www.electric.co.uk
7th of January 2010
Europe's first electricity distribution network dedicated to renewable energy will become a reality this January, as nine European countries formally put together plans to connect their green energy projects in the North Sea.
The plan would link the wind turbines off the northern coast of Scotland with Germany's solar panel arrays, and would join the wave energy facilities on the Danish and Belgian coasts with Norway's hydroelectric dams. The electric network, connected by highly efficient underwater cables that could cost £26.5 billion, would resolve one of the main criticisms faced by renewable sources: that unpredictable weather conditions mean that renewable energy is unreliable.
With renewable sources linked to distribution grids, electricity can be produced across Europe from wherever the sun is shining, wind is blowing or the waves are rolling. Linked to Norway's hydroelectric power plants, it could serve as a huge 30GW battery to fuel Europe's clean energy.
By autumn, the nine countries involved – including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK – hope to come up with a feasible plan to start building a high voltage DC network within 2020. The project will be a vital step in achieving the EU's pledge to generate 20 per cent of Europe's 2020 energy need from renewable sources.
Currently, about 100GW of offshore wind farm projects are in progress in Europe, approximately one-tenth of the EU's power requirement and equivalent to around 100 coal-fired plants. A European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) study in 2009 had already outlined where the undersea cables might be installed, which could serve as starting point for the negotiations of the nine countries.
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Power giants warned on price rises
Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Monday 4/1/2010 Page: 1
As the electricity and gas sector gears up for a record level of spending to upgrade its ageing assets and ready itself for the Rudd government's greenhouse reduction policies, the Australian Energy Regulator will ask companies to justify price rises. With electricity and gas networks planning to spend over $30 billion in the next five years, this will increase pressure on energy prices as costs are passed on to consumers.
Chairman of the AER, Steve Edwell, says he has written and spoken to the energy companies and urged them to advise corporate customers in advance over price rises. The Energy Users Association of Australia recently passed a resolution at a members meeting and expressed concern over the increases in network charges, and plans to write to governments and regulators over the issue. Its members include Rio Tinto and Wesfarmers.
EUAA executive director Roman Domanski said getting hit with large network prices increases at short notice is a major concern for business and affects their competitive position. Mr Edwell says gas prices may rise as new domestic contract prices rise closer to global levels, which is already happening in Western Australia where producers chase lucrative liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts.
LNG projects are being particularly pursued in Queensland's Gladstone area, where several projects that rely on coal seam gas are proposed. The AER has proposed around $33 billion in capital spending. The regulator issued draft decisions to allow Queensland's Energex and Ergon Energy to have $10.19 billion in capital spending, and a capex of $1.63 billion for South Australia's ETSA Utilities distribution business.
Peak industry group the Energy Networks Association predicted that climate change policies would lift network costs by around $2.5 billion over the next five years. Victoria's SPAusnet is also concerned over spending on new connections to the network due to renewable energy targets and the emissions trading scheme. The New South Wales' regulator's approval of capital investment worth $14 billion includes $2.4 billion of capital investment by TransGrid in its electricity transmission network.
Monday 4/1/2010 Page: 1
As the electricity and gas sector gears up for a record level of spending to upgrade its ageing assets and ready itself for the Rudd government's greenhouse reduction policies, the Australian Energy Regulator will ask companies to justify price rises. With electricity and gas networks planning to spend over $30 billion in the next five years, this will increase pressure on energy prices as costs are passed on to consumers.
Chairman of the AER, Steve Edwell, says he has written and spoken to the energy companies and urged them to advise corporate customers in advance over price rises. The Energy Users Association of Australia recently passed a resolution at a members meeting and expressed concern over the increases in network charges, and plans to write to governments and regulators over the issue. Its members include Rio Tinto and Wesfarmers.
EUAA executive director Roman Domanski said getting hit with large network prices increases at short notice is a major concern for business and affects their competitive position. Mr Edwell says gas prices may rise as new domestic contract prices rise closer to global levels, which is already happening in Western Australia where producers chase lucrative liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts.
LNG projects are being particularly pursued in Queensland's Gladstone area, where several projects that rely on coal seam gas are proposed. The AER has proposed around $33 billion in capital spending. The regulator issued draft decisions to allow Queensland's Energex and Ergon Energy to have $10.19 billion in capital spending, and a capex of $1.63 billion for South Australia's ETSA Utilities distribution business.
Peak industry group the Energy Networks Association predicted that climate change policies would lift network costs by around $2.5 billion over the next five years. Victoria's SPAusnet is also concerned over spending on new connections to the network due to renewable energy targets and the emissions trading scheme. The New South Wales' regulator's approval of capital investment worth $14 billion includes $2.4 billion of capital investment by TransGrid in its electricity transmission network.
Munich Re calls for quick action on climate change
Australian
Thursday 31/12/2009 Page: 18
FRANKFURT: Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, believes economic and insured losses caused by climate change will continue to grow, and has called for a near-term deal to ensure a substantial reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.
"We need as soon as possible an agreement that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions because the climate reacts slowly and what we fail to do now will have a bearing for decades to come," said management board member Torsten Jeworrek. "In the light of these facts, it is very disappointing that no breakthrough was achieved at the Copenhagen climate summit in December 2009," MrJeworrek added, pointing to the marked increase more or less tripling in major global weather related natural disasters since 1950.
Reinsurers and primary insurers provide insurance protection against losses caused by large natural and man-made disasters. Munich Re said it would step up its own initiatives in the matter, including investments of up to 2 billion ($3.25bn) in renewable energy and a strong commitment to the Sahara solar energy project Desertec Foundation.
The project hopes to come up with a feasible plan for generating solar energy in the Sahara within the next three years. Munich Re said losses caused by natural disasters cost the global insurance industry around $US22bn ($24.9bn) in 2009, helped by substantially lower US hurricane activity than a year earlier, when the insurance industry had to pay around $US50bn for damage caused by natural disasters such as winter storms, hurricanes, cyclones, floods and earthquakes.
The figures are similar to estimates by Swiss Reinsurance Company, which estimated at the end of November that the bill the insurance industry had to pay for natural disaster losses in 2009 amounted to about $US21bn. Munich Re said "severe weather events accounted for 45%, or nearly half, of global insured losses" in 2009.
It also said this year's lower bill for natural disasters and the absence of "severe hurricanes and other mega-catastrophes" should not be taken lightly, as there was a large number of moderately severe natural disasters. "In particular, the trend toward an increase in weather related catastrophes continues, while there has fundamentally been no change in the risk of geophysical events such as earthquakes," said Peter Hoeppe, who heads Munich Re's Geo Risks Research unit.
Thursday 31/12/2009 Page: 18
FRANKFURT: Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, believes economic and insured losses caused by climate change will continue to grow, and has called for a near-term deal to ensure a substantial reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.
"We need as soon as possible an agreement that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions because the climate reacts slowly and what we fail to do now will have a bearing for decades to come," said management board member Torsten Jeworrek. "In the light of these facts, it is very disappointing that no breakthrough was achieved at the Copenhagen climate summit in December 2009," MrJeworrek added, pointing to the marked increase more or less tripling in major global weather related natural disasters since 1950.
Reinsurers and primary insurers provide insurance protection against losses caused by large natural and man-made disasters. Munich Re said it would step up its own initiatives in the matter, including investments of up to 2 billion ($3.25bn) in renewable energy and a strong commitment to the Sahara solar energy project Desertec Foundation.
The project hopes to come up with a feasible plan for generating solar energy in the Sahara within the next three years. Munich Re said losses caused by natural disasters cost the global insurance industry around $US22bn ($24.9bn) in 2009, helped by substantially lower US hurricane activity than a year earlier, when the insurance industry had to pay around $US50bn for damage caused by natural disasters such as winter storms, hurricanes, cyclones, floods and earthquakes.
The figures are similar to estimates by Swiss Reinsurance Company, which estimated at the end of November that the bill the insurance industry had to pay for natural disaster losses in 2009 amounted to about $US21bn. Munich Re said "severe weather events accounted for 45%, or nearly half, of global insured losses" in 2009.
It also said this year's lower bill for natural disasters and the absence of "severe hurricanes and other mega-catastrophes" should not be taken lightly, as there was a large number of moderately severe natural disasters. "In particular, the trend toward an increase in weather related catastrophes continues, while there has fundamentally been no change in the risk of geophysical events such as earthquakes," said Peter Hoeppe, who heads Munich Re's Geo Risks Research unit.
Boost to clean energy
Herald Sun
Friday 1/1/2010 Page: 34
CLEAN energy developers will get a boost from a decision this month to instigate an energy market rule change aimed at helping climate friendly renewable electricity generation to link to the power grid. Australia's electricity sector is the country's biggest source of planet warming greenhouse gas emissions. Technologies that harness the sun, wind, underground heat (geothermal) and ocean currents for electricity generation hold the potential to slash emissions by replacing coal and gasfired power which provides more than 90% of power supply.
But emerging technologies are more costly than incumbents and project locations often far from the existing grid. Federal and state energy ministers this month voted to accept an Australian Energy Market Commission recommendation that will introduce a new framework for the more efficient connection of clusters of generation known as scale-efficient network extensions. Geothermal energy developer GeoDynamics says the AEMC's rule change will help to catalyse more private investment in clean energy projects generally.
Australia's energy sector will play a key role in tackling the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. But so far the lack of a carbon price, weak 2020 targets for national emission cuts, and flaws in a policy aimed to mandate more renewable energy capacity, have led to weak spending on low-emission power sources. The Total Environment Centre says further reforms are needed, such as introducing an environmental or energy-savings objective into national electricity sector laws, in order to more swiftly clean up the electricity sector. The Federal Government's biggest single direct investment in new energy technology is "clean coal" plants. These aim to catch a significant portion of emissions and pump them underground.
Friday 1/1/2010 Page: 34
CLEAN energy developers will get a boost from a decision this month to instigate an energy market rule change aimed at helping climate friendly renewable electricity generation to link to the power grid. Australia's electricity sector is the country's biggest source of planet warming greenhouse gas emissions. Technologies that harness the sun, wind, underground heat (geothermal) and ocean currents for electricity generation hold the potential to slash emissions by replacing coal and gasfired power which provides more than 90% of power supply.
But emerging technologies are more costly than incumbents and project locations often far from the existing grid. Federal and state energy ministers this month voted to accept an Australian Energy Market Commission recommendation that will introduce a new framework for the more efficient connection of clusters of generation known as scale-efficient network extensions. Geothermal energy developer GeoDynamics says the AEMC's rule change will help to catalyse more private investment in clean energy projects generally.
Australia's energy sector will play a key role in tackling the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. But so far the lack of a carbon price, weak 2020 targets for national emission cuts, and flaws in a policy aimed to mandate more renewable energy capacity, have led to weak spending on low-emission power sources. The Total Environment Centre says further reforms are needed, such as introducing an environmental or energy-savings objective into national electricity sector laws, in order to more swiftly clean up the electricity sector. The Federal Government's biggest single direct investment in new energy technology is "clean coal" plants. These aim to catch a significant portion of emissions and pump them underground.
Brazil moves to cut emissions
Hobart Mercury
Thursday 31/12/2009 Page: 21
PRESIDENT Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed a law requiring that Brazil cut greenhouse gas emissions by 39% by 2020, meeting a commitment made at the Copenhagen climate change summit. Brazil announced at the summit a "voluntary commitment" to reduce CO2, emissions by between 36.1 and 38.9% in the next 10 years. The new law, however, is subject to several decrees setting out responsibilities.
Thursday 31/12/2009 Page: 21
PRESIDENT Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed a law requiring that Brazil cut greenhouse gas emissions by 39% by 2020, meeting a commitment made at the Copenhagen climate change summit. Brazil announced at the summit a "voluntary commitment" to reduce CO2, emissions by between 36.1 and 38.9% in the next 10 years. The new law, however, is subject to several decrees setting out responsibilities.
Friday, 8 January 2010
Around the world in zero emissions
Adelaide Advertiser
Thursday 31/12/2009 Page: 17
Adelaide's green car with the great Aussie name, Trev, is getting ready to race around the world in 80 days. The Two-seater Renewable Energy Vehicle, built by staff and students at UniSA, is the only Australian car in the first Zero Emissions Race around the world. Team Trev technical manager Peter Pudney is busy preparing the car for the 30,000km journey across 20 countries in 80 days.
"Trev was designed for the city - short trips on good roads, carrying one or sometimes two people," he said. "Driving around the world will be a challenge. Zero Race will compress three years of commuting into 80 days. "Each day, Trev will have to travel up 250km without stopping before lunch, and after lunch another 200 to 250km."
In the 2007 World Solar Challenge, Trev travelled 500km a day, but had to stop to recharge every 80 to 120km. To travel 250km without stopping, the electric car needs a bigger battery. Other essential upgrades include fitting a new motor controller, improving brakes and suspension, and registering Trev for on-road use. Every car in the race must run on alternative energy such as solar, wind, wave or geothermal power. The race starts in Shanghai on July 1.
Thursday 31/12/2009 Page: 17
Adelaide's green car with the great Aussie name, Trev, is getting ready to race around the world in 80 days. The Two-seater Renewable Energy Vehicle, built by staff and students at UniSA, is the only Australian car in the first Zero Emissions Race around the world. Team Trev technical manager Peter Pudney is busy preparing the car for the 30,000km journey across 20 countries in 80 days."Trev was designed for the city - short trips on good roads, carrying one or sometimes two people," he said. "Driving around the world will be a challenge. Zero Race will compress three years of commuting into 80 days. "Each day, Trev will have to travel up 250km without stopping before lunch, and after lunch another 200 to 250km."
In the 2007 World Solar Challenge, Trev travelled 500km a day, but had to stop to recharge every 80 to 120km. To travel 250km without stopping, the electric car needs a bigger battery. Other essential upgrades include fitting a new motor controller, improving brakes and suspension, and registering Trev for on-road use. Every car in the race must run on alternative energy such as solar, wind, wave or geothermal power. The race starts in Shanghai on July 1.
