Fleming Voetmann, Opinion

The power of COP28 for co-operation and co-creation

The power of smart thinking and co-creation will help reduce emissions from new buildings. The COP28 talks can form the plan to get there, says Fleming Voetmann from Velux

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Getting your money’s worth: the cost of renewables

It is time to update our thinking about energy efficiency

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Supporting the mission and journalistic principles behind FORESIGHT Climate & Energy

We face a fundamental change of the cost structure on the supply side and a need for a fundamental change.

Jochen Kreusel

- Market innovation manager in the power grids division at ABB Power

They [the European Commission] are looking at this stuff backwards. I still think they are convinced the short-term market model could work even though they are also starting to realise that you need something parallel, with long term price signals that give investors confidence to invest in infrastructure and allow them to see a decent market return.

Francesco Venturini

- Global head of renewables for Italian utility Enel

Despite tremendous cost decline of wind and solar technologies, electricity prices will probably remain too low to attract the level of investment needed.

Fatih Birol

- Executive director of the International Energy Agency

The greatest barrier to overcome is the integration of variable renewables into electricity systems. This will require developing power system flexibility and also a friendly deployment of variable renewables.

Fatih Birol

- Executive director of the International Energy Agency

In Wednesday’s edition of The Jolt, Sam looks at whether a new European plan to improve electricity grids is up to scratch, plus the United States goes underground to find clean power

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Methane is a potent greenhouse gas but regulators have only really started to treat it seriously quite recently. Flavia Sollazzo joins Policy Dispatch to explain why this is a very good development

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The Jolt: Ireland’s climate finance call

In Monday’s edition of The Jolt, Irish climate minister Eamon Ryan reveals his wishlist for the COP28 summit, plus Germany scraps its energy bills support scheme

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Putting the “net” in net zero emissions

Removing carbon from the atmosphere, alongside reducing emissions, is key to reaching ‘net’ zero emissions and preventing drastic global warming. Carbon removal policy expert Eve Tamme joins the Watt Matters team to discuss how it works

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The private sector’s key role

Episode three of Talking Transitions examines the role of the private sector in embedding decarbonisation into investment decisions in order to accelerate the shift to net zero

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A hydrogen alternative

Renewable ammonia has the potential for rapid expansion. But technical and cost challenges stand in the way

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How cities navigate the green transition

Episode two of Talking Transitions delves into the transitions our cities and urban areas are facing and their role in shifting to a sustainable economy

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The Jolt: Taking a chainsaw to climate action

For Friday’s edition of The Jolt, Sam looks at how right-wing politicians being elected around the world risk taking a chainsaw to green policies, plus Brazil plans a new “huge” rainforest protection fund

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Sam Morgan, The Jolt

The Jolt: Mind the gap

In Wednesday’s edition of The Jolt, Sam looks into a new UN report on global emissions and our lack of progress in reducing them, plus the United States offers up $2 billion to help poorer communities go green

The case for blue hydrogen

Autumn/Winter 2023

Introducing: Talking Transitions

The Jolt: A taste of e-fuel

The complex world of electrolysers

The Jolt: You brake it, you buy it

Moldova’s crisis-driven transition

E-fuels in bid to keep pace with batteries

The Jolt: We are living in a raw material world

The great divide: How divisive issues threaten the path to net zero

What our editors are reading

Salt caverns for hydrogen storage

Reports

The UK should help kickstart the development of salt-cavern hydrogen storage to meet its goal of net zero by 2050, says the Royal Society. Work on constructing the caverns should begin immediately, the new report states, where parts of the UK have the right geology for the storage projects. Large-scale electricity storage is needed to smooth out variations in wind and solar, particularly long-term variations in wind. Storing most of the surplus as hydrogen, in salt caverns, would be the cheapest way of doing this, says the report.

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US needs to exploit Grid-Enhancing Technologies

Reports

The US needs to triple transmission investment and use Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) to support this goal, concludes a white paper by Brattle Group and the Watt Coalition. There are more than 10,000 projects adding up to over two terawatts of new capacity awaiting grid connection. When compared to major new transmission investments, GETs can be implemented much faster and often for a small fraction of the cost. GETs enhance transmission investments, acting more as a tool to augment, akin to a GPS or tire air pressure sensor making driving easier—not by themselves replacing the car.

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Offshore wind growth accelerates

Reports

Offshore wind capacity is expected to grow by 18.4 GW in 2023, a record, with China accounting for over half of this total. By 2030, the annual total will reach 45.7 GW, mainly due to the mature markets of China, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, but emerging markets such as the US, Taiwan, France, South Korea, Poland and Japan will also make significant contributions. From 2031 to 2035, the report says that installations will average 45.6 GW per year, peaking at 48.2 GW in 2035.

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