As countries look to decarbonize transport, increasing the use of electric cars is proving key to that effort. And batteries are the key challenge to making those electric cars work. Now, a new study says that those batteries may also be the key to reducing the power sector’s emissions by increasing efficiency.

The study by Element Energy, commissioned by energy companies Enel and Iberdrola, carmaker Renault and the NGO Transport & Environment, said that a smart deployment of electric cars which charge at low-demand times and batteries that feed back into the grid at high-demand times would reduce the need to build additional grid storage and power plants.

Batteries On Wheels: In The Future, Electric Cars Can Power Homes | Devamı>>>

China added 194 million tonnes of coal mining capacity in 2018, data from the energy bureau showed on Tuesday, despite vows to eliminate excess capacity in the sector and to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

Total coal mining capacity in the country was at 3.53 billion tonnes per year by the end of 2018, according to a statement from the National Energy Administration (NEA). That compares to 3.34 billion tonnes at the end of 2017.

However, the total amount of coal mines in China declined to 3,373 in 2018 from 3,907 in 2017, the NEA said in the statement, as Beijing has been phasing out small and ineffective coal mines in eastern regions and expanding capacity in the west

The increasing coal capacity has stirred concerns it will undermine efforts to cut the share of coal in total energy use, and that China will be unable to keep its commitment of capping climate-warming carbon emissions by around 2030.

China Boosts Coal Mining Capacity Despite Climate Pledges | Devamı>>>

Royal Dutch Shell has announced its arrival as a household gas and electricity supplier, moving 700,000 First Utility customers to its Shell Energy brand. All of Shell’s residential energy customers will be supplied with 100 per cent renewable electricity. Shell Energy customers can take advantage of a 3 per cent discount at Shell petrol stations, as well as discounts on home technology like smart thermostats and electric vehicle chargers.

Shell Energy chief executive Colin Crooks said the company would use fuel forecourts to promote the new offer.

Shell Energy is Offering 700,000 UK Homes 100% Renewable for First Time | Devamı>>>

The lukewarm response to the report of the commission set up to advise on plans for the elimination of coal use in Germany is understandable. The commission’s conclusions push the end of coal use out to 2038. The plan is cautious enough to have secured the support even of those members of the commission representing the coal industry and the main coal producing regions.

Criticism of the report has predictably come from groups such as Climate Alliance Germany and Friends of the Earth, which have said that the plan will not meet the Paris climate agreement targets, and that the phasing of the reduction through the 2020s needs to be defined in detail.

The End of Coal in Germany Could Come Much Quicker Than You Think | Devamı>>>

The China Energy Storage Market is set to grow from its current market value of more than $700 million to over $6 billion by 2024; as reported in the latest study by Global Market Insights.

China’s energy storage market size is set to witness robust growth on account of a rapidly growing ancillary service industry coupled with ongoing investments towards smart-grid infrastructure development.

Furthermore, rising deployment of energy storage devices aimed at enhancing the grid stability as a countermeasure to the effects of extensive penetration of intermittent power from renewables will augment the industry size.

Energy Storage Market in China to Reach $6 Billion by 2024 | Devamı>>>