The world of energy in 2007

       

Further reading

• Looking back on the energy year 2006 (2956)
• The energy year 2008 in a nutshell (3530)

An annual survey

This past year of 2007 was again an eventful one in the world of energy. There were new trends, evolving markets, and important breakthroughs. The following 11 highlights stood out:

1) 4th IPCC Assessment Report

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its 4th Assessment Report. One of its most striking conclusions is that we don’t have to wait for miracles or ingenious new solutions. The technologies, policies, and measures needed to mitigate climate change are known and doable. They just need to be applied.

With this 4th report, the IPCC has confirmed that there is a consensus among experts on what we know about climate change, how serious the earth’s situation may be, and what we can do to mitigate the phenomenon. Its efforts were rewarded with this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, shared with the mediagenic Al Gore.

• Does IPCC bring too much comfort for our leaders?
• A Nobel Prize for the future
• Release the brakes!

2) Solar power heading towards grid parity

After a period of serious silicon capacity problems, the price for photovoltaic cells has begun dropping again. Since prices for oil and natural gas have been rising steeply, photovoltaic energy is steadily approaching grid parity. In some sunny parts of California, grid parity is already a reality.

The world record for the largest PV power plant has been broken in Serpa, Portugal.

Thermal solar power has been gaining attention again. It is an old technology, but new developments are being executed and new plants have been proposed.

• Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants in the desert
• 11 MW Photovoltaic power plant opened today in Portugal
• Quantum-dot solar power
• Throughnet: the Parabolic Through Solar Power Network
• A new record: 553 MW of solar power
• Renewables are trendy — but how far can we go?
• Grid parity for solar power is approaching

3) Ocean power is gaining ground

The exact potential of ocean power systems is still largely an unknown quantity. However there are more and more signs that it can grow into a competitive form of renewable energy. In the past year, we saw more R&D investments, new prototypes, and the first commercial wave power plant inaugurated in Povoa de Varzim, Portugal.

• The hidden power of the oceans
• Saline power
• Ocean power is gaining ground

4) How far will the nuclear revival reach?

Is nuclear energy facing a revival? It might be, but a real boom is not to be expected.

In the US, for the first time in years, plans for new nuclear reactors are on the table. Europe continues to be divided on nuclear energy. At the inauguration of the new EU High Level Group on nuclear safety and waste management, EU Energy Commissioner Piebalgs declared that 'nuclear [energy] is here to stay', but that it remains 'a competence that lies with the member states'. In the booming countries of Asia, several new nuclear power plants are in the pipeline.

In the rest of the world, only a few new countries are embracing nuclear power. The non-proliferation treaty and the weight of technical and financial considerations no doubt contribute to the slowing of the process. Only in Indonesia, Turkey, and Vietnam, are plans to start with nuclear energy making serious progress. So if we can speak of a nuclear power revival, it is a very moderate one from a worldwide perspective.

• How far will the nuclear revival in the U.S. reach?
• Nuclear energy for developing countries?
• Light neutrons, heavy debate
• Nuclear policy: at national or at EU level?

5) Passive houses and other types of zero-energy buildings

Zero-energy houses continue to gain popularity, although they are still only a small percentage of the built environment. In the US, the Building America Program established a Zero Energy House (ZEH) programme which is beginning to yield results. Passive buildings received a lot of media attention in 2007. A passive building does without a major heating system.

• Promotion of European Passive Houses
• Zero-energy homes: reducing residential energy consumption
• Energy efficiency, photovoltaics, and near zero energy homes
• Do we all have to become power producers?

6) Venture capital has found its way to the energy sector

Venture capital is increasingly finding its way to the energy sector. The market for photovoltaic solar technology has already held the attention of venture capitalists for several years. Recently, battery technology has experienced a similar boost in attracting investment capital. And increasingly, the boom is exceeding the boundaries of photovoltaic and battery technology and extending out into all kinds of green energy systems. Barclays Equity Fund for instance is offering completely green investment portfolios.

• The Stern way of thinking captures banking business
• Global trends in sustainable energy investment in 2007
• Batteries are hot

7) Carbon markets going mainstream

The carbon market has been booming. Growth was exponential this past year. Its main driver was the EU-ETS, but the US is making up its arrears and the World Bank predicts a further rise in carbon prices next year.

• Carbon prices predicted to rise sharply next year
• Report from Carbon Expo
• Towards a global carbon market — Europe and the US converges? But what about the rest of the world?

8) Energy efficiency: the failure of going mainstream

Energy efficiency is clearly the cheapest energy resource; although some argue that it is past its peak and that it will dry up as a major resource in the next decades.

But despite being a priority for the EU and for several other countries around the world, energy efficiency has still been struggling for attention among industrial decision makers and consumers. It is still too early to judge the results of the EU Energy Efficiency Action Plan. This plan was launched this year and goes into full force next year.

• Energy for a Changing World
• New impetus for the Commission’s Energy Efficiency Action Plan
• Energy Efficiency is possible — A concrete example
• Action Plan on Energy Efficiency — ECEEE Summer Study

9) The new EU targets: an agreement on the figures without knowing their interpretation

This past year again saw several targets for mitigating climate change pass in review. In the spring, the European Energy Council agreed on three main targets to be achieved by 2020: a 20 per cent reduction of GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions, a 20 per cent share of renewables in the energy sector, and a 20 per cent reduction in energy consumption. The problem is that nobody knows how these targets should be reached or even how they should be divided between the EU Member States. Even more perplexing is that it is still not clear what a one percent energy saving actually means.

• The EU Energy Package – A closer look
• Spring European Energy Council: 20 per cent binding target for renewables
• Europe’s 20 per cent ambitions
• UK and Germany set ambitious emission reduction targets
• How much energy saving is one per cent per year?
• What amount of GHG emission reductions will actually be reached domestically?

10) Greenwashing becomes more frequent

As climate change mitigation has heated up as a media topic, more and more companies and individuals want to buy a green image and a good conscience. This has resulted in the stretching and distortion of definitions of concepts like 'zero-emission', 'zero-energy', and 'carbon-free' into all but unrecognizable forms. Sometimes these words turn out to be little more than a very thin layer of green paint. Someone has even claimed that the entire problem of climate change can be solved by painting all cities white. That qualifies, I guess, as a greenwash with white paint.

• Sustainable business is mostly hot air
• Greenwash with white paint

11) Electric vehicles and batteries got a boost

There was a lot of fuss about electric vehicles and battery technologies the past year. But it looks like we will still have to wait a couple of years before mass production of commercial plug-in vehicles becomes reality. If you can afford it, driving all electric is already possible with the Tesla Roadster. Automotive magazine representatives did a test-drive of this exclusive sports car this week. The first consumer models are to be delivered in the beginning of next year. The Tesla Roadster is living proof that battery technology is making significant progress. This is primarily due to companies like A123 and Altair Nanotechnologies.

• EESTOR’s high performance ultra-capacitors
• Toyota building on the success of the Prius
• Which battery is the best for electric vehicles?
• Eternally 10 years ahead?
• Plug-in electrical vehicles
• Near-future cars
• Rapid charging of plug-in electric vehicles