1. Electricity-efficient equipment: a new IEA collaboration
2. Getting the photovoltaics facts straight
3. Cashing in on benefits from CHP
4. Drivers for clean coal technology deployment
5. New international projects, new participants

• Accessible patents information
• Hydrogen demonstration evaluation
• Bioenergy trade, the biorefinery concept
• Solar heating and cooling reports
• Newsletters from IEA programmes
• Ecodriving experience

• Topical workshop on Intelligent Distribution Networks, Micro-Grids and Active Network Management, Chester (United Kingdom), 14-15 April 2008.

• Workshop on Information Exchange and Collaboration on Basic Science Research for Energy Applications, Paris (France), 6-7 May, 2008.

• Launch of the International CCS Regulators’ Network, Paris (France), 13-14 May 2008.

• Energy Technology Roadmap Workshop, Paris, (France), 15-16 May 2008.

• 9th IEA Heat Pump Conference, Advances and Prospects in Technology, Applications and Markets, Zürich (Switzerland), 20-22 May 2008.

• Conference International Cooperation on Energy Efficiency: Working Together for a Low-Carbon Economy, Geneva (Switzerland), 28 May 2008.

• EURELECTRIC Annual Convention & Conference, Barcelona (Spain), 16-17 June 2008.

• EUROSUN 2008 - 1st International Conference on Solar Heating, Cooling and Buildings, Lisbon (Portugal), 7-10 October 2008.

• 29th AIVC Conference, Advanced Building Ventilation and Environmental Technology for Addressing Climate Change Issues, Kyoto (Japan), 14-16 October 2008.

• 9th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, Washington, DC (United States), 16-20 November 2008.

• Fourth International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies for our Future (CCT2009), Dresden (Germany), 18-20 May 2009.

1. Electricity-efficient equipment: a new IEA collaboration. The least costly energy is saved energy. Saved energy does not harm the global climate or further deplete precious energy resources. Electrical equipment offers huge potential for increasing energy efficiency and reducing electricity bills. But bringing more electricity-efficient equipment into the home or work-place often involves many hurdles, even though the necessary technology is frequently available. Catalysing broader global development and market uptake of more efficient electrical equipment is the mission of a recently launched IEA international collaborative programme. This new IEA Implementing Agreement for a Co-operative Programme on Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (4E) is already attracting a fast growing number of participating countries. To learn more about how the new 4E initiative will work collaboratively to get more energy-efficient equipment into use around the world, the OPEN Bulletin put some questions to Ture Hammar, Chair of the 4E Interim Executive Committee. Click here to access the interview. The "4E" programme is one of 42 IEA programmes within the IEA collaborative network.

2. Getting the photovoltaics facts straight. Two valuable decision-taking tools are now freely available from the website of the IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS). Solid data on solar photovoltaic power systems’ technical performance, reliability and costs can be found in the online Performance Database recently unveiled IEA PVPS Task 2. This provides high-quality data on 505 grid-connected, stand-alone and hybrid photovoltaic systems, ranging in size from 1 kW to 3 MW, serving different needs and operating in different countries and climates. Another IEA PVPS database focuses solely on urban PV applications. Created by IEA PVPS Task 10, the Urban Scale PV Applications Database provides a comprehensive review of PV projects in built environments in IEA countries over successive decades. Its analysis of results, experience and lessons learned is intended for potential buyers and a wide-range of other stakeholders. IEA PVPS Task 10 has also recently released two related downloadable studies: Urban BIPV in the New Residential Construction Industry and Analysis of PV System’s Values Beyond Energy - by Country and Stakeholder. IEA PVPS is one of the 42 IEA collaborative programmes.

3. Cashing in on benefits from CHP. Some two-thirds of the primary energy converted in the production of electricity is lost in the form of wasted heat. Efficiency improvements through available combined heat and power technology (CHP) can deliver up to 21% of overall savings of both energy and carbon emissions. This can reduce investment requirements and cut consumers' electricity costs. Why, then, is this technology not more widely deployed? IEA's new downloadable study Combined Heat and Power - Evaluating the Benefits of Greater Global Investment answers this and a host of other questions about the role that CHP and district heating and cooling (DHC) can play in speeding the move towards more efficient energy systems. It quantifies the numerous energy-saving, economic and environmental benefits offered by these technologies and makes recommendations for advancing their application.
Since its launch in 2007, the IEA International CHP/DHC Collaborative has been collecting global data on CHP/DHC installations, assessing growth potential, developing country profiles and documenting best practice. The latter will be the focus of a second report, due out over the coming months.
IEA co-hosted an 18 January high-level seminar in Brussels on "How to Achieve the Energy Saving Potentials of Cogeneration in Europe".

