Sustainable development and much more » Wind

Renewables are – nearly – competitive

Edouard — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:26:14 +0000

Oh the irony ! As you know, fossil fuels are heavily subsided. I have written a few articles here on how ending those subsidies would be a major boost to renewables. Well it seems they don’t quite need it.

As Bloomberg notes : “Wind in some cases already is, or can in coming years, be fully cost-competitive with fossil fuels,” (…) “Fossil-fuel prices will continue to rise, and that increases the competitiveness of new technologies.”

” We are preparing the whole industry for getting off the subsidy-need.” So, are we just keep on giving money to dirty filthy solutions just so they can keep on polluting our air, soil and water ?

This is just plain crazy and clearly shows the corruption in some political spheres… Luckily some people are willing to tackle this most important issue.

Indian cleantech sector is growing the fastest

Edouard — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:07 +0000

To Cleantechies : ” Renewable energy investments in India increased by more than 52 percent in 2011, the fastest growth among major global economies, according to a new report.”

“More than $10.3 billion was invested in renewable energy projects in India last year, with about $4.6 billion targeting wind energy projects and another $4.2 billion going toward solar projects. “

This could be just the beginning as the New Scientist gives many reasons why renewable energy sources – and especially solar – are due to keep growing and growing.

Indeed, it notes that :

(t)he price of solar panels fell by almost 50 per cent in 2011. They are now just one-quarter of what they were in 2008. That makes them a cost-effective option for many people in developing countries.

A quarter of people in India do not have access to electricity, according to the International Energy Agency’s 2011 World Energy Outlook report. Those who are connected to the national grid experience frequent blackouts.

To cope, many homes and factories install diesel generators. But this comes at a cost. Not only does burning diesel produce carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change, the fumes produced have been linked to health problems from respiratory and heart disease to cancer.

Now the generators could be on their way out. In India, electricity from solar supplied to the grid has fallen to just 8.78 rupees per kilowatt-hour compared with 17 rupees for diesel.

The drop has little to do with improvements in the notoriously poor efficiency of solar panels: industrial panels still only convert 15 to 18 per cent of the energy they receive into electricity. But they are now much cheaper to produce, so inefficiency is no longer a major sticking point.

Freezing temperatures are due to global warming

Edouard — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:02:06 +0000

With current outdoors temperatures below the freezing point in large parts of Europe, it is easy to think that climate change is either a hoax or that it will be most welcome as it would get us rid of those patches of ice on the roads.

This won’t be the case as the Independent reports : “The bitterly cold weather sweeping Britain and (…) Europe has been linked by scientists with the ice-free seas of the Arctic, where global warming is exerting its greatest influence.”

This is another example of climate change’s influence on weather extremes, and thus another reason to tackle the problem before it really gets out of our control.

Here are some more extracts of the article :

A dramatic loss of sea ice covering the Barents and Kara Seas above northern Russia could explain why a chill Arctic wind has engulfed much of Europe and killed 221 people over the past week.

(…) A growing number of experts believe complex wind patterns are being changed because melting Arctic sea ice has exposed huge swaths of normally frozen ocean to the atmosphere above.

In particular, the loss of Arctic sea ice could be influencing the development of high-pressure weather systems over northern Russia, which bring very cold winds from the Arctic and Siberia to Western Europe and the British Isles, the scientists believe.

An intense anticyclone over north-west Russia is behind the bitterly cold easterly winds that have swept across Europe and some climate scientists say the lack of Arctic sea ice brought about by global warming is responsible.

“The current weather pattern fits earlier predictions of computer models for how the atmosphere responds to the loss of sea ice due to global warming,” said Professor Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

“The ice-free areas of the ocean act like a heater as the water is warmer than the Arctic air above it. This favours the formation of a high-pressure system near the Barents Sea, which steers cold air into Europe.”

(…) “Whoever thinks that the shrinking of some far-away sea ice won’t bother him could be wrong. There are complex interconnections in the climate system, and in the Barents-Kara Sea we might have discovered a powerful feedback mechanism,” Dr Petoukhov said.

China unveils huge wind energy plans

Edouard — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:31:02 +0000

Here are some great news for climate and quite bad news for America and Europe : China unveiled last week massive wind energy plans. The People’s Republic is willing to seriously expand the renewable energy industry.

Indeed from the current 40 GW of capacity, it is planning to reach ” 200 GW, 400 GW and 1,000 GW by 2020, 2030 and 2050, respectively, making wind one of the five major sources of electricity across the country.. “ as Reuters notes.

Then this low carbon energy source would account for 17 percent of the energy demand. The cleantech arms race is on and China is determined to win.

How Africa is embracing cleantech

Edouard — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:50:23 +0000

I have recently noted that cleantech is booming globally, but what does it mean for Africa ? In today’s post I will try to give a few answers to this crucial question as still 600 million Africans have no access to electricity.

