Electricity customers using solar power plus batteries will increasingly be able to choose whether they want to maintain grid connection or go off-grid. In a new report, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) predicts that most customers will not defect from the grid. Nevertheless, grid use will be drastically reduced. Utilities will need to develop new business models and "innovative thinking" to cope with this new reality. The report focuses on the … [Read more...]
“Solar and wind most competitive energy sources in United Arab Emirates”
Solar and wind may now be the cheapest sources of new energy supply in the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. In January, a tender for a solar park in Dubai was awarded for under six cents per kilowatt hour for a 25-year fixed contract, the lowest solar price ever achieved worldwide. … [Read more...]
Spain’s generation mix: almost 70% carbon-free
Spain gets 69% of its electricity generation from zero-carbon sources, reported the country’s grid operator, Red Electrica de Espana (REE), on the 31st of March. The largest source of carbon-free electricity is nuclear power (23.8%), followed by wind (22.5%). The figures apply only to March 2015. … [Read more...]
Cheap oil vs wind and solar: fight for future of energy
This article by Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy is no longer available on Energy Post. See the original article here:published by Reneweconomy.com … [Read more...]
Will Africa turn to solar – or remain stuck in fossil fuels?
Six of the world’s sunniest countries on earth are on the African continent. But with the notable exception of South Africa, Morocco and a few others, progress in scaling up solar energy in Africa has been disappointingly slow. However, 2015 may see a breakthrough in solar power in many countries across Africa, writes Terje Osmundsen, Senior Vice-President of the independent Norwegian solar power producer Scatec Solar. A number of African … [Read more...]
The myth of expensive offshore wind: it’s already cheaper than gas-fired and nuclear
Analysing public data on offshore wind in Denmark, energy consultant Mike Parr concludes that existing offshore wind is already cheaper than gas-fired power plants. Future offshore wind farms will be cheaper still – and up to 60% less expensive than the proposed nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C in the UK. This means, writes Parr, that government support for offshore wind can be quickly and substantially reduced. … [Read more...]
Global wind power breaks record
Last year saw a record in new worldwide wind power installations. According to a new report from FTI Consulting, Global Wind Market Update 2014, 51.5 GW of new installations were added in 2014. … [Read more...]
Solar PV can help not hinder the grid
Decentralised renewables such as solar panels on people’s roofs can actively support the grid, rather than being a nuisance for it. This is the main conclusion from an EU research project called “MetaPV”, whose final results were presented at a conference in Brussels on 24 March. … [Read more...]
Fraunhofer: Solar power will cost 2 cts/kWh in 2050
“In a few years, solar energy plants will deliver the most inexpensive power available in many parts of the world. By 2025, the cost of producing power in central and southern Europe will have declined to between 4 and 6 cents per kilowatt hour, and by 2050 to as low as 2 to 4 cents.” These are the main conclusions of a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems commissioned by the German think tank Agora Energiewende. In view of … [Read more...]
Ex-Polish Prime Minister Tusk reclaims Energy Union agenda
Energy security through new fossil fuel supplies and transport infrastructure, not energy efficiency and renewables, dominates the conclusions issued by EU heads of state and government after their first debate on an Energy Union for Europe in Brussels on Thursday. Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk – now President of the European Council of Ministers – appears to have reclaimed in large part the Energy Union he helped set in motion, … [Read more...]
IEA’s projections for renewables continue to look way too low
The IEA’s projections for wind and solar capacity look much too low, continuing a history of vastly underestimating renewables growth.  Their projections are not a reliable basis for projecting the world’s future power generation mix, argues energy expert Adam Whitmore on his blog On Climate Change Policy. … [Read more...]
Meet the world’s number 1 R&D player in sustainable energy: the Chinese Academy of Sciences
In a global study of top academic and research centers in a wide range of sustainable energies, the surprising winner is the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Among industrial innovators the number 1 is engineering company ABB. The in-depth study, conducted by KIC InnoEnergy and Questel Consulting, shows that Chinese research institutions are considerably ahead of their European and US peers in sustainable energy innovation, including wind, ocean and … [Read more...]
In the oil heartlands of the planet, solar now beats oil and gas
One of the biggest banks in the Middle East and the oil-rich Gulf countries says that fossil fuels can no longer compete with solar technologies on price, and that the vast bulk of the $US48 trillion needed to meet global power demand over the next two decades will come from renewables. Meanwhile, in Dubai, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, has won the world’s largest ever solar tender with the cheapest ever price: one-third below the cost of gas-fired … [Read more...]
IRENA pushes for 160 GW energy storage plan
A group of experts is expected to finalise details this week of a road map to install 160 Gigawatts (GW) of battery storage worldwide in 2030, reports Jason Deign of Energy Storage Report. The plan, being developed by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), would see nearly four times as much battery storage being deployed in the next 15 years as all the solar power installed worldwide to date. … [Read more...]
viEUws VIDEO: Brussels Briefing on Environment – All you need to know for March 2015
In this Brussels Briefing on Environment for viEUws.eu, Sonja van Renssen provides an overview of the latest EU environment policy developments. … [Read more...]
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