iain-staffell.bsky.social
Reader in Sustainable Energy, Imperial College
https://renewables.ninja 🌍
https://electricinsights.co.uk 📈
http://powerswarm.co.uk 🤝
http://energystorage.ninja 🔋
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It's totally missing indoor smoking and Coke cans strewn about. You could not hack in the 90s without nicotine and caffeine 😂
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This is fantastic news. It will be exciting to see what (if anything) it does for both insect numbers and sugar prices in the coming year.
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If you think it's bad ACROSS the EU, spare a thought for Britain where power prices are set by gas 97% of the time 😔
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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It certainly sounds promising, although there is little detail in that announcement. I just wonder (as with all lab-scale ideas) how much it would cost to implement? If it's more expensive than landfill, what will give them the incentive to bother?
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@plehmann.bsky.social
Jens Lowitzsch
Riccardo Novo
James Price
Romain Sacchi
Patrick Scherhaufer
Eva Schöll
Piero Visconti
Paola Velasco-Herrejón
Marianne Zeyringer
Luis Ramirez Camargo
And thank you for reading 🏆
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And finally, thank you to the amazing team who put this together:
Russell McKenna
@jlilliestam.bsky.social
@heidiheinrichs.bsky.social
@jannweinand.bsky.social
@joaoestrangeiro.bsky.social
Andrea Hahmann
Peter Burgherr
Arne Burdack
Monika Bucha
Ruihong Chen
Michael Klingler
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This paper is a wake-up call: Wind energy can drive decarbonisation, but systemic challenges across all domains risk slowing progress.
Dive in to the review for all the problems and ways forward via this free-to-read link:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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14. Planning and Permitting
Lengthy and complex permitting processes delay wind projects worldwide & are Europe's biggest problem. Streamlining regulations and reviews, and assigning priority zones can cut wait times, boosting deployment.
electrek.co/2025/01/10/e...
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13. Cyber and Hybrid Threats
Wind farms in Germany & Ukraine have been attacked by hackers targeting control systems, while rampant online disinformation erodes public trust. Solutions are there, but complex to implement due to the globalised & connected infrastructure.
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12. Supply Chain Disruptions
Geopolitical tensions and highly concentrated mineral resources raise fears of supply chain disruptions. Stability is needed to expanding wind fleets without installation cost spiking, so more domestic production and resilient supply chains are key.
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11. Financing and Controlling Intellectual Property
Europe and the US were home to the leading wind farm companies, but growing dominance from China is sparking political and economic concern. Open data initiatives and regulatory frameworks can reduce risks and balance global efforts.
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Part IV: Policy and Regulation Aspects 🤓
11. financing and controlling intellectual property
12. supply chain disruptions
13. cyber security and hybrid threats
14. planning and permitting
(this is the home stretch, I promise...)
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10. Market Impacts
Wind's near-zero costs depress electricity prices, threatening investment and market stability. While sometimes overstated, this impacts system reliability. Regulatory tweaks like zonal pricing or flexibility incentives could help stabilise markets and sustain renewables.
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9b. Energy system impacts
System costs rise when grids lack flexibility & storage. Batteries are not ideal as they are short duration (better paired with solar). Longer duration storage such as hydrogen, or sector coupling could better bridge the gaps.
See academic.oup.com/book/55104
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9a. Energy system impacts
News flash: sometimes the wind doesn’t blow! Sometimes it blows hard and wind energy must be curtailed. A lot more transmission is needed to move power to where it’s needed, requiring investment in stronger and smarter transmission systems.
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Part III: Techno-economic Impacts 💡🏭
(seriously, well done if you have read this far!!)
We next look at:
9. energy system impacts
10. market and price impacts
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8. Human Health
Noise and shadow flicker can annoy people living near wind farms. Health effects remain highly debated, but proper planning and noise thresholds can mitigate disturbances and minimise disturbance in populated areas.
