Given our growing needs for reliable, affordable and sustainable energy supplies, how can we unlock barriers that will allow us to more rapidly deploy new energy technologies?
The 21st century may be remembered as a turning point in energy. Meeting the energy demands of our growing population - while addressing CO2 reduction - remain the central issue for businesses, governments, and individuals alike. As we navigate the dual challenges of delivering future energy supplies and impacts to the environment, energy efficiency and new energy technologies could play a pivotal role.
While there is a wide range of important social, commercial, and environmental benefits from the introduction of new technology, there are also barriers to address before certain energy technologies can gain real traction and scale. Bringing a new energy technology to market requires substantial funding for research and development, possibly development of new infrastructure to deliver the product/service to market, and both regulatory and market mechanisms that enable sustainable adoption, implementation and scalability.
There are dozens of promising technologies currently in development. The list below highlights some of them, although it should be noted that many more exist, (e.g. solar power):
- Carbon Capture and Storage - a process of capturing, storing, and isolating CO2 emissions to prevent their release into the atmosphere.
Learn more on CCS ›
- Second Generation Biofuels & Biomass Energy - biofuels are created from non-food cellulosic biomass (biological material composed primarily of cellulose, such as switchgrass or jatropha) and blended into gasoline. Biomass is co-fired with coal in power generation.
Learn more on Biomass Energy ›
- Wind-Generated Electricity – is the conversion of wind energy into electricity using wind turbines.
Learn more about Wind Power ›
- Geothermal-Generated Electricity – is the process of generating electricity with steam heated by the Earth.
Learn more about Geothermal ›
With heightened interest in new technologies such as these and others (including solar, third generation biofuels, wave, tidal, etc.), investors and governments are evaluating where and how to invest, carefully considering all alternatives to meet the broad range of requirements.
Given our growing needs for reliable, affordable and sustainable energy supplies, how can we unlock barriers that will allow us to more rapidly deploy new energy technologies?