Archive for Wind
I found during the past few weeks news showing that Europe is investing more and more in solving the climate / energy equation by using various solutions : energy efficiency, smart grids and renewable energies.
Here are some examples : Sweden pledged this week for the installation of 2,000 wind turbines by the year 2020 and the United Kingdom is working on efficiency in the building sector.
Additionally, several countries are due to invest 30 billions euros in smart grids to connect renewable energy sources from across the continent. Continue »
Last month the founder of Microsoft gave a speech on low carbon energy and climate change at TED, a renowned event on Technology, Entertainment and Design.
To Mr. Gates we need five means : carbon capture and storage, nuclear power and renewable energies (solar PV, Concentrated Solar Thermal and Wind power). I agree with that.
To him, we need 20 years to research on the needed breakthroughs to achieve zero emissions energy sources and twenty other years to apply them. I beg to differ on this. Continue »
If you think 2009 was a rotten year for all businesses, read on. To the Global Wind Energy Council 37.5 GW of wind energy capacity was installed in 2009 alone. This represents a 31 percent increase over 2008.
In Europe, capacity grew up by 10 GW and investors pumped 13 billion euros into the industry. Spain is the first with 2.5 GW, then comes Germany with 1.9 GW. The United Kingdom, Italy and France follow with around a gigawatt each.
China doubled its capacity with 12 GW plugged to the grids and the capacity in the United States also grew by ten gigawatts. I find all these figures impressive and look forward to see what will happen in 2010.
This week was unveiled what is perhaps to date the largest renewable energies project in the world. Indeed, an Indian company – Airvoice Group – plans to build 10 GW of solar PV capacity and three GW of wind power.
All these capacities are due to be built on various sites within the decade in the southwestern state of Karnataka. This occurs as China is also pushing hard on renewable energies.
This $50 billion (36 billion euros) project exemplifies even more India’s willingness to increase its use of low-carbon energy sources. The cleantech arms race is just beginning. Be sure I will keep you posted.
Solar and wind energies are going slowly but irresistibly mainstream as more and more large deals are being signed worldwide. Even if they still represent a tiny fraction of the world electricity generation, this will change this decade.
The 2.5 GW deal signed in Ontario (Canada) by Samsung for $6.6 billion – 4.7 billion euros – is showing this better than anything. The Ontario Green Energy Act was already a success. This new deal raises the bar even higher.
Even better, four plants will be implemented in Ontario, resulting in the creation of 16,000 jobs in promising industries. Continue »
20 percent of America’s - and perhaps the world’s – electricity could soon come from wind and solar. Our societies thus need reliable, cheap and sustainable energy storage solutions.
Concentrated solar could benefit from molten salts, yet wind energy doesn’t have yet its own solution. German and Swiss utilities are working on Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) as among these solutions.
The first test plant using CAES is due to be completed in 2013 and will be able to store the equivalent capacity of 200 MW during five hours. Continue »
The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) published its annual report and the results are encouraging as the offshore wind energy capacity grew by 54 percent in 2009 with 577 MW.
The United Kingdom appears to be leading the sector as it installed more than half of the added capacity of the European Union. And this is only the beginning as the country plans to install 3,500 wind turbines this decade.
2010 is due to be another great year for this energy source accross the continent as capacity is due to grow by one gigawatt (1,000 MW if you prefer). Continue »
The United Kingdom has a most ambitious climate change mitigation plan as it is willing to cuts its emissions by 34 percent by 2020. This is further than the European Union which is willing to go as far as 30 percent.
This week, Gordon Brown is due to unveil a £100 billion (110 billion euros or $170 billion) wind energy program for the next decade. This would lead to the implementation of 3,500 wind turbines providing up to 25 GW of capacity.
Even if I would have prefered a plan of similar scope on energy efficiency I believe this is the beginning of a grand project that should inspire many of its neighbours. Continue »
Here is my latest post for CleanTechies : According to a new report [Fr] from the ADEME ( the French Environment and Energy Management Agency ) 90,000 jobs have been created in the French green growth sectors between 2006 and 2008.
These jobs have been created mostly in energy conservation and the development of renewable energies. Energy conservation and renewable energies sectors grew by 28 percent between 2006 and 2008.
This market represented that year a 50 billion euros ($75 billion) market. It could represent up to 90 billion euros ($135 billion) by 2012. To read out more, please read the full article there.
Earlier this year I was wondering if cleantech is the new arms race. I noted at the time that America, Europe and China are beginning to compete in such an important economic sector.
A US study released last month shows that not only there is an arms race between the United States and Asian nations, but that America ’s government invests much less than China, Japan and South Korea.
If nothing was done this could become an important problem for America as it would have to import its cleantech equipments. As a matter of fact, it already has been the case. Continue »
