1. Is geothermal energy under-exploited?
2. Renewable Energy for Dummies - and smart ideas about deployment
3. Energy = Exergy+Anergy: a formula for energy-efficient buildings
4. Light's Labour's Lost - Policies for Energy-efficient Lighting - a new IEA book

- Coal in developing countries
- Technology newsletters:
Air infiltration/ventilation;
Efficient lighting, Greenhouse gas R&D

- Electricity's role and benefits
- Energy technology scenarios to 2050
- Natural gas markets
- Energy policies of Denmark

 

. 9th CTI Workshop on Energy Efficiency for Asian Countries, Yokkaichi (Japan), 30 July - 5 August 2006.

. 2006 Japan-China Seminar on Preparation and Utilization of Clean Fuels and Their Control of Combustion and Emissions, Gunma (Japan), 21-22 August 2006.

. G8 workshop Short term Opportunities for CO2 Capture and Storage in the Fossil Fuel Sector, San Francisco (United States), 22-23 August 2006.

. Workshop Biofuels and Bioenergy: Challenges and Opportunities, Vancouver (Canada), 28 August - 1 September 2006.

. 6th European Conference on Coal Research and its Applications, Canterbury (United Kingdom), 5-7 September 2006.

. Cooling Cars with Less Fuel - Workshop, Paris (France), 19-20 September 2006.

. Sixth Annual Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading, Paris (France), 26-27 September 2006.

. Workshop on Sustainable Use, Supply and Production of Biomass in Africa, Nairobi (Kenya), 4-6 October 2006.

. World Forum on Energy Regulation III, Washington, DC (United States), 8-11 October 2006.

. 2nd IEA Workshop on Legal Aspects of Storing CO2, Paris (France), 17 October 2006.

. 27th Annual Conference of the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC), Lyon (France), 20-22 November 2006 (note changed dates).

1. Is geothermal energy under-exploited? - An update from an expert. Geothermal energy is as old as the earth itself. People have enjoyed the benefits of geothermal hot springs for thousands of years. Now a commercially harnessed, low-emissions thermal energy source, geothermal is part of the energy mix in more than seventy countries around the world. In Kenya and the Philippines, it fuels close to 20% of power generation. The capital cost of systems to extract and use heat from deep inside the earth has fallen by 50% in the past 20 years. As an indigenous, widely available and reliable renewable energy source, whatever the weather, geothermal merits a high sustainability rating. And yet, this mature technology contributes less than 0.5% of total energy supply in IEA countries. What does geothermal offer for the future? The OPEN Bulletin put some questions to Dr. David Nieva Gómez, Chair of the Executive Committee of IEA’s Geothermal Implementing Agreement (IEA GIA). Access the interview. IEA GIA is one of some forty IEA international collaborative energy technology R&D programmes.

2. Renewable Energy for Dummies - and smart ideas about deployment. Five bad excuses for not using renewable energy are explored in a downloadable brochure from the recently created IEA Implementing Agreement on Renewable Energy Technology Deployment (RETD). But Renewable Energy for Dummies also provides four well substantiated reasons for action. Obligatory reading for the hesitant.
Also free on the RETD website is a full 100-page study on deployment of renewable energy and ways to overcome barriers. Renewable Energy Technology Deployment – Barriers, Challenges and Opportunities presents a synthesis of studies. It covers drivers for renewables and market frameworks, along with technology status barriers and opportunities. A chapter on deployment strategies highlights future work of the IEA RETD international programme.
These are first outputs from the IEA RETD collaborative programme, whose activities will be launched in autumn 2006. New participants are welcome. Contact: Daniel.Argyropoulos@bmu.bund.de.

3. Energy = Exergy+Anergy: a formula for energy-efficient buildings. "Exergy" is the part of an energy flow that yields high-grade energy, for example to power mechanical processes. "Anergy" is the low-value part of an energy flow. The bulk of waste heat from power plants, for instance, is anergy. Efficiency in energy-consuming structures calls for minimum use of high-value energy and maximum use of low-value energy. This "low-exergy" approach is tailor-made for non-industrial buildings, which claim roughly one-third of primary energy. Low-value anergy sources can be used in a rational, environmentally sustainable way for heating and cooling, thus saving high-value exergy for appliances and lighting.
A new research project applying this holistic "low-exergy" concept is planned by the IEA's Implementing Agreement on Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems (ECBCS). Its aim is to provide designers and decision makers with tools, guidelines, recommendations and best practice to foster strategies and designs for more energy-efficient buildings around the world. The project proposal is downloadable from the website of ECBCS Annex 49. ECBCS is one IEA's international collaborative energy technology R&D programmes.

4. Light's Labour's Lost - Policies for Energy-efficient Lighting - a new IEA book. How can reducing energy demand for lighting be less costly than continuing with current practices? Light's Labour's Lost guides readers to soundly constructed strategies and policies for curbing lighting's share of power consumption. It makes a solid case for urgent policy action. Pathways are explained for ensuring that energy used for lighting does not increase by 80% between now and 2030, as projected. IEA's publication contains more than 500 pages of analysis, including many striking statistics on lighting's huge role in global energy consumption. Worldwide, for example, grid-based electric lighting consumes 19% of total global electricity production. And lighting claims as much electricity as all gas-fired plants produce, or 15% more power than the world generates from either hydro or nuclear plants. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.

. Proceedings from the workshop Coal for Sustainable Energy: Clean Development and Climate Change, New Delhi (India), 16-17 May 2006. As a part of the IEA's response to the G8 Plan of Action on climate change, clean energy and sustainable development, the Agency and the World Coal Institute co-hosted a workshop focusing on the challenges faced by the coal industry in developing countries. Download the presentations and background material from the World Coal Institute website.

