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Plastic Fibres Found in Tap Water Around the World, Study Reveals

Photo-Illustration: Pixabay
Photo-Illustration: Pixabay

Microplastic contamination has been found in tap water in countries around the world, leading to calls from scientists for urgent research on the implications for health.

Scores of tap water samples from more than a dozen nations were analysed by scientists for an investigation by Orb Media, who shared the findings with the Guardian. Overall, 83% of the samples were contaminated with plastic fibres.

The US had the highest contamination rate, at 94%, with plastic fibres found in tap water sampled at sites including Congress buildings, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters, and Trump Tower in New York. Lebanon and India had the next highest rates.

European nations including the UK, Germany and France had the lowest contamination rate, but this was still 72%. The average number of fibres found in each 500ml sample ranged from 4.8 in the US to 1.9 in Europe.

The new analyses indicate the ubiquitous extent of microplastic contamination in the global environment. Previous work has been largely focused on plastic pollution in the oceans, which suggests people are eating microplastics via contaminated seafood.

“We have enough data from looking at wildlife, and the impacts that it’s having on wildlife, to be concerned,” said Dr Sherri Mason, a microplastic expert at the State University of New York in Fredonia, who supervised the analyses for Orb. “If it’s impacting [wildlife], then how do we think that it’s not going to somehow impact us?”

A separate small study in the Republic of Ireland released in June also found microplastic contamination in a handful of tap water and well samples. “We don’t know what the [health] impact is and for that reason we should follow the precautionary principle and put enough effort into it now, immediately, so we can find out what the real risks are,” said Dr Anne Marie Mahon at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, who conducted the research.

Mahon said there were two principal concerns: very small plastic particles and the chemicals or pathogens that microplastics can harbour. “If the fibres are there, it is possible that the nanoparticles are there too that we can’t measure,” she said. “Once they are in the nanometre range they can really penetrate a cell and that means they can penetrate organs, and that would be worrying.” The Orb analyses caught particles of more than 2.5 microns in size, 2,500 times bigger than a nanometre.

Microplastics can attract bacteria found in sewage, Mahon said: “Some studies have shown there are more harmful pathogens on microplastics downstream of wastewater treatment plants.”

Tap water is widely contaminated by plastic

Microplastics are also known to contain and absorb toxic chemicals and research on wild animals shows they are released in the body. Prof Richard Thompson, at Plymouth University, UK, told Orb: “It became clear very early on that the plastic would release those chemicals and that actually, the conditions in the gut would facilitate really quite rapid release.” His research has shown microplastics are found in a third of fish caught in the UK.

The scale of global microplastic contamination is only starting to become clear, with studies in Germany finding fibres and fragments in all of the 24 beer brands they tested, as well as in honey and sugar. In Paris in 2015, researchers discovered microplastic falling from the air, which they estimated deposits three to 10 tonnes of fibres on the city each year, and that it was also present in the air in people’s homes.

This research led Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at King’s College London, to tell a UK parliamentary inquiry in 2016: “If we breathe them in they could potentially deliver chemicals to the lower parts of our lungs and maybe even across into our circulation.” Having seen the Orb data, Kelly told the Guardian that research is urgently needed to determine whether ingesting plastic particles is a health risk.

The new research tested 159 samples using a standard technique to eliminate contamination from other sources and was performed at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The samples came from across the world, including from Uganda, Ecuador and Indonesia.

How microplastics end up in drinking water is for now a mystery, but the atmosphere is one obvious source, with fibres shed by the everyday wear and tear of clothes and carpets. Tumble dryers are another potential source, with almost 80% of US households having dryers that usually vent to the open air.

“We really think that the lakes [and other water bodies] can be contaminated by cumulative atmospheric inputs,” said Johnny Gasperi, at the University Paris-Est Créteil, who did the Paris studies. “What we observed in Paris tends to demonstrate that a huge amount of fibres are present in atmospheric fallout.”

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Plastic fibres may also be flushed into water systems, with a recent study finding that each cycle of a washing machine could release 700,000 fibres into the environment. Rains could also sweep up microplastic pollution, which could explain why the household wells used in Indonesia were found to be contaminated.

In Beirut, Lebanon, the water supply comes from natural springs but 94% of the samples were contaminated. “This research only scratches the surface, but it seems to be a very itchy one,” said Hussam Hawwa, at the environmental consultancy Difaf, which collected samples for Orb.

How microplastics end up in drinking water is, for now, a mystery, but the atmosphere is one obvious source, with fibres shed by the everyday wear and tear of clothes and carpets. Tumble dryers are another potential source, with almost 80% of US households having dryers that usually vent to the open air.

