The huge divergence of electricity prices between nations after the energy crises of 2021 and 2022 exposed Europe’s pressing need to increase cross-border transmission capacity, explain George Dimopoulos, Conall Heussaff and Georg Zachmann at Bruegel. Without it, generation costs will be higher, emissions too, and new generation will continue to be badly congested. The author’s calculations reveal that one additional MW of cross-border capacity … [Read more...]
New Solar study: 50% of global power by 2050, even without more ambitious climate policies
Nadia Ameli at UCL and Femke Nijsse and Jean-Francois Mercure at the University of Exeter present their study that shows solar is on track to make up more than half of global electricity generation by 2050, even without more ambitious climate policies. This far exceeds any previous estimates: last year’s IEA World Energy Outlook predicted that solar would account for only 25% by 2050. The authors’ macroeconomic model takes the latest … [Read more...]
Cost vs Resilience: Europe’s sourcing strategy will shape the regional Hydrogen economy
The upcoming EU Hydrogen Bank pilot auction and trilogue discussions are focussing minds on the future of hydrogen. Jonas Lotze and Massimo Moser at TransnetBW and Janina Erb, Roman Flatau, Felix Greven and Max Labmayr at d-fine present the results of their modelling of two hydrogen sourcing scenarios: "Global Market" (GM) where the import of hydrogen into Europe is unrestricted, and "Energy Resilient Europe" (ERE) where almost all hydrogen is … [Read more...]
Green Methanol: an alternative fuel for heavy vehicles and shipping?
It’s very early days but pilot projects for green methanol are underway, explains Gabi Thesing writing for WEF. It’s a low-carbon fuel that can be produced from renewable sources such as biomass or using carbon capture. Compared to traditional fossil fuels it can reduce CO2 emissions by 60-95%, nitrogen oxide by 60-80%, and almost completely eliminate sulphur oxide and particulate matter emissions. Green methanol can be blended with traditional … [Read more...]
Electrochemical Carbon Capture: a cheaper one-step process, power by clean energy
Carbon capture is expensive. Hence continuous attempts in laboratories around the world to find new ways to capture CO2 that are simpler and cheaper. One problem with the traditional method is that it is a two-step process, and energy intensive (therefore powered by high-heat fossil fuels). Jennifer Chu at MIT describes a new electrochemical method that separates out CO2 in a single step, and it’s powered by clean energy. It’s particularly … [Read more...]
Belgium: commercially viable Rooftop Solar for social housing. No installation subsidies, lower bills
Rooftop solar is becoming a key component of the roll-out of clean energy. But whereas the decision to install is straightforward for homeowners, how do tenants in social housing blocks take advantage of the subsidies and lower electricity prices? Sven Van Elst at ASTER and Maarten Michielssens at Energy Vision, writing for WEF, describe their project that is installing rooftop solar, free, for 52,500 social rental homes in Flanders, Belgium. No … [Read more...]
Space-Based Solar Power: getting closer as SpaceX and Blue Origin bring down the cost of heavy-lift launches?
“Space-based solar power” (SBSP) sounds great in theory: giant solar farms in space collect unobstructed sunlight 24/7 and beam it to Earth stations, all using technology that already exists. It isn’t getting off the ground (pun intended!) primarily because of the cost of launching thousands of tonnes into space, plus assembly and maintenance. The attraction is that, if it can happen affordably, it could provide a hundred times the energy the … [Read more...]
Though the price shocks hurt, Renewables installed between 2021-23 saved Europe €100bn
According to the IEA, without the solar and wind capacity additions made in 2021-23 Europe’s energy costs would have been €100bn higher in those three years, as prices spiked due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the unexpected drop in output from nuclear and hydro. That money saved is another reason why the ramp up of renewables is so important, explains Joe Myers writing for the World Economic Forum who summarises the IEA data. Natural gas … [Read more...]
Germany plans for Carbon Capture in Industry: emissions, potentials, costs
In the first article of this series, Simon Göss and Hendrik Schuldt at carboneer gave the background to Germany’s new drive for carbon capture, and summarised the industrial sectors that will be its focus. Here, the authors analyse the emission profiles of German industries (in particular: steel, cement, lime, chemicals, waste incineration) and the associated CCS potentials and costs. The first thing to note is that it’s the process emissions … [Read more...]
Sodium-ion batteries ready for commercialisation: for grids, homes, even compact EVs
Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries, a much more abundant and cheaper alternative to the standard Lithium-ion, are on the verge of commercialisation, explain Carlos Ruiz, Martina Lyons, Isaac Elizondo Garcia and Zhaoyu Wu at IRENA. Though there’s enough Lithium in the world to support global electrification targets, tightening demand and supply chain constraints point at the urgent need for an alternative. The cost of a Na-ion battery cell is expected … [Read more...]
First-of-a-kind U.S. utility pilots community Geothermal to cut emissions and bills
For the first time in the U.S. a utility is piloting a community geothermal project to heat and cool 40 buildings and cut customers’ bills. Success will lead to scale up and replication, explains Adele Peters writing for the World Economic Forum. The case for community geothermal is very strong. Though geothermal’s up-front costs of installing pipes deep underground are high, running costs are low. The pilot, in Framingham (Massachusetts), will … [Read more...]
Norway’s Sleipner and Snøhvit CCS: problems expose limitations of the science, regulations and multi-decade commitment
The offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects of Norway’s Sleipner and Snøhvit are often cited as good case studies for the viability of the technology. Other CCS hubs are being proposed from Malaysia to the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, larger by factors of 10 or more. But how viable are they? Grant Hauber at IEEFA summarises his in-depth report on the risks. Both Sleipner and Snøhvit, operating since 1996 and 2008 respectively, have … [Read more...]
Germany to ramp up the decarbonisation of Buildings Heating from Jan 1st 2024. How?
Decarbonising heating is a major challenge for any country. Germany’s Building Energy Act (GEG) means that from 2024 every newly installed heating system, in new or existing buildings, must operate with a minimum of 65% renewable energy. Concerns over the costs to customers (installing new and expensive systems, or paying a penalty for fossil heating) has led to intense debates, hence the new law includes a range of subsidies, bonuses, discounted … [Read more...]
Nuclear power capacity is growing globally. Where, how and why
Ewan Thomson at the World Economic Forum summarises the state of nuclear power worldwide. In 2020 it made up 10% of global electricity generation, more than all the wind and solar PV combined. It’s the second-largest source of low-emissions electricity. But many advanced countries are no longer backing nuclear, citing safety and cost concerns, and instead are pushing the growing number of alternative clean energy technologies. Nevertheless, … [Read more...]
“Flow Batteries” for grid-scale storage: modelling cheaper alternatives to Vanadium
Flow batteries are a promising new technology for grid storage. Rather than the standard batteries that store charge in a solid material, they use a solution to store that charge, making large-scale long-duration electricity storage much easier. Vanadium electrolytes have been the preferred choice so far, but affordable supplies are limited and a cheaper alternative will be needed for global scale-up, explains Nancy Stauffer at MIT who describes … [Read more...]
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