ACCIONA To Build 400 Megawatts Of Wind & Solar In Chile

25.04.2018

Spanish renewable energy company ACCIONA has announced that it will build four new renewable energy projects worth a total of 400 megawatts (MW) in Chile, made up of two solar farms and two wind farms.

ACCIONA Energía announced on Tuesday that it will take three years to build two new solar PV plants in the regions of Atacama and Antofagasta, and two wind farms in La Araucanía, with a total capacity of around 400 MW and investment from ACCIONA of approximately $600 million (€500 million).

ACCIONA will begin construction in 2019 on the 62 megawatt (MW) Almeyda photovoltaic plant which it expects will be completed by the end of the year. This will be followed a few months later by the beginning of construction on the 64 MW Usya photovoltaic plant which is expected to enter into service in mid-2020.

In addition to the two solar projects, which will benefit from investment of around $150 million, ACCIONA will also build two wind farms in the region of La Araucanía. Specifically, ACCIONA is already constructing the 183 MW San Gabriel wind farm in the municipality of Renaico, which received investment of $300 million, and which is expected to enter into operation by the end of 2019 or early 2020. This will be accompanied by the nearby 87 MW Tolpán wind farm.

“We are undertaking major investments over this three-year period, which will considerably strengthen our presence in the thriving renewable energy sector in Chile,” said ACCIONA Energía CEO, South America José Ignacio Escobar.

This is not ACCIONA’s first foray into Chile, having already completed the construction of the 246 MW El Romero Solar photovoltaic plant in the region of Atacama, which was earlier this year confirmed via Power Purchase Agreement as the supplier of 100% of the electricity for the National Mining Company of Chile.

Chile itself is also emerging as one of the potentially vital Latin America countries which could support the continued growth and development of wind and solar technologies as former-powerhouses begin to see their levels plateau and level off. Just a few weeks ago, MAKE Consulting highlighted Chile alongside Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico as one of the potential Latin American countries which will spur near-term wind power growth.

Source: cleantechnica.com

India Beats North America, Europe, & Japan In 2017 Solar Additions

25.04.2018

Those aggressive auction timelines by the central and several state governments in India have finally resulted in the Asian giant taking the limelight in the global solar power market.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), India overtook the continents of North America and Europe, as well as Japan, in terms of solar power capacity added during 2017. This is no mean feat given these continents and countries have several times India’s installed solar power capacity.

India added 9,628 megawatts of solar power capacity in 2017, up from 4,251 megawatts in 2016. The United States added 8,173 megawatts of solar power capacity last year compared to 11,274 megawatts in 2016. The total solar power capacity added in North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico) was 8,584 megawatts.

All the countries in Europe added a cumulative 5,912 megawatts last year, while Japan added 7,000 megawatts, down from 8,300 megawatts in 2016. We had reported last year that India would be likely to overtake Japan as the third-largest solar power market in terms of new capacity added. However, the slowdown in capacity addition in the United States has put India right behind China.

India is third in Asia in terms of operational solar power capacity, behind China and Japan. China added just over 53 gigawatts of solar power capacity in 2017, and retained the leadership position. Just over 72 gigawatts of solar power capacity was added in all of the Asian countries.

Globally, a total of 93,752 megawatts of solar power capacity was added last year.

India could manage to beat some of the most developed solar power markets globally due to the government’s thrust to push solar power as a major source of power generation. The central government set very ambitious solar power targets which percolated to the states.

India plans to hold auctions for 30 gigawatts of solar power capacity each in FY2018-19 and FY2019-20 in an attempt to reach the 100 gigawatt operational solar power capacity target by March 2022.

Source: cleantechnica.com

We Outline and Design Tomorrow’s Society

25.04.2018

A Denmark-based, international multi-disciplinary consulting company – NIRAS is founded in 1956. Today, our growing NIRAS Group team has more than 2,300 dedicated professionals, contributing with their signature advice and innovative solutions to global progress in various sectors such as construction, infrastructure, public utilities, environment, energy, planning, socioeconomics, management, IT and development consulting.

Our headquarters is in Denmark and our offices are based throughout Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe giving us the diversity, versatility and variety of experience key to reliable, realistic and sustainable solutions and advice to our clients. NIRAS works to understand tomorrow so our clients can benefit from it today.

