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Smart grid: A grid suitable for renewable energy
Smart grid: A grid suitable for renewable energy
Traditionally our electricity grids were designed to move power from large nuclear and fossil fuel power plants to consumers, but renewable energy will see changes to allow smaller power generation from wind and solar to be hooked up to the grid.
Clean energies in need of a long term vision
Clean energies in need of a long term vision
The European grid already faces transmission challenges, as the alternative current (AC) infrastructure has almost reached its transport capacity.
Clean and affordable: the wind energy challenge
Clean and affordable: the wind energy challenge
On 22 April , it is world Earth Day . The idea is to raise awareness of the need to rely on renewable energy. The EU requires its member states to provide a a 27% share of renewable energies by 2030—up from a 23.
Mitigating the impacts of extreme weather
Mitigating the impacts of extreme weather
Extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, storms, floods or forest fires can considerably damage roads, railways, communication systems and power lines.
Alan O’Connor - Taming nature’s wild character
Alan O’Connor - Taming nature’s wild character
Flash floods in Central Europe in 2002 damaged hundreds of roads, caused electricity failures, contaminated clean water and cost an estimated €150 billion in damage .
Forecasting air pollution
Forecasting air pollution
Air quality is not a local problem. Like clouds moving through the sky, pollution is transported from one location to another by wind patterns in the atmosphere .
Michael Blunk: "These are the challenges to be faced by the wind power of the future"
Michael Blunk: "These are the challenges to be faced by the wind power of the future"
Engineer and project manager Michael Blunk, Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES, is one of the experts in the European project UpWind. The aim is to develop a new type of turbine.
Climate change fight still makes the EU headlines during the Covid-19 crisis
Climate change fight still makes the EU headlines during the Covid-19 crisis
The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic should not delay the European Union's ambitious climate change measures. The Commission has confirmed that the work on long-term policy priorities such as the Green Deal is continuing.
Creating Europe’s new backbone for efficient power distribution
Creating Europe’s new backbone for efficient power distribution
Over the last few decades the energy landscape has been changing drastically in Europe. An increasing amount of electricity is now generated from renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy.
Green energy and politics: crowdfunding to the rescue?
Green energy and politics: crowdfunding to the rescue?
The  Paris climate change pact , which  entered into force  last year, was announced with a huge fanfare. The deal aims to limit the rise in average global temperatures to “well below” two degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
Crossing borders to crowdfund renewables
Crossing borders to crowdfund renewables
Renewable energy crowdfunding involves three different parties: the fundraising platform, the investors  who generally expect a return, and project developers needing money. They may come from different nations .
Social, green, but primarily as an investment: all the features of energy crowdfunding
Social, green, but primarily as an investment: all the features of energy crowdfunding
There are three ways a crowdfunding project can be financed. Lending: the entrepreneurs borrow money and pay interest; equity: investors in the project become its shareholders; donations: no reward is to be expected (there is a fourth way, a mix of equity and lending called “hybrid”).
Gone with the wind farms – Six of the world’s top offshore arrays in pictures
Gone with the wind farms – Six of the world’s top offshore arrays in pictures
United Kingdom - London Array With a peak rated power of 630 megawatts, London Array is the largest wind farm in Europe by capacity, and also the largest offshore plant in the world.
Energy crowdfunding: the new way to boost renewables
Energy crowdfunding: the new way to boost renewables
It's a brand new sector: the first steps date back to 2012. Today energy crowdfunding is a way of financing solar panel or wind turbine projects.
Dressing the power lines to bring more renewables to the cities
Dressing the power lines to bring more renewables to the cities
To date, European consumers pay more for energy from renewables than for energy from conventional resources. One of the reasons is still the immaturity of the technology used for harnessing and distributing renewable energy.
Wind energy costs approach nonrenewable levels
Wind energy costs approach nonrenewable levels
All too often, conversations on renewable energy meander toward the same end: green technology is a nice thing, though it has to become economically viable before widespread adoption becomes the norm. ...