Renewables

COP28 agrees to "transition away from fossil fuels" and triple renewable energy by 2030
After long (as always) discussions the COP28 agreed to transition away from fossil fuels. Even though it was just two words in an 11,000 pages document it was significant and signalled "the beginning of the end" of fossil fuels. The meeting agreed to achieve, at a global scale, a tripling of renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. They also agreed to accelerate efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, with developed countries continuing to take the lead.

The pledge to triple the global capacity of renewables by 2030 will be be followed in dedicated ministerial meetings as well as through annual progress reports by IEA and IRENA.

Tripling renewables is hard, but doable and will accelerate the great shift
Tripling renewables and doubling efficiency will deliver 85% of the cuts in unabated fossil fuels required by 2030. By 2035, renewables and efficiency will alone more than halve total CO2 emissions, according to an analysis by thinktank Ember.   

New renewables cheaper than average fossil fuel
According to a new report by EY 86%, of newly commissioned renewable energy resources generated electricity at a cost lower than the average cost of fossil fuel generation in 2022. Solar is the cheapest new-build electricity in many markets, the global weighted average LCOE for solar is now 29% lower than the cheapest fossil fuel alternative. Between 2010 and 2022 the LCOE for solar dropped by 88% and 66% for onshore wind and 61% for offshore wind. 

Wind

Only one country on track to meet 2030 offshore wind target
Of the 19 countries that have set offshore wind targets, only Poland is on track to meet it, according to ERM , which presented its COP28 Global Offshore Wind Update. The 19 countries’ targets have a combined capacity of 255GW planned, but the analysts forecast just 160GW will be operational by 2030. 

Wind power picking up in south-east Europe
Recent weeks there has been a number of developments across south-east Europe’s emerging wind markets: pushes for first auctions and first offshore projects, wind farms commissioned, and turbine orders signed. Windpower Monthly lists a number of developments in several of the countries like Montenegro, Serbie, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia and Croatia.

Solar 

New record for solar installations in EU - 55.9GW in 2023
This year set a new record for solar installations in EU with 55.9GW, compared to last year's record of 40GW (about +40% ). Germany is back on top with 14.1GW, followed by Spain, 8.2GW, and Italy with 4.8GW followed by Poland with 4.6GW. 

Insects thrive on solar farms
Two solar farms in Minnesota saw big increases in bees and other insects after a variety of native grasses and wildlfowers were planted among the panels.  Researchers found that the number of beneficial insects tripled and their diversity increased by 13 per cent from 2018 to 2022. There was a particularly big impact on native bees, with their numbers increasing 20-fold over the study period.

The US to add record 33GW solar in 2023
The US solar industry installed 6.5GWdc of capacity in Q3 2023, a 35% year-over-year increase. As a result of this growth, the United States is expected to add a record 33 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in 2023, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. 

Storage

Battery storage push out peak fuels in Australia
Battery storage is grabbing a growing share of peak demand in Australia, especially South Australia. That is significant because it is eating into the market dominated by peaking gas generators, many of which are designed to operate only in periods where they can extract a king’s ransom from the market to pay off the costs of construction and fuels.

The Great Shift

Fake or real Christmas trees - what is best? 
Well, as most things on environmental it is not that straight forward. But if you hold on to your plastic tree for 7 to 20 years, it might be a better alternative. It also depends on whether the tree is locally sourced and grown in an environmental way.

Shipping sets targets for zero-emission fuels by 2030
Shipping sector leaders have committed to scaling up zero-emissions fuel derived from renewables-based hydrogen to nearly 11 million tons by 2030, sending a clear signal to the nascent industry.