Solar power buyback levy defended
www.abc.net.au
Jan 4, 2010
The New South Wales Government has defended its decision to charge all electricity users a compulsory levy to cover the costs of its solar energy bonus scheme. Under the scheme solar panel owners can sell all the power they generate to their electricity retailer and then buy it back at a third of the price. Critics say the scheme effectively forces struggling households and businesses to pay more, while rewarding those who are wealthy enough to be able to afford solar energy.
But the Minister John Robertson says the levy is small and fair. "The scheme means families who could never afford to install solar will now be able to do so," he said. "Our independent economic modelling shows the cost to the average household could be as little as 48 cents a bill and certainly no more than a dollar ninety a quarter. "The government's being very cautious and we're going to review the scheme within two years."
Jan 4, 2010
The New South Wales Government has defended its decision to charge all electricity users a compulsory levy to cover the costs of its solar energy bonus scheme. Under the scheme solar panel owners can sell all the power they generate to their electricity retailer and then buy it back at a third of the price. Critics say the scheme effectively forces struggling households and businesses to pay more, while rewarding those who are wealthy enough to be able to afford solar energy.
But the Minister John Robertson says the levy is small and fair. "The scheme means families who could never afford to install solar will now be able to do so," he said. "Our independent economic modelling shows the cost to the average household could be as little as 48 cents a bill and certainly no more than a dollar ninety a quarter. "The government's being very cautious and we're going to review the scheme within two years."
Shell accused of abandoning solar power buyers in the developing world
www.guardian.co.uk
3 January 2010
Row over responsibility for sold-off systems has left Sri Lankan communities unable to replace faulty equipment.
Shell has become embroiled in a major row with the World Bank and green energy companies after allegations that it is unfairly refusing to honour warranties on solar energy systems sold to the developing world.
A widespread breakdown of its equipment in Sri Lanka and elsewhere has left the oil firm accused of abandoning a responsibility to impoverished communities while damaging the prospects of the wider renewable power sector in a world desperate to reduce carbon emissions following the Copenhagen climate change summit.
The rural electrification business under which the Shell systems were sold has now itself been passed on – as have most other parts of the group's solar business – but critics say that Shell, which made profits of $31bn in 2008, has a continuing role in ensuring former customers are not left vulnerable.
"Shell exited solar on a global basis, seemingly without due consideration to how after-sales service and warranty replacements would be provided, thereby damaging the very local solar industries it had earlier helped to create," said Damian Miller, a former Shell manager who now heads his own solar business, Orb Energy.
"In Sri Lanka, poor customers with average earnings of $1,500-$2,000 a month have bought Shell's solar systems. The system is equivalent to 30% of their annual income," he added. "They could only afford a system because they could get a loan from microfinance institutions or other banks. But now there are reports of thousands of Shell's [branded] solar panels failing in the field and Shell seemingly is not replacing them."
The World Bank, which provides financing packages to the developing world, said it too was very worried about a situation in which about 700 solar systems appear to have failed and local suppliers risked going out of business. Anil Cabraal, an energy specialist at the bank's Washington headquarters, has written to Shell asking for action. "I would like Shell to honour these commitments. We are not talking about millions of dollars here but hundreds of thousands," he told the Observer.
The company argues that it is being unfairly targeted and is doing all it can to sort out the problem. It points out that its Shell Solar Sri Lanka business has been transferred to a third-party purchaser, Environ Energy, along with all liabilities. The Anglo-Dutch oil group says the bulk of its former solar module manufacturing operation has also been switched to a new owner, Solar World.
"In October 2007, Shell sold Shell Solar Lanka Ltd to Environ Energy Global PTE Ltd. Specifically in order to protect customer interests, the terms of the transaction explicitly covered the management of all past, present and future liabilities, including warranty issues," said a Shell spokesman in the Hague.
"Environ Energy Global understands that resolution of this issue rests with Environ, but [its] own management team in Sri Lanka continues to approach Shell. We have asked Environ Energy Global to clarify responsibilities with [its] own management team in Sri Lanka."
The situation has been complicated by the fact that Environ claims Solar World will not replace any modules unless it has the appropriate warranty documents. Environ claims those papers were destroyed by Shell prior to the handover to Solar World, although Shell told the Observer this was not true.
3 January 2010
Row over responsibility for sold-off systems has left Sri Lankan communities unable to replace faulty equipment.Shell has become embroiled in a major row with the World Bank and green energy companies after allegations that it is unfairly refusing to honour warranties on solar energy systems sold to the developing world.
A widespread breakdown of its equipment in Sri Lanka and elsewhere has left the oil firm accused of abandoning a responsibility to impoverished communities while damaging the prospects of the wider renewable power sector in a world desperate to reduce carbon emissions following the Copenhagen climate change summit.
The rural electrification business under which the Shell systems were sold has now itself been passed on – as have most other parts of the group's solar business – but critics say that Shell, which made profits of $31bn in 2008, has a continuing role in ensuring former customers are not left vulnerable.
"Shell exited solar on a global basis, seemingly without due consideration to how after-sales service and warranty replacements would be provided, thereby damaging the very local solar industries it had earlier helped to create," said Damian Miller, a former Shell manager who now heads his own solar business, Orb Energy.
"In Sri Lanka, poor customers with average earnings of $1,500-$2,000 a month have bought Shell's solar systems. The system is equivalent to 30% of their annual income," he added. "They could only afford a system because they could get a loan from microfinance institutions or other banks. But now there are reports of thousands of Shell's [branded] solar panels failing in the field and Shell seemingly is not replacing them."
The World Bank, which provides financing packages to the developing world, said it too was very worried about a situation in which about 700 solar systems appear to have failed and local suppliers risked going out of business. Anil Cabraal, an energy specialist at the bank's Washington headquarters, has written to Shell asking for action. "I would like Shell to honour these commitments. We are not talking about millions of dollars here but hundreds of thousands," he told the Observer.
The company argues that it is being unfairly targeted and is doing all it can to sort out the problem. It points out that its Shell Solar Sri Lanka business has been transferred to a third-party purchaser, Environ Energy, along with all liabilities. The Anglo-Dutch oil group says the bulk of its former solar module manufacturing operation has also been switched to a new owner, Solar World.
"In October 2007, Shell sold Shell Solar Lanka Ltd to Environ Energy Global PTE Ltd. Specifically in order to protect customer interests, the terms of the transaction explicitly covered the management of all past, present and future liabilities, including warranty issues," said a Shell spokesman in the Hague.
"Environ Energy Global understands that resolution of this issue rests with Environ, but [its] own management team in Sri Lanka continues to approach Shell. We have asked Environ Energy Global to clarify responsibilities with [its] own management team in Sri Lanka."
The situation has been complicated by the fact that Environ claims Solar World will not replace any modules unless it has the appropriate warranty documents. Environ claims those papers were destroyed by Shell prior to the handover to Solar World, although Shell told the Observer this was not true.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Are Engines the Future of Solar Power?
www.scientificamerican.com
December 30, 2009
Stirling engines might be the best way to harvest the power provided by the sun.
Nearly 200 years after their invention, and decades after first being proposed as a method of harnessing solar energy, 60 sun-powered Stirling engines are about to begin generating electricity outside Phoenix, Ariz., for the first time. Such engines, which harness heat to expand a gas and drive pistons, are not used widely today other than in pacemakers and long-distance robotic spacecraft.
The 1.5 MW (MW) demonstration site, known as Maricopa Solar, is set to begin operations early January 2010, with units provided by the Arizona-based Stirling Energy Systems (SES). While 1.5 MW is only a fraction of the power that may be generated at sites SES has contracted to develop in California and Texas, spokesperson Janette Coates says this is a necessary first step in the technology's commercialization. "It's important for our industry to see-and our partners and investors-that we can take a small-scale plant and get it operational before we break ground on larger ones," she says.
That's because Stirling heat engines have a reputation for being a bit impractical. First invented by Robert Stirling in 1816, the engines use a heat source to warm gas, which expands and is pushed into another chamber. When the gas cools and contracts, it flows back. The expansion and contraction pushes a piston, which in turn produces electricity.
In 1996, SES bought solar Stirling design and engineering patents from companies such as McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing. SES then partnered with Sandia National Laboratories, and over the next decade tweaked and refined the technology. In the SES SunCatcher, a circle of curved mirrors, resembling an upturned satellite dish, tracks the sun on two axes and reflects the sun's heat onto a single focus point, the power conversion unit (PCU). The PCU contains four cylinders, in which hydrogen gas expands and contracts to move pistons.
Stirling engines are significantly more efficient at converting sunlight into energy than most photovoltaic panels or concentrating solar energy plants, whether parabolic trough or tower designs. The test units have reached 31% efficiency, compared to 16% for parabolic troughs and about 14-18% for PV panels in use today (though newer designs not yet on the market range from 24 to as high as 41%). The high efficiency numbers alone, however, have not made Stirling an easy sell. The systems have been criticized as being too expensive, unreliable and requiring extensive maintenance thanks to many moving parts. Also, ground has not yet been broken on either California site for which SES signed purchase power agreements in 2005, adding to skepticism that these systems will ever become commercially viable.
"At these high temperatures, with this many moving parts, people doubted whether SES could really pull it off," says Reese Tisdale, research director for solar energy at Cambridge, Mass.-based Emerging Energy Research. The relatively small Arizona plant is intended to allay those concerns.
Proponents of the technology point to the advantages it has over other forms of solar energy, particularly concentrating solar energy (CSP), which also captures the sun's heat. Most CSP systems require significant amounts of water, which has proven to be a challenge in desert regions of the U.S, where solar energy is most attractive, while Stirling engines require none other than small amounts for cleaning the mirrors. In addition, if one engine goes down, it has minimal impact on overall production.
SES faced a manufacturing challenge in preparing its SunCatchers for mass production though. "The systems at Sandia were basically hand-built," says Charles Andraka, a Sandia engineer and Stirling expert who worked with SES on the system's design. For the Phoenix site, he notes, Sandia and SES engineers built 60 units in three months. "We have to do that many in a day for the larger plants."
In order to do this, SES turned to the experts in rapid production of engines and related parts: the automotive industry. In partnership with automotive companies such as Tower Automotive and Linamar Corporation, SES managed to reduce the parts in the PCU by 60% (to about 650) and slash the weight of the entire system by roughly 2,250 kilograms. Andraka highlights one example of the upgrade: in the original engines, he points out, gas passed over the outside of the engine, with pieces of tubes and fittings at either end, requiring a total of approximately 20 parts. "On the new engine, the gas passage is a part of the block with no external parts. It's much more reliable, much cheaper to assemble, with fewer parts and fewer places to leak," Andraka says. The new systems have been running on test sites for more than 100,000 hours.
Maricopa Solar also represents just one scalable module; each multi-MW field will be grouped first in 60-engine units that come together to generate 1.5 MW, then those larger units are linked to each other to produce up to 9 MW. Explains Coates, "With the large 750 MW commissions, we won't have to wait until we have 750 MW of dishes before we start producing power. This means that the utility can get the power prior to the full build-out, which can take years to complete." This is in comparison to parabolic trough or tower CSP technology, which doesn't generate electricity until the entire system is complete.
Meanwhile, Tessera Solar, SES's sister company in charge of development, is renegotiating contracts with utilities in California but expects to supply power at or below the cost of other solar technologies, and they plan to break ground on bigger solar Stirling engine power plants in Texas and California in 2010. Tisdale says he remains somewhat skeptical, but also optimistic: "This 1.5 MW site is key to demonstrating that it works."
December 30, 2009
Stirling engines might be the best way to harvest the power provided by the sun.Nearly 200 years after their invention, and decades after first being proposed as a method of harnessing solar energy, 60 sun-powered Stirling engines are about to begin generating electricity outside Phoenix, Ariz., for the first time. Such engines, which harness heat to expand a gas and drive pistons, are not used widely today other than in pacemakers and long-distance robotic spacecraft.
The 1.5 MW (MW) demonstration site, known as Maricopa Solar, is set to begin operations early January 2010, with units provided by the Arizona-based Stirling Energy Systems (SES). While 1.5 MW is only a fraction of the power that may be generated at sites SES has contracted to develop in California and Texas, spokesperson Janette Coates says this is a necessary first step in the technology's commercialization. "It's important for our industry to see-and our partners and investors-that we can take a small-scale plant and get it operational before we break ground on larger ones," she says.
That's because Stirling heat engines have a reputation for being a bit impractical. First invented by Robert Stirling in 1816, the engines use a heat source to warm gas, which expands and is pushed into another chamber. When the gas cools and contracts, it flows back. The expansion and contraction pushes a piston, which in turn produces electricity.
In 1996, SES bought solar Stirling design and engineering patents from companies such as McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing. SES then partnered with Sandia National Laboratories, and over the next decade tweaked and refined the technology. In the SES SunCatcher, a circle of curved mirrors, resembling an upturned satellite dish, tracks the sun on two axes and reflects the sun's heat onto a single focus point, the power conversion unit (PCU). The PCU contains four cylinders, in which hydrogen gas expands and contracts to move pistons.
Stirling engines are significantly more efficient at converting sunlight into energy than most photovoltaic panels or concentrating solar energy plants, whether parabolic trough or tower designs. The test units have reached 31% efficiency, compared to 16% for parabolic troughs and about 14-18% for PV panels in use today (though newer designs not yet on the market range from 24 to as high as 41%). The high efficiency numbers alone, however, have not made Stirling an easy sell. The systems have been criticized as being too expensive, unreliable and requiring extensive maintenance thanks to many moving parts. Also, ground has not yet been broken on either California site for which SES signed purchase power agreements in 2005, adding to skepticism that these systems will ever become commercially viable.
