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It's not enough to just find the very best solid oxide fuel cell distributed generation system, of which there are actually many to choose from already, which some journalists appear to have forgotten this week.  It's not about the best SOFC technology, it's about supplying kilowatt-hours (or joules of energy, or liters of clean water, etc.) at the right price and in the right way for each application.  And there are often many different ways to supply these commodities. 

The current rankings put the US 18th according to GDP (2nd in absolute terms) and the UK is 19th. Australia “squandered an early technical lead in solar energy” and is 28th. Spain is 4th relative to GDP, Finland is 5th and China 6th. In absolute terms, the top ten countries are: 1. Germany, 2. the US, 3. Japan, 4. China, 5. Denmark, 6. Brazil, 7. Spain, 8. France, 9. the UK, 10. Korea.

Electricity accounts for more than 40 % of global energy-related CO2 emissions. This issue is most pressing for developing countries where growth in power demand is particularly high, fueling the risk of irreversible investment in CO2-intensive capacity, the so-called “carbon lock-in”. Sectoral Approaches in Electricity – Building Bridges to a Safe Climate shows how the international climate policy framework could effectively support a transition towards low-CO2 electricity systems in developing countries. Sectoral approaches are intended to address sectors that require urgent actions, without waiting for countries to take nation-wide commitments.

Golden, Colo., January 20, 2010 – U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will invest $12 million in total funding ($10 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) to support the development of early stage solar energy technologies.

AHAM lists the following six key features associated with smart appliances: Dynamic electricity pricing information is delivered to the user It can respond to utility signals Integrity of its operation is maintained while automatically adjusting its operation to respond to emergency power situations and help prevent brown or blackouts The consumer can override all previously programmed selections or instructions from the Smart Grid, while ensuring the appliance‘s safety functions remain active When connected through a Home Area Network and/or controlled via a Home Energy Management system, smart appliances allow for a total home energy usage approach. This enables the consumer to develop their own energy usage profile and use the data according to how it best benefits them It incorporates features to target renewable energy by allowing for the shifting of power usage to an optimal time for renewable energy generation, i.e., when the wind is blowing or sun is shining According to a research piece written by Zpryme, the smart appliance market is projected to grow from $3.06 billion in 2011 to $15.12 billion in 2015, with the U.S. accounting for 46.6 percent of that in 2011 and 36 percent in 2015. By contrast, China is expected to have an 11.6 percent share in 2011 and an 18.2 percent share in 2015. What's more, there are some strong drivers to smart appliance investment: Pricing: Bringing smart appliances to the mainstream means aligning ecological innovation with affordability Environment: With the build-out of metering and real-time pricing, consumers will see economic and environmental incentives for reducing power consumption first hand with their smart appliances Energy efficiency: When a consumer buys an appliance, they commit to paying both the first cost and the operating cost for the life of the product. And over the existence of the appliance, the energy cost to run it could be significantly greater than the initial cost Smart grid build-out: Smart appliance growth relies heavily on how quickly smart grid infrastructure can be rolled-out and readily accessible to communities Government subsidies: Like the Cash for Appliances program in the U.S., governments could and should play an active role in furthering the smart appliance agenda

As the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) draws to a close, I decided to tackle a topic that has been quietly popping up in many of the discussions and panel sessions this week.  In many places the topic of feed in tariffs is under heated debate.