From Australia to the UK, governments are pinning their hopes on 'carbon capture' technology stuck onto coal power stations, writes John Quiggin. But their choice carries a high risk of failure - the smart money is on renewables, energy storage and responsive power grids.
… Only a mug would bet on carbon storage over renewables John Quiggin | 16th January 2015 Comment Energy Renewables Coal Climate Change Technology … high risk of failure - the smart money is on renewables, energy storage and responsive …
Moving to 100% clean, renewable energy is a win-win option for South Australia, writes Mark Diesendorf. First of all it's highly doable over a 25-year transition period. It will also bring lower power prices, more employment, better health and a cleaner environment. What's not to like?
… Diesendorf | 18th July 2015 Comment Energy Renewables Coal Nuclear Australia Green …
India's renewable power capacity is set to reach 170GW by 2022, write Areeba Hamid & Oliver Tickell - reducing power shortages and bringing electricity to off-grid of rural communities for the first time. But it may also have an unintended consequence - cutting off investment in India's troubled coal sector as prospects for future profitability evaporate..
… Renewables to transform India's energy … 2015 News India Energy Coal Fossil Fuels Renewables Solar Finance China … Minister Nerandra Modi unveiled plans for renewables to account for 15% of his nation's …
The recent U-turn by of some of the UK's leading environmentalists - and one-time nuclear energy opponents - on the issue of nuclear energy, has caused vigourous debate in the media. Their reasoning is that we simply don't have the capacity to produce enough renewable energy to meet our needs. But as this comprehensive Ecologist report from 2007 shows the UK is really a renewable energy powerhouse.
… from the solutions posited in the paper. Renewables and energy conservation and … act. A recent Greenpeace audit forecast that renewables would be supplying 20 per cent of … being beyond our reach. Currently, it says, renewables account for around 1.5 per cent of …
Thanks to the windy, sunny weather conditions on Saturday, the UK's output of renewable power reached an all-time record level of 43%, writes Chris Goodall. At the same time power from coal reached a low of just 7%, it what may be a record low contribution.
… power Chris Goodall | 8th June 2015 News Renewables Coal Energy UK Wind Solar uk-renewables.png Thanks to the windy, sunny … chooses to invest in wind, solar and other renewables, it can push coal-fired generation …
The attempt by the US Supreme Court to stall the White House Clean Power Plan is being thwarted on the ground, writes Linda Pentz Gunter. The numbers show that new renewable energy installation around the US is outpacing even natural gas - leaving coal in the dust, and new nuclear at a big round zero.
… February 2016 Comment Energy Climate Change Renewables Fossil Fuels Nuclear Gas Coal USA … its electricity system, through the growth of renewables and the switching from burning coal … in Georgia and South Carolina. No stopping renewables in 2016 and beyond Meanwhile, there …
New book sets out 'the human side of the renewable energy revolution' - read an extract here.
… - read an extract here. As the transition to renewables speeds up, governments will have to … they are clear about new job creation (in renewables or any other sector) and how to …
Amber Rudd's speech today exposes her total failure to assemble a coherent energy strategy, writes Oliver Tickell. It reveals the increasingly certain failure to meet EU renewable energy targets, proposes a new tax on wind and solar generation, and leaves the country facing the real prospect of lights going out in the next decade. The one hard policy? To maximise oil and gas recovery.
… News Energy UK EU Politics Nuclear Coal Oil Renewables Climate Change light-bulb-cut.jpg … we need to do." Oh yeah? Indigenous renewables are key to energy security If she … policy innovation specially crafted to hit renewables: "In the same way generators should …
The theme at COP21 today has been the urgent need to cut fossil fuel subsidies that favour dirty energy over renewables, writes Tony Juniper. Sadly the UK is setting all the wrong examples - ramping up its spending on fossil fuels, while slashing its much smaller renewable energy budgets.
… Unfccc Energy Fossil Fuels Gas Coal Fracking Renewables Finance thistle-alpha-cut.jpg The … fuel subsidies that favour dirty energy over renewables, writes Tony Juniper. Sadly the UK … fuel subsidies - £26 billion a year - dwarf renewables support. The UK's Department for …
The Labour party conference adopted the most radical climate policy of any in a G20 economy - but there will be battles ahead: with the leadership, and with union bosses.
… the electricity to users) would stay private. Renewables It is hard to see how a Labour … reasons: 1. Modern electricity technologies – renewables, plus networks that distribute … are left in corporates’ hands, the shift to renewables will never happen on any timescale …
Wind, solar and hydro together generated 14.6% of Britain's electrical energy in 2015, the highest ever, writes Grant Wilson. They also peaked at 22% of electricity over the week of Christmas - another British record.
