Volume 6 Issue 8, August 2021 Algorithms for all Neighbourhood-scale batteries can help regulate supply and demand in renewable-heavy electricity systems, but their control algorithms tend to focus on techno-economic needs. A new interdisciplinary study shows how incorporating stakeholder perceptions into algorithm design can lead to diverse outcomes in the…
Policy & Regulatory India launches tender for 21 oil and gas blocks 9 Aug 2021 The Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) Bid Round VI, offering 21 blocks, with an area of approximately 35,300 km2, to investors. The blocks are located across…
Companies India aims to raise its refining capacity by 20% by 2025 5 Aug 2021 Indian state-owned oil and gas groups, which include Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Bharat Petroleum and their affiliates, plan to invest INR2,000bn (US$27bn) to increase the country’s refining capacity by 20%…
Policy & Regulatory Nigeria’s updated NDC targets 47% conditional cut in GHG emissions by 2030 2 Aug 2021 Nigeria has unveiled a new update of its First Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), setting an unconditional greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target of 20% and a conditional reduction target up to 47% of…
Volume 6 Issue 7, July 2021 Trending disruptions As electric power generation is affected by temperature and other meteorological conditions, variations in power production patterns due to climate change should be increasingly observable. Ali Ahmad shows that the rising number of temperature anomalies led to an increase in the number…
Policy & Regulatory China’s ETS begins trading with a price of US$7.4/tCO2 19 Jul 2021 The Chinese national carbon emission trading scheme (ETS) has officially begun trading with 4.1 MtCO2 quotas worth CNY210m (US$32m) exchanged on 16 July 2021. The opening price was CNY48/tCO2 (US$7.4/tCO2), and the price closed at CNY51.2/tCO2 (US$7.9/tCO2). Read more Brazil…
Policy & Regulatory The Netherlands adopts the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II 5 Jul 2021 The Netherlands has transposed into Dutch law the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II, which requires fuel suppliers to reach a 14% renewables target in the transport sector by 2030. The most recent decree required…
Policy & Regulatory EU parliament approves the EU Climate Law 25 Jun 2021 The European Parliament has endorsed the EU Climate Law, which enshrines the EU’s commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and the intermediate target of reducing net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared…
Policy & Regulatory Switzerland proposes a new power sector reform 23 Jun 2021 The Swiss Federal Council has adopted a new law that set bidding rules to increase new renewable power generation to at least 17 TWh in 2035 and 39 TWh in 2050 and hydropower generation to at least 37.4 TWh in…
Volume 6 Issue 6, June 2021 Heavy-duty charging The electrification of trucks is an important step towards transport decarbonization. Borlaug et al. use real-world drive-cycle data from short-haul trucking operations to simulate different fleet charging strategies and then assess their infrastructure needs, estimating that most substations can currently support charging…
Policy & Regulatory Argentina strengthens Ieasa’s control over the energy sector 22 Jun 2021 The Argentinian government has granted greater power to the state-owned power utility Ieasa (former Enarsa), strengthening the development capacity of the company in the national energy sector and repealing a previous administration’s plan to privatise US$1bn…
Policy & Regulatory Turkey will launch a voluntary green certificate scheme 18 Jun 2021 The Turkish energy exchange company Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST) will launch the Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (YEK-G) system on 21 June 2021. The voluntary scheme will provide companies and households with proof of origin of power generated…
Policy & Regulatory The US will launch lease for 7 GW of offshore wind in the New York Bight 15 Jun 2021 The US Department of the Interior has proposed competitive lease sale for offshore wind development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York Bight, an area of…
Policy & Regulatory Brazil registers 94 GW of projects for the A-5 auction in September 2021 11 Jun 2021 The Brazilian state-owned company Energy Research Office (EPE) has registered 1,694 projects totalling 93,859 MW for the A-5 new energy auction, expected on 30 September 2021, including 52 gas-fired power projects totalling 34.6 GW,…
Policy & Regulatory Croatia releases a new low-carbon development strategy 8 Jun 2021 Croatia has unveiled a new low-carbon development strategy. The country foresees a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the 1990 level under two scenarios. The first scenario, which considers a 33.5% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030…