"At these high temperatures, with this many moving parts, people doubted whether SES could really pull it off," says Reese Tisdale, research director for solar energy at Cambridge, Mass.-based Emerging Energy Research. The relatively small Arizona plant is intended to allay those concerns.
Proponents of the technology point to the advantages it has over other forms of solar energy, particularly concentrating solar energy (CSP), which also captures the sun's heat. Most CSP systems require significant amounts of water, which has proven to be a challenge in desert regions of the U.S, where solar energy is most attractive, while Stirling engines require none other than small amounts for cleaning the mirrors. In addition, if one engine goes down, it has minimal impact on overall production.
SES faced a manufacturing challenge in preparing its SunCatchers for mass production though. "The systems at Sandia were basically hand-built," says Charles Andraka, a Sandia engineer and Stirling expert who worked with SES on the system's design. For the Phoenix site, he notes, Sandia and SES engineers built 60 units in three months. "We have to do that many in a day for the larger plants."
In order to do this, SES turned to the experts in rapid production of engines and related parts: the automotive industry. In partnership with automotive companies such as Tower Automotive and Linamar Corporation, SES managed to reduce the parts in the PCU by 60% (to about 650) and slash the weight of the entire system by roughly 2,250 kilograms. Andraka highlights one example of the upgrade: in the original engines, he points out, gas passed over the outside of the engine, with pieces of tubes and fittings at either end, requiring a total of approximately 20 parts. "On the new engine, the gas passage is a part of the block with no external parts. It's much more reliable, much cheaper to assemble, with fewer parts and fewer places to leak," Andraka says. The new systems have been running on test sites for more than 100,000 hours.
Maricopa Solar also represents just one scalable module; each multi-MW field will be grouped first in 60-engine units that come together to generate 1.5 MW, then those larger units are linked to each other to produce up to 9 MW. Explains Coates, "With the large 750 MW commissions, we won't have to wait until we have 750 MW of dishes before we start producing power. This means that the utility can get the power prior to the full build-out, which can take years to complete." This is in comparison to parabolic trough or tower CSP technology, which doesn't generate electricity until the entire system is complete.
Meanwhile, Tessera Solar, SES's sister company in charge of development, is renegotiating contracts with utilities in California but expects to supply power at or below the cost of other solar technologies, and they plan to break ground on bigger solar Stirling engine power plants in Texas and California in 2010. Tisdale says he remains somewhat skeptical, but also optimistic: "This 1.5 MW site is key to demonstrating that it works."
Doubts don't stop start to wind farm
Hobart Mercury
Monday 28/12/2009 Page: 2
TASMANIA'S $350 million Musselroe windfarm is finally under construction, after more than four years of delays and uncertainty about its future. An advertisement in the Mercury on Boxing Day by Tasmanian renewable energy company Roaring 40s advises that the Musselroe windfarm on Tasmania's far northeast tip has "substantially commenced". It warns summer visitors to the North-East that some access tracks have been closed near Lemons Beach and the Cape Portland Wildlife Sanctuary.
So far, new roads into the vast Cape Portland farm estate have been constructed, giant concrete foundation pads for the towering wind turbines built, the windfarm's control building completed and some electricity cabling work commenced. State Government spokeswoman Margaret Lindley confirmed yesterday the long awaited project was "definitely going ahead". She said more than $30 million had already been spent at the remote site, 140km northeast of Launceston, in preparatory work. But the financial viability of the Musselroe project remains in doubt.
It is understood Roaring 40s has not yet locked in sale prices or power uptake contracts with power companies for the 130 MWs of green electricity that will be produced from Musselroe. Nor have contracts for the parallel sale of the valuable renewable energy credits (RECs) attached to every unit of wind energy generated yet been signed. Six months ago, the State Government conceded Roaring 40s was having trouble financing the Musselroe project because of the global credit squeeze.
Rising prices for the wind turbines and their 90m-high supporting towers - Musselroe will have 56 wind turbines - have not helped. The sale price for RECs is considered critical to Musselroe's long-term viability. The value of these credits has recently fallen from more than $50 each to less than $30, largely due to the popularity of residential solar hot-water system rebate scheme. The commercial success of the Musselroe windfarm relies on each REC certificate generated being able to be sold to industrial manufacturers and coal-fired power stations for between $50-60 each to offset polluting carbon emissions.
Crashing values for renewable energy credits were recently blamed for the collapse of a proposed $800 million windfarm project in Victoria. Another $28 billion worth of windfarm projects across Australia remain under a cloud. Pressure is mounting on the Rudd Government to remove its $1600 subsidy for each home solar hot-water system installed. Until firm contracts for the sale of the windfarm's electricity production or RECs are in place, Roaring 40s is expected to continue having trouble raising capital. State Energy Minister David Llewellyn confirmed last night that the financial viability of the Musselroe windfarm was not yet certain.
Monday 28/12/2009 Page: 2
TASMANIA'S $350 million Musselroe windfarm is finally under construction, after more than four years of delays and uncertainty about its future. An advertisement in the Mercury on Boxing Day by Tasmanian renewable energy company Roaring 40s advises that the Musselroe windfarm on Tasmania's far northeast tip has "substantially commenced". It warns summer visitors to the North-East that some access tracks have been closed near Lemons Beach and the Cape Portland Wildlife Sanctuary.
So far, new roads into the vast Cape Portland farm estate have been constructed, giant concrete foundation pads for the towering wind turbines built, the windfarm's control building completed and some electricity cabling work commenced. State Government spokeswoman Margaret Lindley confirmed yesterday the long awaited project was "definitely going ahead". She said more than $30 million had already been spent at the remote site, 140km northeast of Launceston, in preparatory work. But the financial viability of the Musselroe project remains in doubt.
It is understood Roaring 40s has not yet locked in sale prices or power uptake contracts with power companies for the 130 MWs of green electricity that will be produced from Musselroe. Nor have contracts for the parallel sale of the valuable renewable energy credits (RECs) attached to every unit of wind energy generated yet been signed. Six months ago, the State Government conceded Roaring 40s was having trouble financing the Musselroe project because of the global credit squeeze.
Rising prices for the wind turbines and their 90m-high supporting towers - Musselroe will have 56 wind turbines - have not helped. The sale price for RECs is considered critical to Musselroe's long-term viability. The value of these credits has recently fallen from more than $50 each to less than $30, largely due to the popularity of residential solar hot-water system rebate scheme. The commercial success of the Musselroe windfarm relies on each REC certificate generated being able to be sold to industrial manufacturers and coal-fired power stations for between $50-60 each to offset polluting carbon emissions.
Crashing values for renewable energy credits were recently blamed for the collapse of a proposed $800 million windfarm project in Victoria. Another $28 billion worth of windfarm projects across Australia remain under a cloud. Pressure is mounting on the Rudd Government to remove its $1600 subsidy for each home solar hot-water system installed. Until firm contracts for the sale of the windfarm's electricity production or RECs are in place, Roaring 40s is expected to continue having trouble raising capital. State Energy Minister David Llewellyn confirmed last night that the financial viability of the Musselroe windfarm was not yet certain.
Not cooking with Moomba gas
Adelaide Advertiser
Monday 28/12/2009 Page: 61
SOUTH Australia must look to Queensland for gas, amid predictions that reserves at Moomba will decline by 30% over the next two decades. A $2.5 billion upgrade to the SA/New South Wales electricity interconnector is also proposed to reduce blackouts, two reports from the Australian Energy Market Operator find. But most worrying to consumers will be the finding that the carbon pollution reduction scheme is expected to triple the price of electricity over the next 20 years.
The National Transmission Statement expects the wholesale price of electricity will move towards $100 MW/hour. "Our simulations indicate that substantial change is coming to the electricity supply industry, as higher carbon and market prices drive new investment," the report states. The report also identifies two "big concept" transmission projects for South Australia - a $2.5 billion upgrade to the Murraylink interconnector and a $3.6 billion line from Innamincka in the Far North of the state, to carry geothermal power.
Transmission company ElectraNet and AEMO will conduct a feasibility study to investigate upgrading the Murraylink and Heywood interconnectors. The Gas Statement of Opportunities also finds that Moomba's gas reserves will go down from 1400 to 1000 petajoules and Queensland coal seam deposits are the best option by which to meet SA's growing demands.
Monday 28/12/2009 Page: 61
SOUTH Australia must look to Queensland for gas, amid predictions that reserves at Moomba will decline by 30% over the next two decades. A $2.5 billion upgrade to the SA/New South Wales electricity interconnector is also proposed to reduce blackouts, two reports from the Australian Energy Market Operator find. But most worrying to consumers will be the finding that the carbon pollution reduction scheme is expected to triple the price of electricity over the next 20 years.
The National Transmission Statement expects the wholesale price of electricity will move towards $100 MW/hour. "Our simulations indicate that substantial change is coming to the electricity supply industry, as higher carbon and market prices drive new investment," the report states. The report also identifies two "big concept" transmission projects for South Australia - a $2.5 billion upgrade to the Murraylink interconnector and a $3.6 billion line from Innamincka in the Far North of the state, to carry geothermal power.
Transmission company ElectraNet and AEMO will conduct a feasibility study to investigate upgrading the Murraylink and Heywood interconnectors. The Gas Statement of Opportunities also finds that Moomba's gas reserves will go down from 1400 to 1000 petajoules and Queensland coal seam deposits are the best option by which to meet SA's growing demands.
China approves a very important law amendment to promote green energy technologies
www.examiner.com
December 28, 2009
The world's most populated and one of the most polluted countries has just approved a significant amendment to its renewable energy law this last Saturday, December 26, 2009. According to Xinhua News, the top legislator of the People's Republic of China said that this modification would "greatly promote a healthy and rapid development of the renewable energy sector and adjust energy structure to strengthen the building of an environment-friendly and resource-saving society".
The new amendment requires electric utilities "to buy all the power produced by renewable energy generators". Additionally, the amendment sets a special fund for "renewable energy scientific research, finance rural clean energy projects, build independent power systems in remote areas and islands, and build information networks to exploit renewable energy". The clean energy sources included as renewable are wind, solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal and ocean.
According to the same Xinhua report entitled "China amends law to boost renewable energy law," the statistics for 2008 indicate that 9% of the total power consumption in China came from renewable sources with wind and solar energy generation ranking top in the world. The report mentions that further development in transmission networks are needed to make all the over generated energy from renewable resources available to the areas that require it most. The amendment requires utilities to "improve transmitting technologies and enhance grid capability to absorb more power produced by renewable energy generators". This requirement calls for the development and use of Smart Grid technologies to optimize the resources available in the interconnected grids.
The original law is in effect since January 2006. It was "aimed at 'optimizing the country's energy structure and safeguarding energy security'. It covered subsidies, pricing management and supervision measures". China currently dominates 98% of all the Rare Earth minerals produced in the world. These minerals are essential to the development and manufacturing of green energy technologies.
December 28, 2009
The world's most populated and one of the most polluted countries has just approved a significant amendment to its renewable energy law this last Saturday, December 26, 2009. According to Xinhua News, the top legislator of the People's Republic of China said that this modification would "greatly promote a healthy and rapid development of the renewable energy sector and adjust energy structure to strengthen the building of an environment-friendly and resource-saving society".The new amendment requires electric utilities "to buy all the power produced by renewable energy generators". Additionally, the amendment sets a special fund for "renewable energy scientific research, finance rural clean energy projects, build independent power systems in remote areas and islands, and build information networks to exploit renewable energy". The clean energy sources included as renewable are wind, solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal and ocean.
According to the same Xinhua report entitled "China amends law to boost renewable energy law," the statistics for 2008 indicate that 9% of the total power consumption in China came from renewable sources with wind and solar energy generation ranking top in the world. The report mentions that further development in transmission networks are needed to make all the over generated energy from renewable resources available to the areas that require it most. The amendment requires utilities to "improve transmitting technologies and enhance grid capability to absorb more power produced by renewable energy generators". This requirement calls for the development and use of Smart Grid technologies to optimize the resources available in the interconnected grids.
The original law is in effect since January 2006. It was "aimed at 'optimizing the country's energy structure and safeguarding energy security'. It covered subsidies, pricing management and supervision measures". China currently dominates 98% of all the Rare Earth minerals produced in the world. These minerals are essential to the development and manufacturing of green energy technologies.
Perth Basin Geothermal Energy Power Project by Green Rock Energy
www.azocleantech.com/
December 29, 2009
Green Rock Energy has established a number of geothermal power projects in Southern and Western Australia. In Western Australia, the company has bagged exploration licenses along with the University of Western Australia (UWA) in the Perth Basin. This project is considered to be the first commercial geothermal powered air-conditioning and heating unit in Perth.
Apart from air-conditioning and heating, the Perth Basin project will also concentrate on the desalination of ocean water. The Perth Basin is a geological rift with permeable aquifers that contain hot geothermal water that can be tapped for the generation of clean electricity. In collaboration with the UWA, Green Rock Energy will develop a geothermal powered air-conditioning and heating unit that will replace conventional systems in the Perth Metropolitan area. The company will commence the drilling of the geothermal wells in the latter part of 2009.
Absorption chillers, powered by geothermal energy and developed by Green Rock Energy, can be set up in a number of areas including universities, schools, shopping centers, hotels, data centers, hospitals and airports. These absorption chillers will be environmentally friendly and safe for natural surroundings.
December 29, 2009
Green Rock Energy has established a number of geothermal power projects in Southern and Western Australia. In Western Australia, the company has bagged exploration licenses along with the University of Western Australia (UWA) in the Perth Basin. This project is considered to be the first commercial geothermal powered air-conditioning and heating unit in Perth.
Apart from air-conditioning and heating, the Perth Basin project will also concentrate on the desalination of ocean water. The Perth Basin is a geological rift with permeable aquifers that contain hot geothermal water that can be tapped for the generation of clean electricity. In collaboration with the UWA, Green Rock Energy will develop a geothermal powered air-conditioning and heating unit that will replace conventional systems in the Perth Metropolitan area. The company will commence the drilling of the geothermal wells in the latter part of 2009.
