Plastic Trash Found in Ocean Animals Living 7 Miles Deep

16.11.2017

Plastic trash can really be found on all corners of the Earth—even in the stomachs of deep-sea organisms, according to a new study from Newcastle University in England.

Led by Dr. Alan Jamieson, the researchers found microfibers in crustaceans from six of the deepest places on the planet, the Mariana, Japan, Izu-Bonin, Peru-Chile, New Hebrides and Kermadec trenches.

After examining 90 individual animals, the team found that ingestion of plastic ranged from 50 percent in the New Hebrides Trench to 100 percent at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

As the Guardian reported from the study, the tiny fibers shed off of larger products such as synthetic textiles, plastic bottles, fishing equipment and packaging.

“We published a study earlier this year showing high levels of organic pollutants in the very deepest seas and lots of people asked us about the presence of plastics, so we decided to have a look,” Jamieson said in a news release from the university.

“The results were both immediate and startling. This type of work requires a great deal of contamination control but there were instances where the fibers could actually be seen in the stomach contents as they were being removed.”

An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic gets dumped into our oceans annually, simultaneously contaminating our seas and harming marine life.

Jamieson said that finding plastic fibers inside animals from nearly 11 kilometers deep (7 miles) was “worrying” and shows the extent of the world’s plastic pollution problem.

“The number of areas we found this in, and the thousands of kilometer distances involved shows it is not just an isolated case, this is global,” he said.

The study was released Tuesday as part of the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign to raise awareness of how plastics and pollution affect the oceans.

The new research adds to the growing body of science that highlights how plastic pollution isn’t just a problem on the ocean’s surface. As Dr. Marcus Eriksen, the co-founder and research director of the 5 Gyres Institute, wrote back in 2015:

“The idea that there are ‘patches’ of trash in the oceans is a myth created 15 years ago that should be abandoned in favor of ‘plastic smog,’ like massive clouds of microplastics that emanate out of the five subtropical gyres. My recent publication in the journal Plos One, estimates 269,000 tons of plastic from 5.25 trillion particles, but more alarming than that is it’s mostly microplastic ( > 92 percent in our study) and most of the plastic in the ocean is likely not on the sea surface.”

Jamieson explained that deep-sea organisms are dependent on food coming down from the ocean surface.

“The deep sea is not only the ultimate sink for any material that descends from the surface, but it is also inhabited by organisms well adapted to a low food environment and these will often eat just about anything,” he said.

“These observations are the deepest possible record of microplastic occurrence and ingestion, indicating it is highly likely there are no marine ecosystems left that are not impacted by anthropogenic debris.”

Source: ecowatch.com

World Is Set to Warm 3.4°C By 2100

16.11.2017

climate-change- — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

By approaching 2100, a world set for 3.4˚C will, on present trends, probably be the reality confronting our descendants—slightly less warm than looked likely a year ago, analysts think. That’s the good news, you could say.

But the bad news is twofold. First, this improvement in planetary prospects will still leave the global temperature increase more than twice as high as the internationally agreed target of 1.5˚C. And secondly, it depends largely on the efforts of just two countries—China and India.

They have made significant progress in tackling climate change in the last twelve months. In contrast, a report by the analysts, from the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), says that not only U.S. climate policy has been rolled back under President Trump. Most individual governments’ climate commitments are going in the wrong direction.

The CAT report says the world will, on present trends, still reach 2100 a long way above the 1.5˚C target for the Earth’s maximum tolerable temperature rise, which was endorsed in the Paris agreement.

The Climate Action Tracker is an independent science-based assessment that each year tracks countries’ emission commitments and actions. Its members are Climate Analytics, Ecofys and NewClimate Institute.

The CAT’s latest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions projections, based on government policies currently in place, suggest they will lead to a 0.2°C decrease in projected warming, to 3.4˚C by 2100, compared with 3.6˚C in November 2016.

This is the first time since the CAT began tracking action in 2009 that policies at a national level have visibly reduced its end-of-century temperature estimate and also reduced the 2030 emissions gap between current policies and what is needed to meet the 1.5°C temperature limit.

The analysts say China’s emissions growth has slowed dramatically: in the first decade of this century, its emissions grew by 110 percent, but between 2010 and 2015, growth had slowed to only 16 percent. China is set to far overachieve its climate commitment, or Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) as countries’ undertakings are known in the UN.

The CAT’s estimate of emissions from China in 2030 is 13 GtCO2e‚ 0.7 GtCO2e lower than its 2016 estimate. If China continues with its coal abatement, this could drop by another 0.7 GtCO2e.

One Gt is one gigatonne, a billion metric tons; CO2e, carbon dioxide equivalent, expresses the impact of different greenhouse gases in terms of CO2.

Equally, India has increased its climate action, the analysts say. If it fully implemented its Draft Electricity Plan, its emissions in 2030 would be 4.5 GtCO2e—almost 1 GtCO2e lower than the CAT predicted last year.

If India were to strengthen its NDC to match the ambition level of its Draft Electricity Plan, its targeted emissions level would be moving much closer to the range compatible with the Paris target of 1.5˚C.

“It is clear who the leaders are here: in the face of U.S. inaction, China and India are stepping up,” said Bill Hare of Climate Analytics. “However, both need to review—and strengthen—their Paris commitments.”

“Over the last year, governments have made substantial steps in improving climate policies,” said Niklas Höhne of NewClimate Institute. “And this has had a discernible effect on global emissions projections. For example, in the face of increasingly cheaper renewable energy, many are now actively moving away from coal.” But the CAT shows that many governments are not seizing the opportunities renewables offer.

The report is a mosaic, detailing some encouraging trends. For example, the authors now think global emissions under current policies in 2030 will be at least 1.7 GtCO2e per year lower than last year’s projection.

