Government Paves Way for More Renewable Energy Auctions in South Africa

12.02.2018

obnovljiva-energija — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

More renewable energy tenders can now be expected in South Africa as the government approved an application by national utility Eskom to procure additional renewable energy.

Nearly three years after the South African energy minister announced plans to offer an additional 6.3 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in new auctions, the government has given a major go-ahead to power utility Eskom to procure that electricity.

According to media reports, the Ministry of Public Enterprises has given Eskom the green light to procure additional renewable energy. The utility had claimed that lack of adequate transmission infrastructure had forced it to limit power procurement from renewable energy projects. Eskom had refused to sign power purchase agreements with projects that had already been auctioned, allocated, and were ready to be commissioned.

In 2016, Eskom refused to sign a power purchase agreement with a 100 megawatt concentrated solar thermal power plant of SolarReserve. The project had been allocated to the developer following competitive auctions under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP).

The South African Wind Energy Association said that the uncertainty around the fate of renewable energy projects as well as the future of REIPPPP put the brakes on nearly $4.7 billion worth of investment and creation of 15,000 jobs. The South African Renewable Energy Council had even threatened to sue Eskom over its alleged preference to nuclear power over renewable energy.

The African Development Bank had announced a loan of $1.34 billion to Eskom to strengthen and expand the transmission network. Soon after, the energy minister announced a breakthrough in the impasse between Eskom and the renewable energy generators. We may finally be seeing some light at the end of this tunnel of uncertainty.

Three years ago, after huge success in the initial four rounds of auctions, the Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, announced that she would approach the National Energy Regulator (NERSA) to make arrangements to offer an additional 6.3 gigawatts in future auctions.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Stanford Engineers: Here’s How 139 Countries Can Avoid Blackouts With 100% Clean Energy

12.02.2018

Renewable energy solutions are often hindered by the inconsistencies of power produced by wind, water and sunlight and the continuously fluctuating demand for energy. New research by Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, and Aalborg University in Denmark finds several solutions to making clean, renewable energy reliable enough to power at least 139 countries.

In their paper, published as a manuscript this week in Renewable Energy, the researchers propose three different methods of providing consistent power among all energy sectors—transportation; heating and cooling; industry; and agriculture, forestry and fishing—in 20 world regions encompassing 139 countries after all sectors have been converted to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. Jacobson and colleagues previously developed roadmaps for transitioning 139 countries to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2050 with 80 percent of that transition completed by 2030. The present study examines ways to keep the grid stable with these roadmaps.

“Based on these results, I can more confidently state that there is no technical or economic barrier to transitioning the entire world to 100 percent clean, renewable energy with a stable electric grid at low cost,” said Jacobson, who is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. “This solution would go a long way toward eliminating global warming and the 4 million to 7 million air pollution-related deaths that occur worldwide each year, while also providing energy security.”

The paper builds on a previous 2015 study by Jacobson and colleagues that examined the ability of the grid to stay stable in the 48 contiguous United States. That study only included one scenario for how to achieve the goals. Some criticized that paper for relying too heavily on adding turbines to existing hydroelectric dams—which the group suggested in order to increase peak electricity production without changing the number or size of the dams. The previous paper was also criticized for relying too much on storing excess energy in water, ice and underground rocks. The solutions in the current paper address these criticisms by suggesting several different solutions for stabilizing energy produced with 100 percent clean, renewable sources, including solutions with no added hydropower turbines and no storage in water, ice or rocks.

“Our main result is that there are multiple solutions to the problem,” said Jacobson. “This is important because the greatest barrier to the large-scale implementation of clean renewable energy is people’s perception that it’s too hard to keep the lights on with random wind and solar output.”

At the heart of this study is the need to match energy supplied by wind, water and solar power and storage with what the researchers predict demand to be in 2050. To do this, they grouped 139 countries—for which they created energy roadmaps in a previous study—into 20 regions based on geographic proximity and some geopolitical concerns. Unlike the previous 139-country study, which matched energy supply with annual-average demand, the present study matches supply and demand in 30-second increments for five years (2050-2054) to account for the variability in wind and solar power as well as the variability in demand over hours and seasons.

For the study, the researchers relied on two computational modeling programs. The first program predicted global weather patterns from 2050 to 2054. From this, they further predicted the amount of energy that could be produced from weather-related energy sources like onshore and offshore wind turbines, solar photovoltaics on rooftops and in power plants, concentrated solar power plants and solar thermal plants over time. These types of energy sources are variable and don’t necessarily produce energy when demand is highest.

The group then combined data from the first model with a second model that incorporated energy produced by more stable sources of electricity, like geothermal power plants, tidal and wave devices, and hydroelectric power plants, and of heat, like geothermal reservoirs. The second model also included ways of storing energy when there was excess, such as in electricity, heat, cold and hydrogen storage. Further, the model included predictions of energy demand over time.

With the two models, the group was able to predict both how much energy could be produced through more variable sources of energy, and how well other sources could balance out the fluctuating energy to meet demands.

Scenarios based on the modeling data avoided blackouts at low cost in all 20 world regions for all five years examined and under three different storage scenarios. One scenario includes heat pumps—which are used in place of combustion-based heaters and coolers—but no hot or cold energy storage; two add no hydropower turbines to existing hydropower dams; and one has no battery storage. The fact that no blackouts occurred under three different scenarios suggests that many possible solutions to grid stability with 100 percent wind, water and solar power are possible, a conclusion that contradicts previous claims that the grid cannot stay stable with such high penetrations of just renewables.