To a study titled Mega Trends in Africa: A bright vision for the growing continent ” Investment in renewable power in Africa is set to grow from a total of US$3.6-billion in 2010 to $57-billion by 2020. “

I have found several other articles on cleantech in Africa in the past few weeks. Let’s review the main ones.

South Africa :

The coal-powered national electricity company is frank about its role in making South Africa the continent’s worst contributor to global warming, but Eskom says it also has plans and pledges in place to ensure it does its part to save the world.

(…) The government also has set a goal of doubling its power generating capacity by 2030 to more than 89,000 megawatts. The cheapest way to do that, Lennon said, would be to continue relying on coal.

Instead, proposals announced in May call for about 46 per cent of the generating capacity to come from coal and more than 26 per cent from renewable sources such as hydro, wind and solar.

Morocco :

A massive new renewable energy project is being planned in Morocco that will combine hydropower and wind power in one single location — a world’s first, at least at this scale. The 1 gigawatt project will double the existing hydropower capacity of Morocco.

(…) Morocco has quite admirable renewable energy goals: 10% of electricity by next year, and 42% of electricity from solar power by 2020.

Congo :

At double the size of China’s Three Gorges Dam, the 40 GW Grand Inga hydropower project, to be built on the Congo River under an agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, will be the world’s largest by a wide margin.

It will increase Africa’s electricity generating capacity by one-third.

Ethiopia :

(t)he Ethiopian Electric Power Coroporation (EEPCO) this past week announced it’s starting construction of six wind power projects and one geothermal power plant.

In total, electricity generation capacity for the renewable energy projects totals more than one gigawatt (1 GW), Ethtiopian news service NewsDire reported.

Two good articles summing up the current situation are available at Cleantechies and CleanTechnica.

Investments in renewables surpass fossil fuels

Edouard — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 04:32:32 +0000

These are great news, just in time for the current climate talks taking place in Durban as to a new report from Bloomberg, global investments in renewables are surpassing for the first time ever the amounts invested in fossil fuels.

With economies of scale and scope, both solar energy and wind power are getting cheaper and cheaper, making them already seriously compete with much dirtier energy sources.

As a result, last year over $187 billion (141 billion euros) were invested in renewables and only $157 billion (118 billion euros) in fossil fuels. This is only the beginning.

Indeed, solutions exist to make the transition to a clean energy economy even faster :

Putting a price on carbon as it has been done quite successfully in the European Union would drive companies to slash their emissions. Australia is due to go in this direction next year as well ;
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Putting a price on the negative externalities would also be a great way to drive people away from polluting energy sources. Indeed, besides greenhouse gases pollutions, many others are not included in today’s prices such as water and soil pollution ;
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Removing the subsidies on the dirty industries and giving them to low-carbon energy sources instead would be a great move. To date, much more money is given to fossil fuels than to renewable energies. It is beyond time that we reverse this irresponsible trend.

Wind power to be competitive by 2016

Edouard — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:39:04 +0000

We already saw that solar PV is due to compete in terms of costs with fossil fuels by around 2017 as this energy source is gaining momentum so fast that the Holy Grail – grid parity – might soon be within reach. These are sure great news…

But there is more as to Bloomberg New Energy Finance : ” The cost of electricity from onshore wind turbines will drop 12% in the next five years thanks to a mix of lower-cost equipment and gains in output efficiency. “

” The best wind farms in the world already produce power as economically as coal, gas and nuclear generators; the average wind farm will be fully competitive by 2016 “

Japan adopts feed-in tariff to boost renewables

Edouard — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:45:33 +0000

To Bloomberg : ” Japan approved a bill today to subsidize electricity from renewable sources, joining European nations in shifting away from nuclear power after the Fukushima reactor meltdowns in March.”

” (…) The bill allows for incentives that guarantee above-market rates for wind, solar and geothermal energy. The so-called feed- in tariff created a race to install solar panels when implemented in Germany and Spain.”

” (…) Solar panels had capacity to produce about 3.68 gigawatts of power at the end of last year in Japan, and the government is targeting 28 gigawatts by 2020.”

Renewables deliver 20% of global electricity

Edouard — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 04:30:06 +0000

To the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century and their latest Global Status Report : ” In 2010, renewable energy supplied an estimated 16% of global final energy consumption and delivered close to 20% of global electricity.”

” Renewable capacity now comprises about a quarter of total global power-generating capacity. (…) Global solar PV production and markets more than doubled in comparison with 2009. Germany installed more PV in 2010 than the entire world”

To learn out more about these interesting findings, please check out the full report here (PDF) and their Renewables Interactive Map. You may as well as read EcoGeek and Sustainable Business.

More efficiency, wind power and nuclear for China

Edouard — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:00:34 +0000

As the world’s first energy consumer and greenhouse gases emitter, the People’s Republic of China is under closed scrutiny from energy analysts. Last week, not one or two but three different news caught my attention on this country.

