IEA

A latecomer to the European PV party, Romania’s embrace of clean energy means it is perfectly placed to ride the wave of urgently ramped grid investment being rolled out by the European Union.

With the consistently unambitious forecasts for solar trotted out by entities such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) now a matter of record, a German risk management company has tried to predict more realistic figures for 2030 and beyond.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report that solar will remain the main source of global renewable capacity expansion in 2023, accounting for 286 GW. In 2024, the figure is set to grow to almost 310 GW, driven by lower module prices, greater uptake of distributed PV systems, and a policy push for large-scale deployment.

Coal-dependent Indonesia has huge solar potential but progress toward a net zero economy has been sluggish, explain Daniel Kurniawan and Fabby Tumiwa from the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), an Indonesian thinktank.

China sold the most heat pumps in the world in 2022, but Europe recorded the highest growth in overall sales, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says Italy, France, and Germany accounted for almost half of all sales in Europe, and notes that air-to-water heat pumps were the most popular technology.

Despite the ever-growing number of nations committing to attaining a net-zero economy, there appears little prospect yet of a future free of fossil fuels, as Roger Lewis, an environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) expert at Downing LLP explains.

Competition is intensifying in the electrolyzer space. With the International Energy Agency (IEA) expecting 380 GW of hydrogen production capacity in 2030, four different technologies will likely become prominent as demand spikes. We take a look at the market.

Tony Danker, head of the Confederation of British Industry, in January warned the UK is at risk of squandering the vast economic opportunities available to nations investing in the energy transition. Christophe Williams, CEO of solar thermal company Naked Energy agrees, and here spells out some of the urgent actions Rishi Sunak’s government must take to place solar thermal – and PV – at the heart of a green revolution.

Buoyant predictions about a rosy future for African photovoltaics, based on the continent’s abundant solar resources, continue to overlook the difficulties of securing investment, as Empower New Energy co-founder and CEO Terje Osmundsen explains, referring to a report published by the Africa Solar Industry Association at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi today.

The photovoltaic industry is expected to achieve annual global expansion of 300 GW as early as this year. That sounds like a lot, but is it enough? In view of climate change and rising energy demand, it is time for a new vision.