Europe is behind the US and Asia in battery development, but it can catch up if it sets aggressive goals and tough standards, says  California-based entrepreneur and investor Peter Carlsson. After leaving Tesla Motors last year, the supply chain expert is helping a host of cleantech start-ups profit from the energy transition. Within 5-8 years, batteries will break through big-time, he predicts. Grid storage will be done in stationary batteries … [Read more...]
Using clean cars as power plants: it can be done in the UAE
The combined engine capacity of the new cars we build in just one year is more than the entire electricity generation capacity in the world. If we power our cars with fuel cells, we can use them as clean power plants the 96% of the time we are not driving in them, generating all the electricity we need, at competitive costs, with zero emissions. Frank Wouters, Director of the EU-GCC Clean Energy Network, and Ad van Wijk, Professor Future Energy … [Read more...]
Why most âgreenâ electricity in Europe isnât green
Brussels is on course to deliver a big shake-up of the EUâs energy markets this December by trying to put consumers in the driving seat of the energy transition. Millions of consumers have already made the switch to âgreenâ electricity tariffs. Or so they think. But these tariffs are misleading and consumers are, in many cases, actually supporting fossil fuels or nuclear plants which are hidden behind a green façade, writes Jörg MĂŒhlenhoff, … [Read more...]
Hereâs how to build 100% clean renewable energy in the US before 2040
There really is a feasible way to build our way out of the climate crisis in time to avoid the worst effects of global warming, writes Tom Solomon of 350 New Mexico. We do it by rapidly replacing all fossil fuel-based energy with renewable energy built with current technology, installed in a smart grid. We pay for it without damaging the economy and actually save money vs. our current reliance on fossil fuels. The âside benefitsâ include cleaner … [Read more...]
Marie Fossum StrannegĂ„rd, VP Energy Ericsson: âFuture of smart metering depends on regulatory frameworkâ
Utilities are moving into a world where they have to handle lots of data real time, very similar to what the telecoms sector went through, says Marie Fossum StrannegĂ„rd, who is in charge of the energy business at Ericsson, in an interview with Energy Post. The Swedish telecommunications giant is a new player in energy, focusing â for now â on smart metering services. According to Fossum StrannegĂ„rd the future of smart metering depends heavily on … [Read more...]
Payment day for nuclear addiction in France
French year ahead power prices have risen sharply over the last few weeks amid worries over the reliability of EDFâs nuclear output in the coming winter. The situation in France demonstrates that nuclear power is neither as cheap nor as reliable as its proponents claim, writes Benedict de Meulemeester, Managing Director of Brussels-based E&C Consultants. According to De Meulemeester, the French market model, based on centralized power … [Read more...]
The Energiewende is running up against its limits
German transmission system operator Tennet recently announced an 80% increase in its transmission fees because of the high construction costs of new power lines to accommodate renewable energy. A study of the DĂŒsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics found that by 2025 costs of the Energiewende could exceed âŹ25,000 for an average four-person household. Jeffrey Michel concludes that the Energiewende is running up against its limits â but may … [Read more...]
The collective effort behind Finlandâs new nuclear power plant
Five years after announcing that it had chosen PyhĂ€joki, in northern Finland, as the site for a new Russian-designed 1200 MW nuclear reactor, Finnish company Fennovoima is within sight of a 2018 construction start date. No, this is not the notorious Olkiluoto-3 EPR being builty by Arevaâ this is Hanhikivi 1, to be built by Rosatom. Journalist Eric Marx travelled to Finland to find out why Fennovoima is succeeding where other new nuclear projects … [Read more...]
Demand response can drastically lower energy bills â if suppliers donât get âcompensatedâ
New research commissioned by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) finds that demand flexibility can save many billions of euros in electricity costs. As the European Commission is pondering the design of a new and interconnected energy market for Europe, it needs to make sure these benefits are realised, writes Phil Baker, Senior Advisor at RAP. Brussels should resist calls to âcompensateâ energy suppliers for perceived losses as a result of … [Read more...]
To keep European offshore wind world-leading, we need an industrial policy
To retain the global lead European companies have in offshore wind, the EU should develop an industrial policy that will guarantee a steady pipeline of projects, writes independent energy expert Mike Parr. This would ensure continued investment by companies in cost reduction and technology improvements. Failure to do so could mean the offshore wind sector would suffer the same fate as the European solar PV industry. … [Read more...]
Visions clash at World Energy Congress in Istanbul
The World Energy Council gave out a clear message at the World Energy Congress that took place this week in Istanbul: the world needs to move away from fossil fuels much faster than it is doing today. That contrasted sharply with the message given out by most of the high-level speakers from government and business at the Congress, who stressed that the world needs more oil and gas. Mohammad Barkindo, the new Secretary General of oil cartel OPEC … [Read more...]
Interview Jean-Bernard LĂ©vy, CEO EDF: âOur future lies in combination nuclear and renewablesâ
EDF, one of the largest electricity producers in the world, has embarked on a â2030â strategy focused on renewable energy and customer solutions in addition to its large nuclear business. According to CEO Jean-Bernard LĂ©vy, "EDFâs future lies in a generation mix that combines nuclear and renewable energies.â LĂ©vy says EDF will tackle the problems with its EPR nuclear reactor design by introducing a "New Model" Â EPR that will be cheaper. He also … [Read more...]
Interview Spencer Dale, BP Group Chief Economist: âThe energy transition could come faster than we thinkâ
The energy industry faces uncertainties of daunting magnitude on many levels, says Spencer Dale, BPâs Group Chief Economist, in this exclusive interview: the pace of climate change policy, the growth of renewables, the apparent demise of coal, falling energy prices, the role of natural gas in the energy mix, and the likely impact of energy efficiency on demand growth. According to Dale, âitâs possible that we will see forces leading to a faster … [Read more...]
Interview Francesco Starace, CEO Enel:Â âWe have stopped investing in projects that take more than 2 or 3 years”
âOur aim is to grow the use of electricity as energy vectorâ. This is how Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel, one of the worldâs largest utilities and perhaps the biggest producer of renewable energy in the world, describes the strategic goal of his company. According to Starace, the utility of the future owns and manages a digitised grid that connects up decentralised green energy sources and is at the centre of a whole new system of energy products … [Read more...]
The “new realities for energy”: peak demand, stranded assets
"The world is undergoing a Grand Transition driven by a combination of factors including the fast-paced development of new technologies, an unstoppable digital revolution, global environmental challenges and changing growth and demographic patterns", according to a statement from the World Energy Council, a UN-accredited global energy network with over 3,000 member organisations in over 90 countries. According to the World Energy Council, the … [Read more...]
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