The Progress Playbook

The top 10 energy transition developments of 2024 https://lnkd.in/d3dtdkXh 

South Africa’s first off-grid electric vehicle charging network offers drivers a low-carbon option for recharging their cars while also providing farmers that host the stations a new income stream. https://lnkd.in/dbu3XpyX

How the UK plans to clean up its power system by 2030 -> The government will lean heavily on offshore wind, solar and batteries under a new plan to clean up the nation’s power system within just five years. "Getting to clean power by 2030 is tough but achievable; it will require unprecedented pace by government, industry and regulators." https://lnkd.in/dMAN65kg

Asia is leading the way in super-sized floating solar -> Floating solar only recently graduated from niche applications to the big leagues, but the technology has quickly gained serious traction in land-constrained parts of the world. It comes with added benefits. For one thing, the panels reduce evaporation, meaning floating solar is a particularly good fit for freshwater reservoirs and lakes in water-insecure places. The modules are also cooled by the water below — making them more efficient — while the systems effectively conserve land. https://lnkd.in/dXgvdYHJ

These are the most effective policies for boosting EV adoption, based on an analysis of the global frontrunners. In short, the right combinations of supply- and demand-side policies — involving both incentives and enforceable standards, or “carrots and sticks” — can lead to rapid growth in electric vehicle adoption, according to a new report by non-profit research group RMI. https://lnkd.in/dV3px2yN

India now outpaces China in green investments as renewables surge https://lnkd.in/d5-9rFZc

In an effort to reduce its environmental impact, Microsoft says it’s developed a new data centre design that won’t require water for cooling. Why it matters: The boom in data centre installations, fuelled by the rise of artificial intelligence, could exacerbate climate change by prolonging our reliance on polluting sources of energy and sucking up valuable water resources. Data centres require enormous volumes of water to cool their chips and servers, meaning more efficient designs are needed as global demand for computing power surges. The latest: Microsoft’s new design will avoid the need for 125 million litres of water per year, per data centre, the company says. It relies on a closed-loop system, whereby an initial allocation of water is continually circulated between the servers and chillers to dissipate heat, meaning no fresh water is required. https://lnkd.in/duP7uyGR

2024 will be the first full year in which low-carbon renewables — wind, solar and hydro — generate more electricity than fossil fuels in the UK, with wind energy close to overtaking gas as the single-largest source of power in the country, according to research group Ember. The UK closed its last coal-fired power plant at the end of September, and has significantly reduced its gas usage thanks to rising output from renewables, soft power demand, and cheaper electricity imports. The new government wants to largely eliminate carbon emissions from the power system by 2030, and the system operator says less than 5% of total power production will be from unabated fossil fuels by then if all goes according to plan. Wind, solar and hydropower are set to generate a combined 37% of the UK’s electricity in 2024 (103 TWh), compared to 35% from fossil fuels (97 TWh), according to Ember’s modelling. Including bioenergy (which is not a low-carbon technology), renewables will provide 51% of the UK’s power in 2024, while low-carbon nuclear will account for 14% of output. Wind power is expected to comprise 29% of the mix, just behind gas (30%). And the technology is set for steady growth, with 3.8GW of offshore wind generating capacity scheduled to be completed by 2026. https://lnkd.in/db3Txpp3

Wind turbines generated nearly a third of Sweden’s electrical output in November 2024 — a new record in a country that’s long relied on hydro and nuclear plants for its power needs. As recently as 2010, wind made up just 2% of Sweden’s electricity generation, with hydro (45%) and nuclear (39%) providing the bulk of the nation’s electrons at the time. But ambitious decarbonisation targets, coupled with sharp declines in the cost of wind energy and a favourable climate for the technology, have unleashed a wind energy boom in the Scandinavian country, which shut its last coal-fired power plant in 2020 and hasn’t needed to switch on its remaining fossil-powered backup plant all year. Renewable energy subsidies also helped to get the wind industry off the ground in the early days, though they were phased out three years ago. Wind comprised 31% of Sweden’s electricity mix in November 2024, according to data collated by research group Ember. Nuclear’s share dipped to 28%, down three percentage points from a year before, and hydro’s share retreated to 38%. Bioenergy and solar accounted for the remaining 4%, with zero fossil fuels in the mix. Aside from having one of the cleanest electricity systems in Europe, Sweden also had the continent’s lowest wholesale power prices in November, Ember data shows. The average day-ahead spot price was €40.07 per megawatt hour. https://lnkd.in/dgp-hNY6

Small patches of wildflowers in urban areas can be just as effective as natural meadows in nurturing pollinator populations, a Polish study has found. https://lnkd.in/dcpwpx-u