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Energy efficiency

Head and shoulders photo of Erich Labuda set against pinkish backdrop

14/5/2025 Comment / Erich Labuda

Unlocking Europe’s energy future – energy efficiency can’t wait

Alongside the use of renewables, the potential contribution of improving energy efficiency – an established and well-proven practice – is still under-appreciated. Particularly for Europe’s industrial sites, the scope for cutting emissions is enormous, writes Erich Labuda, Division President with ABB Motion Services.

Distributed generation

Row upon row of houses, with an industrial plant and mountains covered with trees in background

EI Member only

8/11/2023 Feature / Rolf Bienert

How to realise the potential of virtual power plants

Virtual power plants (VPPs) are networked systems of decentralised energy or storage resources, such as solar photovoltaics (PVs) and electric vehicle (EV) batteries, that are pooled together to help power the electricity grid, particularly in times of peak demand. But are they underused? asks Rolf Bienert, Managing and Technical Director at the global OpenADR Alliance.

Wind

EI Member only

4/2/2026 Feature / Andrew Mourant

When the grid goes dark

Failure of the power system on a national scale is the stuff of nightmares for business and domestic consumers alike – a potential crisis for which there has to be a plan. The onus on re-booting – the so-called black start (BS) after a total or partial shutdown – has rested largely on coal and gas turbine stations. Now, as the UK seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels, there’s a drive to see what role renewables, notably offshore wind, can play, writes Andrew Mourant.

Energy prices

Head and shoulders photo of Baroness Taylor of Bolton against dark grey background

18/6/2025 Comment / Baroness Taylor of Bolton

Zonal pricing should lower the cost of UK electricity by encouraging generators and consumers to come together – report

Following an inquiry into energy grid and grid connections, the UK Parliament’s House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee suggests that regional zonal pricing should enable better use of existing grid capacity and lower the cost of electricity, provided that the transition and its risks are managed well. Chair of the 12-member Select Committee is Baroness Taylor of Bolton.

Solar

14/5/2025 News

Solar power surges to a record 597 GW in 2024, pushing global capacity beyond 2 TW

The world installed nearly 600 GW of solar in 2024 and could be installing 1 TW of solar power annually by the end of the decade, according to a new report from SolarPower Europe. Meanwhile Europe and Great Britain reached record levels of solar power generation this March and April, respectively.

Solar

Head and shoulders photo of Patrick Donati, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Terrawatt

10/4/2024 Comment / Patrick Donati

Solar showdown: Italy versus Europe

Patrick Donati, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Italian independent power producer Terrawatt, offers a comparative analysis of the renewable energy landscapes in Italy and the European Union (EU), with plans to improve connectivity between the continent’s power grids.

Grid management

Looking down a between a row of two long banks of large mainframe computer units

EI Member only

15/5/2026 Feature / Melissa Stark,Linda Capuano,Jessica Gillispie,Christopher Pham,Mary Wolf

How hyperscalers are changing the electricity system

To better understand the impact to the electricity system of the gigawatt-scale loads that hyperscalers are introducing to electricity grids, Rice University, Texas, MBA students Jessica Gillispie, Christopher Pham and Mary Wolf, and professors Melissa Stark FEI and Linda Capuano researched the impact of hyperscale loads in three US regional transmission operators: ERCOT (Texas), PJM (mid-Atlantic) and SPP (Midwest).

Electricity

Two women behind desk addressing a crowd of people

25/6/2025 News

Voltage missteps triggered the Iberian power outage, says Spanish government – but little consensus exists on who is responsible

Fingers have been pointed in Spain as reports paint differing views of the causes of a cascading power failure on 28 April that plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness for hours. In a report citing miscalculations, inadequate voltage control and improper plant disconnections as key factors behind the blackout, the Spanish government blamed national grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) and private conventional power generators. In its wake, REE and a Spanish electrical utility association traded mutual accusations of blame.

Grid management

Aerial photo showing houses and surrounding area damaged by hurricane, roofs ripped off, trees knocked over

EI Member only

2/7/2025 Feature / Charlie Bush

What’s behind Puerto Rico’s battle to go green?

Despite being firmly rooted in the latest climate science and supported by 99% of scientists, global warming has become highly politicised, as have moves to decarbonise energy supply networks. Charlie Bush examines how the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is a microcosm of modern ideological battles over the energy transition.

Grid management

11/12/2024 Comment / Andy Brown

A decade of listening to our members

The Energy Institute’s Energy Barometer, published last week, is in its tenth year of providing a window on the views of the energy professional community. EI President Andy Brown OBE FEI gives his top three takeaways.

New Energy World™

Search results:

Unlocking Europe’s energy future – energy efficiency can’t wait

How to realise the potential of virtual power plants

When the grid goes dark

Zonal pricing should lower the cost of UK electricity by encouraging generators and consumers to come together – report

Solar power surges to a record 597 GW in 2024, pushing global capacity beyond 2 TW

Solar showdown: Italy versus Europe

How hyperscalers are changing the electricity system

Voltage missteps triggered the Iberian power outage, says Spanish government – but little consensus exists on who is responsible

What’s behind Puerto Rico’s battle to go green?

A decade of listening to our members