Renewable energy penetration survey shows renewables still play a small role in some countries; in others, they provide 100% of the electricity – today.
We now know that renewables can not only supply all of Australia’s electricity, but do it cheaper than coal and gas. Will policymakers catch on?
The latest quotable claim by anti-wind lobbyists is that 1 in 20 wind turbines worldwide are permanently inactive. It’s wrong, as usual.
Germany’s energy turnaround offers proof that an industrialised, politically pluralistic market economy can run well on efficiency and renewables.
Study finds US grid could quit coal, close a quarter of its nuclear plants and rely on renewables for the bulk of its electricity generation.
A boost in wind and hydro – and a fall in consumption – helped Portugal set a new record in renewable energy.
EU proposes 40% CO2 cut by 2030, 30% renewables; IMF says $2tn/yr fossil fuel subsidies a ‘major global problem;’ US renewables up, coal, nuclear down.
As more countries and regions adopt what was once unthinkable – 100% renewable electricity targets – many are taking steps to go even further.
Survey finds 87% of Australians think more should be done to make us a top-10 renewables producer, and hints at a renewed rooftop solar boom.
Hydro Tasmania has selected the supplier for the largest battery system ever to be installed in Australia. The King Island renewable plan could be a blue-print for how other remote grids, and ultimately the National Electricity Market, move to 100 per cent renewable energy.
Renewables accounted for 3/4 of all new capacity in Europe in 2011, Australia plans first carbon auction in 2014.
The International Energy Agency says it’s time to move beyond centralised generation to a flexible, demand-based system. And it outlines its vision for how the global electricity grid might look in 2075, noting the importance of technologies where Australia could play a critical role.
The Draft Energy White Paper sees virtually no role for solar in Australia’s energy grid in the next 20 years. But private forecasters say it could account for nearly one third of capacity. How did the government get so blind-sided, and will industry models be able to cope?
One of the principal architects of Germany’s push into renewable energy technologies believes that his country could achieve 100 per cent renewables in its electricity sector by 2030 – and may do it quicker. The rest of the world could follow soon after – at a cost of just $100 trillion, about half the cost of not doing it.
Both coal plants and wind farms face opposition from those who have to live nearby. But which would you rather have as a neighbour?
2012 will be a critical year for cleantech in Australia. Costs for many technologies are falling rapidly, but critical decisions will be made about renewable energy targets and support mechanisms. Here, the heads of Pacific Hydro, GE, Infigen Energy, Better Place, Origin, First Solar, Carnegie Wave, the Grattan Insitute, the CEC and the SEAA share their predictions.
Renewables investment set to triple by 2030 as costs plunge: report
BNEF report finds falling renewables costs will see clean energy account for up to 74% of new global capacity by 2030, despite current market glut.