Fresh Enerbyte Country of the Month: China

China's has one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Energy providers within China race each year to keep pace with this growth. The country's yearly energy consumption has become so large that it totals more than the next two countries combined - the United States and India, according to data from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (2014).

The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently reported that the level of Carbon Dioxide emissions have stalled worldwide even as economies such as China's continue to expand. Typically, CO2 emissions couple with economic growth. Electricity demand for industrial and individual users, plus fuels for the transportation sector create this economic-emissions correlation. The IEA chart below shows this recent break from the expected norm of the past.

The IEA report notes that the expansion in renewable energy sources, particularly in countries such as China have contributed to this break in global energy-related CO2 emissions. (IEA, 2016)

The video below provides an overview of China's largest wind farm and investment in renewable energy infrastructure as a whole.

World's Largest Wind Farm | China's Future Megaprojects: Part 6 (TDC, YouTube, 2016)

Thank you for visiting. See you on the 20th with the news story of the month.

Storing the Sun, Wind into the Future: The Growth of Energy Storage on the Power Grid

Renewable energy resources have quickly been increasing their piece of the power production pie in recent years. The growth of utility, commercial and residential energy storage solutions have been credited as a primary reason.

A major drawback to renewable resources is their intermittent nature. When the sun sets each evening and when the wind blows softly, there is no way to compensate for this lack of emission-free fuel. Whereas traditional fossil fuel resources and radioactive nuclear power still occupy the largest portions of the power production pie due to the ability to amp up or lower the amount of fuel fed into power plants to backup consumer demand at any given moment.

Growing energy storage solutions have become real game changers for the use of green energy sources as well as the overall nature of the future electric grid.

The video below briefly discusses the current dynamics of energy storage and offers a glimpse of its evolving role in electricity production and service.

(Video courtesy of Energy Storage North America, 2016)

I kindly thank you for your interest in better understanding all things energy. See you all on the 10th with the Enerbyte Country of the Month. Stay tuned!