4. Drivers for clean coal technology deployment. Every stakeholder group has its own views on how best to curb the expanding environmental footprint of fossil fuels. Central in the debate is the expertise of the coal industry. Clean Coal Technologies - Accelerating Commercial and Policy Drivers for Deployment is a new freely downloadable report from the IEA Coal Industry Advisory Board (CIAB). This IEA publication discusses how best to accelerate development and deployment of clean coal technologies and those for CO₂ capture and storage (CCS). It offers important new insight from coal industry players on which commercial and policy backdrops are most likely to accelerate global deployment of these key technologies. The study offers conclusions and recommendations based on consultation with colleagues from the engineering and scientific communities. Demonstration of CCS is singled out as one of the key priorities for ensuring that exploiting the potential of coal can be a sustainable option. Download the report here.

5. New IEA international projects, new participants. IEA Implementing Agreement collaborations evolve continuously to meet new challenges. Some new projects:
• Energy efficient drying and de-watering technologies. Annex X of the IEA Industrial Energy-Related Technologies and Systems (IETS) programme will assemble and disseminate information about ongoing research projects and legislation, also establish benchmarking methods for different dryers. Click to learn more.
• The industrial-based biorefinery concept is the focus of the recently created IETS Annex XI, which will focus on the concept's efficient integration in different industrial sectors. Click to learn more. See also biorefinery workshop findings, below.

Recently signed new participations in IEA energy technology programmes.
• The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG) has recently welcomed three new participants: Spain's Fundación Ciudad de la Energía has become a contracting party on behalf of the Government of Spain; energy company ConocoPhillips and the Czech Republic's power utility CEZ, a.s. have joined as sponsors.
• The Italian National Research Council has become a contracting party in the IEA Implementing Agreement for a Programme of Research, Development, Demonstration and Promotion of Heat Pumping Technologies.
• The Government of Korea has joined the newly created IEA Implementing Agreement for a Co-operative Programme on Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (see above), and the Implementing Agreement for the Establishment of a Project on Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems (SolarPACES).
• Thailand's Banpu Plc energy company has become a sponsor in the IEA Clean Coal Centre.

• Patents information via IEA Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE). The European Patent Office's database can now be searched through the ETDEWEB distributed search feature. With this additional information on 60 million patents from over 80 countries and regions, ETDEWEB now offers eight distributed sources. It provides one-search, deep-web access to 44 databases of research abstracts and publications, plus over 1,700 websites. Thanks to digitisation efforts, more than 200,000 full-text electronic documents are now directly available from the ETDE site, plus links to full text on sites worldwide and over 700,000 items at publishers' sites. Aside from participating countries, more than 50 developing countries have access to ETDEWEB. ETDE is an IEA collaborative programme.

• Hydrogen Demonstration Project Evaluations. This free downloadable report from the IEA Hydrogen Implementing Agreement (IEA HIA) provides findings from evaluation of demonstrations of hydrogen-based power systems and hydrogen refuelling systems in countries participating in IEA HIA Task 18. The scope of the work carried out is described and conclusions distilled from the evaluations, as well as more general conclusions in the areas of system evaluation, data monitoring, modeling tools, system design, control systems and cost-benefit analysis.

• Bioenergy trade, the biorefinery concept. A February 2008 workshop at IEA Headquarters in Paris focused on development of meaningful statistics for sustainable bioenergy trade. It was organised by Task 40 of IEA Bioenergy, one of IEA's 42 collaborative programmes. Click for the workshop proceedings.
Also organised by IEA Bioenergy, an April 2007 workshop on the Biorefinery Concept conducted a useful review of the state of the art. Access the workshop material here.

• Solar heating and cooling reports. The website of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC) offers recently posted downloadable publications on advanced housing renovation, on solar combisystems and on advanced storage concepts for solar and low energy buildings. Click to access.

• Free energy technology newsletters from IEA international collaborative programmes.
- AMFI Newsletter - Issue 1/2008 - from the IEA Programme on Advanced Motor Fuels.
- Greenhouse Issues Newsletter - No. 89, March 2008 - from the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme.

• Experience with Ecodriving. The International Energy Agency and the International Transport Forum hosted a workshop in Paris on 22-23 November 2007 to examine different countries' experience in promoting ecodriving throughout the transport sector, and to explore successful practices in integrating ecodriving into national transport policies. It drew some 100 experts, policy makers, researchers and other interested parties. The workshop's findings and messages for policy makers can be accessed, along with the presentations, on the IEA website.

• Report from CTI Industry Joint Seminar: Diffusion of Energy-Efficient and Renewable Energy Technologies in Asian Countries, Beijing (China), 21-22 February 2008. Organized by the IEA Climate Technology Initiative in co-operation with the Bureau of International Cooperation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT), this seminar brought together project developers, technology providers, finance providers, and policy makers. Visit the website of CTI, one of the IEA international collaborative programmes.

• Outcomes from Russian District Heating Workshop. A roundtable at IEA Headquarters in Paris on 22 November 2007 provided a unique opportunity for CIS countries to learn about other countries’ experience in establishing efficient, clean, reliable and affordable municipal energy systems. Access the Event Summary and other documents (some in Russian) on the IEA website.

