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...]
All estimates of the âcostâ of climate action should include the savings and benefits
Too many climate mitigation scenarios calculate the cost of that transition without measuring the savings and benefits, explain Alexandre Köberle and Joeri Rogelj at Imperial College London, Toon Vandyck at the EC's Joint Research Centre, and Celine Guivarch at the Centre International de Recherche sur lâEnvironnement et le Developpement, writing for Carbon Brief. This leads to a pessimistic view of the challenges ahead, and public aversion to … [Read more...]
Will turning down Europeâs thermostats ease the Gas supply crisis?
To counter the extremely high gas prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis the IEA has proposed turning thermostats down in households to use less gas. The IEA estimated lowering the heating by just 1°C would reduce gas demand by around 10 bn cubic metres a year, or 7% of Europeâs annual imports from Russia. Aurore Julien at the University of East London looks at quantifiable past attempts around the world to get citizens to cut their energy … [Read more...]
Russia-Ukraine: Support for U.S. Oil & Gas producers must tie them to low-emissions investments
Like many countries, the U.S. is set to raise oil and gas production to compensate for cuts in Russian imports consequent to the war in Ukraine. The danger is that short-term solutions to sky rocketing fossil fuel prices will take precedence over climate targets. But Ben Cahill at CSIS explains how this is an opportunity for the Biden administration to give support to fossil energy producers with one hand and extract solid commitments on … [Read more...]
Why sustainable Buildings are critical for a resilient, healthier society
Europe and its Member States are committing large sums to buildings renovations. The policy emphasis has been on insulation, energy savings and emissions reduction. The latest Healthy Homes Barometer 2022 by Velux draws attention to the health benefits of renovations that target damp, lack of daylight, excess noise or cold, and other indoor climate hazards. To get an idea of the scale of the problem, 34 million Europeans are unable to keep their … [Read more...]
What can replace Russian gas: modelling Germanyâs options on renewables, coal, nuclear, LNG, lowering thermostats
A sudden cut in Russian gas imports means Germany will have to cope with the loss of TWhs. How? Tobias Federico at Energy Brainpool wants decision-makers to get the facts straight. He uses modelling tools to answer this question that is causing fierce debate. The first thing to note is that the loss of gas TWhs (of the order of 100TWh) will be most felt in the provision of heat over winter. Heating systems mostly depends on gas, so intermittent … [Read more...]
Using electrostatic repulsion to clean Solar panels, avoiding up to 30% power loss
Dust build-up on solar panels can reduce the power output by as much as 30% in just one month. Even a 1% reduction in power for a 150MW solar installation could result in a $200,000 (âŹ180,000) loss in annual revenue. Cleaning normally requires purified water, but that needs to be trucked in to prime locations like deserts where solar potential is highest. Cleaning with brushes is labour intensive and can damage surfaces irreparably. David … [Read more...]
Russia-Ukraine and Europeâs energy strategy: a snapshot of a fast-moving crisis
Every day brings news of how Europeâs energy policy is reacting to Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine. Itâs a big topic and fast moving. Helen Farrell gives a summary of the situation so far. She lists some of the major U-turns at both EU and national levels, the IEAâs ten-point recommendations, the feasibility and repercussions of cutting Russian fossil imports, the prospects for clean energy (solar, wind, nuclear, storage) and our net zero targets. … [Read more...]
Event summary: âUnlocking the potential of Bioenergyâ
Sara Stefanini provides a written summary of our panel discussion held on Thursday March 17th 2022. Itâs a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights (potential for bioenergy, hard-to-abate sectors, sustainability, policy needs). Those highlights include the need to scale bioenergy up from around 50 EJ today to 150 EJ by 2050; the importance of carbon … [Read more...]
Energy Charter Treaty: four ways to amend it and enable green investments
The European Green Deal (EGD) aims to mobilise at least âŹ1 trillion in sustainable investments over the next decade. But the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in its current form - designed to protect cross-border investments, enabling those whose energy projects have been shut down to sue nations â is causing fierce debate. The ECT protects all investment alike, but the result has been fossil (and nuclear) investors suing nations that have curtailed … [Read more...]
What is Energy Security? And what it isnât
What is energy security? Thatâs what Maximilian Auffhammer at the Energy Institute at Haas asks and tries to answer, and he starts by saying what it is not and what solutions should not be used. Not importing wonât help because prices are global. âEnergy securityâ canât be taxed as an externality for much the same reason. Subsidising high prices for consumers decreases the value of energy efficiency investments. Instead, Auffhammer says the … [Read more...]
Factory-built energy-efficient modular affordable Housing for reducing lifecycle emissions
Building construction and operation accounts for 37% of global energy-related carbon emissions, according to the UNEP. And every part of the world needs new housing. The U.S. has a 3.8-million-unit housing shortage. Jeffrey Wolf, writing for NREL, describes how modular factory-made affordable net-zero housing is being developed that costs no more than existing construction methods. To get the greatest decarbonisation impact most cost-effectively, … [Read more...]
Russia-Ukraine crisis: reforming the EU ETS is a matter of energy security, says PGE
European leaders are now rushing to make decisions on how to drastically cut dependence on Russian fossil energy imports. Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine has exposed Europeâs energy security vulnerabilities like nothing else could have. It also means Europeâs clean energy transition will need an overhaul, and a newly designed optimal pathway created, and fast. Wojciech DÄ browski, President at PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, explains that it must also … [Read more...]
Biomethane for decarbonising transport: the Swedish example
Biomethane has a critical role to play in the decarbonisation of transport, particularly long-distance trucks and ships, where electrification is more difficult and expensive. Angela Sainz Arnau at the European Biogas Association explains that biomethane represents one of the lowest greenhouse gas intensive pathways when the whole emissions lifecycle is measured. However, when nations implement bans on internal combustion engines to cut the use … [Read more...]
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