Top Ten Clean Technology Trends in 2024

Discover the top cleantech trends in 2024! This comprehensive report provides valuable insights into the future of the clean energy industry. With solar and wind power projected to account for nearly 50% of capacity and 30% of electricity generation in Europe by 2025, staying informed about these rapidly growing sectors is crucial. Additionally, the increasing demand for low-carbon products presents both challenges and opportunities for manufacturers. Certification plays a vital role in ensuring carbon reduction promises are met and maintaining a level playing field. Furthermore, solar and storage manufacturers face challenges such as oversupply and price wars, impacting margins and …

Multi-Objective Transmission Expansion

Despite ambitious offshore wind targets in the U.S. and globally, offshore grid planning guidance remains notably scarce, contrasting with well-established frameworks for onshore grids. This gap, alongside the increasing penetration of offshore wind and other clean-energy resources in onshore grids, highlights the urgent need for a coordinated planning framework.

This paper describes a multi-objective, multistage generation, storage and transmission expansion planning model to facilitate efficient and resilient large-scale adoption of offshore wind power. Recognizing regulatory emphasis and, in some cases, requirements to consider externalities, this model explicitly accounts for negative externalities: greenhouse gas emissions and local emission-induced air pollution. Utilizing …

Clean Energy Investing in America

Since federal clean energy incentives were passed last year, signs of rapid growth for maturing American clean energy industries are emerging. U.S. wind manufacturing plants that closed in recent years are bringing back workers. Plans for an unprecedented amount of new solar, battery, and offshore wind plants are being drawn and developed. The U.S. is in a position to secure our energy independence and become a global leader in the buildout of clean energy.

The new incentives offer companies significant opportunity to invest in new utility-scale wind, solar, and storage projects and manufacturing facilities, while passing on savings to American …

Low-cost Finance for the Energy Transition

The need to scale up the deployment of technologies such as green hydrogen, energy storage and offshore wind has become increasingly critical to the success of the global energy transition and to meeting global climate goals. To this end, access to low-cost capital for project financing in G20 Member Countries and beyond is vital. However, this remains challenging – particularly amid the current global tightening of monetary policies – given that a substantial portion of the necessary investment in energy transition technologies has yet to be sourced.

This report, prepared by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in close collaboration …

Renewable-Energy Development in a Net-Zero World: Disrupted Supply Chains

As countries around the world work to meet aggressive decarbonization goals, energy from wind and solar sources are a beacon of hope. Carbon-free, inherently abundant, and increasingly affordable, these renewable sources remain a vital pathway to achieving global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

McKinsey estimates that between 2021 and 2030, planned global electricity generation from committed solar and on- and offshore wind projects (excluding China) will more than triple, from 125 gigawatts to 459 gigawatts (Exhibit 1). This could further accelerate as countries seek to make renewables part of their strategy to address the current geopolitical energy crisis. The European …

Recommendations for a US Northeast Hydrogen Hub

Climate imperatives, geopolitics, and domestic incentives are spurring widespread interest in hydrogen as a means to decarbonize industrial applications at scale in the United States. Hydrogen is abundant, can be sourced in water, and emits only water vapor and heat. Also, hydrogen can be produced wherever generation exists, allowing for siting close to demand centers and potentially reducing the need for extensive new infrastructure. Tax policy and prevailing economic forces could cause the cost of clean hydrogen to drop precipitously, placing it on equal footing with grey hydrogen in the not-so-distant future.

The US Northeast, in particular, boasts several advantages …

Clean Power Quarterly Market Report

During the second quarter, the industry saw a 55% decline in project installations from the same period in 2021, with 3,188 MW of utility-scale clean power capacity installed. This makes the second quarter the lowest quarter for clean energy capacity additions since the third quarter of 2019. Energy storage was the only technology to experience growth, with a 13% increase in installations. Solar installations were down 53% compared to the same quarter in 2021. Concerningly, onshore wind installations were 78% lower when compared to the same time period last year.

The Clean Power Quarterly provides a snapshot view of the …

Cybersecurity Concerns for the Energy Sector in the Maritime Domain

The world has seen a number of high-profile maritime disasters in recent months and years, and has felt the impact of them. Over that same period, the world has seen a number of high-profile cyberattacks and felt their impact, as well. Combined, the maritime and cyber incidents have likely affected the energy sector more than any other: fuel prices often spike or plummet, and access to energy resources can become an instant source of concern, tension, or even conflict. As a wide spectrum of energy companies continue to rely on the maritime domain or even increase that reliance, they must …

Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2021: Special Edition: Labor and Policy Perspectives

Employment opportunities are a key consideration in planning for a low-carbon economy. Many governments have prioritized renewable energy development, firstly to reduce emissions and meet international climate goals, but also in pursuit of broader socio-economic benefits.

Since its first report on Renewable Energy and Jobs, published in 2013, IRENA has carried out an annual update to its assessment of renewable energy employment worldwide. This most recent report estimates that about 12 million people were employed in the sector, directly and indirectly, in 2020. Renewable energy employment worldwide has continued to grow since IRENA initiated its annual review; the first edition …

Clean Power Quarterly Report Q2 2021

The U.S. clean energy industry installed 5,620 MW of clean power capacity in the second quarter of 2021—a record for second quarter installations. Additions in the first half of the year total 9,915 MW, supplanting 2020 as the most active first six months for installations.

Our Clean Power Quarterly provides a snapshot view of the latest U.S. utility wind, solar, and battery storage industry activity and trends. The report includes second quarter installations, projects under construction and in advanced development, new power purchase agreements, OEM market share, project acquisition activity, offshore wind energy activity, and more.…