. Technology newsletters from IEA's international collaborative programmes:
- Air Information Review - Vol. 27 No. 3 (IEA Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre).
- E3 Light - Newsletter 3 - (energy efficient electric lighting for buildings - ECBCS).
- Greenhouse Issues - No. 82 (IEA Greenhouse Gas R&d Programme).

. Role and Benefits of Electricity to Society - Highlights from Eurelectric's Annual Convention and Conference, Oslo (Norway), 12-13 June 2006. This year's event focused on the opportunities that electricity offers for action to meet the challenge of developing an energy-efficient, low-carbon, energy-secure and competitive economy. A high-level Executive Forum discussed the theme "Market Development: Where Do We Stand?". IEA was one of the event's co-operating partners. See "Highlights and Debates" on Eurelectric's 2006 Conference Web pages. See also the Oslo Declaration.

. Energy Technology Perspectives: Scenarios and Strategies to 2050. How much can technology contribute to securing adequate and affordable energy supplies and lower CO2 emissions? This innovative work demonstrates how the different energy technologies can make a difference in a series of global scenarios to 2050. Visit the IEA's Online bookshop.

. Natural Gas Market Review 2006. The first in a new IEA publication series, this 136-page study takes an unprecedented look at developments in natural gas to 2010, analysing not only the three IEA regions (Asia Pacific, North America and Europe) but also broader global trends, such as the interaction of pipeline gas with LNG, which binds the regions together. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.

. Energy Policies of IEA Countries – Denmark - 2006 Review. The latest in the IEA's series of peer reviews of energy policies in individual IEA member countries. Visit IEA's Online Bookshop.  

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• 9th CTI Workshop on Energy Efficiency for Asian Countries, Yokkaichi (Japan), 30 July - 5 August 2006. Organised by the IEA Climate Technology Initiative (CTI), this workshop will aim to enhance delegates' understanding and appreciation of international greenhouse gas abatement and sustainable development efforts, and to strengthen commitment to more efficient use of energy in their respective countries. To learn more, visit CTI website.

• 2006 Japan-China Seminar on Preparation and Utilization of Clean Fuels and Their Control of Combustion and Emissions, Gunma (Japan), 21-22 August 2006. Japan's Gunma University and China's Xi'an Jiaotong University are organising this event, which covers wide-ranging energy technologies. IEA's Implementing Agreement on Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction in Combustion is a co-sponsor. For more information, visit the website of co-organisers Gunma University (Japan).

• G8 workshop Short term Opportunities for CO2 Capture and Storage in the Fossil Fuel Sector, San Francisco (United States), 22-23 August 2006. Organised by IEA, Chevron, USEA, IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme, IEA Enhanced Oil Recovery Implementing Agreement, this workshop will address market introduction of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technologies. It will focus on early opportunities for CCS, and will bring together professionals and policy makers working in these areas. Serving as platform for information exchange, this will be a preparatory event for further workshops to be organised in 2007. Visit IEA's website.

. Workshop Biofuels and Bioenergy: Challenges and Opportunities, Vancouver (Canada), 28 August-1 September 2006. Organised jointly by Tasks 29, 31 and 39 of the IEA Bioenergy programme, this workshop will be co-hosted also by the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Forestry. See preliminary announcement and call for papers, also the Task 39 Web pages.

. 6th European Conference on Coal Research and its Applications, Canterbury (United Kingdom), 5-7 September 2006. The IEA Clean Coal Centre is playing a programme co-ordination role in this event, which will enable researchers and stakeholders from academia and industry to update on coal technology applications to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. See Conference Announcement and Call for Papers.

• Cooling Cars with Less Fuel - Workshop, Paris (France), 19-20 September 2006. The goal of this workshop is to identify technologies that will lead to less fuel consumption for cooling motor vehicles. It will place special emphasis on improvements offering benefits that do not appear in conventional fuel economy tests. Visit IEA's website.

. Sixth Annual Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading, Paris (France), 26-27 September 2006. This event is organised jointly by the IEA, the International Emissions Trading Association and the Electric Power Research Institute. Visit IEA's website.

. Workshop on Sustainable Use, Supply and Production of Biomass in Africa, Nairobi (Kenya), 4-6 October 2006. Organised by IEA in co-operation with the African Development Bank FINESSE Africa Program and the United Nations Environment Programme, this workshop will help to identify potential for modern sustainable use of biomass in Africa. The workshop will bring together energy sector biomass stakeholders, including policy makers, technology experts, the private sector, and bilateral and multilateral organisations active in developing and developed countries. Visit IEA's website. Contact: jan.tronningsdal@iea.org.

. World Forum on Energy Regulation III, Washington, DC (United States), 8-11 October, 2006. Co-promoted by the IEA, this event will discuss recent developments in the energy industry, new trends in energy regulation, and selected sectoral and regional issues. Visit the Official Site.

. 2nd IEA Workshop on Legal Aspects of Storing CO2, Paris (France), 17 October 2006. This workshop will address: intellectual property; legal and regulatory frameworks; international environmental protection instruments; level playing fields for carbon capture and storage projects; and public awareness. Visit IEA's website.

• 27th Annual Conference of the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC), Lyon (France), 20-22 November 2006 (note changed dates). This conference is organised by the AIVC, which is part of the IEA Programme on Energy Conservation in Buildings & Community Systems (ECBCS). The event is taking place within the framework of the 4th European Conference on Energy Performance and Indoor Climate in Buildings (EPIC), which will also feature a stream on other ECBCS research projects. The EPIC gathering will target manufacturers, engineers, designers, architects, researchers, real estate managers, policy-makers and standardisation specialists. Click to learn more.