Sustainable Solutions to Greatest Societal Challenges

NIRAS International Consulting is a part of NIRAS family of companies with more than 40 years of international experience in project management, acquired systematically in more than 100 countries around the globe.

We are focused on implementing donor-funded technical assistance projects and provide reliable, hands-on support to our clients in comprehensive project management and professional services during the entire project cycle. With a diverse group of experts in our international teams, we are ready to provide sustainable solutions to even the greatest societal challenges.

Our experts are ready to support faster and sustainable international development with their signature, high-quality consulting capabilities, ranging from project design to project implementation and, finally, project evaluation.

Real Progress and Positive Change

NIRAS International Consulting is today one of the biggest development consultancy companies in the world, with a network of companies and branch offices in more than 20 countries. We take particular pride in our project portfolio with more than 1000 projects implemented in more than 70 countries over the last five years alone, and the concrete progress and positive change we have enabled together with our clients.

Our offices in Finland, Norway, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany and Serbia house our core team of 300 full-time employees, supported by more than 800 topnotch experts working on development projects, and more than 14,500 short-term experts engaged in international development projects.

NIRAS is actively contributing to faster development of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America in a variety of sectors. Our portfolio of clients includes: European Commission, European Investment Bank, EBRD, KfW and GIZ (Germany), Danida (Denmark), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Sida (Sweden), SDC (Switzerland), AFD (France), AusAid (Australia), NORAD (Norway), DFID (UK), USAID (USA), the Nordic Development Fund, African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank, various UN organizations and the World Bank.

Sustainable Global Development and NIRAS

NIRAS is a company fully committed to the principles of United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate social responsibility initiative, with stakeholders in over 170 countries worldwide. We fully incorporate the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, making them an integral part of our strategies, policies and procedures.

Based on our international presence, NIRAS promotes and lives the culture of integrity and social responsibility, proving our concern and responsibility for the wellbeing and progress of humanity and our planet.

As a socially and environmentally conscious company we also support UN goals, such as the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). NIRAS have institutionalised the SDG framework in the mind set and identity of our organization including the following:

Integrated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to our overall business strategy;

Integrated M&E system for all of our new projects and programs which includes 100 Global Sustainable Development Goals indicators;

Monitored our performance against key performance indicators and sustainable development goals;

Established in-house cross-functional sustainability teams and task forces for each of the technical areas were we provide services;

Established a Sustainability Committee at NIRAS management / board level;

Identified core NIRAS International Consulting Sustainable Development Goals (5, 6, 8, 17, etc.);

Committed additional internal resources to improve our contribution to Sustainable Development Goals where we are less present (namely 11 and 14);

Committed to increase on SDG 7 as we venture into wind farming market and committed ourselves to measure our improvement against the respective indicators.

NIRAS is a committed Sustainable Development Goals supporter, with a desire to make real and positive contribution towards a more sustainable world and provides each of our employees an opportunity and space to make real, positive change.

You can read the entire text in the tenth issue of the Energy Portal Magazine SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, in March 2018.

China Installs Nearly 10 Gigawatts Of Solar In First Quarter, Up 22%

25.04.2018

alternative-2225__340, solar — Photo: Pixabay

China’s National Energy Administration announced on Tuesday that the country installed an impressive 9.65 gigawatts (GW) of new solar PV capacity in the first quarter of 2018, up 22% on the same period a year earlier and up on analysts’ projections.

At a press conference held on Tuesday, China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) published new data revealing the country’s solar PV performance for the first quarter. The data comes to us courtesy of Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory, (AECEA), based in Beijing, which covers the Chinese solar industry closer than many non-Chinese analysts are capable of doing.

Specifically, China installed a total of 9.65 GW worth of new solar PV capacity in the first quarter, made up of 1.97 GW worth of utility-scale solar capacity, and 7.68 GW worth of distributed solar capacity. This represents a 22% increase on the same quarter a year earlier, however, this doesn’t tell the whole story.

Frank Haugwitz, Director of the AECEA, explained that China’s utility-scale segment actually decreased by 64% in the first quarter, as compared to a year earlier, while the country’s distributed solar segment increased by a mind-boggling 217%.

