The massive expansion of wind power and solar PV is the primary strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in many countries. Due to their variable generation profiles, power sector flexibility needs to increase. Geographical balancing enabled by electricity grids and temporal flexibility enabled by electricity storage are important options for flexibility. As they interact with each other, we investigate ...
Whether additional natural gas infrastructure is needed or would be detrimental to achieving climate protection goals is currently highly controversial. Here we combine five perspectives to argue why expansion of the natural gas infrastructure hinders a renewable energy future and is no bridge technology. We highlight that natural gas is a fossil fuel with a significantly underestimated climate impact ...
Over the course of a decade, Mexico transitioned from a peak of 1.8% of GDP given as fuel subsidies in 2008 to generating positive fuel tax revenues equivalent to 1.6% of its GDP in 2018. This paper analyzes Mexico's carbon pricing experience: the mechanisms that made fossil fuel subsidies such a large burden on public finances, the strategies followed in its five-year phase-out, and the institutional ...
Integrated assessment models (IAMs) are the central tool for the quantitative analysis of climate change mitigation strategies. However, due to their global, cross-sectoral and centennial scope, IAMs cannot explicitly represent the temporal and spatial detail required to properly analyze the key role of variable renewable electricity (VRE) for decarbonizing the power sector and enabling emission reductions ...
The shift to climate neutrality requires new process technologies for energy-intensive industries, such as steel, chemicals, or cement. A variety of technology options exist – but they face the challenges of (i) first-of-kind costs, (ii) higher operation and investment costs, and (iii) insufficient and uncertain carbon prices, which partly stem from political uncertainty. Existing innovation policy ...