Behaviour change â reducing emissions by changing how we live our lives - should be part of every government and think tankâs sustainable scenario, explains Schalk Cloete. Thatâs because impressive advances in energy efficiency and clean energy wonât be enough to contain the emissions of a world continuing with the essential task of lifting billions of people out of poverty. But this should not be seen as a problem, says Cloete, because behaviour … [Read more...]
Global Coal Database: Covid lockdown may accelerate phase-out
E3G has created a database to track coalâs phase-out across the globe. Though much has been achieved, dating back to 2010, itâs still not on target. Chris Littlecott and Leo Roberts at E3G look at the data from different territories. The OECD and EU28 have made very good progress: 71% of these countries are pursuing coal phase-out, with 58% on track to be coal free by 2030. The article points at successes in the US, the UK, Spain and Germany … [Read more...]
Hydrogen, Renewables and Open Borders [VIDEO]
On July 15th 2020, Energy Post hosted an online panel discussion with Dr. Florian Ermacora (European Commission), Professor Ad van Wijk (TU Delft), Marcel Steinbach (BDEW) and Giulia Branzi (SNAM). At the event, video recording below, readers heard a summary of the proposals for Europe's new Hydrogen and Sector Integration strategies direct form the Commission, insights from van Wijk on how supply will come as much from outside as from within the … [Read more...]
Enhanced Weathering: crushed rocks spread on farmland can capture billions of tons of CO2/year
Enhanced Weathering is a carbon capture process that could remove over 2bn tons of CO2 each year (for comparison, the U.S. emitted 5.3bn in 2018), explains Benjamin Houlton at the University of California. Silicate minerals exposed to the weather have been sequestering atmospheric carbon and turning it into rock since the dawn of time, but itâs a process that normally takes thousands of years. This period can be cut to two years by grinding … [Read more...]
California learns even flexible Emissions Markets wonât guarantee price stability
In May, emissions allowance prices hit rock bottom in California. How can cap-and-trade work properly when prices are so volatile and difficult to predict? It makes life very difficult for businesses and investors, not to mention the state. Changes to the rules are being proposed to introduce more flexibility into the effective price floors, ceilings and the availability of allowances. But Severin Borenstein at the Energy Institute at Haas … [Read more...]
Little progress decarbonising Industry. Renewables can be the answer
The decarbonisation of heavy industry is making little progress. There are two main reasons. Firstly, there are no easy technology wins. Efficiency and carbon capture have been the favoured options. But efficiency gains have their limits, and carbon capture is still proving very expensive. Secondly, governments donât want their home industries to lose competitiveness incurring costs reducing emissions. Dolf Gielen and Paul Durrant at IRENA say a … [Read more...]
New lithium-metal battery electrolyte can lengthen range of EVs
The higher the energy density of your battery, the further your EV can travel. But the standard lithium-ion batteries used in EVs are reaching their theoretical upper limit for energy density. A new design is needed to break through that ceiling and make it commercially viable. Mark Shwartz at Stanford University describes their research into lithium-metal batteries, which should double the energy per unit weight. One big challenge was to create … [Read more...]
The new era of electricity needs modern ways to charge customers
Todayâs technologies â wind, solar, storage - have widely differing cost and operating characteristics to fossil fuels. So the way customers are made to cover those costs â assigning different rates to different customer classes â should change. Jim Lazar and Mark LeBel at RAP explain why and how, referencing their comprehensive manual âElectric Cost Allocation for a New Eraâ. They describe how the full range of technologies now establishing … [Read more...]
New U.S. climate bill is unprecedented in âambition, concrete details, and urgencyâ
Mark Silberg, Alisa Petersen and Ben Holland at RMI pick out six highlights from a new U.S. climate bill and accompanying report that they describe as unprecedented in âambition, concrete details, and urgencyâ. The Democrat-sponsored âMoving Forward Actâ passed the House at the start of July and now goes to the Senate. Though regional commitments already get the U.S. halfway to meeting the 1.5°C goal, federal action is needed for the rest. … [Read more...]
Floating Solar: can it help ASEAN reverse coalâs continued rise?
Floating solar farms may be gaining traction in Asia. Capacity is still small: by 2019 the big players Japan and China had a combined floating photovoltaic (FPV) installed capacity of 1.3GW. But the ASEAN countries that had virtually nothing before 2019 now have over 51MW and have planned in another 858MW. A report by Sara Jane Ahmed and Elrika Hamdi at IEEFA explains why FPV is looking better and cheaper at balancing out peaks and troughs than … [Read more...]
IEA: Without accelerating clean energy innovations we cannot hit net zero by 2050
The impressive rise of renewables and energy efficiency, alone, will not be sufficient to meet the worldâs 2050 emissions goal, says the IEA in its flagship Clean Energy Innovation report. New technologies, taken all the way through to widespread adoption by the market, must become an essential part of the net zero pathway. The stark warning is that existing policies to decarbonise shipping, trucks, aviation and heavy industry are not nearly … [Read more...]
Europeâs new Hydrogen Strategy: the questions that still need answering
Yesterday saw the launch of the ECâs new Hydrogen Strategy, the focus of our next live online discussion and Q&A. Register now to join us at the event next Wednesday at 12.45 CEST on Zoom to hear direct from the European Commission's Dr. Florian Ermacora, Future Energy System expert Prof. dr. Ad van Wijk, Giulia Branzi - Head of Regulation at event partner SNAM and trading specialist Marcel Steinbach of BDEW. Here, to set the scene, Gökçe … [Read more...]
Three U.S. utilities to skip the gas âbridgeâ, move straight from coal to renewables
At the end of June, utilities in three U.S. states declared they are closing down coal plants and moving straight to renewables, without building new gas plants as a âbridgeâ fuel. For example, to replace lost coal capacity, Tucson Electric Power in Arizona will add 2,457MW of new wind and solar generation, backed up with 1,400MW of battery storage. Similar commitments are being made by other utilities in Colorado and Florida. New Mexico is … [Read more...]
BPâs world energy review: 2019 saw clean electricity match coal
Simon Evans at Carbon Brief summarises BPâs 69th edition of its influential annual statistical review of world energy, looking at 2019. Overall, total energy demand rose, though slower than usual. Renewables were the largest source of new energy, but were closely followed by oil and gas. Coal use dropped again, the fourth drop in six years, thanks to historic declines in the EU and the US. But continued growth in SE Asia, China and India leaves … [Read more...]
Batteriesâ next challenges: fast charging, vehicle-to-grid, long duration, second life
Li-ion battery storage costs continue to fall dramatically. But for batteries to fulfil their potential, particularly for grid storage, developers need to focus on fast charging, electric vehicle-to-grid capability, long duration storage and second-life batteries, explains Madeline Tyson at Rocky Mountain Institute. She runs through the different types of Li-ion batteries, their strengths and weaknesses, how they can be harnessed to address these … [Read more...]
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