This Week's News - Energy

A weekly newsletter mainly on renewable and digital energy related news. If you find this interesting, I’d really appreciate it if you could share the love and pass it on to others who might enjoy it as well!

• It’s COP 29 week!
• “Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain told delegates … that his country would aim to reduce its emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases by 81 percent by 2035…  Britain Sets Out to Be a Clean Energy Destination (New York Times $)
• UK unveils new strategy to boost offshore wind investment in the country (WindTech International)
• Saudi Arabia signs renewable energy program with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at COP29 (Zawya)
• “The new company will develop greenfield transmission and standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in India” IndiGrid launches India BESS platform with British, Norwegian government co-investors at COP29 (Energy Storage News)

• “...Gartner…estimates the energy required for bit barns to run additional AI-optimized servers is forecast to hit 500 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year in 2027, which it says is 2.6 times the level seen in 2023”  AI's power trip will leave energy grids begging for mercy by 2027 (The Register)
• Australian government set to release V2G standards in December so might be a guide for other countries  Australia clears the way for EVs to help save the grid with V2G this summer  (Electrek)
• Not yet law but one aim is to encourage energy storage  Germany mandates open market sales of new wind and solar plants (World Energy News)
• This article quotes just one utility but indicates that currently most of the interest in AI for utilities is outside of any control of the grid itself  Utilities are embracing AI, but grid applications remain in the ‘sandbox’ — for now (Power Grid International)
• Results from studies on heat pumps in different geographies
• Heat pump rollout could mitigate impacts of higher energy prices (PV Magazine)
• Heat pumps could save these Texas households money, reduce grid strain: ACEEE (Utility Dive)
• Commentary: New study identifies central heat pump water heater benefits (Energy News Network)
• Promising results from a DOE challenge  Heat pumps used to struggle in the cold. Not anymore. (Washington Post $)
• Continuing good news for members of the grid supply chain  Siemens Energy Jumps Most on Record as AI Demand Fuels Recovery (Bloomberg $)
• “The urgency of this effort is turning the country into a testbed for the promise and challenge of deploying DERs and new renewable and digital assets as fast as possible”  Why a decentralized grid is central to Ukraine's efforts to rebuild (Latitude Media)
• Ford announced a similar program earlier so at least in Texas, it looks like free fuel for EVs is an answer to curtailment  GM offers free nighttime charging to Chevy owners in Texas (The Verge)
• “The oil and gas sector has remained steady in its investment ($3.2m) since 2021, while renewables moves to increase its investment figures ($3.5m)”  Energy sector is leading investment in Internet of Things (IoT), shows new report (Press Release)

• More good news on the clean energy front 
• Global installed PV capacity tops 2 TW (PV Magazine)
• Global numbers  Record-Breaking Month in EV Sales (Press Release)
• India's Renewable Energy Capacity Surges 13.5% to 203GW (Rediff)
• Australia hits 4 million rooftop PV installations, reaching 25 GW of capacity (PV Magazine)
• Brazil could add 18.2 GW of energy storage by 2040 (PV Magazine)
• Texas continues to break battery energy storage records (Renewable Energy World)
• UK approves 5 subsea cables to boost clean energy supply (Financial Times $)
• Octopus Energy and Idris Elba kick off Sierra Leone’s first wind farm (The Sierra Leone Telegraph)

• And some headwinds for clean energy
• Carbon emissions from fossil fuels hit record highs in 2024: report (Axios)
• Transition to clean energy falters as green tech funding falls short (Financial Times $)
• RWE scales back €55bn renewables bet after Trump win (Financial Times $)
• New Burford Capital Research Reveals how Businesses are Preparing for Likely Rise in Global Energy Transition Disputes (Stock Titan)

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