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 RWE’s “Innovation Hub” talks about her unique role at the helm of a department that’s not a department. Her job? To think non-utility ideas. Braunschmidt:”We’re really going to the edge of what energy has meant for 100 years.” … [Read more...]
Solar finance wizard David Arfin: “Why should people have to prepay their electricity bill for 30 years?”
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. “Why … [Read more...]
Ad van Wijk: “The energy sector has nothing to do with energy companies anymore”
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 “Future Energy Systems” 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. “The … [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 – and the vital importance of investing in and testing the various emerging battery storage technologies – 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 it’s a substantial fraction of the world’s 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...]
On the road: EU goes for efficient and electric, ponders biofuels
The European Commission’s strategy for decarbonising the road transport sector is finally taking shape: Brussels wants efficiency first, electrification second. But it doesn't know what to do about biofuels. “There is no appetite for [new] targets”, says Commission Director Marie Donnelly. Sonja van Renssen takes us on the bumpy road to a climate-friendly European transport sector. … [Read more...]
The grid will not be disrupted: why Tesla’s Powerwall won’t catalyze a solar revolution
When Tesla Motors debuted the Powerwall home storage battery at a glitzy launch at the end of April, the press and blogosphere hailed CEO Elon Musk as the inventor of the Holy Grail of renewable energy storage – and the nail in the coffin for the centralized grid. But does all the messianic talk of battery-powered “disruption” and solar triumphalism stack up? Hardly. For all their ballyhooed price reductions, Tesla batteries are still too … [Read more...]
Europe’s energy revolution marches on: one-third of power supply now renewable
Fully one-third of electricity produced in Europe last year came from renewable energy, reports ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity). Four years ago this was just 24%. The increased share of renewables has come at the expense of fossil fuels. “There is a revolution taking place”, says Susanne Nies, Corporate Affairs Manager at ENTSO-E. … [Read more...]
Danish offshore wind: it’s getting better all the time
Denmark continues to set the pace in driving down the cost of offshore wind. In its latest tender for 350 MW of near-shore wind farms the maximum price has again been reduced. Danish offshore wind now costs roughly half of what the new nuclear plant at Hinkley in the UK will cost. … [Read more...]
EU still struggling to agree energy R&D priorities
R&D in energy is about to get a fresh push from Brussels through a new EU-wide Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan that is supposed to harness the combined power of public and private research in different Member States. But to what extent will Member States agree to align their national research agendas? And around what common goals? The Commission believes energy R&D should be structured around “the consumer” and “the energy system … [Read more...]
Tesla batteries: just the beginning of how technology will transform the electric grid
The spread of cost-effective batteries, such as Tesla’s new Powerwall, will fundamentally change the way the electric grid operates, writes Michael McElfresh of Santa Clara University. Combined with other innovations, batteries in homes and businesses will transform how people and businesses treat electricity. Along the way, these batteries will improve the efficiency and reliability of the grid overall. … [Read more...]
Why the Tesla battery heralds the beginning of the end for fossil fuels
The introduction of the Powerwall, Tesla’s new battery, will change the global energy equation fundamentally, writes John Mathews, Professor of Strategic Management, at Macquarie University in Australia. This is because it will make renewable energy “the new normal” and will put fossil fuel companies on the defensive. Instead of asking “can we have our own energy system?” communities will be asking “why can’t we have it?” … [Read more...]
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