“We really think that the lakes [and other water bodies] can be contaminated by cumulative atmospheric inputs,” said Johnny Gasperi, at the University Paris-Est Créteil, who did the Paris studies. “What we observed in Paris tends to demonstrate that a huge amount of fibres are present in atmospheric fallout.”

Plastic fibres may also be flushed into water systems, with a recent study finding that each cycle of a washing machine could release 700,000 fibres into the environment. Rains could also sweep up microplastic pollution, which could explain why the household wells used in Indonesia were found to be contaminated.

In Beirut, Lebanon, the water supply comes from natural springs but 94% of the samples were contaminated. “This research only scratches the surface, but it seems to be a very itchy one,” said Hussam Hawwa, at the environmental consultancy Difaf, which collected samples for Orb.

Source: theguardian.com

Households Allowed to Sell Solar Power

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The government will end the decade-long restriction on households and commercial buildings selling power generated by their solar rooftops to state utilities in the fourth quarter of the year.

Deregulation will open the door for detached houses, warehouses, factories and offices to sell their leftover capacity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).

The buying rate is being fixed at below 2.6 baht per kilowatt-hour, according to the Energy Ministry. At present, private actors are allowed to sell power to Egat through auctions under the small power producer (SPP) or very small power producer (VSPP) project.

Energy Minister Anantaporn Karnchanarat said the government is considering granting licences to residents and building owners.

The total capacity to be allowed, however, has yet to be finalised. The licences and deregulation come after the previous solar deregulation project was scrapped when the military government came into power.

Gen Anantaporn said this could be another opportunity to let other solar-related businesses grow. Initially, the purchasing rate that the state utilities will pay for surplus solar power from residents will be below 2.6 baht per kilowatt-hour, which is less than Egat charges for the fossil-based power it sells to consumers at about four baht per kilowatt-hour, he said.

The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency has been appointed to set up details and conditions for granting licences and the process to buy back power from the residents.

Gen Anantaporn said policymakers need to deliberate over details because there are several types of solar rooftop and different technologies – resulting in different sizes of solar rooftop projects at different power costs – before figuring out the regulation and licensing process.

Prasert Sinsukprasert, deputy director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, said the regulations should be approved by October.

The Energy Ministry had assigned Chulalongkorn University’s Energy Research Institute (ERI) the task of conducting a feasibility study of the plan. The ERI found that the deregulation of solar rooftops and letting people generate their own power would create minimal revenue losses for state utilities.

ERI researcher Sopitsuda Tongsopit said solar rooftops are expected to have a minimal effect on state utilities in generating backup power, as total power-generating capacity for solar remains small compared with the overall amount of electricity in the country’s power supply system.

Thailand has 2,990 megawatts of solar power installed. Some 2,960MW, as of July, is from solar farms, while an additional 130MW is from rooftops.

Source: bangkokpost.com

Better Energy Efficiency Measures Could Cut UK Costs by £7.5bn

Photo: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

More efficient use of energy in the UK would save as much power as could be generated by six new nuclear reactors and shave £7.5bn from energy costs, experts have calculated.

But to achieve such savings would require substantial changes to government policy because there are few incentives for households to carry out the necessary measures, such as insulation, which can take 20 years to pay for themselves via bill savings.

About a quarter of current energy use in heating and electricity could be cut in a “cost-effective” manner producing savings overall in terms of bills, according to the UK Energy Research Centre. Households would save about £270 a year on bills, and more through less tangible improvements such as healthier lifestyles from warmer homes and better air quality.

A further quarter of current domestic energy use could also be cut – reducing the UK’s domestic energy consumption by half, or as much as could be generated by 12 new nuclear reactors the size of Hinkley Point C – but this would require investment, for instance in solid wall insulation, heat pumps and demand management technology, which would be less likely to be repaid in bill savings within 20 years.

Cutting energy use would also reduce carbon dioxide emissions – which have an effect on climate change – and improve quality of life for many by warming homes and reducing air pollution connected to energy generation.

Profit margins at the six biggest energy suppliers, which control most of the UK market, have risen to record levels, the regulator Ofgem said last month. British Gas announced it was raising its prices by more than 12 per cent on some tariffs over the summer.

Current government policy provides few incentives to households to invest in energy-saving measures since the flagship Green Deal policy, providing loans for such improvements, was axed by the last government. However, many households have continued to take measures facilitated by improved technology such as more efficient boilers and low-energy lightbulbs and other appliances. In 2015, according to the report, the average annual energy bill for a dual-fuel household was £490 less than it would have been without such efficiencies.

The use of gas, mostly for heating, has dropped by 27 per cent since 2004, and the use of electricity by households fell 13 per cent in the same period, according to the report entitled Unlocking Britain’s First Fuel.

