Like many nations, Germany is struggling to find a way to replace fossil fuel-powered boilers in millions of homes and buildings with heat pumps and other cleaner alternatives. Heating accounts for a whopping 15% of the country’s emissions. As Sören Amelang at CLEW explains, the up-front cost of a new clean heater can be double that of existing mass-produced fossil equivalent, so home owners are resistant. In 2022, two thirds of all new heating … [Read more...]
Financing Renewable Hydrogen globally: ramp up to 2030 only needs $150bn/year
Dolf Gielen, Priyank Lathwal and Silvia Carolina Lopez Rocha at the World Bank present a thorough review of the pathway to financing global clean renewable hydrogen over the coming decades. The wind and solar that powers production will continue to get cheaper, and so will electrolyser costs as they scale up. Nevertheless, the total financing will still be considerable. World Bank analysis shows around $30tn between now and 2050 will be needed … [Read more...]
Europe: preventing a “carbon wall” between the West and the ten Central and Eastern EU nations
Diana-Paula Gherasim at the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate summarises her 36-page data-rich report on the progress and challenges for the ten Central and Eastern EU (CEECs) countries in decarbonisation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has focussed all minds on energy security and the best solutions: less fossils, efficiency gains and clean energy made in the EU. Gherasim says that vitally important progress is being made in avoiding a … [Read more...]
Germany closes its last 3 nuclear reactors. Understanding the reasons why
Germany has a long history of being resistant to all things nuclear. No new commercial reactors have been built since 1989. By 2023, nuclear made up only 6% of its power mix. To meet its decarbonisation goals, the government is confident of its target to reach an 80% renewables share in electricity demand by 2030 without nuclear. Hence the shut-down of its last three reactors over the weekend. Yet nuclear supporters say that leaving the last six … [Read more...]
EU: no CO2-emitting car sales from 2035. But beware of the small exemption for e-fuels
At the end of March, EU countries gave final approval to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035. It came after Germany argued for and won an exemption for cars running on e-fuels. William Todts at T&E celebrates the landmark decision, but warns that this lifeline for e-fuels will be used by its supporters and the oil lobby to obstruct the rapid transition to EVs. He quotes T&E research that shows e-fuels are far less efficient than … [Read more...]
Germany: does the LNG infrastructure build-up deliver energy security or go too far?
A report out this month from the German government says it wants a significant “safety buffer” of new LNG import capacity, to ensure that the country - and neighbouring landlocked states - will receive sufficient supply of natural gas in the coming years. It says an overcapacity is needed in case of failures due to accidents, sabotage or other external factors not under German or EU control. Events have shown that unilateral dependencies in … [Read more...]
Analysis: U.S. IRA subsidies put two-thirds of Europe’s battery production pipeline at risk
Major battery manufacturing projects earmarked for Europe are now looking to site themselves in the U.S. to take advantage of its IRA subsidies, according to a new report by T&E. It says over two-thirds of lithium-ion battery production planned for Europe – a pipeline potential of 1.8 TWh - is now at risk of being delayed, scaled down or cancelled. The nations most at risk of losing the business are Germany, Hungary, Spain, Italy, the UK and … [Read more...]
Will Europe now commit to long term imports of large quantities of LNG?
The EU and European nations need a more secure LNG supply strategy than just buying on the spot market where there is little control of prices and quantities. With Russian gas off the agenda for the foreseeable future, it’s LNG that’s filled the gap. But spot prices have been extremely high, and may return to the same heights. And though China’s Covid-caused drop in LNG consumption helped enable Europe to buy enough for now, that won’t be the … [Read more...]
Germany is developing a strategy for Carbon Capture and Storage to meet its 2045 net zero target
Germany cannot become carbon neutral by 2045 without carbon capture, explains Simon Göss at carboneer. It’s why the German government is developing a Carbon Management Strategy for CO2 storage and utilisation. Projections reveal that around 30m tons of CO2 will have to be captured, transported, reused or disposed of by 2045. The focus will be on industrial processes and waste. Göss lays out the background to Germany’s strategy, including possible … [Read more...]
Corporate targets are forcing suppliers to cut emissions or relocate to clean energy nations
Emissions targets being imposed by corporates in the U.S. and Europe are forcing manufacturers in other parts of the world to decarbonise, writes Kwangyin Liu at Clean Energy Wire. Here, she looks at how Taiwan’s TSMC – the world’s third largest chip manufacturer – is having to set up factories in Arizona (U.S.) and Kumamoto (Japan) where emissions are lower and thus to comply with requirements set by customers like Apple, Google and Microsoft. … [Read more...]
How governments are defusing political opposition to the energy transition
What’s holding up the energy transition? Not the hardware, says the energy sector: proven clean energy solutions abound and any bottlenecks are continually being addressed by innovation. Not the money, says the finance sector: there is more than enough investment queueing up for realistic returns. It’s the politics: the voters and the businesses that rationally oppose what could cost them too much. So the main obstacle is the ability of … [Read more...]
European gas prices have fallen sharply since August. What happens next?
Prices on the European gas market have fallen sharply since August 2022 and Europe’s gas storage facilities are almost full. That’s good news, but the problems aren’t over. Simon Göss at cr.hub, writing for Energy Brainpool, explains why by looking at the data. He runs through the main factors driving the changes, primarily strong LNG imports, Norway’s increased production, mild weather, and lower gas consumption (particularly in industry). … [Read more...]
EU Solar has avoided 20bcm of gas imports and saved €29bn
Solar generation in the EU has avoided the import of 20bcm of gas that would have cost €29bn, explains PaweĹ‚ CzyĹĽak at Ember, writing for Carbon Brief. The new solar power added since 2021 alone avoided €6bn of gas imports. Record EU solar generation increased by 28% in the summer of 2022, compared with the same period a year earlier. And it’s growing very quickly, with a consistent 15% year-on-year increases in installed solar capacity – from … [Read more...]
Event Summary: Building GW-scale Offshore Wind in the Baltic Sea
Here we provide a written summary of the panel discussion “Wind of Change or Change of Wind? The future of Baltic Sea offshore investments” held on 12th September 2022 in Brussels. It’s a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights. The Baltic Sea has the potential to develop over 90 GW of offshore wind capacity. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has delivered … [Read more...]
Fossil fuel producers can decarbonise by exporting Electricity, Hydrogen, and Steel
The compelling reason why fossil fuel producers will be needed even beyond 2050 is that they currently provide over 80% of global energy, and 90% of the world’s population still needs the wealth creation that energy delivers, says Schalk Cloete. Given that, he summarises his co-authored paper that takes a close look at how a fossil exporter, Norway, can trade with an importer, Germany, while decarbonising. The modelling focusses on electricity … [Read more...]
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