In the U.S. a growing number of states and regulators are directing utilities to look for alternatives to proposed gas-fired power plants, citing environmental justice and community health impacts, explain Caitlin Odom and Lauren Shwisberg at RMI. So itâs not just about emissions: pollution matters too. The authors quote studies that show clean energy portfolios (CEPs) not only reduce energy costs, but can save billions of dollars in community … [Read more...]
Russiaâs war is accelerating the clean energy transition, says IEA
The IEAâs World Energy Outlook 2022 is predicting that fossil fuels will peak in the next five years, âthanks toâ Russiaâs war and the resultant energy crisis. National climate promises are being turned into policies that improve energy security, which mostly means reducing dependence on gas. That means global energy demand growth to 2030 will âalmost entirelyâ be met by renewables. Simon Evans at Carbon Brief takes an in-depth look at the … [Read more...]
Can the Czech Republic revive its clean energy ambitions?
Although an early enthusiast for solar in 2009 the Czech Republicâs clean energy ambitions stalled. The share of green electricity was only 12% last year, with solar contributing 3% and wind just 1%. The current government is now reviving the nationâs drive towards carbon-free energy. Will new Czech policies along with EU initiatives like REPowerEU, the Green Deal and the Modernisation Fund successfully breathe new life into the Czech transition? … [Read more...]
Energy Security: what if the UK government had not âcut the green crapâ from 2013
The UK provides an example of a government that cut back its green ambitions only to see its energy security suffer. In 2013, then-prime minister David Cameron told his ministers to âcut the green crapâ. That led successive governments to downgrade home energy efficiency, requirements for new homes to be âzero carbonâ, end subsidies for onshore wind and solar, and effectively ban onshore wind in England. What if the UK had stayed on its … [Read more...]
U.S. Residential Distributed Solar: still getting cheaper, installation and permitting too, more batteries
John Rogers at UCS reviews the new and comprehensive âTracking the Sunâ report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory which covers both residential and non-residential âgrid-connected, distributedâ solar PV systems in the U.S. There has been clear progress across the board, including PV module efficiency, system costs, installation and permitting, and the uptake of batteries. For example, median efficiency for modules in residential systems … [Read more...]
Ukraineâs post-war reconstruction must prioritise Renewables, for energy security and European integration
With Russia using energy as a weapon of war, Ukraine must prioritise domestic renewable generation to help ensure its future energy security, explain Joseph Majkut and Allegra Dawes at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ukraineâs reconstruction, which will cost hundreds of billions, must therefore include it in its strategy. Done right, it will also enable greater market integration with the European Union. Ukraineâs energy … [Read more...]
China: decades of support for innovation is now delivering results
The evolution of Chinaâs clean energy sector used to be based on a technology catch-up approach, which meant secondary innovation based on imported technologies. Daisy Chi at ECECP looks at the IEAâs recent report, âTracking Clean Energy Innovation: Focus on Chinaâ, to conclude that the nation is now a major force in clean energy innovation. Decades of innovation-focussed policies, strong funding support, institutional reforms, big targets and … [Read more...]
EU Solar has avoided 20bcm of gas imports and saved âŹ29bn
Solar generation in the EU has avoided the import of 20bcm of gas that would have cost âŹ29bn, explains PaweĆ CzyĆŒak at Ember, writing for Carbon Brief. The new solar power added since 2021 alone avoided âŹ6bn of gas imports. Record EU solar generation increased by 28% in the summer of 2022, compared with the same period a year earlier. And itâs growing very quickly, with a consistent 15% year-on-year increases in installed solar capacity â from … [Read more...]
âGETsâ: cheap ways for Grids to double Wind & Solar integration and help battle global inflation
Accelerating the clean energy transition can tackle the inflation crisis, not just save the climate, explain Russell Mendell, Mathias Einberger and Katie Siegner at Rocky Mountain Institute. Rising energy costs are driving current global inflation. So now is the perfect time to drive through low-hanging-fruit ways to increase wind and solar generation and storage. In the U.S. interconnection queues â the pipeline of clean generation projects … [Read more...]
Can Chinaâs 14th 5-year-plan for Renewable Energy deliver an early emissions peak before 2030?
At the beginning of June China released its 14th five-year plan (FYP) for renewable energy for the five years 2021-2025. Hu Min at Innovative Green Development Program, writing for Carbon Brief, reviews the planâs targets and actions, and its implications. Unchanged from the 13th FYP, 25% of Chinaâs energy will come from non-fossil sources by 2030. But the 14th FYP says at least half of the increase in electricity demand will be covered by … [Read more...]
Grid Distribution Systems: access to usage data is uncovering the optimal design for future electrification
The more efficient a distribution grid is, the less likely other potential supply bottlenecks (from lithium for batteries to trained electricians) will slow the transition to greater and greater electrification. State-of-the-art modelling of future grids is already happening, but the robust modelling of the distribution system is conspicuously missing because good data are notoriously hard to find, says Meredith Fowlie at UC Berkeleyâs Energy … [Read more...]
Record global clean energy spending, but itâs still not enough and costs are rising
Since 2020, clean energy investment has grown by 12% per year â it was only 2%/year during the five years after the 2015 Paris Agreement. That boost is the main reason why total global energy investment is set to reach $2.4tn in 2022, according to the latest âWorld Energy Investmentâ report from the IEA. Itâs very good news that spending on solar PV, batteries and EVs is now growing at rates consistent with reaching global net zero emissions by … [Read more...]
Event summary: â45% RES by 2030: EUâs latest investment challenge to DSOsâ
Sara Stefanini provides a written summary of our panel discussion held on Thursday June 30th 2022. Itâs a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights. Investment in and the modernisation of the electricity distribution grid is one the biggest challenges the EU has to overcome in the next decade. Itâs a âŹ400bn investment challenge by 2050 says Eurelectric, an … [Read more...]
Implementing Polandâs national Recovery and Resilience Plan
How should Poland implement its national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP)? Sonia Buchholtz at Forum Energii outlines some important answers. First, a deep analysis of the challenges and assessment of the solutions and reforms must start now. Buchholtz says though the directions set out in the RRP are correct, the details are out-of-date. Policy reforms and more ambitious targets are needed in all the main areas: energy efficiency and heating; … [Read more...]
Global map of the future cost of clean Hydrogen production in 2030 and 2050
The worldâs commitment to hydrogen needs an assessment of which regions can make it the cheapest. Herib Blanco at IRENA and Jacopo de Maigret at Fondazione Bruno Kessler describe their study of the range of factors that affect the future cost and therefore the potential for clean renewable hydrogen, estimated for 2030 and 2050. The main drivers are the capital cost of the renewable generation and the electrolyser, the cost of capital, and the … [Read more...]
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