Tag Archives: renewables
Oil Prices and Renewable Energy
The long-term prospects of solar, wind and other clean sources of energy are tied to the cost of fossil fuels. The artificially low price of oil makes it harder for renewable sources of energy to compete. Subsidies drive down the price of petrochemicals, but the true costs are not reflected in crude oil prices. Investors are [...]
Decreasing Costs of Renewables: Will it Drive Cap and Trade Incentives?
The exponential growth of wind and solar are threatening the business models of coal and nuclear turning them from price-makers to price takers. A viable exit strategy for coal plants may well be to encourage Cap & Trade so they can make a stable exit strategy before the tide of cheap renewable energy washes them [...]
Apple Data Centers Now 100% Renewable
Apple‘s data centers are now powered 100 percent by renewable energy and 75 percent of their facilities are solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal sources. But unfortunately, the Apple and the Environment report finds that their greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 34 percent (30.9 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions) in 2012. Apple Insider writes: The Apple and [...]
Dave Summers: Peak Oil Is Almost Here
This where we stand, and it’s a fairly bleak view: Peak oil is almost here, and nothing new (with the possible but unlikely exception of Iraq) is coming online anytime soon and while the clock is ticking – forward movement on developing renewable energy resources has been sadly inadequate. In the meantime, the idea that [...]
IEA: Renewables to Grow 40% by 2018
Despite economic uncertainties, global power generation from renewable sources of energy is seen to grow by more than 40 percent to almost 6,400 terawatt-hours over the next five years, or roughly 1.5 times the current electricity production in the United States, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. Renewable energy generation from 2011 [...]
Germany: Doing Just Fine Without Nuclear
Freezing temperatures in both Belgium and Germany have put both countries’ power systems to the test this week, but neither country has experienced electricity blackouts despite the lack of nuclear power. Two of Belgium’s seven nuclear reactors – Doel 3 and Tihange 2 – were switched off this summer, following the discovery of cracks, cutting [...]
99.9% Renewables: Possible?
Combinations of onshore wind, offshore wind, and photovoltaic solar, paired with battery and hydrogen storage in a widespread grid system, could meet 90 percent to 99.9 percent of expected 2030 demand at almost no increased cost, according to a new study. “The common view,” University of Delaware researchers noted in their report, “is that a [...]
The European Supergrid: Game Changer for Renewables?
Europe’s energy infrastructure urgently needs updating. In this interview published in the latest edition of EWEA’s Wind Directions magazine, Ana Aguado, CEO of Friends of the Supergrid, explores how this can be done. What is the supergrid and why do we need it? We define the supergrid as “a pan-European transmission network facilitating the integration [...]
STUDY: Renewables Can Supply 99.9% Power by 2030
Renewable energy could supply power to an entire large electric grid, according to a new research by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College. “These results break the conventional wisdom that renewable energy is too unreliable and expensive,” said co-author Willett Kempton, professor in the School of Marine Science and Policy in U.D.’s [...]