World energy demand is forecasted to grow by nearly one-third between 2015 and 2040. A large share of this increase will be from the power sector, and the global demand for electricity is likely to increase by more than70%, leading to a 16% increase in energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2040.
The unveiling of Tesla’s Model 3 electric car was no less than the lifting of the final curtain on a game-changing energy revolution. In addition, if we follow that revolution to its core, we arrive at lithium—our new gasoline for which the feeding frenzy has only just begun.
Whatever the outcome of the climate talks in Paris, one thing is certain: climate change will result in assets becoming “stranded”. In addition, despite the claims of various naysayers, investors should be prepared.
The effects of the rapid growth of the world’s second largest economy are visible everywhere. China’s pollution is raising environmental and health concerns, and steeply rising oil imports raise questions around energy security. Chinese leaders are deeply aware of the challenges and they have placed ecological goals at the same level of priority as economic, political, cultural and social policies.
Asia is a big family that varies across and within its regions, with a plethora of systems all bumping against one another. However, one thing Asia’s constituents have in common is the challenge posed by the transition to green growth. That challenge also presents enormous opportunities.
There has been a rapid decline in the costs of solar and wind power, to such an extent that both technologies are now cheaper than nuclear or coal. This development will radically transform global electricity generation networks.
How this transformation takes place in South Africa will depend on the role of government, the regulator, the market and to some extent civil society.
In chemistry, limiting reagents are the chemical compounds that prevent further reactions from taking place. This is important for hybrid and all-electric vehicles because batteries, their limiting reagent, still hamper them.
The giant Ivanpah solar power plant in the California Mojave Desert recently detailed how much natural gas it burned to generate power when the sun wasn’t sufficient – the equivalent to 46,000 tons of CO2 emissions in its first year, according to reports.
Along with its impacts on wildlife and its receipt of federal incentives, news of the CO2 emissions has renewed criticism of the 377-megawatt facility, which supplies 140,000 California homes during peak hours of the day.
Despite its merits, the cost of renewable energy, in its current state, means that it is unlikely to become a viable primary energy source anytime in the near future. At best, renewable energy will serve only as a “fossil fuel extender”; though even then, renewables could eventually reach a limit.
Renewable energy capacity could overtake nuclear power in the UK by 2018 if current growth rates persist, and will provide enough power for one in 10 British homes by 2015, according to new research by RenewableUK.
The findings also revealed that the amount of electricity supplied by wind energy alone is up by 25 percent since 2010, with the industry poised for further growth given the 50 percent rise in planned investment in onshore wind, according to a report by the Guardian.