AECEA also hinted at the fact that grid curtailment issues, which have plagued China’s solar industry for several years now, is beginning to improve — especially in regions such as Xinjiang and the province of Gansu, where grid curtailment levels in 2017 had stayed above 20% for the whole year.

It’s a strong start to the year for China’s solar industry, which broke all sorts of records in 2017 by installing a massive 52.83 GW worth of solar capacity after a year of repeated revisions to analyst expectations. Looking forward, there is no communal agreement on how much solar China will install in 2018, but AECEA currently expects China to install between 40 GW and 45 GW.

Source: cleantechnica.com

New UK Coal-Free Power Record Set at Over 76 Hours

25.04.2018

Just days after setting a new record of just shy of 55 hours without coal power, the UK’s electricity grid this afternoon completed another record coal-free run of over 76 hours.

Coal units restarted generation midway through this afternoon, bringing to an end a record 76 hours and 10 minutes when no coal-fired power plants were required.

National Grid confirmed that the record meant that for the first time since the 1880s the UK electricity network has clocked up over three consecutive days without the need for coal generation. The new record came just days after the first ever 48 hour period of no coal on the network.

The final length of this record #coal free run was 76 Hours 10 minutes.

The record is part of a long-running trend. Analysts expect to see coal-free days and lengthy periods of coal-free operation become increasingly common as the UK works towards shuttering all its coal-fired power plants by 2025 at the latest.

Coal accounted for just seven per cent of the UK power mix last year and two more coal plants are expected to close later this year.

Meanwhile, renewables developer Ørsted announced today that it has completed the installation of the final turbines at the Walney extension offshore wind farm, paving the way for the world’s largest offshore wind farm to come fully online later this year. The boost in renewables capacity will further reinforce a trend that saw low carbon power account for over half the electricity mix for the first time last year.

Source: businessgreen.com

Disney Announces New 50 Megawatt Solar Project To Power Two Theme Parks

24.04.2018

Walt Disney World Resort has announced that it is partnering with solar project developer Origis Energy USA to develop a new 50 megawatt (MW) that will power two of its four theme parks in Central Florida.

The announcement was made last week by Disney’s Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, Disney Parks, Dr. Mark Penning, in a blog post on the Disney Parks Blog. Penning described the move as “the next milestone in Disney’s continued commitment to environmental stewardship.” In addition to The Walt Disney Company’s target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2020, the new solar project will join Disney’s infamous Mickey ears-shaped 5 MW solar project which was unveiled in April of 2016 and intended.

The new solar project will see the Walt Disney World Resort company partner with the Reedy Creek Improvement District — the larger district which contains the land for the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks — and solar project developer Origis Energy USA. It will be built on 270 acres located near to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and include half a million solar panels. Disney expects that the new project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 57,000 tonnes per year — the equivalent of removing 9,300 cars from the roads.

Construction for the new 50 MW project is expected to begin in the next few months, and Origis Energy has already delivered the first solar panels (seen below), with completion expected by the end of the year. Combined with the 5 MW Mickey-ears solar project near Epcot, Disney expects the two projects will generate enough renewable electricity to supply up to 25% of the power needs at World Disney World Resort.

Another important aspect of the project for Disney was that the projects meet the overall standards of the Parks. Specifically, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment and Horticulture teams will be working together in the development of this new 50 MW solar farm to explore ways to make it pollinator friendly, “with rich wildflowers and vegetation, creating a safe and welcoming habitat for butterflies, bees and other insects, including endangered and at-risk species.” According to Dr Penning, “This important work aligns perfectly with the Disney Conservation Fund’s “Reverse the Decline” initiative, which aims to reverse the decline of 10 threatened species, including butterflies.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Nearly $4 Billion In Regional Economic Benefits Created By Australian Wind Power

24.04.2018

A report released recently by the Australian Wind Alliance has provided some fascinating insights about the economic benefits produced by Australian wind farms. Their construction has resulted in an almost $4 billion contribution to the Australia economy. Over half of this value was generated in the last 5 years.

