Battered by years of high energy prices due to heavy dependence on imported oil, Hawaii has been moving aggressively to take advantage of the declining cost of renewables.
The Hawaii legislature in 2015 set a goal of producing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045, up from the current 27%. The political will to achieve this is strong and while the transition is raising some tough questions, progress seems to be taking place. New research advocates a system with solar as its backbone as the best solution, while a breakthrough in utility planning suggests a détente in the long-running battle between policy makers and Hawaii’s main utility. ...
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Denmark's "sunshine island" is taking its efforts to become carbon neutral beyond wind energy. Experiments with solar technologies are directed towards achieving heating, cooling and electricity generation from a single source of clean energy.
Research demonstrates that demand management can create value for private customers and the power system
Charlotte Søndergren, head of heat planning for Danish HOFOR, questions whether collective heating is the best long-term solution for all countries or whether smaller, individual heat pumps offer a better alternative in some areas.
Blockchain is regularly touted in the media as a tool to revolutionise business, but the jury is still out on whether it can help speed up the transition to renewables
The advantages for big companies of buying their electricity directly from wind and solar generators at a fixed long-term price is bringing what could become a major new flow of capital into the renewable energy market, but outdated legislation remains a barrier