海角大神

Recharge is a weekly e-mail digest of energy news and analysis聽written by Monitor reporters David J. Unger and Jared Gilmour.

Progress:聽Worldwide carbon emissions flatlined last year聽even as the global economy grew, the IEA said this week. That hasn鈥檛 happened in聽40 years, and is partly due to聽a curtailing of coal and improved energy efficiency in China. This may be just a one-year aberration, and emissions growth could resume in years to come. But even if that鈥檚 the case, 2014 may well be remembered as an early sign of genuine 鈥� if gradual 鈥� global energy progress.

Synergy: The world鈥檚 No. 2 carbon emitter is cutting back, too. New data shows聽US solar power production more than doubled last year, making 2014 a banner year for US solar 鈥� just like the year before, and the year before that. Solar remains a fraction of total power output, but it is now putting serious gigawatts onto the grid and is聽teaming up with natural gas to address intermittency. US wind power, too, looks聽poised to quickly grow from niche market to mainstream power source.

Technology transfer: Key to China鈥檚 plan to cut back on coal is its push to scale up on nuclear. On Tuesday,聽it approved the first two new reactors in years. It鈥檚 a small fraction of the 58 gigawatts of nuclear capacity it aims to build by 2020, up from about 20 gigawatts today. China has its eye on the nuclear export market, too. It鈥檚 building聽a controversial new reactor 20 miles from Pakistan鈥檚 most populous city, and is聽buying up Western technology for developing and selling its own homegrown designs.

In the pipeline

• Thursday, March 19 to Friday, March 20: BRUSSELS 鈥撀燭he European Council meets to discuss the proposed Energy Union, relations with Russia, and the situation in Ukraine.聽EU officials must decide whether or not to extend sanctions on Russia鈥檚 energy, finance, and defense sectors until the end of 2015.
• Friday, March 20: GERMANY 鈥撀燗 solar eclipse from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. puts Germany 鈥� a leader in intermittent solar energy 鈥� to the test. Electric utilities are scrambling to prepare for a huge drop in solar output as the moon obscures the sun, followed by a surge when the sunlight returns. It鈥檚 a unique challenge indicative of a world increasingly reliant on intermittent renewable energy.

Drill deeper

Do India鈥檚 Renewable Energy Targets Make Sense?聽[Council on Foreign Relations]
鈥淸I]t looks like the Modi government may be using aspirational goals as a clever but risky tool to fast-forward development of its renewable energy sector,鈥� writes Varun Sivaram, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. 鈥淩enewables may also be particularly convenient to rally the nation around a 鈥榳in-win鈥� on energy security and environmental protection, though their value as the primary policy instrument for those goals is questionable.鈥�

Battery Hackers Are Building the Future in the Garage聽[Bloomberg]
Intrepid battery hackers are jerry-rigging lithium-ion batteries from Teslas and other cars to store solar power generated on their rooftops. The hack overcomes one of solar鈥檚 biggest obstacles: How do you store solar power for home use when the sun鈥檚 not shining? Don鈥檛 be tempted to start any DIY tinkering聽yourself, though 鈥� one wrong move could trigger a 鈥渟elf-sustaining reaction that can cause violent explosions.鈥�

How Falling Oil Prices Are Hindering Iraq鈥檚 Ability to Fight Islamic State[Wall Street Journal]
鈥淲e鈥檙e battling on two fronts, both ISIS and oil,鈥� Mudher Salih, a financial adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, tells the Wall Street Journal. And each battle is complicating the other: Low oil prices mean Iraq has less money to spend combating Islamic State militants, and Islamic State-fueled turmoil could cut the amount of oil Iraq produces. Iraq鈥檚 revenue could fall 40 percent this year due to low oil prices.

Energy sources

• EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy: "A few years ago, we put an air monitor on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and posted air quality data online. We did it so American diplomats could know when air pollution reached dangerous levels鈥攁nd could protect themselves and their families. Well, it worked鈥攁nd then some. It informed the Chinese public about air pollution risks. And it gave the Chinese government an opportunity to respond鈥攂y more effectively capturing data and cutting pollution in ways that align with climate and economic goals. Our embassy air monitor is a textbook example of soft diplomacy"
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: "Thirty global test oils were modeled ... throughout the entire oil supply chain鈥攐il extraction, crude transport, refining, marketing, and product combustion and end use. There is an over 80 percent difference in total GHG emissions per barrel of the lowest GHG-emitting ... oil and the highest."
• IEA chief economist Fatih Birol聽on news of stalled global emissions: "This is both a very welcome surprise and a significant one ... It provides much-needed momentum to negotiators preparing to forge a global climate deal in Paris in December: for the first time, greenhouse gas emissions are decoupling from economic growth."

Unplug

Recharge is a weekly e-mail digest of energy news and analysis聽written by Monitor reporters David J. Unger and Jared Gilmour.