http://www.ecn.nl/ News and press releases en TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:44:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/11/01/dutch-16-renewable-energy-target-requires-additional-offshore-wind-farms-and-additional-deployment/ The additional 2.4 billion budgeted for renewable energy by the new Dutch Rutte II cabinet should be sufficient to realise 16% renewable energy in 2020. This calls for a balanced development of renewable heat, green gas and renewable electricity. The previous cabinet focused on renewable heat as a cost-effective technique. If the new cabinet is also able to create the right preconditions for deployment of additional wind energy and additional biomass co-firing in coal-fired plants, this would... Thu, 01 Nov 2012 15:39:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/10/22/unprecedented-global-partnership-launched-to-champion-green-growth/ The Green Growth Best Practice Initiative (GGBP) was launched last week. Designed to help governments strengthen the quality of green growth planning and implementation through analysis and peer-to-peer learning, the initiative is set to drive progressive green policy-making around the globe. Within this initiative, ECN leads the activities on one of the three work streams: planning processes and stakeholder support. ECN provides outreach and assists with the preparation of companion products... Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:18:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/10/03/european-maritime-spatial-planning-needed-to-facilitate-large-scale-deployment-of-offshore-renewable/ Delivering power from offshore renewable energy - wind, wave and tidal - in European sea basins will require more integrated and cross-border maritime spatial planning (MSP). This could be achieved through a new directive on MSP. Such a directive could require legislation in Member States without being prescriptive on form and content, and lay a foundation for increased cooperation on MSP through flexible, regional actions. This is one of the key recommendations of the EU-funded project... Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:02:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/09/03/growing-share-of-renewable-energy-requires-great-investments-in-european-electricity-infrastructure/ A significant increase in the share of renewable energy to 40-55 percent of the European energy mix by 2050 will place great demands on the European electricity infrastructure. Meeting these demands will require considerable investments in new infrastructure to make more efficient use of existing infrastructure. Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:30:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/08/24/renewable-energy-current-dutch-policy-is-falling-short-of-2020-target-despite-strong-growth/ Under the current policy the share of renewable energy in the Netherlands is set to rise from 4% in 2010 to 7-10% in 2020. Although this is a strong increase, it is not enough to achieve the European target of 14% by 2020. Even with the measures proposed by the Rutte government and the agreements arrived at in the spring (Lenteakkoord), this 14% target is not going to be achieved. On the other hand, the Netherlands will probably be able to meet the targets for greenhouse emissions until 2020.... Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:29:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/07/25/welfare-benefits-of-ambitious-climate-policy/ What are the economic benefits of far-reaching climate policy in the Netherlands? And which technological options are suitable? These are the two central questions examined in a study on costs and benefits of CO2 emission reduction measures conducted for the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment by ECN and SEO Economic Research. The starting point is realization of a CO2 emission reduction of 80% in 2050 compared to 1990. The report indicates which options are cost-effective for... Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:21:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/07/24/worldwide-collaboration-to-enhance-sustainable-development-and-renewable-energy/ The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). By collaborating, both parties will strengthen their activities to more efficiency and higher quality, with the ultimate aim of enhancing sustainable development and renewable energy globally. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:43:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/07/17/business-case-for-carbon-capture-utilization-and-storage-in-china-within-reach/ With carbon prices at rock bottom, it may be surprising to hear that research conducted by ECN indicates that a business case for CCUS (carbon capture utilization and storage) in China is still within reach. Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:16:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/07/16/travel-guide-for-policy-makers/ Lost in the land of the energy transition? ECN has written a travel guide for policy makers: Tracking and trailblazing, of which the executive summary is now available in English. Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:39:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/06/29/benefits-of-competition-in-gas-infrastructure-investments-underexploited/ The European gas market is in transition. In the upcoming period, there is a serious need for significant investment in gas infrastructure, such as pipelines, gas storage facilities and LNG terminals. In order to ensure that this can be achieved effectively, this kind of investment needs less regulation from Europe and greater room for competition. This is the claim made by Jeroen de Joode, who was awarded his PhD for his thesis on the subject at TU Delft on Thursday 28 June. Part of his... Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:11:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/06/14/ecn-co-organiser-international-energy-workshop-in-cape-town-june-19-21/ In a world of environmental and economic challenges and uncertainties, modeling is an increasingly important tool for addressing the complexity of energy planning and policy making. The International Energy Workshop (IEW) is one of the leading conferences for the international energy modeling research community. The IEW provides an annual venue for analysts to compare quantitative energy projections, to understand the reasons for diverging views of future energy developments, and to observe new... Thu, 14 Jun 2012 07:39:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/05/24/development-countries-are-supported-by-new-climate-regime/ ECN and Ecofys have launched their mid-year update of the Annual Status Report on Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs). NAMAs are part of the new climate regime and intend to help developing countries pursue development while keeping emissions low(er). Thu, 24 May 2012 12:09:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/04/11/energy-aid-in-times-of-climate-change/ An ECN report on designing climate compatible development strategies. Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:05:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/03/19/ecn-participates-in-workshop-of-itre-commission-of-european-parliament/ Last year, the European Commission issued a proposal for a Regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure. The Commission proposes to select a number of projects of common interest which are important to reach its climate and energy goals. Projects of common interest benefit from faster permit granting procedures and are eligible for EU funding if they are not commercially viable. The proposal is currently under debate of the European parliamentary committee Industry,... Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:22:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/02/29/underground-co2-storage-put-to-the-test-is-it-safe-and-effective/ Today, the results of CO2ReMoVe, an EU project on CO2 storage, will be presented at its closing conference near Paris. The CO2ReMoVe project has involved over 30 partners from research and industry from Europe and beyond, and has been running for six years. A key conclusion is that results from all the sites indicate that underground CO2 storage can be carried out safely, with CO2 effectively contained in all storage projects studied. Operational irregularities, such as a small leakage from an... Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:23:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/02/20/sustainable-ways-of-living-are-spreading-across-europe/ New initiatives and social innovation to inspire a shift to sustainable, high-quality lifestyles in the Europe of 2050. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:55:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/02/03/new-direction-of-ecn-with-and-for-the-market/ Today, Friday 3 February, the complete Board of Directors presented ECN’s new strategy plan 2012-2015 to Mark Dierikx, Director General for Energy, Telecom and Competition of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (EL&I). Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:48:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/01/18/practical-and-tailored-information-can-increase-the-impact-of-the-energy-label/ The impact that the energy label has on homeowners decisions to buy and renovate dwellings is currently limited. However, more tailored information can help increase the impact of energy labels. Households need practical and tailored information about energy saving in their own dwelling. This is the outcome of a European study led by ECN. Questionnaires and interviews were held in ten countries to find out what kind of impact the energy label for dwellings has on the decisions made by... Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/12/07/european-cooperation-in-energy-research-pays-off/ By cooperating, energy research organisations in Europe are able to accelerate the development of low-carbon technologies. The organisations have joined forces in the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and align their activities in Joint Programmes of research. This reduces the duplication of research activities across Europe, working towards reaching Europe’s ambitious climate and energy goals effectively and efficiently. EERA now involves more than 2,000 researchers from over 150... Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:17:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/12/07/low-carbon-development-strategies-readiness-varies-amongst-countries/ Low-carbon development strategies have attracted interest in the climate negotiations as a soft alternative to voluntary or obligatory national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets - especially for developing countries. Several countries have embarked on drafting an LCDS. A recent Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) study explores two questions related to LCDS. First, what are the prerequisites for developing an effective LCDS, and what can a country do if these are not fully... Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:28:00 +0100