But there are negative conclusions too. Mainly because of the U.S.’s announced withdrawal from the Paris agreement, there has been a significant deterioration in progress to limit expected warming, it finds.

If all governments fully implemented their Paris commitments, the NDCs, the projected global temperature increase in 2100 would be 3.2˚C above pre-industrial levels, up from last year’s 2.8˚C, largely because of the U.S.

The CAT projects that global emissions are set to rise by 9 to 13 percent between 2020 and 2030, because of projected emissions growth in countries such as Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. In 17 out of 32 countries it analyzed, emissions will increase by more than 20 percent during this period.

The vast majority of NDCs are not in line with a fair contribution to meet the Paris agreement’s long-term warming goal, it says. Only seven governments have implemented 2°C or 1.5°C compatible targets, and of these, four are not backed up by sufficient policy action.

At the same time, in 16 out of the 32 countries analyzed, emissions are projected to exceed their (already insufficient) NDCs. With the U.S., they include Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Canada.

Source: ecowatch.com

Puerto Rico Gov. to Bolster Island’s Electric Grid With Renewables as Lights Go Out Again

16.11.2017

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello sent out a tweet boasting about the island finally reaching a 50 percent power threshold after Hurricane Maria wiped out the electric grid 56 days ago.

“Then ‘boom’ (a witness reported) the lights went out,” tweeted CBS News reporter David Begnaud, who has been extensively reporting on the U.S. territory’s recovery efforts. “Timing could not be worse.”

The outage was due to a failure of the Cambalache Manatee 230KV line, according to Puerto Rico’s electric power authority (PREPA), the same major transmission line that failed last week and left the grid working at only 18 percent.

Puerto Rico’s power generation has dipped back to 48 percent and is another reminder of the island’s painstaking efforts to rebuild after the Category 4 hurricane struck on Sept. 20.

Now, Gov. Rossello is seeking to transform Puerto Rico’s fragile power system with help from good ol’ renewable energy.

The governor told a Senate panel on Tuesday that the territory should boost its use of wind and solar electricity to provide for as much as 25 percent of the island’s electricity, Bloomberg reported.

“We certainly see a collaboration with the private sector,” Rossello said.

Business leaders and clean energy advocates such as Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson have said that renewables could be a solution to regions wrecked by damaging hurricanes. Branson, who rode out Hurricane Irma on his private island in the Caribbean, is working with global leaders including the International Monetary Fund to help rebuild the Caribbean islands, according to the report.

Last month, Tesla was praised for quietly sending hundreds of its solar-paired battery packs to help Puerto Rico deal with widespread power loss. The company is working on “many solar + storage” projects on the island.

As EcoWatch reported, one of Tesla’s projects was restoring electricity to a children’s hospital with its solar panels and Powerpack commercial energy storage batteries. The beauty of such a set-up is that the hospital can generate power when the sun is shining and reserve it for later use when the sun is not out or, say, to help recover from a destructive natural disaster like a hurricane. It was because of solar power that a 40-acre plant farm in Barranquitas in central Puerto Rico was able to slowly rebuild in Maria’s wake.

Rebuilding the island will not be cheap. Case in point: Rossello has asked Congress for a whopping $94.4 billion to help Puerto Rico “build back better” after Maria.

Puerto Rico, which has suffered from the largest and longest blackout in American history, has long grappled with electricity problems.

As Peter Fox-Penne wrote for the Conversation, “Almost half its generation was from old, very expensive oil-fired plants, resulting in prices about 22 cents per kilowatt hour, among the highest in the U.S. The island has several solar photovoltaic farms but gets about 46 percent of its power from oil and only about 3 percent from solar.”

In recent weeks, PREPA has been mired in controversy over its highly criticized $300 million no-bid contract with Whitefish Energy, a tiny Montana energy firm tasked to restore the island’s power. That contract has since been canceled and is under FBI investigation.

Source: ecowatch.com

The leaders in the development and production of trucks and buses with alternative propulsion systems

16.11.2017

Natural gas, biogas, and electricity accumulated in batteries are just some of the energy sources that the world-famous manufacturer of commercial vehicles uses to replace fossil fuels with increasing success, thus achieving a double effect: reducing exploitation costs, and leaving a far lesser impact on the environment.

As early as the eve of the first energy crisis in the mid-1970s, in Volvo Group they presciently concluded that the cheap crude oil era was coming to an end, that in time there would be less and less of it, and that the “black gold” burning products would increasingly and abundantly pollute the environment. That’s why four decades ago, in the development departments of all members doing business under the Volvo brand, they started conducting extensive experiments with propulsion systems that could replace the “classics” in the foreseeable future – above all, high power diesel engines.

Based on intensive laboratory development and numerous exploitation tests, in Gothenburg, they concluded, much like their competitors, that natural gas (methane) was the most economical, and in terms of the quickest implementation the most apparent replacement for diesel. Apart from the large quantities (according to unconfirmed research, the world reserves are enough for the current consumption for a period longer than 400 years), the fact that it is several times cheaper than other fossil fuels, and that the infrastructure for using it is more and more developed and geographically widespread, one of the most important advantages is that the products of its combustion have little effect on the environment.

With such “features”, natural gas in compressed or liquid state is a very good alternative fuel that Volvo recommends for the operation of city buses, and more recently, for the operation of distribution-utility trucks. For example, in the latest generation of medium-sized FE trucks, primarily designed for regional and local transport, Volvo Trucks, in addition to the most modern diesel engines, also installs a 320 horsepower aggregate that burns compressed natural gas.