Overall, the researchers found that the cost per unit of energy—including the cost in terms of health, climate and energy—in every scenario was about one quarter what it would be if the world continues on its current energy path. This is largely due to eliminating the health and climate costs of fossil fuels. Also, by reducing water vapor, the wind turbines included in the roadmaps would offset about 3 percent of global warming to date.

Although the cost of producing a unit of energy is similar in the roadmap scenarios and the non-intervention scenario, the researchers found that the roadmaps roughly cut in half the amount of energy needed in the system. So, consumers would actually pay less. The vast amount of these energy savings comes from avoiding the energy needed to mine, transport and refine fossil fuels, converting from combustion to direct electricity, and using heat pumps instead of conventional heaters and air conditioners.

“One of the biggest challenges facing energy systems based entirely on clean, zero-emission wind, water and solar power is to match supply and demand with near-perfect reliability at reasonable cost,” said Mark Delucchi, co-author of the paper and a research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. “Our work shows that this can be accomplished, in almost all countries of the world, with established technologies.”

Jacobson and his colleagues said that a remaining challenge of implementing their roadmaps is that they require coordination across political boundaries.

“Ideally, you’d have cooperation in deciding where you’re going to put the wind farms, where you’re going to put the solar panels, where you’re going to put the battery storage,” said Jacobson. “The whole system is most efficient when it is planned ahead of time as opposed to done one piece at a time.”

In light of this geopolitical complication, they are also working on smaller roadmaps to help individual towns, many of which have already committed to achieving 100 percent renewable energy.

Source: ecowatch.com

Solar Energy Corp. Of India Announces 2 Gigawatt Tender

12.02.2018

On the heels of the wind energy auctions held by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) last year, the agency has launched a solar power tender as well.

The SECI has floated a tender for the allocation of 2 gigawatts of solar PV capacity across the country. The tender gains significance due to its size — being one of the largest floated at the national level — and the direct involvement of SECI in power procurement.

Prospective project developers will be free to chose the location for the development of the projects. The maximum tariff bid that project developers can place is Rs 2.93/kWh (¢4.6/kWh) which is highly competitive as the lowest solar power tariff in India is Rs 2.44/kWh (¢3.8/kWh).

While the project developers will have to scout for project sites, as opposed to locations being offered in earmarked solar parks, the tariff bids are expected to be highly competitive. The provisions of the tender are very clear compared to previous tenders.

Successful project developers will sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with SECI, a government entity which will boost confidence among lenders to the projects. SECI will charge a trading margin of Rs 0.07/kWh (¢0.001/kWh) and sign back-to-back PPAs with utilities interested in buying solar power.

A similar model was adopted in the wind energy tenders floated and executed by the SECI last year. This model has been in practice for some of the earlier utility-scale solar power projects allocated under the National Solar Mission, but this would be the first time when SECI would act as a ‘trader’ of solar power.

The tender clearly defines the performance criteria project developers need to adhere to, as well as a penalty on lower-than-expected power generation. If project developers generate excess electricity, SECI may procure it at a slightly reduced tariff and the developers would not have scout for alternate market avenues for the sale of excess power.

Availability of transmission capacity for rapidly increasing renewable energy capacity remains a challenge in India. Several solar and wind energy developers have complained in the recent past that utilities have asked them to reduce generation citing lack of transmission capacity in the grid. The tender outlines a compensation mechanism for such conditions as well.

All in all, it would be a highly interesting auction given the clear terms and conditions, the involvement of a trusted government entity like SECI, and the recent rise in prices of imported modules.

Source: cleantechnica.com

India Achieves 20 Gigawatts Solar Capacity 4 Years Ahead Of Initial Target

09.02.2018

solar-panel-1393880__340 — Photo: Pixabay

India achieved an operational solar power capacity of 20 gigawatts by the end of 2017, Mercom India Research has claimed.

According to Mercom India Research, a record 9.5 gigawatts of solar power capacity was likely added in 2017, taking the total solar power capacity operational in India to over 20 gigawatts. The figures do not match those released by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, and Mercom attributes the figures to its ‘India Solar Project tracker.’

India launched the National Solar Mission in 2009 with a target to have 20 gigawatts of grid-connected and 2 gigawatts of distributed solar power capacity by March 2022. India’s grid-connected solar power capacity now stands at 20 gigawatts — including 18.4 gigawatts of utility-scale and 1.6 gigawatts of rooftop solar power capacity, according to Mercom.

In 2015, the current government revised the capacity targets to 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by March 2022. The Indian government recently announced a highly aggressive auctions timeline which will see 77 gigawatts of capacity auctioned by March 2020, giving developers at least 2 years to commission all projects.

A total capacity of 3.6 gigawatts has already been auctioned in FY2017-18. An additional 3 gigawatts will be auctioned in December 2017, 3 gigawatts in January 2018, 5 gigawatts in February 2018, and 6 gigawatts in March 2018. A further 30 gigawatts each will be auctioned in FY2018-19 and FY2019-20. Thus a total of 77 gigawatts will be put on the block by 31 March 2020. Developers will thus have ample time to deliver all projects by the March 2022 deadline.

Along with solar, the Indian government also revised the overall renewable energy capacity target upward for 2022 to 175 gigawatts. According to the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the total renewable energy installed as of 31 December 2017 is 64.4 gigawatts. The Indian government expects the capacity to go beyond the 175 gigawatts target by March 2022.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Solar Panels Do Work On Cloudy Days

09.02.2018

Some critics of solar power say that solar panels don’t produce electricity on cloudy days. This claim is false. Solar panels can still can produce 10–25% of their typical output on a cloudy day. Obviously, this amount is much less than during periods of direct sunlight, but it is not nothing.

