1. Deploying renewables-based residential heating/cooling
2. Faster and farther with low-carbon energy technologies
3. IEA’s new Energy Technology Perspectives team-leader
4. Technology and the Indian power sector
5. Energy efficiency indicators in Russia
6. New IEA international R&D projects, new participants

• IEA Wind Special Side Event, 16 March 2011, at the European Wind Energy Conference 2011 (EWEA 2011), Brussels (Belgium).

• 1st International Electric Vehicle Pilot City and Industry Development Forum - Better Electric Vehicles, Better City Life, Shanghai (China), 21-22 April 2011.

• Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference, Washington, DC (United States), 27-29 April 2011.

• Fifth International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies – CCT2011, Saragossa (Spain),  8-12 May 2011. 

• 10th IEA Heat Pump Conference, Tokyo (Japan), 16–19 May 2011.

• Eighth International Workshop on Mercury Emissions from Coal, Kruger (South Africa), 18-20 May 2011.

• EURELECTRIC Annual Conference 2011, Stockholm (Sweden), 13-14 June 2011.

• 2011 IEAGHG Summer School, Champaign, Illinois (United States), 18–22 July 2011.

• 2nd Oxyfuel Combustion Conference, Queensland, (Australia), 12-16 September 2011.

• IEA Workshop on Quantifying and Managing Land Use Impacts of Bioenergy, Campinas (Brazil), 19-21 September 2011.

• 17th SolarPACES Conference - Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems, Granada (Spain), 20-23 September 2011.

• Hydro 2011 Conference and Exhibition - Practical Solutions for a Sustainable Future, Prague (Czech Republic), 17-19 October 2011.

1. Deploying renewables-based residential heating & cooling. What are the key features of a successful deployment programme for residential renewable heating and cooling technologies? What can policy makers, programme developers and other stakeholders learn from the experience of others in tackling barriers in different countries around the world? Answers can be found in the results of an in-depth review commissioned by the IEA Renewable Energy Technology Deployment programme (RETD). Now downloadable from the RETD website, the Renewable Heating and Cooling Program Best Practices Guide packs into 82-pages a wealth of information on successful portfolio development. It advises on the best ways to design, implement and evaluate programmes aimed at expanding application of renewables-based heating and cooling technologies. Thirty-two examples of best practice are detailed, based on experience in twelve countries. The guide is accompanied by a 156-page study, Best Practices in the Deployment of Renewable Energy for Heating and Cooling in the Residential Sector. This describes the underlying project, designed to help policy makers at municipal, regional, national and multi-national levels develop robust, effective sustainable programmes in this key domain. RETD is one of 41 IEA international energy technology collaborations.

2. Faster and farther with low-carbon energy technologies. Firmer steps towards a global clean-energy future are needed urgently. But getting on target with greenhouse gas emissions reduction will involve many different energy technologies and huge investments. The challenges are considerable. To help countries address them together, a tailor-made vehicle exists in the shape of the International Low-Carbon Energy Technology Platform. Created in response to requests from the G8 and IEA Ministers, this Technology Platform is creating opportunities around the globe for key stakeholders to join forces in accelerating the energy technology transition. Its workshops help catalyse partnerships and activities that advance development and implementation of low-carbon energy technology strategies and roadmaps at national or regional levels. Stakeholders share experience on best-practice technologies and policies. Local expertise and capacity are built up. To find out more about how the International Low-Carbon Energy Technology Platform is working to up-scale development and deployment of clean energy technologies, download the new Frequently Asked Questions brochure from the IEA website. 

3. IEA’s new Energy Technology Perspectives team leader. The IEA is pleased to welcome Markus Wråke, who recently joined the Agency as Senior Energy Technology Policy Analyst. He heads the team that produces the Agency’s biennial flagship Energy Technology Perspectives publications (ETP). With a background in engineering and a doctorate in economics, Markus Wråke brings the IEA extensive experience in the field of energy, climate change and interaction between the policy-making and industrial spheres. Since 2006, successive editions of the ETP have been providing government and corporate decision-takers around the world with analysis, scenarios and roadmaps for mobilising technology to address climate and energy security issues. The next IEA Energy Technology Perspectives study is due out in the summer of 2012. The OPEN Bulletin sought Dr. Wråke’s views on some of the pivotal questions facing energy strategists today. To access the interview, click here. 

4. Technology and the Indian power sector. The Indian power sector will face numerous challenges over the next four decades. More than one-third of India’s inhabitants currently have no access to electricity, so urgent action is needed. At the same time, driven by rapid economic growth,  electricity demand is projected to increase between fivefold and sixfold by 2050. Massive investments will be needed. But unique opportunities will also emerge for taking the power sector towards a low-carbon future while fostering economic growth and addressing energy poverty. The IEA’s Information Paper Technology Development Prospects for the Indian Power Sector presents in more detail the analysis for India published in Energy Technology Perspectives 2010 (ETP). Taking a techno-economic perspective, this 88-page study builds on detailed resource and technology data for India and identifies the key power-sector technologies needed for India to achieve its transition towards a low-carbon power-supply system. Download from the IEA website. Read more about the paper.