The “gas” engine emits such a small amount of solid particles that it does not even need a soot filter. This means that no other exhaust gas cleaning systems are required, nor any other auxiliary agents, such as the AdBlue agent. When using bio-gas, the Volvo FE CNG emits as much as 70 percent less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (CO2) compared to the same truck with a conventional diesel engine. The customers are offered the option of installing eight or six tanks for compressed gas on the “gas” truck chassis, which allows working autonomy of up to 400 km in light distribution of goods, and up to 250 km in the difficult collection of municipal waste. According to the load features and standard equipment, the natural gas truck is practically identical to the “twin” that burns diesel, but with significant advantages – it is more economical and eco-friendly than a typical “oiler”.

According to estimates by Volvo Trucks’ development experts, natural gas has great chance as “supplement” fuel as well, which will make conventional diesel engines more economical, but above all ecologically “more suitable”, which means less polluting. For over ten years, Volvo has been experimenting with systems that inject up to 25 percent liquid methane or biogas in conventional diesel engines. When a specially adapted diesel engine burns liquid methane, carbon dioxide emission is reduced by 10 percent, and when biogas is used as a supplementary energy source, this reduction can be as high as 70 percent.

Volvo Trucks also has high expectations from biogas, which can be obtained not only from biodegradable waste (plant mass-forest residues, fruit and vegetable residues in the food preparation process, manure), but also from byproducts of some industrial plants. For example, to move a single version of a solo truck from its heaviest family, FH, Volvo used biogas produced from black liquor, which was a by-product created in the paper pulp production process. Based on Volvo’s experience, and experience of experts from other companies dealing with similar research, the European Union’s supreme authorities estimate that by 2030, bio-DME (dimethyl ether, C2 H6 O) could replace as much as half of diesel fuel currently used for road freight transport!

And while engines that burn natural gas are offered by the majority of competitors, and many experiment with other alternative fuels, the Volvo truck division is a leader in development, and the bus division is a leader in the production of hybrid, diesel/electric vehicles. In 1995, on the streets of Gothenburg, the “hometown” of Volvo cars and commercial vehicles, the first prototypes of electrical and diesel trucks and buses saw the light of day, and they were original in terms of their shape, and even more unusual in terms of the engine. Over the next 12 years, the hybrid drive technology was so perfected that in 2007, Volvo could already offer trucks and buses manufactured in preproduction with a combined drive group – an electric and diesel engine.

The humble, rational and ecologically very conscious Swedes estimate that the development of hybrid propulsion trucks has not yet reached the level of large-scale application, and in the past ten years in Gothenburg they have diligently improved the hybrid “technique” built into trucks for distribution and communal activities – above all garbage collection and disposal. They continued to bring them onto the production lines at full speed, and at the same time they experimented with a hybrid drive on the heaviest, and in terms of the extent of production and sales the most widespread Volvo trucks for long-distance transport, specifically the FH family.

In May 2016, the first version of a concept truck was presented, and in late February 2017, the second further improved version was presented as well. In addition to improved aerodynamics, reduced rolling resistance and lower mass, the new version also had a hybrid drive – one of the first of its kind built into heavy “road cruisers” for long-distance, international transport.

Based on road trials, Volvo experts estimate that in long-haul transport, a hybrid drive could enable diesel and other internal combustion engines to shutdown up to 30% of the time while driving. This can save 5 to10 percent of the fuel, depending on the type or specification of the vehicle, mass, driving cycle and topography. Advanced solutions on the concept tractor provide the option of driving in a fully electric mode – up to 10 km, when there is practically no pollution, and the whole transport combination (towing + towing vehicle) emits a low noise level.

The hybrid technology built into the concept tractor allows recovery of electricity when driving downhill – on inclines greater than 1% or when braking. The resulting current is sent to the batteries and is used to drive the truck in a fully electric mode – on flat roads or roads with small inclines. The advanced version of the drive system predictable engagement – I-See, which has been developed by Volvo Trucks (and is already being built into the heaviest FH family), is additionally adapted to hybrid drive circuits, and by analyzing the topography of the upcoming terrain, it precisely determines the most economical and efficient engagement of diesel and electric engines, as well as optimum renewed energy exploitation time. Combined with other improvements in conventional versions, the most impressive effect of the still experimental hybrid technology for heavy trucks is a total reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emission by about 30 percent.

Also, these are great energy and ecological results already being achieved by other large-scale vehicles with a Volvo mark – city buses! With nearly 4,300 “electrified” buses sold from production in Europe and from the North American daughter company Nova Bus, Volvo Buses is the absolute world leader in this field! Volvo launched the first serially manufactured buses with a hybrid drive system in 2010. Year after year, the range of vehicles with alternative drive solutions has continually increased and sold, so today Volvo Buses offers comprehensive system solutions for public transport with a combined or fully electric drive – diesel-electric hybrid buses, electric hybrids and fully electric buses. Diesel-electric hybrids are available in a conventional 12-meter configuration, as articulated buses, and also as double-deckers.

And finally, at least partly, let’s demystify one of the currently most promising alternative technologies for driving Volvo’s public transport buses (and also Volvo trucks): the “green” buses in Čačak (as well as on the streets of numerous cities in 22 countries around the world) are driven by a parallel hybrid drive system developed and manufactured by Volvo. They are comprised of an Euro V four-cylinder diesel engine with a Volvo working volume of 4.76 liters with 215 hp and 800 Nm of maximum torque, and a 120 kW electric engine with the same maximum torque of 800 Nm. The rear wheel drive is carried out by the Volvo I-SAM system, which includes an automated I-Shift 12-gear trans-mission. The entire drive group is mounted on the line in the left rear part of the chassis (similar to conventional diesel-powered buses). The lithium-ion battery “pack” is mounted right behind the front left wheel. This drive group is equipped with a Stop-Start system, which, when the batteries are fully charged, turns off all the engines while the vehicle is idle, which further reduces the consumption and emission of exhaust gases. The Volvo hybrid bus starts moving almost silently, given that the starting-off of the vehicle is powered by an electric engine running only on electricity. When the vehicle reaches a speed of 15 to 20 km/h, it turns on and also occasionally turns off a conventional diesel engine, which has the role to recharge lithium-ion batteries that accumulate electricity to drive the electric engine. Electricity is accumulating every time a driver of a Volvo hybrid bus hits the brakes. That is where, among other above “places”, all the Volvo hybrid “magic” lies.

