
Finance & Economics
Spearmint Energy founder Andrew Waranch says we are at a tipping point. Texas power grid froze in 2021 after a surge of severe winter storms battered state. He says we need massive investment in our energy infrastructure. Waranch: We do not all want to be left stranded, as Texas was in the winter of 2021. Batteries will be required to smooth out the energy flow and ensure a safe and robust grid. We believe there is a newly emerging opportunity today for a few reasons. Before to 2019, the price of lithium-based storage was too high to be economical Banks were hesitant to support construction without utility offtake, and the traditional RFP process was slow, politically charged, and costly for those that do not receive an award. The US energy grid today is very far from fully renewable, and we believe battery energy storage is financially viable in several regions of the US. And we believe batteries are financially viable.
Read Full articleDEEP 2.0 - De-risking energy efficiency through better reference data
The De-risking Energy Efficiency Platform (DEEP) is an open-source database for energy efficiency investments performance monitoring and benchmarking. It now includes data on more than 17,000 energy efficiency projects in buildings and industry from 30 data providers.
Read Full articleHow smart cities could use digital finance platforms
Digital finance is increasingly demonstrating its ability to overcome key barriers for smaller scale project finance. Few exist today but a growing number is in development driven by the need to mobilize private capital to support sustainable growth.
Read Full articleDigital financing platforms - a solution to finance smart city projects?
Do you know Jack Mas 3-minute loan? SME can get up to 300.000 USD within a few hours purely using an online service. Juergen Ritzek gives an overview on the state of play of digital financing platforms, structured into three groups.
Read Full articleMaking an impact
Impact investing aims to have a positive impact on key sustainability problems. Amy Clarke, founder of Tribe Impact Capital, says every investment is an impact investment. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a good roadmap to all the areas where we need.
Read Full articlePre-commercial procurement for 100% renewable retrofits
The EU Horizon 2020 project procuRE is offering €7.68 million for RandD services in building technology and renewables. It is financed by the cities of Nuremberg (Germany), Istanbul (Turkey), Velenje (Slovenia),.
Read Full articleThinking strategically about industrial energy efficiency
Catherine Cooremans and other colleagues in her Multiple Benefits project provide some answers in a short video that lays out the problems and some of the solutions. In the EEFIG survey, there are many suggestions from standardised contracts to better regulations to better sharing.
Read Full articleShowcasing the need to improve energy performance of industry
European Commission presented its European Green Deal investment Plan. Plan expects to mobilise at least €1 trillion of sustainable investments over the next decade. The strategy includes a dedicated strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Read Full articlePowering an Energy Efficient Future
I moderated a webinar on energy efficiency for the IPFA as part of their energy transition series. This may be the last in the series but believe me, this is the most important element of the energy transition. I tend towards a fundamental position.
Read Full articleEurope’s steel industry and the need to decarbonise
Europes steel industry needs a credible plan to go green, says Ben Jones. The costs of decarbonising its operations would cost up to €40bn. Jones raises a question whether consumers will be demanding greener steel and be willing to pay for.
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