Our electric future needs low-cost long-duration storage for grids. Per kWh, pumped hydropower is about $60, compressed air energy storage (CAES) costs from $150 to $300, and lithium-ion batteries cost around $300 (and only store energy from one to four hours). Wayne Hicks at NREL describes research into thermal energy storage (TES) using solid particles […] The post Batteries made of super-hot sand: for long-duration grid storage at $4 to $10 per kWh appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

The EU has established a second emissions trading system (ETS) to put a carbon price on buildings and road transport, the “EU ETS2”. The ETS2 starts in 2027, but monitoring and reporting of ETS2 emissions will begin in 2025. One issue is that an ETS means prices for long-term fuel supply contracts will be affected, […] The post EU ETS2 for Buildings, Road Transport in 2027: why we need auctions to start early appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

Robert Kleinberg at CGEP explains why methane isn’t included in the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which imposes a carbon tax on imported goods. Basically, CO2 emissions are easy to estimate accurately, whereas methane emissions are not. Many methane emissions, even the largest ones, are intermittent and of highly variable duration. Gas leaks vary […] The post Why isn’t Methane included in the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism? appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

Europe must decarbonise as fast as possible while safeguarding essential economic, social and security interests. Decarbonisation without deindustrialisation needs carefully thought-out trade policy, and tariffs can be an effective instrument, explains T&E, summarising its recently released paper. Almost a fifth of all EVs sold in the EU last year were made in China. Over half […] The post EVs, Batteries: how can Europe use tariffs on China without starting a trade war? appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabi, UAE) have all set themselves ambitious renewable energy targets to meet in the next ten years. They are some of the sunniest countries in the world, and existing projects have set records for low solar power costs. But they have a long […] The post Can the six Gulf nations meet their ambitious Renewables deployment plans by 2030? appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

Wind and solar need cheap, long-duration storage to even out its inherent weather-determined intermittency. Deborah Halber, writing for MIT News, describes the development of iron-air batteries. Iron is cheap and available worldwide. Storage duration is multi-day. They are much heavier and take up more space than lithium-ion batteries, but that doesn’t matter for immobile grid […] The post Iron-air batteries: long-duration grid storage targets 1/10th the cost of lithium-ion appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

Here, the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) provides a summary of the Green Deal Industrial Plan. It’s broken up into: What is the Green Deal Industrial Plan? What are critical raw materials and why do they matter? Where is the EU currently standing on critical raw materials? What is the EU doing about critical raw […] The post Explainer: The EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

On January 1st France launched its flagship EV “social leasing” programme, at a typical price of €100/month, targeting 25,000 users. Within six weeks it was oversubscribed, forcing the government to close the scheme and alter the subsidy regime to accommodate the new total of 50,000. The programme’s popularity demonstrates its relevance and justifies its future […] The post France’s €100/month EV “social leasing” plan was oversubscribed, then closed. How to keep the momentum going appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

In 2025, the EU’s car CO2 regulation will require a 15% reduction of fleet emissions from new passenger cars sold in Europe, compared to 2021 figures. But some carmakers are saying this target is unfair, claiming that they cannot control the consumers’ appetite for EVs. They want targets relaxed or fines waived. Julia Poliscanova at […] The post Carmakers must stop complaining and meet the 2025 EU CO2 target (like they did in 2020, and profitably) appeared first on Energy Post ..read more

Onshore wind turbines have a permitting problem in the U.S. and Europe. One main complaint from homeowners is that they believe the sight of a turbine will reduce their property value. Maximilian Auffhammer at the Energy Institute at Haas describes his co-authored published study that tests this assumption. The study looks at sale prices of […] The post Study: will sight of a Wind Turbine reduce your property prices? appeared first on Energy Post ..read more