The wind farms currently under construction there are adding $1.6 billion in economic activity to the regional economy. For example, over 6,000 jobs have been created by the new construction.

If you add the value contributed by the existing wind farms over their 25-year life spans and that of the ones under construction, the estimated total contribution to host communities is $10.5 billion.

About $20 million a year is directed to regional communities via distributions to landholders who host wind farms and Community Enhancement Funds (CEFs). When the wind farms under construction are completed, that figure could increase to $30 million.

From 2019, $2.5 million will be available for community projects through CEFs, which are grants that can be used for them. If all the wind power projects in development are completed, about $7 million a year could be available for community projects.

CEFs are not entirely new, “Fourteen years after the first CEF, more than 40 CEFs across five states have delivered more than $6 million into projects, events, equipment and organisations around Australia.” (Report link.)

Benefit sharing mechanisms can provide support to regional communities. Generally, this support takes the form of community co-ownership and payments to landholders and communities.

We might not think in general that wind power gives back to local communities, but the report described some specific community-enhancing efforts “Projects that have been realised through CEF funding can be substantial, such as the $100,000 contribution towards upgrading IT and educational equipment in schools in WA through to the $1,000 granted for a playground project in NSW.”

Wind power critics sometimes try to bash this form of clean energy as being too expensive, but in this particular case we easily can see the wind power can provide economic benefits at the local level. Also, wind power isn’t free, but it’s generally the cheapest or second cheapest (behind solar) option for new power capacity.

Source: cleantechnica.com

New York City Will Ban Automobiles From Central Park This Summer

24.04.2018

central-park-2519648__340 — Foto: Pixabay

Central Park in New York City is the most visited outdoor space in the United States. 40 million people a year flock to Central Park to partake of its charms. First established in 1857, it was designed by famed landscape architects Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux in 1858. By the start of the 20th century, the park had begun to decline. That’s when Robert Moses, who never met a mile of asphalt he didn’t like, stepped in to bring Central Park back to its original glory. He also took that opportunity to add several roadways within the park. Those roads soon became popular avenues for Manhattanites to drive crosstown.

Central Park MapLast week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all private vehicles will be banned from using the roadways in Central Park as of June 27. “Our parks are for people, not cars,” de Blasio told the press. “For more than a century, cars have turned parts of the world’s most iconic park into a highway. Today we take it back. We are prioritizing the safety and the health of the millions of parents, children, and visitors who flock to Central Park.”

The ban will not apply to emergency vehicles, nor will it have any impact on vehicles using the four below-grade crosstown routes that were part of its original design. The mayor had already banned cars from the scenic roads at the northern end of the park back in 2015. Similar scenic drives in the southern end of the park were limited to certain weekday hours.

If it seems like the age of the automobile has finally reached its high-water mark and the flood of vehicles everywhere is receding, you’re right. From London, to Paris, to several cities in Germany, officials are clamping down on how trucks and private cars access urban areas. Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg says that efforts to remove cars from Central Park have been underway for more than 5 decades, starting with limitations on what hours of the day cars were permitted.

Predictably, reactions to the ban are mixed. “I’m pretty happy about it,” pedi-cab driver S.K. Ali tells the New York Post. “We don’t like them. They scare the kids, they hit bikes, they make a lot of noise. Without the cars I’ll probably do more business, and it’ll be safer all around.” Taxi drivers and those who drive for ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft are less enthusiastic, as it means they will have a much more difficult time navigating that part of the city.

“Oh, great,” said one Uber driver. His passenger leaned out the window to say, “This route is the best kept secret in New York. Was that de Blasio? He’s the worst.”

Michael Capirasco, who heads the organization that runs the New York Marathon, is one of the happy ones. “As supporters of a healthy lifestyle, we are so excited that this amazing and beautiful park will be enhanced by being traffic-free,” he says. Paul White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, has nothing but praise for the ban. “Mayor de Blasio has done what 20 mayors before him could not do. Get cars out of Central Park.” De Blasio also banned cars from scenic drives in the Prospect Park section of Brooklyn in January.

