Hyundai Signals Electric Future with Promise of EV with 500km Range

18.08.2017

South Korean automaker Hyundai plans to develop an electric vehicle with a 500km range within the next five years as part of its drive to become a leader in green transport.

The firm, which is best known in the green transport space for its focus on hydrogen vehicles, said yesterday it plans to take a “multi-pronged approach” to its eco-vehicle programme.

But the new roadmap hinted at a strategy shift in favour of electric technology, promising that by 2021 it will launch a long-range electric vehicle with a 500km range, equal to that of a Tesla Model 3 with premium battery.

Hyundai also said it will launch EV versions of its Kona compact and high-end Genesis brands in 2018 and 2021 respectively, and develop its first “dedicated architecture” for pure electric vehicles to pave the way for more EV models with longer driving ranges.

The firm already has a line-up of electric models under its IONIQ range, and plans to have 31 “eco-friendly” models in its line-up by 2020.

Hyundai has been developing hydrogen fuel cell technology since 1998 and in 2013 was the first automaker to mass produce a hydrogen car. It plans to launch a new hydrogen SUV early next year.

However, the high ticket price of hydrogen cars, the slow rollout of charging stations and the rapid cost reductions in lithium ion batteries have meant the market for electric cars has surged ahead in recent years, particularly in China where they enjoy strong government backing.

Source: businessgreen.com

David Suzuki: Wildfires Are a Climate Change Wake-Up Call

18.08.2017

Wildfires are sweeping BC. Close to 900 have burned through 600,000 hectares so far this year, blanketing western North America with smoke. Fighting them has cost more than $230 million—and the season is far from over.

It’s not just BC. Thousands of people from BC to California have fled homes as fires rage. Greenland is experiencing the largest blaze ever recorded, one that Prof. Stef Lhermitte of Delft University in the Netherlands called “a rare and unusual event.” Fires have spread throughout Europe, North America and elsewhere. In June, dozens of people died in what’s being called Portugal’s worst fire ever. Meanwhile, from Saskatchewan to Vietnam to New Zealand, floods have brought landslides, death and destruction.

What will it take to wake us up to the need to address climate change? Fires and floods have always been here, and are often nature’s way of renewing ecosystems—but as the world warms, they’re increasing in frequency, size and severity. Experts warn wildfires could double in number in the near future, with the Pacific Northwest seeing five or six times as many.

In the western U.S., annual average temperatures have increased by 2 C and the fire season has grown by three months since the 1970s, leading to “new era of western wildfires,” according to a recent study led by University of Colorado Boulder wildfire experts, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Climate change doesn’t necessarily start the fires—lightning, unattended campfires, carelessly tossed cigarette butts and sparks from machinery are major causes—but it creates conditions for more and larger fires. Lightning, which causes up to 35 percent of Canada’s wildfires and is responsible for 85 percent of the area burned annually, increases as temperatures rise, with studies showing 12 percent more lightning strikes for each degree Celsius of warming.

Drier, shorter winters and earlier snowmelt extend fire seasons. As the atmosphere warms, it holds more moisture, some of which it draws from forests and wetlands, and increasing precipitation is not enough to offset the drying. This means fuel sources ignite more easily and fires spread faster over greater areas. Outbreaks of pests such as mountain pine beetles—previously kept in check by longer, colder winters—have also killed and dried forests, adding fuel to the fires. Because trees and soils hold moisture on slopes, fires can also increase the risk of flash floods when rains finally arrive.

The human and economic impacts are staggering—from property destruction to firefighting and prevention to loss of valuable resources and ecosystems. As human populations expand further into wild areas, damages and costs are increasing.

Health impacts from smoke put people—especially children and the elderly—at risk and drive health care costs up. Wildfires now kill more than 340,000 people a year, mainly from smoke inhalation.

Fires also emit CO2, creating feedback loops and exacerbating climate change. Boreal forests in Canada and Russia store large amounts of carbon and help regulate the climate, but they’re especially vulnerable to wildfires.

Suggested solutions are wide-ranging. The authors of the PNAS study recommend letting some wildfires burn in areas uninhabited by people, setting more “controlled” fires to reduce undergrowth fuels and create barriers, thinning dense forests, discouraging development in fire-prone areas and strengthening building codes.

