The current gas price shock (and any future ones) raises the question: if we had invested more in renewables, efficiency, buildings renovation, and green gases, would we be actually saving money instead of losing it? Looking at the EU, Dolf Gielen, Michael Taylor and Barbara Jinks at IRENA urge governments to do something theyâve not done before and factor in the negative impacts of volatile fossil fuel prices. Moreover, they should calculate the … [Read more...]
Buildings: France and Flanders lead on decarbonising new builds
Buildings are responsible for 36% of total EU carbon emissions. So, since the start of 2021 European legislation requires all new buildings to be ânearly zero energyâ. The frontrunners are France and Flanders in Belgium, according to a new report from the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), writes Clare Taylor. Both jurisdictions have plans for phasing out fossil fuels in new buildings within five years. Taylor explains how Flanders … [Read more...]
Biogas and Biomethaneâs untapped potential across the world
The IEAâs World Energy Outlooks have no doubt that electrification alone cannot meet our climate goals. Thatâs why natural gas continues to play a major role. But biogas and biomethane have the potential to replace 20% of that gas, says the IEAâs special report âOutlook for biogas and biomethane: Prospects for organic growthâ. At present only a fraction of that is being utilised. Here the IEA summarises their comprehensive report. Costs are the … [Read more...]
Biofuels âlight-to-powerâ slump: because photosynthesis is no match for Solar PV
The success of energy crops depends on many things. But the first link in the chain is a weak one: natural photosynthesis, the conversion of light into energy by plants. The problem is the efficiency of photosynthesis is no match for that of a modern solar PV cell. And while solar technology keeps improving, mother nature â not a signatory to the Paris Agreement â has no plans to do so. Any progress must come from biotechnology which is slow … [Read more...]
Germany 2021: when fixed feed-in tariffs end, how will renewables fare?
Starting in 2021 many of Germanyâs existing âpioneerâ wind turbines, solar PV installations and biogas plants â launched with generous price guarantees - will stop receiving fixed feed-in tariffs. That means renewable capacity may be shut down if they canât find a new business model to run on. The new rules comes at a decisive time for Germanyâs energy transition as it tries to increase renewables to meet emissions targets and gradually increase … [Read more...]
Biogas and Biomethane in Europe: Denmark, Germany, Italy lead
Over and again, legislators worldwide are confronting the same question: which technologies do we subsidise and support, when, by how much, and for how long. Get it right and those costs will reduce and should disappear once scale is reached. Solar and wind are on their way to proving that. What about biofuels? Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega and Carole Mathieu of the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) look at the last 10 years. The … [Read more...]
Why decarbonising gas might be harder than you think
Decarbonising the European energy system by 2050 will require a fundamental shift for the way the gas industry operates, away from business-as-usual in network planning and market design. Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, leaves no room for fossil gas consumption where CO2 is not captured and stored. But turning the gas industry into a zero-carbon industry is no simple task. … [Read more...]
Everything you always wanted to know about Russian gas supplies to Europe
There are various ways for Europe to reduce its âdependenceâ on Russian gas, but they all have their drawbacks, concludes a new report from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES). The report makes it clear that the Russian-EU gas relationship has many intricacies that policymakers should be aware of when they develop new gas policies. … [Read more...]
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