Lots of people still believe they have a God-given right to drive wherever and whenever they want and that public officials have a duty to build more and more roads for their use. That attitude is changing, however, as reducing air and noise pollution is becoming a key policy objectives for many municipal leaders. If you are one of those folks who think the right to drive is enshrined in the Constitution, take heed. Ask not for whom the horn honks. The horn honks for thee.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Siemens Gamesa Overtakes Vestas As Leading Wind Manufacturer

24.04.2018

Less than a year after its successful merger, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has been named the leading wind manufacturer by two analyst firms, thereby dethroning Danish manufacturer Vestas.

It is the time of year to be looking back on wind turbine manufacturers’ previous year’s efforts, and those of us who expected last year’s merger between Spanish wind giant Gamesa and Siemens’ wind division to result in a wind energy giant have been proven correct. Released within days of one another, Wood Mackenzie’s MAKE Consulting and GlobalData both published respective reports on wind turbine manufacturers for 2017 and confirmed that Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy was now sitting atop the pile.

It’s unfortunate news for Vestas, who over the past few years has won and lost and won and now lost again its place as the world’s leading wind turbine original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In 2016 Vestas reclaimed its top position from Chinese OEM Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology, only to surrender it to the behemoth that is now Siemens Gamesa.

This is unfortunate, but unsurprising. When you look at 2016’s figures you see that Gamesa accounted for 3.7 gigawatts (GW) and Siemens added another 2.1 GW. With the combination of the two, plus the company’s strong move into the offshore wind energy sector, it was inevitable that Siemens Gamesa was going to be competing for top spot.

According to Wood Mackenzie’s MAKE Consulting, which published its Global Wind Turbine OEM Market Share report last week, Siemens Gamesa set a single-year record for new capacity globally, installing 8.8 GW of new capacity. Second was Vestas, and together, the two companies installed capacity in nearly twice the number of countries than the next OEM, and set them apart from the rest of the pack. According to MAKE, third place went to Goldwind and fourth to GE, followed by German OEM Enercon.

It is important to note that offshore wind was a defining factor in 2017’s rankings, helping Siemens Gamesa to secure the top spot, but also allowing MHI Vestas — the offshore wind joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vestas Wind Systems — to break through into the global rankings, the first for an offshore-exclusive OEM.

MAKE Consulting keep most of the specifics of its reports behind a subscription (what specifics exist were taken from Greentech Media’s article), but data and analytics company GlobalData is not as restricted and published its own report outlining global wind equipment manufacturing rankings for 2017.

According to GlobalData, Siemens Gamesa installed 9.43 GW in 2017, while Vestas only installed 7.52 GW. Both companies saw increased market share, up 26.4% and 14% respectively, and as can be seen below outpaced their nearest rivals which clumped much closer to one another.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Report: Carbon Pricing Now Covers Up to a Quarter of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

24.04.2018

The adoption of carbon pricing policies around the world is accelerating and now covers between 20 and 25 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE).

However, the French think tank warned that while the reach of emissions markets are increasing rapidly, carbon prices are still far below the level needed to ensure international climate goals are met.

Assessing the key trends in carbon pricing, I4CE’s Global Carbon Account 2018 report found that despite such policies now covering up to a quarter of the world’s emissions, there are still “too few” jurisdictions which have implemented an explicit carbon price.

As of April 1 this year, 46 countries and 26 provinces or cities around the world have adopted market-based measures which put a price and cap on emissions of CO2 from industry, according to the report.

Moreover, the adoption of carbon pricing policies is accelerating, with three Emissions Trading Schemes (ETSs) and three carbon taxes implemented in 2017, as well as more than 25 new carbon pricing instruments announced for the coming years.

The global roll out has been bolstered by the entry into force of China’s ETS in December 2017, which has helped push the proportion of global emissions covered by carbon pricing policies from 13 per cent in 2016 to between 20 and 25 per cent today.

In addition, revenues from carbon pricing initiatives are also increasing, the report found, with I4CE estimating that such policies generated $32bn in 2017, up from $22bn the previous year. Carbon taxes accounted for 65 per cent of carbon pricing revenues in 2017, it added.

However, I4CE’s annual report also highlights that carbon prices are perceived as too low to have a significant economic impact. While the price per tonne of CO2 emitted currently varies between less than $1 and $139 depending on the jurisdiction, more than 75 per cent of emissions regulated by carbon pricing are covered by a price below $10 (€8), a level that is widely considered far too low to support the low carbon transition needed to meet the Paris Agreement targets.

