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ISSN 2753-7757 (Online)

Features

Fusion energy

Computer generated image of futuristic rectangular building made of glass and steel frames, with green countryside around it

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20/11/2024 Feature / Will Dalrymple

Why UK government hydrogen fuel research is the 21st century’s hottest energy ticket

Outside of the EU, the UK is forging its own path towards commercial production of electricity from nuclear fusion. The 2022 UK fusion strategy has sketched out a vision of building a prototype fusion reactor using a domestic design, along with fuel cycle facilities, proposals which attracted ‘significant support’ in the October 2024 budget. A panel of distinguished scientists and engineers from state R&D body the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) presented the topic to Energy Institute Fellows in September 2024. New Energy World Senior Editor Will Dalrymple reports.

Biomass

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20/11/2024 Feature / Michelle Meineke

The ‘push-pull’ debate around using biomass

Is biomass an environmentally-friendly component of the energy transition amid net zero targets or adding to emissions? There’s no simple answer, explains sustainability consultant Michelle Meineke.

COP

COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber (left) and COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev jointly holding a gavel and raising it in the air to open the COP29 conference

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13/11/2024 Feature / Brian Davis

Can COP29 live up to expectations?

Given this year’s extreme weather, volatile geopolitics, and continuing global conflicts and economic challenges, can COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, deliver on its ambitions? This is the key question, given the main theme of the ‘Finance COP’, focused on securing increasing contributions from wealthier nations to mitigate climate change and balance the global north-south divide. And the shadow of President-Elect Trump hangs over the summit. New Energy World Features Editor Brian Davis reports.

COP

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev standing at lecturn with Azeri and UN flags behind him

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20/11/2024 Feature / Brian Davis

COP29 week 2: A mixed bag of debate, new initiatives and criticism

Mixed messages have been coming from the first days of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Despite an agreement at last year’s COP conference to transition faster from fossil fuels, there was talk of a controversial ‘gas swap’ scheme being held by Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, there was a plethora of new initiatives, though nothing yet attention grabbing on levelling the Global North and Global South divide on the financial front. New Energy World Features Editor Brian Davis reports.

Onshore wind farms

Aerial view of 3 onshore wind turbines set in green countryside with blue sky and white clouds

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13/11/2024 Feature / Bruce Henry

Extending the life of onshore wind turbines

Onshore wind turbines are commonly subject to extreme and challenging environmental conditions. But as turbines age and rotor size and power grows, the SafetyOn forum, in partnership with the Energy Institute, is focused on delivering good practice guides and resources for effective life extension management, explains Bruce Henry, Head of Engineering, EDF Renewables, UK & Ireland.

Green hydrogen

Aerial oveview over hydrogen plant facilities, buildings and roads and pathways

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13/11/2024 Feature / Andreia Nogueira

Brazil gets ready to lead in green hydrogen

The world’s fifth largest country by land area is preparing to use its abundant natural resources and major renewable energy sector to become the world’s largest producer of green hydrogen. However, with several challenges to overcome, local experts say that the likelihood of Brazil achieving this aim remains difficult to predict. Andreia Nogueira reports. 

Demand side response

Close up of rear of electric car, with charging cable attached to outside home charger; dark nighttime, with orange lights showing on car and house

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6/11/2024 Feature / Andrew Mourant

Powering up the consumer: UK power networks trial app-controlled off-peak charging with variable success

Trials carried out by network companies and utilities are aimed at proving it is possible to shift electricity demand by offering incentives to customers, reports Andrew Mourant.

Artificial Intelligence

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30/10/2024 Feature / Paolo Sbuttoni

What are the potential risks of using AI in the energy sector?

The opportunities offered by artificial intelligence (AI) are vast, with potential to transform the energy sector, in terms of infrastructure and operational performance, on the road to net zero. However, businesses will need to manage the risks to reap the rewards, write Paolo Sbuttoni, Partner, and Oliver Toomey, Associate, at law firm Foot Anstey.

Smart grid transmission

AI generated image of rows of pylons with electricity lighting up along the transmission lines, set against a sunset sky

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30/10/2024 Feature / Ben Moore

Power demand forecasting using space-based data

Ensuring that our energy systems can adapt to new challenges, shift demand patterns, produce efficiently and maintain stability is becoming increasingly important, writes Ben Moore, Senior EU Project Manager with Carr Communications. Enter the Respondent project, a European Union (EU) funded space-based initiative that is paving the way towards smarter and more resilient energy infrastructure through projects in power generation forecasting, predicting power demand, and smart grid timing and synchronisation.

Access to energy

Woman in headscarf standing in front of small shack with solar panel on roof

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6/11/2024 Feature / Gemma Fox

A tale of two transitions: The Energy Institute’s Country Transition Tracker highlights the disparity of energy challenges faced across the world

Since taking custodianship of the Statistical Review of World Energy, the Energy Institute has published alongside it the Country Transition Tracker, which assesses the data of around 80 of the world’s largest energy-consuming countries to build a picture of progress towards targets set under the Paris Agreement. While the various metrics published highlight the extent of each country’s progress towards net zero, they do not tell the whole story. Here, Senior Energy Project Lead Gemma Fox discusses two countries that appear to stand at opposite ends of the energy transition spectrum: Iceland and Bangladesh.

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