The climate situation there is dreadful as according to CNN massive floods forced 1.6 million people to evacuate their homes. It is indeed high time for all of us to act as forcefully as China is. It indeed seems the local government got it right.

Massive plans on energy efficiency, renewables and nuclear are planned in order to curb the increasing reliance of the country on coal and oil, two major pollution sources.

On energy efficiency. As the New York Times note :

The Chinese government is considering plans to subsidize the use of energy-efficient materials and renewable energy technologies in new buildings and is encouraging provincial and municipal governments to impose stricter efficiency standards than the national minimums, Chinese officials said Wednesday.

China’s heightened interest in saving energy — a response to electricity shortages and blackouts this year as well as longer-term security worries about dependence on energy imports — comes as the country’s construction industry continues to barrel ahead at a breathtaking pace.

(…) Chinese estimates show that the country’s commercial office buildings use 10 to 20 percent less electricity per square meter than comparable Western buildings. But the savings tend to come not from better designs but from thermostats set as high as 26 degrees Celsius (79 Fahrenheit) in summer and as low as 18 degrees (64 Fahrenheit) in winter.

Nota : On the last point, we should do the same here. This is what I call energy sobriety…

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On wind energy. To People’s Daily Online :

In the next five years, China will boost its offshore wind power installed capacity to 5 gigawatts and form a complete technology and industrial chain. Afterward, China’s offshore wind power will enter into a phase of large-scale development and is estimated to reach 30 gigawatts in 2020, according to the energy plan and renewable energy plan during the 12th Five-Year Plan.

The National Energy Bureau (NEB) will launch preparation work for the second public bidding on offshore wind power concession projects in the second half year of 2011 and is scheduled to complete the bidding in the first half year of 2012. The total construction scale will be between 1.5 gigawatts and 2 gigawatts, according to news from a symposium on offshore wind power held in Nantong City of east China’s Jiangsu Province on June 22.

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On nuclear energy. To Indian Express :

China, which suspended approvals for new nuclear plans following the radiation crisis in a Japanese plant, would soon begin the approval process. China could resume the approval process for new nuclear power projects by mid-2012, the state-run China Daily reported today.

“To restart the approval procedure in one year is the optimistic estimate, but the country will definitely lift the suspension in two years,” Director of the research centre of the China Nuclear Energy Association Zheng Yuhui was quoted as saying by the paper.

(…) The crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant might delay some new projects in China, but it will not stop the country from achieving its target of building 70 to 80 gigawatts (gW) of installed production capacity by the end of 2020, Shen Wenquan, a member of the expert committee of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp Ltd said.

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To conclude, I think China got it right.

The country is indeed working on the three parts of the low carbon energy : efficiency, renewables and nuclear. So, I still believe the People’s Republic will win the cleantech arms race…

Brazil and South Korea are increasing their efforts

Edouard — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:11:02 +0000

To CleanTechnica : ” A new national 10-year plan from Brazil shows that the country will triple its use of renewable energy by 2020 and that a lot of that energy will be wind energy. ”

” Going from 9 GW of wind, biomass and small hydropower in 2010, the country intends to hit 27 GW by 2020. It wants to have 16% of its electricity supply coming from renewables in 10 years. “

South Korea is also moving forward : “The South Korean government and businesses aim to bolster their share in the world’s renewable energy market to 18 percent by 2030, (…)” Bloomberg News reported. “

India to add 17 GW of renewables by 2017

Edouard — Fri, 13 May 2011 08:37:19 +0000

According to Cleantechnica : ” India plans to invest $37 billion (26 billion euros) to create 17,000 MW of renewable energy generation by 2017, the ministry for new & renewable energy has said. ”

” The present installed renewable energy capacity in India is 20,000 MW which accounts for 11% of the total installed power capacity. The major share ofpower still comes from coal which accounts for 40% of the country’s energy usage. “

The country is currently the third largest energy consumer, behind China and the United States. However, its per capita consumption is well below Western standards.

The article goes on and brings further interesting details :

The Indian government had quadrupled its renewable energy targets earlier this year as part of its national plan to reduce carbon intensity which aimed at installing 74.4 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and reduction in carbon emissions intensity by 20-25% of 2005 levels over the next decade.

(…) India is already one of the leading wind energy market, with over 14,000 MW installed. India’s leading wind energy company Suzlon is the third largest wind energy technology provider globally and holds almost 10 percent of the total global market share.

Here are some extracts from Wikipedia about the country’s energy policy :

About 70% of India’s energy generation capacity is from fossil fuels, with coal accounting for 40% of India’s total energy consumption followed by crude oil and natural gas at 24% and 6% respectively.

India is largely dependent on fossil fuel imports to meet its energy demands — by 2030, India’s dependence on energy imports is expected to exceed 53% of the country’s total energy consumption.

