1. IEA in launch of global 50% fuel-saving plan for cars
2. Bioenergy and resources: opportunities for synergy
3. Promoting renewables effectively
4. Retro-fitting energy efficiency into buildings
5. New IEA international projects, new participants

• Workshop on International Standards to Promote Energy Efficiency and Reduce Carbon Emissions, Paris (France), 16-17 March 2009.

• Webinar Financing CCS: Updates on US and EU Developments, 20 March 2009, 15-16:30 Paris time.

• IEA Coal Mine Methane Recovery and Utilization Workshop, Chengdu (China), 7-8 April 2009.

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

• 20th International Conference on Fluidized Bed Combustion, Xian City (China), 18-20 May 2009.

• European Seminar OWEMES 2009 – Offshore Wind and Other Marine Renewable Energies in Mediterranean and European Seas, Brindisi (Italy), 21-23 May 2009.

• International Conference on Thermal Energy Storage - EffStock 2009, Stockholm (Sweden), 14-17 June 2009.

• IEA GHG International Interdisciplinary CCS Summer School 2009, Mantra Lorne, Victoria, (Australia), 23-28 August 2009.  

• 1st International Oxyfuel Combustion Conference, Cottbus (Germany), 8-11 September 2009.

• 15th International SolarPACES Symposium, Berlin (Germany), 15-18 September 2009.

• 30th AIVC Conference Trends in High Performance Buildings and the Role of Ventilation, Berlin (Germany), 1-2 October 2009.

• International Conference on Coal Science & Technology (ICCS&T), Cape Town (South Africa), 26-29 October 2009. 

1.IEA in launch of global 50% fuel-saving plan for cars.  The credit crunch may be slowing car sales in some countries, but the total car stock around the globe is still expected to triple by 2050. With more fuel demand, at unpredictable prices, and more CO₂ emissions to threaten the global climate, greater fuel efficiency becomes more urgent than ever. A 50% improvement in fuel efficiency for the world’s cars by 2050 is the ambition of the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI). Just launched at the 79th International Motor Show in Geneva, this new drive to unite key stakeholders is the brainchild of the FIA Foundation, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Lew Fulton heads the GFEI co-ordination team at the IEA. Dr. Fulton tells OPEN Bulletin readers about this and other IEA work on transport-sector sustainability. Access the article here.  IEA’s energy-efficiency programme advises governments on policies to foster more fuel-efficient driving and faster advances in the crucial vehicle technologies.

2. Bioenergy and resources: opportunities for synergy.  As the bioenergy industry expands, is there a real risk that traditional forestry and agriculture could suffer from competition over feedstocks, land and water? Could fierce struggles develop over precious resources? Or could greater use of bioenergy for fuelling the world’s economies actually bring welcome synergies?  Insightful analysis on these hotly debated questions is presented in the newly published report Synergies and Competition in Bioenergy Systems from the IEA Bioenergy programme. Forest-based bioenergy is the focus of the study’s first section, which discusses general challenges and conflicts as well as offering more detailed analysis on individual regions and countries. The second section of the 100-page report explores potential competition and synergies in the agricultural sector, also the long-term outlook for land availability up till 2050, and price and trade issues.  Synergies and Competition in Bioenergy Systems can be downloaded from the website of IEA Bioenergy, an IEA international collaborative energy technology R&D programme.

3. Promoting renewables effectively. Well designed policies that lower financing costs for renewables-based electricity projects could slash up to 30% from the cost of the power generated. The impact of policy design and risk management on costs of renewables-sourced electricity is analysed in the first of two downloadable reports recently published by the IEA Renewable Energy Technology Deployment Implementing Agreement programme (IEA-RETD). The 130-page study Policy Instrument Design to Reduce Financing Costs in Renewable Energy Technology Projects highlights key features among successful national, regional or international policy designs addressing perceived policy risk. The authors pinpoint examples of best practice drawn from analysis of onshore and offshore wind, large-scale solar-PV and biomass-CHP in six countries.
But how must markets evolve to adapt easily to small, variable types of renewables power generation? The second new study from IEA-RETD focuses on Innovative Electricity Markets to Incorporate Variable Production. In order to identify practices and mechanisms that can overcome barriers to renewables's integration, this 100-page report takes an in-depth look at markets and transmission in various countries, investigating market design and operation, grid access and cross-border trading mechanisms. Nine supplements provide individual country/regional detail. Visit the website of IEA-RETD, one of 42 IEA international energy technology collaborations.