… of Sheffield | 18th January 2016 News Energy Renewables Coal Gas Nuclear UK image-2-cut.png … of the most notable outcomes. Record breaking renewables Wind, solar and hydro - the weather-dependent renewables - together generated 14.6% of Great …
Germany's 'Energiewende' has made the country a global renewable energy powerhouse. So why have its carbon emissions gone up? Not because of nuclear closures, writes Melanie Mattauch, but because powerful fossil fuel companies have blocked effective climate action. Now the fight is on as public calls to keep the coal in the ground get too loud to ignore.
… Power struggle: after Germany's renewables surge, can it keep its coal in the … | 22nd May 2015 News Germany Energy Coal Renewables Protest Climate Change Carbon … But in fact, the increased generation from renewables filled the nuclear energy gap. So …
The International Energy Agency's latest World Energy Outlook is calling for increased investment in new oil and gas, writes Oliver Tickell, while minimising the fast-growing and ever lower-cost contribution to world energy supply of renewables like wind and solar.
… Climate Change Oil Gas Coal Fossil Fuels Renewables Wind Solar Nuclear flaring-cut.jpg … contribution to world energy supply of renewables like wind and solar. The …
Amount invested in marine energy is a drop in the ocean against more than £50m for collieries
… | 24th August 2009 News Coal Energy Renewables Marine Tidal Wave … out from a £50m pot created under the Marine Renewables Deployment Fund, which started in … that Britain punches way below its weight on renewables - we have the third-lowest …
Japan and Germany have much in common: both are major industrial countries that have gone nuclear-free, writes Peter Matanle - Germany by choice, Japan by necessity. But while Germany is actively pursuing its renewable energy revolution, or Energiewende, Japan, possessed of the richest renewable energy resources in East Asia, is stuck in a fossil fuel pit.
… June 2015 News Japan Energy Coal Oil Nuclear Renewables Germany hamaoka-cut.jpg Japan and … by 2020. Under an aggressive 50% expansion in renewables since then, in 2014 German fossil … the electric power companies have treated renewables as a " nuisance " . This treatment …
Ecological and energy literacy are necessary if we’re to understand what is happening to us and why, and to develop productive ways to respond.
… is a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewables. An all-renewable society will be … to not only transition from fossil fuels to renewables but also to reshape our economic, … tend to focus on ramping up the supply of renewables, but the carbon budget concept …
Carbon Tracker reports that it already costs less to generate power from installing new wind or solar farms than new coal plants.
… wasting hundreds of billions of pounds as new renewables are now cheaper than new coal … of operating coal power costs more than new renewables, Carbon Tracker said. In the UK, a … price floor, falling demand and subsidies for renewables have helped push most coal off the …
China's 2015 carbon emissions fell for the second year running, by an amount equal to all of Poland's, while total power consumption increased, writes Lauri Myllyvirta. Credit goes to the massive expansion in renewable energy, with a record-breaking 47GW of wind and solar capacity added.
… China's renewables drive down CO2 emissions Lauri … 2016 News China Climate Change Energy Coal Renewables china-solar-cut.jpg China's 2015 …
Ahead of the release of the World Bank's revised energy strategy, the Ecologist speaks to sustainable development advocate Srinivas Krishnaswamy about why despite huge gigawatt power projects, 45 per cent of India's households still lack electricity
… comes from coal, hydro is about 25 per cent, renewables about 10 per cent and nuclear … be an ideal mix would be to have 60 per cent renewables and in this I don't include large …
Renewable energy is all go in China, as set out in its climate pledge this week, writes John Mathews, with huge growth planned for wind and solar. The one big loser - coal exporters who can expect falling sales volumes in coming years. Wake up Australia!
… | 3rd July 2015 News China Australia Energy Renewables Coal Climate Change Unfccc … China can only be described as an emerging renewables superpower. In particular, wind and … it sees its energy future in a very large renewables system (which it can build through …
The widely touted 'carbon capture and storage' technology is much more expensive than wind and solar, says a Greenpeace report. It also represents a perverse subsidy to the fossil fuel sector that will only boost coal and oil, and delay the transition to a renewable energy system.
… May 2015 News Energy Climate Change Coal Oil Renewables saskpower-ccs-cut.jpg The widely …
The secretary general of the OECD group of the world's 34 richest nations has issued a dramatic plea to its members to act now to end 'unabated coal' burning, writes Alex Kirby, and invest in renewables around the world to prevent climate disaster.
… Change Emissions Energy UK Fossil Fuels Coal Renewables angel-gurria-cut.jpg The secretary … burning, writes Alex Kirby, and invest in renewables around the world to prevent climate … Depending on the region, cost-competitive renewables include onshore wind, biomass and …
Tesla Energy's new mains power battery has just transformed the energy market - giving a huge boost to small scale renewable energy and killing off both fossil fuelled and nuclear power in the process.
… Oliver Tickell | 1st May 2015 News Energy Renewables Wind Solar Fossil Fuels Coal …