These adaptive measures are important, as are methods to prevent people from sparking fires, but our primary focus should be on doing all we can to slow global warming.

According to NASA, Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by 1.1 C since the late 19th century, with most warming occurring over the past 35 years, and 16 of the 17 warmest years occurring since 2001. Eight months of 2016 were the warmest on record. Oceans have also been warming and acidifying quickly, Arctic ice has rapidly decreased in extent and thickness, glaciers are retreating worldwide, and sea levels have been rising at an accelerating pace. Record high temperature events have been increasing while low temperature events have decreased, and extreme weather events are becoming more common in many areas.

Today’s wildfires are a wake-up call. If we are serious about our Paris agreement commitments, we can’t build more pipelines, expand oil sands, continue fracking or exploit extreme Arctic and deep-sea oil.

Source: ecowatch.com

July Ties for Hottest Month on Record

18.08.2017

climate-change- — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Last month tied July 2016 as the hottest July in recorded history, according to a preliminary analysis by NASA.

And as a result, it also statistically tied with August 2016 and July 2016 as the hottest months ever recorded. Mashable’s Andrew Freedman noted that this record is even more noteworthy because it occurred in the absence of an El Niño, which combined with long-term planetary warming makes 2016 the hottest year ever.

Last month was about 0.83°C, or 1.49°F warmer than the monthly 1951-1980 July average. Eyes now are on NOAA’s monthly report expected in a few days to see if it corroborates the analysis.

According to the executive summary of a climate report drafted by 13 federal agencies:
“Thousands of studies conducted by tens of thousands of scientists around the world have documented changes in surface, atmospheric and oceanic temperatures; melting glaciers; disappearing snow cover; shrinking sea ice; rising sea level; and an increase in atmospheric water vapor … The last few years have also seen record-breaking, climate-related weather extremes, as well as the warmest years on record for the globe.”

As reported by Mashable, Earth has not had a cooler than average month since December 1984.

Source: ecowatch.com

Germany Awards 1 Gigawatt Of Onshore Wind, Costs Fall By 25%

18.08.2017

wind-turbine — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

Germany announced the results of its second onshore wind auction this week in which it was revealed a total of 1 gigawatt was awarded at an average cost 25% less than the average price recorded in the first onshore wind auction just a few months ago.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency, the Bundesnetzagentur (BnetzA) published the results of its second onshore wind auction which was completed on August 1, revealing a total of 1,013 MW (megawatts) spread across 67 bids awarded. The auction was significantly oversubscribed, with a total of 281 bids totaling 2,927 MW being submitted overall.

The average price for the successful bids was 4.28 Euro-cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh), and the highest bid accepted was 4.29 ct/kWh, while the lowest price accepted was 3.5 ct/kWh. The average price recorded in this second auction was 25% lower than the average price recorded in Germany’s first onshore wind auction, held earlier this year in May, which recorded an average price of 5.71 ct/kWh.

The full list of successful bids can be found here.

“The second auction for onshore wind energy was also marked by a high level of competition,” said Jochen Homann, Bundesnetzagentur President. “The average price of the bids accepted is more than one cent per kilowatt hour lower than in the first auction. The results confirm the positive experiences from our previous competitive auctions for offshore wind energy and photovoltaic systems.”

Citizen energy companies accounted for 84% of the bids submitted and accounted for 90% of the successful bids, and 95% of the total volume of awarded bids accepted.

A third onshore wind auction round is expected to take place later this year and bring this year’s awarded capacity up to the 2,500 MW expansion rate targeted by the German government — 1,820 MW has already been awarded.

Source: cleantechnica.com

European Union To Link Emissions Trading System With Switzerland

18.08.2017

The European Union has announced that it will link its emissions trading system with Switzerland’s own system, following a decision made by the European Commission.

With all attention focused on the environmental impact the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) will have on the region’s, and specifically the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions levels, the European Union has this week announced that it will now link its own emissions trading system with Switzerland’s, following the adoption of two proposals by the European Commission which finalized the deal between the EU and Switzerland.

Specifically, linking the two systems will allow participants in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to use allowances from the Swiss system for compliance, and vice versa.

The move was described by Switzerland’s government as a “big step forward.”

