Klimaat en Energie – BL

Gasoline consumption in China has begun to fall in recent months amidst increased sales of electric vehicles, slow economic growth, and population decline.... Read more »

Monthly average natural gas spot prices at northwestern U.S. and western Canada border pricing hubs reached historic lows in 2024 through October, according to data from Natural Gas Intelligence. Robust natural gas production in western Canada, where output has generally increased over the last two years, and high natural gas... Read more »

Annual spending by major utilities to produce and deliver electricity increased 12% from $287 billion in 2003 to $320 billion in 2023 as measured in real 2023 dollars, according to financial reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Capital investment in electric infrastructure mostly drove the increase, more than... Read more »

Annual production of U.S. petroleum coke (petcoke) has remained relatively unchanged over the past 10 years (2014-23), averaging 46 million tons according to our analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Most U.S. petroleum coke is exported. The United States exported approximately 41 million tons in 2023, slightly more than the... Read more »

In this remarkably candid and personal discussion, Bill shares several stories publicly for the first time. The post Greg Robinson, host of the World Changing Podcast, interviews Bill about his journey into clean energy appeared first on Freeing Energy.... Read more »

Freeing Energy dives deeply into the lessons from computer history and their application to energy. The post How the History of Computers Predicts the Future of Energy: Bill Shares Research from Freeing Energy at the Computer Museum of America appeared first on Freeing Energy.... Read more »

FREYR may not be a household name in the US but their CEO is delivering on his vision to make the most efficient and most environmentally responsible battery plant in the US. The post Podcast 99: Tom Jensen of FREYR Battery – From Giga Arctic to Giga Americas, the most... Read more »

Forbes Magazine explores the role of innovation in the century-old electric power industry. The post Forbes Magazine interviews Bill Nussey about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and how local energy is reshaping the century-old grid appeared first on Freeing Energy.... Read more »

Michael Gale interviews Bill Nussey about "Breaking the Gordian Knot of energy thinking by 2035" The post Forbes’ Futures in Focus podcast host Michael Gale interviews Bill Nussey about the Inflation Reduction Act and the unstoppable economics of local energy appeared first on Freeing Energy.... Read more »

John Berger and Michael Grasso of Sunnova share their vision for solar+battery neighborhoods and why California's state regulators are dragging their feet The post Podcast 98: John Berger and Michael Grasso: Sunnova wants to build a ground breaking local energy powered neighborhood and that is rattling cages. Will regulators let... Read more »

Growing up in India, I experienced the shortage of electricity very personally. We did not have access to uninterrupted, good quality power. The thing that always bothered me was a thermal power plant I could see from my house. It was burning coal to produce electricity for the City of... Read more »

Nicole Jansen is a rockstar podcast host who talks with Bill to tackle--head on--the biggest myths in clean energy and the biggest business opportunities, as well The post Nicole Jansen, host of the Leaders of Transformation podcast talks to Bill: How can you tap into the global energy market and... Read more »

Listen in as Donnel Baird gives us a peek into a journey of why he started BlocPower, what drove his evolving vision, and how he is scaling his business to retrofit old, fossil-fuel powered heating with smart new heat pumps and solar panels. The post Podcast 097: Donnel Baird –... Read more »

Washington (AFP) Nov 21, 2024 The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant. In a court filing, the US Department of Justice urged a shake-up of Google's business... Read more »

New York (AFP) Nov 20, 2024 US auto giants signaled Wednesday they could further slow the ramp-up of electric vehicle production as Detroit awaits the arrival of a Trump administration eager to reverse key Biden climate initiatives. Donald Trump's transition officials have discussed killing a $7,500 tax credit for electric... Read more »

Washington (AFP) Nov 20, 2024 The US government said Wednesday it has finalized a grant with chipmaker GlobalFoundries to support its semiconductor manufacturing investments, as President Joe Biden works to secure parts of his legacy before Donald Trump's White House return. The binding contract provides up to $1.5 billion in... Read more »

Tokyo (AFP) Nov 20, 2024 Japan is readying a $65-billion push in microchips and artificial intelligence aimed at reclaiming its status as a global tech leader and meeting the urgent challenges of its ageing, shrinking population. The 10-trillion-yen package, which lawmakers could approve this week, is also seen as preparation... Read more »

Lemont IL (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 Building on a decades-long partnership, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will play a leading role in planning and rebuilding the nuclear-generated clean energy infrastructure in post-war Ukraine. Argonne will focus on developing small modular reactor applications that could play a... Read more »