In 2009-10, the country imported 159.26 million tonnes of crude oil which amount to 80% of its domestic crude oil consumption and 31% of the country’s total imports are oil imports. The growth of electricity generation in India has been hindered by domestic coal shortage and as a consequence, India’s coal imports for electricity generation increased by 18% in 2010.

Due to rapid economic expansion, India has one of the world’s fastest growing energy markets and is expected to be the second-largest contributor to the increase in global energy demand by 2035, accounting for 18% of the rise in global energy consumption.

IPCC : Renewables could answer 77% of our needs

Edouard — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:42:40 +0000

This week was published another new landmark report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This one is focusing on renewable energies as no less than 164 scenario where studied.

You may have read it, one of them notes that energy sources like solar, wind and biomass could answer up to 77 % of our needs by the middle of this century. This is not surprising as the WWF even believes they could answer ALL of them.

Much has been said about this on countless websites and newspapers such as the New York Times but I would like to point out a few things.

First of all, not all renewables are equal. Some are truly great solutions, however some are absolutely not. As an example, we have seen many times here that current biofuels are NOT a sustainable solution as they drive food prices up (not as if the drought was enough…) and thus people into famine.

Second, if some scenarios goes as far as 77 percent, this doesn’t mean ALL of them say so. As it is written in the summary for policymakers :

More than half of the scenarios show a contribution from RE in excess of a 17% share of primary energy supply in 2030 rising to more than 27% in 2050.

Third, without energy efficiency, nothing of this can be done. Indeed, energy consumption is still growing and fossil fuels still account for the majority of this increase (see my previous note on the matter)

Global wind capacity grew 24 percent in 2010

Edouard — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:14:53 +0000

To CleanTechies : ” Worldwide installed wind capacity grew by 38.3 GW in 2010, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. That’s an increase of 24% in global wind capacity “. This is as much as what was installed in 2009.

China alone installed nearly half of it alone with 18.9 GW. The United States installed half of what they installed in 2009 with only 5 GW in 2010. The country could get twenty percent of their electricity by offshore wind by 2030.

To Reuters, the global wind power capacity thus reached a massive 197 GW. I wonder by how much it will grow in 2011…

Cleantech : 2001-2010 and 2010-2020

Edouard — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:19:37 +0000

Cleantechnica got another interesting article, this time on what the past ten years meant to cleantech and what the next ten years could bring. The occasion is given by Clean Edge’s market research.

” With growth rates like seen in the telephone industry (…) during comparable revolutions, clean energy options like solar and wind have been growing tremendously in recent years.“

Indeed, renewable energies like solar and wind have huge potentials as we have seen previously. Today’s article is due to give us more figures…

As Cleantechnica notes :

Cleantech, as you might have expected, is projected to continue growing fast. Below are projections for some of the top industries (from 2010 to 2020).

Biofuels: $56.4 billion to $112.8 billion.

Wind power: $60.5 billion to $122.9 billion

Solar PV: $71.2 billion to $113.6 billion.

For more, please visit Clean Edge’s website. You will be able to download their market research for free.

Was it Obama’s “moon shot speech” ?

Edouard — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 06:28:12 +0000

The State of the Union speech given yesterday by President Barack Obama might well stay in the History books like John Fitzgerald Kennedy moon shot speech that sent Americans on the moon in less than a decade.

Indeed President Obama asked for 80% of America’s electricity from ‘clean energy’ by 2035 (including clean coal and natural gas, nobody’s perfect) and for more than one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

Even more, he called for the suppression of the billions worth of subsidies to Big Oil companies. Let’s hope Congress will give him the means to do all this.

Here is an extract I really enjoyed :

“With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million vehicles on the road by 2015.

“We need to get behind this innovation. and to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we current give to oil companies. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.

“Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.

“Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all — and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.”

I don’t think we can call biofuels, natural gas and clean coal (the best oxymoron ever if you ask me) good solutions, but I believe President Obama included these to gain support from the farmers and miners and their associated interests.

I don’t know if energy efficiency, the panacea to all our problems, was mentioned, but I know that climate wasn’t. I believe it was done to avoid upsetting some Republicans and deniers…

To read out more : TreeHugger.

It is now official : France dives into offshore wind

Edouard — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:23:38 +0000

Do you remember my post for Cleantechies on offshore wind in France ? It is now official : ” This week French officials are announcing a plan to install six hundred wind turbines capable of producing 3,000 megawatts of energy. “

The wind turbines will be located in five main sites between Saint-Nazaire and Dieppe/Le Treport (all off the Atlantic Ocean shores). More wind turbines will come later to reach hopefully 6,000 MW of capacity by 2020.

I am particularly glad this becomes official as the Grenelle de l’Environnement has suffered many setbacks in the past few months, including the decrease of feed in tariffs for solar PV…

This project may lead to the creation of 60,000 green jobs by 2020 as the French government wants 25,000 MW of wind energy capacity by 2020.

