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SGR letter to Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, 6 May 2011
SGR warns that the lack of government support for wave and tidal power is a strategic error that risks the UK's position as a world leader in the sector. Citing Carbon Trust analysis, the letter argues that marine power could provide 20% of the UK's electricity demand and create 68,000 jobs by 2050, but notes that the marine renewable deployment fund currently has no funding.
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Document type: Statement
Consistency of policy instruments
The report analyzes how the EU can move to a 30% greenhouse gas reduction target by 2020. It finds that full implementation of existing renewable energy and energy efficiency targets could lead to a domestic reduction of approximately 30%, though current policy instruments for energy efficiency are insufficient. The report also examines the role of offsets and LULUCF accounting, noting that these could reduce the required domestic effort to approximately 20% while still nominally meeting a 30% target. It concludes that the EU ETS cap would need significant adjustment—potentially to 29-43% below 2005 levels—to remain consistent with these targets.
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Document type: Report
Reinventing Fire
The document describes the framework for 'Reinventing Fire', a roadmap to shift the U.S. energy system to efficiency and renewables by 2050. It emphasizes a business-led, profit-driven approach that integrates transportation, buildings, industry, and electricity. The methodology relies on a base case from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), utilizes stock-and-flow models for technology adoption, and applies sector-specific real hurdle rates for investment screening. The analysis is intentionally conservative, assuming only technologies already entering the market and ignoring positive externalities to ensure a rigorous, independent perspective.
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Document type: Guide
South Africa's Energy Security in the Context of Climate Change Mitigation
The document argues that South Africa must transition from a coal-dependent energy system to a low-carbon economy to ensure energy security and maintain competitive advantage. It highlights the need for institutional and regulatory reform to allow clean electricity suppliers to enter a market currently dominated by coal and the national utility. The text notes that current energy and climate policies are undermined by a lack of coherence across government departments. Additionally, it identifies a significant funding gap for local infrastructure, noting that South African municipalities receive less than 10% of the country's climate finance.
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Document type: Research paper
CRED: A New Model of Climate and Development
The CRED model investigates how international equity and capital flows influence climate stabilization. It argues that an optimal, welfare-maximizing climate policy requires significant resource transfers from high-income to developing regions to fund abatement and economic growth. The model utilizes McKinsey marginal abatement cost curves and a concave utility function to demonstrate that without such transfers or a very low discount rate, developing countries are unlikely to implement sufficient mitigation to prevent dangerous temperature increases.
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Document type: Research paper
Regional Energy Security Dynamics in Southern Africa
The report examines energy security in Southern Africa, focusing on the need to expand electricity generation capacity and diversify away from coal. It identifies the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) as a key mechanism for regional cooperation to exploit vast hydropower potential in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique. However, the report notes that urgent short-term power shortages often lead countries, especially South Africa, to rely on quicker, coal-fired solutions, creating a 'lock-in' effect. It argues that for SAPP to succeed, the region must overcome significant regulatory risks, high upfront capital costs for hydropower, and a lack of cost-reflective pricing in national utilities.
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Document type: Report
Towards a Zero Carbon Vision for UK Transport
The report evaluates two scenarios for the UK transport sector's CO2 emissions by 2050: Business-as-usual (BAU) and Maximum Impact (MI). While road and rail transport can achieve total decarbonisation through a combination of demand reduction and a shift to carbon-neutral electricity, aviation and shipping remain problematic. The MI scenario achieves a 76% overall reduction in transport CO2 emissions compared to BAU, but falls short of zero carbon due to the technical challenges of the aviation and shipping sectors. Key recommendations include the re-introduction of a fuel price escalator, urban densification, and the complete electrification of the rail network.
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Document type: Report
Climate Change and Knowledge Communities
The paper argues that climate change is a global public bad requiring coordinated public-sector intervention. It posits that 'knowledge communities'—groups of experts who produce and share scientific information—are essential for driving the paradigm shifts and technological adoption needed for mitigation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is highlighted as a primary catalyst for this global learning process. The authors also analyze economic instruments for emission reduction, such as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), taxes, and standards, while noting the difficulties of international cooperation under frameworks like the Kyoto Protocol.
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Document type: Research paper
How Biopower Works
Biopower generates electricity by burning carbohydrates in biomass that captured solar energy via photosynthesis. While some studies suggest limited economic potential for biopower in the U.S. due to high costs, others indicate that advanced technologies using low-carbon feedstocks could contribute up to 15 percent of U.S. electricity generation by mid-century. However, the technology carries risks including unsustainable harvesting, ecosystem damage, air pollution, and potential net global warming emissions, necessitating a lifecycle carbon emissions analysis for proper assessment.
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Document type: Guide
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL INTERACTIONS OF WIND AND SOLAR IN THE NEXT GENERATION UTILITY
The paper argues that the variability of renewable energy can be managed through optimized geographic dispersion and the cross-firming of wind and solar resources. By analyzing data from the MRO, SPP, and ERCOT regions, the study demonstrates that expanding the geographic scope of a renewable portfolio significantly reduces system variability and the frequency of zero-power production. It also finds that combining solar and wind resources further lowers variability compared to wind-only portfolios. The authors conclude that these strategies, combined with demand response, energy storage (such as xEVs), and smart grid communications, can reduce the reliance on conventional baseload power.
