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Renewables

Arial overview of dam in mountainous region, with calm blue waters behind it, blue ski and clouds above

EI Member only

26/3/2025 Feature / Barbara Barkhausen

Tasmania interconnector to boost Australia’s renewable grid

The rugged island of Tasmania is already a model for renewable energy projects, and a new interconnector could help it deliver green power to the Australian mainland. Barbara Barkhausen reports from Sydney, Australia.

Electricity

People queuing outside shops in South Africa

EI Member only

14/8/2024 Feature / Paul Cochrane

Repairing South Africa’s struggling power sector

South Africa has struggled to keep its lights on over the past four years. Corruption, mismanagement, theft and delayed projects have all taken their toll on a creaking electricity grid, while setting back plans for an energy transition towards renewables. But with a new broad-based coalition government elected to power in May 2024, and a newly created stand-alone Energy and Electricity Ministry, there is optimism that power generation issues will be resolved going forward, writes Paul Cochrane.

Electricity

Huge warehouse housing coverter hall for NeuConnect interconnector

EI Member only

28/9/2022 Feature / Jens Kastner

Forging a new UK-German electricity link

The NeuConnect electricity interconnector will be the first energy link between Germany and the UK, and could provide a model for clean energy distribution, reports energy writer Jens Kastner.

Net zero / decarbonisation / energy transition

South Korea’s Shin Kori nuclear power station set against blue sky

EI Member only

21/9/2022 Feature / Maria Kielmas

Decarbonisation dilemma for South Korea

Asia doesn’t necessarily follow a European-style lead to energy transition. For example, fossil fuels will remain essential to South Korea’s energy mix for some time, whatever its route to carbon neutrality, reports Maria Kielmas.

Energy policy

Head and shoulders shot of Dan Cook, Chief Executive, Active Building Centre

13/4/2022 Comment / Dan Cook

Energy security should begin at home

The UK government’s new Energy Security Strategy is distinctly light on demand-side measures, writes Dan Cook, Chief Executive of the Active Building Centre (ABC), which specialises in local energy solutions that ‘go beyond energy efficiency’.

Batteries

EI Member only

19/10/2022 Feature / Julia Benz

Small-scale renewables, real-time trading and home energy storage

The emergence of real-time energy trading schemes could boost the use of vanadium redox flow batteries (VFRBs) for home energy storage alongside rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) in local energy markets, suggests Julia Benz, Research Associate at Guidehouse Insights.

Electricity

Picture of lightbulb with green leaf inside

EI Member only

15/6/2022 Feature / Vincent Thornley

Why we need a whole-system strategy for green electricity

More low carbon generation will fail to deliver sustainability, security and affordability without radical changes in the way in which energy is stored and distributed in the UK, writes Dr Vincent Thornley of grid technology specialist Fundamentals.

Renewables

Offshore wind farm set against cloudy blue sky

EI Member only

6/4/2022 Feature / Victoria Judd and Gibran Alaoui

Different strokes – supporting UK renewable generation

The UK government’s contract for difference (CfD) scheme has been highly successful in both bringing new renewable generation projects forward and reducing prices. Here, Victoria Judd and Gibran Alaoui explain how, and discuss the scope for evolution of the support mechanism.*

Artificial Intelligence

Close up photo of a rectangular computer processing unit with a row of three circular fans

EI Member only

24/9/2025 Feature / Toby Clark

How much energy does AI actually consume?

There are serious concerns about the energy consumption of AI systems – in particular large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. We know they use a lot of energy during training – the process by which the millions or billions of parameters in the model ingest and analyse data. Apparently, training OpenAI’s GPT-4 (with well over a trillion parameters) consumed over 50 GWh of electricity. Toby Clark asks, how much energy do they use to answer your queries?

Solar

EI Member only

2/9/2025 Feature / Fatima Al Hammadi,Feras Farooque,Asma Mohamed,Steve Young

Using solar power for oil and gas – a case study

In June 2025, the Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC), in collaboration with Emerge – a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Renewables – commissioned the 60 MW Sana solar power plant, the first utility-scale solar facility in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Located within the boundaries of SNOC’s main Al Sajaa hydrocarbon processing complex, the Sana solar plant generates more electricity annually than the complex consumes, with the surplus supplied to the local utility. This case study, written by Project Engineer Fatima Al Hammadi, Electrical and Instrumentation Team Leader Feras Farooque, Electrical Engineer Asma Mohamed and Maintenance Manager Steve Young, chronicles the journey and technical solutions that led to the successful implementation of this landmark project.

New Energy World™

Search results:

Tasmania interconnector to boost Australia’s renewable grid

Repairing South Africa’s struggling power sector

Forging a new UK-German electricity link

Decarbonisation dilemma for South Korea

Energy security should begin at home

Small-scale renewables, real-time trading and home energy storage

Why we need a whole-system strategy for green electricity

Different strokes – supporting UK renewable generation

How much energy does AI actually consume?

Using solar power for oil and gas – a case study