On Sunday, 58 percent of the Swiss voted for the proposed Energy Strategy 2050. Starting in 2018, when the law takes effect, Switzerland will begin a nuclear phaseout and a transition to renewables – although the country already has nearly carbon-free electricity supply. Craig Morris takes a look.
The island of Tilos in Greece’s Aegean Sea is going to host the country’s first renewable energy plus battery storage system. The microgrid will be able to support the island’s population, replacing diesel generators. Ilias Tsagas of pv magazine explores why this is so significant for Greece.
With more and more renewable plants feeding South Africa’s electricity grid, battery storage may hold the key to bridging over those moments when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. But for now, batteries are imported, and expensive, writes Leonie Joubert.
The bilateral relations between Switzerland and the EU have been clouded after the successful immigration referendum. That’s negatively impacting the negotiations about an energy agreement which should enable Switzerland to participate in the European internal energy market. Alexander Steinfeldt explains.
Germany is the country with the most photovoltaics installed worldwide. A new study now says that solar in combination with batteries would allow a lot more PV to be installed. Craig Morris says the investigation confirms his worst fears.
Billionaire Bill Gates claimed this summer that breakthroughs are needed for the energy transition and that funding should be diverted from current technologies towards R&D. Craig Morris wonders what would have become of Microsoft if we had waited for Ultrabooks before buying computers.
German retail power rates are high, but industry electricity prices are low. A recent comparison of countries bordering the Netherlands reveals what an outlier Germany is. Craig Morris investigates.
With Tesla’s announcement of battery storage systems for households, storage for photovoltaics has become a major news item. Furthermore, one of the main questions about the energy transition is how the grid will be stabilized without central power plants. Craig Morris visited German battery firm Younicos and got an answer to this question.
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) recently deepened its investigation into retail and commercial power customers using solar and battery storage instead of the grid. Craig Morris says the study is especially useful because it shows utilities that fighting the trend will only make things worse.
Kodiak Island in Alaska has traditionally had a lot of hydropower but needed to cover the rest of its demand with expensive and dirty diesel. Now, with the help of wind power and the introduction of different smart-grid measures, the island receives 100% clean energy: Power prices have gone down and the local economy has been revigorated. Laurie Guevara-Stone reports from the sustainability frontier.