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Document type: Research paper
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL INTERACTIONS OF SOLAR AND WIND RESOURCES IN THE NEXT GENERATION UTILITY
The research demonstrates that creating optimized portfolios of geographically diverse wind and solar sites significantly reduces power output variability compared to individual sites. In the modeled U.S. Midwest region for 2004, combined wind and solar portfolios achieved an average variability reduction of 55% below the average of individual sites. The study finds that a small subset of available sites is often sufficient to achieve most of these variability reductions. To manage remaining variability, the authors propose integrating responsive loads, energy storage via electric vehicles, and intelligent grid communications.
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Document type: Research paper
TAKING THE JETP PATH: PUSHING FOR CHANGE
The report examines the operationalisation of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), highlighting the necessity of country-led frameworks that integrate climate goals with socio-economic development. Using South Africa as a primary case study, it discusses the gap between international funding pledges and actual transition costs, the need for reduced capital costs, and the critical role of high-level political coordination and philanthropic support in building institutional capacity.
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Document type: Report
ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY OF FOSSIL FUEL FINANCING AND DEBT IN AFRICA
The document examines the tension between Africa's fossil fuel endowments and the global push for decarbonization, highlighting the risks of stranded assets and the dominance of Global North financing. It argues for a Just Transition that ensures energy access while moving toward low-carbon sources.
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Document type: Research paper
GENERATING A(I) CRISIS
The document argues that the rapid growth of generative AI is driving a significant increase in electricity demand, which threatens climate goals by incentivising the continued use of fossil fuels and diverting clean energy resources. It highlights a lack of transparency in corporate emissions reporting, where 'market-based' accounting masks actual grid impacts, and warns that 'moonshot' technology promises like nuclear fusion may act as mitigation deterrence. Specific examples include data centre growth in Ireland and Malaysia, and the rising emissions profiles of companies like Microsoft and Google.
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Document type: Briefing
2020_sipa_zero-carbon-shipping-ff0601c636cfdb0f.pdf
The report examines the transition of global shipping to zero-carbon fuels, specifically hydrogen and ammonia. It identifies a 'chicken-and-egg' dilemma where infrastructure investment depends on demand, and demand depends on supply. The analysis evaluates several major ports—including Rotterdam, Jebel Ali, Los Angeles, Houston, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong—based on their trade connectivity, technological capacity for fuel production, and policy support. It concludes that while blue hydrogen is currently the most realistic large-scale production pathway, green hydrogen is promising in regions with cheap renewables like the UAE and Australia. The report recommends establishing trans-oceanic coalitions, partnering fuel suppliers with shipping companies along major trade routes, and leveraging public finance to de-risk infrastructure investments.
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Document type: Report
Superhot Rock Geothermal in Armenia
The document highlights that just 1% of Armenia's estimated superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 40 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's 2021 electricity consumption of 7,876 GWh. This resource could theoretically replace all coal and gas used for electricity production, reducing emissions by approximately 2 megatonnes of CO2eq, which represents 16% of Armenia's Nationally Determined Contribution goal for 2030. Additionally, the technology offers a low land footprint, requiring roughly 12 km² per 1 GW, and could eliminate Armenia's dependence on natural gas and electricity imports.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Superhot Rock Geothermal in Azerbaijan
The document highlights that just 1% of Azerbaijan's estimated superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 94 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's 2021 electricity consumption of 27,885 GWh. This resource could theoretically replace all fossil fuels used in Azerbaijan's electricity production, reducing emissions by approximately 13 megatonnes of CO2eq, which represents 41% of the nation's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal. The report emphasizes the technology's low land footprint—requiring roughly 12 km² per 1 GW—and its ability to leverage existing subsurface expertise from Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Superhot Rock Geothermal in the Azores
The document highlights the potential of superhot rock geothermal energy in the Azores, noting that just 1% of its resource could provide 8 GW of capacity. It argues that this technology offers a land-efficient, 24/7 renewable energy source capable of replacing fossil fuels and supporting the production of clean hydrogen.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Superhot Rock Geothermal in Brazil
The document highlights that just 1% of Brazil's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 341 GW of energy capacity, exceeding the country's projected 2050 electricity demand of 1,309,104 GWh. It argues that this technology could replace all coal and gas imports used for electricity, reduce electricity sector emissions by approximately 88 megatonnes of CO2eq, and leverage existing subsurface expertise from Brazil's oil and gas sector.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Superhot Rock Geothermal in Brunei
The document highlights that just 1% of Brunei's estimated superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 9 GW of energy capacity, generating over 71,162 GWh of electricity. This amount is approximately 12 times Brunei's 2021 electricity consumption of 5,698 GWh. Utilizing this resource could theoretically replace all coal and gas used for electricity production, reducing carbon emissions by about 5 megatonnes, which represents 77% of Brunei's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal of 5.9 megatonnes by 2030. Additionally, the technology is noted for its low land footprint, requiring roughly 12 km² per 1 GW, and its potential to leverage existing subsurface expertise from Brunei's oil and gas sector.
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Document type: Fact sheet