No. 11, 30 May 2003

5. Upcoming Events

- Saving Electricity in a Hurry - IEA Workshop, Paris (France), 19-20 June 2003.
- Futurestock 2003 - 9th International Conference on Thermal Energy Storage - Warsaw (Poland), 1-4 September, 2003.
- 3rd International Methane & Nitrous Oxide Mitigation Conference, Beijing (China), 14-19 September 2003.
- Coal - contributing to sustainable world development - 12th International Conference on Coal Science - Cairns, Queensland (Australia), 2- 6 November, 2003.

6. Publications and websites:
- Databases on Renewable Energy and Climate Change Policies and Measures in IEA Countries - IEA Hydrogen workshop findings - Portfolio theory and electricity planning - Solar Thermal Collector Market in IEA Member Countries - Russian Greenhouse Gas Technology Information Exchange - IEA Coal Centre's new-look website

1. Household appliances could be 30% more energy-efficient, and meet 30% of Kyoto targets. In IEA Member countries, electrical appliances are the fastest growing energy users, after automobiles. And yet, cost-effective technology exists that could improve appliance energy efficiency by more than one-third in ten years. Through such technology, the greenhouse gases emitted as a result of the use of appliances in IEA Member countries alone could be slashed by the equivalent of 322 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2010; or the equivalent emissions of 100 million cars on IEA-country roads. This book measures the energy savings and carbon reductions potential offered by technical improvements in electrical appliances. It analyses the policy options available to boost production and take-up of more efficient models. Suggesting ways of strengthening existing appliance-efficiency programmes, it demonstrates how international collaboration can enhance those programmes. To learn more and order, http://www.iea.org/bookshop/add.aspx?id=62

2. IEA Ministers stress the role of energy technology and view international R&D collaboration achievements. Energy technology was in sharp focus throughout the IEA's recent ministerial meeting in Paris. This is clearly reflected in the official communiqué's frequent references to the importance of greater energy technology research, development and deployment in strategies for energy security, energy diversification and energy efficiency. Meanwhile, an IEA Energy Technology Collaboration Fair at the meeting venue highlighted for ministers the benefits of international co-operation in pushing the energy technology R&D and deployment effort forward. See the IEA's website for more about the IEA's energy technology collaborative programme and its Implementing Agreements.

3. The impact of basic science on clean energy technologies. If energy-security, economic and environmental goals are to be met, more technological breakthroughs will be needed. How are major science programmes in different countries being used to develop tomorrow's energy technologies? Some answers can be found in the presentations at the IEA's April 2003 Conference on Linking Basic Science and the Development of New Energy Technologies. The event focussed on nanotechnology, material sciences, advanced computing, and biotechnology, but it also examined the institutional challenges associated with bridging the gap between the often separate worlds of basic researchers and energy technology experts. The best and brightest have to be attracted to the laboratories of today. Governments and international organisations should foster the dialogue between scientists and energy technology experts. But can an institutional or systematic mechanism be found to strengthen these links? The conference papers and presentations can be downloaded.

4. Some early IEA findings on the economics of CO2 capture and storage. These suggest that, in a scenario with high incentives for emissions reduction, we could see up to 18% of power production incorporating CO2 capture by 2040. But the costs are not negligible. In assessing its potential, factors such as the power generation technology applied, and the size of power plant, can make a large difference to the cost and viability figures, as can the choice of CO2 storage option. Cost should be expressed in relation to the marginal production unit because a comparison between two identical power plants, one with and one without CO2 capture, can result in significantly underestimated capture cost. And the impact of technology learning on costs should not be overestimated, in the view of Dolf Gielen of the IEA's Energy Efficiency, Technology and R&D Office. His paper, Uncertainties in Relation to CO2 Capture and Sequestration - Preliminary Results, analyses the issues, using preliminary findings from a modelling exercise under way at IEA Headquarters as part of the Agency's Energy Technology Perspectives project.