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7. Landscape
Wind turbines alter the visual character of landscapes, often sparking local opposition. Again, proper consultation with communities and participatory planning are key to preserving aesthetic and cultural values.
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6. Local Costs and Benefits
Wind turbines can lower (or raise) nearby property values and lower (or raise) tourism. Impacts are mixed, and perceptions shape outcomes. Engaging communities early and fair compensation can help build acceptance for renewable energy projects.
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5. Land and Tenure
Wind energy development can risk marginalising traditional land users, particularly in vulnerable and Indigenous communities. "Green grabbing" can worsen inequality. Participatory planning and legal protections are essential to ensure fair outcomes.
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Part II: Social, Economic & Health impacts 💵❤️🩹
We look at another four areas:
5. land governance and tenure security
6. local monetary costs and benefits
7. landscape impacts
8. local health impacts
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4. Rare Earth Elements
Everyone is worried about critical minerals. Modern turbines rely on rare earths, which are geopolitically sensitive and hard to recycle. Supply risks are growing, but recycling technologies and alternative designs offer hope.
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3. End-of-Life Treatment
Turbine blades are made from tough composites that are hard to recycle. Most are landfilled, which isn't sustainable. New solutions include repurposing blades for cement and recyclable designs, but innovation and industry collaboration are needed.
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2. Weather and Climate
Large wind farms can alter local weather, reducing wind speeds and changing temperature and rainfall. These changes are small vs global climate change, but can impact energy generation and ecosystems. Strategic planning and smart layouts mitigate these effects.
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1. Wildlife
Wind farms can harm birds, bats, and marine life through collisions and habitat disruption. Impacts are less severe than fossil fuels, but vary by location and species. Careful siting, temporary shutdowns, and tech like painting blades black or radar can reduce harm.
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Part I: Environmental Impacts 🦉🌿🌎
First we look at four impacts from wind farms:
1. ecosystems and wildlife
2. weather and climate
3. end-of-life treatment
4. rare earth elements
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Wind energy is essential for decarbonisation, but its continued deployment faces challenges like permitting delays, rare earth dependency, and recycling. Many solutions already exist, but research gaps persist in environmental and system integration impacts.
Let me quickly run you through them...
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This is a massive new review by an international team from 16 top universities. It draws together 400+ sources to ask what are:
1. the real barriers facing wind power,
2. the solutions we already have for them,
3. future research needed to overcome the rest
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So, geoengineering could be more effective than NATO at stopping Russian aggression? Interesting...
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Read the full Electric Insights report for more depth, plus articles on the cost of balancing the grid and new transmission cables to ease grid congestion.
reports.electricinsights.co.uk/reports/q3-2...
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You couldn't have picked a better time to be looking at this!
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I have always struggled to get good storage data across Europe... but a good starting point will be Modo Energy, they put out a news piece and video every quarter on the UK market.
modoenergy.com/research/bat...
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Sorry, the positive number means Britain was importing one-sixth of its power from neighbours.
The negative number for storage means we were recharging our pumped storage units in Wales and Scotland.
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We aren't as mountainous as other countries in Europe, and you need a decent drop to generate much power. Also high population density and have been unwilling to build anything big since the 1980s...
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Not a deeply-informed counterpoint, just a bit of good news on a Sunday afternoon 😀
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Will this increase the incidence of tongue tie and lip tie?
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Yes, I think companies like BBOXX and Meshpower have installed millions between them. But, they are tiny, maybe 1/10 to 1/50 the size of a European home system, so they don't add up to much capacity (but they do have a tremendous impact on quality of life)
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Thank you for reposting Jenny!!
The 6-20% module efficiency comes from the 2024 CEC database, not 2015! 6% is purely for CIGS (and it's a small sample size).
I look forward to seeing your newest data!
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I know, it's shocking to see it so plainly.
The huge problem here is finance - the cost of borrowing for infrastructure. This is something I wish international finance could fix (hint hint to #COP29 negotiators)