Absorption chillers, powered by geothermal energy and developed by Green Rock Energy, can be set up in a number of areas including universities, schools, shopping centers, hotels, data centers, hospitals and airports. These absorption chillers will be environmentally friendly and safe for natural surroundings.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Chicken waste turned to watts
www.dailytimes.com.pk
December 30, 2009
The new company is one of many that hope to benefit from a 2007 state law that requires electric utilities to increase their reliance on renewable fuels, such as solar energy, poultry waste and swine waste. But green remedies, like all answers to complex problems, cause side effects.
Poultry waste, despite its abundance, has so far proven a problematic fuel. When burned directly, it spews air emissions comparable to those from a coal-burning power plant. Green Energy Solutions proposes to solve that problem by extracting methane from the waste and leaving behind an odourless sludge that can be used as fertiliser. In recent public filings with the NC Utilities Commission, the developer has said it is building a power plant in South Carolina that is set to begin operating in June 2010.
According to filings, it is operating several similar facilities in Europe and has contracts or commitments with 13 poultry farms in North Carolina to supply organic fuel. Green Energy Solutions would generate electricity at the farm and sell the power to an electric utility. Company vice president Julian Cothran says Green Energy Solutions has submitted proposals to Progress Energy and Duke Energy, as well as to ElectriCiti Investment Researches, which represents municipal power agencies, and to GreenCo, an arm of the state's rural electric cooperatives.
December 30, 2009
The new company is one of many that hope to benefit from a 2007 state law that requires electric utilities to increase their reliance on renewable fuels, such as solar energy, poultry waste and swine waste. But green remedies, like all answers to complex problems, cause side effects.Poultry waste, despite its abundance, has so far proven a problematic fuel. When burned directly, it spews air emissions comparable to those from a coal-burning power plant. Green Energy Solutions proposes to solve that problem by extracting methane from the waste and leaving behind an odourless sludge that can be used as fertiliser. In recent public filings with the NC Utilities Commission, the developer has said it is building a power plant in South Carolina that is set to begin operating in June 2010.
According to filings, it is operating several similar facilities in Europe and has contracts or commitments with 13 poultry farms in North Carolina to supply organic fuel. Green Energy Solutions would generate electricity at the farm and sell the power to an electric utility. Company vice president Julian Cothran says Green Energy Solutions has submitted proposals to Progress Energy and Duke Energy, as well as to ElectriCiti Investment Researches, which represents municipal power agencies, and to GreenCo, an arm of the state's rural electric cooperatives.
Pelamis and Vattenfall to develop Aegir wave energy project
www.electric.co.uk
30th of December 2009
Pelamis Wave Power, a Scottish energy developer, has inked a joint contract to develop a huge green project off Shetland Islands with Vattenfall, a European energy giant. The cost of the wave power scheme is estimated at $100 million. After completion, the Aegir wave power project is expected to become the country's largest, with approximately 26 of Pelamis Wave Power' 180m long P2 machines installed. The green initiative will generate at least 200MW of energy capacity, enough to power about 13,000 homes per year and to reduce Scotland's 2020 carbon emissions up to 42 per cent.
The first phase of the project will be installed by 2014, if the planning application is approved by the local government, and the planned underwater cable linking Shetland and Scotland's mainland is installed. At the inauguration of Vattenfall's new office in Edinburgh, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond was pleased with the wave project and said that the joint initiative shows both energy firms' confidence in Scotland's huge marine energy potential.
Earlier this year, WWF released the report 'The Power of Scotland Renewed', based on the study of energy analyst Garrad Hassan. The WWF research states that there is a huge possibility to boost power generation from renewable sources in the next two decades, resulting in green energy meeting 60 to 143 per cent of Scotland's projected yearly electricity requirement by 2030. Meanwhile according to a report published in August by the Marine Energy Group, over 12,000 jobs in marine renewables could contribute £2.5 billion to Scotland's economy by 2020.
30th of December 2009
Pelamis Wave Power, a Scottish energy developer, has inked a joint contract to develop a huge green project off Shetland Islands with Vattenfall, a European energy giant. The cost of the wave power scheme is estimated at $100 million. After completion, the Aegir wave power project is expected to become the country's largest, with approximately 26 of Pelamis Wave Power' 180m long P2 machines installed. The green initiative will generate at least 200MW of energy capacity, enough to power about 13,000 homes per year and to reduce Scotland's 2020 carbon emissions up to 42 per cent.
The first phase of the project will be installed by 2014, if the planning application is approved by the local government, and the planned underwater cable linking Shetland and Scotland's mainland is installed. At the inauguration of Vattenfall's new office in Edinburgh, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond was pleased with the wave project and said that the joint initiative shows both energy firms' confidence in Scotland's huge marine energy potential.
Earlier this year, WWF released the report 'The Power of Scotland Renewed', based on the study of energy analyst Garrad Hassan. The WWF research states that there is a huge possibility to boost power generation from renewable sources in the next two decades, resulting in green energy meeting 60 to 143 per cent of Scotland's projected yearly electricity requirement by 2030. Meanwhile according to a report published in August by the Marine Energy Group, over 12,000 jobs in marine renewables could contribute £2.5 billion to Scotland's economy by 2020.
China enacts law to promote renewable energy
www.businessweek.com
December 27, 2009
China's utilities will be required to buy all the power produced by wind farms and other renewable sources under a new law meant to promote the industry and reduce heavy reliance on coal. Legislators approved the measure Saturday as an amendment to China's 2006 renewable energy law, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Beijing has set ambitious goals for wind, solar and other renewable energy in an effort to clean up its environment and curb surging demand for imported oil and gas, which communist leaders see as a strategic weakness.
The measure also could help Beijing fulfill promises to restrain growth in emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for changing the climate. "The legislation on improving the consumption of clean energy contributes to the global fight on climate change," said Wang Zhongying, director of the renewable energy development center of the Cabinet's main planning agency, according to Xinhua. Other countries such as Germany and Spain also promote solar, wind and other renewable power sources by requiring utilities to buy it and to pay higher prices than for electricity from coal and other traditional sources.
Xinhua gave no details of pricing but said companies that operate China's power grid could be fined if they refuse to buy renewable power, which suggested the cost might be higher. It said grid operators would be required to improve their technology and capacity to absorb power from renewable sources. China is one of the biggest users of wind energy and the government is trying to promote use of solar by promising to pay up to 70% of the cost of new systems.
China faces the challenge that its windiest areas are far from populous cities, requiring costly transmission lines that in many areas have yet to be built. Wind farm construction has raced ahead so fast that 25% are not connected to the national power grid. Government goals issued in 2005 call for at least 15% of China's power to come from wind, solar and hydropower by 2020, up from 9% now. Officials say that target may be raised to 20% because the industry is developing so fast.
Coal provides two-thirds of China's power and is expected to remain the dominant energy source in coming years. China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse bases but is not bound by global agreements on curbing emissions because it is a developing economy. But the Cabinet promised last month to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide for each unit of economic output by 40% to 45% from 2005 levels by 2020.
December 27, 2009
China's utilities will be required to buy all the power produced by wind farms and other renewable sources under a new law meant to promote the industry and reduce heavy reliance on coal. Legislators approved the measure Saturday as an amendment to China's 2006 renewable energy law, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Beijing has set ambitious goals for wind, solar and other renewable energy in an effort to clean up its environment and curb surging demand for imported oil and gas, which communist leaders see as a strategic weakness.
The measure also could help Beijing fulfill promises to restrain growth in emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for changing the climate. "The legislation on improving the consumption of clean energy contributes to the global fight on climate change," said Wang Zhongying, director of the renewable energy development center of the Cabinet's main planning agency, according to Xinhua. Other countries such as Germany and Spain also promote solar, wind and other renewable power sources by requiring utilities to buy it and to pay higher prices than for electricity from coal and other traditional sources.
Xinhua gave no details of pricing but said companies that operate China's power grid could be fined if they refuse to buy renewable power, which suggested the cost might be higher. It said grid operators would be required to improve their technology and capacity to absorb power from renewable sources. China is one of the biggest users of wind energy and the government is trying to promote use of solar by promising to pay up to 70% of the cost of new systems.
China faces the challenge that its windiest areas are far from populous cities, requiring costly transmission lines that in many areas have yet to be built. Wind farm construction has raced ahead so fast that 25% are not connected to the national power grid. Government goals issued in 2005 call for at least 15% of China's power to come from wind, solar and hydropower by 2020, up from 9% now. Officials say that target may be raised to 20% because the industry is developing so fast.
Coal provides two-thirds of China's power and is expected to remain the dominant energy source in coming years. China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse bases but is not bound by global agreements on curbing emissions because it is a developing economy. But the Cabinet promised last month to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide for each unit of economic output by 40% to 45% from 2005 levels by 2020.
`Green' energy alarm sounds
Sunday Age
Sunday 27/12/2009 Page: 16
SOME, of the greenest technologies of our time - - from electric cars to efficient light bulbs to large wind turbines - are made possible by a group of unusual elements called rare earths. The world's dependence on these substances is rising fast. Just one problem - these elements come almost entirely from some of China's most environmentally damaging mines, in an industry dominated by criminal gangs. Western capitals are suddenly worried about China's near monopoly, which gives it a potential stranglehold on technologies of the future. In Washington, Congress has just ordered a study of potential alternatives to the Chinese rare earth materials that are crucial to the US military.
In Guyun Village, a small community in south-eastern China fringed by lush bamboo groves and banana trees, the environmental damage can be seen in the red-brown scars of barren clay where emerald rice fields once grew. Miners scrape off the topsoil and shovel golden-flecked clay into dirt pits, using acids to extract the rare earths. The acids wash into streams and rivers, destroying rice paddies and tainting water supplies.
There are 17 rare-earth elements, some of which, despite the name, are not particularly rare. However, two heavy rare earth elements, dysprosium and terbium, are in especially short supply, mainly because they have emerged as crucial ingredients of green energy products. Tiny quantities of dysprosium can make magnets in electric motors lighter by 90%, while terbium can help cut the electricity usage of lights by 80%. Dysprosium prices have climbed nearly sevenfold since 2003, to $53 a pound. Terbium prices quadrupled from 2003 to 2008, peaking at $407.
China mines more than 99% of the world's dysprosium and terbium. Most production comes from about 200 mines in Guangdong and in neighbouring Jiangxi province. Half the heavy rare earth mines have licenses and half are illegal. Western importers don't know where the minerals they buy have come from. "I don't know if part of that feed, internal in China, came from an illegal mine and went in a legal separator," said David Kennedy, president of Great Western Technologies in Michigan, which imports rare earths.
Sunday 27/12/2009 Page: 16
SOME, of the greenest technologies of our time - - from electric cars to efficient light bulbs to large wind turbines - are made possible by a group of unusual elements called rare earths. The world's dependence on these substances is rising fast. Just one problem - these elements come almost entirely from some of China's most environmentally damaging mines, in an industry dominated by criminal gangs. Western capitals are suddenly worried about China's near monopoly, which gives it a potential stranglehold on technologies of the future. In Washington, Congress has just ordered a study of potential alternatives to the Chinese rare earth materials that are crucial to the US military.
In Guyun Village, a small community in south-eastern China fringed by lush bamboo groves and banana trees, the environmental damage can be seen in the red-brown scars of barren clay where emerald rice fields once grew. Miners scrape off the topsoil and shovel golden-flecked clay into dirt pits, using acids to extract the rare earths. The acids wash into streams and rivers, destroying rice paddies and tainting water supplies.
There are 17 rare-earth elements, some of which, despite the name, are not particularly rare. However, two heavy rare earth elements, dysprosium and terbium, are in especially short supply, mainly because they have emerged as crucial ingredients of green energy products. Tiny quantities of dysprosium can make magnets in electric motors lighter by 90%, while terbium can help cut the electricity usage of lights by 80%. Dysprosium prices have climbed nearly sevenfold since 2003, to $53 a pound. Terbium prices quadrupled from 2003 to 2008, peaking at $407.
China mines more than 99% of the world's dysprosium and terbium. Most production comes from about 200 mines in Guangdong and in neighbouring Jiangxi province. Half the heavy rare earth mines have licenses and half are illegal. Western importers don't know where the minerals they buy have come from. "I don't know if part of that feed, internal in China, came from an illegal mine and went in a legal separator," said David Kennedy, president of Great Western Technologies in Michigan, which imports rare earths.
Thermal energy
www.biofuelswatch.com
December 27th 2009
Thermal energy is being explored and used as a renewable power source in a number of different ways, most commonly in the form of geothermal power as found throughout geographic thermal hot-spots such as those found in the western United States and used extensively in some countries such as Iceland, however solar thermal energy is also being explored as a source of power generation by some developers as well.
Geothermal power plants can be found in a number of select areas around the world where the earth's crust is particularly thin near fault lines or developing volcanoes in order to allow for the easiest capture and conversion of power into energy with minimal development necessary. These plants typically utilize the power by drilling into the crust of the earth towards the thin location and then pumping water into the hole, producing super-heated steam that exits through a vent at high velocities in order to be captured and used to power turbines that generate electricity. While there are currently a number of different geothermal power plants being developed that use different energy conversion methods this is by far the most commonplace method that allows for the direct extraction of energy through a turbine generation process and is adapted for use around the world. The only drawback is that the viable locations for such a plant are limited, and as such they cannot be developed for widespread application in all areas.
Another form of thermal energy that is still being explored is a form of solar energy, however rather than using photoelectric cells to capture and generate power instead refractive dishes are used to channel the sun's natural energy into a key location that is then used to power energy producing steam engines or turbines similar to other geothermal power plants. This process has been particularly effective in providing a much higher conversion rate of the sun's energy than common solar cells which can only operate at a maximum of around 40% energy conversion rates with the latest models and decrease in effectiveness the hotter they become. Further, by utilizing the sun for thermal energy this can bypass many of the limitations placed upon geothermal power plants, however some restrictions on locations must still be made in order to ensure that enough energy can be harvested on a regular basis in order to make a solar thermal energy plant viable.
