Right now, energy system costs are driven by generation capacity, infrastructure upgrades, network reinforcements, curtailment and constraint payments, and imbalance costs. What’s missing is the investment in a raft of demand side management assets that are ready to go but are not part of the market, therefore not rewarded, and therefore not being invested in. Laura Sandys at Energy Systems Catapult, writing for WEF, explains why flexibility must … [Read more...]
New thermophotovoltaic cells turn heat into electricity more efficiently than a steam turbine
Over 90% of the world’s electricity comes from heat-generating power plants using coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, and concentrated solar energy. Steam turbines have always been the standard for converting that heat into electricity. On average they are only 35% efficient, with moving parts that cannot cope with temperatures above 2,000 degrees Celsius. Jennifer Chu at MIT describes new research, in collaboration with NREL, that has led to a … [Read more...]
If Russia cuts its gas supplies to Germany, what happens next?
Replacing Russian pipeline gas to Europe in the short term is much more difficult than finding alternative sources for coal and oil. It’s why the EU hasn’t banned Russian gas. But what if Russia cuts off the supply? Benjamin Wehrmann at Clean Energy Wire looks at what the consequences and options are for Germany. Though Germany aims to wean itself off Russian supplies almost entirely by 2024, a sudden cut would have serious consequences. Storage … [Read more...]
Event Summary: “CHINA: Carbon Neutral by 2060 – Innovation”
Here are the highlights of our 2-day 4-session workshop “CHINA: Carbon Neutral by 2060 - Innovation”, compiled by Sara Stefanini. It’s a quick and efficient way for readers to see the main points made by our expert panellists. Held at the end of May, it was the fourth of our EU-China workshops since the first was held in November 2020, produced for the EU China Energy Cooperation Platform (ECECP). As always, leading speakers from the EU, major … [Read more...]
Latest U.S. modelling shows Battery Storage can support an 80% Renewables grid by 2050
NREL’s latest Storage Futures Study concludes that battery storage should be able to support an 80% renewables grid mix in the U.S. by 2050. Madeline Geocaris at NREL explains how they modelled hundreds of future scenarios to accurately represent the value of diurnal (<12 hours) battery energy storage. The high-storage scenarios made different cost and performance assumptions for storage, wind, solar PV, and natural gas. 15 storage … [Read more...]
Solar + Storage Hybrid plants are poised for explosive growth in the U.S.
At the beginning of 2021 the U.S. had 73 solar and 16 wind hybrid projects, amounting to 2.5GW of generation and 0.45GW of storage. By the end of 2021, over a third of the 675GW of solar in the grid connection queue were hybrids, and 19GW were wind hybrids. Only one in four typically get approved, built and connected. But that still points at a twenty-five-fold increase in hybrid generation. It’s why Joachim Seel, Ben Paulos and Will Gorman at … [Read more...]
How could Germany wind down Russian oil imports by the end of 2022
Berlin has said that, though difficult, it could become independent of Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, with a target of halving them by the middle of the year. Kerstine Appunn at Clean Energy Wire compiles information on the practical challenges for Germany’s oil infrastructure, refineries and security of supply. Germany is serviced by three pipeline systems for the west, the east and the south of the country. But they are not connected … [Read more...]
Q&A: How fast can renewables deliver on Germany’s new energy independence goals?
How quickly can Germany reduce its dependence on fossil fuels? Benjamin Wehrmann at Clean Energy Wire asks six practical questions that must be answered, then gathers the expert answers. What are the current expansion goals for wind, solar and other renewables? Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will the new emergency plans bring an end to Russian imports as well as reach climate targets? Are renewable power companies ready to deliver a fast … [Read more...]
Russia-Ukraine and Europe’s energy strategy: a snapshot of a fast-moving crisis
Every day brings news of how Europe’s energy policy is reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s a big topic and fast moving. Helen Farrell gives a summary of the situation so far. She lists some of the major U-turns at both EU and national levels, the IEA’s ten-point recommendations, the feasibility and repercussions of cutting Russian fossil imports, the prospects for clean energy (solar, wind, nuclear, storage) and our net zero targets. … [Read more...]
Using atomic-scale imaging and AI to reduce Battery degradation
Finding ways to extend a battery’s life starts with understanding why they degrade. Andrew Myers writing for Stanford University describes research there that is using new methods of high-resolution X-ray, electron and neutron microscopy to allow direct visualisation of battery materials at the nanoscale. Degradation is mostly caused by the expansion and contraction of the materials. The high resolution images are processed using AI to uncover … [Read more...]
Reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian Oil and Gas: immediate, short and long term strategy
Atlantic Council Global Energy Center experts and associates offer their template for drastically reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas. It’s broken down into immediate, short (one to three years) and long term (beyond three years) actions. It’s wide-ranging and comprehensive. Some actions are already in play, including maximising gas storage, ready for next winter. Some are the ramping up of existing plans (clean energy, … [Read more...]
Getting Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) down to $0.05 per kWh
The U.S. Department of Energy is funding research to get the cost of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) down to $0.05 per kWh. One key element of that research is the materials used to absorb and store the heat energy. Three categories of materials are being looked at: liquid (i.e. molten salt), particle (like sand), and gaseous. NREL is leading the molten salt research, and there are multiple challenges. The salts can corrode the storage tanks and … [Read more...]
A massive expansion of domestic Renewable energy stops wars, not just climate change
Hans-Josef Fell at Energy Watch Group says bluntly that a massive expansion of domestic renewable energy generation over the last decade would not only have saved the planet from a future climate catastrophe, it would be stopping wars today. Firstly, 70% of Russia's state revenues come from oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy deals. State revenues fund its military. Secondly, an EU dependent on imports from any geopolitical adversary will … [Read more...]
Lifting and lowering tons of bricks: the best storage solution for Wind and Solar intermittency?
It’s a high capacity storage system that’s simplicity itself. Use excess wind and solar to raise heavy weights. Keep them at a height for as long as you like. Lower them to generate electricity. James Conca looks at a system being developed by Energy Vault and already being demonstrated in the Swiss national grid. At scale, a single “vault” with 10,000 bricks will have an annual output of 27 GWh, sitting on only 14 acres of land. The bricks are … [Read more...]
Energy Storage to 2050: how it can support the grid 24/7 all year long
NREL is modelling grids with rising amounts of storage that captures excess wind and solar power to deliver it back during peak times. Storage capacity starts at around 10GW today and rises to hundreds by 2050. A range of increasingly complex system configurations and grid mixes are studied. The storage can gradually replace thermal peakers (fed with coal or gas but having GHG emissions, and expensive to start-up for peaking) as the grid gets … [Read more...]
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