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...]
Critical minerals and materials: supply bottlenecks and risks need international cooperation
The growth in demand for minerals and materials needed for the energy transition is putting a strain on supply. Mining and processing are the two key bottlenecks. Dolf Gielen, Martina Lyons, Francisco Boshell and Peter Chawah at IRENA summarise the multiple challenges. New capacity is not the only problem: the geographical concentration of where the mining and, in particular, the processing is being done is the primary risk. China’s dominance in … [Read more...]
China should comfortably meet its 2030 Renewables target. But its emissions?
The long Covid lockdown seems to have had little effect on China’s electricity generation growth. In 2021, total generation increased by about 750 TWh (that’s around 1.3 times Germany's absolute total). Solar PV capacity grew by 53 GW last year (equal to the total installed solar capacity in Germany). Half of all offshore wind turbines installed worldwide in 2021 were off the coast of China: the strong additions were accelerated by the January … [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...]
Wind and Solar expansion is a threat to biodiversity. But by how much?
Wind and solar take up space, so a massive expansion will have an effect on biodiversity. But how much? Sebastian Dunnett at Hammersmith and Fulham Council in London, writing for Carbon Brief, summarises his co-authored paper that takes the latest data on wind and solar and its multiple impacts (a few are good, surprisingly) on the environment. The conclusion is that the consequences of land overlap need not be as severe as feared, provided … [Read more...]
Gas crunch causes electricity crisis despite record cheap clean energy. Time to create a “green energy pool”?
In the UK and similar nations, the gas crisis is ballooning electricity prices too. That’s because the UK operates a wholesale electricity market where the most expensive power sets the price. As we enter an era where renewables are getting cheaper every year, it’s time to change that model so that consumers see the benefits, argues Michael Grubb at UCL. The design of electricity systems is not keeping up with the revolution in renewable energy. … [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...]
Grid-scale modelling of Distributed Energy Resources and dynamic pricing for all customers
Smart grids can solve multiple problems now and throughout the lifetime of the energy transition. The supply from hundreds (existing + new wind, solar, etc.) and ultimately millions (rooftop solar, EV batteries) of power sources can be matched in real time with demand from all major customer devices (air conditioners, water heaters, batteries, EVs). Dynamic pricing keeps the peaks low and the troughs high. It takes the pressure off total load, … [Read more...]
Where can Europe get its Gas if Russia cuts off supplies?
What impact will the confrontation between Russia and NATO over Ukraine have on Europe’s energy security? Russia provides nearly half of Europe’s natural gas, and Moscow could tighten the flow if hostilities break out. If that happens, where would Europe get its gas from? Amy Jaffe at Tufts University looks at the constraints on global LNG supply (mainly liquification and regasification capacity), the global ability to redirect shipments to … [Read more...]
Synchronous condensers will stabilize the power grid as the Faroe Islands pivot to 100% green energy
The isolated Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic has an ambitious goal to become the world’s greenest group of islands. That means by 2030, SEV, the islands’ power utility, will be using 100% green electricity from hydropower, solar and wind and potentially tidal streams. As well as being an important climate change initiative, this will bring economic benefits as the Faroes will no longer rely on expensive fossil-fuel imports. However, … [Read more...]
Replacing centralised power with Distributed Energy Systems needs new policies and coordination
We need integrated resilient smart grids that can accommodate the rapid growth of intermittent renewables as well as the rise of “prosumers” who both buy and sell electricity into the grid. This is the focus of three online discussion sessions on February 8th, 9th and 10th organised and hosted by power management company Eaton. The proliferation of multiple generation sources (solar, wind, batteries and other clean, flexible technologies) means … [Read more...]
HBr Flow Batteries: long term storage for grids, compatible with hydrogen
The growth of intermittent wind and solar and the search for replacements for coal and gas points at storage solutions that can ensure a reliable supply of electricity at all times. Standard lithium-ion batteries have limitations. Put simply, the future demand for batteries (including for transport) is expected to far outstrip the supply of lithium. But hydrogen and bromine are abundantly available on a global scale. Helena Uhde and Veronika … [Read more...]
Critical Raw Materials for the energy transition: Europe must start mining again
A ramp up of the supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) is essential for the world’s energy transition. Wind and solar, batteries, digitalisation, transport and hydrogen cannot meet their targets without it. The EU defines 30 minerals as critical. To give one example, the global deficits in lithium supplies could surge more than 60-fold to 950,000 tons by 2030. Frank Umbach at EUCERS takes a thorough look at the issue. Europe represented just 5% … [Read more...]
Energy Post Quiz 2021: ANSWERS
Hope you all had fun with the Energy Post Quiz, published before the Christmas break. Here are the answers. There are ten questions, both entertaining and insightful. The answers could all be found in articles that appeared here during 2021, and we give you the links to them. During 2021 Energy Post had another strong year in terms of number of debates hosted, event attendance, and readership for our articles: our readership grew by … [Read more...]
Energy Post Quiz 2021
Energy Post has had another strong year in terms of number of debates hosted, readership growth and event attendance. Our readership has grown by 17.16% year on year. We hosted 14 panel discussions (including 3 for ECECP with an average of 20 panellists from all corners of the globe). Together we've reached hundreds of thousands with our event packages. Our thanks to all our authors. Now, with all those parties cancelled due to Covid you have … [Read more...]
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