District Heating policies need urgent attention according to the IEA so here in Europe it's a good moment to examine what the "Fit for 55" package means for the sector's future development. On February 10 Energy Post is hosting an online roundtable alongside MEP Pernille Weiss, MEP Morten Petersen, and MEP Grzegorz Tobiszowski - all (senior) members of the ITRE committee - to take in the viewpoints of key Member States and stakeholders (COGEN … [Read more...]
New York City to stop new buildings connecting to the Gas network
New York City is the U.S.âs largest metropolis, over twice the size of second spot Los Angeles, and is still growing. It has just passed a bill that effectively stops new buildings from hooking up to the gas network. The significance is not simply because of NYCâs global prominence, but because it gets very cold in winter with average temperatures just above freezing point. The move is a major win for the electrification of buildings. The … [Read more...]
Intelligent, flexible Sector Coupling in cities can double the potential for Wind and Solar
This week the European Commission tabled the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which should accelerate the decarbonisation of buildings. Buildings and cities play a key role in the energy transition. And the target high shares of variable renewable power supply will be much more easily achieved if the sectors using them display demand flexibility. In essence, that means using or storing the excess wind and solar generation … [Read more...]
When Electrification is cheaper than maintaining Gas infrastructure
The gas sector continuously faces major expenses to maintain and replace aging distribution systems. Non-Pipeline Alternatives (NPAs) are solutions that avoid the scale of these infrastructure costs by judiciously spending money on cutting future gas use instead. Given gasâs limited long-term future in a net-zero world, this makes sense. Itâs not just about efficiency wins, explains Max Dupuy at RAP who summarises their research. Gas utilities … [Read more...]
Behaviour Change: strategies and case studies for reaching net-zero by 2050
Technological solutions on their own are unlikely to deliver emissions reductions at the speed and scale required to reach net zero by 2050. Daniel Crow, Insa Handschuch, Gabriel Saive and Leonie Staas at the IEA look at a suite of policy-driven citizen âbehaviour changesâ that should be used to bridge the gap. The impact will be greatest in advanced economies where energy intensity is highest. Meanwhile, in emerging economies the good habits put … [Read more...]
Central and Eastern Europeâs buildings renovation plans fall far short of 55% emissions cuts
There are big decarbonisation gains to be had in a renovation wave in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) precisely because their building stock is very energy-inefficient, explains Christophe Jost at CEE Bankwatch. But Bankwatch's report on eight national plans - Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia â reveals weaknesses in scale, funding, strategy and policy. Many are planning to comply with only the former 40% … [Read more...]
Residential energy use: âinterventionsâ that alter daily habits vs top-down regulations
Getting people to change their behaviour is part of the net-zero plan, with residential energy consumption at 20% of total energy demand. How big a part can it play, and how quickly? Traditional methods like economic incentives and providing consumers with raw consumption data donât always get the results expected. Here, Elisabetta Cornago at the IEA describes behavioural âinterventionsâ that alter daily habits, are cheaper than large-scale … [Read more...]
“China and Europe – Energy Efficiency, the foundation of our net-zero future” [EVENT highlights and VIDEO]
We present the videos of the third of our three, 4-session workshops on the opportunities for European energy solutions providers to take part in Chinaâs energy transition, held on April 13th and 14th 2021. In this workshop the theme was efficiency, with special reference to finance, buildings, heating and cooling, and smart solutions. Both regions need to go beyond the efficiency "easy wins" so we take a close look at what Europe can offer as … [Read more...]
Energy efficiency is the âfirst fuelâ, making decarbonisation easier for all other sectors
To set up our upcoming online event âChina: Carbon Neutral by 2060 -EFFICIENCY FIRSTâ we look at the profound importance of efficiency to the global energy transition. Energy efficiency is the âfirst fuelâ, meaning success here will make the decarbonisation of all the other sectors and technologies easier, faster and cheaper. Basically, use and waste less energy. Alyssa Fischer at the IEA starts by noting that their Sustainable Development … [Read more...]
Netherlands: gas phase-out transition must tackle the geopolitical implications of importing from Russia
Until recently, the Netherlands has had no major concerns regarding natural gas security of supply. Thatâs just as well, given gas plays a big role primarily in the generation of heat: 90% of buildings and 40-50% of industrial heat are based on gas. Now, decarbonisation plans to cut its own gas production as well as consumption brings with it major dilemmas. Irina Patrahau and Lucia van Geuns at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies present a … [Read more...]
EU Recovery funds: where is the support for District Heating?
District Heating is an efficient way to heat homes, particularly in a country like Latvia where 58% of its primary energy consumption is used for heating. But SelÄ«na VancÄne at Riga City Council is very concerned that the draft EU Recovery plans do not include any support under the climate goals for district heating projects. Perhaps itâs because of a blind spot: most of Europe is prioritising individual heating units powered by electricity. … [Read more...]
A marketplace for energy data will enable Europeâs grid expansion
The growth of the decentralisation of energy generation and storage combined with the digitalisation of the metrics of supply and demand is pointing towards a marketplace for energy data, explain Veronika SpurnĂĄ and Helena Uhde at the EU-China Energy Cooperation Platform. Such a marketplace will monetise the data itself, in recognition of its vital role in enabling the intelligent distribution of energy and investment. There will also be a place … [Read more...]
Buildings Renovation in Germany: success story or potential failure?
The German Federal Association of Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) has claimed that money and effort spent on the nationâs buildings renovations have not worked. But Andreas RĂŒdinger at IDDRI has looked into the evidence and concluded that the opposite is the case. CO2 emissions from the residential sector in 2018 were 37% lower than in 1990. Though final energy consumption was broadly stable, thatâs because efficiency gains were offset by … [Read more...]
Which sectors need Hydrogen, which donât: Transport, Heating, Electricity, Storage, Industry?
Which sectors are most suited to hydrogen, and which are not? For the answer, six academics from the UK and the Netherlands - Tom Baxter, Ernst Worrell, Hu Li, Petra de Jongh, Stephen Carr, and Valeska Ting â use their areas of expertise to neatly summarise hydrogenâs pros and cons in Road and Rail, Aviation, Heating, Electricity and Energy Storage, and Heavy Industry. Their general message seems clear: hydrogen is still very expensive, so it can … [Read more...]
City-level emissions reductions: what can successful cities teach us
The EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (EUCoM) requires their member cities to commit to exceeding their national goals. EUCoM is one of the worldâs largest subnational climate action networks, with over 1,000 cities and home to 50m people. Writing for Carbon Brief, Angel Hsu, Nihit Goyal and Amy Weinfurter at Yale-NUS College review the data to see how successful they have been. About 40% of the cities show emission reductions that are … [Read more...]
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