Jan Rosenow, senior research fellow at the University of Sussex, said many of the potential future improvements were “unlikely to happen” without policy changes.

However, energy bills have continued to rise in real terms to about £1,110 a year, according to the study, in part because of higher fuel costs. If all the possible improvements outlined in the report were made, bills could drop to £560 a year.

Fabrice Leveque, an energy specialist at the environmental charity WWF, said: “This is yet more evidence that a zero-carbon future is in our grasp. However, at the present rate it will take over 100 years for us to ensure our homes are carbon neutral. This is clearly not good enough, and the government must stop dragging its feet and make sure more homes are renovated each year. Our cold and leaky homes pile hundreds of pounds on to people’s fuel bills, can damage their health, and are adding to climate change.”

The UKERC study came amid warnings that millions of customers could end up paying substantially more for their energy as some special tariffs are phased out by suppliers at the end of this month. Households could end up paying more than £400 extra if they fail to switch when they are automatically moved off these special deals and on to standard tariffs. Mark Todd, founder of Energyhelpline, said his company had identified 42 tariffs from 14 suppliers that were due to finish by October.

Separately, Uswitch.com found that one in five households fail to submit regular meter readings, meaning many of them could be paying more than necessary.

Source: businessgreen.com

FCO Climate Headcount Down 60 Per Cent Since 2011, FOI Reveals

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The number of UK-based diplomats working on climate change issues for the UK government has fallen dramatically over the last six years, new Freedom of Information data released publicly earlier this week has revealed.

The total number of Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in the UK working on climate change and energy issues has dropped 60 per cent between March 2011 and January 2017, from 554 to 221.

The number of full time staff working solely on climate change and energy within the FCO in the UK has dropped from 54 to 22 over the period, while numbers of other staff working part time in the area has fallen steadily from 500 in March 2011 to 199 in January 2017.

As of January 2017, there were an additional 112 staff members stationed overseas engaged in climate and energy work for the UK government. Comparative figures for 2011 were not provided.

The UK plays a key role in international climate diplomacy, and is particularly well regarded for its efforts to secure consensus for the Paris Agreement, which was struck in December 2015 and entered force last year.

Releasing the data, the government stressed its work on climate change spans the work of multiple departments – notably Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It also said climate change and energy work is a “network-wide priority” that engages staff at all levels of government.

It also pointed out that when counting the number of UK-based staff working on the issue it has not included “locally engaged members of staff” – arguing that the 221 figure therefore “significantly under-represents” the full scale of the FCO’s climate activity.

The data falls against a backdrop of continuing government austerity as ministers battle to meet ambitious spending targets set out by the former chancellor George Osborne in 2015.

Other areas of government also appear to be axeing climate jobs as austerity programmes bite – a DeSmog investigation last year suggested more than half of local governments across England have cut the number of staff working in climate and sustainability positions since 2011. Many areas, including the cities Southampton and Nottingham, no longer have any staff working on directly on the issue, according to the 2016 data.

Across the Atlantic, the Trump administration is making headway in its quest to cut the headcount of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nearly 400 workers have left the agency since the end of August, the department said in a release on Tuesday, cutting the agency’s staffing numbers by 2.5 per cent in less than a week.

“We’re giving long-serving, hardworking employees the opportunity to retire early,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. “We’re proud to report that we’re reducing the size of government, protecting taxpayer dollars and staying true to our core mission of protecting the environment and American jobs.”

Trump made rolling back the powers of the EPA a key plank of his agenda on entering the White House last year, as part of a wider strategy to unpick Obama-era policies to protect the environment and tackle global warming.

But the wave of departures – which could soon see the EPA headcount cut to 1998 levels – has sparked fears the agency may struggle to fulfil its core duties of ensuring compliance with US environmental law.

Source: businessgreen.com

France Plans to Ban Fossil Fuel Production

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Unprecedented and “never-before-seen” impacts of climate change are all around us. From Hurricanes’ Harvey and Irma to massive flooding in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal to forest fires burning through the west coast of North America—climate change is here and now, and it is catastrophic.

Fortunately, unprecedented and never-before-seen climate policy is also starting to take hold. While the devastating impacts of climate change demand a rapid response and emergency support, the true measure of political commitment is how far governments will go to stop digging us deeper into this hole.

Today, France (including overseas territories) is positioning itself to become the first country to ban all exploration permits and renewals for unconventional fuels as well as banning the conversion of exploration permits into production permits.

We know that we already have enough oil, coal and gas in already producing fields to take us past 2 degrees C of global warming. It is only logical that we put an end to exploration for and expansion of fossil fuels we don’t want or need.

In the legislation, that will be debated in October, the French government is taking climate action to another level. They are recognizing that climate leadership in the 21st century is about more than reducing emissions, pricing carbon and improving efficiency. It must also be about keeping fossil fuels that the climate cannot afford in the ground.