China becomes the world leader in wind power

Edouard — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:51:46 +0000

To TreeHugger : ” China has now installed more wind power capacity than the United States. Wind installation surged there last year, far outpacing the US, and now China has an estimated base of 40,000 MW of wind power installed. “

But there is much more as to CleanTechnica : ” China Got Over 1/4 of Its Electricity from Clean Energy in 2010 “. This might seem a good news but overall the local electricity consumption is still climbing by 15 percent per year.

Luckily for us all, the People’s Republic is working on reducing greenhouse gases emissions as Cleantechies recently reported.

China, the world’s largest energy consumer, has set a target of cutting its carbon intensity — the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of GDP growth — by 40 to 45 percent of 2005 levels by 2020.

This is a nice move, but it doesn’t mean the country will decrease its overall greenhouse gases emissions, but merely that it is willing to keep increasing their amounts as fast as it is doing now…

Global clean power: A $2.3 trillion opportunity

Edouard — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:41:21 +0000

While browsing the people I follow on Twitter I found an interesting study from the Pew Charitable Trust noting that global clean power investments could reach $2.3 trillion by 2020. Yes, that’s 1,750 billion euros !

” the report extrapolated from 2009 clean energy investments to conclude that such financing could reach US$2.3 trillion globally if the countries in question developed policies to strongly promote solar, wind, and hydro energy. “

This paper focuses on the G20 members, which account for 85 percent of the world GDP and two thirds of the global population.

Here is the summary of the report, as one can read at PEW :

Over the last half decade, the clean energy economy has emerged around the world as a major new opportunity for investment, manufacturing, jobs and environmental protection. This report, Global Clean Power: A $2.3 Trillion Opportunity, explores scenarios for the dynamic expansion of electricity generated by renewable resources over the next decade.

The future trajectory of investments in clean power projects will be determined by the strength of policies adopted by G-20 countries.

If clean energy policies are strengthened significantly in the coming years, the report projects that $2.3 trillion will be invested in clean power assets over the next 10 years, offering companies and countries enormous opportunities to compete for investments, jobs and export markets.

Under current policies, however, cumulative investments would only reach $1.7 trillion over the next decade.

In other words, strong policies would leverage an additional $546 billion worth of worldwide investment.

Here is the conclusion of the article that brought my attention to this paper :

Synthesizing the 80-page report, it becomes evident that the clean energy sector is the wave of the future in economic terms.

As Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew’s Climate and Energy Program, notes, nations that want to stimulate investment in clean tech, add jobs, revitalize manufacturing, and stimulate trade should first bolster their clean energy policies.

European Union to exceed its renewables goals

Edouard — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:48:36 +0000

Good news everyone ! To Cleantechies : ” The European Union will exceed its target of meeting 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020 (…). Twenty-five of the 27 EU nations will meet or exceed their national targets. “

This comes from a report from the European Wind Energy Association which notes that wind will be behind the vast majority of the electricity provided by renewables with 14 percent. This is quite a lot.

After checking among the 900+ articles in my database, this is not entirely new as the European Commission itself announced it in March 2010.

This kind of story reminds me that Europe can - and even must – cut its CO2 emissions by 30 percent. This is feasible by investing more in cleantech and alternative energy.

Renewable energy sources aren’t the only solution at our disposal : efficiency can enable us to reach these goals as the potential is just gigantic.

Nuclear may also enable us to cut further our reliance on dirty fossil fuels like coal.

If we want to get a chance in competing in these promising markets, this is our only chance…

Developing nations go massively in wind power

Edouard — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:10:21 +0000

To CleanTechies developing nations will install more than 22,000 MW of wind power capacity in 2010. Of course, China is behind an important part of this, but countries like India, Mexico are also moving forward on clean energy.

“If policy ambition has stalled in the industrialized world, it has if anything accelerated this year in key emerging markets,“ wrote HSBC Global Research in a recent Cancun policy brief.

To Ceres, developing nations will indeed install more wind power capacity than developed ones, thus showing that cleantech isn’t an industry dedicated to wealthy nations.

Ceres also notes that we are still pretty much far from solving the climate crisis with cleantech :

Globally, clean energy investments this year will total about $200 billion, less than half the $500 billion a year that economists say is needed in the coming decades years to limit global temperatures increases to below 2-3 degrees.

As the article notes :

“This defies the traditional 20th century worldview whereby developing countries always follow in the wake of the developed.”

It seems that a new century means a new paradigm...

China wants 500 GW of renewables by 2020

Edouard — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:07:22 +0000

You know if you have been reading this blog for some time now : China is determined to become the leader on cleantech. But it’s not only about making money in tomorrow’s leading industry : it is also about the environment.

Indeed, if China is investing $12 million each hour on cleantech, it is also to clean the air and solve its dependence on dirty fossil fuels that pollutes massively the air of its capital and many other cities.

