Renewable Energy News

Neurospora crassa – red bread mould – could help make better supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries say researchers at Scotland’s University of Dundee.

While much research has focused on the improving the performance of electrodes by using materials such as carbon nanotubes and manganese oxides, little work has been carried out on the construction of novel electrode materials using fungal biomineralization products.

Analysis by the the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) indicates a very strong economic case for doubling renewable capacity by 2030 globally.

Achieving that level (around 36%) could save up to USD $4.2 trillion annually by that year – 15 times more than what it would cost.

“Achieving a doubling is not only feasible, it is cheaper than not doing so,” said Adnan Z. Amin, director-general of IRENA.

“It would create more jobs, save millions of lives from reduced air pollution and set us on a pathway to limit global temperature rise to two degrees as agreed in Paris.”

Energy related carbon dioxide emissions in 2015 remained flat for the second year running according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Global energy carbon dioxide emissions stood at 32.1 billion tonnes last year, essentially unchanged since 2013.

The IEA states preliminary data indicates renewable energy has played an important role and accounted for approximately 90% of all new electricity generation last year.

Fed up with their hefty electricity bill, managers at Cochin International Airport in southern India took matters into their own hands.

Three years ago, they began adding solar panels — first on the roof of the arrivals terminal, then on and around an aircraft hangar. The success of those initial efforts led to a much bigger endeavor.

“We wanted to be independent of the electricity utility grid,” Jose Thomas, the airport’s general manager, told CNNMoney.

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