We may assume that solar panels thrive in hot, sunny weather, but too much heat can actually reduce solar panel output 10–25%. So, very hot weather isn’t the best condition for them. “The problem is, most solar panels’ power outputs start to degrade if the temperature of the panel goes over about 25°C. This is why, if you look at the specification label on a solar panel, most manufacturers quote the solar power output at a panel temperature of 25degC.”

This is why a solar power system might be more effective in San Francisco than in much hotter Las Vegas, even though Vegas has more sunny days. San Francisco is well known for its foggy days with cool weather, so it might be easy to assume that solar power wouldn’t do well there. However, rooftop solar power systems in San Francisco do function well. The amount of direct sunlight is reduced by fog and clouds, but solar panels function better at cooler temperatures, so the electricity output in San Francisco is still significant. Using a home solar power system there can save approximately $1,500 per year on utility bills, according to an analysis conducted by SolarCity.

You can also save $1,500 with solar power in Boston. Even though this city has such cold winters and cool temperatures in fall, solar power works well there and can considerably cut electricity bills.

One of the American cities with the most cloudy days is Seattle, but solar power is continuing to grow there as well. “Seattle is quickly becoming one of the best cities for solar in America thanks to Washington’s great payback incentive and net-metering policy as well as the city of Seattle’s growing market competition.”

Another one of the cloudiest cities, Portland, is also a leader among American cities in solar power — the 17th best US city in terms of solar capacity.

If you live in an area with cloudy, cool weather, you can still purchase and benefit from a solar power system, and don’t let any naysayers tell you otherwise. Sunshine is just part of the story. One major factor to consider if you are looking into buying a solar power system is the cost of electricity from your utility. If it is high or very high, of course, you may be motivated to find an alternative source of electricity, even if your region has cloudy days.

There are also two trends working in favor of solar power in cloudy places: One is that solar panels have gradually become more efficient, especially in cloudy locations. The other is that solar prices have decreased steadily, so it is more affordable to get a larger system for places with less direct sunlight.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Renewables Push Low Carbon Sources to Almost 55 Per Cent of UK Power Mix

09.02.2018

The UK’s renewables sector continued to perform strongly during the third quarter of last year, according to new official data that shows how increased capacity and availability helped push its share of the electricity mix to 30 per cent.

The performance marks a 4.6 percentage point increase on the same period in 2016 and reprents a record for the third quarter of the year, buoyed in part by a 2.2 per cent drop in generation across the UK’s electricity sector as a whole.

The increase in power from renewables also helped push low carbon electricity’s share of the electricity mix – including nuclear power – to a third quarter record high of 54.4 per cent, up from 50.2 per cent during the same period in 2016.

Less favourable weather conditions, however, saw renewables’ share of overall power generation during the quarter fall slightly from the record breaking 30.7 per cent share achieved in the second quarter of 2017.

Nevertheless, wind power performed particularly strongly, making up the bulk of renewables’ success during the third quarter, with onshore wind accounting for 7.5 per cent of overall power generation and offshore turbines contributing 5.3 per cent.

Large increases in wind power capacity in the year to the end of the third quarter of 2017 – particularly for onshore wind – “more than outweighed reduced wind speeds during the quarter”, the government report stated.

Generation from solar PV, meanwhile, accounted for around five per cent of overall generation during the quarter ahead of hydro power on less than two per cent.

Luke Clark, head of external affairs at trade body RenewableUK, welcomed the latest figures.

“Renewables are consistently generating 30 per cent of the UK’s electricity and are now a mainstay of the UK’s power sector,” he said. “Wind is playing a key role in this, with onshore wind generation increasing by 20 per cent compared to the same period last year, and offshore wind up 10 per cent.”

Despite the “great year” for onshore wind, though, he added the current effective ban on onshore wind projects from taking part in competitive auctions for price support contracts means “we’re missing out on the cheapest new power capacity”.

Overall renewable electricity generation was 22.3TWh in the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 15 per cent on the 19.2TWh recorded in the same period of 2016.

The highest year-on-year increase across all renewables technologies came courtesy of bioenergy’s 23 per cent rise in generation to 7.6TWh in the third quarter of last year. The jump in generation was due to increased availability at the Drax biomass power station following outages the previous year, the report explained.

Renewables’ ongoing success in the UK will bolster the government’s drive towards meeting statutory climate change targets, for which it is currently on track to comfortably meet the second carbon budget which runs to 2017.

The new data follows the latest greenhouse gas estimates this week, which showed the UK’s overall emissions fell five per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year, largely due to the significant and ongoing drop off in coal fired power as renewables continued to take on a greater share of electricity generation.

In related news, annual electricity figures for the US were also published this week, showing that for the fourth year in a row renewable power provided more new generating capacity than natural gas.

The latest Federal Energy Regulatory Commission figures for 2017 show that renewable sources accounted for almost half of the near 25GW of new US capacity added, while new natural gas accounted for under 49 per cent.

It means renewables now account for more than 20 per cent of overall US generating capacity, with utility scale solar making up more than 30GW alone, delivering an eight-fold increase in capacity over the past five years.

Moreover, despite President Trump’s vocal support for the US coal industry, the figures show no new coal capacity was added across the entire country in 2017 – a fact highlighted by Ken Bossong, chief executive of US green energy campaign group SUN DAY.

