Over the next few decades, the world’s energy landscape as we know it will change dramatically. One decisive change is the ever-growing demand for power which brings about the need for new and better energy innovations.
Wherever there is an increase in access to reliable and affordable energy, people want to enjoy a higher standard of living. While that is certainly a good thing, at the same time, many of the world’s population lack access to even the most basic energy services.
Our existing energy market has been in development for over a century and changing it to renewable energy is no easy feat. Among other factors, it requires incredibly large capital investments and thus far, renewable energy has reached 21.6%. It was further explained during the One Planet Summit in December 2017, when U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “Finance is the key to successful climate action.”
Even so, why is the adoption of renewable energy lacking on a global scale? It’s certainly not for a lack of wanting a cleaner life or to improve the world for future generations. Instead, market conditions slowing the development of
Last week we covered electric hoverbikes in Dubai and today we’re continuing along that path but with a slight twist. What do you get when you cross a motorcycle with new technology and a mountain bike? The answer is simple – a hybrid electric motorcycle called the LMX 161-H. It resembles downhill bicycles and is described as a super-light electric motorcycle weighing in at just 42kg. Early reports suggest it’s ideal for off-road, freeride and enduro use but just as suitable for urban travel.
Two young French engineers and avid riders, Adam Mercier and Lucas Suteau, are responsible for this concept as they see a future for electric motorsport. Their vision turned prototype and the project has quickly become a crowdfunding campaign. Their aim is to get the worlds lightest freeride electric motorcycle to hit the streets all over the world. If all goes according to plan, the first deliveries will go out in May 2018.
In recent times there has been an even bigger drive for renewable energy than ever before. This has also given rise once again to the solar power car. It could be due to the global warming phenomena or maybe we finally realised that the sun is in fact our biggest energy source and it’s free. At least in theory it is but putting in place the technology to store sufficient amounts of energy is the challenging part.
Nearly 2 years after the project confirmed equity funding, the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon has just been backed by a government commission review.
Former UK energy minister Charles Hendry has been gathering evidence for the independent enquiry for almost a year and as part of that review has visited all the potential sites and held various discussions with the industry. That report says that the project would make a strong contribution to the UK’s energy supply.
There were a host of other conclusions in the report, but some of the headline ones were:
Can floating turbines operated further out at sea harness more wind power and improve the renewable energy sector?
This was the idea being explored and piloted off the coast of Norway in 2009 and after 6 years of successful operations the company behind that pilot, Statoil, took the decision to invest in building the world’s first floating wind farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
They will be installing a 30 MW wind turbine farm on floating structures at Buchan Deep, 25km offshore of Peterhead. The turbines will harness the wind and provide energy to approximately 20,000 mainland homes. Supply of that electricity is anticipated to start towards the end of 2017.
Back in March this year London was set to see the introduction of 5 all electric double decker buses capable of driving up to 190 miles in day on one 4 hour overnight charge. The 5 buses joined a fleet of single deck electric, hydrogen and hybrid buses as part of the effort to reduce emissions in the city centre.
At the other end of the country Stagecoach are operating all electric bus services in Inverness and having worked with manufacturer Optare have managed to extend the range of miles the vehicles can do. In addition to running on electricity, these buses also feature electric heating systems rather than the standard diesel ones. This makes them the UKs’ most efficient electric buses in terms of kWh per mile and they fist of their kind.
Solar Impulse 2 left New York on Monday 20th June and landed in Seville, Spain on 23rd June at 7.30 am. The total flight time was 71 hours and 8 minutes and now means that the aircraft has crossed both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Solar Impulse 2 is attempting the first renewably powered circumnavigation of the globe and is now nearing the end of its 35,000km journey. The trip started in July 2015 and will finish back at the starting point in Abu Dhabi. The immediate next steps are to negotiate a route back to Abu Dhabi via Egypt or Greece.
Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan of 72m and weighs more than 2 tons. It is powered by more than 17000 solar cells and achieves an average speed of 75 km/h.
Just like the Bloodhound project, the Solar Impulse 2 team are providing an educational platform around their project, giving resources to schools and universities as well as providing opportunities for live hangouts with members of the team.
There is always mixed feeling when discussing the pros and cons of wind energy and in the UK it’s had its fair share of debate.
Whatever your view news last month confirmed that the North East of England will house the largest offshore wind farm in the world when the Dong Energy Hornsea project is complete.
The multi billion pound project will occupy more than 400 square kilometres, will be situated about 120km off the Yorkshire coast and is it’s anticipated it will power more than a million homes.
The project will not only provide clean energy but will also create jobs and more financial security. It is expected the project will create around 2000 jobs during construction with up to 300 further jobs once operational.
It’s a fact that around 20% of global final energy consumption comes from renewable sources with more than 10% of all energy from traditional biomass, being used for heating.
At national level, at least 30 countries already have renewable energy contributing more than 20% of energy supply. Furthermore, national renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond.
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