I4CE raised concern that carbon prices remained unaligned with the 2C trajectory set out in the Paris treaty, highlighting economic research suggesting carbon prices need to reach between $40 and $80 per tonne by 2020, rising to between $50 and $100 by 2030.

A series of reforms to Europe’s ETS earlier this year has helped push up the EU’s carbon price above €14 – its highest level in years.

However, analysis earlier this month by Thomson Reuters found that greenhouse gases regulated by the EU ETS ticked up for the first time in seven years, largely due to increased emissions from industrial manufacturers, such as the cement sector.

Source: businessgreen.com

Used Electric Car Values Rose 41% In UK During Quarter 1, 2018

23.04.2018

bmw-electric — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

Average used plug-in electric vehicle resale prices rose by 41% in the UK during the first quarter of the year, the online used car service Autorola has reported.

This compares to an overall used car resale price rise of 5.3% during the first quarter. In other words, the resale values of used plug-in electric vehicles in the UK are rising at a much faster clip than petrol and diesel cars are (diesel car resale values are of course actually flat, not just rising slowly).

Overall, used car prices rose to an average of £10,008 during the first quarter, up from £9,504 during the fourth quarter of 2017. What this means when taken as a whole is that used cars are becoming increasingly attractive to auto buyers in the UK — presumably on the back of lower discretionary income amongst much of the population in recent times.

A press release provides a bit more in the way of details: “Highlights of the first quarter trading in 2018 include a 41% increase in the average selling price for electric vehicles — up to £19,789 from Q4 2017’s £13,981. The number of EVs sold was relatively small, but it shows that dealers are beginning to consider EVs to add to their stock mix. Average age falling from 15 months to just 9 months, and mileage almost halving from 6,086 to 3,662 also helped contribute to this price increase.”

New plug-in electric vehicles are of course in many cases much more compelling than earlier models and model years were, so that makes sense.

Continuing: “There was also a significant 48% surge in numbers of diesels being sold in Q1 compared to Q4 2017, reinforcing prices are remaining strong despite the increase in disposal volumes.”

That surge is likely due to a desire by owners to get out ahead of any further depreciation that would accompany possible diesel car bans.

Providing an overview of the situation, Autorola UK’s group sales director, Jon Mitchell, stated: “Demand for used stock has been very strong during quarter one reinforcing that franchised dealers are turning their attention to selling more used cars as new car sales continue to fall, while independent dealers are simply selling more used cars. Diesel prices remain strong despite the higher volumes we saw coming onto our online portal, while used petrol prices have reached an all-time high. The used market has had a very positive quarter one.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Siemens Gamesa Awarded 100 Megawatt Mexico Wind Project In Latest Auction

23.04.2018

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announced on Friday that it has secured a new wind turbine order in Mexico for the supply of 100 megawatts (MW) as part of the most recent renewable energy auction held in the country in November of 2017.

Mexico’s third Long-term Auction for renewables was held in November of 2017 and ended up awarding a total of 2.5 gigawatts worth of new projects — 9 solar projects, 5 wind projects, and a single turbogas project — awarded at an average price of $20.57 per megawatt-hour (MWh).

Projects awarded in such auctions are not necessarily immediately claimed or publicized, and movement on those projects is similarly not immediate. This week, however, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, the world’s leading wind energy company, announced that it had secured the order to supply 100 MW worth of wind turbines made up of 29 units of its SG 3.4-132 turbines for a wind farm to be located in the Mexican state of Coahuila. Siemens Gamesa will deliver the wind turbines in the first quarter of 2019, but no extra information is currently available.

The announcement signals the company’s continued development in what is quickly becoming one of the world’s most important wind energy markets. Mexico currently has one of the world’s wind energy markets with the greatest potential, thanks to electricity reforms which were passed in 2015 and required 35% of the country’s electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2024.

“Siemens Gamesa is strongly committed to the Mexican market,” said José Antonio Miranda, CEO of Siemens Gamesa’s Americas Onshore business. “We were pioneers in this market and we have established ourselves as the leading supplier thanks to our vertically integrated presence along the value chain and our ability to adapt to our customers’ needs.”

