progressX

  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) Renewable energy capacity has grown 120% as of 2014, a new report reveals, marking a record year for the renewable power sector with 133 GW global net additions. But Mark Kenber, CEO, The Climate Group says this growth is still not enough and must be further accelerated as we edge toward the global climate talks in Paris. The report ‘Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2015’, released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date figures on renewable energy capacity around the world, with over 12,000 data points from more than 200 countries and territories. It presents trends in development of the renewable energy sector, noting that over 100 GW of new renewable power capacity has been added every year since 2011. Authors explain that because more than 164 countries have adopted renewables targets, the market share of renewable energy has gained considerable ground, especially with the rapid incre...

  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) A group of Stanford researchers have come up with a nanoscale “designer carbon” material that can be adjusted to make energy storage devices, solar panels, and potentially carbon capture systems more powerful and efficient. The designer carbon that has reached the market in recent years shares the Swiss-cheese-like structure of activated carbon, enhancing its ability to catalyze certain chemical reactions and store electrical charges; but it’s “designed” in the sense that the chemical composition of the material, and the size of the pores, can be manipulated to fit specific uses. The designer carbon tested at Stanford is “both versatile and controllable,” according to Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering and the senior author of the study, which appeared in the latest issue of the journal ACS Central Science . “Producing high-surface-area carbons with controlled chemical composition and morphology is really challenging,” says...

  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) In the face of a four-year wind growth stagnation and an energy market that has seen oil fall to its lowest price in years, with robust policy to address climate change, wind power could supply close to 20 percent of global electricity demand by 2050.   Under an advanced policy scenario — the manifestation of the iron political will required in order to address climate change — wind power could reach a total installed global capacity of 2,000 GW by 2030, supplying up to 19 percent of global electricity. This is the key conclusion of the latest Global Wind Energy Outlook (GWEO) from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace. Continue in the panel mode mobile reader mode to get more information. In presenting three scenarios for future wind power developments, the 2014 edition further concludes that by 2050, wind power could provide 25-30 percent of global electricity supply. For perspective, wind energy installations tot...

  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) According to the latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor , a quarterly report from GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association (ESA), the United States deployed 5.8 megawatts of energy storage in the first quarter of the year. That's up 16 percent over the first quarter of 2014. _progress | M replaces _kt75 | mirror. try the panel and explore the completely updated download area under http://progress-m.blogspot.ch/p/downloads.html ready: 01.07.2015 close ✕ Seventy-two percent of the nation’s recently deployed capacity was in front of the meter across six storage systems . The remaining 28 percent was behind the meter at residential, commercial, education, nonprofit and military sites. Behind-the-meter storage had a record first quarter and is trending upward in terms of total share of deployments. In fact, GTM Research forecasts that U.S. behind-the-meter storage sales will surpass front-of-meter storage sales by 2018. Storage is a uniq...

  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) Divestment of stocks in fossil fuel companies may seem like a good idea if the goal is to put financial pressure on conventional energy companies and thereby leave an opening for cleaner alternative fuels in the fight against climate change. The question is whether the strategy works. Certainly any company, whose core business is making money, is likely to take notice of any activity that affects its revenues. Yet many argue that a drop in investment in an energy company may not be the best way to get its attention, especially at a time when alternative energies are scarce and fossil fuels remain the dominant source of power . In other words, how many people today can afford to junk their gasoline-powered cars and invest in more expensive electric models? That’s exactly the point made by London Mayor Boris Johnson, a member of Britain’s Conservative Party who also harbors libertarian, if not liberal, political views. The London Assembl...

reprint European energy storage developers have until the end of this month to submit proposals for projects in a new 10-year transmission system operators plan. But the minimum requirements imposed by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) mean that only a small number of projects might be eligible. _progress | M replaces _kt75 | mirror. visit: http://progress-m.blogspot.com . ready: 01.07.2015. close ✕ ENTSO-E, which represents 41 system operators in Europe, announced the search for energy storage plants at the end of last month as part of a 10-year network development plan. The plan, updated every two years, acts as the basis for a list of so-called "projects of common interest" to better integrate the grid across the European Union. To be eligible for inclusion, a project has to be at least partially located in one of the 34 countries represented within ENTSO-E, and needs to have a minimum 225-megawatt installed capacity and gene...