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed an innovative process to transform carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into methane fuel using electricity from renewable sources, potentially reshaping the future of carbon capture and energy production. CO2, a major greenhouse gas driving climate change,... Read more »

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 A cutting-edge technology developed at the University of Waterloo has unlocked the potential to generate electricity from vibrations and small body movements. This innovation could enable charging your laptop while typing or powering your smartphone during a run, marking a significant leap toward... Read more »

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 The University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and Sydor Technologies have been awarded a $1.15 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The funding supports the development of plasma-electrode Pockels cell (PEPC)... Read more »

Boston MA (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 In 2015, 195 nations plus the European Union signed the Paris Agreement and pledged to undertake plans designed to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Yet in 2023, the world exceeded that target for most, if not all of, the year... Read more »

Baku (AFP) Nov 20, 2024 Pressure mounted on wealthy nations Wednesday to put a figure on the table as time runs out at COP29 to strike a deal on climate assistance for poorer countries. With two days left to break the impasse at the UN talks in Azerbaijan, rich nations... Read more »

Boston MA (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 Acoustic metamaterials - architected materials that have tailored geometries designed to control the propagation of acoustic or elastic waves through a medium - have been studied extensively through computational and theoretical methods. Physical realizations of these materials to date have been restricted to large... Read more »

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 A new robotic inspection system leveraging deep learning and advanced ultrasonic technology is revolutionizing the way fatigue cracks are detected in Orthotropic steel bridge decks (OSDs). Designed to improve structural health monitoring, this automated system accurately identifies internal cracks, enhancing safety and maintenance... Read more »

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 Have you ever considered why airplanes require a vertical tailfin for stability? While removing the vertical tailfin could make planes significantly more energy-efficient, achieving this has been a challenge for the aviation industry. Intriguingly, birds accomplish stable flight without a vertical tailfin. So, how... Read more »

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 21, 2024 Etched onto small clay cylinders, researchers from Johns Hopkins University have uncovered what could be the earliest known alphabetic writing in human history. The artifacts, excavated from a tomb in Syria, date back to around 2400 BCE - approximately 500 years earlier than... Read more »

Researchers in China have created a balloon-integrated photovoltaic system that reportedly represents a feasible solution for emergency PV power generation in mid-to-high latitudes. It consists of a customized balloon, 19%-efficient thin-film cadmium telluride solar cells, an exhaust valve, control and storage modules, fixed ropes, and a cord reel, as well... Read more »

Australia’s record uptake of rooftop solar is delivering significant benefits for some installers, with new analysis by industry consultancy Solar Nerds showing triple-digit percentage point annual growth rates for some companies.... Read more »

Researchers from Germany and India have demonstrated an inkjet printing method to fabricate formamidinium tin-lead perovskite solar cells, achieving 10.26% power conversion efficiency and a 1.25 eV energy bandgap.... Read more »

Developed by researchers in South Africa, the proposed technique is based on the water cycle algorithm (WCA), a population-based metaheuristic optimization algorithm that is inspired by the water cycle process in nature and how streams and rivers flow into the sea.... Read more »

The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 65 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are 17 new results reported in the new version.... Read more »

Gabon has opened its first utility-scale solar plant – the largest in Central Africa. Developer Solen SA Gabon has said it aims to expand the Ayémé project's capacity to 30 MW to power more than 300,000 homes.... Read more »

A 9.75 MW solar plant on a former mining dump in northeastern Serbia is set for completion and grid connection by the first quarter of 2025. It will be the first solar facility operated by state utility Elektroprivreda Srbije.... Read more »

The Barcelona City Council is piloting two solar system prototypes designed to provide shade, generate power, and filter air.... Read more »

A new study by Germany's Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) points to strong potential for solar deployment across the nation's roadways and highways.... Read more »

China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd (Energy China) has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the world’s largest contiguous solar and battery power plant in the Philippines.... Read more »

The Netherlands added 1.76 GW of solar capacity in the first half of 2024, with 148,166 new PV projects. By the end of June, the country's total installed PV capacity had reached 26.06 GW.... Read more »

Wood Mackenzie predicts that the global floating solar market will be dominated by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and led by India, China and Indonesia through to 2033. The consultancy says growth will be driven by rising demand, decreased capital expenditure and supportive policies.... Read more »

The Romanian Ministry of Energy has launched a grant program for battery energy storage systems developed in conjunction with existing renewable energy facilities – wind, solar, or hydro.... Read more »

