With the worldwide roll-out of solar, raising the efficiency of energy conversion isnât just about the materials science of PV cells. Douglas Broom, writing for the World Economic Forum, runs through three âadd-onâ innovations. Researchers have found a way to generate electricity in the dark as panels cool during the night. A low-cost thermoelectric generator works using the temperature difference between the cooling solar panels and the … [Read more...]
Electricity markets with high shares of Wind and Solar will need Nuclear
When electricity markets have high shares of wind and solar â the goal of many regions around the world â is it more efficient to build a nuclear power plant instead of investing further in more renewable capacity? The answer is yes, according to a study by Machiel Mulder, Xinyu Li and Arjen Veenstra at the University of Groningen. In essence, itâs because nuclear benefits from the high (scarcity) prices when thereâs little wind or sunshine. Here … [Read more...]
Will Chinaâs gigantic wind and solar âbasesâ mean targets met four years early?
China will have doubled its 2020 installed wind and solar capacity by 2025, exceeding 1,100GW, according to government plans. Thatâs four years sooner than required to meet their target of peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. Writing for Carbon Brief, Lauri Myllyvirta and Xing Zhang at CREA explain that the main driver is the creation of âclean energy basesâ: large-scale concentrations of wind and solar power on deserts … [Read more...]
Record Renewables additions for 2021 and 2022 despite supply bottlenecks prove Solar & Windâs resilience
Despite â or perhaps because of â global market and political turmoil, renewable power is set to break another record in 2022. Thatâs after 2021 also saw record new capacity from solar, wind and other renewables worldwide. Itâs mainly driven by solar PV in China and Europe as governments around the world take advantage of renewablesâ energy security and climate benefits, according to the IEAâs latest Renewable Energy Market Update. 295GW of new … [Read more...]
U.S. Solar breaks new records. Whatâs needed to keep the momentum?
The latest available data reveals itâs been a record breaking 2021 for U.S. solar. John Rogers at UCS runs through the highlights. Solar passed the 100GW milestone, with 23.6GW newly installed, up 19% on 2020 and 77% up on 2019. Solar was the biggest source of new electric generating capacity for the third year in a row. Residential, non-residential and utility-scale all performed well. Across the nation, solar accounted for 3.9% of total … [Read more...]
Seven ways for the U.S. and Europe to enhance energy security and advance climate goals
Ending reliance on Russian fossil exports will need the U.S. and Europe to work together, explain Joseph Majkut, Nikos Tsafos and Ben Cahill at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The U.S. is the worldâs largest oil and gas producer and is able to increase output. At the same time, it must meet global emissions targets. The way to do it is to increase fossil exports temporarily whilst improving its carbon reduction measures (e.g. … [Read more...]
Solar + Storage Hybrid plants are poised for explosive growth in the U.S.
At the beginning of 2021 the U.S. had 73 solar and 16 wind hybrid projects, amounting to 2.5GW of generation and 0.45GW of storage. By the end of 2021, over a third of the 675GW of solar in the grid connection queue were hybrids, and 19GW were wind hybrids. Only one in four typically get approved, built and connected. But that still points at a twenty-five-fold increase in hybrid generation. Itâs why Joachim Seel, Ben Paulos and Will Gorman at … [Read more...]
Pathway for 100% Renewables in 24 U.S. states by 2035
We should not be surprised to see a growing number of 100% renewables roadmaps, with target dates in the 2030s, from nations as the transition gains pace. This study, âOn the Road to 100 Percent Renewablesâ led by The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), details how the 24 states that make up the members of the U.S. Climate Alliance (USCA) can meet all of their electricity needs with renewable energy by 2035. Paula Garcia at UCS summarises the … [Read more...]
Europe must simultaneously replace Russiaâs fossil exports and accelerate its clean energy deployment
The Ukraine crisis has had an immediate impact on Europeâs strategy for energy supply security. And this weekâs sudden halting of gas supplies by Russia to Poland and Bulgaria only emphasises the urgency. Dolf Gielen, Ricardo Gorini, Luis Janeiro and SeĂĄn Collins at IRENA look at the best options, basing their findings on their latest âWorld Energy Transitions Outlookâ, published in March, that lays out a routemap for the next eight years for … [Read more...]
Whatâs best? Building Solar panels that last 30 years, or are short-lived easy-to-recycle and upgrade
The good news is that PV modules last so long â 30 years â that we donât have to worry about recycling for a while. The bad news is that means weâre not thinking about the alternative pathway of deliberately building modules that last only a few years yet can be easily recycled and improved. Harrison Dreves at NREL describes the data-gathering and creation of a modelling tool that quantifies the flow of materials, energy, and carbon in the PV … [Read more...]
Post-war Ukraine needs energy independence, decarbonisation and EU cooperation
Energy independence is a choice for some countries. For Ukraine it is a life-or-death necessity, says Andriy Konechenkov, VP of the World Wind Energy Association and Chairman of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, in this op-ed. The Russian invasion has exposed the vulnerability of Ukraineâs current energy system. Many of its fossil-fuelled power plants are near the Russian border, exposing them to disruption by the invading neighbour. The … [Read more...]
Q&A: How fast can renewables deliver on Germany’s new energy independence goals?
How quickly can Germany reduce its dependence on fossil fuels? Benjamin Wehrmann at Clean Energy Wire asks six practical questions that must be answered, then gathers the expert answers. What are the current expansion goals for wind, solar and other renewables? Following Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine, will the new emergency plans bring an end to Russian imports as well as reach climate targets? Are renewable power companies ready to deliver a fast … [Read more...]
An open-source standardised toolkit for modelling Marine Energy
New innovations need a lot of high quality modelling. That means collecting real world data, then coding the programs that run the models. This is labour intensive and takes time to do properly. The modelling needs to be standardised too, otherwise direct comparisons between competing ideas are virtually impossible. Caitlin McDermott-Murphy at NREL describes the latest version of their Marine and Hydrokinetic Toolkit (MHKiT)Â for modelling a wide … [Read more...]
The metals sector should back global carbon taxes. Itâll be good for business
Most of the metals mining sector has been opposing carbon taxes. This is a foolish mistake that works against their interests, argue Sally Innis, Benjamin Cox, John Steen and Nadja Kunz at the University of British Columbia. The tax on the carbon emissions from mining and producing most metals (with only aluminium and steel being outliers) are small compared to the price of the metal, so a carbon tax will add little to the selling price. But the … [Read more...]
âFloato-voltaicsâ: floating solar farms on existing municipal water reservoirs
The municipality of Cohoes, population 17,000, in New York State, is building a floating solar farm on its 10-acre water reservoir. It should power all the city-owned buildings and streetlights, save $500,000/year in electricity costs and still leave 40% of the generated electricity remaining for other civic use. It will cost $6m. It will be a first for a U.S. city, explains Connor O'Neil at NREL. The case for city âfloato-voltaicsâ is so … [Read more...]
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