Global wind power capacity tops nuclear energy

"The capacity of wind power generation worldwide reached 432.42 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2015, up 17 percent from a year earlier and surpassing nuclear energy for the first time, according to data released by global industry bodies. (...) Both wind power and nuclear energy are being touted as alternatives to fossil fuel power as they produce fewer greenhouse gases." +info

Book

Towards Nearly Zero Energy, 1st Edition (2016):

"Looks at energy production from renewable sources amidst the exceptionally challenging global economic crisis that the Mediterranean areas and other societies are currently experiencing, providing tools and measures that can be developed at the public, legislative, and market levels to counterbalance the lengthy payback times of energy efficiency measures"

heterogeneous catalysts

Hideki Abe, Jia Liu, Katsuhiko Ariga (2016). Catalytic nanoarchitectonics for environmentally compatible energy generation. Materials Today, Volume 19(1), Pages 12-18:

"In this review, we shed light on one of the most versatile energy-conversion technologies: heterogeneous catalysts. We establish the integrity of structural tailoring in heterogeneous catalysts at different scales in the context of an emerging paradigm in materials science: catalytic nanoarchitectonics. Fundamental backgrounds of energy-conversion catalysis are first provided together with a perspective through state-of-the-art energy-conversion catalysis including catalytic exhaust remediation, fuel-cell electrocatalysis and photosynthesis of solar fuels. Finally, the future evolution of catalytic nanoarchitectonics is overviewed: possible combinations of heterogeneous catalysts, organic molecules and even enzymes to realize reaction-selective, highly efficient and long-life energy conversion technologies which will meet the challenge we face."

roads for energy production

"Colas officially launched Wattway, (...) [w]ith this breakthrough technology, Colas gives roads a new function, that of producing energy, in addition to its traditional role of supporting mobility." +info

Renewable Energy Associations

· EFOA: the European Fuel Oxygenates Association
· ESTELA: European Solar Thermal Electricity Association
· EWEA: European Wind Energy Association
· European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuell Cell Electric Vehicles
· European Biomass Association
· European Biomass Industry Association
· European Biodiesel Board
· European Photovoltaic Industry Association
· European Solar Thermal Industry Federation
· European Small Hydropower Association
· European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency
· European Association for Renewable Energies
· EnR : European Energy Network
· EUFORES : European Forum for Renewable energy Sources
· Comité de Liaison Énergies Renouvelables(CLER)
· Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy
· Fuel Cell Europe
· European Wave Energy Thematic Network
· International Geothermal Association
· IRENA - International Renewable Energy Agency
· IEA - International Energy Agency‌
· European Bioenergy Networks
· IEA Bioenergy
· European Biodiesel Board
· ITEBE - Bois-énergie
· IEA Research and Development of Wind Turbine Systems
· Concerted Action on Offshore Windenergy in Europe
· European Heat Pump Association
· Biogas

[via RC]

The Future of Solar Energy

The Future of Solar Energy (2015), an interdisciplinary MIT study led by the MIT Energy Initiative.

Fuel poverty

Fuel poverty: "Under the Low Income High Costs definition, a household is considered to be fuel poor if: they have required fuel costs that are above average (the national median level); [and] were they to spend that amount, they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line." (in Annual fuel poverty statistics report: 2015, p.9)

in Annual fuel poverty statistics report: 2015, p. 9

Ver o conceito mais englobante «energy poverty» em Energy poverty and vulnerable consumers in the energy sector across the EU: analysis of policies and measures (2015)

The frontiers of energy (2016)

Armstrong, R. C., Wolfram, C., de Jong, K. P., Gross, R., Lewis, N. S., Boardman, B., Ragauskas, A. J., Ehrhardt-Martinez, K., and Crabtree, G. (2016). The frontiers of energy. Nature Energy, vol 1, art 201520:

"Great strides have been made over the past century in our ability to harness energy sources, leading to profound transformations — both good and bad — in society. Looking at the energy system of today, it is clear that meeting the energy needs of the world now and in the years to come requires the concerted efforts of many different actors across a range of technologies and approaches. In this Feature, ten leading experts in energy research share their vision of what challenges their respective fields need to address in the coming decades. The issues being faced are diverse and multifaceted, from the search for better materials for fuels, to the design of energy policy and markets for the developing world. However, a common theme emerges: changes to adapt and improve our energy system are greatly needed. By improving our mutual understanding of the issues faced by each area of energy research, these changes can happen more smoothly, efficiently and rapidly."

relação entre o tempo que faz e a energia renovável produzida

EnergizAIR: projecto europeu financiado pelo Programa Intelligent Energy Europe da Comissão Europeia. Coordenado pela Associação de Energias Renováveis Belga Apere, será implementado em 4 países europeus além de Portugal; França, Bélgica, Itália e Eslovénia.

