There is widespread concern over the high energy use of Bitcoin mining. But blockchains can be highly energy-efficient, writes Sam Hartnett of the Energy Web Foundation, a joint initiative of Rocky Mountain Institute and Grid Singularity who have partnered with Shell, Statoil, Engie, and other energy companies to accelerate adoption of blockchain technology in the energy sector. According to Hartnett, Â blockchain technology will help accelerate … [Read more...]
The sorry state of demand response in the U.S.
While peak demand grew, the use of demand response declined by 10% last year in the U.S., writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, publisher of newsletter EEnergy Informer and editor of Innovation & Disruption at the Grid’s Edge. The decline is no incident, notes Sioshansi: regulators are failing to take an active role. Millions of advanced meters are performing dumb tasks. … [Read more...]
Time for German network operators to come clean about tariffs
Network tariffs are an important part of energy costs for consumers, yet, surprisingly, the way these fees are established in Germany is completely opaque, writes Andreas Jahn, Berlin-based Senior Associate at global energy policy advisors Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). According to Jahn, it is unclear how network operators and the regulator calculate costs and how they are allocated to customers. He calls on the German government—and on … [Read more...]
Are renewable energy cost reductions coming to an end? What next?
Renewable energy’s steep cost reductions may be tapering off, as investments levels are flat and system costs are becoming more important than component costs, writes independent energy expert Roger Arnold. According to Arnold,this implies that policy support should shift to storage and infrastructural approaches. … [Read more...]
New NASA study underscores urgency of solving the global methane problem
A new NASA study suggests methane emissions from fossil fuels may be responsible for half of the recent rise in global atmospheric methane concentrations, writes David Lyon of EDF Energy Exchange. He adds that reducing worldwide emissions of methane by the oil and gas industry would have no net cost and would have the same impact as closing all coal plants in China. … [Read more...]
China takes steps to stimulate distributed renewable energy generation
China’s spectacular expansion of its solar power capacity is mostly based on utility-scale solar, but distributed solar is also taking off, write Max Dupuy and Wang Xuan, two China experts from the globally operating Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). According to Dupuy and Xuan, this trend may be expected to continue, as the Chinese government is creating new business and regulatory models to stimulate distributed solar PV and other … [Read more...]
Can the U.S. compete in the electric car war?
The U.S. needs a coherent, unified energy policy with respect to vehicle electrification and automation if it wants to keep up with China, write Leonard Hyman and William Tilles. U.S. and European auto manufacturers have equal or greater resources than their Chinese counterparts. But they don’t have the same level of government support – and therefore cannot rely on their domestic markets. Courtesy Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
Will China’s Belt and Road Initiative help or hinder clean energy?
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the broad infrastructure and market-building initiative of the world’s second-largest economy, has a different feel than trade agreements initiated in the West – and it could have major implications for the future of energy across many parts of the world, writes Sonia Aggarwal, Vice President of think tank Energy Innovation, and Director of America’s Power Plan. … [Read more...]
China just launched the world’s largest carbon market. Here are 3 ways it can succeed
On December 19, China formally launched its national carbon market. By setting a carbon price on the country’s largest greenhouse-gas emitters, China has launched a new, crucial endeavor in its efforts to tackle pollution and climate change, write Hal Harvey and Hu Min of the San Francisco-based think tank Energy Innovation. … [Read more...]
The quiet power market transformation behind the new carbon market in China
In December, the Chinese government announced the launch of a national carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS), which is expected to become the largest ETS in the world. This is a major development, writes Max Dupuy, senior associate at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), but its success depends on an even deeper power sector transformation that is taking place in China, which gets much less attention. This reform effort promises to completely … [Read more...]
Winds of change: Britain now generates twice as much electricity from wind as coal
Just six years ago, more than 40% of Britain’s electricity was generated by burning coal. Today, that figure is just 7%. Yet if the story of 2016 was the dramatic demise of coal and its replacement by natural gas, then 2017 was most definitely about the growth of wind power, write Grant Wilson and Iain Staffell. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Exclusive interview Maros Šefčovič: Energy Union is “deepest transformation of energy systems since Industrial Revolution”
Before the next European elections in 2019, Maroš Ĺ efÄŤoviÄŤ , the European Commission’s Vice-President for the Energy Union, wants to have a new legal framework in place which will “bring in the most comprehensive and deepest transformation of energy systems in Europe, since the [industrial revolution] one hundred and fifty years ago.” In an exclusive interview with Energy Post, he says that the success of the Energy Union project “will decide the … [Read more...]
Trump’s “America First” energy policy puts China ahead in energy
China has indicated it is set to launch a crude oil futures contract in yuan, which could be a significant step towards the de-dollarization of the global economy. It is a sign of China’s growing confidence – and the U.S.’s declining influence, writes Friedbert PflĂĽger, Director of the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS). According to PflĂĽger, President Trump’s “America First” policy is having the opposite effect: it is … [Read more...]
Why we shouldn’t be so quick to trust energy modelling
In Australia a fierce debate is raging over the future of the national electricity market. The arguments from the government and its critics are all based on energy models, but the outcome of models strongly depends on their underlying assumptions, writes Hugh Saddler of Australian National University. These are difficult to verify, since all models that are used are proprietary and cannot be independently evaluated. One way to move past the … [Read more...]
How to ensure that corporate buying of renewable energy really makes a difference
Many corporations are eager to contribute to the fight against climate change by sourcing renewable energy. Yet, despite some high-profile power purchase agreements, corporate renewables sourcing is still a small market and its real contribution to the energy transition is doubtful sometimes, writes Malte Gephart, energy policy expert at international consultancy Navigant. According to Gephart, this is a missed opportunity. He explains what needs … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- …
- 64
- Next Page »