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…
Policy & Regulatory South Korea raises renewables obligation for power companies to 25% 20 Apr 2021 The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has increased the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) from 10% to 25%. The RPS obliges power companies with a capacity higher than 500 MW to produce 25% of…
Energy & Climate Markets The 1.4 GW NordLink interconnector (Norway-Germany) is commissioned 14 Apr 2021 The German and Norwegian power transmission system operators (TSOs) TenneT and Statnett have fully commissioned the 1.4 GW NordLink interconnector between Germany and Norway. The €1.5-2bn interconnection project comprises a bipolar high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea interconnector, which…
«Es más fácil desintegrar un átomo que un prejuicio», Albert Einstein Hidrógeno: la revolución que se avecina 9 avril 2021 – https://www.transitionsenergies.com/le-dernier-numero-du-magazine-transitions-energies-paru/ 2 minutes de lecture Transports, rien ne sera plus comme avant Le nouveau numéro de Transitions & Energies vient de paraitre. Titré, «Energie et Transport, la révolution qui…
Public webinar – Decarbonisation of the European transport sector – 13/04/2021 10AM CET Enerdata experts will be presenting a selection of key indicators related to the four levers of the decarbonisation of transport (energy efficiency, fuel substitution, modal shift, transport demand) and identify best practices among European countries in these…
Policy & Regulatory Pakistan plans to privatise 10 power distribution companies 29 Mar 2021 The Privatisation Commission (PC) of Pakistan plans to privatise 10 power distribution companies, including electricity supply companies of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkur and tribal areas. The PC expects the private sector to…
Policy & Regulatory Ireland targets 51% GHG emissions cut by 2030 25 Mar 2021 The Irish government has approved the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill, which sets a binding target of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 51% by 2030 compared to 2018, with the aim of reaching carbon…
Policy & Regulatory The UAE aims to raise energy efficiency by 40% by 2050 24 Mar 2021 The United Arab Emirates has launched its national water and energy demand management programme, which aims at raising energy efficiency by 40% by 2050 and at increasing the renewable energy’s contribution to the…
Volume 6 Issue 3, March 2021 Standing in the wind Climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events putting energy infrastructure at risk. Bennett et al. develop a methodology to incorporate increasing extreme event risk into energy systems modelling and planning, and estimate the impact of…
Policy & Regulatory Vietnam plans to cut feed-in tariff for rooftop solar by a third 19 Mar 2021 Vietnam intends to reduce the feed-in tariff for rooftop solar by 31-38% as of April 2021, from US$8.38c/kWh to US$5.2-5.8c/kWh. The country seeks to limit pressure on the national power grid and…
Policy & Regulatory Turkey’s 1 GW mini solar tender oversubscribed nearly 10 times 18 Mar 2021 The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey has received 709 applications totalling 9,440 MW for 74 upcoming mini solar Renewable Energy Resource Zone (YEKA) tenders with a quota of 1 GW in 36 provinces throughout…
Policy & Regulatory Lebanon unveils its updated Nationally Determined Contribution 17 Mar 2021 Lebanon has updated its 2015 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The country intends to unconditionally increase its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target relative to the Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenario from 15% to 20%, and conditionally increase its GHG emission reduction…
Policy & Regulatory European Parliament endorses plan to price carbon at EU’s border 16 Mar 2021 The European Parliament has approved a resolution on a WTO-compatible EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to create a global level playing field as well as an incentive for both EU and non-EU industries to…
Policy & Regulatory Spain awards 255 MW of solar capacity in Canary Islands 15 Mar 2021 The Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings (IDAE) has selected 65 solar power projects in Canary islands with a total capacity of 255 MW under the SolCan aid program, which is co-financed by the European…
Policy & Regulatory Italy aims at cutting its GHG emissions by 60% in 2030 compared to 1990 12 Mar 2021 Italy intends to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around 60% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels after using €80bn of EU funds for energy transition in the next five…
