While wind and solar are widely popular, and nuclear and energy storage hotly debated, much less is said about the role bioenergy could play in the transition to a low-carbon society. In a three-part article, Bentham Paulos argues that bioenergy has an important role to play in the green future and exposes some of the myths around it. This article originally appeared in the Energy Transition blog. … [Read more...]
China’s continuing green shift in electric power: evidence from 2016
Over the past decade, China has been greening its electric power system faster than any other industrial power. But China is also continuing to pump out more greenhouse gases than any other other country. Is its green transformation happening fast enough? Hao Tan and John A. Mathews dig deep into the 2016 data and present an awesome picture of the stunningly large Chinese electric power sector. Courtesy Asia-Pacific Journal. … [Read more...]
Interview Ditlev Engel, CEO DNV GL Energy: “The biggest challenge is integration”
The biggest challenge of the energy transition is the integration of renewable technologies into a digitalized interconnected energy system, according to Ditlev Engel, CEO of DNV GL Energy, one of the largest energy consultancies in the world. “Technology is moving very fast”, Engel says in an interview with Energy Post. “Renewable energy growth has surpassed everyone’s expectations. Regulation and market design need to reflect this development.” … [Read more...]
The surprising story of the decline of electricity use in American households
Despite continued economic growth, American households use less electricity than they did five years ago, writes Lucas Davis of the Energy Institute at Haas School of Business. The reason may surprise you, notes Davis: it’s energy-efficient lighting. According to Davis it is not clear yet whether household electricity use has peaked or will rise again in future. Courtesy Energy at Haas. … [Read more...]
Death spiral for cars. By 2030, you probably won’t own one
By 2030, you probably won’t own a car, but you may get a free trip with your morning coffee, writes Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com. Transport-As-A-Service (TaaS) will use only electric vehicles and will upend two trillion-dollar industries. It’s the death spiral for cars as we know them today. Courtesy of Reneweconomy.com. … [Read more...]
Costs of electricity generation compared: beware of simple metrics
With the rapid growth of renewables, comparing costs of different forms of power generation has become important for policymakers, investors and analysts. In these comparisons, the metric of LCOE (levelized cost of energy) is often used, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) warns that this metric does not cover all the complexities involved. The EIA has written a short primer on comparing power generation costs. … [Read more...]
Trump on the wrong side of energy history
His most recent energy appointments show that president Trump insists on moving the U.S. away from clean energy. This goes against the global trend and will put this Administration on the wrong side of energy history, writes Allan Hoffman, a former official at the U.S. Department of Energy and contributor to a new handbook on the history and future of solar power. … [Read more...]
Divestment will not block German lignite
Stock divestment strategies have been widely proposed to undercut financial support for fossil fuels. The German lignite industry, however, cannot be tackled in this way, writes independent energy expert Jeffrey Michel in a highly informative analysis. Lignite stations and mines are owned by regional communities in the west and a Czech consortium in the east. Although some power plants are being phased out against government-arranged subsidies, … [Read more...]
How to calculate revenues of solar and wind power when the subsidies stop
As the recent offshore wind auction in Germany showed, unsubsidized renewables are rapidly becoming a reality. But how do you calculate the revenues from intermittent solar and wind power plants that receive no financial support, in particular in view of the frequent occurrence of zero or negative power prices? Carlos Perez Linkenheil, Marie-Louise Niggemeier and Simon Göß from Energy Brainpool, independent Berlin-based energy market experts, … [Read more...]
Interview Ray Thompson, Siemens: “Offshore wind increasingly fuel of choice”
As governments are focusing increasingly on industrial growth strategies, offshore wind is becoming a double win for policymakers, says Ray Thompson, Head of Business Development at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. “Offshore wind helps them to achieve carbon targets and to create new jobs.” Thompson explains how the industry managed to bring costs down spectacularly and what is still in store: “Offshore wind is coming to represent a major … [Read more...]
With gas and hydro plans, Australian government is looking at whole picture
The Australian government has ambitious plans to expand hydropower capacity in Tasmania – and to restrict gas exports so they can be reserved for domestic use. Cle-Anne Gabriel, Lecturer in Sustainability at the University of Queensland, argues these policies are going in the right direction. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Bioenergy increases emissions in Europe
The way the EU Emission Trading (ETS) has been set up, means that replacement of coal or gas with biomass will lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions, writes Rauli Partanen, freelance author and analyst. And in combination with the renewable energy targets all EU member states have, this is exactly what our policies encourage us to do. … [Read more...]
Total makeover: wholesale markets need new thinking
The integration of renewables into the grid is becoming an increasingly acute problem, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, editor of newsletter EEnergy Informer. According to Sioshansi, this is especially true in energy-only markets that have no capacity mechanism of any sort. But market interventions in the form of subsidies are not the answer. Joe Bowring of independent consultancy Monitoring Analytics has an alternative: offering capacity against a … [Read more...]
The drivers behind flattening CO2 emissions
CO2 emissions have stopped growing – thanks to renewable energy, some say, but according to David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor of Shell, there are other factors at play as well, such as coal-to-gas substitution and limited demand growth. … [Read more...]
Climate change is not democratic: inaction equals annihilation of the poor
There’s a tendency to believe that the effects of climate change will be felt more or less democratically around the globe. In reality, writes energy and foreign policy specialist Michael Klare, the harshest effects will fall on the poorest and most marginalized people. They will suffer mass annihilation – unless we take action. Courtesy of Tomdispatch. … [Read more...]
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