The EU ETS is based on a ‘cap and trade’ system in which a cap is set on the total amount of certain greenhouse gas emissions that are allowed to be emitted by installations covered by the EU ETS. Operating in 31 countries — including all 28 EU Member States, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway — the EU ETS limits emissions from more than 11,000 heavy energy-using installations including power stations and industrial plants, and airlines that operate between these countries, and covers around 45% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s emissions trading system covers 54 companies across cement, pharmaceutical, refinery, paper, district heating, and steel sectors, and is also based on a ‘cap and trade’ system, setting the maximum amount of emissions at 5.63 million tonnes of CO2 in 2013, then reduced by 1.74% each year, set to reach 4.91 million tonnes in 2020.

The big takeaway, in my opinion, from this announcement is the impact that it might have on the upcoming Brexit negotiations. Now that the EU has agreements in place for four non-European Union countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and now Switzerland — will the UK remain as part of the EU ETS, or will it create its own emissions trading scheme and link itself with the EU, or will it go it alone?

Source: cleantechnica.com

Green Light for Scotland’s Largest Solar Farm

17.08.2017

A Scottish council has this week granted planning permission for what would be the country’s largest solar farm, a 20MW project near Urquhart in Morayshire, Northern Scotland.

The solar farm is set to be constructed on a 47-hectare site and boast around 80,000 solar panels, delivering enough clean energy to power thousands of homes. Its size would dwarf Scotland’s current largest solar array, the 13MW farm at Errol Estate in Perthshire.

Its developers, Bristol-based Elgin Energy, insist the farm’s size will not compromise its environmental integrity, with plans in place to maintain existing mature hedgerows and woodland and allow sheep to graze underneath the panels.

Moray Council, which approved the plans this week, said Elgin Energy will have to provide a draft decommissioning plan for the site once its 30-year permission is up, and a Habit Management Plan to the council before construction can begin.

The promise of plentiful clean energy coupled with the council’s tight control on the terms of development prompted Councillor Claire Feaver to declare the project a “win-win”.

“A significant amount of renewable energy will be generated by this solar farm over the next 30 years,” she said in a statement. “The opportunity to continue grazing on the land, together with the Habitat Management Plan, will maintain and enhance the diverse range of species in and around the site. I see this as a win-win.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Molson Coors Raises Bar with New 2025 Climate Goals

17.08.2017

Climate-changes — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

North American brewer Molson Coors has announced plans to halve global carbon emissions and achieve zero waste across its major manufacturing sites by 2025 as part of its new sustainability strategy unveiled yesterday.

Among its ‘Beer Print’ 2025 green targets the beverage giant has committed to reducing carbon emissions from its direct operations by 50 per cent from 2016 levels, as well as cutting emissions from its supply chain by 20 per cent over the same period.

The company is also aiming to improve water efficiency at its breweries worldwide by 22 per cent between 2016 and 2025, in order to produce 2.8 hectolitres of beer from every 2.8 of water used.

The brewer also plans to boost water efficiency in its agricultural supply chain and malting operations by 10 per cent over the same period, which it says equates to the same volume of water used by Molson Coors breweries throughout the world.

In addition, the company said it would source 100 per cent of its barley and hops from suppliers worldwide that grow, produce and deliver according to its sustainability standards by 2025.

It is the first sustainability report released by Molson Coors since its acquisition of MillerCoors in October last year, making it one of the world’s largest brewers, with beer brands including Cobra, Carling and Worthington’s.

Kim Marotta, global senior director of corporate responsibility at Molson Coors, said the company now had a greater responsibility than ever “to make a positive impact on the world”. “Our new sustainability strategy reflects our broadest set of goals to date – a comprehensive, long-term plan that will put us on the leading edge as we look to 2025,” she added in a statement.

The new green goals were announced as the company provided an update on the progress it made last year towards its 2020 sustainability targets.

While announcing plans to achieve zero waste to landfill at all of its major manufacturing sites by 2025, the company claimed it was already “well on the way” to meeting this target, having so far achieved the goal at 13 of its facilities.

However, overall it suggests a lowering of ambition, with the company having previously set a target date of 2020 by which to achieve zero waste to landfill.

Meanwhile, the company’s absolute energy use and purchased electricity both increased slightly last year, which it said was due to including additional owned warehouses in Canada in its Scope One energy data.