“Notwithstanding a year-long effort by the Trump Administration and its congressional allies to prop up coal, nuclear, and natural gas at the expense of renewable energy sources, clean energy technologies have proven themselves to be amazingly resilient,” he said in a statement. “The unmistakable lesson to be drawn from the past five or more years of FERC data is that solar, wind, and the other renewable energy sources are carving out a large and rapidly-expanding share of the nation’s electrical generation.”

With coal power perhaps now showing signs of struggling on both sides of The Pond, it seems renewable electricity is not just picking up the slack, but is now very much a mainstream force for both US and UK power grids.

Source: businessgreen.com

Morrisons to Drop Single-Use Plastic Bags within Months

09.02.2018

Morrissons has become the latest recruit to the war on plastic, announcing it will begin to “phase out” single-use plastic bags across its stores from March.

The ban will mean single use plastic bags that are subject to a five pence charge will no longer be available. However, a 10p “reusable” plastic bag will remain in circulation.

The hope is the shift to reusable only bags will encourage more shoppers to bring their own bags to the supermarket.

A spokesperson for Morrisons confirmed single use bags will be removed from distribution centres first, before then being phased out at the company’s supermarkets.

The whole process is expected to take a “matter of months”, although the firm did not specify a specific end date.

Campaign group A Plastic Planet, which has led calls for ‘plastic-free aisles’ in supermarkets, congratulated Morrisons on its move.

However, co-founder Sian Sutherland said more needed to be done to tackle plastic waste across the sector. “It’s clear that the UK supermarkets must do much more than simply banning single-use plastic bags,” she said in a statement. “We have to turn off the plastic tap urgently. Morrisons should introduce a Plastic Free Aisle at the earliest opportunity.”

She added that there was strong public support for such measures. “A Populus poll revealed last year that more than nine in 10 Britons support the introduction of a Plastic Free Aisle in supermarkets,” she said. “It’s high time the UK’s biggest supermarkets backed the move.”

Morrisons’ announcement is the latest in a string of moves by retailers to crack down on plastic waste.

This week, Asda published a plastic waste action plan, saying it would reduce the amount of plastics in its own brands by 10 per cent over the next year and begin searching for new options to replace plastic packaging. Meanwhile, Tesco and Iceland have all announced a range of new commitments to curb plastic use.

The blitz of announcements come after Prime Minister Theresa May last month unveiled a new 25 Year Environment Plan, which signalled the government’s support for ‘plastic free aisles’, proposed a series of consultations to investigate new plastic waste levies, and set a target to end ‘avoidable’ plastic waste by 2042.

Source: businessgreen.com

Record-Low Solar Bid from ACWA Power for 1st Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Project in Saudi Arabia

08.02.2018

Leading Saudi developer and operator ACWA Power has announced it has won the right to develop the first utility-scale renewable energy project in Saudi Arabia, the 300 megawatt Skaka IPP PV solar project, at a record-breaking tariff of 2.34 US-cents per kilowatt-hour.

ACWA Power announced on Tuesday that it had been awarded the rights to develop the 300 megawatt (MW) Skaka IPP PV solar project, which is set to be located in the Al Jouf region of Saudi Arabia and cover a site over 6 square kilometres in area. ACWA Power was awarded the project at a record-low tariff of 8.782 halala per kilowatt-hour (kWh), or around 2.34 US-cents/kWh.

In conversations with CleanTechnica in January, ACWA Power President and CEO Paddy Padmanathan as well as other regional solar experts told us that continually declining costs in solar technology combined with highly competitive financing and low land costs in the region had allowed for multiple record-breaking solar PV bids. Paddy Padmanathan at the time told us to look out for news about this Saudi Arabia project.

That started with a 5.98 cents/kWh solar bid in late 2014, an ACWA Power bid that blew the solar world away. (Related: Cheapest Solar In The World — Michael Liebreich Interview Series). A couple of years later, again in Dubai, a consortium led by Masdar offered yet another record-low solar bid. This one got down to an astonishing 2.99 cents/kWh. But progress marches on, and those bids now look high compared to the 2.34 cents/kWh bid that won ACWA Power this project.

The Skaka solar project is Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale renewable energy project and the first of what the Kingdom aims will eventually generate 9.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2023.

“We are proud to have set yet another world record tariff for PV power, now at home, and are humbled to be entrusted with the first utility-scale renewable energy plant to be developed in the Kingdom, which will be the foundation of the visionary ambitious national program that seeks to maximize the utilization of renewable energy sources, as defined by the National Transition Plan 2020 and the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030,” said Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power.

Paddy Padmanathan says 7.3 cents for night solar in MENA“We are very excited to have won this project, through such a rigorous transparent process at a new world record tariff as it will set the foundation for a robust and competitive market for renewable energy in the Kingdom thus enabling Saudi Arabia to take advantage of all intrinsic valuable ingredients available to become a global hub for research, development, manufacture and investment in the rapidly transforming energy sector which is pivoting to increase the renewable energy content in the fuel mix of power generation,” added Paddy Padmanathan, President and CEO of ACWA Power.

ACWA Power was one of 8 bidders on the project, which was narrowed down to only two at the beginning of January (PDF) — ACWA Power and the Marubeni Corporation with consortium members Khaled Ahmed Juffali Energy & Utilities Limited and Axia Power Holdings BV. Other bidders included Masdar and EDF. It is believed that ACWA Power came out on top — even though its own bid was not the lowest bid — due to a focus on local manufacturing and a more traditional offering as compared to its competitors.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Ph.D. Aleksandar Joksimovic: The Adriatic is Our Heritage – We Must Preserve It!

08.02.2018

With four national parks and a multitude of forest systems, more than 50 protected plant species and 320 animal species, although small in size, Montenegro has three different natural environments at a distance of only 100 kilometers: the coast, karstland, and the region of high mountains.

