Today’s solutions cannot give us a successful transition on their own. That’s why the innovations coming down the pipeline are so important. One way to measure what, and who, is innovating is to look at the number of patents being filed for low carbon energy (LCE), explains Sean Fleming writing for the World Economic Forum. He summarises the latest report from the European Patent Office and the IEA, “Patents and the energy transition: Global … [Read more...]
CCS: Identifying the best underground locations for storing CO2 can take 10 years, so let’s start now
Underground geological formations have more space to store CO2 than we’ll ever need, by orders of magnitude. But the process of assessing the best locations can take up to ten years, so that work needs to start now, say Raimund Malischek and Samantha McCulloch at the IEA. The main constraints are technical (which porous rock formations absorb CO2 most easily, etc.), while the displacement of land use and public acceptance must also be considered. … [Read more...]
SMEs key to Europe’s decarbonisation efforts
The Horizon 2020 funded project, LEAP4SME – Energy audit policies to drive energy efficiency – aims to enhance effective policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to undergo energy audits and implement cost-effective, recommended energy-saving measures. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), SMEs account for at least 13% of global final energy consumption annually and energy efficiency improvements are to … [Read more...]
E-Trucks need infrastructure, not just cheaper batteries
The electrification of road freight has great potential, but there are some big gaps that first have to be bridged. Writing for IRENA, Dolf Gielen, Francisco Boshell, Guy Lentz and Sita Holtslag explain what needs to be done to ensure that the technological advances and cost reductions happening at the forefront of e-mobility are quickly delivered onto our roads. To illustrate the problem: in Europe over half of road freight is transported less … [Read more...]
Little progress decarbonising Industry. Renewables can be the answer
The decarbonisation of heavy industry is making little progress. There are two main reasons. Firstly, there are no easy technology wins. Efficiency and carbon capture have been the favoured options. But efficiency gains have their limits, and carbon capture is still proving very expensive. Secondly, governments don’t want their home industries to lose competitiveness incurring costs reducing emissions. Dolf Gielen and Paul Durrant at IRENA say a … [Read more...]
The PAC Scenario: net-zero by 2040 to meet Europe’s Paris goals
The EU is not on track to meet its Paris Agreement obligations on emissions and limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. CAN Europe and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) present their Paris Agreement Compatible (PAC) scenario, designed to do just that. It’s been created through the careful analysis of contributions from more than 150 stakeholders including NGOs, scientists, industry and grid operators. Jörg MĂĽhlenhoff at CAN Europe … [Read more...]
Calculating the energy saved if home working becomes the norm, globally
The global lockdown has resulted in a jump in home working and a collapse in commuting. If, post-lockdown, this new lifestyle is widely embraced, will it mean a reduction in total energy consumption and, if so, by how much? Daniel Crow and Ariane Millot at the IEA have crunched the numbers to attempt to answer this question. The first observation is that although car use will drop, residential energy consumption will rise. This is what makes the … [Read more...]
Coal exit saves money when public health, land degradation costs added – analysis
Coal is cheap. In countries historically reliant on it, as well as emerging economies still building plants, switching to cleaner energy just doesn’t seem to add up. That’s when you’re only looking at your national energy system costs. But the externality costs of air pollution, public health and a degraded local environment are rarely factored in to the equation. When they are, explains Sebastian Rauner writing for Carbon Brief, abandoning coal … [Read more...]
EU needs clear European Green and Solidarity Pact by September
Stark predictions around the unprecedented economic challenges facing Europe (and the world) are starting to take shape. The possible solutions must keep pace with them. Here, Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega at the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate lays out those challenges and robust policy answers that can keep us on a net-zero emissions track while stimulating economies, creating jobs, and maintaining social justice. It’s no surprise that there is … [Read more...]
Designing the Covid-19 stimulus: what the 2008 crisis can teach us
Policy makers around the world are hearing a lot of advice on how to design their stimulus packages. This comes from the IEA where Fatih Birol lays out five fundamental lessons we can learn from the stimulus packages that came out of the 2008 global financial crisis. His main headings are: Build on what you already have – and think big (e.g. feed-in tariffs, production tax credits); Choose technologies that are ready for the big time (e.g. wind, … [Read more...]
Europe needs its own EV battery recycling industry
Europe needs its own battery recycling industry, and the EU’s European Battery Alliance should make it happen, says RaphaĂ«l Danino-Perraud writing for the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate. For economic, strategic and environmental reasons, today’s overwhelming dependence on outsourcing – in this case to Asia - for battery manufacture and recycling needs to change. To start with, Asia provides over 90% of global car battery output, half coming … [Read more...]
Grid Battery tech on track. It now needs re-designed markets, monetisation
The rapid expansion of variable renewable electricity generation is making cost effective storage more urgent. Sure enough, in Europe several electricity storage projects are under construction and new ones are announced almost on a weekly basis. The battery technology seems to be on track, with estimates of $156/kWh in 2019 dropping to $61/kWh by 2030. But progress is hampered by the lack of a market that recognises and rewards the true value of … [Read more...]
Carbon Tax: “laboratory” Europe shows U.S. it has no effect on aggregate jobs, growth
The issue of carbon taxes is under debate in the U.S. Congress. The fear is a new tax will destroy jobs and hinder growth. Will it? Meredith Fowlie at the Energy Institute at Haas says the U.S. should see Europe as a very useful carbon tax laboratory experiment: half the countries have some sort of tax, the other half don’t. She’s pulled together evidence to answer the simple question: does a carbon tax affect aggregate employment and growth. Her … [Read more...]
The Six Energy Paradoxes that slow the sector’s progress
Gerard Reid at Alexa Capital takes a high level look at what he sees as six systemic problems faced throughout the energy sector. They can be found at every level, across all technologies and markets. He calls them the Six Energy Paradoxes. All of them are acting as a serious drag on progress, Transition or not. Take the Market Efficiency Paradox. Utilities should adjust their prices to meet changes in energy supply and demand. Higher supply or … [Read more...]
Offshore Wind: a new source of clean energy for Asia?
Offshore wind is seeing the same dramatic cost reductions as solar and onshore wind. Though still more expensive, it’s heading towards $60/MWh parity with them across Europe. The U.S., China and Taiwan are also experiencing impressive drops. It’s why global capacity nearly doubled in three years from 12GW in December 2015 to 23GW by the end of 2018. IEEFA’s briefing note “Offshore Wind Ready to Be Key Part of Energy Mix Globally – Top European … [Read more...]
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