Switzerland has enshrined its 2050 net zero target in law, for the first time acknowledging the role of negative emission technologies and carbon capture and storage to address emissions from hard-to-abate sectors. Switzerland today has a low‑emissions electricity system, with significant production from both hydropower and nuclear. The country also shows a notable decoupling of energy consumption and economic growth.
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Congress has debated whether—and, if so, how and to what extent—to promote the development of U.S. offshore wind energy. Some stakeholders seek to further expedite federal offshore wind leasing to assist coastal states in meeting renewable power commitments, facilitate a transition away from fossil fuel energy, and promote employment in the offshore wind sector. Others have expressed concerns that offshore wind leasing may be proceeding too quickly, especially given potential conflicts with other ocean uses.
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Because of significant reductions in the cost of clean energy, economics are no longer the prime barrier to expanding clean energy: Solar, onshore and offshore wind, and battery power now cost the same or even less than fossil fuels. But significant non-financial barriers to wider deployment remain. Clean energy deployment is rife with uncertainties, most of them unnecessary. These uncertainties are constraining clean energy deployment right when it should be accelerating.
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With transportation being one of the most energy-consuming sectors in the region, fuel switching to bioenergy in the sector could play a critical role in ASEAN energy. However, given the renewable energy share, which accounts for 14.2% of total primary energy supply (TPES) and 32.4% of total installed capacity as of 2020, the integration of biofuels can be seen as the driver for energy diversification across ASEAN and to achieve the regional targets by 2025, as indicated in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy.
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The U.S. offshore wind pipeline has an estimated capacity of 52,687 MW, a growth of 15% from May 31, 2022. The 40,083 MW reported in 2022 was revised upward to 45,772 MW due to an increase in the capacity density metric from 3 MW/square kilometer (km2) to 4 MW/km2. U.S. offshore wind energy target was set in March 2021 for 30 GW by 2030 with pathway to 110 GW by 2050.
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the African Development Bank Group have joined forces to produce this new analysis, which benefitted from the review of over 85 case studies and over 40 stakeholder interviews. The report focuses on a range of topics, spanning technologies and financing providers, including local institutions, and looks at what types of capital are most suited for the specificities of each sector or technology.
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The report provides a comprehensive picture of green and frontier technologies today, including analyses of their market size, potential for employment creation, and most promising sectors. It covers 17 frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, green hydrogen, and electric vehicles. The report estimates that these technologies already represented a $1.5 trillion market in 2020.
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North Carolina is making significant strides in the clean energy sector, with wind and solar providing nearly 10% of the state’s electricity. The state’s clean energy capacity, currently at 6,433 MW, is set to grow significantly by 2030 and is powered in part by over $15 billion in investments. And the sector – which currently employs nearly 10,000 North Carolinians – is poised for further expansion.
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The report provides a unique insight into the potential for increased integration into the supply chains in Africa by bringing together knowledge on how Africa can strengthen supply chain diversification in high-knowledge- and technology-intensive sectors. In recent years, global supply chains have come under immense pressure as a result of unprecedented trade turbulence, economic uncertainty, geopolitical events and natural disasters.
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The announcements in the Powering Up Britain plan in March 2023 show that the transformation of the UK energy system is well underway. These announcements will help to ensure the provision of cheap, clean and secure British energy, with delivery of a hydrogen economy a crucial area of action. The government committed in the UK Hydrogen Strategy (2021) to provide regular updates on policy development, to keep industry informed of the progress.
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The report emphasises the positive economic effects of OSW on domestic shipbuilding and supply chain, with more than 30 new vessels currently either ordered or under construction to bolster the industry’s operations. It offers critical insights into upcoming OSW projects and the locations of announced manufacturing facilities among other things.
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The report concludes that energy regulators have an important role to play in integrating electric mobility into the energy system. Whether in the application of their existing powers, in the formal evolution of their competencies under national legal frameworks, or in their ability to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, such as grid operators and energy suppliers, regulators have a range of options at their disposal to meet the challenges addressed in this report.
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The report presents an assessment of the potential of renewable energy manufacturing in Southeast Asia across three sectors: solar photovoltaic (PV), batteries, and electric two-wheelers. It also proposes potential ambition and outcomes for each sector and identifies key opportunities for intraregional collaboration.
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The report provides analysis and recommendations to support the growth of the sustainable finance market in the region. The previous update on this market was published in September 2021, and at the end of June that year Climate Bonds had recorded GSS+ debt volume of USD48.6bn originating from the region. By the end of 2022, the LAC GSS+ market had reached USD154.1bn.
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There is a need to create an ASEAN Green Fiscal Policy Network (AGFPN) and an ASEAN Data Carbon Pricing Platform (ADCPP) for the AMS to meet and discuss through forums and dialogues to exchange and share ideas in green fiscal/ budgetary policy, instruments, tools, models and other issues and challenges that they might face in their efforts to adopt green fiscal consolidation towards a green economy in their respective states and the region.
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The regulatory component of IRENA’s Clean Energy Corridor of Central America (CECCA) initiative focuses on assessing solar and wind PPAs to ensure a level playing field for renewables vis-à-vis conventional generation, given that current frameworks appear to offer limited investment incentives for variable renewable energy (VRE). To support this work, IRENA developed this report to provide an overview on the use of firm capacity across countries in the region and for contracting power generated by renewables.
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Deep decarbonisation of EU industry is possible without de-industrialisation. This study analyses two main mitigation pathways – the electrification and the hydrogen pathway, and assesses their potential impacts on the energy system. The study applies an EU-wide energy system model together with a dedicated industry sector simulation model to capture both the energy system effects and the industry-specific potentials and limitations for transition.
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Since the publication of its latest Power Development Plan (PDP) in 2020 (PDP 2018 Revision 1), Thailand has considerably increased its emissions reductions objectives, announcing a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target for 2065 and carbon neutrality for 2050. As the power sector is a large part of the country’s emissions, and because it has a key role to play in decarbonising other sectors, meeting these targets is possible only if the power sector is decarbonising too.
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This document offers insights into how states can design and launch community solar programs that benefit disadvantaged communities and low- and moderate-income (LMI) households using the $7 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) Solar for All competition (Solar for All) and take advantage of new tax credits features available under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Across the UK’s electricity sector, burning wood is now the second largest CO2 emitter after fossil gas. Due to its lower energy density than fossil fuels, wood has to be burned in higher volumes to produce the same amount of energy. This means that burning wood emits more carbon dioxide per kWh of electricity than coal or gas.
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