The legislation is not perfect, it does not include coal bed methane in its definition of unconventionals for example. The government should also take away existing licenses which have seen no investment.

But it does provide a new starting line for rich, northern countries that have the means to be first movers. And while France is not home to massive fossil fuel reserves, like other oil importers it faces political and economic pressures to reduce those imports by developing its own oil. So this move should not be underestimated in its precedent-setting nature.

With the Paris Climate Agreement as a defining moment for the world, the French government is wise to keep its name synonymous with policies that take us in the right direction.

This is the cutting edge of climate action, and with governments the world over being confronted with incredible people power, relentless climate impacts, and defining science, it shouldn’t be long before more join the enlightened list of countries that understand where we must go.

Source: ecowatch.com

Amsterdam Energy Consumption Falling Significantly, Renewables Production Lagging Behind

Foto - ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The Dutch city of Amsterdam is making substantial progress towards a wide range of sustainability goals, most notably regarding overall energy consumption.

According to the latest of the city’s annual sustainability report, overall energy production per capita declined by 9% compared to 2013, and 5% compared to 2015. If this trend is to continue, the city’s goal of a 20% reduction from benchmark year 2013 is in sight. A wide range of policies have been contributing to this result, ranging from educating citizens on how energy savings can be achieved to offering financing options for housing insulation. Another noteworthy policy has been the enforcement of a Dutch law that obliges companies to undertake energy efficiency improvements with payback times of fewer than 5 years.

Besides reduced energy consumption, the city has also improved sustainability on the supply side, but it is questionable to what degree progress has been sufficient. From 2013 to 2016, renewable energy generation increased by a meager 3.3%, which falls short of the population growth for that time frame. As the city itself is only expected to attract more residents in the years ahead, Amsterdam will have to seriously step up its efforts in order to meet its sustainability target of a 20% increase in renewables per capita by 2020 compared to 2013.

Solace could come from developments in the solar market. Compared to 2013, total installed solar capacity has almost tripled, and year-on-year growth rates have been consistently spectacular for the past decade. Unfortunately, total installed capacity topped only 24 MW in 2016, meaning that even on this swift exponential growth trajectory, we are still years away from significant carbon footprint reductions.

Another reason renewable energy generation is sluggish is that several wind energy projects took more time to develop, and others got cancelled. The underlying problem is a lack of space, or at least a lack of political will to allocate space to wind on land. The not-in-my-backyard problem is hard to crack in a country where backyards are everywhere and each inch of land is highly valued.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Scottish Government to Ban Fossil Fuel Cars by 2032 Under Green Policy Programme

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The Scottish government has today unveiled its legislative plans for the next year, featuring a major low carbon economy focus on electric vehicles, renewable energy, recycling schemes and green investment.

Among 16 proposed new pieces of legislation outlined today are plans to phase-out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032 – eight years earlier than the 2040 ban announced by the UK government earlier this year – and to fast-track the development of a Scotland-wide electric car charging network.

The Programme for Scotland 2017/18 sets out further proposals to tackle air pollution by creating one new Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in an unnamed Scottish city by the end of the parliamentary year, increasing to a total of four LEZs across Scotland’s biggest cities by 2020.

Next year will also see Scottish outline new greenhouse gas reduction targets in its long-awaited Climate Change Bill, which will include the creation of a Just Transition Commission to advise Scottish ministers on adjusting its economy away from oil and gas to renewable technologies.

Further legislation will establish an Innovation Fund to invest £60m in battery storage, sustainable heating systems and other green technologies, as well as a commitment to provide ‘early stage support’ for a new carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in St Fergus.

The devolved administration also confirmed plans to introduce a deposit scheme to recycle cans and bottles, extend broadband coverage to all homes and businesses by 2021, invest in skills and manufacturing and to double annual investment in walking and cycling.

Meanwhile a new National Investment Bank will provide financial support for innovative industries, news that comes just weeks after the UK government sold the Edinburgh-based Green Investment Bank to Australian bank Macquarie.

Announcing the legislative programme today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was vital for Scotland to build a modern and dynamic low carbon economy in the face of “unprecedented global challenge and change”.

“We face rapid advances in technology; a moral obligation to tackle climate change; an ageing population; the impact of continued austerity and deep seated challenges of poverty and inequality; and an apparent rise in the forces of intolerance and protectionism,” she said in a statement. “These challenges are considerable, but in each of them we will find opportunity. It is our job to seize it.”