So strong is Mexico’s potential that Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in March predicted that, by 2022, the country would install an additional 24 terawatt-hours of clean energy. Mexico has also recently been one of the highlight countries in terms of global wind energy and clean energy investment predictions. Near-term wind power growth is reliant upon countries such as Mexico and others in Latin America, according to a March report published by MAKE Consulting, while BNEF last week predicted that clean energy investment during the first quarter saw only a few highlights, including Mexico.

For Siemens Gamesa, the announcement is one of many that have been announced through the opening months of 2018 which not only serve to confirm the company as one of the world’s leading wind power companies, but potentially the biggest of them all.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Hope for Great Barrier Reef? New Study Shows Genetic Diversity of Coral Could Extend Our Chance to Save It

23.04.2018

coral-reef- — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

A study published Wednesday had some frightening news for the Great Barrier Reef—the iconic marine ecosystem is at “unprecedented” risk of collapse due to climate change after a 2016 heat wave led to the largest mass coral bleaching event in the reef’s history.

But another study published Thursday in PLOS Genetics offers some hope: Corals are still in danger from climate change, but we have an extra 50 years to act to save them.

Researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, the University of Melbourne and the Australian Institute of Marine Science found that corals in the Great Barrier Reef have enough genetic diversity to survive rising ocean temperatures for another century, which is half-a-century more than previously thought.

“It means these corals will still go extinct if we do nothing,” UT Austin professor and lead study author Mikhail Matz said in a UT press release. “But it also means we have a chance to save them. It buys us time to actually do something about global warming, which is the main problem.”

Heat is a problem for corals because it causes the algae that live inside them, providing both color and nutrients, to release toxins. The corals then expels the algae. Without the algae, coral bleaches, or turns white, and eventually starves.

The researchers obtained their results using a mix of genetic sampling and computer simulations. They focused on the staghorn coral Acropora millepora, which is a species that plays a significant role in building the Great Barrier Reef.

The current study builds on previous research in which Matz and his team had found corals within this species that had more heat resistant genes than others.

For the current study, they looked at what would happen to coral populations containing these variations as temperatures warm. When the coral colonies reproduce, they release millions of larvae that float on ocean currents before settling in a new location. As waters warm, the more heat-resistant larvae survive, improving the resilience of the colonies they join. This is the process that could buy corals another 50 years.

“This genetic variation is like fuel for natural selection,” Matz said in the press release. “If there is enough of it, evolution can be remarkably fast, because all it needs to do is reshuffle the existing variants between the populations. It doesn’t have to wait for a new mutation to appear; it’s already there. The problem is, when the genetic variation is exhausted, it is over and the future is unclear.”

Matz said his research could provide a guide for conservation efforts: Instead of trying to genetically engineer super corals in the lab, scientists should simply mix hardier, existing varieties in with less heat-resistant populations and let evolution do its work.

Source: ecowatch.com

Catholic Institutions Mark Earth Day with Fossil Fuel Divestment Pledge

23.04.2018

vatican-city-1233913__340 — Foto: Pixabay

The global divestment movement gained a religious following today with the announcement that 35 Catholic institutions have pledged to remove fossil fuels from their investment holdings.

Humanitarian organisation Caritas Internationalis, three leading Catholic banks with balance sheets totalling around €7.5bn, several dioceses and an international coalition of Catholic institutions have today all joined together in pledging to drop investments in energy that drives climate change.

The Global Catholic Climate Movement, which coordinated the announcements, said the news demonstrated the growing strength of the divestment movement within the Catholic Church, with the pledges coming from institutions that connect directly with the hierarchy with the Vatican and are backed by a sizeable pool of institutional investments.

For example, as an official Church institution based in the Vatican, Caritas Internationalis is one of the largest humanitarian organisations in the world and several members of its executive board are directly appointed by the Holy See.

Caritas Internationalis president H.E. Cardinal Luis Tagle said the poor are “suffering greatly from the climate crisis and fossil fuels are among the main drivers of this injustice”. “That is why Caritas Internationalis has decided not to invest in fossil fuels anymore,” he said in a statement today. “We encourage our member organisations and other groups or organisations connected to the Church to do the same.”