Since early April, Volvo hybrid drive technology has been “ridding” in Serbia: Čačak is the first town in our country, in the Balkans, and also in the wider region where 10 Volvo buses with the most advanced technology are used for local passenger transport with a combined diesel-electric drive. In the first days of exploitation, they already confirmed the factory declared parameters: their consumption is lower by a third compared to the diesel engines, and the emission of harmful gases is smaller in similar proportions. “On one of the busiest lines, the 18-kilometer long Sloboda-Slatina line, which transports between three and five thousand passengers per day, the Volvo 7705 LH Hybrid bus has demonstrated all the advantages of a hybrid drive compared to conventional diesel engine powered vehicles: our drivers have achieved an average fuel consumption of 29 liters per 100 km with them, while the consumption of buses of similar transport features with a conventional diesel engine is about 45 liters per 100 km”, says Marko Živković, the main dispatcher of urban and suburban traffic in Autoprevoz- Čačak. “But for our residents, it is of greater importance that the emission of harmful exhaust gases is reduced in a similar proportion, i.e. by a third. Our hybrid “firstborns” produce far less noise, not just when starting off, but also during a continuous drive,” adds Mr. Živković.

This content was originally published in the eighth issue of the Energy Portal Bulletin, named ECOMOBILITY

Facebook Signs PPA With Enel Green Power NA — 320 Megawatt Rattlesnake Creek Wind Farm

16.11.2017

Enel Green Power North America has announced this week it has begun construction on the 320 MW Rattlesnake Creek wind farm, which will also provide 200 MW of renewable energy to Facebook’s new data center in Nebraska.

US renewable energy company Enel Green Power North America, part of the Enel Group, announced several big items this week, including the completion and beginning of operations for the 300 MW (megawatt) Rock Creek wind farm Atchison County, Missouri. Investment for the project amounted to $500 million and is expected to generate 1,250 GWh (gigawatt-hours) of clean energy each year — equivalent to the energy consumption needs of more than 100,000 US households and avoiding the emissions of about 900,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

“The completion of Rock Creek nearly two months ahead of schedule is a testament to the project team’s tremendous effort and the continuing support received from the local community,” said Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power. “We are proud to call Missouri home to our second largest operating wind farm in the US. Through Rock Creek we continue to expand our geographical footprint and operational capacity in the US, while also delivering long-term value for the local community.”

However, the bigger news was that Enel Green Power North America had begun work on the 320 MW Rattlesnake Creek wind farm which, upon completion, will sell a 200 MW portion of the power and renewable energy credits to Facebook under a bundled, long-term Power Purchase Agreement which will supply 100% of the power needed to operate Facebook’s new data center in Papillion, Nebraska, located about 120 miles from the Rattlesnake Creek wind project.

“This project consolidates our growing presence in the US as our company enters into a new state and expands our business with new partners,” said Antonio Cammisecra. “We are thrilled to be able to support Facebook’s growing renewable energy needs in Nebraska and be a part of driving economic development in the region.”

“We know from experience that when people come together, they can do a lot of good in the world,” said Bobby Hollis, Director of Global Energy at Facebook. “We came together with the Omaha Public Power District, Tradewind Energy, and now, Enel Green Power, to ensure renewable energy solutions are accessible not just to Facebook, but to other companies as well. Today, we are one step closer to our goal of powering all of our operations with clean and renewable energy, and we are grateful to our partners for this collaboration.”

Investment into the Rattlesnake Creek wind farm amounts to approximately $430 million and upon completion it will generate approximately 1.3 TWh (terawatt-hours) annually, which will be enough energy to meet the equivalent annual consumption needs of more than 105,000 US households and avoid the emissions of around 940,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Wyatt Wants Winnipeg to Generate and Sell Solar Power

15.11.2017

Coun. Russ Wyatt wants Winnipeg to create a new arm’s-length corporation that will generate solar power and sell it back to Manitoba Hydro.

The Transcona councillor has authored a motion to create a new non-profit entity to set up solar farms on city property, sell solar power and promote the benefits of green energy.

“We have a lot of land, a lot of buildings that we own and we also are major contributors to greenhouse gases,” Wyatt said in a telephone interview Tuesday, explaining the rationale for a corporation he’d like to call the Winnipeg Green Energy Organization.

“We’re really behind the 8-ball here in Manitoba when it comes to adopting other forms of energy production. Largely it’s because our energy has been relatively cheap. But as you know, Manitoba Hydro is looking to increase their rates. I think we have to look at alternative forms of energy for that reason as well as for the good of the environment.”

Wyatt said the city can fund this new corporation using $200,000 in annual energy savings from the use of LED traffic lights.

Winnipeg has experience setting up arm’s-length corporations, he said, pointing to the creation of the Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corporation in the 1970s.

Wyatt plans to submit his motion, seconded by Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie, to city council Wednesday. It will be referred automatically to executive policy committee.

Wyatt said he’s told Mayor Brian Bowman’s office about the motion and hopes it will receive support.

Source: cbc.ca

Ingeteam Surpasses 40 GW of Installed Wind-Power Capacity

15.11.2017

Ingeteam, an independent supplier of electrical conversion equipment, has announced that it surpassed the milestone of 40 GW of installed wind-power capacity worldwide thanks to record sales of its converter product lines. This significant achievement underpins the growth the company experienced in its core markets, with an addition of an impressive 10 GW globally in just two years.