Distribuição territorial com percentagem de energias renováveis produzidas (energia solar térmica, solar fotovoltaica e eólica), na última semana.

Steel industry in Netherlands

"The steel maker has announced that they intend to mount 80 000 solar panels on the factory roofs at its IJmuiden steelworks – an area equivalent to 40 football pitches. The solar project will have a 22 megawatt capacity and will generate the same amount of energy needed to power about 7000 homes." + info

(US) materials science in 2015

"materials science has been and will continue to be at the forefront of clean energy innovations. In 2015, we reported on three major clean energy trends thanks to advanced materials and engineering." + info 

Uruguay with 94,5% renewable energy

"In less than 10 years, Uruguay has slashed its carbon footprint without government subsidies or higher consumer costs, according to the country’s head of climate change policy, Ramón Méndez. In fact, he says that now that renewables provide 94.5% of the country’s electricity, prices are lower than in the past relative to inflation. There are also fewer power cuts because a diverse energy mix means greater resilience to droughts." + info

Investir mais em biomassa

"Segundo o Secretário-geral do COPA-COGECA a biomassa proveniente da floresta e da agricultura tem um potencial que ainda não está explorado. Deve-se, assim, encontrar soluções para um melhor uso dos recursos existentes, envolvendo mais os agricultores e produtores florestais, aconselhando-os e promovendo a transferência de conhecimentos e da inovação, investindo nas novas tecnologias, desenvolvendo novos modelos económicos."

power consumption for electrical devices

"WattDoesItUse allows you to calculate the power consumption of your devices. In fact, we make it easy for you to save all of the devices you own to your profile, so that you can view your total power consumption."

Free Energy guides

Pratical Guide to 'Free Energy' Devices (pdf) by Patrick J. Kelly (2015). + info em Free Energy

Call for papers, special issue of Sustainability Journal

"Passive House Development and High Energy Efficiency Sustainable Buildings", a special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). 

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2016

vinte e um euros ano com gastos energéticos (UK)

Uma moradia super-eficiente de West Kirby, Wirral, no centro do Reino Unido, gasta apenas €21 por ano em energia" para ter "aquecimento, iluminação, energia para cozinhar e acesso a água quente."

Solar thermal plant at Moroccan city

From BBC, rows of curved mirrors capture solar energy

"A giant plant using energy from the Sun to power a Moroccan city at night will open next month. The solar thermal plant at Ouarzazate will harness the Sun's warmth to melt salt, which will hold its heat to power a steam turbine in the evening. The first phase will generate for three hours after dark; the last stage aims to supply power 20 hours a day."

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

Enquanto aguardamos por acesso via institucional à biblioteca científica online (b-on), fica uma selecção de revistas científicas de acesso aberto, indexadas pelo DOAJ:

Frontiers in Energy Research  

Publisher's keywords: bioenergy and biofuels, energy storage, energy systems and policy, solar energy, process and energy systems engineering, nuclear energy

Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy 

Publisher's keywords: energy saving, fuel production, energy storage, conversion

International Journal of Smart Grid and Clean Energy 

Publisher's keywords: microgrids, renewable energy, energy storage

International Journal of Renewable Energy 

Publisher's keywords: green energy, renewable energy sources

ResearchEnergy Science & Engineering 

Publisher's keywords: General Energy, Fossil Fuels, Energy Storage, Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy, Power Engineering

Energy, Sustainability and Society Journal

Thomas Hoppe & Ellen van Bueren (2015). Guest editorial: governing the challenges of climate change and energy transition in cities. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 5(19).

"The main question in this guest editorial of the thematic issue, entitled ‘Governing the Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Transition Challenges in Cities’, is: How can effective policy strategies be designed and implemented to govern the challenges of climate change and energy transition in cities? We develop some preliminary answers to this question based on seven research papers that form the contribution to the thematic series"

Elaine Conway (2015). Engaging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the low carbon agenda. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 5(32).

"This paper helps to fill a gap in the literature on SME engagement with low carbon initiatives. It demonstrates both the current areas of engagement and the perceived barriers to further engagement. These findings could inform policy makers in directing support to SMEs to reduce their ecological impacts"

Bastholm, C. and Henning, A. (2014). The use of three perspectives to make energy implementation studies more culturally informed. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 4(1):3

"One advantage of focusing on energy services rather than energy supply is that it opens up for studies of energy-related ways of living and how these may be altered [33]. Another advantage is that it draws attention to the fact that the same service can be provided by different equipments and sources of energy"