Juwi says it will construct a $33.2 million solar-plus-storage project in Senegal, integrating a 20 MW solar plant with 11 MWh of battery storage. The system will meet 20% of the energy needs of the Grande Côte mineral sands mine.... Read more »

A new UNICEF report released on Wednesday to coincide with World Children’s Day has found that eight times more children will experience extreme heatwaves globally by 2050. According to The State of the World’s Children 2024, three megatrends will have powerful impacts on the lives of children between now and... Read more »

A newly released plan would see 60,000 parking spots throughout Paris turn into grounds for tree planting by 2030. The goal of the project is to better prepare for extreme heat events by providing shaded green spaces. The plan still requires approval from the Council of Paris to move forward.... Read more »

The vast array of Earth’s plants and animals is what makes our world so exciting and beautiful. When it comes to forests, having a diversity of tree species comes with an added bonus that benefits the entire planet: a higher rate of carbon sequestration. A new study has found that... Read more »

In a symptom of human development pushing native wildlife further outside their natural habitats, mountain lions living in the greater Los Angeles area have been changing the timing of their activities to avoid interactions with hikers, joggers, cyclists and other recreationists, according to a new study led by researchers at... Read more »

COP29 talks, including the landmark deal on “transitioning away from fossil fuels” agreed upon at last year’s negotiations, had to be prevented from collapse after Saudi Arabia and other developing countries expressed opposition. Over the weekend, nations failed to come to an agreement and it was decided that talks would... Read more »

Using data from NASA Satellites, a research team of international scientists has observed a sudden drop in freshwater that started in 2014 and has persisted since then. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites revealed a drastic decline in global terrestrial water storage, or TWS, between May 2014 and... Read more »

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Chris Wright, an executive of the oil and gas industry, as his pick to head the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Wright — chief executive of hydraulic fracturing company Liberty Energy — has been described as a “staunch defender of fossil fuel use” who... Read more »

On a visit to Brazil on Sunday, President Joe Biden became the first sitting president from the United States to visit the Amazon rainforest. Biden promised funding to protect Earth’s largest tropical rainforest, and signed a proclamation making November 17 International Conservation Day, reported Reuters. During his four-hour visit to... Read more »

As world leaders gather at COP29 in Azerbaijan to discuss climate action, scientists are questioning whether keeping global warming limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages is even still within reach. Already, warming is slated to be above 1.5 degrees Celsius for the 2024 calendar year for the first... Read more »

Transgrid signs contract with local big batteries to boost network capacity without the need for new poles and wires. The post “Beyond poles and wires:” Transgrid signs contract with big batteries to boost capacity on constrained grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.... Read more »

Vestas pauses construction on Australia's biggest wind farm and another major project as investigations continue into a fatal accident at Golden Plains. The post Vestas suspends work on a gigawatt of projects as Golden Plains fatal accident investigated appeared first on RenewEconomy.... Read more »

Plans to develop critical offshore wind port infrastructure in Victoria’s Western Port Bay are being pared back in a fresh bid to win a green tick from the federal government. The post Victoria dials back plans for offshore wind port, in fresh bid for federal green tick appeared first on... Read more »

Australian oil and gas giant lands government money for CCUS projects, to the horror of analysts who say it would be cheaper, cleaner and smarter to phase out gas appliances. The post Woodside handed government funds for carbon capture projects, but activists say we should use less gas appeared first... Read more »

In this webinar brought to you by GridBeyond, we look at some of the hurdles and the solutions to ensuring electric fleets are all charged up and ready to go. The post Webinar: EV fleets & the charging challenge appeared first on RenewEconomy.... Read more »

Australia's sovereign wealth fund finally given instructions to invest in what it says on the box - the future - at least in regards to energy technologies. The Coalition says it is the wrong direction. The post Labor issues new mandate to Future Fund to invest in the future, and... Read more »

UNSW's Baran Yildiz on how Australia's millions of rooftop solar systems and other consumer energy assets are being integrated into the grid. Plus, a Tesla Powerwall to go with your Bunnings sausage? And other news of the week. The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Four million and counting – the race... Read more »

Australia’s plans to open new gas fields and recent approval for three massive coal mine expansions has seen it slip two places in this year’s global Climate Change Performance Index. The post Australia’s climate rating slips because of plans to increase coal and gas production appeared first on RenewEconomy.... Read more »

Origin announces expansion of Eraring battery, ensuring that the site of the country's biggest coal generator will host the biggest battery. The post Origin adds more storage to Eraring battery, making it biggest in Australia and one of world’s largest appeared first on RenewEconomy.... Read more »