In 1988, the Montenegrin parliament declared Montenegro as an ecological state, confirmed by the international community in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Brazil.

Taking into account the impacts of the proximity of the sea to the entire ecosystem as well as human health, we bring you a story about the Kotor Institute of Marine Biology, the only scientific research institution in Montenegro that deals with the biology of the Adriatic Sea.

For 56 years, employees and associates at the Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor study biodiversity of the southern Adriatic in order to preserve it – protect it from the impact of climate-change, extinction and migration of marine organisms, and pollution caused by man’s activities. In the capacity of the organizational unit of the University of Montenegro, within the Institute today there are Laboratory for benthos and marine protection, Laboratory for ichthyology and coastal fishery, Laboratory for marine chemistry and oceanography, Laboratory for plankton and seawater quality and Laboratory for development research and mariculture. The Institute publishes a scientific magazine “Studia Marina”. By providing recommendations for responsible use of marine resources, the Institute cooperates daily with almost all institutions in Montenegro.

Our interlocutor is Ph.D. Aleksandar Joksimovic, the Head of the Laboratory for ichthyology and coastal fishery in this Institute. Mr. Joksimovic received a doctorate at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Belgrade. His doctoral dissertation was about ‘’Fishery Biology and population dynamics of some economically important fish species of the Montenegrin coast’’, and he is also the main negotiator of Montenegro for the opening of negotiation Chapter 13 (Fisheries) of the EU as well as the scientifically responsible person on behalf of Montenegro at the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.

− More than 20 national, bilateral and international scientific and research projects are currently being implemented at the Institute, and at the same time, thanks to the strong will of the employees, numerous student visits, such as the traditional May spring school, are conducted for biology students from all the countries of the region and beyond. We, at the Institute, carry out numerous educational campaigns because we want to transfer the results and methods of our research to interested, young people − said Ph.D. Joksimovic.

National projects, conducted for the needs of the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, are primarily dedicated to sustainable development of marine fisheries but also to mariculture because natural resources are rather prevalent and burdened with the outflows of polluting substances into the environment. Although the Montenegrin fleet is small, a large number of fishing vessels of other Adriatic countries are extremely active in the Adriatic Sea, resulting in a noticeable downward trend in marine resources.

− In cooperation with partner institutions, the Institute also implements IPA projects from the Pre-accession Assistance allocated funds of the European Union, such as the recently completed NetCet project, dedicated to the research and study of whales, turtles, and other marine mammals. The DeFish Gear project is also worth mentioning, focusing on the analysis of marine waste, primarily particles and filaments of plastic, which are potential foods of marine organisms, and can be found in their organs, as well as on the surface and the bottom of the sea − Ph.D. Joksimovic told us.

The Institute also has an accredited laboratory for monitoring the sanitary quality of seawater. For many years, the quality of water on public beaches has been checked for the needs of the Public Enterprise for coastal zone management.

In the previous years, the South Adriatic developed a model for the protection against oil pollution and its derivatives, which in case of accidental situations could be spilled from ships, and surveys have been carried out on potential dangers of ballast water spillage (water that the vessels are sucking for their stability) in the coastal area, under IPA projects “HAZADR” and “BALMAS”.

Food coming from the sea is significantly present on the tables of inhabitants of the coast, but also of the inhabitants of the entire region. With the support of the Albert II Foundation from Monaco, the Institute has been implementing a project for exploring the Pen Shell (Pinna Nobilis), a very important species that was once dominant in the Bay of Kotor but has become compromised over the past decades. The emphasis is placed on the revitalization of this species and its artificial reproduction in order to eventually be returned to the natural habitat.

Four years ago, the Ministry of Science launched a competition for the establishment of the first Center of Excellence in Montenegro, which was announced as partners by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Biotechnology of the University of Montenegro, the Institute of Public Health and the Institute of Marine Biology, and after a long evaluation process they were given the chance to, form BiO-ICT, the first Center of Excellence in the field of biotechnology and bioinformatics, through the HERIC project funded by the World Bank.

Within the BiO-ICT Center, and in cooperation with the Center for Ecological Security of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Arts from St. Petersburg, the status of shellfish used in human nutrition is monitored. The system measures the cardiac activity of the shellfish through the sensors on the shells, and cardiac rhythm of the shellfish obtained by means of optical cables and transmitters on the monitors. The essence of this measurement is that in this way you get an overview of the situation in real time, that is you learn how shellfish react to changes in the marine environment which is otherwise very dynamic. If the heart rate deviates from normal, this indicates that the changes have occurred, and at that point, the team goes to the eld to sample water and determine what is the cause of the changes, through chemical and microbiological analyzes. The system was set up in an experimental farm in front of the Institute and in the private farm “COGI mar” and according to Mr. Joksimovic, so far eco-toxicological analysis of heavy metals in tissues of shellfish, sediment, and water have always been within normal limits, so we can freely conclude that food caught in the bay has no negative impact on human health.

The Bio-ICT Centre of Excellence has enabled the Institute to cooperate with various businessmen dealing with the cultivation of fish and shellfish. Ph.D. Joksimovic singled out BokaGard, a business unit of Skoljka Boke, which today follows all trends in science and the result of this successful cooperation is a certificate of quality that enables the export of products outside Montenegro. In the mentioned farm, mussels, and oysters are produced, and the quality of the sea water, in which they are grown, is estimated based on microbiological parameters.