“To succeed, Scotland must lead change, not trail in its wake,” she continued. “We must aspire to be the inventor and the manufacturer of the digital, high tech and low carbon innovations that will shape the future, not just a consumer of them. To encourage others to see Scotland as the place to research, design and manufacture their innovations – for us to become a laboratory for the rest of the world in the digital and low carbon technologies we want to champion – we must also become early adopters of them. We must be bold in our ambitions.”

Campaigners hailed the programme as a “victory” for the green economy.

“The First Minister has set out an ambitious, progressive and green Programme for government, which puts Scotland’s low carbon economy in the driving seat,” Gina Hanrahan, acting head of policy at WWF Scotland said in a statement. “The benefits of today’s announcement will continue to be felt across Scotland for generations to come, as we build on the huge successes of renewable electricity, to create new jobs in clean transport and deliver a thriving economy.”

Others seized the opportunity to urge Westminster to up the ante. “The Scottish government has set a significantly more ambitious target to phase out petrol and diesel cars and vans than the one recently set by the UK government in Westminster,” Greenpeace clean air campaigner Anna Jones said. “This is what real leadership looks like […] Today’s announcement shows Nicola Sturgeon’s vision for global environmental leadership. The ball is now in Theresa May’s court.”

Source: businessgreen.com

UK Electric Vehicle Sales Enjoy Summer Boom

Photo: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

EV sales in the UK enjoyed yet another boost in August with the latest data showing new registrations of pure electric cars were up more than 60 per cent on the same month last year.

Monthly figures released by trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) yesterday show 476 pure electric plug-in cars were registered last month, a 62 per cent increase on the 293 sales registered in August 2016.

Moreover, sales of ‘other’ forms of plug-in battery vehicle – including hydrogen fuelled and range-extender cars – also enjoyed a 38.5 per cent year-on-year boost in August, with 1,215 sales compared to 877 during the same month last year.

Overall, it means all EV and alternatively fuelled vehicles eligible for the government’s plug in vehicles grant saw a near 50 per cent year-on-year increase in sales last month, taking a 5.2 per cent share of the overall car market, while deisel sales have yet again fallen.

It bolsters a record-breaking year for UK battery car sales, with more than 22,000 sold since January, equating to a 20 per cent increase on the same period in 2016, while overall sales of all car types have simultaneously dropped 2.4 per cent.

Interest and sales in electric and low emission vehicles have surged this year across Europe and North America, with several car brands including Volvo and Maserati committing to phasing out the production of pure-fossil fuel cars entirely within the coming years. However, fears were again raised this week as to whether charging infrastructure is being installed quickly enough to meet the rapid increase in demand from EV drivers.

Commenting on yesterday’s SMMT figures, WWF climate change specialist James Beard said the increased uptake in clean, low carbon vehicles contrasted sharply with the slowdown in the wider car market, with the market share for low emissions vehicles up by two thirds compared to this time last year.

“Electric cars are increasingly seen not only as clean, but affordable and desirable,” said Beard. “Only low emissions vehicles like electric cars can tackle the twin problems of air pollution and climate change, protecting both our health and our environment.”

The August 2017 figures also show a huge 75 per cent increase in petrol-electric hybrid vehicle sales for the month, although diesel-electric hybrid sales sank by more than 52 per cent.

Indeed, possibly reflecting rising public fears over the impact of diesel engines on air pollution, pure-deisel sales also continue to drop, with a 21 per cent slump last month compared to last year. Since January, diesel sales have dropped by more than 11 per cent in comparison to the first eight months of 2016.

Beard said the government needed to soon put in place a plan for banning diesel and petrol cars from sale by 2040. “The forthcoming Clean Growth Plan must set out how the UK government will phase out fossil fuelled cars, building on the recent 2040 commitment with clear policies to support growth in electric vehicles,” he said.

Source: businessgreen.com

Duke Energy Nixes Nuclear, Will Amp Up Solar Power Plants In Florida

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Nuclear power in the US took another hit last week, as Duke Energy announced it is abandoning plans for the Levy Nuclear Project and will build more solar power plants within the state of Florida instead. It is also taking other measures to increase the amount of renewable energy available to its customers in the Sunshine State. The announcement came at the conclusion of a regulatory hearing before the Florida Public Service Commission involving multiple parties in interest.

“This settlement allows us to move forward to create a smarter energy future for our customers and communities,” said Harry Sideris, president of Duke Energy’s Florida operations. “It resolves the future of the Levy Nuclear Project and reinforces our commitment to building cost-effective solar in Florida. It also makes smart investments that will offer customers more information, choices and control of their energy needs while also providing greater reliability.”

One significant feature of the agreement is that the company’s customers in Florida will not be responsible for any further cost associated with the Levy Nuclear Project. The company will absorb nearly $150 million in cost associated with the project and customers will see a reduction of $2.50 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours as a result. Instead, Duke Energy will invest $6 billion in solar energy, smart meters, and grid modernization as well as electric vehicle charging stations and a battery storage pilot program.

