Policy

The scheme would provide low interest loans to Dutch schools willing to go solar. Some 6,000 of the country’s 7,000 school buildings have yet to install an array.

Once a leading European PV market, the Czech Republic may resume development of large-scale renewables from 2021. Only wind, hydro and biomass projects, however, will be eligible, under a proposal from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Only rooftop solar, of up to 1 MW, would be backed by a ‘feed-in premium’ scheme.

The impressive growth is unlikely to replace coal-fired power generation as it will only be sufficient to cover the predicted increase in demand for electricity. The electrification of heating, manufacturing and transportation offer room for further development.

Even in its low ball scenario, the International Energy Agency (IEA) imagines that installed solar PV capacity will overtake that of all other forms of energy apart from gas by 2040. Overall, it presents four scenarios in its 2018 World Energy Outlook, which show a changing energy landscape. While it finds that CO2 levels are, perversely, on the rise, and that many energy efforts in all but the most whimsical of its forecasts are far behind those needed to seriously address global warming, it still imagines coal, oil and gas playing a leading role in our energy mix going forward. It also sees “dramatic” transformation in the electricity sector. Long story short: Read something else if you want to take real climate action. We suggest The Drawdown.

Increasing scrutiny is putting pressure on the world’s biggest oil and gas companies to jump aboard the green energy wagon. While some are making efforts to divest away from conventional energies, figures estimate that just 1.3% of total CAPEX in 2018 from the leading 24 companies will go to alternative energies.

Companies keen to offset their carbon emissions will be able to purchase renewable energy certificates at Singapore’s first blockchain-powered marketplace, launched by electricity provider SP Group.

Governors-elect in Colorado and Connecticut want a 100% renewables mandate. Approaching 100% is the goal for governors-elect in Illinois, Nevada and Maine.

At an event held in Madrid this week, the Spanish solar sector made it clear that it is more than ready to achieve the government’s renewable energy targets, which include 50 to 60 GW of new PV capacity by 2030. The sector is experiencing a rebirth.

Toshiba Corporation has today said it will abandon plans to build a 3.4 GW nuclear power plant in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the government says it remains committed to its new nuclear path; others say the news leaves room for further renewables development. New statistics, also out today, show the U.K. renewables industry flourishing.

Half of Victoria’s energy could come from renewable energy sources, as the Labor government has vowed to expand the state’ renewable energy target from 40% in 2025 to 50% in 2030, if re-elected.