As technology continues to advance and additional research is done into various forms of thermal energy generation it is expected to see a large increase in these forms of power plants in the near future in order to provide a more stable, renewable energy source for the world that can be developed and maintained in various countries regardless of natural resources present. Given that thermal energy plants are high ecologically friendly as well and have virtually no carbon emissions or other negative impacts upon their surrounding environments these have gotten strong support from many people worldwide who are looking at investing in thermal energy for a reliable alternative to current fossil fuel dependence.
December 27th 2009
Thermal energy is being explored and used as a renewable power source in a number of different ways, most commonly in the form of geothermal power as found throughout geographic thermal hot-spots such as those found in the western United States and used extensively in some countries such as Iceland, however solar thermal energy is also being explored as a source of power generation by some developers as well.
Geothermal power plants can be found in a number of select areas around the world where the earth's crust is particularly thin near fault lines or developing volcanoes in order to allow for the easiest capture and conversion of power into energy with minimal development necessary. These plants typically utilize the power by drilling into the crust of the earth towards the thin location and then pumping water into the hole, producing super-heated steam that exits through a vent at high velocities in order to be captured and used to power turbines that generate electricity. While there are currently a number of different geothermal power plants being developed that use different energy conversion methods this is by far the most commonplace method that allows for the direct extraction of energy through a turbine generation process and is adapted for use around the world. The only drawback is that the viable locations for such a plant are limited, and as such they cannot be developed for widespread application in all areas.
Another form of thermal energy that is still being explored is a form of solar energy, however rather than using photoelectric cells to capture and generate power instead refractive dishes are used to channel the sun's natural energy into a key location that is then used to power energy producing steam engines or turbines similar to other geothermal power plants. This process has been particularly effective in providing a much higher conversion rate of the sun's energy than common solar cells which can only operate at a maximum of around 40% energy conversion rates with the latest models and decrease in effectiveness the hotter they become. Further, by utilizing the sun for thermal energy this can bypass many of the limitations placed upon geothermal power plants, however some restrictions on locations must still be made in order to ensure that enough energy can be harvested on a regular basis in order to make a solar thermal energy plant viable.
As technology continues to advance and additional research is done into various forms of thermal energy generation it is expected to see a large increase in these forms of power plants in the near future in order to provide a more stable, renewable energy source for the world that can be developed and maintained in various countries regardless of natural resources present. Given that thermal energy plants are high ecologically friendly as well and have virtually no carbon emissions or other negative impacts upon their surrounding environments these have gotten strong support from many people worldwide who are looking at investing in thermal energy for a reliable alternative to current fossil fuel dependence.
China's first massive wind power base hits 2 GW
www.evwind.es
December 26, 2009
The installed capacity of China's first massive wind energy base in northwestern Gansu Province reached two GWs. The Jiuquan wind energy base achieved the landmark capacity as China Datang Corporation, one of China's power giants, installed a 200 MW wind energy unit in Yumen City under the jurisdiction of Jiuquan City, said Wu Shengxue, deputy head of Jiuquan's Reform and Development Commission. The wind energy base, which consists of 8 groups of power plants, is planned to be the first of its kind to have a capacity of more than 10 GWs. According to a plan of China's National Energy Administration, its capacity is expected to reach 12.71 GWs in 2015.
The plan included five other wind energy bases of over 10 GW capacity. A wind energy base of 20 GWs and another of 30 GWs are to be built in east and west Inner Mongolia. Two other bases, each having a 10 GW capacity, are respectively planned in eastern Jiangsu Province and northern Hebei Province. One more wind energy base of 20 GWs is to be built in northwestern Xinjiang. China would have a wind energy capacity of more than 100 GWs or 3% of the country's overall consumption by 2020, said Shi Pengfei, deputy president of Chinese Wind Energy Association.
Shandong's provincial Development and Reform Commission has approved the first phase of a RMB 2 billion wind energy project by China Datang Corporation's Shandong subsidiary, Qilu Evening News reported December 22. Datang plans to install 120 wind turbines to give the project a total installed capacity of 200 MW. Shandong Datang also announced that Shandong's provincial Development and Reform Commission has also approved its 49.5 MW windfarm project in Laiyang, Shandong Province. The project covers land of 3.4 hectares and has a total investment of 494.6 million.
China Datang Corporation (CDT) is an extra large scaled power generation enterprise group established on the basis of the partial power generation assets of former State Power Corporation of China on Dec. 29, 2002. It is a solely state-owned corporation directly managed by the CPC Corp Central Committee and is the experimental state-authorized investment and state share-holding enterprise ratified by the State Council.
The registered capital is 15.39 billion yuan. CDT is mainly specialized in such business as management of the state-owned assets invested by the state and owned by CDT; development, investment, construction, operation and management of power energy; organization of power (thermal) production and sales; electric power equipment manufacture, maintenance and commissioning; power technology development and consultation; contracting and consulting of electric power engineering and environmental protection projects, renewable energy development, conducting and acting as agent for import and export of commodities and technologies of various types, contracting of overseas projects and domestic projects through international bidding; exporting equipment and materials required by above-mentioned overseas projects, and sending labor force abroad required to carry out above-mentioned overseas projects.
December 26, 2009
The installed capacity of China's first massive wind energy base in northwestern Gansu Province reached two GWs. The Jiuquan wind energy base achieved the landmark capacity as China Datang Corporation, one of China's power giants, installed a 200 MW wind energy unit in Yumen City under the jurisdiction of Jiuquan City, said Wu Shengxue, deputy head of Jiuquan's Reform and Development Commission. The wind energy base, which consists of 8 groups of power plants, is planned to be the first of its kind to have a capacity of more than 10 GWs. According to a plan of China's National Energy Administration, its capacity is expected to reach 12.71 GWs in 2015.
The plan included five other wind energy bases of over 10 GW capacity. A wind energy base of 20 GWs and another of 30 GWs are to be built in east and west Inner Mongolia. Two other bases, each having a 10 GW capacity, are respectively planned in eastern Jiangsu Province and northern Hebei Province. One more wind energy base of 20 GWs is to be built in northwestern Xinjiang. China would have a wind energy capacity of more than 100 GWs or 3% of the country's overall consumption by 2020, said Shi Pengfei, deputy president of Chinese Wind Energy Association.
Shandong's provincial Development and Reform Commission has approved the first phase of a RMB 2 billion wind energy project by China Datang Corporation's Shandong subsidiary, Qilu Evening News reported December 22. Datang plans to install 120 wind turbines to give the project a total installed capacity of 200 MW. Shandong Datang also announced that Shandong's provincial Development and Reform Commission has also approved its 49.5 MW windfarm project in Laiyang, Shandong Province. The project covers land of 3.4 hectares and has a total investment of 494.6 million.
China Datang Corporation (CDT) is an extra large scaled power generation enterprise group established on the basis of the partial power generation assets of former State Power Corporation of China on Dec. 29, 2002. It is a solely state-owned corporation directly managed by the CPC Corp Central Committee and is the experimental state-authorized investment and state share-holding enterprise ratified by the State Council.
The registered capital is 15.39 billion yuan. CDT is mainly specialized in such business as management of the state-owned assets invested by the state and owned by CDT; development, investment, construction, operation and management of power energy; organization of power (thermal) production and sales; electric power equipment manufacture, maintenance and commissioning; power technology development and consultation; contracting and consulting of electric power engineering and environmental protection projects, renewable energy development, conducting and acting as agent for import and export of commodities and technologies of various types, contracting of overseas projects and domestic projects through international bidding; exporting equipment and materials required by above-mentioned overseas projects, and sending labor force abroad required to carry out above-mentioned overseas projects.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Almost a quarter of Scotland’s electricity need met by renewables
newenergyfocus.com
24 December 2009
Statistics published yesterday (December 23) showed that in 2008 Scotland generated the equivalent of 22% of its electricity needs from renewables, just 9% off its 2011 target. Energy Trends, a quarterly bulletin of UK energy statistics prepared by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), also revealed that there was a 9% increase in the amount of electricity from renewables (8.900 GWh) in 2008. The wind, wave and solar element of this increased by 26%, although this was mainly attributed to wind. The Scottish Government's target is to meet 31% of electricity demand from renewables by 2011 and 50% by 2020, so a 22% figure in 2008 suggests it is on target.
In all, renewables from Scotland accounted for 42% of UK renewable output. The amount of Renewable Obligation (Scotland) eligible electricity generated in Scotland in 2008 was 11% greater than in 2007, while the amount of Renewables Obligation (RO) eligible electricity generated in Wales in 2008 was 18% more than in 2007. In England, the increase was 8% and in Northern Ireland 52%. In the UK as a whole, RO eligible electricity production increased by 11%. UK wide, hydro sources of electricity rose by 39.3% on the third quarter of 2008, while wind rose by 38.9%.
Scotland
The Scottish Government said that there was now 6.5GW of renewables capacity installed, consented or under construction around Scotland. It added that its Energy Consents and Deployment Unit was currently processing 36 applications (24 onshore wind, 11 hydro and one thermal), amounting to 2.7GW. In 2009, Whitelee, Europe's largest onshore windfarm, was officially switched on and the pioneering Orkney-based Oyster wave energy generator connected to the National Grid.
Energy Minister Jim Mather said that renewables was now a vibrant energy sector that made a significant contribution to sustainable economic growth. "Scotland's energy advantage is in developing the full range of renewable energy sources to create thousands of long term jobs, reduce emissions and meet our energy needs many times over," Mr Mather said.
He added: "The rapid development of renewables is a tangible example of our fight against climate change and we are working to become an international leader in turning alternative energy technologies into the main energy technologies of the future. "We are already on track to exceed our target of 31% of electricity demand from renewables by 2011. "While we witness continued progress in electricity, we are working to boost the use of renewables in heating through our Renewable Heat Action Plan and a new grant scheme for biomass heating."
WWF
Environmental body WWF Scotland said that Scotland was showing the way in terms of renewable energy. Lang Banks, head of communications at WWF Scotland said, "2009 has been another good year for renewable energy. With almost six Gigawatts of renewables capacity installed, consented or under construction, Scotland is on course to smash its interim target of meeting 31% of electricity demand from renewables by 2011.
"Green energy has a critical role to play in helping us achieve the 42% reduction in greenhouse gases set out in the world-leading Scottish Climate Change Act. "On and offshore wind, wave, tidal power, hydro, biomass and solar are all going to be important in Scotland's future mix of clean, green energy." Mr Lang added that WWF's own analysis has found that Scotland could meet all its electricity needs by 2030 without the requirement for either nuclear or fossil fuel powered installations.
24 December 2009
Statistics published yesterday (December 23) showed that in 2008 Scotland generated the equivalent of 22% of its electricity needs from renewables, just 9% off its 2011 target. Energy Trends, a quarterly bulletin of UK energy statistics prepared by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), also revealed that there was a 9% increase in the amount of electricity from renewables (8.900 GWh) in 2008. The wind, wave and solar element of this increased by 26%, although this was mainly attributed to wind. The Scottish Government's target is to meet 31% of electricity demand from renewables by 2011 and 50% by 2020, so a 22% figure in 2008 suggests it is on target.In all, renewables from Scotland accounted for 42% of UK renewable output. The amount of Renewable Obligation (Scotland) eligible electricity generated in Scotland in 2008 was 11% greater than in 2007, while the amount of Renewables Obligation (RO) eligible electricity generated in Wales in 2008 was 18% more than in 2007. In England, the increase was 8% and in Northern Ireland 52%. In the UK as a whole, RO eligible electricity production increased by 11%. UK wide, hydro sources of electricity rose by 39.3% on the third quarter of 2008, while wind rose by 38.9%.
Scotland
The Scottish Government said that there was now 6.5GW of renewables capacity installed, consented or under construction around Scotland. It added that its Energy Consents and Deployment Unit was currently processing 36 applications (24 onshore wind, 11 hydro and one thermal), amounting to 2.7GW. In 2009, Whitelee, Europe's largest onshore windfarm, was officially switched on and the pioneering Orkney-based Oyster wave energy generator connected to the National Grid.
Energy Minister Jim Mather said that renewables was now a vibrant energy sector that made a significant contribution to sustainable economic growth. "Scotland's energy advantage is in developing the full range of renewable energy sources to create thousands of long term jobs, reduce emissions and meet our energy needs many times over," Mr Mather said.
He added: "The rapid development of renewables is a tangible example of our fight against climate change and we are working to become an international leader in turning alternative energy technologies into the main energy technologies of the future. "We are already on track to exceed our target of 31% of electricity demand from renewables by 2011. "While we witness continued progress in electricity, we are working to boost the use of renewables in heating through our Renewable Heat Action Plan and a new grant scheme for biomass heating."
WWF
Environmental body WWF Scotland said that Scotland was showing the way in terms of renewable energy. Lang Banks, head of communications at WWF Scotland said, "2009 has been another good year for renewable energy. With almost six Gigawatts of renewables capacity installed, consented or under construction, Scotland is on course to smash its interim target of meeting 31% of electricity demand from renewables by 2011.
"Green energy has a critical role to play in helping us achieve the 42% reduction in greenhouse gases set out in the world-leading Scottish Climate Change Act. "On and offshore wind, wave, tidal power, hydro, biomass and solar are all going to be important in Scotland's future mix of clean, green energy." Mr Lang added that WWF's own analysis has found that Scotland could meet all its electricity needs by 2030 without the requirement for either nuclear or fossil fuel powered installations.