5. Energy efficiency indicators in Russia. With a truly vast potential for reducing energy consumption, Russia is taking ambitious energy-economy steps aimed at shaving 40% off its 2007 levels of energy intensity by 2020. A recent law on energy efficiency introduces wide-ranging energy efficiency requirements for households, businesses and new buildings. For some years, with the support of the UK Strategic Programme Fund, the IEA has been working with Russia’s statistical authorities and the Russian Energy Agency on developing the energy efficiency indicators that provide the key to understanding and influencing energy use patterns. The newly published IEA working paper Development of Energy Efficiency Indicators in Russia reports extensively on this project and its findings. The authors offer in-depth, by-sector analysis, a set of conclusions and valuable annexes describing the IEA’s pyramid approach to energy-intensity indicators and its methodology for analysing energy consumption. Download the 55-page paper from the IEA website. Visit the website’s Energy Indicators Pages.

6. New IEA international R&D projects, new participants

• Benchmarking of wind farm flow models is the focus of recently created Task 31 within the IEA Implementing Agreement for Co-operation in the Research, Development, and Deployment of Wind Energy Systems (IEA Wind).  Contact: jsrodrigo@cener.com.

• The People's Republic of China has become a Contracting Party to the Implementing Agreement for Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems (SolarPACES).

• Japan has become a Contracting Party to the Implementing Agreement for Renewable Energy Technology Deployment (RETD).

• Sweden has become a Contracting Party to the Implementing Agreement for a Co-operative Programme on Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (4E).

• Update of Recommendations for Hydropower and the Environment. Now downloadable from the website of IEA Hydropower, this concise six-page briefing document updates five recommendations, published in 2006, which documented more than 60 international good practice case studies. These recommendations focus on: the energy policy framework; the decision-taking process; comparison between hydropower project alternatives; improving environmental management; and sharing benefits with local communities. Download from the website of IEA Hydropower, one of the IEA's 41 energy technology collaborations.

• Cost Effective Commissioning of Existing & Low Energy Buildings – a set of four reports concluding the work of Annex 47 of the IEA Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme  (ECBCS). This effort addresses the need for greater formalisation and standardisation in the growing area of commissioning to improve operating performance of buildings. The reports can be downloaded from the website of this Annex.
- Commissioning Overview
- Commissioning Tools for Existing and Low Energy Buildings
- Commissioning Cost-Benefit and Persistence of Savings
- Flow Charts and Data Models for Initial Commissioning of Advanced and Low Energy Building Systems.

• Benchmarking Report - Residential Air Conditioners. This third full benchmarking report is the latest output from the Mapping and Benchmarking project within the IEA programme on Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (4E) The project's aim is to develop credible, reliable and timely information for sustainable product policy-making decisions. Access more benchmarking reports via the project's website matrix system, along with the product definitions, individual country mapping documents and other supporting information. 4E is an IEA energy technology collaborative programme.

• World-wide Overview of Design and Simulation Tools for Hybrid PV Systems. From the IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS), this 28-page guide focuses on the capability and applicability of software design and simulation tools for PV hybrid systems.
Also from IEA-PVPS, downloadable presentations from the Workshop Advantages of and Possible Issues Surrounding Grid-Connected PV Power Systems, Istanbul (Turkey), 26th February 2011. Organised by the National Photovoltaic Technology Platform of Turkey and IEA-PVPS, this event enabled stakeholders to update and network.

• Free newsletters from IEA programmes.
- Load Down – Issue 8, January 2011 - from the Standby Power Annex of the IEA programme on Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment (4E). 
- IEA Heat Pump Centre Newsletter - all the back issues of this newsletter can now be downloaded free. Click here. Visit the programme’s website.

• GHGT-10 Conference Summary. From the organisers, the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG), this report gives an overview of discussions at the 10th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) on 19-23 September 2010. This was the latest in a series providing a forum to discuss recent advances and pressing issues and to promote collaboration on international research. IEAGHG is an IEA international collaboration.

• Power Generation from Coal - Measuring and Reporting Efficiency Performance and CO₂ Emissions. Many different methods are used to express efficiency performance in power generation from coal. It is often difficult to compare plants, even before accounting for any fixed constraints such as coal quality and cooling-water temperature. This downloadable 110-page book explores how efficiency is measured and reported at coal-fired power plants. A global database of plant performance is proposed.  Download this free publication from the IEA website. 

• Testing fuel-saving gadgets for cars. Are ‘in-car feedback instruments’ easy to use? Are they distracting for drivers? And can they really bring significant energy savings? Kazunori Kojima is a transport expert at the IEA. He went for a test-drive to find out. Download the test-drive findings from the IEA website article.

• IEA Bioenergy Annual Report 2010. This latest output from IEA Bioenergy contains a 35-page special feature article 'Algal Biofuels Status and Prospects', providing of overview of algal biofuels production from  the programme’s Task 39.  Updates are provided in the body of the report on the activities of all the programme’s twelve current Tasks. IEA Bioenergy is an IEA collaboration.

• Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Poland - 2011 Review. The latest in the IEA's series of reviews of energy policies in individual IEA countries. To consult the press release, table of contents and summary, and to order the publication, visit the IEA Online Bookshop.

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• IEA Wind Special Side Event, 16 March 2011, at the European Wind Energy Association Annual Event (EWEA 2011), Brussels (Belgium). Organised by the IEA Wind Energy programme (IEA Wind), this three-session event will present the IEA programme’s work on:  Social Acceptance of Wind Energy Projects; Cost of Wind Energy; Cold Climate Research; Aerodynamic Research; Codes for Designing Offshore Wind Projects; and Grid Integration Issues. Open to EWEA 2011 exhibition pass holders and conference attendees. Access the day's agenda and registration form here.

• 1st International Electric Vehicle Pilot City and Industry Development Forum - Better Electric Vehicles, Better City Life, Shanghai (China), 21-22 April 2011. This event during the 14th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition will be hosted jointly by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST), the IEA and the Shanghai Municipal Government. Organised by the Society of Automotive Engineers of China (SAE-China), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM) and Shanghai Jiading District Government, it will focus on the Electric Vehicles Initiative (see OPEN Bulletin No. 63) and the International Electric Vehicles pilot city programme. Visit the IEA website events pages. For more information and to register, contact Lew.Fulton@iea.org at the IEA.

• Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference, Washington, DC (United States), 27-29 April 2011.  Co-sponsored by the Ocean Energy Systems Implementing Agreement programme (OES-IA), this event  will offer attendees the chance to expand their networks of international experts and government leaders, explore and exchange knowledge on best management practices, discuss financing and regulatory drivers and learn about policies supporting industry growth.  Visit the conference website.

• Fifth International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies – CCT2011, Saragossa (Spain),  8-12 May 2011.  Organised by the IEA Clean Coal Centre and the Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB), Saragossa, on behalf of the Grupo Español del Carbón, this event  covering  clean coal technologies, developments in carbon capture and zero emissions technologies will provide an international networking opportunity for multiple stakeholders.  Visit the conference web page.

• 10th IEA Heat Pump Conference, Tokyo (Japan), 16–19 May 2011.  Taking as its theme “Heat Pumps - The Solution for a Low Carbon World”, this event will focus on heat pumps, air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, and systems for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Under the auspices of the IEA Heat Pump Programme (HPP), it is designed for those interested in technical, market, policy and standards information. Visit the conference website. The IEA Heat Pump Programme is one of the IEA international energy technology collaborations.

• Eighth International Workshop on Mercury Emissions from Coal, Kruger (South Africa), 18-20 May 2011.  Organised by the IEA Clean Coal Centre (CCC), an IEA energy technology collaboration, this workshop will facilitate interaction of international experts from utilities, governmental bodies, research institutes and commercial industries, to discuss working together to address the issues associated with mercury emissions from coal combustion. Visit the workshop website.

• EURELECTRIC Annual Conference 2011, Stockholm (Sweden), 13-14 June 2011. Focusing on the theme ‘delivering investments to meet Europe’s energy and climate needs’, this year's event will address the key questions relating to the urgent need for significant investments in power generation and infrastructure over the next decade. Visit the IEA website and the EURELECTRIC conference site.

• 2011 IEAGHG Summer School in Champaign, Illinois (United States), 18–22 July, 2011. Organised by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG) and hosted by the Sequestration Training and Education Program, this summer school targets young scientists with backgrounds in engineering, geo-technologies, socio-economics, who will meet world experts on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Visit the IEAGHG web pages.

• 2nd Oxyfuel Combustion Conference, Queensland, (Australia), 12-16 September 2011.  Organised by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme in partnership with the Callide Oxyfuel Project Ltd. and Xstrata Coal, this event will build on the success of the 2009 event. A central theme will be “Retrofitability of Oxyfuel Combustion Technology to Existing Power Plant”.  Visit the conference page on the website of the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG), one of the IEA international collaborations.

• IEA Workshop on Quantifying and Managing Land Use Impacts of Bioenergy, Campinas (Brazil), 19-21 September 2011.  Organised jointly by IEA Bioenergy Tasks 38, 40 and 43, this workshop will be hosted by the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory. Visit the IEA Bioenergy Task 40 webpage and download the announcement.

• 17th SolarPACES Conference - Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems, Granada (Spain), 20-23 September 2011. Organised by the IEA SolarPACES programme and hosted by CIEMAT, this major event will offer a forum for industry, research, politics and financing stakeholders to meet leading world experts within the framework of a scientific conference programme. Visit the conference website. The SolarPACES programme is an IEA international collaboration.

• Hydro 2011 Conference and Exhibition - Practical Solutions for a Sustainable Future, Prague (Czech Republic), 17-19 October 2011. This event will bring together high-level delegations from countries with active hydro development programmes under way to discuss priorities, achievements and challenges. Visit the conference website. Hydro 2011 is supported by IEA Hydropower, one of the IEA international energy technology collaborations.