Earlier this year, the company landed the world’s top spot among independent suppliers of wind-power converters, after setting a new record year for its converter deliveries in 2016. To date, a total of 40,175 MW of wind turbines have been equipped with Ingeteam’s technology, strengthening its position as an independent supplier of wind converters.

This performance is largely due to Ingeteam’s establishment of a leadership position in Brazil and India, two of the world’s largest emerging wind-energy markets. Over the last two years, the company has respectively supplied 1,878 MW in India and 1,240 MW in Brazil.

“Although both the Indian and Brazilian wind markets have slowed down in 2017 due to regulatory and commercial issues, we have no doubt that they will pick up again and continue with the positive overall growth trend they have set over the past few years,” added Goyen. “The fundamentals of growth are there and they remain key areas of investment for Ingeteam in the long run.”

In addition to power converters, Ingeteam also provides turbine controllers, Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS), Smart SCADA management systems and O&M services for wind turbines of up to 15 MW for onshore and offshore applications worldwide.

Source: windpowerengineering.com

India’s Tata Power Doubles Profit From Renewable Energy Division To $27 Million

15.11.2017

solarka-iran — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

One of India’s leading private power generation companies, Tata Power, has reported a huge jump in profit from its renewable energy division.

In a press release, Tata Power reported that the profit from its renewable energy portfolio doubled to Rs 173 crore ($27 million) in the quarter ending September 2017. Tata Power counts large hydro power projects in its portfolio of clean energy sources.

While the company did not give a technology-wise breakout of the profits generated, they would have likely come from increased generation from hydro and wind energy projects and addition of new solar power projects in the portfolio.

Increased hydro and wind energy generation would have continued from the quarter ending June 2017 into the following quarter due to heavy rains and high speed winds in India. Solar power generation would have been comparatively lower during the period, however, Tata Power did acquire a massive portfolio of solar power projects from Welspun Energy — including one of the largest solar power projects in India with over 151 megawatts of capacity, located in Madhya Pradesh.

Tata Power Renewable Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power, had acquired 31 solar and 2 wind energy projects from Welspun Energy. The company itself has secured rights to develop several solar power projects, and recently commissioned a 30 megawatt project in the state of Maharashtra.

Tata Power has a gross generation capacity of 10,613 megawatts, including 3,210 megawatts of clean energy capacity. This, however, includes 693 megawatts of large-hydro power capacity, which is not considered renewable energy technology in India, yet.

The company owns 966 megawatts of solar and 1,140 megawatts of wind energy capacity across India. It also has interests in the renewable energy projects in other emerging markets, including South Africa, through partnerships.

Apart from its power generation business, Tata Power also has solar panel and cell manufacturing capacity. It recently increased panel manufacturing capacity from 200 megawatts to 400 megawatts and cell production capacity from 180 megawatts to 300 megawatts.

Source: cleantechnica.com

MATT MCGRATH: Are Vehicles Greener on the Other Side as Well

15.11.2017

With Matt McGrath, BBC journalist specialized in reporting on science and ecology, we discussed the steps that are being taken in the United Kingdom to alleviate the apparent climatic changes caused by the increased concentration of carbon dioxide.

Ever since the European Commission warned the government of the United Kingdom about the poor quality of air in 16 mainly city areas, threatening with the legal proceedings to be pursued before the Court of Justice if the British authorities do not take urgent measures such as reducing the volume of traffic, switching to electric vehicles and reducing the emissions of gas emission from diesel vehicles, there has been a lot of controversy in the British media about the major effects of the immediate measures. The London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the impending implementation of one of the strictest standards for the emission of harmful gases, and that also involves a new levy that the owners of diesel and petrol vehicles produced before 2005 and not complied with the Euro 4 standard, would have to pay for driving through the central part of London. Opponents of the announced measures are largely arguing that the air in the city won’t become cleaner and the desired outcome won’t be attained, due to the fact that of all the vehicles passing through the main streets of this metropolis merely 7% belong to a group affected by this additional charge.

EP: What problems have the authorities been facing in the attempt to reduce pollution in urban areas, most importantly in London, where high concentrations of nitrogen oxide were measured?

Matt McGrath: The issue in the UK particularly has become acute because of the incentives the government gave to car purchaser back in the mid 90’s to buy diesel cars and now about the half of the cars in UK are diesel. It is not only about the private drivers – there are vans, taxis and all those heavy goods vehicles… So, most of the local governments are trying to tackle the issue by looking the other way, not by tackling it. It is only because of the court cases that made them do something about the pollution problem. London is global city with millions of people who live and work there, and the majority of the government officials are aware of the possible growth in number of lawsuits. The new mayor is undoubtedly trying to solve the problem, so he has introduced the measures which created a huge low emission zone in the city, and the aforementioned additional levy for older vehicles coming into the central zone will be introduced during this year. There’s no doubt it will hugely contribute to the pollution reduction. As far as other communities, or the rest of the UK, it is more difficult to introduce the changes. So for example, last year central government informed the local authorities they have three million pounds to tackle the air pollution problem which should be distributed among all the local governments, but London alone spent 180 million pounds. So, the government doesn’t want to deal with this in a comprehensive way, local governments have the responsibility but lack resources, so at the moment the problem falls between the two. Right now, there is a needle gun being held at the government’s head and they will have to do something about it and what they will do nobody knows.

EP: One way to reduce the emissions of harmful gases is also to increase the number of electric vehicles. What kind of incentives does your government give for purchase of these vehicles?