Policy & Regulatory Canada unveils a US$795m renewable investment program 4 Jun 2021 The Canadian government plans to invest CAD964m (US$795m) over four years to support smart renewable energy and grid modernization projects. The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program aims to lower emissions by investing in clean energy technologies, like…
Policy & Regulatory Angola unveils a new Nationally Determined Contribution 2 Jun 2021 Angola has unveiled a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The country commits to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2025 below a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario by 14% using its domestic resources (unconditional target) or by 24% with international support…
Public webinar – Global Energy Trends 2021 – 01/06/2021 or 03/06/2021 2020 has been a year in which the whole world has been shaken. Now it’s time to understand the 2020 results through concrete figures and analysis, to anticipate future evolutions on the global energy markets. Register to the 01/06/2021…
Volume 6 Issue 5, May 2021 Preventing the cross-over Polysulfide-based redox flow batteries have great potential for grid-scale storage, but they suffer from performance deterioration primarily due to active species cross-over through membranes. Yi-Chun Lu and team develop a Nafion-based membrane that prevents the cross-over and enables these batteries to…
Companies RWE sets up an US offshore wind JV, Orsted an offshore wind JV in Japan 21 May 2021 RWE Renewables and National Grid have agreed to jointly develop offshore wind projects in the coastal region of the Northeast United States and to jointly bid in the upcoming New York…
Policy & Regulatory UAE renews its commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 70% by 2050 19 May 2021 The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has renewed its commitment to cut the country’s CO2 emissions by 70% by 2050 (as defined in the Energy Strategy 2050) and…
Policy & Regulatory Japan proposes to upgrade 2030 renewables target to 35-39% of power mix 17 May 2021 Japan is considering raising the share of renewables in its power mix to 35%-39% (including hydropower) in 2030. The country currently aims to raise the share of renewables in its power mix to…
Policy & Regulatory Taiwan will tender 15 GW of offshore wind capacity until 2035 12 May 2021 Taiwan intends to increase the volume tendered in its upcoming offshore wind Round 3 from 10 GW to 15 GW. The authorities plan to add 1.5 GW/year of offshore wind capacity from 2026 until…
Policy & Regulatory Indonesia plans to convert 5.2 GW of diesel-fired capacity to renewables 11 May 2021 The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) of Indonesia will issue a decree to convert diesel-fired power plants that are still operating in the country into renewables projects. The conversion projects will be…
Policy & Regulatory Algeria plans to tender 1 GW of solar projects in June or July 2021 7 May 2021 Algeria plans to tender 1 GW of solar capacity divided into ten slots of 100 MW each between June and July 2021. The auction will be open to projects planned with foreign…
Policy & Regulatory Poland unveils its recovery and resilience plan 5 May 2021 Poland has submitted an official recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission. The country has requested a total of €23.9bn in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and €12.1bn in loans. The plan includes measures…
Policy & Regulatory Denmark allocates €1.1bn for energy transition 3 May 2021 Denmark has submitted its DKK11.6bn (€1.9bn) recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission as part of the Next Generation EU, a €750bn temporary recovery instrument (2021-2027) aimed at addressing the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more…
Policy & Regulatory The United States offers US$8.25bn in loans for power grid upgrades 29 Apr 2021 The US Department of Energy has announced the availability of up to US$8.25bn in loans from its Loan Programs Office (LPO) and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) to expand and improve the US power…
Policy & Regulatory Italy allocates €68.6bn for energy transition 27 Apr 2021 The Italian prime minister has presented the €248bn National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) to the Chamber of Deputies. The reform program will be submitted to the European Commission on 30 April 2021 as part of the Next Generation…
Volume 6 Issue 4, April 2021 Making contacts The power conversion efficiency of mainstream silicon photovoltaics is expected to saturate at 24% yet the use of charge-selective contacts that also minimize charge recombination could enable further improvements. Towards that aim, Richter et al. demonstrate a 26.0%-efficient solar cell by redesigning…