Affordable Clean Energy

Photo: Dr. Kakha Shengelia, President of IAUP and Caucasus University.

The Role of Academia and Universities in Fostering Awareness of SDGs

Viewpoint by Dr. Kakha Shengelia

The writer is President of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and President of Caucasus University (CU). The following is the text of Dr Kakha's Foreword to Striving for People, Planet and Peace, 2021 Joint Media Project Report of the Non-Profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as flagship agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.

TBILISI, Georgia (IDN) — It was in the year 2015 when the world convened and defined 17 concrete objectives to achieve till 2030 that would improve everyone’s lot around the globe. Touching on every aspect of human existence, from social inequalities to the planet we live on.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 June 2021

Photo: The World Bank praised reported about "the secret to Côte d’Ivoire’s electric success" focusing on the Azito Thermal Power Plant, built in 1998. © Erick Kaglan, World Bank.

Declining Power Supply Cripples Ivory Coast and Ghana Cocoa Economies

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A prolonged dry season is being blamed for inadequate power supplies to West African countries from Ivory Coast to Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso, threatening businesses and the world’s largest cocoa economies.

Consumers, unions and business leaders in Ivory Coast are sounding the alarm about waves of blackouts that are hitting major cities, including the economic capital Abidjan and its five million residents.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 May 2021

Photo credit: Pexels | Harry Cunningham @harry.digital

Renewables Are the Building Blocks of Global Energy Transition

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The latest International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA analysis reveals that by 2050, variable renewables like wind and solar PV will dominate the global total power supply. The insights from IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook were released on March 16-17, 2021, at the Berlin Energy Transitions Dialogue.

With 163 Members, IRENA plays a leading role in the energy transformation as a centre of excellence for knowledge and innovation, a global voice for renewables, a network hub and a source of advice and support for countries.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 08 May 2021

Photo: Ukrainian National Chornobyl Museum resembling the reactor that suffered the catastrophic failure (reactor core surrounded by blue). CC BY 2.0

Chernobyl Anniversary Underscores the Need for Safeguards Against Nuclear Accidents

Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira

The writer is Director (International Media), Presidential Secretariat, Colombo. This article was first published on April 26. It is being re-published with Mr Senadhira's permission.

COLOMBO (IDN) — Exactly 35 years ago, on April 26, 1986, the biggest nuclear accident in history took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, killing dozens of people and making hundreds of people victims of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS). Later, the disaster was attributed to a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant operators. It was a direct consequence of Cold War isolation and the resulting lack of any safety culture in the erstwhile Soviet Union.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 28 April 2021

Photo: Dr Wim Naudé, Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics with the Cork University Business School in Ireland with the image of AfCFTA from African Union website.

African Free Trade Area Expected to Lift Millions out of Extreme Poverty and Boost Growth

By Busani Bafana

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (IDN) — The long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—set to be the world’s biggest free trade zone by size—which entered into force on January 1, 2021, promises a new era for African trade.

An Africa-wide free-trade pact could bolster the region’s income by $450 billion and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035, if accompanied by significant policy reforms and trade-facilitation measures, according to the World Bank. When fully operational, the Free Trade area will create a market of 1.2 billion and drive a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 April 2021

Photo: Zhang Dezhen, a staff member at the Shanghai Fengxian Converter Station, patrols the power converter area. Credit: Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone.

China's Growing Network of Ultra-High Voltage Power Lines Has Hit Its Fair Share of Snags — Part Two

Please click here for Part One of this article.

By Ye Ruolin and Yuan Ye *

SHANGHAI (IDN | China Dialogue) — The Hunanese experience and other cases demonstrate how this vision may prove difficult to realise. The Baihetan dam, currently under construction on the Jinsha River straddling the border of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, is set to become the world’s second-largest hydropower station after the Three Gorges Dam once it is fully completed in 2022.

From its inception, it was meant to connect to two UHV lines that would send power to Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces on China’s eastern coast. The project has been delayed, however, due to a conflict over who owns its electricity.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 02 April 2021

Photo: Power lines at Shanghai Fengxian Converter Station in January 2021 Credit: Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone.Photo: Power lines at Shanghai Fengxian Converter Station in January 2021 Credit: Wu Huiyuan/Sixth Tone.

China's Growing Network of Ultra-High Voltage Power Lines Has Hit Its Fair Share of Snags — Part One

By Ye Ruolin and Yuan Ye *

SHANGHAI (IDN | China Dialogue) — With few coal reserves to call its own and winter rains too erratic to rely on hydropower, central China’s Hunan province had long faced frequent electricity blackouts, an annoyance to residents and a hindrance to economic growth. So, when an ultra-high voltage power line was approved in 2015, hopes were high.

The new Ultra-High Voltage (UHV) connection would run all the way from the energy-rich Jiuquan region in northwestern Gansu province, and bring in enough coal, wind, and solar power to answer a quarter of Hunan’s energy needs.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 02 April 2021

Photo: High-level Dialogue on Energy 2021. Source: United Nations.

Expert Groups Prepare Roadmap for Universal Energy Access

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — The virtual launch of the High-level Dialogue on Energy 2021 Process: A Year of Energy Action on March 10 succeeded in generating a wave of enthusiastic support from key players in the energy field who committed to help drive impactful results at the September summit-level Dialogue event, according to the UN.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 20 March 2021

Photo: The Energy Charter Treaty allows fossil fuel companies to sue government for taking action on climate change. Credit: Alfred T. Palmer/Wikimedia

Little-Known Energy Treaty a Climate Threat

Viewpoint by Fabian Flues, Cecilia Olivet and Pia Eberhardt*

LONDON (IDN) — On February 4, the German energy giant RWE announced it was suing the government of the Netherlands. The crime? Proposing to phase out coal from the country’s electricity mix. The company, which is Europe’s biggest emitter of carbon, is demanding 1.4 billion euros in ‘compensation’ from the country for loss of potential earnings because the Dutch government has banned the burning of coal for electricity from 2030.

If this sounds unreasonable, then you might be surprised to learn that this kind of legal action is perfectly normal — and likely to become far more commonplace in the coming years.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 08 March 2021

Photo: Solar power in the desert. Terlingua, TX, USA. Credit: Gene Jeter | Unsplash.

Texas’ Sustainable Energy Initiatives Under Fire Amid the Latest Grid Failures

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The recent energy failure in Texas left 4 million Texans without power and almost half the state under a boil water advisory. As below-freezing temperatures and an intense winter storm swept the state, the state’s energy grid—at the worse possible time. Clean energy is poised to grow in 2021.

Now, in the wake of consequences, everyone is asking whether renewable energy is to blame—and realizing that maybe the U.S. energy system is not as indestructible as they once thought. For now, interesting conclusions are being drawn relating to the state’s dependency on fossil fuels, and the need to do more with its energy-saving and green energy initiatives in the coming years.