The rules governing Australia’s electricity market are more than 20 years old and no longer serve consumers, or climate action. But big energy companies are using COVID-19 to delay reform.
A switch to electric transport is one of New Zealand’s key climate strategies. It will increase demand on the national grid, but might also help increase renewable electricity generation.
Shutdown in Seattle to slow the spread of coronavirus empties the streets, March 26, 2020. Less economic activity means less revenue for utilities.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Nuclear energy generates 75% of France’s electricity, and ongoing troubles at the new Flamanville EPR reactor have raised crucial questions about its future in the country’s electricity mix.
Smoke from a coal-fired Beijing power plant that closed in 2017 as part of China’s transition to cleaner energy.
AP Photo/Andy Wong
The United Nations is calling on world governments to step up action against climate change. Can China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter, fulfill its pledges?
Chicago’s Lake Michigan waterfront froze during the 2019 polar vortex.
AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato
Solar photovoltaics and wind power are on track to supplant fossil-fuel-based electricity generation by the 2030s. The only thing holding back the renewable revolution is politics.
Policymakers need to be smart about the smart meter rollout.
AAP Image/David Crosling
You may already have a smart meter at home, which monitors your electricity use at 30-minute intervals. But until you can access that data yourself, you could be missing out on the best power deals.
Using solar power could give the U.S. military some advantages – and more security.
Diane Durden/U.S. Marine Corps
US military bases usually get their electricity from the civilian grid, which is vulnerable to attack and to disaster. Solar-powered microgrids could protect national security, and would save money.
The Victorian government is aiming to boost renewable energy to 40%.
Changyang1230/Wikimedia Commons
Victoria’s plan to legislate its own renewable energy target of 40% by 2025 shows how states are increasingly taking the energy policy reins away from the federal government.
A man fixes electric wires in the Lagos Island district. Nigeria has serious power challenges made worse by the way the sector is regulated.
Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye
The centralised regulation of electric power in Nigeria is stalling progress in the sector. To achieve stable power supply, the country must obey its constitution and decentralise regulation.
Solar PV outstripped coal as the leading source of new electricity generation worldwide last year.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Solar PV and wind energy have overtaken coal as the leading sources of new electricity generation worldwide, with falling prices and new storage technologies making clean energy ever more attainable.
Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Director, Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University