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Will new PV manufacturing policies in the United States, India and the European Union create global PV supply diversification?
…countries) in both the short and long term. PV manufacturing cost-competitiveness In the past year, rising global commodity prices have led to higher material costs for solar PV manufacturing. Today, China and ASEAN countries (Viet Nam, Thailand and Malaysia) have the lowest solar PV module manufacturing costs for all segments of the supply chain. Economies of scale, supply chain integration, relatively low energy costs and labour productivity make China the most competitive solar module manufacturer worldwide. Higher investment costs in India are the primary reason for the cost differential with China, while higher overhead and labour costs makes US…
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Coping with the Crisis: Increasing Resilience in Small Businesses in Europe through Energy Efficiency
Proposed Energy Saving Strategies Today’s global energy crisis has driven up the cost of fuels and electricity, creating shortages and hurting consumers, businesses and entire economies. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are some of the most exposed economic players, lacking the margins, economies of scale, and support staff that allow larger companies to mitigate the impact of the crisis. At the same time, SMEs are the backbone of economies around the world, making their survival essential.To help smaller businesses overcome these perilous challenges and to sustain European economies, the European Commission and the International Energy Agency have teamed…
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Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor 2022
Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor Northwest Europe is at the forefront of renewable and low-emission hydrogen development. This region accounts for around half of Europe’s total hydrogen demand, and has a vast and untapped renewable energy potential in the North Sea. It also has a well-developed, interconnected gas network which could be partially repurposed to facilitate the transmission and distribution of renewable and low-emission hydrogen from production sites to demand centres.The development of renewable and low-emission hydrogen in Northwest Europe is expected to gradually scale up in the short- to medium-term to reach a…
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Is the European Union on track to meet its REPowerEU goals?
Renewables 2022 This report forms a component of Chapter 4 of Renewables 2022 and addresses a key question in renewable energy markets. The REPowerEU plan’s aim is to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2027, and the European Commission estimates that this will require significant expansion of renewable energy shares in the electricity, transport and heating sectors. Although the use of renewable energy does increase in all three of these sectors by 2027 in our main-case forecast, in none of them are levels consistent with the REPowerEU plan. While the share of renewables in electricity expands…
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How to Avoid Gas Shortages in the European Union in 2023
A practical set of actions to close a potential supply-demand gap European and global natural gas markets are not yet out of the danger created by Russia’s cuts to pipeline deliveries of gas. If gas exports from Russia drop to zero and China’s LNG imports rebound to 2021 levels, there is a risk of a shortfall gas supplies in 2023. Measures already taken by EU governments on energy efficiency, renewables and heat pumps should help reduce the size of this potential natural gas supply-demand gap in 2023. A recovery in nuclear and hydropower output from their…
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Is renewable energy capacity in the European Union making windfall profits from high wholesale prices?
Renewables 2022 This report forms a component of Chapter 4 of Renewables 2022 and addresses a key question in renewable energy markets. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a global energy crisis, leading to sharp increases in oil, natural gas and coal prices. As a result, electricity prices in Europe have risen drastically because natural gas-fuelled plants remain the price-setter in the wholesale market. Furthermore, high fossil fuel prices have resulted in windfall profits for some energy companies. In fact, the profits of major oil, gas, coal and refinery companies in the first half of 2022 more than…