With increasing use of renewables in the electricity sector, overcoming the intermittency of for example wind and solar is key. James Tipping and Duncan Sinclair at UK energy consultancy Redpoint Energy investigate the use of marine energy to combat intermittency.
22 May, 2009
The wind power market has been a huge success story for the composites industry. Is the developing wave and tidal energy sector going to prove the same?
14 May, 2009
Has the world's largest energy consumer finally realised that energy shortages and price spikes are truly the norm, not the exception? If so, the Smart Grid could push the energy revolution forward, reports Eric Miller, Chief Solutions Officer at Trilliant.
11 May, 2009
The European building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) market is a niche market with great potential. Although the market takes up less than 5% of the total European solar photovoltaic (PV) market, there is considerable interest due to its high year-on-year growth and the increasing number of countries with supportive legislation for BIPV. Akhil Sivanandan, Research Analyst - Building Technologies - at Frost & Sullivan, reports.
06 May, 2009
At present, installed wind capacity greatly exceeds that of solar.Can solar give wind a run for its money? Solar PV expert Paula Mints steps out into solar thermal territory to make the case for concentrating solar power (CSP)
01 May, 2009
Has the electric vehicle (EV) arrived? More than a decade after General Motors introduced, then allegedly withdrew, a wildly popular electric vehicle from California and Arizona, the media are singing the praises of EVs. In real time though, Jon R Hickman reports that we need to keep our feet on the ground.
01 May, 2009
US electric utility companies have historically depended on overall revenue growth to increase profits. The more electrons the utility sold, the more profit it would earn.But is growth the way in the climate change era? Don C. Smith considers the utilities dilemma and explores one tool- decoupling- that deserves serious consideration as a way to provide more energy efficiency incentives.
01 May, 2009
Despite the continuing distressing news on the economy, the renewable energy sector has had some cheer of late, particularly in wind. At the New Energy Finance Summit on 5 March 2009, NEF's CEO Michael Liebrich discussed 7 positives. Most important for the wind industry: new financing sources, rising oil prices as the economy recovers and US $10 billion in stimulus packages from governments in the next 3 years, with a substantial part for renewable energy deployment.
01 May, 2009
Fast forward to 2024 and imagine that wind power is even more common than it is today. But how can the manager of a large, fictional Danish utility company manage variations in wind power once and for all, using an abandoned natural gas store? In the second of his columns on the energy storage dilemma, Bent Sorenson follows the manager on his rounds.
01 May, 2009