Due to their growing power demand, data centres can set a precedent for how to handle rapid load growth in a way that supports the grid and ensures reliable, resilient, carbon-free electricity. In other words, they can set the template for the coming surges in demand from EVs, buildings electrification, and the new rich-world policies of onshoring industry and manufacturing, explain Alexandra Gorin, Roberto Zanchi and Mark Dyson at RMI. Big, … [Read more…]
Big Data’s huge power demand can migrate globally, instantaneously: implications for planning regional capacity and markets
Something is going to make the planning of regional power generation and associated markets even harder: the ability of big data users to shift their demand across the globe quickly, based on price. Ira Joseph at CGEP peers into the near future to ask some difficult questions. When such power demand can “at the push of a button” migrate long distances, how do you make predictions for local capacity needs? And today, market design in most … [Read more…]
The EU’s inaugural Hydrogen subsidy auction. What have we learned?
At the end of April, the winners were announced of the first pilot auction to allocate subsidies for EU hydrogen production via the European Hydrogen Bank. The winning bids were between €0.37 and €0.48 per kg, much lower than the €4 – €6 per kg estimated “green premium” cost gap between renewable hydrogen and fossil hydrogen in Europe. The low bids mean companies applied for fewer subsidies than needed to bridge that “green premium” gap because … [Read more…]
What China, Germany, and Texas tell us about Capacity Adequacy
As intermittent renewables penetrate further into the grid mix, reliable firm power generation is needed for whenever there is a shortfall. But back-up power, by its nature, has unreliable utilisation rates. And up-front costs for new plants are high, be they gas-fired plants, coal, nuclear, or large-scale storage. That makes future profitability uncertain, and private investors nervous. Hence the need for “capacity mechanisms” that guarantee … [Read more…]
10% of global GDP growth came from the new Clean Energy economy in 2023
The clean energy economy is making its mark on global GDP, explain Laura Cozzi, Timur GĂĽl, Thomas Spencer and Peter Levi at the IEA. It accounted for 10% of global GDP growth in 2023, primarily through three activities: manufacturing of clean energy technologies, deployment of clean power capacity, and clean equipment sales. Here, the authors present the in-depth results for four of the largest economies: the U.S, the EU, China and India, which … [Read more…]
Strict rules stop Green Hydrogen production diverting clean power from the grid. What are they?
Green hydrogen must be made from green electricity. But the electricity used for making it must fulfil stricter requirements than conventional green electricity. Matthis Brinkhaus at Energy Brainpool describes the criteria by which hydrogen can be designated as 100% renewable: Additionality; Additionality Plus; Temporal correlation, simultaneity; Geographical correlation, regionality. Brinkhaus points at where exceptions can be made, and where … [Read more…]
Can the six Gulf nations meet their ambitious Renewables deployment plans by 2030?
The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabi, UAE) have all set themselves ambitious renewable energy targets to meet in the next ten years. They are some of the sunniest countries in the world, and existing projects have set records for low solar power costs. But they have a long way to go. In 2022, GCC renewable capacity was 5.7GW, primarily solar PV, out of 165GW of total generating capacity, … [Read more…]
Europe’s cross-border Interconnectors: how JAO auctions optimise energy flows, prices
Interconnectors allow for cross-border flows of energy between two markets that would otherwise not be connected. Through an economic convergence between supply and demand, the cheapest marginal producer located anywhere in these two markets should be able to set market prices. As Jean-Baptiste Vaujour at the Emlyon Business School explains, the central question is to find an optimal allocation of the scarce interconnection capacity between the … [Read more…]
New Offshore Wind projects: is permitting being slowed by evidence from “grey literature”?
Offshore wind is the new frontier of clean energy generation. The permitting process depends on policymakers’ evaluation of the impact assessment evidence. As Claire Szostek at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory explains, that evidence has two sources: primary and “grey” literature. “Primary literature” comes from structured peer-reviewed scientific journals. “Grey literature” includes all other types of reports and evidence published freely. The … [Read more…]
Euro 2024: what’s being done to make it “the most sustainable football championship of all time”?
UEFA and the German Football Federation (DFB) have promised that EURO 24 will be “the most sustainable European championship of all time.” As Ruby Russell writing for CLEW explains, plans extend across 10 energy-hungry stadiums, travel to and between 51 games (80% of emissions!), merchandise and catering. To tempt people off budget airlines, train fares are being subsidised and extra trains scheduled in. There are plans to use renewable power in … [Read more…]
Financing Europe’s cross-border Interconnectors to deliver energy security, lower prices: a look at incentives and policies
The EU and its Member States are building out interconnectors to improve security of supply and affordability of electricity through the physical and economic linking of national energy markets into a single, synchronised European market. But each interconnector is expensive, complex and therefore risky. They can span long distances or natural obstacles such as mountains or seas. Significant network planning and adaptation is needed to account … [Read more…]
Study: universities worldwide are still producing far more graduates for fossil fuels than for clean energy
Universities worldwide still produce more workers for fossil fuels than for renewable energy industries. Roman Vakulchuk and Indra Overland at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs summarise their new study on the energy transition in global higher education, published by the Energy Research & Social Science journal. The study is based on a review of 18,400 universities in 196 countries. 68% of the world’s energy educational … [Read more…]
Hydrogen: most nations’ plans to export to Europe don’t match reality. The EU should make it itself
The EU’s RePowerEU plan, quickly made in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, aims to produce 20m tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030, with half coming from imports. Here, T&E summarise their report that concludes this is unrealistic. The report looks at six key countries with plans to export hydrogen to the EU: Norway, Chile, Egypt, Morocco, Namibia and Oman. T&E says these countries combined would only be able to deliver a quarter … [Read more…]
The link between global GDP growth and CO2 emissions is weakening rapidly. Will emissions peak well before 2030?
Economic growth has been closely tied to rising greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial age. But data now clearly shows that that GDP growth and CO2 emissions are diverging. Siddharth Singh at the IEA presents the numbers. In advanced economies that divergence now seems locked in, with 2007 marking the moment of peak emissions (and not simply because of offshoring manufacturing). Even in developing economies GDP growth is far outpacing … [Read more…]
Italy: Capacity Auctions for 71 GWh of additional Grid Storage
Italy needs 71 GWh of new utility-scale electricity storage capacity by 2030 to meet EU targets to cut emissions by at least 55% by 2030, according to Terna which manages Italy’s transmission grid. ***STOP PRESS*** This Tuesday at 11:00 CET, Energy Post is exclusive media partner to a dedicated webinar (organised by ATA Insights/RENMAD) on Capacity Market Auctions REGISTER FREE HERE. In this article, Sara Stefanini summarises the Terna study, … [Read more…]
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