Dong rides the wind
www.upstreamonline.com
23 December, 2009
Denmark's DONG Energy has teamed up with German company Siemens to buy half of the Lincs windfarm project in the North Sea from UK utility Centrica. DONG Energy and Siemens Project Ventures will pay 50% of the project's development costs, seen at £50 million ($80.1 million), the state-controlled utility said in a statement. "DONG Energy's and SPV's aggregated 50% share of the project represents a capital investment of approximately £375 million," it said. "Construction of the project is expected to commence in the late summer of 2010, with commissioning scheduled for 2012."
Centrica will keep the remaining stake in the project, which has a permitted capacity of up to 270 MWs (MW). In a separate statement DONG Energy said Siemens would deliver 75 3.6 MW turbines to Lincs. "DONG Energy and Siemens have agreed to further utilise and expand the off take under the supply agreement signed in March 2009." Meanwhile, DONG Energy also said it had sealed a deal to sell 25.1% of its 367 MW Walney windfarm in the Irish Sea to Scottish and Southern Energy for up to around £39 million.
23 December, 2009
Denmark's DONG Energy has teamed up with German company Siemens to buy half of the Lincs windfarm project in the North Sea from UK utility Centrica. DONG Energy and Siemens Project Ventures will pay 50% of the project's development costs, seen at £50 million ($80.1 million), the state-controlled utility said in a statement. "DONG Energy's and SPV's aggregated 50% share of the project represents a capital investment of approximately £375 million," it said. "Construction of the project is expected to commence in the late summer of 2010, with commissioning scheduled for 2012."
Centrica will keep the remaining stake in the project, which has a permitted capacity of up to 270 MWs (MW). In a separate statement DONG Energy said Siemens would deliver 75 3.6 MW turbines to Lincs. "DONG Energy and Siemens have agreed to further utilise and expand the off take under the supply agreement signed in March 2009." Meanwhile, DONG Energy also said it had sealed a deal to sell 25.1% of its 367 MW Walney windfarm in the Irish Sea to Scottish and Southern Energy for up to around £39 million.
Iceland wants to be independent from fossil fuel
www.evwind.es
December 26, 2009
Iceland is among the countries hardest hit by the financial crisis. While trying to recover from the crisis, it plans to move the nation to use renewable energy completely. Iceland plans to move the nation to use renewable energy completely since 80% of the nation's total energy use already stems from renewable sources which boasts the world number one in this aspect. Its unique combination of political will, a concentrated population of just 310,000 people and abundant, low-cost geothermal electricity could, in fact, lead to the first national charging network in the world.
Mitsubishi will be one of Iceland's first partners. The company's relationship to Iceland goes back to the early 1970s, when it began supplying turbines to the country's emerging geothermal industry. Two years ago, Mitsubishi came to the table to talk about bringing its i-MiEV electric car to Iceland. Examples were brought over last year, their first visit outside Japan. Iceland's financial crisis hasn't derailed the Mitsubishi agreement.
Iceland has also flirted with a hydrogen energy economy, and Shell operates a filling station for fuel-cell cars. Jon-Bjorn Skulason of Iceland New Energy said that there are now 10 hydrogen cars in the country, including eight Toyota Priuses modified to burn hydrogen and Ford Focus and Explorer fuel-cell vehicles.
But GrÃmsson and many other Icelanders have become skeptical about hydrogen for Iceland, largely because fuel-cell vehicles remain in short supply. Meanwhile, plug-in electric cars are scheduled to hit the world's roads in significant numbers next year. "There seems to be a slowdown in the development of hydrogen cars from the big players," GrÃmsson said. "We believe that electric cars may be better suited to transform our transportation fleet in a short time than hydrogen."
Northern Lights Energy (NLE), provider of infrastructure and services for Electric Vehicles (EV) in Iceland, has signed an agreement with the Reva Electric Car Company (REVA) to jointly develop the electric vehicle market in Iceland. NLE will have exclusive distribution rights for the NXR, the new model premiered by REVA at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and consequent follow-up models, such as the sports coupé NXG, which will be launched in 2011. The sales and marketing of the electric car will commence in the second half of 2010 and customer deliveries at the end of 2010.
NLE is working on developing a recharging infrastructure system for Electric Vehicles and vehicle exchange service to support the adoption of electric vehicles in Iceland. "Iceland is an island and with its advanced electric grid technology using 100% renewable energy in electricity production is a perfect location for zero emission electric vehicles" says Gisli Gislason, the Chairman of NLE. In addition to importing new EV models to Iceland, NLE is also working on developing systems to convert the current internal combustion engine (ICE) car fleet into Electric Cars.
According to a feature report from the Iceland Review, by replacing the remaining oil and gas imports for the fishing fleet and transport sector with renewable energy, Iceland could well become the first country to be 100% energy independent. While the country is still reeling in the aftermath of last fall's banking collapse, some see the economic crisis as an opportunity for change towards heightened sustainability. According to experts, by the time the economy recovers and car sales start to roll, the cost of electric cars, currently not competitive, will have fallen-paving the way for the electrification of the island's land transport, according to the report.
'We could use the opportunity now to modify the tax system to encourage a transition to using locally produced energy for transport," says Pétur Albert Haraldsson, chairperson of FramtÃdarorka (FTO) Sustainable Solutions-a consultancy focusing on sustainable transport-and co-founder of the Driving Sustainability conference.
The 1970s oil crises spurred discoveries and increased harnessing of geothermal energy. Though the process of transitioning from coal to geothermal energy in ReykjavÃk began in the 1930s, the change was accelerated in the 70s when more and more houses were connected to the district heating grid in an effort to wean dependence on expensive oil imports. The switch to geothermal also means that CO² levels today are 45% lower than they would otherwise be, said the report.
The next step towards decarbonization and energy independence for Iceland is the transition towards clean transport and electric vehicles. "One of our greatest challenges is the transition from imported fossil fuels to fuels from renewable energy for the mobile parts of our energy system," said Minister for Energy, Industry and Tourism, KatrÃn JúlÃusdóttir recently.
Plans are well underway. Northern Lights Energy (NLE), an investment company focusing on environmentally friendly ventures, runs the 2012–New Beginning project that aims to enable the public to replace their conventional cars with electric vehicles by 2012, according to the report.
December 26, 2009
Iceland is among the countries hardest hit by the financial crisis. While trying to recover from the crisis, it plans to move the nation to use renewable energy completely. Iceland plans to move the nation to use renewable energy completely since 80% of the nation's total energy use already stems from renewable sources which boasts the world number one in this aspect. Its unique combination of political will, a concentrated population of just 310,000 people and abundant, low-cost geothermal electricity could, in fact, lead to the first national charging network in the world.
Mitsubishi will be one of Iceland's first partners. The company's relationship to Iceland goes back to the early 1970s, when it began supplying turbines to the country's emerging geothermal industry. Two years ago, Mitsubishi came to the table to talk about bringing its i-MiEV electric car to Iceland. Examples were brought over last year, their first visit outside Japan. Iceland's financial crisis hasn't derailed the Mitsubishi agreement.
Iceland has also flirted with a hydrogen energy economy, and Shell operates a filling station for fuel-cell cars. Jon-Bjorn Skulason of Iceland New Energy said that there are now 10 hydrogen cars in the country, including eight Toyota Priuses modified to burn hydrogen and Ford Focus and Explorer fuel-cell vehicles.
But GrÃmsson and many other Icelanders have become skeptical about hydrogen for Iceland, largely because fuel-cell vehicles remain in short supply. Meanwhile, plug-in electric cars are scheduled to hit the world's roads in significant numbers next year. "There seems to be a slowdown in the development of hydrogen cars from the big players," GrÃmsson said. "We believe that electric cars may be better suited to transform our transportation fleet in a short time than hydrogen."
Northern Lights Energy (NLE), provider of infrastructure and services for Electric Vehicles (EV) in Iceland, has signed an agreement with the Reva Electric Car Company (REVA) to jointly develop the electric vehicle market in Iceland. NLE will have exclusive distribution rights for the NXR, the new model premiered by REVA at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and consequent follow-up models, such as the sports coupé NXG, which will be launched in 2011. The sales and marketing of the electric car will commence in the second half of 2010 and customer deliveries at the end of 2010.
NLE is working on developing a recharging infrastructure system for Electric Vehicles and vehicle exchange service to support the adoption of electric vehicles in Iceland. "Iceland is an island and with its advanced electric grid technology using 100% renewable energy in electricity production is a perfect location for zero emission electric vehicles" says Gisli Gislason, the Chairman of NLE. In addition to importing new EV models to Iceland, NLE is also working on developing systems to convert the current internal combustion engine (ICE) car fleet into Electric Cars.
According to a feature report from the Iceland Review, by replacing the remaining oil and gas imports for the fishing fleet and transport sector with renewable energy, Iceland could well become the first country to be 100% energy independent. While the country is still reeling in the aftermath of last fall's banking collapse, some see the economic crisis as an opportunity for change towards heightened sustainability. According to experts, by the time the economy recovers and car sales start to roll, the cost of electric cars, currently not competitive, will have fallen-paving the way for the electrification of the island's land transport, according to the report.
'We could use the opportunity now to modify the tax system to encourage a transition to using locally produced energy for transport," says Pétur Albert Haraldsson, chairperson of FramtÃdarorka (FTO) Sustainable Solutions-a consultancy focusing on sustainable transport-and co-founder of the Driving Sustainability conference.
The 1970s oil crises spurred discoveries and increased harnessing of geothermal energy. Though the process of transitioning from coal to geothermal energy in ReykjavÃk began in the 1930s, the change was accelerated in the 70s when more and more houses were connected to the district heating grid in an effort to wean dependence on expensive oil imports. The switch to geothermal also means that CO² levels today are 45% lower than they would otherwise be, said the report.
The next step towards decarbonization and energy independence for Iceland is the transition towards clean transport and electric vehicles. "One of our greatest challenges is the transition from imported fossil fuels to fuels from renewable energy for the mobile parts of our energy system," said Minister for Energy, Industry and Tourism, KatrÃn JúlÃusdóttir recently.
Plans are well underway. Northern Lights Energy (NLE), an investment company focusing on environmentally friendly ventures, runs the 2012–New Beginning project that aims to enable the public to replace their conventional cars with electric vehicles by 2012, according to the report.
Sweden finances Tanzania's rural solar power transformation
news.xinhuanet.com
2009-12-26
DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) - - Tanzania has received over three billion Tanzanian shillings (about 2.2 million U.S, dollars)from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to implement rural solar energy project in the eastern African country, the local media reported on Friday. After the inauguration of the project, Tanzania Assistant Commissioner of Energy and Minerals Hosea Mbise said that the project was aimed to remove impediments in the development of solar energy sector in Tanzania as it is geared at ensuring that rural-based communities in Tanzania are supplied with reliable power.
Mbise named other impediments as high installation charges of the solar energy facilities as well as low level of awareness amongst the people. Limited numbers of technicians in solar energy equipment installation and low participation of the private businesses in the investment were among of the major challenges facing the sector. "This project is very important for people living in rural areas," Mbise said.
Since the project started in 2005, more than 150 businesspersons had been trained in business related to solar energy investment, while about 152 technicians had been trained on better ways of connecting solar energy and service provision after selling equipment to customers, according to Mbise. He added that more efforts were being made to ensure that the training spread all-over the country so that villagers can enjoy power service.
For his part, project consultant Jeff Michael Felten said some customers have been failing to purchase equipment needed for solar energy installation. "For instance, expenses to install solar energy in the homes starts at 200,000 shillings (about 150 dollars) and goes up depending on the needs, though after installation life span for the facility is about 20 years," he observed. Marketing Manager for Sollatek Power Control, Mrisho Ramadhani urged suppliers of solar energy equipment to refrain from doubling the prices of the items, saying the move discouraged people to opt for the service.
2009-12-26
DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) - - Tanzania has received over three billion Tanzanian shillings (about 2.2 million U.S, dollars)from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to implement rural solar energy project in the eastern African country, the local media reported on Friday. After the inauguration of the project, Tanzania Assistant Commissioner of Energy and Minerals Hosea Mbise said that the project was aimed to remove impediments in the development of solar energy sector in Tanzania as it is geared at ensuring that rural-based communities in Tanzania are supplied with reliable power.
Mbise named other impediments as high installation charges of the solar energy facilities as well as low level of awareness amongst the people. Limited numbers of technicians in solar energy equipment installation and low participation of the private businesses in the investment were among of the major challenges facing the sector. "This project is very important for people living in rural areas," Mbise said.
Since the project started in 2005, more than 150 businesspersons had been trained in business related to solar energy investment, while about 152 technicians had been trained on better ways of connecting solar energy and service provision after selling equipment to customers, according to Mbise. He added that more efforts were being made to ensure that the training spread all-over the country so that villagers can enjoy power service.
For his part, project consultant Jeff Michael Felten said some customers have been failing to purchase equipment needed for solar energy installation. "For instance, expenses to install solar energy in the homes starts at 200,000 shillings (about 150 dollars) and goes up depending on the needs, though after installation life span for the facility is about 20 years," he observed. Marketing Manager for Sollatek Power Control, Mrisho Ramadhani urged suppliers of solar energy equipment to refrain from doubling the prices of the items, saying the move discouraged people to opt for the service.
Indonesia province offers $1.4bn geothermal projects
uk.reuters.com
Dec 23, 2009
JAKARTA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Indonesia's West Java province is offering three geothermal projects requiring $1.4 billion of investment to be financed under a public and private partnership scheme, an official at the planning ministry said on Wednesday. The government has launched two crash programmes to increase power generation because Southeast Asia's biggest economy faces chronic power shortages after years of under investment.
The first 10,000 MW programme relies on coal-fired power plants, while nearly half of a second 10,000 MW programme, due to start next year, will come from geothermal sources. "The IFC (International Finance Corporation) may help with the feasibility studies as long as the terms are clear," said Bastary Pandji Indra, a director at the ministry in charge of projects under public-private partnership. The IFC, the private arm of multilateral lender the World Bank, could also provide further financing for investors who win tenders, Indra added.
