On August 9, a thunderstorm caused 1.5 GW of generation capacity to go offline within seconds in the U.K. The incident caused millions of households to temporarily lose power but the situation could have been considerably worse if not for the country’s battery storage reserves. Renewable energy company RES claims to have averted disaster in
Solar panels might seem like they’re in direct competition with plants. One is catching sunlight to do photosynthesis, the other wants to take it to push electrons. Surely Highlander rules apply, and there can be only one on a plot of land, right? In reality, it’s not a zero-sum game. Some plants will burn in
Biggest fossil fuel extractors warned they risk wasting $2.2tn ‘in a low-carbon world’ Major oil and gas companies have invested $50bn (£40.6bn) in fossil fuel projects that undermine global efforts to avert a runaway climate crisis, according to a report. Since the start of last year, fossil fuel companies have spent billions on high-cost plans
Under the new law proposed by HM Revenue and Customs, the VAT for new solar and energy storage products will increase from 5% to 20% from October The government is being urged to stop the proposed VAT increase for solar and battery storage technologies by industry, environmental groups and more than 17,500 people. Under the
Energy storage installations for homes and businesses — involving battery technology — are on the rise in areas where extreme weather threatens the electric power grid, such as flood-prone Houston, wildfire-stricken California and hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. A sustained power outage can lead to serious consequences, such as loss of income and even death. Because of
A £55 million (US$67.8 million) fund has been earmarked for five projects in the UK looking at developing the next generation of battery storage technology. The government-led Faraday Institution has allocated the funding to five consortium-led projects with the aim of overcoming battery challenges, in particular by improving performance and cost characteristics. The projects will
Chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid has been slammed by the green economy for adding just £30 million to the government’s net zero budget, a mere 0.1% of what is expected to be needed. Yesterday Javid, in his first official spending statement as chancellor of the exchequer, unveiled a raft of proposals in the government’s
Activists plan to release drones near the airport. Their possible arrest is a small price to pay for fighting the climate crisis Obedience is dangerous: it has facilitated every form of institutional oppression and violence. Every advance in justice, peace and democracy has been made possible by disobedience. Ethical progress is unlikely when we do
Implement “proper” climate change plans or risk facing legal challenge, environmental lawyers have warned 100 councils across England. The councils – all of which are currently developing a new local plan – have been put on notice by environmental law firm ClientEarth, giving them eight weeks to explain how evidence-based carbon reduction targets will be
E.ON made a bold announcement last week: all 3.3 million of their customers will be placed on a 100% renewable tariff as standard. No need to change their tariff or account. No extra charge. A good news story on the face of it. But is it too good to be true? The overnight switch to