Leading Catholic banks pledging to divest include Pax Bank, Bank Im Bistum Essen eG, and Steyler Ethik Bank, while the archdiocese of Luxembourg, the archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno, and the diocese of Communauté Mission de France are also among those announcing divestments today.

Not all the institutions have yet revealed how much their divestments are worth. However, it is understood Secours Catholique in France plans to divest an estimated €10m, while the Catherine Donnelly Foundation will be divesting around CAN$800,000 and in the US a cluster of parishes – St. Pius, St. Mary, St. Anthony – are dropping an estimated US$400,000 from their total $3m assets.

The Archbishop of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Hollerich, said bishops were increasingly committed to making financial decisions “in line with our moral values”.

“Divestment is an important way for the Church to show leadership in the context of a changing climate,” he said. “Praise be to all those who serve ‘the least of these’ by protecting the environment.”

The 35 institutions making the pledge to coincide with international Earth Day today join the 60 Catholic institutions which have previously divested from fossil fuels.

Source: businessgreen.com

Great Britain Goes 55 Hours Without Using Coal

23.04.2018

Grejanje, Ugalj — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

In a Tweet posted on Thursday, the UK’s electricity and gas owner National Grid confirmed that Great Britain had gone over 48 hours without any coal electricity generation, which was further confirmed to play out to be nearly 55 hours in total.

The National Grid Control Room Twitter account keeps a running tally of electricity generation across the United Kingdom, and on Thursday the account boasted that “Great Britain has just gone 48+ hours without any coal generation.”

It’s important to note here — especially given some of the reporting of this news — that it was in fact Great Britain, and not the United Kingdom as a whole, which accomplished this record (as confirmed by National Grid UK’s Media Team via email).

In the end, Great Britain — which can essentially be narrowed down to the mainland, excluding Ireland — went 54 hours and 50 minutes, spanning 10.25pm on Monday, April 16 until 5.10am on Thursday, April 19, without using coal for power generation. This beats the previous record which was set in October of 2017 of 40 hours without coal generation.

Bloomberg also added that it appears wind turbines made up for the lack of coal generation, something we will likely hear more about in the days to come.

Source: cleantechnica.com

A Moss Can Naturally Clean Harmful Arsenic From Water

22.04.2018

forest-483207_960_720 — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

If you happen to be thirsty in the woods, there are a lot of things you can stick in your canteen to help clean up your drinking water. There are chlorine pills and filters. And now scientists have identified a certain kind of moss that could do it, too.

The moss is called Warnstorfia fluitans. It grows in Swedish wetlands contaminated with the toxic arsenic from nearby mining operations. Researchers found that the moss brought the arsenic levels of water down to drinkable levels surprisingly quickly, according to research published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

In northern Sweden, iron mines have contaminated much of the water with arsenic, a metal that is also toxic to humans. That harmful combination works its way into agricultural products like rice, traveling throughout the food web.

Researchers from the University of Stockholm hope that introducing this moss into wetlands could help clean up the area.

To test it in a controlled lab setting the researchers started with water that contained ten times the amount of arsenic deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. When they exposed the moss to it, the moss took just an hour to absorb 82 percent of the arsenic.

But further tests showed that higher concentrations of arsenic, plus mixing in other miscellaneous compounds, slowed down the filtration process. That’s a bit closer to real-world conditions, so that lab ideal would be far from how this moss performs in an actual arsenic-contaminated wetland. But even so, researchers found that the moss was able to tolerate arsenic concentrations 1,000 times higher than the EPA’s maximum before it showed any signs of toxicity itself.

So how did the moss survive after taking in all that harmful arsenic? The researchers found that most of the toxin was being bound to the moss tissue, rendering it harmless. And because very few organisms eat wetland moss, this could help break the cycle of arsenic poisoning in which predators become sick after eating contaminated prey.

The road from laboratory tests to successful environmental cleanups is long and arduous, but if researchers find that it helps to grow this moss in and around streams with dangerous levels of arsenic, we may be on our way to an inexpensive, handy solution to a serious ecological hazard.

Source: Futurism

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