The proposed Net Zero Industry Act includes a target for the EU to manufacture domestically at least 40% of its cleantech deployment needs by 2030. That includes the key technologies of solar PV panels, wind turbines (onshore and offshore), EV batteries, heat pumps and hydrogen electrolysers. But it doesnât make sense to have the same 40% target for all, explain Giovanni Sgaravatti, Simone Tagliapietra and Cecilia Trasi at Bruegel. The main … [Read more...]
How will China respond to the EUâs â40% made at homeâ clean energy tech ambition
The EUâs Net Zero Industry Act wants to drive home-grown production of eight âstrategicâ net-zero technologies, including solar, wind, batteries and CCS. The target is 40% made at home, though the policy is yet to be worked out. You Xiaoying writing for China Dialogue talks to experts in China and the EU for their predictions. Most say that Chinese firms are not very worried. Firstly, they can â and are already making moves to â set up production … [Read more...]
IEA report: global manufacturing capacity is expanding rapidly for solar, wind, batteries, electrolysers, heat pumps
The IEA summarises its special briefing, âThe State of Clean Technology Manufacturing.â Itâs a global update on recent progress in key regions, focussing on five technologies â solar PV, wind, batteries, electrolysers and heat pumps â critical to the energy transition. It should be read to keep decision makers informed of investment trends and the impact of industrial strategies. Overall, manufacturing capacity for these technologies is expanding … [Read more...]
Five charts on the Energy Transition: the 2020s is the decade of maximum disruption. By 2030 the endgame will be clear
Sam Butler-Sloss and Kingsmill Bond at RMI present a succinct summary of why the energy transition matters, how the 2020s is the era of maximum disruption, and how by 2030 the transitionâs endgame will be apparent (though far from complete). Four key technologies are already entering the exponential growth stage: solar, wind, EVs and heat pumps. As early as 2030 their cheapness will flush away the fossil equivalents in succeeding decades, say the … [Read more...]
âExascaleâ computing algorithms can deliver new Wind Turbine designs and on-site power-maximising strategies
Advances in exascale computing algorithms and models for multiscale atmospheric flows are leading to new wind turbine designs and on-site power-maximising strategies previously not possible, explains Brooke Van Zandt at NREL. The models can contain and process two billion grid points, simulating the air flow around turbines in a large wind farm with unprecedented accuracy. Van Zandt describes how the new tools are being used to deal with highly … [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...]
Wind Turbines: how dependent is the EU on China?
Joseph Webster at the Atlantic Councilâs Global Energy Center takes stock of the European wind sectorâs dependence on China. Nobody wants geopolitics and a worsening relationship with Beijing to disrupt positive cooperation in the urgent energy transition. The news is mostly good: the dependence is low because the international trade in turbines is constrained by weight-to-value ratios, transportation costs, and local content requirements. In … [Read more...]
Turning Ethanol productionâs CO2 by-product into E-Fuels using Wind power
With vast open spaces, Midwest states in the U.S. produce millions of gallons of ethanol from corn as well as thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity from wind farms every year. Research led by NREL is working on using wind power to drive electrolysers that turn the ethanolâs CO2 by-product into e-fuels, explains Erik Ringle at NREL. A typical 50 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant releases 14 tons of CO2, a natural by-product of … [Read more...]
Renewables âcost of capitalâ in Europe lower than oil, gas, coal. What the U.S. and China can learn
The ultimate price of anything is highly dependent on the cost of capital needed to put it in place. That cost reflects the risks financial markets perceive. And policy certainty reduces risk. Gireesh Shrimali, Christian Wilson and Xiaoyan Zhou at Oxford University, writing for WEF, summarise their global study which shows the cost of capital for different energy technologies, and therefore which ones will trend upwards and dominate. They cover … [Read more...]
âGreen Deal Industrial Planâ explainer: 40%+ of the top low-carbon technologies must be made in the EU by 2030
The ECâs new series of proposed targets and reforms, contained in its Green Deal Industrial Plan, aim to ensure that at least 40% of the EUâs low-carbon technologies will be made within its borders by 2030. The eight âstrategic net-zero technologiesâ are: Solar (power and thermal); Onshore and offshore wind; Batteries and energy storage; Heat pumps and geothermal; Electrolysers and fuel cells; Sustainable biogas/biomethane; CCS; Grid … [Read more...]
Fulfilling U.S. wind and solar ambitions will use under 1% of its land (thatâs less than the fossil fuel footprint)
Meeting the U.S.âs wind and solar ambitions in full would take up less than 1% of its land, less than the fossil fuel industryâs current footprint. Steve Clemmer at UCS goes into the details of NRELâs comprehensive study of land use for wind and solar. Of particular interest is the observation that setting a high bar for âresponsible sitingâ of wind and solar projects - avoiding the use of sensitive, protected, urban areas, difficult terrain or … [Read more...]
Critical Minerals: will there be enough to meet the 2050 net-zero emissions target?
If the production and processing of critical minerals cannot keep up with the accelerating adoption of batteries, EVs, wind turbines and solar PV technologies, the pace and success of the global energy system transformation will be put at risk. In this explainer, Lilly Yejin Lee and James Glynn at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University address the big questions, drawing on the data underlying the IEAâs âThe Role of Critical … [Read more...]
EU: data shows RussiaâUkraine war has not increased Coal and emissions. Itâs quite the opposite
The Russian gas crisis has not resulted in the return of coal and high emissions in Europe, says Lauri Myllyvirta at CREA. He presents the figures that show quite the opposite. Coal returned, as expected, with the post-Covid rebound, but peaked in September 2022 below its pre-Covid level, and has been falling since along with emissions. Meanwhile, high gas prices caused by Russiaâs cut-off has kept gas demand low and, more importantly, driven the … [Read more...]
Green Hydrogenâs 6,000-fold scale-up by 2050 must far exceed Wind and Solarâs. Is it possible?
To scale âgreenâ hydrogen to make its contribution to limiting warming to 1.5C, electrolyser capacity needs to grow 6,000-fold by 2050 from todayâs levels of 600MW, according to the IEAâs Net-Zero emissions by 2050 scenario. Adrian Odenweller and Falko Ueckerdt at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, writing for Carbon Brief, summarise their study that concludes even if electrolyser capacity grows as quickly as wind and solar, it is … [Read more...]
How to protect marine mammals from the coming roll-out of Offshore Wind
The EUâs target for offshore wind is an installed capacity of at least 60 GW by 2030, and 300 GW by 2050. It will use the vast potential of the five EU sea basins, in particular the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. But growing awareness and concern over their impact on the marine ecosystem will require new methods of protecting sea life from the consequences. Isla Graham at the University of Aberdeen describes the work of her team on measuring … [Read more...]
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