“We applaud Duke Energy Florida for working proactively with stakeholders to embrace smart technologies that are both good for consumers and the environment,” said Dr. Stephen A. Smith executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “Large-scale solar, electric vehicles, and battery storage demonstrate that Duke is embracing technologies for the 21st century. We welcome Duke’s willingness to work with stakeholders on data collection and any rate design changes impacting customer owned demand-side solar.”

The company plans to install 500 charging stations for electric vehicles and add a 50 megawatt grid-scale battery storage facility to help balance the grid as more renewable energy comes on line. Part of the plan to install more electric vehicle chargers includes encouraging customers to plug in their cars during the day when solar power availability is at its peak.

Duke Energy will construct new solar facilities with a total capacity of 700 megawatts over the next 4 years. Other utility companies in the state have already committed to adding an additional 600 megawatts of solar capacity. Combined, all the new solar power plants will more than triple Florida’s existing installed solar capacity. One of the first new solar power plants will be located on 550 acres of land in Hamilton County near the Georgia border. The 300,000 solar panel installation will have a peak capacity of 74.9 megawatts, enough to supply clean, renewable energy to 20,000 homes.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Sweden Sets Out £485m Green Investment in 2018 Budget

Photo - illustration: Pixabay
Photo – illustration: Pixabay

Sweden’s government has announced plans to invest SEK5bn (£485m) towards boosting the green economy and tackling climate change in 2018, in what it says is the country’s “greatest commitment to climate and the environment ever”.

Confirming its budget bill for 2018, the government yesterday said the money would be spent on environmental and climate work both in Sweden and internationally, with the aim of reducing emissions, creating jobs and boosting development.

The 2018 budget bill – based on an agreement between the government and Sweden’s Left Party (SSV) – means spending on the environment and nature conservation next year will more than double (a 109 per cent increase) compared to 2014.

The Scandinavian country has ambitious climate targets, having committed earlier this year to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2045, with the government required to produce a climate report in the annual budget alongside a new action plan every four years.

The 2018 investments are to be spread over a “large number of measures”, including furthering the switch to renewable energy, protecting biodiversity on land and in the sea and initiatives aimed at making cities more sustainable places to live and work, according to Sweden’s deputy PM Isabella Lovin.

She said the country was already undertaking major structural efforts to improve the sustainability of transport and industry, with significant investments in solar power, electric vehicle charge points and electric bicycles.

“Our generation should be able to hand over a society to our children where the major environmental problems are solved and where the cities should be living and healthy growing environments,” Lovin said in a statement. “There is a lot to be done – there has been underinvestment in sustainable development for too long.”

The investment includes the SEK600m (£58m) announced last week for measures aimed at ensuring cleaner seas around Sweden.

Source: businessgreen.com

JTC Calls Tender to Install Movable Solar Panels on Jurong Island

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Government agency JTC Corporation has called a tender for installation of solar panels on a 3.9-hectare vacant plot of land on Jurong Island – in a first-of-its kind project in Singapore.

Solar panels are typically placed on rooftops for up to 20 years at a go. But in this instance, JTC stated that the panels must be able to be dismantled and relocated within six months in land in case the land is used for development.

JTC’s assistant CEO of engineering and operations group, Heah Soon Poh, said the programme – called SolarLand – aims to “maximise the use” of vacant land by allowing “the installation of solar panels as an interim use to contribute towards the supply of clean energy in Singapore”.

Solar energy system developer Sunseap Group told Channel NewsAsia it plans to take up the challenge.

“We definitely welcome this kind of new concept because it expands the available area for solar deployment in Singapore,” said Sunseap’s senior business development manager for special projects, Shawn Tan.

The firm is looking at deploying what it calls “modular” structures if it wins the tender. “It’s just like Lego pieces. You design a structure that can hold, for example, three pieces of panels.

When you dismantle it, the three pieces of panels can be easily deployed modularly in threes,” he said.

“If the mounting structure has to be redesigned and customised for the new site conditions, then you may not be able to use back the same mounting structure. So, in having a modular design that can be easily decommissioned and brought to a new location, we can reuse the mounting system,” Mr Tan added.

JTC said in its tender that it will foot costs of relocating the panels. It added that the tenure will be for six years, with the option to renew for another two terms of six years each. But this could still prove to be an issue for firms.

“Financiers are used to financing solar systems that are in a fixed location for at least 20 years,” said Mr Tan. “When it comes to such a movable system, they are unfamiliar, and it may be a challenge to convince the financiers that such a system is bankable,” he added.