4. Retro-fitting energy efficiency into buildings.  Buildings account for some 40% of energy use in most countries. If construction of new, more energy-efficient buildings is not on the immediate agenda, refurbishment measures for existing residential and commercial buildings can still greatly reduce energy use, financial outlay and the carbon footprint. Better insulation and heating/cooling efficiency, plus lower energy consumption in lighting and appliances, can bring large, cost-effective improvements in buildings’ CO₂ emissions. But all the parties involved in refurbishing buildings may not necessarily agree that energy efficiency is a top priority. Valuable guidance for clients and energy service companies (ESCos) in addressing the issues can be found in the downloadable study Comprehensive Refurbishment of Buildings through Energy Performance Contracting - A Guide for Building Owners and ESCos. This 30-page publication from the IEA’s Demand-Side Management Programme (IEA DSM) describes models that integrate comprehensive building construction refurbishment measures through Energy Performance Contracting (ETP) agreements between clients and contractors. The study can be downloaded from the website of IEA DSM, one of IEA's international energy technology collaborations.

5. New IEA international projects, new participants. The portfolios of IEA Implementing Agreement collaborations evolve continuously to meet new challenges. Here are some recently created projects.

• “Total Energy Use in Buildings: Analysis & Evaluation Methods” is the focus of a new project in the portfolio of the IEA Implementing Agreement on Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems (ECBCS). This Annex 53 will notably develop a new methodology for analysis of building energy use that facilitates investigation of the main influencing factors.

• The multi-task Annex XII on Membrane Technologies just unveiled by the IEA Implementing Agreement on Industrial Energy-Related Technologies and Systems (IETS) will aim to be a facilitating platform for assessment of R&D priorities and gaps, and comparative analysis of individual technologies, which are needed to identify barriers to implementation of these technologies. Separation of hydrocarbons has been chosen as the first sub-task.

• "Assessment of Environmental Effects and Monitoring Efforts for Ocean Wave, Tidal, and Current Energy Systems" is the subject of the recently created Annex IV of the IEA Ocean Energy Systems Implementing Agreement (IEA-OES). A primary goal of this project will be to ensure that information and data on environmental monitoring are more widely accessible.

New participants in IEA programmes
Australia has become a Contracting Party in the Implementing Agreement for a Co-operative Programme on Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES).

• Electric Motor MEPS Guide. The first edition of this guide explains steps towards mandatory energy performance standards (MEPS) for electric motors in global markets. It includes information on the introduction of new testing standards, efficiency classes and labels. The guide has been produced with the support of the Motor Systems Annex of the IEA Implementing Agreement for a Co-operating Programme on Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (4E).  Download from the IEA 4E programme’s website. 

• IEA PVPS Snapshot – at a glance, updates on photovoltaics' technical concepts and processes, technical performance, current and projected costs, current and projected emissions, technology status, installed capacity, potential market, timescale and deployment barriers. This instant reference source has been developed by IEA-PVPS.

• Promoting Energy Efficiency Best Practice in Cities - A Pilot Study. This IEA working paper presents the results of a pilot study aimed at testing a method of collating, evaluating and reporting energy efficiency policy practice in cities. Download from the IEA's website.

• Free downloadable energy technology newsletters from IEA’s international collaborative programmes.
- AMFI Newsletter - Issue 1/2009, January 2009 - from the IEA Advanced Motor Fuels Implementing Agreement programme (IEA/AMF).
- ECBCS News - Issue 48, December 2008 - from the IEA Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme (ECBCS).
- Heat Pumps Newsletter -  Volume 26, No. 4/2008 - from the IEA Heat Pump Centre (HPC) - full version free for readers in countries participating in HPC.
- IETS Newsletter – No. 1/2009, February 2009 – from the IEA Industrial Energy-Related Technologies and Systems (IETS) programme.

• Presentations, papers and a comprehensive list of references from IEA-GIA International Geothermal Sustainability Modelling Workshop, Taupo (New Zealand), 10 November 2008. Access the presentations (right-click to rotate) on the website of IEA-GIA, one of IEA’s international energy technology collaborations.

• Presentations from the IEA workshop Data, Analysis and Policy: the Three Faces of Energy Efficiency Indicators, Paris (France) 21-22 January 2009. Quality statistics and indicators of energy use are essential for shaping good energy policies. More than 100 policy makers, analysts and statisticians from both OECD and non-OECD countries took advantage of this opportunity to share information about best practices for developing and using indicators.  Visit the IEA website.

• Recently updated, the IEA website's Cleaner Fossil Fuels pages offer links to comprehensive information on ways of reducing the climate-change impact of fossil fuel combustion.

• Energy Policies of IEA Countries – The Netherlands - 2008 Review - the latest in the IEA's series of reviews of energy policies in individual IEA countries. Download the Summary. Visit the IEA Online Bookshop.

Free publications from IEA
Subscribe to our e-mail alert service to receive IEA's selection of free on-line products. To choose your products and enter your email address click here.
Pdf versions of many of IEA’s other publications are downloadable free of charge. Pdf versions of all publications are free two calendar years after release.
IEA Implementing Agreement participants are entitled to a 30% discount on IEA publications (contact books@iea.org, with your request and identification).