• Meeting Energy Efficiency Goals - Enhancing Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation. A full set of findings is now available from the 28-29 February 2008 international workshop organised by IEA and the International Task Force for Sustainable Products. The comprehensive 23-page Chair's Report and other documents from the Paris workshop can be accessed here.

• Promoting Energy Efficiency Investments: Case Studies in the Residential Sector. This 320-page report, prepared by the IEA and the Agence Française de Développement, provides policy makers with information on the most effective policies, programmes and measures to address market barriers and improve energy efficiency in residential buildings. Visit the IEA Online Bookshop.

• Energy Policies of IEA Countries - the latest in the series of IEA reviews of energy policies in its member countries:
- Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Austria
- Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Finland
- Energy Policies of IEA Countries - the United States

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• Topical workshop on Intelligent Distribution Networks, Micro-Grids and Active Network Management, Chester (United Kingdom), 14-15 April 2008. Organised by the IEA Implementing Agreement for Electricity Networks Analysis, Research & Development (ENARD), this workshop will feature presentations by internationally recognised experts, highlighting national perspectives on distributed generation implementation. It will define future ENARD intelligent-distribution activities and be of interest to governmental representatives, policy makers, distribution companies/distribution network operators and power engineering equipment suppliers. For further information, consult the ENARD website or contact the ENARD Secretariat.

• Workshop on Information Exchange and Collaboration on Basic Science Research for Energy Applications, Paris (France), 6-7 May, 2008. Organised by the IEA, its Committee on Energy Research and Technology (CERT) and the Ad-Hoc Group on Science and Energy Technology (AHGSET), this event will address issues of interest to research scientists dealing with basic science and applied energy topics, stakeholders from industry, government and academic institutions, as well as members of the IEA energy technology collaborative network. Visit the IEA website.

• Launch of the International CCS Regulators’ Network, Paris (France), 13-14 May 2008. To help inform the development of legal and regulatory frameworks for CO₂ capture and storage (CCS), the IEA and the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme are working with the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) and University College London (UCL) to create a Network of CCS Regulators for the exchange of views on specific legal issues associated with CCS expansion worldwide. This first meeting will launch the Network. Visit the IEA website.

• IEA Energy Technology Roadmap Workshop, Paris (France), 15-16 May 2008. Organised by the IEA and its Expert Group on R&D Priority Setting and Evaluation, this workshop will seek better insight and understanding on the value of using energy technology roadmaps as a tool to advance international technology collaboration on clean energy technology development. Visit the IEA website.

• 9th IEA Heat Pump Conference, Advances and Prospects in Technology, Applications and Markets, Zürich (Switzerland), 20-22 May 2008. This event will focus on technology, markets, policy and standards within a context of desired environmental benefits and energy conservation. Heat pumps will be addressed, along with air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, also systems for residential, commercial and industrial applications, together with heat pumping technologies for heating and cooling of low energy houses and systems for district heating and cooling. Visit the website of the IEA Heat Pump Centre and the conference website.

• Conference International Cooperation on Energy Efficiency: Working Together for a Low-Carbon Economy, Geneva (Switzerland), 28 May 2008. This conference is organised by the Energy Charter Secretariat in close co-operation with the Energy Efficiency 21 Project of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the IEA. It will bring senior governments and industry experts together with officials from international bodies to discuss ways to improve energy efficiency outcomes through enhanced international co-operation. Visit the IEA website.

• EURELECTRIC Annual Convention & Conference, Barcelona (Spain), 16-17 June 2008. This year's event will focus on the major energy and climate issues facing the European electricity industry, and especially on the European Commission's recently published third package of energy liberalisation proposals and its "green package" of proposals. As in previous years, the event is backed by the International Energy Agency. Visit the IEA website.

• EUROSUN 2008 - 1st International Conference on Solar Heating, Cooling and Buildings, Lisbon (Portugal), 7-10 October 2008. Organised by the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC), Sociedade Portuguesa de Energia Solar, ISES Europe and other bodies, this event will bring scientists, technicians, architects, engineers and citizens to a platform for presenting the latest technologies from around the world. Visit the conference website.

• 29th AIVC Conference, Advanced Building Ventilation and Environmental Technology for Addressing Climate Change Issues, Kyoto (Japan), 14-16 October 2008. This conference will bring together researchers and engineers to focus on a wide range of topics relating to building ventilation and environmental technology. The event is organised by the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC) in collaboration with the IEA Programme on Energy Conservation in Buildings & Community Systems (ECBCS), of which AIVC is a part. Visit the AIVC website.

• 9th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, Washington, DC (United States), 16-20 November 2008. Organized by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and with sponsorship from the United States Department of Energy, this is the latest in the series of Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT) conferences, created in 1997. Visit the conference website.

• Fourth International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies for our Future (CCT2009) Dresden (Germany), 18-20 May 2009. Organised jointly by the IEA Clean Coal Centre (CCC) and Forschungszentrum Jülich, this fourth topical conference on clean coal technologies will be held in conjunction with the Third International Freiberg Conference on IGCC and XtL. Consult the CCC website for more details.