Group items tagged

While the use of solar cells is become increasingly widespread, the silicon technology used in many types is becoming obsolete. JP Casey looks at concentrated solar power, micro-trackers and perovskite compounds as innovations that could potentially improve solar efficiency.

Researchers from a University of California-led study used detailed data sets of existing fossil-fuel burning infrastructures, such as power plants and boilers, to estimate how much carbon dioxide they would emit before they are currently expected to retire.

What does the future hold for the world's largest renewable energy source, hydropower? Hydropower is an incredibly old source of energy, tracing its usage back to the watermills that have been a staple of civilisations since ancient times. Today, it is the largest source of renewable energy in the world, with an installed capacity of over 1126GW in 2018. Hydropower is particularly prominent in China, where the world's largest power station Three Gorges power plant in Hubei province produces 22.5GW. Other massive projects also dot the country, including the Xilodu (12.3GW) and Longtan (6.3GW) dams.

An exhaustive global study has found that climate change is set to drive up energy demand significantly by 2050, suggesting policymakers and the energy industry need to take action now to prevent a surge in energy related costs over the next few decades.

Offshore wind could be described as the younger sibling of onshore wind, with the first offshore windfarm being completed off the coast of Denmark 1991. In countries such as the US, offshore wind is almost non-existent at the moment , but offshore wind is particularly strong in the UK and Europe, with 1.9GW being installed on the continent in the first half of 2019.

A host of new technologies have been inspired by the natural world, as designers increasingly look to biomimicry when to creating new ideas for wind turbines, solar cells and hydropower. So could nature hold the answer to unlocking renewable energy?