Source: channelnewsasia.com

Plans for Sahara to Export Solar Power to Europe Revive

Foto: en.wikipedia.org
Photo: en.wikipedia.org

TuNur Ltd filed a request in the Tunisian Ministry of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energy for the authorisation of a 4.5GW solar energy export project destined to fuel Europe.

The mega-solar project is envisioned to be located in a newly established solar complex in the Sahara Desert in Southwest Tunisia- a site located close to Réjim Maâtoug in the Kébili Governorate.

The technology that will be used is Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), using parabolic mirrors to heat a tower containing molten salt that in turn heats water to generate steam to run a turbine- a technology that has seen significant cost reductions in the past few years.

According to Daniel Rich, the Chief Operating Officer at TuNur, the initial production costs for the first phase will be $85 million, making the cost 10.1 US-cent/kWh – slightly higher than the upcoming solar CSP project that attracted the world’s lowest bid for CSP at 9.45 US-cent/ kWh.

Mr Rich said: “Today you have a market in need of low carbon dispatchable power, which has the mechanisms to import power from other countries”.

He added: “Next door is a region with extreme solar resource and in need for investment and development. Finally, there are technologies that can satisfy the demand at very competitive pricing and have a very high local impact”.

The project is expected to have 4.5GW installed capacity, and will be divided into three phases with three different routes through HVDC submarine cable systems.

The first cable will link Tunisia with Malta, at a cost of approximately €1.6 billion and will transfer 250-500MW of solar energy.

Malta is already connected to the European mainland with 100 km of undersea power line that transmits electricity to Sicily, Italy- meaning that only the first part of interconnection is needed, i.e. 500 km transmission systems connecting Tunisia to Malta.

The second cable will connect Tunisia straight to central Italy, with a shoring point north of Rome.

This second route is being studied for years, and is being considered as a Project of Common Interest- i.e, projects that are included in EU’s Energy Union vision and are given development priority and financial support.

The Tunisia- Italy route is expected to transfer 2000MW of solar energy.

A third cable which will link Tunisia to the south of France, possibly to Marseille, is under study, and will possibly transfer slightly under another 2000MW.

Kevin Sara, CEO of TuNur underlined that: “ The economics of the projects are compelling: the site in the Sahara receives twice as much solar energy compared to sites in central Europe, thus, for the same investment, we can produce as much electricity”.

“In a subsidy-free world, we will always be a low cost producer, even when transmission costs are factored in”, he commented regarding the significant competitive advantage of Tunisian solar energy production.

According to Daniel Rich, the project is expected to stimulate more than $5 billion of investment in Tunisia, and it will create more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

TuNur Ltd constitutes a private company incorporated in the UK, whose principal shareholders are London-based solar power developer Nur Energie and Tunisian and Maltese investors.

A similar attempt had been realised some years ago, under the famous project Desertec- an initiative led by German investors to export huge amounts of solar from Tunisia to Europe.

The bold initiative had then been abandoned, with one of the reasons having been the political instability in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) regions.

The National reports that similar dangers still lie- one indicative example is the wide grid and border disputes between Algeria and Morocco over the Western Sahara.

Source: climateactionprogramme.org

Argentina Seeks 550MW of Wind Energy in New Tender

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Approximately 550MW of wind capacity has been made available in the country’s latest renewables tender.

The tender marks the start of the second round of the Renovar programme, which aims to lift renewables participation to 20% by 2025.

In total, the government is seeking 1.2GW of capacity, including solar, biogas and biomass projects, with a total investment of around $2 billion.

Interested parties have until 20 October to present offers. The contracts are due to be awarded on 29 November, after which companies will have until mid-2019 to begin supplying power to the grid.

The first round saw contracts awarded for 1.5GW of wind projects, many of which are now under construction.

A ceiling price of $56.25/MWh is set for wind projects, based on prices achieved in previous auctions, but experts said offers are likely to be lower than those seen in the first two tenders, which fell as low as $46/MWh.

“They are going to receive a huge number of offers for much more capacity than will be contracted, and the prices will be very competitive,” predicted Juan Bosch, president of energy trading firm SAESA.

Major draws include a new World Bank-backed guarantee worth up to $250 million against the risk of default by market operator Cammesa, and the 20-year contracts on offer, increasing certainty as energy prices fall around the world.

“This is very attractive to generators — it is difficult to obtain such long contracts in the private market or in other countries,” Bosch added.

Source: windpowermonthly.com

Veolia Plans to Turn Old Rubbish Dumps into Solar Farms

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Waste and resources specialist Veolia has set out plans to install solar across its portfolio of former UK landfills, in order to “better utilise” the sites to generate income from renewable electricity.

