SHANGHAI: People living in countries along China’s “new Silk Road” favour investment in renewable energy over the construction of coal-fired power plants, according to a poll released on Wednesday ahead of a major summit in Beijing. Environmental group E3G, which commissioned the poll, said the results showed there was little support for investment in coal, […]
PUERTO RICO WILL STOP BURNING COAL NEXT YEAR
Spring Cleaning Puerto Rico has a plan in motion to shut down its coal-burning power plants by next year. The Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act, recently signed by Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Roselló, puts the island on track to completely ditch non-renewable energy sources by 2050, according to The Rising — a heartening sign […]
INNOVATION: Vattenfall to test salt-based power storage technology
Efficient energy storage is vital in increasing the appeal of renewable power and Vattenfall’s pilot programme will use a technique developed by another Swedish firm, SaltX Technology OSLO: Swedish power producer Vattenfall has commissioned a plant to test the storage in salt of electricity from solar plants and wind turbines, hoping to overcome the stop-start […]
As end looms for coal, German mining region shifts right
SPREMBERG, Germany: A German far-right party is using a simple message to attract voters in a mining region threatened by government plans to phase out coal: jobs are more important than the environment. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s aim to wean Europe’s biggest economy off fossil fuels is the main issue in a September election in the […]
Report: Local Wind and Solar Plants Beat Out Majority of US Coal Plants on Cost
A new report provides more evidence that wind and solar economics are edging out coal. It would be cheaper to build local wind and solar projects than continuing to operate 74 percent of U.S. coal plants, according to a new report from Energy Innovation, a clean energy advocacy and research organization, and Vibrant Clean Energy. […]
Consumers Energy to Seek 5GW of Solar by 2030 Under Clean Energy Plan
Michigan utility agrees to a 50-50 split between utility and third-party RFPs to meet solar goals in a broader plan to eliminate coal use by 2040. Michigan utility Consumers Energy has filed a clean energy plan with state regulators that includes a promise to add 5 gigawatts of solar through competitive bidding by 2030, as […]
Utilities are starting to invest in big batteries instead of building new power plants
Due to their decreasing costs, lithium-ion batteries now dominate a range of applications including electric vehicles, computers and consumer electronics. You might only think about energy storage when your laptop or cellphone are running out of juice, but utilities can plug bigger versions into the electric grid. And thanks to rapidly declining lithium-ion battery prices, […]
Energy from coal to shrink at 1.25 GW every year, says S&P Global
Given the strong power demand growth of 9 GW every year, coal dispatch would continue to grow in the medium-term New Delhi: Energy from coal will shrink at 1.25 gigawatt (GW) every year as solar would continue to expand with the deployment forecast of 20 GW every year, according to the International Energy Agency’s Sustainable Development Scenario, S&P Global Platts […]
Wind To Surpass Hydro as No. 1 U.S. Renewable Power Source in 2019
Meanwhile, coal will keep losing. Wind power is on track to surpass hydropower as the U.S. grid’s largest source of renewable electricity in 2019, according to Energy Information Administration data. Hydro had a century-long head start, and plants like the 2,000megawatt Hoover Dam and 6,800-megawatt Grand Coulee Dam still outsize any other generating stations. However, […]
Renewables May Prove Cheaper Than 96% of Coal Plants Worldwide by 2030
“Over time, these coal-fired power plants will just become more and more unviable.” The uphill battle confronting coal seems to be getting steeper. A new global analysis of 6,685 coal plants finds that it is now cheaper to build new renewable generation than to run 35 percent of coal plants worldwide. By 2030, that percentage increases dramatically, […]