November 8, 1989United Nations
| New York | energy: future
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher noted that since her last speech to the UN, the challenge to the environment “has grown clearer than any other in both urgency and importance.” In the end, Thatcher calls on industrialized countries to contribute more, that “reason is humanity’s speciality,” and we are not “lords of all we survey.” [35:28]
U.S. Secretary of Energy and 1997 Physics Nobel prize winner Steven Chu talks about the changing energy landscape. His 2 main predictions: 1) The price of oil will be higher in the coming decades and 2) We will live in a carbon constrained world. COP 16 Cancún, Mexico, 2009. [45:43]
Current R&D and investment is not sufficient to produce the clean energy needed to meet a 50% rise in energy by 2040 and curb CO2 emissions. Today's technology is a start, but we need to stabilize wind and solar, improve energy management and transmission, and produce cheaper, more efficient solar panels. And much more investment.
UCD physicist Dominic Zerulla discusses the carbon impact of everyday energy production, the solar radiation spectrum (a blackbody radiator), and how to harvest 18 TWe of power from 6 locations. “The only way to actually go forward is to consider solar as a viable source [MIT].” UCD, Dublin, Ireland, 2015. [12:57]
Almost 10% of solar and 15% of wind power in China in 2015 went unused because of curtailment that prioritizes 24/7 coal. The government announced a plan to reach 9% non-hydro renewable energy by 2020: 1) a new coal power construction ban, 2) guaranteed sale of renewable energy, and 3) renewables consumption and generation targets.
May 18, 2016The Guardian
| Portugal | energy: future
Portugal ran on renewable energy sources for 107 straight hours from May 7 to 11, 2016, using only solar, wind, and hydro power. In 2015, renewable sources provided 48% of Portuguese electricity, 22% from wind power, while wind provided 42% of electrical demand in world-leading Denmark (20% in Spain, 13% in Germany, 11% in the UK).
Solar energy generated on one roof was used across the street via a blockchain peer-to-peer energy exchange. The green power producer (prosumer) pushed energy onto the grid for use by another consumer. Locally produced microenergy is part of the circular economy, especially good at peak solar time for air conditioning and refrigerators (4:48)
Over 600 million or 2 of every 3 Africans don’t have electricity and the cost to connect them is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. So-called ‘big grid’ electricity works in cities, but is ineffective in rural areas. Decentralized power can ‘leapfrog’ old technology with solar power as mobile phone technology bypasses telephone landlines.
University of Liverpool researchers are using electrocatalysis to study the conversion of waste to energy. Having developed catalytic systems to make sustainable fuel, the team is analyzing electrochemical reduction of CO2 via vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy to learn more about converting CO2 into CO.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at UC Berkeley released its annual U.S. energy-consumption chart, showing that Americans used more energy in 2018 than ever, rising to 101.2 quadrillion BTU (quads), an increase of 3.6% from 2017 and breaking the 2007 record of 101.0 quads. The biggest rise was from natural gas, wind, and solar energy.
In April 2019, renewable energy generated more electricity than coal for the first time in U.S. history, thanks to peak hydro from spring melt and annual coal-plant maintenance. Coal costs are also rising as renewables (wind and solar) become ever cheaper, the US adding record solar and wind capacity while shutting down loss-making coal plants.
Having sold over 365,000 Leafs since its introduction in 2010, Nissan joins Formula E, the first Japanese carmaker to do so. Formula E is fast becoming popular after starting up in 2014-15, but is noisier than one might think on the track admist the competition. The new season uses a Gen2 car with more range and almost double the power to 250 kW.
An Irish climate-change plan includes environmental levies, higher fees on hard-to-recycle materials, non-recyclable and single-use plastic ban, and a retrofit of 500,000 homes. By 2030, 70% electricity from renewables, 950,000 electric vehicles, national charging network, petro/diesel ban, and zero-emission zones. By 2050, net zero-carbon emissions.
June 18, 2019Toronto Star
| Global | energy: future
Bloomberg NEF predicted that renewables will power almost half of global electricity by 2050 as solar, wind, and storage costs continue to decrease. Hydro, nuclear, and other renewables (geothermal, wave/tidal, and fuel cells) will be 21%. With more than $13 trillion in investment, by 2050 Europe will reach 92%, China and India 67%, and the US 43%.
June 24, 2019Dutch News
| The Netherlands | energy: future
As the Internet of Things expands, connected consumer items become more vulnerable to hacking. Delft Technical University will assess how to protect consumer goods, such as smart security systems and appliances (thermostats, fridges, TVs, ...) , against hacking and viruses. 30 million smart pieces are expected to be connected in the Netherlands by 2020.
July 5, 2019gtm:
| United Kingdom | energy: future
The UK is investing £1.5 billion as EV uptake rises from about 50,000 to over 14 million by 2035 with a 7-GW increase in peak demand. Energy-saving hybrid heat pumps (HHP) increases decarbonisation and don’t impact peak demand, yet only about 20% of 500,000 installed heat pumps are hybrids. 3.7 million dwellings could have hybrid heat pumps by 2030.
February 2, 2020The Daily Mail
| United Kingdom | energy: future
The energy regulator wants to change how Brits heat their homes and travel, aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The ‘greenwire’ plan increases coastal wind power 4fold, already cheaper than coal, oil, and gas. V2G will also stabilize the grid as EVs jump from 230,000 to 10 million by 2030 and 39 million by 2050 with 210,000 chargers.
Solar panels and wind turbines generated over 20% of Europe’s power in the first half of 2020, led by Denmark (64%), Ireland (49%), and Germany (42%). At 40% EU power, all renewables (WWS and bio) exceeded fossil fuels (34%) for the first time. Globally, renewables were 10%, a 14% rise from 2019, although coal still produces a third of world electricity.
July 23, 2021Energy Post
| Europe | energy: future
Policy makers have become too focussed on supplying more clean energy. Demand optimisation should also be rewarded: efficiency, conservation (EVs, heat pumps, homes), shifting. To decarbonise energy, all assets should be valued, but the LCOE pricing metric is too simple to cover system management, network costs, and required storage.
August 16, 2022White House
| United States | energy: future
A $370-billion fund to aid investment in clean energy, build supply chains for critical minerals, improve grid efficiency, and add jobs across the US. The IRA Law furthers the Justice40 Initiative to deliver 40% of benefits to marginalized, polluted, and underserved communities. The US aims for a 40% reduction in GHG emissions below 2005 levels by 2030.
Solar, wind, EVs, and heat pumps are growing exponentially and will be so cheap fossil fuels can't compete as seen in 5 charts: 1) tech > commodities, 2) 2^x not 2x, 3) Chinese domination, 4) 2020s "s-curve", and 5) even cheaper renewables create new markets). Fossil fuels can't get cheaper and are geographically restricted versus manufactured renewables.
June 11, 2023Dutch News
| The Netherlands | energy: future
With a dynamic energy contract utility prices change in real time, including negative pricing when supply exceeds demand on especially sunny or windy days. 190,000 Dutch homes were paid up to 30 cents/kWh used between 2 and 3 pm one May day. In 2023, 100 hours had negative prices, a growing trend. Soon, more of us will use energy around noon.
We are at the beginning of a revolution, as profound as the IT revolution and the advent of the microchip in the 1960s. The revolution isn't advancing as fast or as easily, however, led by an old-world, fossil-fuel industry, despite decreasing oil supplies and increasing harmful emissions. Revolutions are disruptive. They change everything.
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