 2013 than the United States did in the entire 20th century. Ben Skinner and Radhika Lalit at RMI look at the materials and … [Read more...]
Biofuel is approaching a feedstock crunch. How bad? And what must be done?
The IEA is warning that biodiesel, renewable diesel and biojet fuel producers are heading for a feedstock supply crunch over the next five years. Rising prices are the signal to seek out new supplies and solutions, which should ā and are - driving the development of government programmes and industry innovation. Here, the IEA lays out their projections for 2022-2027, covering all the main feedstocks: sugars, maize, soy oil, rapeseed oil, palm … [Read more...]
Europe needs a Regional Green Bank to fulfil its Green Deal and match the U.S.
Three years in, the European Green Deal remains unfulfilled as a long-term vision for decarbonising Europe by 2050, says Esmeralda Colombo at EIEE. To inject new momentum, in this weekās speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, EC President Ursula von der Leyen sketched out a Green Deal Industrial Plan to subsidise the cleantech industry and compete with the rest of the world, notably the US, and the EU Sovereignty Fund to equalise the … [Read more...]
How to sell Heat Pumps to the public in Europe
In EU households, 62.8% of energy consumption is for space heating, and another 15.1% for water heating, mostly powered by fossil fuels. Heating and cooling is responsible for 52% of final energy demand in Europe. So, with REPowerEU, the EU has once again strengthened support for heat pumps to achieve energy independence and climate goals. Heat pump sales in Europe grew by an unprecedented 34% in 2021, thanks to a total 2.18m heat pump units … [Read more...]
What’s stopping even bigger Wind Turbines? Blade speed and flexing? More likely manufacturing and installation capacity
Bigger wind turbines make cheaper energy. The sectorās unexpectedly rapid successes in designing and building bigger and bigger turbines has been one of the major success stories of the clean energy sector. In 2023, the biggest turbines in the world will start generating electricity off the coast of the UK. Each of General Electricās Haliade X turbines stands 260m high from sea level and can generate 13MW at under Ā£50/MWh (ā¬56/$61). But how big … [Read more...]
Making Hydrogen will consume 2% of total global renewable capacity growth by 2027
25 countries plus the EU have announced big ambitions for renewable hydrogen production. But how much renewable energy will be needed to make the H2 over the next five years? Nations are not keen to expend new clean energy generation on (expensive today) hydrogen production when their grids are still not emissions-free. According to the IEA, for 2022-2027, their main case forecasts around 50GW of renewable capacity will be dedicated to hydrogen … [Read more...]
EU ETS and CBAM: what the big update to emissions trading rules means for Europeās key sectors
The EUās Emissions Trading Scheme is a vital part of the regionās decarbonisation plans. Simon Gƶss at carboneer digs into the new rules coming in for the existing EU ETS, and the implementation of the new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). Right now, the existing EU ETS covers around 40% of the EUās emissions (energy sector, industrial installations and aviation). Its scope is being extended to include maritime transport. On top of that, … [Read more...]
Message to environmentalists and the left: you canāt oppose both fossil investments and Carbon Pricing
Environmental and social justice opponents of fossil investments need to think carefully about the consequences of preventing all forms of new fossil infrastructure and maintenance. As Catherine Wolfram at the Haas School of Business explains, if fossils are phased out faster than clean energy is phased in, consumer prices go up and the fossil firms profit. A carbon price ā often opposed by the same U.S. āprogressivesā as a tax disproportionately … [Read more...]
2023 lookahead for Sustainable Finance: EU Taxonomy, ESG ratings, corporate disclosure laws, Europeās āIRAā
What will be the big issues for sustainable finance in 2023? Luca Bonaccorsi at Transport & Environment points at four. Firstly, the EU Taxonomy defines what counts as āgreenā investment. There has been much criticism of the inclusion of gas, and critics will continue publishing their analyses of what is truly sustainable and what is greenwash. Next, ESG ratings have also been severely criticised. They are an investorās main tool for capital … [Read more...]
From lab to commercialisation: what is the optimal pathway for Clean Energy Technologies?
Itās a considerable challenge to predict, decades in advance, what the world will need and get it from lab to market. Madeline Geocaris and Andrea Wuorenmaa at NREL summarise four case studies that reveal the key elements required: a good balance of technology, R&D, and public-private partnership; regulatory and market force alignment; good timing for market opportunities. The goal is the optimal pathway to the successful first … [Read more...]
30+ nations now subsidise Heat Pumps because lifetime cost is cheaper than fossil boilers
The global growth in heat pumps can deliver almost 40% of all possible emissions cuts from heating by 2030 (with most of the rest coming from efficiency, mainly insulation), says the IEA. This is according to their āAnnounced Pledges Scenarioā (APS) which assumes that governments carry out all of the climate commitments they have made. Keeping buildings warm produces one-tenth of global energy-related CO2 emissions. So the APSās heat pump growth … [Read more...]
How to tax renewable energy firms for windfall profits from high wholesale electricity prices
Should windfall taxes be imposed on renewable energy firms that have benefitted from the current high electricity prices caused by the increases in oil, gas and coal prices triggered by Russiaās invasion of Ukraine? If so, how, and how much? The IEA has conducted a study of the EU to try to uncover who has (and hasnāt) made extraordinary profits, and how much. Up front they say this is difficult to do as the majority of installed renewable … [Read more...]
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