Matt McGrath: The buyer gets the grant of about 5,000 pounds. One must know that most of our motorways are electrified so drivers of electric car can travel around the country and find charging station every 20 miles. No wonder the sales of electric cars are going up. Although it has gone nearly well, it still can’t measure up to the market in Norway, which is the world leader in this field. Recently, I have heard an interesting story from my colleague who bought a petrol car and surprisingly enough, he waited for its delivery. Not so long ago, diesel car was usually sold as a family car, and generally you would have to wait for its delivery, and nowadays you have to wait for petrol car the whole six weeks. There is a change taking place in the mentality, people are moving away from diesels back to petrol, or back to hybrids, whose sales have gone pretty well. I really think we are witnessing the change in people’s minds. Nowadays, people think more about the pollution and they are more concerned about it because their children ride in family cars that go on diesel, or go to school by buses which also use diesel, so in that way they are exposed to harmful gases more often than not. I think all of this has led to a breakthrough and the idea of buying hybrid or electric vehicle is even more acceptable. Having taken into account all the facts, the United Kingdom is today cleaner than it was 20 years ago. The air is also cleaner.

EP: How much does the UK use renewable energy sources?

Matt McGrath: Last year we got 20% of electricity from renewable sources, out of which solar energy made the largest share. We also got 20% from nuclear power plants and all other sources provided the rest of energy we needed. Due to its position, our country can use the power of the wind, both on offshore and onshore wind farms. When it comes to biomass, there is no shortage of this resource in our country, but its use raises a lot of questions since it is produced by cutting and burning trees.

EP: What needs to be done in one country in order to have more electric cars on roads?

Matt McGrath: It takes a more integrative approach and strategy if you want to have more electric cars. It is necessary to develop the electric car market, but the situation in this field depends also on other things, so we have to wait for certain changes to happen: batteries need to be better; Tesla has to make a new, cheaper vehicle. Skoda made an announcement at the beginning of this year that by 2020 they would have all hybrid cars, and that is very good news. I’m sure we’ll be eyewitnesses of a massive change over the next 10 years. There will also be self-driving cars, which means that the program, instead of driver, will be responsible for driving.

EP: Lastly, do you find realistic the expectation for the Republic Ireland to stop using fossil fuels for electric energy production by 2030, as it has been announced?

Matt McGrath: The Republic of Ireland is in a position to have more energy than it can use, either from wind, coal or some other source. As for climate and eventual changes which would be caused by shifting to renewable energy sources, the big issue is that Ireland is an agricultural country, and animals, especially cows, could be in danger if they build power plants which use wind, water and other sources. It is possible to get to that point, since they have various ways for electricity production, but I don’t think Ireland will be the top of the class when it comes to the giving up the use of fossil fuels by given deadline. Even if they reach the goal, it would be just a portion of the picture.

This interview was originally published in the eighth issue of the Energy Portal Bulletin, named ECOMOBILITY.

Interview by: Tamara Zjačić

ABB delivers 117 electric vehicle charging stations for German highways

15.11.2017

ABB will deliver 117 electric vehicle charging stations to the German utility EnBV, the Swiss engineering company said.

These are now increasingly being installed on Europe’s motorways to accommodate a new generation of electric vehicles from makers such as Tesla, Porsche and BMW with long range batteries.

ABB has so far delivered more than 5,000 networked charging systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles worldwide. They are due to be installed at service station operator Tank & Rast locations by the end of the year. Tank & Rast operates about 350 filling stations and 390 service areas on German autobahns.

Previously, charging stations had been concentrated in cities, but Europe has been pushing for cross-country networks.

15,000 Scientists From 184 Countries Warn Humanity of Environmental Catastrophe

15.11.2017

More than 15,000 scientists have signed a chilling article titled “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice,” urging global leaders to save the planet from environmental catastrophe.

The plea, published Monday in the international journal BioScience, is likely the largest-ever formal support by scientists for a journal article with 15,372 total signatories, Motherboard noted. The scientists represent 184 countries and have a range of scientific backgrounds. Prominent signatories include Jane Goodall, E.O. Wilson and James Hansen.

The “Second Notice”—an update to the original version published 25 years ago by the Union of Concerned Scientists and signed by 1,700 scientists then—underscores the lack of progress from the original document.

The first notice started with this statement: “Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course.” It described trends such as the growing hole in the ozone layer, pollution and depletion of freshwater sources, overfishing, deforestation, plummeting wildlife populations, as well as unsustainable rises in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures and human population levels.

Unfortunately, the authors of the current article said that humanity has failed to progress on most of the measures.

They ominously warned, “time is running out.”

“Especially troubling is the current trajectory of potentially catastrophic climate change” from the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities, the paper stated.

William J. Ripple, lead author of the current article and a distinguished professor of ecology at Oregon State University, told the Associated Press he was stunned by the level of support for the manuscript.

“I initially sent it out to 40 of my colleagues,” he explained. “After 24 hours there were 600 scientists who signed it. Within two days, there were 1,200. There were so many people signing that our website crashed a couple of times.”

According to the AP, the researchers document a number of alarming trends from 1992 to 2016, such as a 28.9 percent reduction of vertebrate wildlife, a 62.1 percent increase in CO2 emissions, a 167.6 percent rise in global average annual temperature change and a 35.5 percent increase in the global population (about 2 billion people).

One of the few positive trends over the past 25 years is the recovery of the ozone layer thanks to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which sharply cut the use of chlorofluorocarbons. Reductions in extreme poverty and hunger, a slowdown in deforestation in some parts of the world, the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector and a sharp drop in birth rates in certain regions due to women and girls having greater access to education were also identified as positive trends, the AP reported.

The authors conclude that urgent measures are necessary to avoid disaster. They call upon everyday citizens to urge their leaders to “take immediate action as a moral imperative to current and future generations of human and other life.”

Individual actions such as having fewer children and using fewer resources, from fossil fuels to meat, will also help avert global disaster.