The Institute is engaged by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the development of mariculture and monitoring of the quality of seawater in farms. Parameters are measured every 15 days and based on them, a database is created, available to breeders. In addition to monitoring, it is the Institute’s obligation, if an irregularity is detected – that the parameters are beyond the limit values, to alert breeders and recommend for the farm to be temporarily closed in order to investigate the causes of the deviation.

So far it has not happened that some of the breeding farms are closed, because there is no longer an active industry, and besides, there is a phenomenon of self-purification in the waters of the Bay of Kotor, as many rivers with a large flow of fresh water flow into the sea. All sampled waters are mainly the first category, which is confirmed by the analysis of water on the beaches, that are performed during the summer season for the Public Enterprise for the coastal zone.

This summer, within the framework of the project implemented by the Bio-ICT Centre for Excellence, in partnership with the Public Enterprise for coastal zone management, and the company “APLITUDO” from Podgorica, smart buoys were installed, on several locations in the open sea and one in the Bay of Kotor, which are powered by solar energy and are used to measure the salinity, temperature and pH of the water. The measured data are sent to the base of the site using GPRS. As this is a pilot project, we are working on a model for the data to be available for interested individuals and companies, through registration and subscription, and in the future, this concept could become an open data form, with the extension of the monitored parameters.

Since its inception, the Institute of Marine Biology has been successfully cooperating with Belgrade Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic”, through activities related to bioindicators of the environment. Ichthyologists use different tools and methods to sample living organisms – fish, crayfish, and shellfish, and their habitat, and biologists from the Institute “Sinisa Stankovic”, do over two hundred analysis on the tissues of these organisms (muscles, liver, gills).

− Through this form of cooperation, we have the results of how the organisms respond and what happens in their tissues in relation to the pollution that can come from the outer environment into the seawater and thus to the food chains of different species. When I moved to Kotor twenty years ago, there were noticeable problems with the wastewater from the sewage systems that were manifested as the turbidity of the surface layer, the disorder of clarity, the change of colour into yellow and red, as well as the smells that spread during the summer months. In the last decade, the problems have been solved thanks to the system for collecting and purifying wastewater from Boka which is located in Traste. Technical water is discharged at 3,650 meters from the coast, at a depth of 56 meters. The discharge was designed in the seventies because there are extremely strong currents in that place, and the water discharged there has little effect on the Adriatic ecosystem − explains Joksimovic.

In the summer months, Budva has overcrowded capacities, and it happens that due to the heavy load there is sometimes a pipe break, which causes a decrease in water quality due to the increased number of coliform bacteria. By alerting the competent institutions, these accident situations are solved in the shortest possible time, and the quality of the water is brought about to its original state. According to Ph.D. Joksimovic, earlier there were infections such as abdominal pain and skin changes among bathers that have come into contact with the water of poorer quality. These are mostly symptoms that are cured quickly. In the long run, the system is viable and in function.

The Institute, with its numerous associates, carries out actions to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the sea and coastal area. There is also cooperation with several non-governmental organizations that are making great efforts to change the irresponsible behaviour of individuals with actions for cleaning the coastal area.

− We want to teach children that the sea is our heritage, that they should take care of it and respect it so that it is clean because we inherited it clean from our ancestors. Nobody who comes here will neither pollute it nor clean it. As a human species, we must be aware that we are only a part of nature, not its masters. Therefore, we must not behave that way, because nature is a great living organism that requires attention. We are witnessing the changes that are taking place due to our activities, but they are not limited to the sea. We are aware that summers became hot and winters extremely cold in the areas where they were not like that earlier, while the frequency of hurricanes and typhoons increased. Nature’s clock is ticking the eleventh hour, therefore it is necessary to do everything we can to change the consciousness of people around us, otherwise, the bough we are sitting will be cut off. I believe it is not too late for changes – concluded Ph.D. Joksimovic.

Prepared by: Marija Nesovic

This interview was originally published in the ninth issue of the Energy Portal Magazine, named ECOHEALTH.

New US Renewable Energy Capacity Beats Natural Gas for Fourth Year Running, Renewables now Account for over 20%

08.02.2018

For the fourth year in a row, new US electricity capacity from renewable energy sources surpassed those from natural gas, and accounted for half of all new capacity additions, according to recent figures published by the country’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

New electricity capacity from renewable energy sources — including biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind — accounted for 49.85% of all new capacity installed during 2017, which totaled 24,614 MW (megawatts), meaning that there was 12,270 MW worth of new renewable energy capacity. New natural gas capacity accounted for 48.67%, with the remaining new capacity being served by waste heat (0.89%), nuclear (0.41%), and oil ( 0.16%). There was no new coal capacity added during 2017.

These are the key statistics from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) latest issue of its “Energy Infrastructure Update” (PDF) which includes data through to the end of 2017. Ken Bossong’s Sun Day Campaign highlighted these statistics in an email on Wednesday.

While renewable energy capacity was down on 2016’s impressive 16,124 MW, it nevertheless retained its position as the dominant new form of energy, outpacing natural gas for the fourth year in a row.

“Notwithstanding a year-long effort by the Trump Administration and its congressional allies to prop up coal, nuclear, and natural gas at the expense of renewable energy sources, clean energy technologies have proven themselves to be amazingly resilient,” noted Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “The unmistakable lesson to be drawn from the past five or more years of FERC data is that solar, wind, and the other renewable energy sources are carving out a large and rapidly-expanding share of the nation’s electrical generation.”

Technology-specific statistics were similarly impressive. By the end of last year, utility-scale solar had reached 30.30 GW (gigawatts) — approximately eight times greater than what FERC had reported five years ago. Solar now makes up 2.55% of the total US utility-scale generating capacity — an inherently underrated figure, considering FERC does not include distributed solar in its statistics.

