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Groundhog Day and Goodbye
For those of you who feel like perhaps you are stuck in the movie Groundhog Day – welcome to 2021.
It seems strange that so much has changed – and yet, we are still working from home, masking up and wondering how much worse the pandemic could become. Yet, there are bright spots in the sameness of every day too.
The United States has sworn in its 46th President and we explore what this means for both domestic and international energy policy. It is unclear whether the United States has sufficient international goodwill to come back onto the energy landscape and resume its leadership position.
While there may have been much development domestically, internationally the European Union and China have taken the lead when it comes to the energy transition and a move to net-zero economies. While there is no doubt that optimism surrounds the election and inauguration of a new president, four years of looking inward has meant being left behind.
It’s not all politics though! Our roundup of features this edition covers the full spectrum from storage use cases, to how IoT is being used to optimise the operations of smart buildings and distributed renewable energy resources and the transition to the cloud and what this means from a cybersecurity perspective.
One of my favourite stories in this edition is on powering a Moon Village. This appeals to me on so many levels, although given that I love being ‘on earth’ this may be one that I experience vicariously instead of ‘in person’ There’s a lot more to enjoy – our first Women in Energy interview, a roundup of start-up culture in the US and some input as to what the energy transition is likely to really cost Europe. I hope you get to enjoy each and every one of the offerings in this edition.
This is, I am sad to say, my last edition as Editor of Smart Energy International. It has been my honour to work on this publication on and off during my 20-year tenure with Clarion, taking on the position of editor full-time in 2013.
Although I will be transitioning out of my role as editor of Smart Energy International, I’m not going far, as I will continue on as the Head of Content for our Enlit Africa conference.
To all of our readers and partners, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for the many years of support, feedback and – especially – challenges to my opinion.
While this is the end of a chapter for me, the journey for the growing Smart Energy International team continues and I encourage you to be an active part of that experience.
From me, however, thank you for being part of my smart energy journey. It has been an honour and a privilege.
For the final time,
Claire Volkwyn
Editor, Smart Energy International
editorial@smart-energy.com