“Humanity is now being given a second notice, as illustrated by these alarming trends,” the scientists wrote. “We are jeopardizing our future by not reining in our intense but geographically and demographically uneven material consumption and by not perceiving continued rapid population growth as a primary driver behind many ecological and even societal threats.”

Source: ecowatch.com

Microsoft Vows to Cut Emissions 75 Per Cent by 2030

15.11.2017

Microsoft has become the latest corporate giant to unveil ambitious emissions reduction goals, publicly pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions by three quarters by 2030 against a 2013 baseline.

The company said the new target, which was unveiled on the sidelines of the UN’s COP23 Climate Summit in Bonn, would deliver a level of decarbonisation in line with the 2C temperature goal set out in the Paris Agreement.

Writing in a blog post, Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer at Microsoft, said the company would meet the target through continued investments in energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy capacity, following its separate commitment to source rising levels of energy from renewable sources.

He added that meeting the 2030 target would result in 10 million metric tons of carbon emissions being avoided.

Smith also stressed that there were compelling business reasons for setting a deep decarbonisation goal.

“As we expand our global cloud infrastructure, we will increasingly turn to renewable energy because it is a clean power source and gives us better financial predictability,” he wrote. “It’s good for the environment, our customers and our business. Our cloud-based programs to reduce resource consumption have already cut energy consumption at our main campus in Redmond, Washington by nearly 20 per cent, reducing emissions and our power bill… Put simply, the environment and our business both benefit each time we’ve implemented sustainability targets and goals.”

He urged other companies to set similarly ambitious emissions targets and argued that the IT sector had huge potential to help deliver decarbonisation across a wide range of industries.

“Artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud are enabling companies and governments to make smarter, real-time decisions that lower emissions and reduce resource consumption in areas from buildings to transportation to manufacturing to agriculture to the production and distribution of electricity,” he wrote.

Source: businessgreen.com

Tipping Point: How Renewables Could Dominate UK and German Power Grids Within a Decade

14.11.2017

solarni-park — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

A series of economic ‘tipping points’ could lead to a surge in renewables deployment in the UK and Germany over the next decade, paving the way for the countries to rely entirely on renewable power for lengthy periods from as early as 2030.

That is the conclusion of a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance released today on the sidelines of the COP23 Climate Summit and commissioned by energy storage specialist Eaton and the Renewable Energy Association.

Entitled Beyond the Tipping Point, the study explores how the power grid is likely to respond to a huge increase in the use of variable renewables technologies, such as wind and solar farms. It argues that inflexible ‘baseload’ technologies such as nuclear and coal plants will face a “very challenging environment” as renewables and energy storage costs plummet and new flexible grid management technologies are deployed.

Specifically, the report predicts renewables will account for more than half of UK and German power supplies by 2026, rising to 63 per cent by 2040.

It adds that this surge in renewables deployment will mean that from 2030 there could be whole weeks where wind and solar generation exceed demand at some point each day, while from 2040 wind and solar could generate enough power to meet weekly demand during some weeks, paving the way for energy storage technologies to enable a fully renewables-powered grid.

“In this environment, flexible power technologies such as energy storage and gas generators will have an advantage,” the report states. “In addition, certain types of demand response such as flexible electric vehicle charging and variable industrial loads can respond quickly to conditions on the grid, or shift or consume surplus renewable energy.”

The report acknowledges that a big increase in renewables capacity will require some wind and solar farms to be curtailed when supply exceeds demand. But it argues new flexible grid technologies should mean curtailment does not climb to significant levels. The report calculates that by 2030 less than one per cent of UK and three per cent of German wind and solar generation will be ‘wasted’ due to oversupply.

“This study highlights a seismic shift in how power systems will operate in future,” said Albert Cheung, head of global analysis at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “As wind and solar become the cheapest options for power generation, the race is on to develop and deploy the flexible resources that will complement them.”

Louis Shaffer, distributed energy segment manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Eaton, said the report would be followed a second study early next year that will explore how new technologies and policies can help deliver more flexible grids in support of renewables deployment. “These solutions could include continued promotion of smart metering, reforms to increase market openness and transparency for all grid ancillary services and long-term grid service contracts and pricing schemes,” he explained.

Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said the report provided further evidence that “wind and solar power are now the cheapest form of new build generation in many cases, and costs will continue to fall dramatically”.

“Massive increases in future renewable power generation mean that industry and government must start planning now to ensure low-carbon, cost-effective ways of balancing demand and supply,” she said. “We believe that there is a role for fuelled renewable technologies such as bioenergy and energy from waste to provide the complementary baseload generation that will be required, to avoid the need for carbon intensive generation at all. This study shows that battery storage is well placed to serve short term supply and demand issues and highlights the dramatic cost reductions in renewable power over the past few years.”

The report follows a study last week from German non-profit Energy Watch Group and the Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, which argued that a 100 per cent renewable powered grid was both technically and economically feasible.

It also comes on the same day as the International Energy Agency published its annual World Energy Outlook report, which predicts a seismic shift in the global energy market through to 2040, with China taking the lead on renewables and nuclear generation over the next three decades as the US becomes a leader in oil and gas exports.

Although the paper predicts a dramatic rise in the use of wind, solar and natural gas between now and 2040, as well as the end of the “boom years” for coal consumption, it stresses that decarbonisation efforts will not move nearly fast enough to avoid severe climate change without a major new investment and policy push.

Source: businessgreen.com

Renewables Provided 44.1% Of Germany’s Electricity In October

14.11.2017

renewable-energy — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Germany added 2.3 gigawatts of new onshore wind capacity in the first half of 2017. Though it failed to meet the target last year, the Renewable Energy Act set an annual target of installing 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity. Add in a warm autumn and the winter storms Xavier and Herwart, and it is easy to see how renewables provided 44.1% of Germany’s electricity in October.