Today, Cleantechnica published an article reporting that the People’s Republic wants 500 GW of renewable energies by 2020.

Here are some extracts of the full article :

China’s plan is to get a total of 500 Gigawatts of renewable energy on the grid by 2020. It explodes wind power from a mere 25 GW on the grid now, to a staggering 150 GW, a six-fold increase on the previous already ambitious plan.

(…) China is already the world leader in solar thermal hot water heaters for rooftops. The solar hot water goal is to have 300 million square meters of solar hot water collectors, up from 100 million in 2006.

Electric power would come from adding 100 GW to make 300 GW of hydro power, adding 125 GW to have 150 GW of wind power, adding 28 GW to have 30 GW of biopower, and going from a half Gigawatt to 20 GW of solar. Giant steps.

Worth an article – my November 2010 tweets

Edouard — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:29:11 +0000

I have been committed since January 2007 to bring you each month a selection of the latest headlines and best researches on sustainable development, climate change and the world energy sector.

However, I don’t blog as much as I would like to and generally write around 25 posts per month. But many more news are worth reading. This is why I use Twitter to share more news that are worth your time.

I believe it offers a good complement to this website. So if you are on Twitter and like this selection, don’t hesitate to start following me.

Sustainable development

RT @CleanTechies Chinese Ban on Free Plastic Bags Has Cut Consumer Use in Half http://bit.ly/grqeGr

Graph of the Day: Comparing Modes of Transport : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

Tomorrow’s CEOs: Bold leaders that create new business value in a world with finite resources http://ow.ly/3fYwa Ooh, this is interesting…

EcoCentric: Can Condoms Curb Climate Change? http://shar.es/XXLcG Expands on Condoms: Ultimate Green Tech? @dotearth: http://nyti.ms/hyGEeO

Food Prices in World’s Poorest Nations May Rise 20% in 2011 : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

RT @CleanTechies Looking for Climate Change Leadership? Try Mexico City http://bit.ly/d5TbWL

The Story of Electronics by Annie Leonard (Video) : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

RT @viaarchitecture: Preparing the automobile city for High-Speed Rail http://bit.ly/cTeGij

Coalition says money could flow from Green Bank next year businessgreen.com/bg/news/189525… via @businessgreen

Home Energy Score could be a much-needed MPG for houses grist.org/article/2010-1… via @grist

“Building a world of prosperity and dignity for all is not just morally correct, it is sound economics” Ban Ki-moon http://bit.ly/bJOBo4

RT @triplepundit 21st Century Sustainability Needs Technology AND People http://bit.ly/9kgGBz

Climate change

China Admits It’s the World’s Largest Greenhouse Gas Emitter : treehugger.com/files/2010/11/… Acknowledge a problem is a first step before fixing it.

Schwarzenegger’s Post-Governor Plan: Fight Climate Change : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

Melting Arctic Sea Ice May Actually Cause Colder Northern Winters : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

The Big Debate: are we really fussed about cutting carbon? – New Energy Future http://ind.pn/9q1Z0h

Don’t Think of it as Global Warming, Think of it as Upsetting the Stable Ecosystems Humans Depend On For Life : wp.me/pGQZ2-10r

RT @CleanTechies New Research: Drought May Threaten Much of Globe http://bit.ly/bfUvcX

Energy and cleantech

Cost of BP Spill Balloons to $40 Billion : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/… The cost of greed !

RT @CleanTechies Green Ideas: Eco Plastic From Mushrooms http://bit.ly/cRFdah Great idea !

RT @CleanTechies New Mexico Adopts Country’s Most Comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Rules http://bit.ly/dAp6w2

RT @CleanTechies California – A green hub! http://bit.ly/dnAYHM Surprising how a Republican can get things done on climate and energy

Why Solar Can’t Go Mainstream Without Sarah Palin 1bog.org/blog/why-solar…

MIT Energy Storage Discovery Could Lead to ‘Unlimited’ Solar Power: cleantechnica.com/2008/10/25/mit…

How Much Insulation Can You Put Into An Old Building? : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

Al Gore: I Was Wrong About Ethanol : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/… Biofuels are a bad idea, told you so before

IEA (in Energy Outlook 2010) predicts crude price will rise steadily, could go as high as $161/barrel by 2015, $250 by 2025, $350 by 2035.