Over the past five years, renewable energy generating capacity has increased across the board in the United States. On top of solar’s 7.77% increase, wind energy grew by 53.88%, biomass by 11.20%, geothermal by 3.51%, and hydropower by 2.79%. In fact, the generating capacity of all non-hydro renewable energy sources is 73.89% greater than it was five years ago, and renewables together account for 20.21% of the United States’ installed generating capacity. Five years ago this figure stood at only 15.40%. Unsurprisingly, given its popularity and economic viability, wind energy stands out from the pack for the moment, accounting for 7.45% of total US generating capacity.

On the other side of the energy generating street, natural gas has only increased its share of generating capacity by 5.14% over the past five years, and oil by only 5.35%. Most importantly, however, is the state of coal, which over the past five years has seen its share of total generating capacity decline by 17.83%.

Source: cleantechnica.com

India Aims To Add 15.6 Gigawatts Of Renewable Energy Capacity In 2018–2019

08.02.2018

Obnovljivi izvori energije — Foto: Pixabay

The Indian Minister of Finance recently announced the budgetary allocation for all ministries and associated target outcomes for the financial year 2018-19 that starts from 1 April 2018.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an allocation of just over Rs 5,020 crore ($790 million) for the expansion of various renewable energy technologies and other activities of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) for the financial year 2018-19.

MNRE is expected to commission 15.62 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity in the financial year 2018-19. The targeted capacity addition is 7.3% higher than the capacity addition target set for the financial year 2017-18.

The capacity addition target in the wind energy sector remains unchanged at 4 gigawatts. Remember, the wind energy capacity addition in India will remain highly regulated due to the shift from a feed-in tariff regime to competitive auctions.

The MNRE targets the addition of 11 gigawatts of solar power capacity, up from 9 gigawatts in FY2017-18. The solar power capacity, too, will be highly regulated through the auctions timeline already announced by the MNRE. The solar power capacity addition includes 10 gigawatts of ground-based large-scale projects and 1 gigawatt of rooftop projects.

The capacity addition target for small hydro technology has been increased from 200 megawatts to 250 megawatts. The biopower capacity addition has also been increased marginally from 340 megawatts to 370 megawatts. Surprisingly, no target has been mentioned for waste-to-power projects.

The largest allocation, of Rs 2,045 crore ($321 million), has been provided for capacity addition in the solar power sector, i.e. to add 11 gigawatts of capacity. Rs 848 crore ($133 million) have been earmarked for 200 megawatts of solar lighting devices and 20 megawatts of solar thermal applications.

A very important allocation of Rs 600 crore ($94 million) has been made for implementation of 3,000 circuit kilometers of transmission lines across 8 states rich in renewable energy resources. These transmission lines (Green Energy Corridors) will be used solely to transmit electricity generated from renewable energy projects.

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will receive Rs 128 crore ($20 million) for payment of interest on green bonds it plans to issue over the course of the financial year.

Source: cleantechnica.com

New Global Offshore Wind Capacity In 2017 Hits 3.3 Gigawatts

08.02.2018

wind-power-plant — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Navigant Research has published new figures which show a total of 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind energy capacity was installed in 2017, bringing the cumulative capacity up to almost 17 GW, with another 7.9 GW in the pipeline.

Published on Wednesday, Navigant Research released its latest report, Offshore Wind Market and Project Assessment 2017, which analyzes the offshore wind energy market around the globe, and found that 3.3 GW worth of new wind energy capacity was installed in 2017.

Navigant makes its money by selling its analysis, and the full breakdown of the analysis is not always easily available, so this figure is an interesting one when compared with figures published by the European offshore wind industry trade group WindEurope on Tuesday, which boasted Europe’s offshore wind industry installed 3.1 GW. If both reports are correct, then Europe accounted for 94% of all offshore wind capacity additions in 2017.

Further, Europe’s cumulative offshore wind energy capacity hit 15.8 GW at the end of 2017, increasing by an impressive 25% in 2017 alone, which would mean that, according to Navigant’s own report that global cumulative capacity was almost 17 GW, Europe accounts for 93% of global offshore wind energy capacity.

These are not necessarily surprising figures, or even figures which should be taken with a grain of salt, as Europe has been the world’s leading offshore wind energy center for years now. What is interesting is seeing how 2017 has only solidified Europe’s position and highlights the current lack of growth elsewhere — though Asia and the United States are both slowly making their way into the arena.

Navigant Research also highlights “a substantial 7.9 GW of wind projects under varying levels of construction” already in the pipeline, led by Europe with 4.9 GW under construction. In comparison, WindEurope boasted 11 offshore wind projects already under construction worth around 2.9 GW, but the discrepancy could sit in the definition of “under construction” and expand to include pre-construction development. China boasts 2.3 GW worth of offshore wind in varying stages of construction, making use of its significant expertise and ambition from the onshore wind sector — 23 GW installed in 2016 and 31 GW installed in 2015 — to kick-start its offshore wind industry with the same impressive trajectory.

Globally, Navigant Research says that there is 18.7 GW worth of offshore wind capacity in advanced planning stages, though not all of these projects are guaranteed to make it through to construction.

Looking forward, Navigant Research expects the global offshore wind energy market to install over 24 GW of new capacity at a growth rate of 11.1% over the next five years, with a cumulative capacity expected to surpass 40.6 GW by the end of 2022.