As part of its restoration programme to clean up former landfill sites that have reached the end of their operation, Veolia has enlisted the help of green energy specialists REG Power Management and solar PV installers Ethical Power to explore the potential for turning a number of its UK sites into solar farms.

Veolia said last week it has already secured planning permission to install solar panels across three UK sites at Netley in Hampshire, Ling Hall in Warwickshire and Ockendon in Essex.

Once at full capacity, these three sites will be capable of generating more than 70MW of power to the National Grid, or enough to power around 185,000 average homes per year, the company said.

Both the Netley and Ling Hall sites are earmarked for the installation of 12MW of solar power capacity each, while the much larger Ockendon site has planning permission for around 46MW of solar capacity.

Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia UK and Ireland’s senior executive vice-president, said the Netley landfill site in particular was a “primary example” of landfill green energy generation, as a 5MW solar farm has already been installed at the site with enough power to meet the needs of around 13,000 homes per year.

“This came online in spring 2017 and following the success of this site we’re working with our partners to extend the capacity at Netley up to twelve megawatts, while rolling out this project across other landfill sites, including Ling Hall near Rugby and Ockendon in Essex,” explained Brachlianoff.

Other Veolia landfill sites which have been reviewed for solar power suitability include the Pitsea and Rainham landfills in Essex, the Wapseys Wood site in Buckinghamshire, the Albion site in Leicestershire “as well as several others located throughout Hampshire and the West Midlands”, according to the firm.

Stuart Whiteford, investment director at Ethical Power said there is considerable potential to use former waste landfill sites for solar generation. “Currently landfill occupies 2,000 hectares in the UK, which is potentially 800MW of solar generation, and of course does not include other brownfield sites, such as industrial and contaminated land,” he explained.

The project is being run alongside work to improve the biodiversity across “numerous” landfill sites, Veolia said, such as creating habitats for water voles, birds and flowers as well as planting wildflower meadows and trees to help provide shelter for animals and offset CO2.

Matt Partridge, development director at REG Power Management, said the solar power landfill vision had been four years in the making. “This will contribute to both of our aspirations related to landfill after-care management, climate change and the circular economy,” he said of the project.

Source: businessgreen.com

Santa Fe Aiming for 100% Renewable Energy by 2025

Photo - ilustration: Pixabay
Photo – illustration: Pixabay

New Mexico’s capital has joined the growing movement of U.S. cities committing to 100 percent renewable energy.

On Wednesday, Santa Fe’s City Council unanimously adopted Mayor Javier Gonzales’ resolution directing City Manager Brian Snyde to develop a feasibility study on how the city can transition to renewables by 2025. Snyde will report the findings in 90 days.

“The City of Santa Fe has historically been a leader in the fight against global warming and has a responsibility to continue to set a positive example for other cities, states and countries to follow,” the resolution states.

“Such a transition to utilizing 100 percent renewable energy will promote employment opportunities and economic growth in our community, facilitate local control and ownership of the city’s energy options, and bring tangible benefits of using renewable energy to the community as a whole,” it adds.

Gonzales celebrated the city’s ambitious clean energy goal with a tweet saying there is “work to do, but here we go!”

The New Mexican reported that a quarter of the city’s energy already comes from renewable sources, mostly from solar.

According to the report, the mayor also introduced a resolution this week to amend the city’s investment policy to ensure that its fiscal agent, Wells Fargo, does not invest any city funds in fossil fuels.

Source: ecowatch.com

Breakthrough in Algae Production Could Usher in Desert Farming, Claim Scientists

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Biologists from Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates have engineered a new form of microalgae that can grow rapidly in desert conditions, a discovery they claim could be used to sustainably produce biofuels, animal feed and other bio-based products in otherwise barren environments.

The researchers set out to discover whether they could boost the productivity of algae in very bright light, which is usually harmful to cells. They genetically engineered a form of microscopic algae known as diatoms, to boost its ability to grow and divide under desert light conditions.

Because diatoms are found in marine environments they don’t require freshwater for their production, meaning they could be produced in regions where freshwater is scarce.

The team, from NYU Abu Dhabi and UAE University, envision a cluster of “cell factories” in the Middle East that can produce high value bio-based products using little energy, and say they have already identified promising strains of diatoms in the UAE.

The algae can also be used to produce biofuel and animal feed, they suggest, with the added benefit of ingesting CO2 and emitting oxygen in the process.

“With this technology, algae can be grown in photo-bioreactors at a higher density and a faster pace, reducing cost and speeding up production,” said Weiqi Fu, PhD, a Research Scientist at NYU Abu Dhabi and the lead researcher of the study.

The breakthrough is a promising sign that in the future biofuel, animal food, fish feed and other types of production could be shifted to unproductive desert lands, relieving pressure on agricultural land.

Source: businessgreen.com