Clean Energy Transition

Researchers at the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) in Finland and Energy Watch Group (EWG) have completed a 4½ year study that examined how to meet the goals of the Paris climate accords without such measures as carbon capture and geoengineering. Their conclusion? Run everything on electricity and generate all of that electricity using renewables, primarily solar.

With 2020 just over the horizon, WRI’s 2020 NDC tracker reveals that 68 countries have indicated they will enhance the ambition or action of their NDCs next year -- but they represent only 8% of global emissions.

"Interesting, but it will never catch on" and "What a waste of time." They had just seen the first ever Mouse, Hypertext, WP, video conferencing, and the Internet (Arpanet).

the CO2 emissions intensity of electricity supply across an average day could vary by more than a factor of 7

Passive cooling was enabled by application of perforated aluminium fins fixed on the back side surface of the PV panel.

can increase power yield of the PV system by 5% on at maximum

Global solar installations will continue double-digit growth rates into the new decade, according to the new 2020 Global Photovoltaic (PV) Demand Forecast by IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics, and solutions. The newly installed PV capacity in 2020 will reach 142 gigawatts (GW), up 14% YoY.

With an installed capacity of 117 GW at the end of 2018, the EU further lost ground in the worldwide market.

According to a recent 100% RES scenario of the Energy Watch Group, the EU needs to increase its PV capacity from 117 GW to over 630 GW by 2025 and 1.94 TW by 2050 in order to cover 100% of its electricity needs by renewable energy.

Wood Mackenzie expects 350 megawatts of floating offshore wind in operation by 2022 at various demonstration projects, and up to 10 gigawatts by 2030 with the right policy frameworks in place. Europe currently has a total of less than 50 megawatts of floating wind installed.

Wind turbine makers and project developers will continue to introduce new technologies and cut costs, but “constraints on technology innovation are on the horizon,” at least for onshore wind farms, WoodMac said Wednesday, highlighting key trends for the industry.

NREL maintains a chart of the highest confirmed conversion efficiencies for research cells for a range of photovoltaic technologies, plotted from 1976 to the present.

The 2020 Factbook showcases the impact of sustainable energy over the last decade and highlights findings for 2019 that follow the macro trends of the 2010s: • Renewable energy became the cheapest new generation source in many U.S. power markets. The U.S. has over 2 times more renewable power generating capacity today than a decade ago. Solar capacity in 2019 was 80 times greater than what it was at the end of 2009. • Energy efficiency choices have proliferated, with federal programs helping high-efficiency appliances reach mass markets and state codes bolstering building efficiency. The economy grew every year in the past decade and energy use fell in five of the ten years. U.S. energy productivity (GDP/energy consumption) improved 18% between 2010 and 2019, benefiting businesses and households. • Natural gas became the primary source of U.S. power generation and shifted the scales in the global market. Between 2010 and 2019 domestic natural gas production jumped 50%, and natural gas went from providing 24% of the nation's electricity to 38%. The U.S. increased its export capacity to exceed its import capacity, building stronger trade relationships around the world. In 2019, the U.S. exported more gas than it imported.

The German environment minister has called for the world’s first green-hydrogen tender to begin next year, starting at 5,000 tonnes and rising by the same amount each year until 2030, when 5GW of electrolysis capacity would be installed.

According to Recharge calculations, every 5,000 tonnes of green H2 would require about 250GWh of renewable energy, the equivalent of 79MW of offshore wind (at a capacity factor of 36%) or 130MW of onshore wind (capacity factor of 22%).

But sub-national governments can also significantly advance efforts to mitigate climate change. Provinces and municipalities around the world have indeed undertaken initiatives – sometimes working together across national boundaries – to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. This includes jurisdictions in the largest-emitting countries – China, the United States, and India – as well as in the European Union.

The total generating potential from wind farms built along the Chinese coast is 5.4 times larger than the current demand for power in China’s populous coastal provinces, a study by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China shows