The geothermal projects being offered are Gede Pangrango with a potential capacity of 210 MW, Sangkan Hurip with 100 MW and Papandayan with 160 MW. The government has in recent years sought to attract more investment by partnering with private firms, usually with authorities freeing up land and private firms financing most of the construction. A second director at the planning ministry, Monty Girianna, who is in charge of mineral and natural resources, said investors were likely to be interested in the projects provided locations were free of any land disputes and it was clear how much state power firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) would pay for the electricity.
An official at the mines and energy ministry said earlier this month that PLN would open tenders to buy the electricity from geothermal developers using a ceiling price of 9.7 U.S, cents per kW hour, more than double the 4 U.S, cents per kWh currently, in a bid to lure investors. [ID:nJAK413274] Indonesia, with hundreds of active and extinct volcanoes, has the potential to produce an estimated 27,000 MW of electricity from geothermal sources.
However, most of the potential remains largely untapped because the high cost of geothermal energy makes the price of electricity generated this way expensive. Nonetheless, local energy firms Medco Energi Internasional (MEDC.JK) and Star Energy, are looking at making new investments, while Chevron (CVX.N), the world's largest private producer of geothermal energy, has previously said it plans to double its geothermal business in Indonesia and the Philippines by 2020.
Dec 23, 2009
JAKARTA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Indonesia's West Java province is offering three geothermal projects requiring $1.4 billion of investment to be financed under a public and private partnership scheme, an official at the planning ministry said on Wednesday. The government has launched two crash programmes to increase power generation because Southeast Asia's biggest economy faces chronic power shortages after years of under investment.
The first 10,000 MW programme relies on coal-fired power plants, while nearly half of a second 10,000 MW programme, due to start next year, will come from geothermal sources. "The IFC (International Finance Corporation) may help with the feasibility studies as long as the terms are clear," said Bastary Pandji Indra, a director at the ministry in charge of projects under public-private partnership. The IFC, the private arm of multilateral lender the World Bank, could also provide further financing for investors who win tenders, Indra added.
The geothermal projects being offered are Gede Pangrango with a potential capacity of 210 MW, Sangkan Hurip with 100 MW and Papandayan with 160 MW. The government has in recent years sought to attract more investment by partnering with private firms, usually with authorities freeing up land and private firms financing most of the construction. A second director at the planning ministry, Monty Girianna, who is in charge of mineral and natural resources, said investors were likely to be interested in the projects provided locations were free of any land disputes and it was clear how much state power firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) would pay for the electricity.
An official at the mines and energy ministry said earlier this month that PLN would open tenders to buy the electricity from geothermal developers using a ceiling price of 9.7 U.S, cents per kW hour, more than double the 4 U.S, cents per kWh currently, in a bid to lure investors. [ID:nJAK413274] Indonesia, with hundreds of active and extinct volcanoes, has the potential to produce an estimated 27,000 MW of electricity from geothermal sources.
However, most of the potential remains largely untapped because the high cost of geothermal energy makes the price of electricity generated this way expensive. Nonetheless, local energy firms Medco Energi Internasional (MEDC.JK) and Star Energy, are looking at making new investments, while Chevron (CVX.N), the world's largest private producer of geothermal energy, has previously said it plans to double its geothermal business in Indonesia and the Philippines by 2020.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Carnegie Wave Energy signs agreement with EDF EN
www.proactiveinvestors.com.au
December 24, 2009
Wave Energy Developer Carnegie Corporation Energy (ASX:CWE) has penned a formal CETO Collaboration and Licensing Agreement with Northern Hemisphere Development partner EDF EN. The signing of the license is the final step in the purchase process of the CETO intellectual property and global development rights by Carnegie Corporation paving the way for joint development of commercial CETO projects throughout the Northern Hemisphere and Reunion Island. Carnegie Corporation retains the right to own up to 49% of each project and each project will pay the company a license fee for the use of the CETO technology.
Carnegie Corporation's Managing Director Dr Michael Ottaviano said "I'm delighted to have completed the CETO purchase transaction and to be formally collaborating with EDF EN on developing CETO projects internationally". "We expect to have further news on international developments in the New Year." The signing of this Agreement allows the issue of the Carnegie Corporation shares to Renewable Energy and its nominees as consideration for the purchase of the CETO intellectual property and development rights and results in REH becoming a 29% shareholder in Carnegie Corporation.
December 24, 2009
Wave Energy Developer Carnegie Corporation Energy (ASX:CWE) has penned a formal CETO Collaboration and Licensing Agreement with Northern Hemisphere Development partner EDF EN. The signing of the license is the final step in the purchase process of the CETO intellectual property and global development rights by Carnegie Corporation paving the way for joint development of commercial CETO projects throughout the Northern Hemisphere and Reunion Island. Carnegie Corporation retains the right to own up to 49% of each project and each project will pay the company a license fee for the use of the CETO technology.
Carnegie Corporation's Managing Director Dr Michael Ottaviano said "I'm delighted to have completed the CETO purchase transaction and to be formally collaborating with EDF EN on developing CETO projects internationally". "We expect to have further news on international developments in the New Year." The signing of this Agreement allows the issue of the Carnegie Corporation shares to Renewable Energy and its nominees as consideration for the purchase of the CETO intellectual property and development rights and results in REH becoming a 29% shareholder in Carnegie Corporation.
SunEdison, Xcel announce solar project
www.google.com
December 23, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - North America's largest solar energy services provider and a Western utility are planning to install five photovoltaic solar facilities in southeastern New Mexico. SunEdison and Xcel Energy's Southwestern Public Service Company say the 50 MW project will be one of the largest in North America. The five installations will be capable of generating enough electricity to power more than 10,000 homes.
The solar arrays will be located in Lea and Eddy counties. Xcel says the project will bolster rural economies and help the company meet renewable energy standards in New Mexico. The project will be built, financed and maintained by SunEdison under a 20-year agreement with Xcel, which will then buy the power. Officials expect the project to be fully operational by the end of 2011.
December 23, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - North America's largest solar energy services provider and a Western utility are planning to install five photovoltaic solar facilities in southeastern New Mexico. SunEdison and Xcel Energy's Southwestern Public Service Company say the 50 MW project will be one of the largest in North America. The five installations will be capable of generating enough electricity to power more than 10,000 homes.
The solar arrays will be located in Lea and Eddy counties. Xcel says the project will bolster rural economies and help the company meet renewable energy standards in New Mexico. The project will be built, financed and maintained by SunEdison under a 20-year agreement with Xcel, which will then buy the power. Officials expect the project to be fully operational by the end of 2011.
Unchristmas Me Without Merriment
Opinion
Christopher Nagle
December 26, 2009
I am trying to avoid Christmas. No, it is more than that. I am boycotting it. I no longer want to continue to allow myself to be dragged into a shopping festival that celebrates pointless excess spending and gormandizing. It would be nice to celebrate the Christian Christmas, but I am not a Christian, so that isn't open to me either.
Therefore, I am doing New Year. This is a day of resolutions and commitments for the coming year and actively doing something about them on day one. It is a day to re-affirm one' s values, beliefs, familial ties and friendships; to extol the virtues that make life sustainable and worth living.
Of course Christmas has traditionally been about that too, but my concern is that it is being drowned in increasingly grotesque propaganda and frenzied marketing pressure. By adopting the New Year one is at least for the time being, disconnecting from that framework and establishing other kinds of values.
The final straw for this was the Copenhagen failure. It suddenly became crystal clear that there is virtually nothing we can do to stop a generalised and worsening pattern of environmental catastrophe progressively hitting us until it puts us out of action. I can no longer fend off the fear of what is going to happen to my children and grand-children.
I think we all going to be forced to rethink the way we live our lives. I don't suggest that this will necessarily ameliorate what is coming, but it may teach us to become more resilient and frugal within ourselves and less demanding of others and the precious, wounded and now terribly fragile world we occupy.
I know this sounds unseasonably dismal and we should be sharing warm fuzzies, but I am afraid I am just not seeing much to be warmly fuzzy about. Some might say that in those circumstances, perhaps silence would be better, because of the risk of being seen as a humorless killjoy and party pooper. Well, I'll wear that. I have been putting off saying this and taking the plunge for too long. I have had Christmas in my sights for at least a decade, kept silent, went along with it and I have had enough.
So I am not wishing you or anyone else a Merry Christmas. All I can offer is a very sober and low key hope that 2010 will not be yet another year that the locusts ate. I am not holding my breath, but hope, even a poor sort of hope, is a lifebuoy to love and laughter, and a sticking point for one's courage to do what must be done in the year ahead.
And as to Father Christmas: I hope his elves go and get real jobs planting forests on the now receding snow lines of the arctic; that his reindeer get their real job back by replacing snowmobiles; and the fat slob himself gets stuck in one of his own industrial chimneys and chokes on the soot!
Christopher Nagle
December 26, 2009
I am trying to avoid Christmas. No, it is more than that. I am boycotting it. I no longer want to continue to allow myself to be dragged into a shopping festival that celebrates pointless excess spending and gormandizing. It would be nice to celebrate the Christian Christmas, but I am not a Christian, so that isn't open to me either.
Therefore, I am doing New Year. This is a day of resolutions and commitments for the coming year and actively doing something about them on day one. It is a day to re-affirm one' s values, beliefs, familial ties and friendships; to extol the virtues that make life sustainable and worth living.
Of course Christmas has traditionally been about that too, but my concern is that it is being drowned in increasingly grotesque propaganda and frenzied marketing pressure. By adopting the New Year one is at least for the time being, disconnecting from that framework and establishing other kinds of values.
The final straw for this was the Copenhagen failure. It suddenly became crystal clear that there is virtually nothing we can do to stop a generalised and worsening pattern of environmental catastrophe progressively hitting us until it puts us out of action. I can no longer fend off the fear of what is going to happen to my children and grand-children.
I think we all going to be forced to rethink the way we live our lives. I don't suggest that this will necessarily ameliorate what is coming, but it may teach us to become more resilient and frugal within ourselves and less demanding of others and the precious, wounded and now terribly fragile world we occupy.
I know this sounds unseasonably dismal and we should be sharing warm fuzzies, but I am afraid I am just not seeing much to be warmly fuzzy about. Some might say that in those circumstances, perhaps silence would be better, because of the risk of being seen as a humorless killjoy and party pooper. Well, I'll wear that. I have been putting off saying this and taking the plunge for too long. I have had Christmas in my sights for at least a decade, kept silent, went along with it and I have had enough.
So I am not wishing you or anyone else a Merry Christmas. All I can offer is a very sober and low key hope that 2010 will not be yet another year that the locusts ate. I am not holding my breath, but hope, even a poor sort of hope, is a lifebuoy to love and laughter, and a sticking point for one's courage to do what must be done in the year ahead.
And as to Father Christmas: I hope his elves go and get real jobs planting forests on the now receding snow lines of the arctic; that his reindeer get their real job back by replacing snowmobiles; and the fat slob himself gets stuck in one of his own industrial chimneys and chokes on the soot!
India confesses it helped derail Copenhagen deal
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday 24/12/2009 Page: 7
INDIA has lauded the lack of carbon cuts in the non-binding Copenhagen Accord, boosting claims by rich countries that developing nations derailed the deal. On his return from Copenhagen, the Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, told Parliament his mandate had been to protect India's right to fast economic growth, and listed killing off binding targets to reducing emissions as a key victory for his country. We can be satisfied that we were able to get our way on this issue [targets]," Mr Ramesh said. Later he told a news conference that a bloc of key emerging economies - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - had worked to protect the rights of the developing world.
India is one of the world's top five greenhouse gas polluters, but one of the smallest emitters per person. The Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, was reluctant to be drawn by the Indian Minister's comments, but admitted Australia had wanted more from the Copenhagen summit. "There are a lot of things that are frustrating about negotiations and obviously people have a range of different positions," Senator Wong said.
We believe the Copenhagen Accord is a step forward. It is not as big a step as we would have liked, but it is certainly better than when we went to Copenhagen." Senator Wong said under the accord, China and India had agreed for the first time to take some action to reduce emissions and be accountable for commitments. The non-binding accord contains no targets or date to end global emissions growth, and has been widely criticised by environmentalists.
Mr Ramesh's comments came after accusations from the British Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, that China had torpedoed a legally binding agreement to a 50% cut in global emissions on 1990 levels by 2050. That deal would have included an 80% cut on 1990 levels by 2050 from developed countries. A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has rejected the claims, saying it amounted to the developed world shirking their responsibility to tackle climate change. But writing in The Guardian yesterday the climate change activist Mark Lynas Corporation, who was in the room during the final negotiations, said China had insisted that binding targets be stripped from the agreement.
According to Mr Lynas Corporation, China even requested the 80% target by 2050 for rich nations be taken out of the agreement. That request so angered Mr Rudd he reportedly struck his microphone, while the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, asked angrily: "Why can't we even mention our own targets?" Mr Lynas Corporation said the representatives of Brazil and South Africa were eager to sign up to the legally binding agreement on the table. A spokesman for Senator Wong told the Herald yesterday the Government's position had not changed and it would seek a higher 2050 target at the polls if there was an ambitious global agreement. Australia has committed itself to a 60% cut in emissions by 2050 on 2000 levels.
Thursday 24/12/2009 Page: 7
INDIA has lauded the lack of carbon cuts in the non-binding Copenhagen Accord, boosting claims by rich countries that developing nations derailed the deal. On his return from Copenhagen, the Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, told Parliament his mandate had been to protect India's right to fast economic growth, and listed killing off binding targets to reducing emissions as a key victory for his country. We can be satisfied that we were able to get our way on this issue [targets]," Mr Ramesh said. Later he told a news conference that a bloc of key emerging economies - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - had worked to protect the rights of the developing world.