Solar Energy Can Provide 4.2% of U.S. Power by 2020: cleantechnica.com/2010/11/01/sol…

The Story of Coal (Video) : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

RT @CleanTechies India Looks Offshore to Meet Their Wind Power Needs http://bit.ly/99jIbN

WHAT? China Spends $12 Million Per Hour on Clean Energy http://ow.ly/1a2P5h

Is ‘Peak Oil’ Behind Us? http://bit.ly/beaPfi

Global Coal Burning Stagnates For First Time in 10 Years! But China’s Use Still Climbing… : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

RT @CleanTechies India and the United States Make Renewable Energy a Priority http://bit.ly/93DCbF

Europe to Invest in Massive Solar Power Plants in India: cleantechnica.com/2010/11/09/eur…

The Big Debate: What’s the low-down on the ‘Green Deal’ and how will it help cut carbon? http://ind.pn/aN5cNf

Why we won’t have a green energy revolution without the smart grid. Part 1 of my two-part Grist series: http://bit.ly/c9eg7B

Green: Cheap or Clean? The Energy Dilemma http://bit.ly/bPAeND

At least 10 more years of R&D needed, but algae biofuels could be major contributor (particularly for jet fuel) http://bit.ly/atR5Hy

Peru To Add 200 MW of Renewable Energy in 2012 renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/artic… via @reworld

Historic US Vote Makes Buildings 30% More Energy Efficient: cleantechnica.com/2010/11/02/his…

Environment

Global Pollution and Prevention News: Air pollution exceeds safety limits in big Asian cities shar.es/XmPXJ

RT @CleanTechies Strain on Water Supplies Already Affecting Businesses Globally http://bit.ly/cjPZmC

Study: Leaks from CO2 stored deep underground could contaminate drinking water climateprogress.org/2010/11/12/ccs…

Sewer or Sea? Where Will Water Come From? greentechmedia.com/articles/read/… via @greentechmedia

Misc

Secondhand Smoke Kills More Than 600,000 A Year : TreeHugger treehugger.com/files/2010/11/…

Love this article! Segmentation vs targeting and what these have in common with an Antarctic expedition http://ow.ly/3f2JB #marketing #in

Hey marketers, LISTEN already: “Consumers want everything they want, plus they want it green” AdAge http://ow.ly/36Eug #marketing #green #in

What companies should aspire to in terms of Sustainability / CSR best practice fabianpattberg.com/2010/11/compan… via @FabianPattberg

South Korea to build 2,500 MW wind farm

Edouard — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:06:01 +0000

To CleanTechies : ” The South Korean government will help fund construction of a massive offshore wind farm that proponents say would generate about 2,500 megawatts of electricity (…)”

“The $8.2 billion project (six billion euros), which proponents hope to complete by 2019. (…) In South Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest oil importer, officials see the initiative as a step toward reducing the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. “

Local companies like Hyundai and Daewoo will build the 500 wind turbines. It seems I was quite right when I was writing we should prepare for a wind energy century.

India will invest 2.3 trillion in low carbon tech

Edouard — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:00:37 +0000

A while ago TreeHugger wrote a compelling article on how India is committed to low carbon growth and energy sources. The local environment Minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh stated in an interview given to Reuters :

“We will unilaterally, voluntarily, move on a low-carbon growth path. We can’t have 8-9% GDP growth and high-carbon growth. It has to be low-carbon growth...that is the objective that we have set for ourselves.”

CleanTechnica give us details on a massive $2.3 trillion dollar that will be invested by the country in energy. (Yes, that’s 1,600 billion euros).

Renewable energy and energy efficiency will be focus of India’s $2.3 trillion energy investment plan over the next two decades. The plan is aimed at achieving consistently high economic growth rates without having any net adverse impact in the environment.

While the exact proportion of the investment for renewable energy is not known yet, the countries planners have clean energy sources like solar, wind and hydro power in focus as the foundations of the new green economy.

(…) In addition to large-scale solar power plants, the government is also planning to promote small-scale solar power systems for commercial buildings and homes.Several state governments offer attractive subsidies to industries and homeowners to install solar panels and solar water heaters.

(…) Wind energy is the centerpiece of India’s renewable energy infrastructure. Although confined mainly to the coastal states, it makes up 70 percent of the installed clean energy generation capacity. It has been estimated that wind energy could meet almost 24 percent of India’s electricity demand by 2030.

On the latter point, I wrote last week that wind energy could bring a fifth of global electricity. I am glad to read it could do the same in India.

This happens as the country is now the third largest greenhouse gases emitter, with a share of five percent. China and the USA are first and second with around 22 percent each. Given the amounts of bright engineers in the country I am sure they will come with products that will revolutionize cleantech in the decades ahead.

For more on the $2.3 trillion plan, please refer to the Business Standard’s article.

The cleantech arms race now has a new contestant.

Prepare for a wind energy century

Edouard — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 07:00:52 +0000

Last week the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a report stating the United States could get twenty percent of their electricity by offshore wind by 2030.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, China installed 13,8 GW of capacity in 2009 alone, to reach a capacity of 25,8 GW. A report notes that the wind capacity could reach 250 GW by 2020. These are staggering figures.

Meanwhile, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) notes that this energy source could provide a fifth of global electricity by 2030. Let’s have a detailed look at each of these news.

