Catherine Early

Articles by Catherine Early. Visit Catherine’s bio. Follow @Cat_Early76 or on LinkedIn

10 min
07/December/2022

Community cash to boost the transition

 Local community groups are often seen as being against renewable energy sites or other projects to support the energy transition. But there is a rise in different ownership and funding models that includes local residents who do want to support the quest for a decarbonised economy
7 min
17/November/2022

Will the UK’s permitting reforms speed up offshore wind deployment?

 The UK's offshore sector has ambitious growth plans, but its permitting process could put its target at risk. Changes to the procedures could help accelerate deployment and provide a blueprint for other markets
8 min
24/June/2022

Hydrogen sector targets production boost

 Energy losses in the production process contribute to making hydrogen produced with renewable energy expensive. Companies and researchers are working to improve the efficiency of electrolyser technology and scale it up, bringing down the green hydrogen price tag at the same time
12 min
16/June/2022

How to maximise energy efficiency investments

 Sudden spikes in the cost of energy have pushed energy efficiency higher up the public and political agenda. Building renovations can be costly, but there could be ways of making energy efficiency itself more efficient
8 min
26/November/2021

Decarbonising heat at city scale

 Cities are taking the lead on the decarbonisation of district heating and cooling networks, with the use of heat pumps on the rise
11 min
12/November/2021

Source new information from old data

 Advocates of so-called digital twins—simulated computer modelling of technologies at work—see them as vital tools for managing the complexity of multi-level electricity systems and the digital control of energy-efficient buildings
10 min
05/October/2021

Grid operators target next-generation weather forecasts

 New technologies and faster computers are allowing improvements in weather forecasting. Understanding short-term weather patterns are helping grid operators cut costs and carbon emissions while keeping the lights on
12 min
09/September/2021

Europe’s start-ups dig into battery recycling

 Increasing the amount of recycled battery material available in Europe is encouraging new companies to examine different ways to maximise the extraction of the essential metals
8 min
22/July/2021

Local energy auction trials made possible by digitalisation

 CASE STUDY: The Cornwall Local Energy Market in the UK trialled algorithms to optimise auctions of power increase or load reduction offers while allowing simultaneous purchases of flexibility by different levels of grid operation
4 min
01/July/2021

Turbocharge the process using digital tools

 CASE STUDY: A new market service rolled out by the UK's electricity network operator in autumn 2020 invites fast-response injections of power or withdrawals of load from generators, electricity storage owners and consumers to help it contain frequency deviations that would otherwise destabilise the power system
9 min.
12/March/2021

Flexibility experiments work to cut the system costs of solar and wind

 Network operators tasked with managing the steadily bigger swings in demand and supply that accompany greater uptake of solar and wind energy have had to choose between constraining clean generation, which adds to operating cost, or increasing grid capacity requiring capital expenditure. A less costly way is to buy system flexibility in a competitive but carefully coordinated process. Trials in areas of Britain challenged by grid constraints are producing encouraging results 
11 min.
02/February/2021

Heavy industry to carbon light

 Cement and steel manufacturing are two of the most carbon intensive industries in the world. Electrification can play a role in decarbonising both, though technology innovation is expensive and removing all emissions from the processes is a tall order
7 min.
02/October/2020

New finance model swaps coal for renewables

 A finance mechanism that retires coal power stations and replaces them with new renewable energy capacity is gathering steam in the United States. But challenges remain in making this seemingly simple solution mainstream
8 min.
19/March/2020

Biodiversity must not be sacrificed to the energy transition

 With the world facing an energy and a biodiversity emergency, realisation is growing that solutions need to be made compatible with sustainability in both areas