energy

Natural Gas in the UK, Part 2: Potential Winter Blackouts and the Grid

Natural Gas in the UK, Part 2: Potential Winter Blackouts and the Grid

Oct 19, 2022 |

by Sean Field

In Part 2 of this series, Dr Field explains how the UK’s energy crisis is a dual predicament: an energy price crisis, and an energy supply crisis. The UK’s electrical grid is balanced on the wholesale market for natural gas; as wholesale prices rise, people are pushed into energy poverty. Building on Part 1, he demonstrates how natural gas dependency and insufficient UK natural gas storage capacities are threatening electricity blackouts this winter (as well as a crisis of heating), concluding that this crisis was foreseeable and avoidable.

Energy Harvesting, Internet of Things and Sustainability: A Fascinating Trio

Energy Harvesting, Internet of Things and Sustainability: A Fascinating Trio

Jan 14, 2022 |

by Lethy Krishnan Jagadamma

The energy trilemma describes the difficulty in achieving a coherent balance of clean, affordable, and secure energy. Improvements in one factor in the triangle distorts the other components. In this blog post, I explore how ‘smart technologies’, connected by the internet and powered by new ambient energy harvesting devices, can be vital to overcoming the energy trilemma and to achieving energy sustainability.

Sustainable energy security, in whose interest? The case of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sustainable energy security, in whose interest? The case of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Oct 22, 2021 |

by Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood and Rukonge Sospeter Muhongo

Climate adaptation and mitigation initiatives have driven up demand for rare minerals. Over 3 billion tons of rare minerals will be needed to achieve the global goal of reducing emissions to net-zero. A key site of extraction of these minerals is Sub-Saharan Africa. Will these regions acquire a share in this mineral boom or will the historical exploitation of these communities continue under the guise of supporting the ‘Green Transition’?

Understanding energy: Why are we talking about nuclear energy again?

Understanding energy: Why are we talking about nuclear energy again?

Aug 20, 2021 |

by Andreas Bock Michelsen

Nuclear energy is almost universally feared and reviled, and not without reason. And yet, China has doubled its nuclear capacity since 2014, climate scientists have called for an increase in nuclear power, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identifies increased production of nuclear energy as a key element in avoiding global warning. Why is such an obviously dangerous and polluting energy source considered an important element of the green energy transition?

Energy for whom? Energy for what? Envisioning alternative energy transitions in Mexico

Energy for whom? Energy for what? Envisioning alternative energy transitions in Mexico

Dec 12, 2020 |

by Lorenzo Sapochetti

In Mexico, the energy transition is the subject of an increasingly heated debate. Despite the president’s vow to de-privatise the energy industry and foster renewables, grassroots activists are questioning the government’s new course; they deem its energy policies as unjust and unequal, aimed at favouring the economic interests of private companies instead of addressing the needs of the people, and claim for alternative energy transitions.

Biomass – An Energy Source of the Future?

Biomass – An Energy Source of the Future?

Sep 19, 2020 |

by James Crooks

The production of energy through the burning of biological materials has been considered a renewable, reliable and even relatively clean alternative to the use of fossil fuels. However, as the industry has grown these claims have faced increased scrutiny; critics have claimed that biomass on a large scale has negative long- and short-term environmental impacts not only on pollution but on biodiversity generally. So we have to ask: is biomass an energy source of the future?

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