• Saving Electricity in a Hurry - IEA Workshop, Paris (France), 19-20 June 2003. What are the best strategies for dealing effectively with temporary shortfalls in electricity supply? Each electricity crisis has unique features, but the lessons learned can benefit others. This international workshop will enable specialists to share recent practical experience in addressing the need for fast reductions in power demand. http://www.iea.org/Textbase/work/workshopdetail.asp?WS_ID=100.
  
  
  
• Futurestock 2003 - 9th International Conference on Thermal Energy Storage - Warsaw (Poland), 1-4 September, 2003. Organised with participation from the IEA Implementing Agreement on Energy Conservation through Energy Storage, this 9th conference in the series is aimed at researchers, engineers and policy-makers active in thermal energy storage science and engineering. On the agenda: presentations on the latest scientific research, professional practice and individual experiences, lectures, roundtable discussions. For the conference announcement: http://futurestock.itc.pw.edu.pl/general.htm
  
  
  
• 3rd International Methane & Nitrous Oxide Mitigation Conference, Beijing (China), 14-19 September 2003. Designed for project developers, government officials, representatives from industry, and the financial, scientific, engineering and NGO communities, this event is co-sponsored by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme. See the Programme's website for further information: http://www.ieagreen.org.uk/
  
  
  
• Coal - Contributing to Sustainable World Development - 12th International Conference on Coal Science, Cairns, Queensland (Australia), 2- 6 November, 2003. Organised jointly by the IEA, the IEA Clean Coal Centre and the hosts, the Australian Institute of Energy, this event will offer a broad technical program of plenary lectures and oral and poster presentations on advances in coal science. Also on the agenda are tours of major export, mining, and research facilities in Queensland and Southern Australia. For more information: http://www.aie.org.au/iccs/.

• Two new IEA policy information websites (see press release):

  Renewable Energy Policies and Measures in IEA Countries: an interactive service containing detailed references to some 160 pieces of legislation designed to encourage the development and market uptake of renewable energy sources. Information can be accessed according to country, policy type, technology, sector, year of implementation and other criteria. To access the database, click here.

  Dealing with Climate Change: 800 records presenting data on energy-related policies and measures taken or planned by IEA's 26 Member countries to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. To access the database, click here.
  
  

• Toward Hydrogen - IEA Workshop, Paris, 3 March 2003. A summary of the outcome of this event is now available.
  
  
  
• Applying Portfolio Theory to EU Electricity Planning and Policy-Making, by Shimon Awerbuch with Martin Berger. This publication contributes to the debate on how to measure the cost of producing electrical power.
  
  

• Solar Thermal Collector Market in IEA Member Countries. Long awaited statistics on the market in IEA Member countries for solar thermal collector installations can be found in this report from the IEA's Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. Which countries contributed most to the 13% expansion in the market for solar hot water and space heating plants from 1999 to 2000? How did their solar collectors contribute to a total energy yield equal to 3.9 billion litres of oil per year, leading to avoidance of 10.7 million tons of CO2 emissions? Click here to download the report. For the Programme's website: www.iea-shc.org. Contact: Pamela Murphy, pmurphy@morseassociatesinc.com.
  
  
  
• Russian Greenhouse Gas Technology Information Exchange. For those interested in implementing their own climate-friendly technologies on the territory of the Russian Federation, or needing a relevant Russian technology plus technology promotion products and services, or seeking to co-operate with Russian companies (organisations). This new website is accessible at: http://www.rsci.ru/greentie/eng/. It is provided by The Greenhouse Gas Technology Information Exchange (GREENTIE), an IEA intergovernmental information centre on greenhouse gas mitigating technologies.
  
  
• IEA Clean Coal Centre - a new identity and a new-look website. Formerly, IEA Coal Research-The Clean Coal Centre, this IEA collaborative programme is now known as the IEA Clean Coal Centre, which better reflects the Centre's work as an information service. The website gives free access to the Centre's Database of Clean Coal Technologies, as well as its newsletter, on-line subscription and report ordering. IEA Clean Coal Centre at: http://www.iea-coal.org.uk