There is little doubt that emissions reduction will not be enough to cope with climate change. Adaptation will be essential too. Connor O’Neil and Moriah Petty at NREL describe how the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is developing free-to-use tools to help configure and create energy systems that are resilient to natural disasters. The tools have already been applied to small and large populations, ranging from a 500-person town to big … [Read more...]
Investing in Hydrogen: is there a “first mover advantage”?
Is there a “first mover advantage” – or not - for an investor in the new hydrogen economy? Michiel Korthals Altes offers a series of “tests” of investment decisions based on the following criteria: economics, climate efficiency, system optimum, price stability, regulation, technology, now and in the future. He concludes that until the sector reaches maturity, conversion inefficiencies make the production of hydrogen a poor choice for most … [Read more...]
COP 27: an analysis of what gets prioritised and ignored at UN climate negotiations
Getting an issue on the agenda of a COP is essential for its chances of being dealt with properly. Jennifer Allan at Cardiff University and Rishikesh Ram Bhandary at Boston University, writing for Carbon Brief, have analysed 218 agendas, tracking 502 agenda sub-items, going back to the first COP in Berlin in 1995. Certain agendas stand out – Adaptation, Mitigation, Finance, Transparency, Technology, Capacity Building, Response Measures, … [Read more...]
Pollution costs are driving U.S. states to look for alternatives to Gas-Fired Plants
In the U.S. a growing number of states and regulators are directing utilities to look for alternatives to proposed gas-fired power plants, citing environmental justice and community health impacts, explain Caitlin Odom and Lauren Shwisberg at RMI. So it’s not just about emissions: pollution matters too. The authors quote studies that show clean energy portfolios (CEPs) not only reduce energy costs, but can save billions of dollars in community … [Read more...]
Russia’s war is accelerating the clean energy transition, says IEA
The IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2022 is predicting that fossil fuels will peak in the next five years, “thanks to” Russia’s war and the resultant energy crisis. National climate promises are being turned into policies that improve energy security, which mostly means reducing dependence on gas. That means global energy demand growth to 2030 will “almost entirely” be met by renewables. Simon Evans at Carbon Brief takes an in-depth look at the … [Read more...]
Turning waste biomass into clean fuel: cheap, portable equipment, cuts emissions, earns income for rural poor
The burning of biomass accounts for 10% of primary energy used worldwide: wood, peat, animal dung, corn stalks, rice husks, hay, straw, and other agricultural waste. Billions of people, mainly in remote and poorer regions, rely on such fuels for cooking, heating, and other household needs. But it’s a major source of emissions as well as pollution. And, annually, an estimated $120bn worth of crop and forest residues are burned out in the open … [Read more...]
Can the Czech Republic revive its clean energy ambitions?
Although an early enthusiast for solar in 2009 the Czech Republic’s clean energy ambitions stalled. The share of green electricity was only 12% last year, with solar contributing 3% and wind just 1%. The current government is now reviving the nation’s drive towards carbon-free energy. Will new Czech policies along with EU initiatives like REPowerEU, the Green Deal and the Modernisation Fund successfully breathe new life into the Czech transition? … [Read more...]
EC Consultation: ESG ratings need regulation to fix inconsistencies and bias
There are multiple problems with ESG ratings and that’s why they need to be properly regulated, says Hazel James Ilango at IEEFA. Different ratings agencies have different methodologies that are difficult to compare. They can lack transparency and be biased due to industry, geographical location or company size. As for a company’s impact on the planet and society, it can be overrated or underrated due to the aggregation of Environmental, Social … [Read more...]
Cutting energy usage with Behaviour Change: Covid and Russia’s war show it can happen fast
Technology alone won’t meet our net zero targets. For the foreseeable future there will always be carbon-intensive assets and hard-to-abate sectors. Only “behaviour change” by citizens worldwide can bridge the gap that technology cannot. And the reduced energy use that it delivers will also lower the targets that the rapid growth of clean energy supply are now chasing. Here the IEA lays out the challenges in its Behavioural Changes tracking … [Read more...]
Green Hydrogen is ready to scale this decade
### Today’s article flags up a fascinating panel discussion on the book “Touching Hydrogen Future”, as part of the European Hydrogen Week taking place from 24-28 October 2022. This webinar, on Friday Oct 28 at 10:00 CEST, will be blue-sky thinking about the future of the hydrogen economy. Global in scope, it will dive into how a hydrogen-powered future might look in the Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine, Romania and Morocco. REGISTER HERE ### Can … [Read more...]
Wave Energy Converter performance tool, publicly available online
Advancements in wave energy technology (WEC) have been slow, mainly because of the harsh marine environments WECs must operate in, as well as the complex regulatory requirements. Tiffany Plate at NREL explains it’s why the U.S. Department of Energy and NREL have collaborated on the Small WEC Analysis tool, publicly available online. Its purpose is to provide baseline information about the performance of different types of WECs in various ocean … [Read more...]
EVs are on track for net-zero emissions
The IEA says “Electric Vehicles” is one category that is on track to meet their Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario. Road transport accounts for 16% of global emissions. Recent years have seen exponential growth in the sale of EVs, together with improved range, wider model availability and increased performance. The IEA estimates that 13% of new cars sold in 2022 will be electric. Most of the progress is taking place in established markets – i.e. … [Read more...]
Energy Security: what if the UK government had not “cut the green crap” from 2013
The UK provides an example of a government that cut back its green ambitions only to see its energy security suffer. In 2013, then-prime minister David Cameron told his ministers to “cut the green crap”. That led successive governments to downgrade home energy efficiency, requirements for new homes to be “zero carbon”, end subsidies for onshore wind and solar, and effectively ban onshore wind in England. What if the UK had stayed on its … [Read more...]
Geopolitics and energy security require the U.S. and its allies to lead on Nuclear
Combine the current energy crisis with the geopolitical ambitions of Russia and China, and you have your reason for why the U.S. and its allies should prioritise nuclear, argues Robert Ichord at the Atlantic Council. All three nations have well-developed world-leading nuclear sectors. But it’s Russia that has been the largest exporter of nuclear reactors to the world market. Meanwhile, China has the most plants under construction at twenty. The … [Read more...]
U.S. Residential Distributed Solar: still getting cheaper, installation and permitting too, more batteries
John Rogers at UCS reviews the new and comprehensive “Tracking the Sun” report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory which covers both residential and non-residential “grid-connected, distributed” solar PV systems in the U.S. There has been clear progress across the board, including PV module efficiency, system costs, installation and permitting, and the uptake of batteries. For example, median efficiency for modules in residential systems … [Read more...]
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