Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Our research shows how the innovative policy design of the Whole County PV programme could be expanded into other technologies, bringing wider benefits in terms of economics, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and the integration of additional solar energy
An energy trade association that represents and promotes gas boilers and manufacturers is behind a barrage of negative press attacking heat pumps, DeSmog has learned.
For the first time in 2022, heat pump sales in Europe reached 3m, up 0.8m (38%) from a year earlier and doubling since 2019. Sales doubled in a single year in Poland, Czech Republic and Belgium.
The new study explores a range of scenarios for cutting emissions from Europe’s heating systems. It concludes that a low-carbon transition that keeps costs down without causing excessive environmental damage is “only possible through electrification via heat pumps”.
From spiralling fossil fuel prices and volatile supply chains to the worsening climate crisis, there has never been a better time to stop heating homes with natural gas.
The European Union’s recent proposals to end imports of Russian gas before 2030 in the wake of the Ukraine invasion are blighted by the bloc’s support for unnecessary and expensive technologies.
Crises often contain the seeds of change, and as the tailwinds from the conflict begin to take hold across the globe, it’s possible that the conflict and sky-high fossil fuel prices could stimulate a ‘snap forward’ in terms of the energy transition.
Double-digit growth in major heat pump markets during 2021 shows powerful momentum. But without the continued expansion of policies to support their rollout, heat pump deployment will fall short of the level needed to reach net-zero by 2050 – and to limit warming to 1.5C.
In chilly Scandinavia, Finland has shown the extraordinary potential of one of the less visible renewable energy technologies – heat pumps.