Concerning the NREL report, CleanTechies notes :

The U.S. could generate 20 percent of its electricity from wind energy by 2030 if it develops offshore wind farms in the coastal waters of 26 states, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).

Developing the nation’s offshore wind potential would also create $200 billion in “new economic activity” and 43,000 jobs, according to the report.

For more, please download the executive summary of the report.

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On China, we have to turn ourselves to Renewable Energy World :

‘China Wind Power Outlook 2010′ report expects China’s wind sector to hit at least 150 GW and possibly 230 GW over the next ten years.

(…) The report quantifies the potential contribution of China’s wind capacity by 2020 as equivalent to 13 times that of the country’s colossal Three Gorges Dam hydropower plant.

For more, please have a look at the full report.

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Last but not least, the GWEC notes in its latest annual report :

Wind could meet 12% of global power demand by 2020, and up to 22% by 2030, according to a study published today by the Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace International.

The ‘Global Wind Energy Outlook 2010’ (GWEO 2010) finds that wind power could play a key role in satisfying the world’s increasing power demand, while at the same time achieving major greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The 1,000 GW of wind power capacity projected to be installed by 2020 would save as much as 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year.

These reductions would represent 50-75% of the cumulative emissions reductions that industrialised countries committed to in their 2020 ‘Copenhagen pledges’. By 2030, a total of 34 billion tons of CO2; would be saved by 2,300 GW of wind power capacity.

Of course, since the last two reports come from special interests we should take these figures with caution.

But even if these staggering figures are only reached by mid-century, this still would mean than one single renewable energy source could provide us a fifth of the electricity we need on the global scale.

This would be comparable to the place taken today by both coal and natural gas. (around 20-25 percent)

This is a great ambitious goal !

South Korea to invest $35 billions in energy

Edouard — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:21:56 +0000

” The South Korean government has announced that it intends to invest $35.4 billion in the renewable energy sector over the next five years as it aims at reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and build a green economy for the future.”

“The South Korean government announced the ‘Green Korea’ plan in September 2008 which identified nine key areas for green investment : solar and wind power,(…) and energy storage.”

It seems China is not the only Asian country to have understood that cleantech is literally the next frontier in terms of employment and business. For more, please read the full article at Ecopolitology.org

Californian electricity to be 33 % renewables

Edouard — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:59:38 +0000

While the US federal government is still haggling about a climate and energy bill, the richest state is willing to have a third of its electricity coming from solar, wind and the likes by the end of the decade.

The local government points to the fact that this will decrease the dependence on foreign fossil fuels, improve air quality and create jobs. This is not what I call a gloomy prospect

I don’t understand why not all US States are following their example. This is the boldest plan in the United States. (Colorado comes second)

Currently, a major part of Californian electricity comes from natural gas (between 30 and 40 percent) and hydro power (from ten to 20 percent).

Nuclear brings to the grids around 15 percent of the local electricity and people are less against this energy source than by the past. A similar proportion is brought by renewables.

Could it be replicated to the whole United States ? We have seen extensively that the US can slash their coal consumption by that date and that energy efficiency has a huge potential to reduce emissions.

Brazil to invest $5.5 billion in renewables by 2013

Edouard — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 07:00:06 +0000

According to CleanTechies : ” The Brazilian government earlier this month held a wind, hydroelectric and biomass auction that is expected to prompt US$ 5.52 billion in investments in renewable energies in Brazil. “

” (…) Brazil currently holds 65 percent of the installed potential for wind power generation in Latin America. The country currently maintains 45 wind farms, totaling 794 MW of power, or just 0.7 percent of the Brazilian energy supply mix. “

Nearly half of Brazilian electricity comes from renewable energies. Out of which, hydro accounts for 80 percent. The local electricity demand grows by around 7 percent per annum.

Why I am now convinced by Desertec

Edouard — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:37:07 +0000

Living now in Paris I am able to go easily to conferences. Yesterday I was attending to a conference given by Mr.Paul van Son and Dr. Oliver Steinmetz, the CEO of Desertec Industries and member of the supervisory board, respectively.

Their enthusiasm and visionary ambitions are highly communicative. I now compare the Desertec project to the Apollo program which sent men on the moon in less than a decade. Many thought it couldn’t be done at the time.

David JC MacKay in his brilliant book Sustainable Energy Without Hot Air stated that Europe won’t be able to rely completely on local renewables.

He thus noted that we needed either nuclear, either foreign renewables or even both. I personally believe we will need both atomic energy and concentrated solar and wind energy from North Africa.

Indeed, the energy we currently get from foreign oil will have to be replaced. Coal fired plants are killing people as we speak which make it difficult to keep using this energy source.

We are talking about massive quantities of electrons to replace. Only projects like Desertec will enable us to change our whole electricity infrastructure.

I planned from Day 1 to keep you posted on Desertec. This is more than ever the case.

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(Many thanks to my good friend Julien Damelet for the tip about the conference.)