India is one of the world's top five greenhouse gas polluters, but one of the smallest emitters per person. The Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, was reluctant to be drawn by the Indian Minister's comments, but admitted Australia had wanted more from the Copenhagen summit. "There are a lot of things that are frustrating about negotiations and obviously people have a range of different positions," Senator Wong said.
We believe the Copenhagen Accord is a step forward. It is not as big a step as we would have liked, but it is certainly better than when we went to Copenhagen." Senator Wong said under the accord, China and India had agreed for the first time to take some action to reduce emissions and be accountable for commitments. The non-binding accord contains no targets or date to end global emissions growth, and has been widely criticised by environmentalists.
Mr Ramesh's comments came after accusations from the British Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, that China had torpedoed a legally binding agreement to a 50% cut in global emissions on 1990 levels by 2050. That deal would have included an 80% cut on 1990 levels by 2050 from developed countries. A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has rejected the claims, saying it amounted to the developed world shirking their responsibility to tackle climate change. But writing in The Guardian yesterday the climate change activist Mark Lynas Corporation, who was in the room during the final negotiations, said China had insisted that binding targets be stripped from the agreement.
According to Mr Lynas Corporation, China even requested the 80% target by 2050 for rich nations be taken out of the agreement. That request so angered Mr Rudd he reportedly struck his microphone, while the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, asked angrily: "Why can't we even mention our own targets?" Mr Lynas Corporation said the representatives of Brazil and South Africa were eager to sign up to the legally binding agreement on the table. A spokesman for Senator Wong told the Herald yesterday the Government's position had not changed and it would seek a higher 2050 target at the polls if there was an ambitious global agreement. Australia has committed itself to a 60% cut in emissions by 2050 on 2000 levels.
State blasts Canberra over energy policies - Projects, jobs `under threat
Age
Thursday 24/12/2009 Page: 3
VICTORIA has attacked Canberra's policies on renewable energy, saying it is putting at risk the state's efforts to "clean up its energy generation". In a sharp rebuke to the Rudd Government, state Energy Minister Peter Batchelor said its policies had delayed investment in renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, and had undermined job creation. "We in Victoria want to move away from our overwhelming dependence on brown coal, but to do that we need to encourage investment in new wind farms," he said.
His comments came after The Age revealed that AGL Energy had serious doubts over the future of its proposed $800 million windfarm in western Victoria because of a collapse in renewable energy certificate prices. The certificates are given to energy companies for producing green power, but their value has fallen dramatically since the Federal Government awarded them to people who install solar hot water systems, even though they do not generate power. "We've seen the value of renewable energy certificates fall from over $50 in May this year to less than $35 now," Mr Batchelor said. "We are very concerned about the inability of the national renewable energy scheme to stimulate jobs and investment in Victoria."
He said he was fearful investment could be delayed for years. "So we're saying to the Federal Government, they must change the way they have structured their renewable energy scheme to put some confidence back into the renewable energy certificates and thereby bring on important investment in wind and other renewable energies."
James Purcell, Mayor of Moyne Shire - the home of the proposed 150 wind turbines in Macarthur - said the community supported the windfarm and that Macarthur was the "ideal location". "It affects very few people; it is in a large agricultural area with very few houses around it," he said. The 350-MW windfarm, with turbines 90 metres tall, was expected to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere. Cr Purcell said it would be disappointing for the shire if it were cancelled, but other renewable energy projects would continue. "I think we have got 19 wind farms on the go in the shire at the moment, plus a number of gas-fired power stations," he said. "Something like over 50% of all windfarm applications are within the shire."
A spokesman for Climate Change Minister Penny Wong acknowledged that the fall in price for certificates partly reflected the higher uptake of solar water heaters as a result of state incentives and the federal stimulus package. Uncertainty over an emissions trading scheme was also putting downward pressure on the price. He said a joint federal-state review of the certificates was nearly finished. Australia's renewable energy target is to have 20% of power from renewable sources by 2020.
Thursday 24/12/2009 Page: 3
VICTORIA has attacked Canberra's policies on renewable energy, saying it is putting at risk the state's efforts to "clean up its energy generation". In a sharp rebuke to the Rudd Government, state Energy Minister Peter Batchelor said its policies had delayed investment in renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, and had undermined job creation. "We in Victoria want to move away from our overwhelming dependence on brown coal, but to do that we need to encourage investment in new wind farms," he said.
His comments came after The Age revealed that AGL Energy had serious doubts over the future of its proposed $800 million windfarm in western Victoria because of a collapse in renewable energy certificate prices. The certificates are given to energy companies for producing green power, but their value has fallen dramatically since the Federal Government awarded them to people who install solar hot water systems, even though they do not generate power. "We've seen the value of renewable energy certificates fall from over $50 in May this year to less than $35 now," Mr Batchelor said. "We are very concerned about the inability of the national renewable energy scheme to stimulate jobs and investment in Victoria."
He said he was fearful investment could be delayed for years. "So we're saying to the Federal Government, they must change the way they have structured their renewable energy scheme to put some confidence back into the renewable energy certificates and thereby bring on important investment in wind and other renewable energies."
James Purcell, Mayor of Moyne Shire - the home of the proposed 150 wind turbines in Macarthur - said the community supported the windfarm and that Macarthur was the "ideal location". "It affects very few people; it is in a large agricultural area with very few houses around it," he said. The 350-MW windfarm, with turbines 90 metres tall, was expected to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere. Cr Purcell said it would be disappointing for the shire if it were cancelled, but other renewable energy projects would continue. "I think we have got 19 wind farms on the go in the shire at the moment, plus a number of gas-fired power stations," he said. "Something like over 50% of all windfarm applications are within the shire."
A spokesman for Climate Change Minister Penny Wong acknowledged that the fall in price for certificates partly reflected the higher uptake of solar water heaters as a result of state incentives and the federal stimulus package. Uncertainty over an emissions trading scheme was also putting downward pressure on the price. He said a joint federal-state review of the certificates was nearly finished. Australia's renewable energy target is to have 20% of power from renewable sources by 2020.
Winds of change - Things are greening up at the grassroots level.
Adelaide Advertiser
Thursday 24/12/2009 Page: 21
While climate change is debated on the world stage, local councils in South Australia are directing change. They've trained residents to drag three different rubbish bins to the kerb and it's time to move on to the next challenge: the power game. The same authority that hands out library cards and dog tags has its eye on capturing the sun and wind.
Onkaparinga City Council, which spans Adelaide's southern fringe, proposes something for everyone, from household solar panels to miniature "sun farms" and a larger commercial power plant. There are already about 1200 photovoltaic (solar panel) systems installed across the south - mostly on houses. Last week, the council agreed to investigate a scheme whereby preferred suppliers would be appointed to sell solar systems to ratepayers at a bulk-purchase rate.
The smaller sun farms would involve the installation of up to 30kW solar panel systems on public buildings or vacant land. Community members could buy a stake and receive dividends from profits. The 5mW commercial scheme planned for Lonsdale would power about 2000 homes. Onkaparinga chief executive Jeff Tate says while the council will not own and run power companies, it has the vision and ability to bring investors together. "This links in to us trying to build a new economic base in the south; we're now targeting different industry sectors," he says. "Residents and businesses of the city, if they'd like to become involved, we'd find a way for that to happen as well. "It could be a co-operative. It could be a company is formed and people become shareholders."
The green energy plans depend on the willingness of residents and business to invest, and the council now will begin to gauge interest. Solar Energy Society president Monica Oliphant says the Federal Government should provide incentives for larger renewable energy projects to encourage investment. At the individual level, householders are paid a "feed-in tariff' for any unused power they generate, which goes back into the grid. However, larger renewable power schemes do not attract the tariff. "Renewables are still quite expensive," Professor Oliphant says. "A lot of people might not want one on their roof but wouldn't mind putting a bit into a community project. "But the Government does not want to go to a feed-in tariff for larger systems because they're afraid of what it might do to electricity prices."
She also says it is important to look beyond solar energy, to wind turbines and waste gases, to allow for times and places the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. Professor Oliphant says most local council projects are "small stuff' but Onkaparinga's proposed 5mW system is impressive and would involve more than one source of power. "That's not small-scale stuff - that's good," she says. "They're probably a leader in what they're thinking."
With scientists and politicians still divided on climate change, Professor Oliphant believes it can be tough to persuade homeowners to change the world at their own expense. Associate Professor John Boland, who works in environmental mathematics at UniSA, says local government is doing great work in a range of green directions. "To be honest, some of the best initiatives in many different areas are at the local government level," he says. "I find it quite happily surprising that they seem to be driving these projects.
"There's no feed-in tariffs for big installations like that, only for domestic dwellings, and yet they're pushing it without the best economic drivers there could be." In the Campbelltown City Council area, the State Government is working with the council on developing Lochiel Park - a green village with just 100 sustainable houses. The other two-thirds of the project is parklands. The project will serve as a model for other urban developments and help educate the public and the property development industry about sustainable housing and land development.
Professor Boland says even small projects, such as a solar panel on a council library, can be used to educate the community. Salisbury City Council's stormwater project is another standout scheme and a national and international leader. A series of wetlands created to hold and clean stormwater now is home to more than 100 bird species, including 50 migratory types that visit from as far away as Korea and Japan. Frogs, fish, yabbies and turtles all live in the waters which 20 years ago would have been allowed to run out to sea. Now, much of the water is stored in an underground aquifer for later re-use. Next year, all of Salisbury's parks and reserves will be irrigated with recycled stormwater.
Local Government Association environment and development director Michael Barry says people may be divided on climate change, so such schemes will not motivate everyone. "Everyone's got the right to their own opinion about climate change, but the things that are facts are the cost of energy, the cost of water - the shortage of water is not in dispute in SA," he says. "We'll encourage communities to respond because it's in their interests financially, even if they're not won over philosophically." Mr Barry says councils from Victor Harbor to the South-East and Eyre Peninsula are looking to the sun, wind, rain and methane to make environmental and financial savings. "We do think it's local government's job to help their communities contribute in whatever way they can on these issues," he says.
Thursday 24/12/2009 Page: 21
While climate change is debated on the world stage, local councils in South Australia are directing change. They've trained residents to drag three different rubbish bins to the kerb and it's time to move on to the next challenge: the power game. The same authority that hands out library cards and dog tags has its eye on capturing the sun and wind.
Onkaparinga City Council, which spans Adelaide's southern fringe, proposes something for everyone, from household solar panels to miniature "sun farms" and a larger commercial power plant. There are already about 1200 photovoltaic (solar panel) systems installed across the south - mostly on houses. Last week, the council agreed to investigate a scheme whereby preferred suppliers would be appointed to sell solar systems to ratepayers at a bulk-purchase rate.
The smaller sun farms would involve the installation of up to 30kW solar panel systems on public buildings or vacant land. Community members could buy a stake and receive dividends from profits. The 5mW commercial scheme planned for Lonsdale would power about 2000 homes. Onkaparinga chief executive Jeff Tate says while the council will not own and run power companies, it has the vision and ability to bring investors together. "This links in to us trying to build a new economic base in the south; we're now targeting different industry sectors," he says. "Residents and businesses of the city, if they'd like to become involved, we'd find a way for that to happen as well. "It could be a co-operative. It could be a company is formed and people become shareholders."
The green energy plans depend on the willingness of residents and business to invest, and the council now will begin to gauge interest. Solar Energy Society president Monica Oliphant says the Federal Government should provide incentives for larger renewable energy projects to encourage investment. At the individual level, householders are paid a "feed-in tariff' for any unused power they generate, which goes back into the grid. However, larger renewable power schemes do not attract the tariff. "Renewables are still quite expensive," Professor Oliphant says. "A lot of people might not want one on their roof but wouldn't mind putting a bit into a community project. "But the Government does not want to go to a feed-in tariff for larger systems because they're afraid of what it might do to electricity prices."
She also says it is important to look beyond solar energy, to wind turbines and waste gases, to allow for times and places the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. Professor Oliphant says most local council projects are "small stuff' but Onkaparinga's proposed 5mW system is impressive and would involve more than one source of power. "That's not small-scale stuff - that's good," she says. "They're probably a leader in what they're thinking."
With scientists and politicians still divided on climate change, Professor Oliphant believes it can be tough to persuade homeowners to change the world at their own expense. Associate Professor John Boland, who works in environmental mathematics at UniSA, says local government is doing great work in a range of green directions. "To be honest, some of the best initiatives in many different areas are at the local government level," he says. "I find it quite happily surprising that they seem to be driving these projects.
"There's no feed-in tariffs for big installations like that, only for domestic dwellings, and yet they're pushing it without the best economic drivers there could be." In the Campbelltown City Council area, the State Government is working with the council on developing Lochiel Park - a green village with just 100 sustainable houses. The other two-thirds of the project is parklands. The project will serve as a model for other urban developments and help educate the public and the property development industry about sustainable housing and land development.
Professor Boland says even small projects, such as a solar panel on a council library, can be used to educate the community. Salisbury City Council's stormwater project is another standout scheme and a national and international leader. A series of wetlands created to hold and clean stormwater now is home to more than 100 bird species, including 50 migratory types that visit from as far away as Korea and Japan. Frogs, fish, yabbies and turtles all live in the waters which 20 years ago would have been allowed to run out to sea. Now, much of the water is stored in an underground aquifer for later re-use. Next year, all of Salisbury's parks and reserves will be irrigated with recycled stormwater.
Local Government Association environment and development director Michael Barry says people may be divided on climate change, so such schemes will not motivate everyone. "Everyone's got the right to their own opinion about climate change, but the things that are facts are the cost of energy, the cost of water - the shortage of water is not in dispute in SA," he says. "We'll encourage communities to respond because it's in their interests financially, even if they're not won over philosophically." Mr Barry says councils from Victor Harbor to the South-East and Eyre Peninsula are looking to the sun, wind, rain and methane to make environmental and financial savings. "We do think it's local government's job to help their communities contribute in whatever way they can on these issues," he says.
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