A narrow focus on âlevelised cost of energyâ (LCoE) can be misleading when looking at the business case for energy storage. This is one of the major conclusions of a new study E-storage â shifting from cost to value carried out by the World Energy Council into the real costs of energy storage. The report is calling for the true value of energy storage to be recognised by taking into account both its cost and revenue benefits. … [Read more...]
What Energy Efficiency can learn from Solar, Uber and Spotify
The âas-a-serviceâ business model, which substitutes pay-as-you-go options for ownership  with its high upfront costs, is conquering such diverse sectors as solar panels, digital music and transport. It will also be increasingly applied to energy-efficiency projects, writes Angela Ferrante of US-based financial technology company SparkFund. The long-awaited energy efficiency breakthrough may finally be here. … [Read more...]
Anil Srivastava, CEO LeclanchĂ©, Europe’s battery leader: âPublic transport should take the lead in electrificationâ
LeclanchĂ©, the oldest battery company in the world and the largest lithium battery manufacturer in Europe, has embarked on a special strategy to drive the electrification of transport forward. âWe are giving priority to the electrification of buses, ferries, and other mass transport systemsâ, says CEO Anil Srivastava. âElectrification is much easier to manage for buses that follow regular routes than for passenger cars. And once a standardised … [Read more...]
How cheap can energy storage get? Pretty darn cheap
If current trends hold, the world is on a trajectory to achieving energy storage that will be cheap enough to allow 24/7 clean energy in the next 15-20 years, writes famous author and thinker Ramez Naam. … [Read more...]
Power-to-gas: how carmakers can go green (without cheating)
European carmakers are required to reduce their CO2-emissions, but the Volkswagen affair has shown they find it increasingly difficult to do so. There is a way out, however, writes energy consultant Mike Parr: they could follow the example of Audi and invest in power-to-gas systems. This would kill two birds with one stone, argues Parr: it would help decarbonise the transport sector and could enormously help the integration of variable renewables … [Read more...]
Jean-Luc Dormoy, IT expert and innovator: âEnergy companies should disrupt their own business before others do itâ
Energy companies can turn the threat of new rivals into an opportunity by taking charge of their own disruption, believes energy and IT entrepreneur Jean-Luc Dormoy. With a background in software, artificial intelligence and energy, Dormoy sets out a model for disruptive innovation inspired by the likes of Google and Uber in this exclusive interview with Energy Post. Dormoy: âIT is changing almost all industries. But IT on its own is not enough. … [Read more...]
New process to gasify sludge and slurry may turn farmers into energy producers
A substantial part of Europeâs sludge and slurry mountain can be converted into gas for electricity production, if a new invention from Finnish company Outotec turns out to be successful. Together with Stuttgart University the company has invented a new drying-and-gasification process that should make this kind of energy production affordable. According to Ludwig Hermann of Outotec, the process has an additional advantage in that it leaves a … [Read more...]
RWEâs Head of Innovation Inken Braunschmidt: âWe want to be the Uber for energyâ
Big energy companies are looking to the sharing economy, digitisation, big data, and mega-cities to inspire future revenue streams. In this exclusive interview with Energy Post, Inken Braunschmidt, leader of RWEâs âInnovation Hubâ talks about her unique role at the helm of a department thatâs not a department. Her job? To think non-utility ideas. Braunschmidt:âWeâre really going to the edge of what energy has meant for 100 years.â … [Read more...]
Solar finance wizard David Arfin: âWhy should people have to prepay their electricity bill for 30 years?â
With his invention of the SolarLease for SolarCity, he revolutionised the US residential solar market. Now, David Arfin, CEO of First Energy Finance, wants to take his business model to other parts of the world, including Europe, and apply it to other technologies, like wind, energy efficiency and geothermal heat pumps. In an exclusive interview with Energy Post, he explains his approach and what future financial innovations he sees coming. âWhy … [Read more...]
Ad van Wijk: âThe energy sector has nothing to do with energy companies anymoreâ
There are many developments in the world today that have far more influence on the energy sector than the energy sector itself, says technology visionary Ad van Wijk in this exclusive interview with Energy Post. The Professor in âFuture Energy Systemsâ at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands explains how LED lighting, a DC grid, fuel cell cars, the Internet of Things and 3D printing are upending our energy system as we know it. âThe … [Read more...]
Energy storage megashift ahead, battery costs set to fall 60% by 2020
The key role energy storage will play in the electricity grids of the future â and the vital importance of investing in and testing the various emerging battery storage technologies â has been highlighted in a major report published by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). The report predicts a 40-60 per cent price plunge for certain battery technologies by 2020. Sophie Vorrath of Reneweconomy has the story. … [Read more...]
How cheap can solar get? Very cheap indeed
If current rates of improvement hold, solar power will be incredibly cheap by the time itâs a substantial fraction of the worldâs electricity supply, writes famous author and thinker Ramez Naam. According to Naam, electricity cost is from now on coupled to the ever-decreasing price of technology. That is profoundly deflationary and disruptive. … [Read more...]
Sustainable oil from algae: the technology is ready, what about the politics?
Algae ponds covering an area the size of Sydney could satisfy the entire crude oil demand of Australia, according to a recent study from Australian researchers Bojan Tamburic and Arunima Malik. But some form of government support is critical to bring the technology up to scale. … [Read more...]
$1 trillion solar, wind finance vehicle to outstrip oil and gas investment
A new report from Deutsche Bank predicts that the Yieldco, a finance vehicle for renewable energy, will attract more money than similar instruments that exist for oil and gas investments. Giles Parkinson of the Australian website Reneweconomy has the story. Energy Post highlighted recently why the YieldCo is likely to become a gamechanger in the energy sector. … [Read more...]
The YieldCo: the solar revolution meets Wall Street
The invention of the YieldCo is a gamechanger that will enable spectacular growth of solar PV, writes solar pioneer Peter F. Varadi. According to Varadi, the PV YieldCo offers significant advantages over investments in fossil fuel power: no fuel supply is needed, no long-term purchasing contracts for the generated electricity and less costly infrastructure. The solar revolution meets Wall Street. … [Read more...]
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