There’s no point ramping up hydrogen if other resource constraints are going to bring it to a halt. Here, Herib Blanco at IRENA summarises their research into how much water will be needed in the production of hydrogen through electrolysis (i.e. from water) and the costs involved. A wide range of analyses have been reviewed to calculate the amount of water used during the hydrogen production, and by the energy source used to power it (renewables … [Read more...]
Wind, Solar: continuing cost declines will help meet rising renewables targets
The EC’s “Fit for 55” proposals include the raising of the EU’s 2030 target for total energy produced from renewable sources to 40%. Much of the rest of the world will likely raise its targets at some point too. Continuing to cut the cost of renewable energy generation will be essential to make that happen, and take pressure off all the other associated costs of supporting its integration into the energy system. Michael Taylor at IRENA summarises … [Read more...]
UK: exposing the gap between ambitious climate laws and actual policies
Like many nations, the UK has big gaps between what is actually needed to reach net zero by 2050, what targets and ambitions have actually passed into law, and what policies are actually in place to comply with those laws. The UK’s climate watchdog, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has issued two reports that measure the UK’s performance and makes recommendations, summarised here by Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief. The first report focuses on … [Read more...]
End Fossil Fuel subsidies by shifting them to poorer households
In May, the environment ministers of the G7 agreed to end fossil fuel subsidies within this decade. Around $650 bn/year is spent worldwide on subsidising all energy sources, with the majority ($450bn) going to fossil fuels despite the climate crisis. But simply removing the subsidies has proven difficult. They keep energy costs low for consumers. It’s why public protest resisted the change in Ecuador and France in 2019. And developing nations … [Read more...]
Where to build new Wind Turbines in Germany? Lowest cost vs residents and nature
Germany was a wind energy leader. But by 2019 it was only ranked sixth globally for newly installed capacity per year. Antje Nieber and Paul Lehmann at the University of Leipzig explain why. At its heart is a conflict of priorities: lowest cost versus the interests of residents and nature, being played out at the national and federal levels. The switch from feed-in tariff support to lowest-cost tenders stalled a lot of wind projects. Lawsuits and … [Read more...]
How Clean Energy Standards have driven clean electrification in the U.S.
John Rogers at the Union of Concerned Scientists presents evidence from the U.S. of the effectiveness of using standards to drive clean electrification. In principle it’s simple: set a legal requirement for the percentage of clean electricity. How it’s done depends on the efforts of all the actors affected. 30 states are using different versions of Clean Energy Standards (CES) – the first began in 1983 and more than half of them began before 2004 … [Read more...]
Solar “soiling”: energy loss from dust on panels can range from 7% to 50%
Dust and pollution particles on solar cells cut energy conversion, enough to cause big problems for investors let alone those depending on the generation. In parts of the U.S. energy loss can be as high as 7% and 50% in the Middle East. For assets supposed to deliver for 25 to 50 years this is hardly acceptable. Engineering solutions are struggling to keep up with the phenomenal take off of solar. Predicting the effects of “soiling” in your … [Read more...]
New U.S. Offshore Wind target: from standing start to 30GW by 2030
In March, the Biden administration announced a bold target to deploy 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. Until now, offshore wind’s rise has been driven almost exclusively by Europe and China. The U.S. accounts for just 0.1% of the world’s installed capacity (versus 17% for onshore wind). Why the hold up, given the U.S. could require up to 400GW of offshore wind by 2050? As Stephen Naimoli and Nikos Tsafos at CSIS explain, offshore costs … [Read more...]
China’s car sales target: 40% EVs by 2030 will cost CNY 100bn/year (€13bn, $15bn)
By the end of 2020 China will phase out EV subsidies and instead rely on a mandate imposed on manufacturers to target 40% of car sales being electric by 2030. Nancy Stauffer at MIT reviews a study that estimates the new rules will result in 66m EVs sold in China in the next 10 years. That will move EVs well into the mainstream and have global consequences. According to the study, the total cost of that transition will be 100bn yuan/year (€13bn, … [Read more...]
A circular economy for waste solar PV materials: what needs to be done to get it started
Solar is already in the vanguard of the energy transition, and can similarly lead the world’s transition to a circular economy. Decommissioned PV modules could total 1 million tons of waste in the U.S. by 2030. Yet there are virtually no incentives or regulations to promote its recycling or reuse. In fact, says NREL, most current regulations in the U.S. define it as solid waste, making it difficult to introduce it to a recycling value chain. In … [Read more...]
CCS: Identifying the best underground locations for storing CO2 can take 10 years, so let’s start now
Underground geological formations have more space to store CO2 than we’ll ever need, by orders of magnitude. But the process of assessing the best locations can take up to ten years, so that work needs to start now, say Raimund Malischek and Samantha McCulloch at the IEA. The main constraints are technical (which porous rock formations absorb CO2 most easily, etc.), while the displacement of land use and public acceptance must also be considered. … [Read more...]
Public opposition and grid integration costs: the two limiting factors for Wind?
Are we heading for an over-reliance on wind? With wind generation costs continuing to drop dramatically, Schalk Cloete takes a data-driven look at the obstacles wind will face as its contribution to the global energy mix (a little over 2% today) keeps rising. In the main, it is grid integration and public opposition to very visible turbines – and they are related. Putting turbines out of sight and offshore will increase transmission costs. And … [Read more...]
Understanding battery costs better: Li-ion costs have dropped 97% in 30 years
There are two revelations here. First, quite how dramatically lithium-ion battery costs have dropped since 1991 – by 97%. Second, that nobody could agree on how big that drop has been. Agreement on that number – and an established procedure to therefore make good forecasts - is vital for policy makers and related clean energy players. They need to know how much of a role batteries can play in the electrification of transport as well as storage … [Read more...]
Green Hydrogen: reducing the cost needs scaling up of electrolyser plants
More and more nations are committing to the promise of hydrogen. That promise cannot be kept unless costs come down. A report from IRENA, ”Green Hydrogen Cost Reduction: Scaling up Electrolysers to Meet the 1.5⁰C Climate Goal“, breaks down what needs to be done. Two of its authors, Herib Blanco and Emanuele Taibi, summarise the study and point at the more than 20 countries (and companies like Thyssenkrupp, NEL and ITM) committing to doing it. The … [Read more...]
Nine advantages small-scale solutions have for reducing global emissions
Which is best? Spending your budget on a million 1 KW solar panels or a single 1 GW nuclear/hydro/gas plant? Lots of electric bikes or a single tram system? Lots of smart thermostats or whole-building retrofits? Charlie Wilson (University of East Anglia), Caroline Zimm (IIASA) and Simon De Stercke (Imperial College London) summarise their study that lists the advantages of small-scale “granular” solutions over large-scale “lumpy” ones. Granular … [Read more...]
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