A press release from Germany Trade and Invest boasts that renewables produced more than 38% overall of Germany’s energy production so far this year. Wind energy produced 82.12 terawatt hours (TWh) as of November 13. Biomass, solar, and hydro followed with 40.10 TWh, 37.5 TWh and 16.84 TWh, respectively.

Though brown coal is still the nation’s leading source, its share of the energy pie is decreasing.

“This is another fantastic return for the time and money that has been put into renewable energy sources. Germany is a global leading market in the area of electricity generation through renewable sources. Further market opportunities come though innovation and cost reduction such as through big data, blockchain technologies and with the coupling of the heat and mobility sector,” said Esther Frey Director of Energy, Environment and Raw Materials at federal economic development agency Germany Trade & Invest.

“We also see strong growth for storage technologies. The number of small home storage systems has grown by 113% per year on average since 2013, while large-scale batteries supporting the electricity grid increased tenfold within that period.”

The big question, of course, is whether Germany will be able to meet its target of at least 80% renewable energy by 2050.

A recent report from Fraunhofer states they need to pick up the pace:

“In 2016, 1.5 GW new PV capacity was installed in Germany [ISE4], which corresponds to nearly 2% of total new PV capacity worldwide. In the German Renewable Energy Act EEG 2014 and 2017 , the federal government set down an annual target of 2.5 GW PV [EE G] . To meet most of or all of Germany’s energy demand with renewables by 2050, ca. 150 – 200 GW PV installed capacity is required by 2050 [ISE5, IWES2]. This means that an average of 4 – 5 GW PV must be installed annually up to 2050. With time, the older PV systems must be replaced. As of now, replacing installations have not played a large role. Once the targeted capacity of 200 GW PV has been reached and assuming an operating life of 30 years, estimates show that 6 – 7 GW PV must be replaced each year. The transformation of the entire power sector to renewables is not a target of the present German federal government. A minimum share of 80% renewables by 2050 is foreseen; and the government sees the necessity of also setting an upper target, or expansion corridor.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

IKEA UK Rings Up Success on Food Waste, Green Energy and Circular Sofas

14.11.2017

IKEA is pressing ahead with plans to become a ‘circular retailer’ that minimises its waste and encourages customers to reuse and repair its products, according to the company’s latest Annual Summary for the UK.

The company will confirm this morning that for the second year running it has sent no waste to landfill in the UK, with rubbish instead being diverted for reuse, energy generation, and recycling into new products.

Speaking at the BusinessGreen Leaders Summit last week, IKEA’s sustainability manager for UK and Ireland Hege Sæbjørnsen revealed IKEA is now ‘cost positive’ for cardboard and plastic, with old cardboard used for making new products such as its ‘Billy’ bookcases.

The firm also revealed it has expanded its furniture take-back scheme, with almost 13,000 beds, sofas and appliances recovered to date, while a pilot scheme for textile collection in Cardiff has seen more than a tonne of textile waste collected in less than a year. The scheme will now roll out nationwide, IKEA confirmed.

“We are determined to have an overall positive impact on the UK – both for the people we meet, and the planet where we live and work,” Sæbjørnsen said in the report. “We call this becoming people and planet positive. When we achieve it, we’ll be more than a sustainable business. We’ll be a regenerative business, without reliance on finite resources – creating a better everyday life for millions of people.”

IKEA also said its ‘Food is Precious’ programme, which launched in June, has already cut food waste at its UK stores by 32 per cent, a major step towards its goal of halving food waste by the end of 2020.

It also said it now generates 41 per cent of the energy it uses across the UK, as part of its goal to be producing enough renewable energy to power its entire global operations by 2020.

IKEA’s progress against its environmental targets is set against the backdrop of soaring sales – total UK revenues were up almost six per cent to the year ending August 31, compared to the previous year. Over the last six years sales have jumped 56 per cent for the furniture giant.

Source: businessgreen.com

This electric school bus is coming to the US in 2019

14.11.2017

Electric-bus-Jouley — Photo: Print Screen / YouTube / Thomas Built Buses

You’d be hard-pressed to find a vehicle type today that isn’t in the process of being electrified by some major manufacturer. If it has wheels or rotors or wings, someone out there is trying to replace the gas tank with a battery.

Even some of our most iconic vehicles are slated for electric conversion. Today, Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, announced plans to manufacture an all-electric school bus with a range of 100 miles for distribution in the US by 2019.

The bus is a Saf-T-Liner C2 Electric Bus that will be manufactured by Daimler subsidiary Thomas Built Buses. Nicknamed “Jouley,” the bus will seat 81 children and is powered by a 60kWh battery, giving it a range of up to 160 kilometers (99.4 miles). Additional battery packs will be available for bus operators who want a higher range.

There are a number of smaller bus manufacturers working on electrification projects, but Daimler’s Thomas Built Buses supposedly has a 38.7 percent market share in the US.

Source: The Verge

1...268269270...410 Page 269 of 410

Newsletter

Calendar of events

2025 July

Events for 31 July

Events for 1 August

Events for 2 August

Events for 3 August

Events for 4 August

Events for 5 August

Events for 6 August

Events for 7 August

Events for 8 August

Events for 9 August

Events for 10 August

Events for 11 August

Events for 12 August

Events for 13 August

Events for 14 August

Events for 15 August

Events for 16 August

Events for 17 August

Events for 18 August

Events for 19 August

Events for 20 August

Events for 21 August

Events for 22 August

Events for 23 August

Events for 24 August

Events for 25 August

Events for 26 August

Events for 27 August

Events for 28 August

Events for 29 August

Events for 30 August

WRITE US