Suchergebnisse

How can we achieve the energy transition towards renewable sources? Research alone cannot answer this question. Politics and literally each and every individual must make their contribution. However, fundamental research can help to open up new, innovative ways to produce green energy, store it more ef!ciently, distribute it better and use it more effectively. That's what this issue is about. It focuses on two key aspects: Hydrogen is considered by many to play a central role as an energy carrier in a sustainable energy economy. However, the light gas is only as green as the energy used to produce it. Our most important energy source by far is the sun. It provides us with enormous amounts of energy for free. Making better use of it requires better and new types of solar cells – preferably made of cheap and sustainable materials. One interesting approach is based on ultrathin paper and polymers. However, innovations are only part of the answer. They must go hand in hand with behavioural changes, as economist Alexander Bassen from the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) emphasises. Last but not least, research itself can become more energyef!cient. A large EU project is investigating how to save a considerable amount of electricity in the operation of particle accelerators, for example. We hope you enjoy reading this issue and !nd it enlightening, and we look forward to receiving your criticism, praise and suggestions at femto@desy.de.

Germany's so-called »Energiewende« (energy transition) of summer 2011 could be the final episode of a long-running political conflict over the use of nuclear energy. The broad consensus assembled by the German government starts a process that will shut down all the country's nuclear power stations by 2022, while still confirming medium- to long-term targets for renewables and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. But the intense energy policy debate has remained largely confined to the national context and neglects economic and political interconnections with the EU level. This blinkered perspective not only endangers the success of the energy transition within Germany, but threatens its role as a globally attractive model for a successful shift to a low-carbon economy. If the German transformation is to succeed it must be backed up with political initiatives at the EU level

This project is an analysis of the German energy transition, called the Energiewende, and the dual power shift that is underway in the country's electric sector. It is both a physical shift from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy, as well as a socio-political shift in power from centralized utilities to community ownership of energy. The project examines three policy mechanisms — the feed-in tariff, emissions trading, and auctions — through the lens of ordoliberalism, a German variant of economic liberalism that believes in state intervention to maximize fair market competition. Using qualitative research of Anglophone sources, this project draws most heavily upon the book Energy Democracy: Germany's Energiewende to Renewables by Craig Morris and Arne Jungjohann. The project argues that the power shift in Germany, while vastly changing the ownership and diversity of electricity sources, is not truly democratizing the energy sector.

Abstract
Due to a spatial turn in the socio-technical transition literature, the geography of energy transitions has recently been taken increasingly seriously, leading to burgeoning research output on regional energy transitions since early 2010. Amidst this wealth of publications, however, it can be difficult to keep track of its diverse and constantly evolving landscape. This editorial therefore aims at developing a framework that allows for bringing multiple approaches to regional energy transitions into conversation with each other and that helps to understand and explain the complexity of these interdependencies in ways that go beyond observing regional variety in energy transitions.

The world is digitising as the need for low-carbon transitions gains urgency. Decarbonising energy requires the digital process control of energy production, transmission and end use. Diversified electrification across sectors requires real-time digital coordination of distributed energy production, At the same time, digitisation is accompanied by significant increases in energy demand, partly compensated through energy efficiency gains. The emergent linkages between digitisation and decarbonisation – that constitute and enable the twin transition – are the subject of this book. The collection features authors from across the social sciences who situate digitisation and low-carbon energy transitions in the socio-technical and political economic contexts in which they unfold, to offer insights on the dynamics and contingencies of digitisation in and beyond the energy sector. This is an open access book.

This is an open access book. The subject of this book is to provide down-to-earth information on what kind of actions are being taken by the Government, Local community, Businesses, Researchers, NGOs on the energy transition in this region. It gives an updated picture of the energy transition in the East Asian countries, where the economic growth, as well as CO2 emission growth, is significant. This book focuses not only on the technological perspective of the energy transition but also on the relationship between democracy and energy transition. Readers of this book can understand what kind of international support and pressure is needed to promote the energy transition in this region. Since energy transition is needed not only for combatting climate change but also for the Green Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, publishing this book is very helpful to promote the Green Recovery and the Green New Deal world-widely.

