Energy Sector Transformation

What role solar thermal will play in the energy sector in 2050 is one of the principal questions that the international Task 52 research project on Solar Heat and Energy Economics in Urban Environments intends to answer. This webinar will give information in two areas, one on energy scenarios about future development of energy systems and two on best practices, actual economy and planning tools for solar heat based urban energy concepts. We invite all stakeholders to join the 1.5-hour webinar scheduled for Thursday, 14 December 2017, from 13 to 14.30 GMT. You can register online. This will be the fourth of a series of webinars organized by the IEA SHC Programme’s Solar Academy and hosted by the International Solar Energy Society. A recording of the event and the presentations from the webinar will be made available on the IEA SHC website, www.iea-shc.org, after the live stream. Join us for a discussion about the opportunities and challenges future role of solar heat in urban environments.

State decarbonization goals and visions for large-scale electrification of the thermal and transportation sectors necessitate increased and accelerated deployment of renewable and distributed energy resources (DERs). The existing electrical infrastructure and supporting interconnection and permitting processes will need to be updated to support efficient and cost-effective renewable energy deployment at scale. Common challenges that increase the cost of integrating renewables include mismatches in timing between renewable energy production and peak electricity consumption, as well as the physical distance between large renewable energy systems and electric load centers.

The IEA’s newly-enhanced Tracking Clean Energy Progress (TCEP) provides a comprehensive and rigorous assessment of a full range of energy technologies and sectors that are critical in a global clean-energy transition. It includes the most up-to-date information for where technologies are today and where they need to be according to the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario, a pathway to reach the Paris Agreement well below 2°C climate goal, deliver universal energy access and significantly lower air pollution.

This joint CESI and EnerNex webinar offers an international perspective on renewable energy integration, along with current and future challenges set by the ambitious targets for renewable energy sources. Keeping the grid reliable and secure as renewable growth accelerates are significant industry concerns. Experts from CESI and EnerNex discuss the engineering approaches being applied to address these challenges, and how new approaches might be necessary along this path of renewable energy growth.