Energy Post

Daily reports on the European and Global energy transition

Bringing home Europe’s sustainability supply chain: The continent’s lithium deposits can transform European manufacturing and get Europe to its climate goals

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Europe’s tech sector has a concerning aversion. While the continent has produced many successful cleantech startups, European investors are reluctant to invest in difficult, hardware-based innovations—and the extraction industry that could power them. But it is just these innovations and the raw materials that make them possible, specifically in the sectors of transportation and energy storage, that will foster a successful energy transition and … [Read more...]

The renewable electricity market in Ukraine: answers to the key questions

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Tetiana Mylenka at Hillmont Partners law firm (Kyiv, London) answers key questions about the prospects for renewable energy in Ukraine.   Is there any hope that the renewable energy sector in Ukraine is coming out of its crisis? As of today, it is too early to say that the renewable energy sector in Ukraine is coming out of its crisis. The adoption of the long-awaited Law No. 810-IX should resolve the situation and partially … [Read more...]

Grid-scale batteries: further price drops result in concrete investments

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With so much focus on renewable gas and heat as a means of offering dispatchable power it was interesting to note ScottishPower’s announcement of a new, gigantic battery storage facility. Lest we forget, battery energy storage is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the clean energy field and it is scaling up at an astonishing rate, not just in terms of overall capacity but also in terms of the size of individual projects, as the extent of the … [Read more...]

Hydrogen round-up: “fuel cells will replace diesel engines within 10 years”

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As the focus moves from decarbonising the electricity sector to embrace transportation and heating, slowly but surely, hydrogen is starting to play a more important role. The gas has a number of advantages over electricity, including its flexibility and the fact that it can provide energy storage for long periods of time, unlike electricity. It can use the existing gas network if it is used for heating, and it is more appropriate than electricity … [Read more...]

Solar farms getting smaller, cheaper and smarter to overcome grid hurdles

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The technical challenges and fast-changing regulatory requirements associated with installing and integrating variable RES capacity are inevitably holding up the transition to clean energy all around the globe. So the announcement of a new smart solar farm in Australia that seems to have overcome these hurdles is really good news. The situation has been neatly captured across a number of recent reports (summarised here) by Giles Parkinson of … [Read more...]

How EASE is mapping out the path towards large-scale deployment of energy storage technologies in Europe

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The Clean Energy for All Europeans Package marked a turning point for energy storage in Europe, says Marine Delhommeau, policy officer for the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE). Energy storage is now seen as one of the key flexibility instruments required in the future energy system. Despite this, the industry faces challenges in deploying at scale. A new roadmap aims to solve the problem. … [Read more...]

Electricity’s future: mostly behind the meter

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The electricity sector has traditionally taken good care of getting energy from power plants to customer premises. But with the arrival of distributed generation and storage, there is a universe of possibilities on the other side of the meter, writes independent energy expert Fereidoon Sioshansi. “While the industry counts the billions it has invested in assets upstream of the meter, there is probably as much if not more on the customer side.” … [Read more...]

Tesla big battery defies sceptics, sends industry bananas over performance

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It’s less than a year since the Tesla big battery was installed at Hornsdale in Australia and the world’s largest lithium-ion battery has exceeded all expectations, says Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com. Quicker, cheaper and with greater reliability, versatility, accuracy and efficiency than predicted, the storage system also looks set to provide a fast return on investment – results that have led to a rash of new battery projects in the … [Read more...]

Hydrogen is heading up the European policy agenda

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Hydrogen’s momentum is building, as European ministers consider approving a new ‘Hydrogen Initiative’ this week that aims to “maximise the great potential of sustainable hydrogen technology.” With funding from the EU’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, a consortium of industrial heavyweights in the H2FUTURE project is already ramping up production of hydrogen from renewable sources. But, as the International Renewable Energy Agency notes … [Read more...]

How the micro-grid solar solution can realize electrification in remote regions

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Promoted content - Micro-grids (solar PV and storage) are ideal to achieve rapid electrification in remote areas, but their implementation still faces many obstacles, writes Long Sheng of Huawei. The Chinese company has supported the Ministry of Energy in Cameroon to build a successful micro-grid solution. … [Read more...]

DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook shows massive shift of investment from oil and gas into power lines

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The global energy transition will lead to a massive expansion of power lines at all voltage levels as well as a steep growth in the number of transformers and substations in the electricity system. This is one of the major new findings of the second edition of the Energy Transition Outlook, the annual flagship publication of global technical consultancy DNV GL. As a result, grid costs will triple, yet this cost explosion is offset by cost … [Read more...]

European utilities have increased their activity in energy cloud platforms

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The energy industry is experiencing a profound transformation as the sector moves towards a more intelligent, more distributed, and cleaner use of electricity, referred to as the Energy Cloud. According to digital innovation expert Alex Metz of Navigant, European utilities are increasingly recognising the value of integrated distributed energy resources (DER) and the potential of the Energy Cloud. In this article he looks at the activities of … [Read more...]

Replacing copper with negawatts—how the UK’s RIIO-2 could revolutionise network regulation

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Ofgem’s recent framework decision on improving its performance-based regulation scheme, RIIO, indicates that it may be ready to take a much-needed step toward levelling the playing field between supply-side and customer-side resources. However, it is not yet clear what the details will look like. According to Jan Rosenow of the Regulatory Assistance Project, a global group of regulatory experts, Ofgem should put a network regulation scheme in … [Read more...]

Exclusive – top energy influencer Jan Vrins, Navigant: “Europe not looking enough behind-the-meter”

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Europe is focused too much on expanding renewable energy generation, and is threatening to miss out on the huge opportunities in the energy market that are emerging behind-the-meter, says top influencer Jan Vrins, Managing Director at the U.S.-based global consultancy Navigant, in an exclusive interview with Energy Post. According to Vrins, who is leading a practice of 600 energy experts, North America is forging ahead of Europe. “We are seeing a … [Read more...]