Is the World Really Moving Away from Fossil Fuels? Examining the Evidence. During 2015 and 2016, a number of significant public and political figures have made statements suggesting that the world is "moving away from fossil fuels," and that the battle against greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and climate change is therefore being won. Such statements are frequently accompanied by assurances that the transition to renewable energy and a low-carbon economy is both "inevitable" and already well underway, and that economic growth will soon be "decoupled" from dangerously high annual emissions levels. This optimism has also been accepted by a section of the environmental movement, and even by some unions.

This book is among the first to examine the social, political, economic, and environmental dimensions of major long-term changes in the systems of energy supply and use. Providing a uniquely holistic perspective on the dynamics of energy and societal changes, the authors examine historical examples of major energy transitions--from petroleum and na

The ongoing climate changes necessitate an effective climate policy. The energy transition is now an important topic and problem, especially in Poland. (1) The undertaken analysis of the problem of energy transition is important for political, social and technological reasons. Political, because it shows the weakness of the implementation of Polish energy policy in regards to climate change. Social, because energy transition will bring about significant social changes in the largest industrial region of Poland. Technological, as the departure from fossil fuels requires the introduction of other sources of energy on a massive scale, for which Poland is not prepared. The aim of the study was to critically analyse the activities to date in the field of energy transition in Poland. The second goal of the analysis was an attempt to answer the question of whether the process of energy transition and achieving the goals set in the EU's European Green Deal are possible at all until 2050. (2) To achieve the goals, the system method and the decision-making method were primarily used. These methods allowed for an examination of the main determinants of the Polish energy transformation. (3) The main results include the confirmation, contrary to the announcements of the Polish government, that despite the adoption in Poland of the strategy "Poland's energy policy until 2040", the effective implementation of the energy transition before 2050 is not only very difficult, but may even be impossible to implement in the assumed time. This is due to political, economic, social and technological conditions. Coal energy is outdated, expensive and ineffective. Due to natural conditions, wind energy is not able to meet the energy demand of the industry. The development of nuclear energy is only in the planning phase. (4) To sum up, in the next thirty years, Poland will not be able to achieve the assumed effects of the energy transition, which is in contradiction with the official declaration of the government.

By examining how power is constructed and maintained in Russia with the help of hydrocarbons—oil and gas—this article shows why this system is detrimental to Russia in the context of global environmental, technological, and geopolitical changes. While promoting a hydrocarbon culture as central to national identity, the Kremlin has failed to adapt to the global transition toward renewable energy. But external actors such as the European Union could encourage change from within to develop Russia's untapped potential as a green power, given its vast endowments of renewable resources.

The onset of transition and transformation in the global energy landscape is disrupting the prevailing energy order,defined by the hydrocarbons. The power dynamics unfolded by global environmental concerns (Paris Agreement)and smart technology is changing the geopolitics by shifting the strategic leverage between energy producers andconsumers at various levels: globally, regionally and within the national boundaries. In this strategic shift, the Asianconsumers are emerging as critical players both as promoters and spoilers of global energy transition. Since they arethe largest consumer of fossil fuel, their compliance with Paris Agreement is going to be vital in meeting the targetsand time line. Thus IEA has rightly observed, "Energy developments in India transform the international energysystem, and, in turn, India will be increasingly exposed to changes in international markets."Clearly the Indian roadmap of energy transition is going to be influenced if not determined by its global commitmentto meet Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). The government therefore has all reasons to scale upits targets and execution. However in meeting the targets, it has to address the issue of energy poverty as well. Thusthe roadmap has to meet the convergence of minimizing carbon emission meeting the growing energy needs of thepoor. This calls for re defining the organizing principle of India's energy policy. Besides ensuring supply security ataggregate level it demands meeting the objectives of energy justice. The transition thus involves not only hugefinancing (estimated to be 2.5 trillion dollar) and massive technological push but the compatible institutionalmechanism and effective system of governance also. Indian energy roadmap has to recalibrate global energyengagement beyond the search of hydrocarbons in consonance with the imperatives of energy transition defined byglobal and local context.