2018 in Review: Our top 10 energy in transition blogs

As we find ourselves at the beginning of 2019, we’d like to take a moment to look back at our most popular blog posts from the past year, which included hot topics around electric vehicles, offshore wind, storage, PV structures and energy efficiency.

Here are the top blog posts from last year:

1. Why PV Structures Collapse: Five contributing factors – Simon Hughes

It’s the destiny of structures to eventually decay or collapse. Take the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Once the most enduring structures known to mankind, all but one collapsed within hundreds of years and the Great Pyramid at Giza is a shadow of its former grandeur. The PV sector isn’t aiming to compete with the Wonders of the World but it’s true that a structure’s useful life depends on both design and build quality.

Read the full blog.

2. 8 Reasons Electric Trucks will be better at off-roading – Blake Herrschaft

In 2017, electric cars already account for 1 out of every 100 registered cars in California, and DNV predicted in its Energy Transition Outlook that EVs will account for half of cars sold in the United States by 2030. However, one major category lacks a representative: performance electric in an off-road focused truck. My prediction is that by 2025 the Ford Raptor, a truck I have dreamed about owning since its inception, will either be hybrid, full-electric, or dead.

Read the full blog.

3. Vietnam – the next offshore wind market in Asia – Peter Brun

The wind power conference, by the Global Wind Energy Council, was indeed very well attended by both international and local Vietnamese stakeholders. This is always a good indicator for these types of gatherings. On substance, the conference program focused on going the last mile towards real commercialization of the wind market in Vietnam and the reasons why only less than 200 MW have been installed in the market so far – despite the obvious and huge unexploited wind power potential in the country.Read the full blog.

4. UK windiness 2017: Lower than long-term averages – what are the implications for you? – Ioannis Agiol

Monitoring and recording wind speed trends can be beneficial to assess project performance. But interpreting and truly understanding those trends are where the real value lies. Do you know what do the 2017 results mean to you?

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5. Promising forecast for global offshore wind – Peter Brun

Offshore wind is forecasted by leading market intelligence actors to increase with an average cumulative growth rate of about 16% each year from 2017 to 2026. The annual growth rate in mature European markets is estimated to be an average of +9%, whereas growth in APAC is estimated to be +27% and in North America an incredible +55% on an annual basis toward 2026.

Read the full blog.

6. Ireland’s new Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) design – Michael Sutton

On Tuesday 24th July, the Government of the Republic of Ireland approved the design of the new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). This long-awaited decision has provided some clarity about the scale of the government’s ambition and the potential future makeup of the Irish renewable industry out to 2030.

Read the full blog.

7. What’s next for industrial energy efficiency? – Paul Noble

There has been a great deal of thought about how industrial companies can keep delivering improved energy efficiency. And many companies have made great progress. But the question remains, if improving energy efficiency reduces operational costs, why don’t companies do more?

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8. Industry Best Practices for Wind Turbine Foundations – Richard Gledhill

Industry best practice, an often-used term in EPC construction contracts, but what does it mean and how do you ensure your EPC contractor is designing and constructing your wind turbine foundations to industry best practice?

Read the full blog.

9. Energy Storage Comes of Age – Nick Warner

Davion Hill, DNV’s leader for energy storage in the Americas, penned a pair of great pieces detailing the growing pains experienced by the energy storage industry (Read them here: Dear Energy Storage Market: It’s Time to Grow Up! and The Importance of Addressing Safety in the Battery Industry). I attempted a similar feat this time last year, congratulating the industry on its maturity and highlighting that with maturity comes a requirement to comply with the same codes and standards as other industries.

Read the full blog.

10. The “Happy Hour Effect” PV, Electric Vehicles and Learning Thermostats Walk into a Bar…! – Joseph Lopes

Utilities are facing the confluence of three residential trends over which they have little or no control, but are tasked with meeting its consequences.  The effects of all three of these trends coincide at about the same time of day, potentially wreaking havoc on both supply and distribution hourly requirements in the late afternoon period from 5 to 8 pm, the traditional “Happy Hours”.

Read the full blog.

1/7/2019 9:00:00 AM