A new report by RMI says batteries are on the path to replace 175 EJ of fossil fuel demand in the power sector, 86 EJ of fossil fuels from road transport and can put at risk another 23 EJ from shipping and aviation. That equates to a phaseout of half of global fossil fuel demand in the next two decades. Daan Walter, Sam Butler-Sloss and Kingsmill Bond at RMI summarise the findings in six graphs with explanations. Battery sales are growing … [Read more...]
EUâs fossil fuel CO2 emissions drop to levels last seen in the 1960s
The EUâs CO2 emissions from fossil fuels (including power generation, industry and transport) dropped 8% in 2023 year-on-year, reaching levels last seen in the early 1960s, reveals an analysis by CREA. More than half of that decline came from an impressive 25% year-on-year reduction in CO2 emissions from power generation. The cleaner electricity mix is thanks to the continuous rise of wind and solar as well as a rebound in hydropower and nuclear. … [Read more...]
Building and financing the expansion of Europeâs electrical interconnection market
In the first of a series of four articles covering the expanding market for electrical interconnections in Europe, Jean-Baptiste Vaujour at the Emlyon Business School sets the scene by presenting the main points and current developments around the difficulties of building and financing these assets. Interconnectors allow power to be sent across borders to meet the shortfall where supply is not meeting demand. For example, European electricity … [Read more...]
New Solar study: 50% of global power by 2050, even without more ambitious climate policies
Nadia Ameli at UCL and Femke Nijsse and Jean-Francois Mercure at the University of Exeter present their study that shows solar is on track to make up more than half of global electricity generation by 2050, even without more ambitious climate policies. This far exceeds any previous estimates: last yearâs IEA World Energy Outlook predicted that solar would account for only 25% by 2050. The authorsâ macroeconomic model takes the latest … [Read more...]
EU now has 9,000+ âenergy communitiesâ: smart, decentralised, flexible generation and consumption
The goal of the EUâs âClean Energy for all Europeans packageâ (CEP), adopted in 2019, is to improve the functioning and design of Europeâs energy markets and systems. Luca Arfini, writing for ESCI, explains how, as part of the CEP, new market actors called âactive customers/consumers and citizensâ and âenergy communitiesâ are being established. As variable renewable generation grows, the whole system needs to be more decentralised, smarter and … [Read more...]
China can learn from the EU about power market design and infrastructure build-out
How will China integrate its growing Variable Renewable Energy generation and create a nationwide energy system that avoids the risks of curtailment, stranded assets and blackouts? A good place to start is to learn from Europe. Helen Farrell at ECECP summarises their report that uses the European experience to model scenarios for China. Chinaâs key challenges is that its power market lacks an effective auxiliary service market, a capacity market, … [Read more...]
Rooftop Solar for industry: up to 35% of U.S. manufacturing sectors could supply all their own power
Rooftop solar could supply the complete electricity needs of 5-35% of U.S. manufacturing sectors, explains Matthew Eckelman at Northeastern University who summarises his co-authored paper âTechnical feasibility of powering U.S. manufacturing with rooftop solar PVâ. At present, only 0.1% of industrial electricity demand in the U.S. is supplied by on-site sources of renewable energy. But large, unobstructed industrial rooftops and the declining … [Read more...]
Europeâs grid bottlenecks are delaying its energy transition
***While you're here... REGISTER NOW for "REPowering the grid for Solar PV" with the Vice-President of Tauron, DG ENER C, Eurelectric and SolarPowerEurope - Online Wednesday September 20 from 11:00 to 12:15 CEST*** No amount of record sales and deployment in Europe of heat pumps, EVs, solar farms, wind turbines and all the rest will guarantee the region meeting its electrification targets if the grids arenât ready to integrate them. As … [Read more...]
Only certain types of Hybridisation (Wind or Solar + Storage) beat building expensive transmission lines
In some regions, the roll out of new wind and solar has outpaced new transmission. That causes âcongestionâ at times when the variable renewables are producing too much power locally, and cannot sell the excess, which squeezes profitability. Thatâs certainly the case in the U.S. now. One answer is âhybridisationâ where storage is built alongside the renewables, to save that excess power for when it can be sold later. Julie Mulvaney Kemp at … [Read more...]
Russiaâs war has exposed France and Germanyâs energy policy differences. Can it also bring them together?
France and Germany combined account for 45% of EU GDP and 40% of energy consumption. No wonder they are the most influential EU members. But the Russia-induced energy crisis has forced both Paris and Berlin to expose and admit the differences in their national energy strategies, and that has made a search for a unified voice for Europeâs ambitious climate targets much harder to achieve, explain Camille Lafrance and Benjamin Wehrmann at CLEW. … [Read more...]
Record clean-power growth in 2023: is Coal and Gas decline now structurally embedded?
Last year, wind and solar reached a record 12% of global electricity generation, according to think tank Emberâs latest global electricity review. The overall share of all forms of low-carbon electricity rose to almost 40% of total generation. Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief goes through the Ember review which heralds this as the moment fossils began their permanent decline. Ember calls it âstructuralâ and âenduringâ because previous declines only … [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...]
Strategic home + workplace EV charging: thereâs no need for extra power plants, storage, advanced demand management
High EV usage introduces new power consumption problems. At first look, extra storage and plants will be needed to cope with charging peaks. Either that, or sophisticated advanced demand management connected to every charging point, to smooth out demand. David Chandler at MIT describes research there that shows how, done right, none of that may be necessary. The study, tested on real life data in New York and Dallas, reveals that two things can … [Read more...]
Geothermalâs full potential: 24/7 power everywhere, storage, environmental mineral extraction
Geothermal is not just for generating energy. It can be used for storage and extracting minerals too. Kelly MacGregor at NREL summarises the research into taking geothermal to the next level and making it a solution to multiple challenges. Depending on how far down you dig, geothermal is available for running utility-scale power plants as well as heating and cooling individual districts, buildings and houses. And new techniques are being … [Read more...]
The U.S. needs a plan to transfer electricity long distance between regions, like Europe and China
In the U.S. several hundred thousand miles of power lines connect thousands of electric generators. But whereas Europe and China, at a similar scale, have continental-scale grid development plans, the U.S. does not. Its grid is highly fragmented and consists of not one, but three separate power grids that are almost completely isolated from one another. It has twelve different transmission planning regions that must coordinate much better to cope … [Read more...]
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