Policy & Regulatory Rosatom should build 24 new nuclear reactor units in Russia by 2045 11 Mar 2021 The Russian president has decided to increase the share of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix to 25% by 2045, which will require the construction by the state nuclear corporation Rosatom…
Policy & Regulatory Algeria plans to tender 1 GW of solar capacity in June 2021 10 Mar 2021 Algeria intends to launch a tender for 1,000 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in June 2021. The program will include ten wilayas (provinces) in southern Algeria with 100 MW for each. Turning to solar power…
Policy & Regulatory Canada unveils a new federal greenhouse gas offset system 9 Mar 2021 The federal government of Canada has released draft regulations on a new federal greenhouse gas (GHG) offset system, which would allow municipalities, farmers, indigenous communities, businesses, and others to earn offset credits for projects that reduce…
Policy & Regulatory China plans to increase its nuclear capacity by 40% over 2021-2025 8 Mar 2021 China has released its 14th Five-Year Plan covering the 2021-2025 period and announced its aim to increase its nuclear power capacity by 40% from 50 GW in 2020 to 70 GW in 2025. In addition,…
Policy & Regulatory OPEC+ keeps oil production target for April 2021 broadly unchanged 5 Mar 2021 The OPEC+ has agreed to a continuation of the production levels of March 2021 – when the production cut reached 8.05 mb/d – in April 2021 for most member countries. However, Russia and Kazakhstan will…
Policy & Regulatory The EU launches a investigation on Germany’s lignite phase-out plan 4 Mar 2021 The European Commission has launched an investigation on Germany’s lignite phase-out plan, to confirm if the compensation granted to the operators of lignite-fired power plants for phasing out earlier involved state aid and if…
Policy & Regulatory Thor offshore wind project (Denmark) cleared under EU state aid rules 3 Mar 2021 The European Commission has approved Denmark’s support for the Thor offshore wind project, which will be located in the Danish part of the North Sea, under EU state aid rules. Denmark had approved…
Policy & Regulatory Denmark could miss its 2030 climate target 2 Mar 2021 According to the Danish Council on Climate Change, Denmark’s current climate policies are insufficient to meet its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets. With the government’s current policy, the country would be on track to reduce CO2 emissions…
Policy & Regulatory Germany launches a 958 MW offshore wind tender 1 Mar 2021 The German Federal Network Agency has launched a tender for 958 MW of offshore wind capacity across three areas in the North and Baltic Seas. The regulator offers 658 MW in the German North Sea and 300 MW in…
Policy & Regulatory Brazil initiates privatisation process of power utility Eletrobras 26 Feb 2021 The Brazilian president has delivered a provisional measure to Congress, which allows the national development bank BNDES to start the privatisation process of the state-owned power utility Eletrobras. Brazil directly controls 42.57% of Eletrobras’s total capital….
Policy & Regulatory The United States and Canada target net-zero emissions by 2050 25 Feb 2021 The United States and Canada have agreed to work towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050, also reaffirming their shared commitment to cutting oil and gas methane emissions. The United States, which has just…
Policy & Regulatory France awards 452 MW of solar PV capacity 24 Feb 2021 The French Energy Regulatory Commission has selected 69 PV projects representing a total capacity of 452 MW. In the first category, which comprises ground-mounted PV projects exceeding 5 MW in size, the CRE allocated 216 MW (less than…
Policy & Regulatory The United States officially re-enters the Paris agreement 23 Feb 2021 The United States has officially re-entered the Paris agreement on climate change, after having officially withdrawn in November 2020. The Paris agreement was signed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015, in an attempt to cut…
Policy & Regulatory France launches tender for 700 MW of solar PV capacity 22 Feb 2021 The French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) has launched its 10th tender for the construction of 700 MW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects exceeding 500 kW in size. The country aims at allocating 450 MW for ground-mounted PV projects…
Volume 6 Issue 2, February 2021 NET result Direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 is a promising negative emissions technology (NET) that could help to achieve climate targets. However, the energy and materials demands of DAC need to be better understood. Based on industrial data, Deutz and Bardow evaluate the…