IEA Online Bookshop
Register here for regular e-mail notification when new IEA publications are released.

Special rates for IEA publications
Developing countries: a 50% discount.
Universities, non-profit organisations: a 30% discount.
Readers can claim this discount by e-mail when ordering through the IEA Bookshop's on-line order system.

• Workshop on International Standards to Promote Energy Efficiency and Reduce Carbon Emissions, Paris (France), 16-17 March 2009. This joint workshop of the International Energy Agency, the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission will bring together leading policy makers, standardisation professionals and key private sector actors.  They will discuss how to accelerate progress in energy efficiency standardisation.  Breaking new ground, this event is the fruit of growing co-operation between the three agencies to support development of standards to facilitate higher levels of energy efficiency in all energy-using activities. Visit the IEA website. 

• Webinar Financing CCS: Updates on US and EU Developments, 20 March 2009, 15-16:30 hrs. Paris time. Organised by the IEA CCS Regulators’ Network, this on-line webinar conference will explore the various steps and plans initiated in the United States and the European Union to arrange funding for CCS projects. To learn more and register, visit the IEA's website.

• IEA Coal Mine Methane Recovery and Utilization Workshop, Chengdu (China), 7-8 April 2009. Organised by the IEA, by China's State Administration of Coal Mine Safety (SACMS), the National Center for International Cooperation in Work Safety (NCICS) and the Sichuan Coal Mine Safety Bureau, this workshop will cover all aspects of Coal Mine Methane (CMM) development in China. For more information, consult the IEA 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 conference pages for more details.

• 20th International Conference on Fluidized Bed Combustion, Xian City (China), 18-20 May 2009. This event will focus on the latest fundamental research issues associated with fluidized bed combustion science and technology, as well as application of experience from pilot-plants, demonstration and industrial units. The IEA Fluidized Bed Conversion Implementing Agreement programme (IEA-FBC) is represented on the steering committee.  Visit the conference website.

• European Seminar OWEMES 2009 – Offshore Wind and Other Marine Renewable Energies in Mediterranean and European Seas, Brindisi (Italy), 21-23 May 2009.  Co-sponsored by IEA Wind, this event will provide a forum for information exchange and promote co-operation among different countries in the promising field of marine renewable energy applications.  Visit the website. 

• International Conference on Thermal Energy Storage - EffStock 2009, Stockholm (Sweden), 14-17 June 2009. Organised by the IEA Energy Conservation through Energy Storage Implementing Agreement (ECES) and hosted by Swedvac, the Swedish Society of HVAC Engineers, this event will aim to encourage awareness and uptake of solutions for energy conservation through energy storage, including seasonal, diurnal and short-term storage technologies.  It will bring together design professionals, government officials, manufacturers, environmental consultants, utility personnel and executives, and academic researchers. Visit the EffStock 2009 conference website.

• IEA GHG International Interdisciplinary CCS Summer School 2009, Mantra Lorne, Victoria, (Australia), 23-28 August 2009.  This year’s summer school on CO₂ capture and storage organised by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG) will be hosted by CO2CRC.  To learn more and apply, click here.  A report from the 2008 summer school can be found in the most recent IEA GHG newsletter Greenhouse Issues.

• 1st International Oxyfuel Combustion Conference, Cottbus (Germany), 8-11 September 2009. This event will provide a forum to continue discussion of issues relevant to the development of oxyfuel combustion technologies and to share lessons from the experience of operating the first oxyfuel combustion boiler.  The conference is organised by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG) and Vattenfall, and sponsored by Air Products.  Visit the conference web pages.

• 15th International SolarPACES Symposium, Berlin (Germany), 15-18 September 2009.  The IEA SolarPACES programme’s 15th annual event will offer stakeholders from industry, research, politics and the financial world to meet, within the framework of a scientific conference programme, with leading world experts. Visit the conference pages on the website of IEA SolarPACES.

• 30th AIVC Conference Trends in High Performance Buildings and the Role of Ventilation, Berlin (Germany), 1-2 October 2009.This event is organised by the Energy and Environmental Center Deister GmbH (e.u.[z.]) in co-operation with the International Network for Information on Ventilation (INIVE EEIG) – on behalf of the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC) – and the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (Fraunhofer-IBP).  It will be held in tandem with the International Conference on Building and Ductwork Airtightness. See conference announcement.  AIVC is part of the IEA Programme on Energy Conservation in Buildings & Community Systems (ECBCS).

• International Conference on Coal Science & Technology (ICCS&T), Cape Town (South Africa), 26-29 October 2009.  Co-sponsored by the IEA Clean Coal Centre, this conference will provide the technical community with an opportunity to share knowledge in their respective clean-coal technology fields. Visit the conference website.