reprint European energy storage developers have until the end of this month to submit proposals for projects in a new 10-year transmission system operators plan. But the minimum requirements imposed by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) mean that only a small number of projects might be eligible. ENTSO-E, which represents 41 system operators in Europe, announced the search for energy storage plants at the end of last month as part of a 10-year network development plan. The plan, updated every two years, acts as the basis for a list of so-called "projects of common interest" to better integrate the grid across the European Union. To be eligible for inclusion, a project has to be at least partially located in one of the 34 countries represented within ENTSO-E, and needs to have a minimum 225-megawatt installed capacity and generation capability of 250 gigawatt-hours per year. Bloomberg New Energy Finance associate Logan Goldie-Scot ...

reprint Eighty miles east of Palm Springs, California, eight million solar panels lean toward the sky, their deep blue shine a modern oasis interrupting the brown dust of the Mojave Desert. Known as Desert Sunlight, the solar power plant is the first of its kind and promises to provide 550 megawatts (MW) of clean energy powering over 150,000 homes in California (a few percent of the state's total power consumption). Such large amounts of power from one, 3000-acre solar installation have been unheard of until now, hinting at a revolution in _progress | M replaces _kt75 | mirror. visit: http://progress-m.blogspot.com . ready: 01.07.2015. close ✕ For 2013 — Installed More Solar Power In 2013..." href="http://kt75-mirror.blogspot.ch/2014/01/chinas-solar-market-beat-all.html" target="_blank">large-scale renewable energy generation that could compete with fossil-fuel-based power plants. Not so fast, say Native American tribes and environmentali...

reprint Eighty miles east of Palm Springs, California, eight million solar panels lean toward the sky, their deep blue shine a modern oasis interrupting the brown dust of the Mojave Desert. Known as Desert Sunlight, the solar power plant is the first of its kind and promises to provide 550 megawatts (MW) of clean energy powering over 150,000 homes in California (a few percent of the state's total power consumption). Such large amounts of power from one, 3000-acre solar installation have been unheard of until now, hinting at a revolution in large-scale renewable energy generation that could compete with fossil-fuel-based power plants. Not so fast, say Native American tribes and environmentalists, who protest these solar plants due to their impact on sacred heritage lands and native species. The ongoing debate shines an important light on the fact that renewables introduce unique environmental and cultural impacts. These issues may rest in a blind spot for policy...

reprint Renewables are finally becoming a globally significant source of power, according to a United Nations Environment Programme report released in March by Frankfurt School UNEP Centre and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Driven by rapid expansion in developing countries, new installations of carbon-free renewable power plants in 2014 surpassed 100,000 megawatts of capacity for the first time, according to the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report. It appears that renewable energy is now entering the market at a scale that is relevant in energy industry terms – and at a price that is competitive with fossil fuels. The numbers are compelling. Renewables such as wind, solar and biomass generated an estimated 9.1% of the world’s electricity in 2014, up from 8.5% in 2013, according to the report. These sources made up the majority of new power capacity in Europe, and also brought electricity to new markets. They also caught the eyes of investors: in 2014, energy investment ...

reprint UPDATE -- The debate about the future use of coal to generate power gathered steam in Germany after the country recently saw greenhouse gas emissions rise. The government’s Climate Action Programme foresees additional emission cuts from the power sector and the federal grid planning agency now assumes there will be one third less coal in the power mix in the future. By summer 2015, the Ministry for Energy wants to present legislation that specifies how and when coal power generation has to be limited. Power generation from coal has long served German industry, and despite Germany’s reputation as an ecological role model, the cheap, carbon-intensive, fossil fuel has recently seen a revival. After many scientists, activists and politicians, including the Environment Minister, warned that Germany would miss its target of cutting CO2 by 40 percent by 2020 (over 1990), the government adopted a plan to cut the share of coal in the mix . The Climate Action Programme stipulates that ...

reprint A major new Deutsche Bank report has predicted that energy storage – the “missing link of solar adoption” – will be cheap enough – and technologically ready – to be deployed on a large-scale within the next five years. The solar industry report, published on Friday, said that while costs for the greater majority of available battery technologies remained prohibitive, economically competitive batteries were the “killer app” and the “holy grail” of solar penetration. But with many costs already lower than published literature would suggest, Deutsche Bank believes this ultimate solar and renewable energy goal might not be far out of reach. “Using conservative assumptions and no incentives, our model indicates that the incremental cost of storage will decrease from ~14c/kWh today to ~2c/kWh within the next five years,” the report says. “When overall system cost decreases are considered, we believe solar + batteries will be a clear financial choice in mature solar ma...