Should windfall taxes be imposed on renewable energy firms that have benefitted from the current high electricity prices caused by the increases in oil, gas and coal prices triggered by Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine? If so, how, and how much? The IEA has conducted a study of the EU to try to uncover who has (and hasnât) made extraordinary profits, and how much. Up front they say this is difficult to do as the majority of installed renewable … [Read more...]
Laser-driven Nuclear fusion achieves âignitionâ: lab gets more energy out than in
Though nuclear fusion serving the grid is surely still decades away, it has got one important step closer, explains John Pasley at the University of York. For the first time, in the U.S. the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved âignitionâ for laser driven fusion. That means more energy was taken out, by a factor of 1.5, than put in. However, the two million Joules of laser light fired at the fuel pellets needed 300 million Joules to … [Read more...]
Corporate targets are forcing suppliers to cut emissions or relocate to clean energy nations
Emissions targets being imposed by corporates in the U.S. and Europe are forcing manufacturers in other parts of the world to decarbonise, writes Kwangyin Liu at Clean Energy Wire. Here, she looks at how Taiwanâs TSMC â the worldâs third largest chip manufacturer â is having to set up factories in Arizona (U.S.) and Kumamoto (Japan) where emissions are lower and thus to comply with requirements set by customers like Apple, Google and Microsoft. … [Read more...]
Doubling clean energy investments from ânaturalâ redirection of existing spend on infrastructure, buildings, fossils +more
Annual investments in clean energy stand at $1.4tn, now greater than investments in fossil fuels ($1tn). But that needs to double by 2030. This steep climb will be made easier by the natural cycle of global investment, as well as the cost-benefits of abandoning fossil fuels for renewables and greater efficiencies, says Stephen Peake at The Open University. Each year, around a quarter of our GDP is anyway spent on new machinery, buildings and … [Read more...]
Russia, fossil prices, energy security will boost Renewables to 38% of global power mix by 2027, says IEA
The IEA has raised its 2027 forecasts for total renewables additions in its main scenario to 2,383GW â around the total power capacity of China. Thatâs a 28% increase on the previous estimate and up 76% from two years ago, explains Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief who summarises the IEAâs latest forecasts. Globally, solar power will overtake gas by installed capacity in 2026 and coal in 2027. There are two main drivers for this acceleration. High … [Read more...]
Can Global Shipping turn talk into action on reducing emissions?
This week the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) member states are meeting to find ways and agree on how to step up their climate goals. Strategies and targets have been presented, but agreement and binding commitments are needed urgently. There are big differences of opinion within the IMO, and it might turn out that regional and industry developments will drive change faster, explains Christiaan De Beukelaer at Durham University. For … [Read more...]
Distribution Grid Digitalisation – benefits, policy, cost & funding
About a third of European grids are over 40 years old. A rapid physical overhaul would be impossible, so the addition of a layer of digital technologies is the key to preparing them for the distributed and intermittent generation from renewable sources, the increased electricity demand from transportation, heat pumps and other sectors, and for ensuring energy efficiency at all levels. Itâs why the EC expects about âŹ584bn of investment in Europeâs … [Read more...]
Health benefits of Wind Power: first replace the most polluting fossil plants, not the most expensive
It makes economic sense, when intermittent wind (or solar) generation rises, to turn down the most expensive fossil plants. Or does it? Join the dots to health costs and it may make more economic sense to turn down the most polluting plants first. Jennifer Chu at MIT describes research there that creates models and scenarios to interrogate that theory. Using hourly generation records, pollution and health cost data from across the U.S. they found … [Read more...]
How Europe is countering Russia’s weaponisation of energy – CEDE 2022 event summary
Simon Göss provides a written summary of our two panel discussions held in Brussels on Thursday December 8th 2022. Panel 1 was titled âThe Availability and Affordability of Gas and Energy in CEE and EUâ, Panel 2 âThe War in Ukraine: Security of Critical Energy Infrastructureâ. The issues covered include EU policy interventions for countering the Russian weaponisation of energy, cooperation with Ukraine, how far is Europe prepared, spill-over … [Read more...]
COP 27: a way forward for methane, fossil fuel (not just coal) phase-out, and U.S.-China competition?
COP 27 was never expected to have the impact that COP 26 did, and thatâs how it turned out, explain Ben Cahill, Sandeep Pai and Taiya Smith at CSIS. But there are three issues that can have long term positive impacts if carried forward successfully. The first is some good news on methane emissions. The U.S., the EU, Japan and other countries announced an important producer-consumer effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from traded gas, while … [Read more...]
Chinaâs electricity market design should choose from successes in Europe, UK, Australia, USA
China has made substantial initial progress in its electricity market reform, but it still faces an uphill struggle in promoting the consumption of renewables, resource allocation across provinces and regions, and unlocking demand side potential. To help choose the best solutions China could do well to look at the âHandbook on Electricity Marketsâ, says Daisy Chi at ECECP. The 600-page book looks at the current state of power markets around the … [Read more...]
Comparing the efficiency and progress of the 5 leading Solar PV cell technologies
NRELâs âBest Research-Cell Efficiency Chartâ allows researchers to easily compare the performance of specific PV technologies, stretching back 50 years. Itâs regularly updated and is free to use, explains Wayne Hicks and Harrison Dreves at NREL. A new âinteractiveâ version is now available. The focus is on crystalline silicon cells, single-junction gallium arsenide cells, multijunction cells, thin films, and emerging PV. For example, you can … [Read more...]
EU Energy Outlook to 2060: how will power prices and revenues develop for wind, solar, gas, hydrogen + more
Alex Schmitt and Huangluolun Zhou at Energy Brainpool present a summary of their âEU Energy Outlook 2060â. Its scenarios map out how the European (EU 27, UK, Switzerland and Norway) energy system will change dramatically in the coming decades. Current geopolitical tensions are added to climate mitigation and an outdated power plant fleet as the main drivers of change at the EU and national levels. The in-depth modelling is trying to answer the … [Read more...]
EU gas post-Russia: out-of-date regulations are preventing new gas flows from west to east, not infrastructure
### REGISTER NOW ### for our vitally important 2-panel event âThe Energy Crisis and Russian Aggression Against Ukraine â Key Challenges for the Central European Energy Sectorâ, on Thursday December 8, 13:00 â 17:00 CET (Address: Rue Belliard 40, 1040 Brussels). High-profile confirmed speakers include Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, EC; Leszek JesieĆ, Chairman of the Board, CEEP; Jerzy Buzek, MEP and former president of the … [Read more...]
What was Europeâs dependence on gas prior to Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine?
### REGISTER NOW ### for our vitally important 2-panel event âThe Energy Crisis and Russian Aggression Against Ukraine â Key Challenges for the Central European Energy Sectorâ, on Thursday December 8, 13:00 â 17:00 CET (Address: Rue Belliard 40, 1040 Brussels). High-profile confirmed speakers include Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, EC; Leszek JesieĆ, Chairman of the Board, CEEP; Jerzy Buzek, MEP and former president of the … [Read more...]
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