“While the onshore wind market is larger in terms of total megawatt plant capacity added annually, offshore wind is growing more quickly,” said Jesse Broehl, senior research analyst at Navigant Research. “It is forecast to grow at an 11.1 percent compound annual growth rate between 2017 and 2022, compared to single-digit growth rates for onshore wind.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Yingli Secures Order For 12 Solar PV Plants In Chile Worth 146 Megawatts

08.02.2018

solar-cells-2590968__340 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Yingli Green Energy has announced it has secured orders for 12 solar PV projects in Chile worth 146 megawatts for which it will provide Engineering, Procurement, and Construction services.

One of the world’s leading solar panel manufacturers with over 15 gigawatts worth of solar panels delivered all around the world, Yingli Green Energy (also known as Yingli Solar) announced on Tuesday that it had secured an agreement from Latin American-focused independent power producer Jenner Renewables to provide Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) services for 12 ground-mounted PV plants in Chile which, upon completion, will boast total capacity of 146 megawatts (MW).

Jenner Renewables achieved financial close on the 146 MW portfolio of Chilean solar projects only last week, which will be built in two phases — a 46 MW phase expected to reach commercial operations in the third quarter of 2018, and the remaining 100 MW to reach commercial operations by the first quarter of 2019. The projects are expected to displace 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per year and produce 324 gigawatts worth of electricity each year, which is enough to power the equivalent of more than 43,000 Chilean households.

“As an independent power producer operating throughout Latin America, we are very excited to contribute in such a significant way to the development of renewable energy in Chile,” said Jorge Calvet, Founder and CEO of Jenner. “This country is at the forefront of implementing a carbon free electricity system by 2040 and our projects definitely support this strategy. This is part of our renewable energy pipeline of 1,500 MW, which we intend to develop over the next 3-4 years in Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and other countries in the region.”

The 12 solar PV projects are set to be located throughout the Sistema Interconectado Central (SIC) region of Chile, and will be supported by the Chilean Small Distributed Generators’ (PMGD) pricing mechanism. The PMGD is supposed to only apply to sub-9 MW projects — and a quick reference to your age-old times tables will tell you that 146 divided by 12 does not equal 9 (closer to 12.16) — but Jenner Renewables explained that its projects will be able to benefit from the PMGD’s long-term stream of stable cash flow. PMGD projects are expected to be connected to distribution networks so as to bring generation closer to the consumption point, and therefore contributing to Chile’s strategic power system goals.

Yingli Solar has been contracted to provide EPC services for all 12 projects for which it will supply its multicrystalline modules type YL325P-35B.

“We are proud to partner with Jenner Renewables on such a significant project, which is the largest EPC project that Yingli undertook independently,” said Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli. “In addition to focusing on our historical customers, such as EPC contractors and project developers, we are also seeking opportunities in some specific countries or cooperation with some specific partners to provide EPC services, which we believe could bring higher added value to our high quality products and therefore increase our service level.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Report Shows Half of Public Buses Will be Electric by 2025

07.02.2018

elektricni-bus — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The total number of electric buses servicing the public will more than triple by 2025, according to a new report released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). In 2017, there were 386,000 electric buses in service. The BNEF report predicts that number will balloon to about 1.2 million in the next seven years, meaning approximately 47 percent of the global municipal bus fleet will be running on electricity.

China is expected to dominate this push. According to Aleksandra O’Donovan, the study’s author and BNEF analyst: “China will lead this market, due to strong domestic support and aggressive city-level targets.” His analysis concludes that China’s buses will account for 99 percent of the world’s battery-powered buses.

This is not a trend unique to China. New York City is also working to introduce more all-electric buses into service. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released information at the beginning of the year that it is currently testing a fleet of 10 electric buses to help modernize the city’s massive transit fleet. According to a 2016 report by Judah Aber at Columbia University, switching the entire MTA fleet of buses to electric buses would result in an annual reduction of 575,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions within the city.

The biggest obstacle to the transition from gas-powered to electric-powered buses is the difference in upfront costs, which may discourage public transportation authorities from investing in envrionmentally-friendly fleets. However, the 2016 Columbia University report stated that, while electric buses typical cost $300,000 more than diesel buses, that cost is made-up over the electric buses’ lifetimes. Aber estimated that annual savings for an electric bus — thanks to reduced fuel costs — is $39,000, which would compound over the bus’ 12-year lifetime.

The environmental impact of switching to electric-powered buses is clear. Joining New York City and China’s efforts are mayors from 12 major cities — from London to Paris to Los Angeles — who have pledged to stop purchasing new gas-powered buses by 2025. Global commitments like this will make public transportation more sustainable, reducing the number of gas-powered vehicles on the streets.

Public buses are also ideal candidates for the switch to electric, because they travel along predictable, set routes. This means operators will not have to worry about how far their buses can travel on one charge, a common concern for owners of personal electric cars. As the obstacles for integrating personal and public electric-powered vehicles are systematically eliminated, the global community will be able to make strides towards more environmentally-sustainable means of travel.

Source: Futurism

1...252253254...414 Page 253 of 414

Newsletter

Calendar of events

2025 October

Events for 31 October

Events for 1 November

Events for 2 November

Events for 3 November

Events for 4 November

Events for 5 November

Events for 6 November

Events for 7 November

Events for 8 November

Events for 9 November

Events for 10 November

Events for 11 November

Events for 12 November

Events for 13 November

Events for 14 November

Events for 15 November

Events for 16 November

Events for 17 November

Events for 18 November

Events for 19 November

Events for 20 November

Events for 21 November

Events for 22 November

Events for 23 November

Events for 24 November

Events for 25 November

Events for 26 November

Events for 27 November

Events for 28 November

Events for 29 November

WRITE US