The firm did surpass its greenhouse gas goal for last year, though, producing 8.10kg of CO2 per hectolitre of beer produced in 2016, which it said represented a 3.2 per cent improvement on its 8.37kg target.

Source: businessgreen.com

World’s Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant Approved for Australia

17.08.2017

Crescent_Dunes_Solar_December_2014 — Foto: en.wikipedia.org

The South Australian state government has approved the construction of a 150-megawatt solar thermal power plant.

The AU $650 million (US $510 million) structure will be built in Port Augusta and is slated for completion by 2020. It will be the largest such facility in the world once built.

California-based SolarReserve was awarded with the contract. The company is also behind the 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant in Nevada, the world’s first utility-scale solar thermal power plant.

Solar thermal plants are different from traditional photovoltaic panels on rooftops and solar farms around the world. These plants, also known as concentrated solar plants (CSP), consists of a large field of mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays to heat molten salt, which then produces superheated steam to drive a generator’s turbines.

A major advantage to this type of power plant is how it can store up to eight hours of molten salt thermal energy storage, allowing for power usage when needed.

“The significance of solar thermal generation lies in its ability to provide energy virtually on demand through the use of thermal energy storage to store heat for running the power turbines,” said sustainable energy engineering professor Wasim Saman, from the University of South Australia. “This is a substantially more economical way of storing energy than using batteries.”

This technology is critical for South Australia, which has been plagued by blackouts. Australia itself also has a major gas shortage is looming and its decades-old coal plants are shutting down, sparking potential price hikes and putting energy security at risk.

Looks like the state is firmly placing its bet on renewables. The state government also recently approved the construction of the world’s largest battery farm in the Riverland region with help from Tesla.

Source: ecowatch.com

China Halts Construction On 150 Gigawatts Of New Coal Power Plants

17.08.2017

Termoelektrana, Ugalj, Zagađenje — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

China’s state-run news agency Xinhua has revealed that China has currently halted construction on new coal-fired power plants in an effort to avoid building over-capacity while simultaneously hoping to promote a cleaner energy mix.

The Chinese Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday that China had halted construction on a total of 150 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power generation capacity between 2016 and 2020 — the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan period. Xinhua reported on a statement released by the country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which stated that “New capacity will be strictly controlled” and that “All illegal coal-burning power projects will be halted.”

Further, not only is the Chinese government halting future development, the NDRC added that it will be eliminating 20 GW worth of outdated capacity, while nearly 1,000 GW of coal capacity will be upgraded to producer fewer emissions, use less energy, and better coordinate with future energy development.

Overall, the Chinese government is aiming to keep the country’s total coal power capacity below 1,100 GW by 2020.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the NDRC’s move “followed an ongoing campaign to downsize bloated heavy industries, especially coal mining and steel smelting” in which “Solid progress has been made to shut down inefficient coal mines, and more measures are in the pipeline.”

China’s coal capacity has long been under close scrutiny given the country’s significant greenhouse gas emissions. However, in recent years, China has also been the country making the biggest moves to curtail its reliance upon coal — though this is something of a false narrative, considering that China simply had the largest amount of coal, and any curtailment would be considered huge. China reported towards the end of 2014 that its coal use had dropped by 1.28% — the first time coal use had declined in China this century. Not long after, China’s coal consumption and CO2 emissions were reported to both have dropped in 2014. This was the beginning of a trend which we have seen play out over the last few years. Figures over the first few months of 2015 showed that coal use only continued to fall, inevitably leading to a coal consumption decline in 2016 of 3.7%.

This most recent announcement to curtail development of coal and dial back existing coal infrastructure isn’t a new step for China, either, having in the past 12 months made significant steps to halt construction on its future coal plans. Towards the end of 2016 and over the first few months of this year, China announced the cancellation of 30 large coal-fired power plants amounting to 17 gigawatts (GW), followed soon after by the cancellation of 104 more under-construction and planned coal projects amounting to 120 GW. Unsurprisingly, therefore, China’s coal use declined further in 2016, down by 4.7% over 2015 levels, while coal’s contribution to overall energy consumption declined by 2% to 62%.

Source: cleantechnica.com

German Onshore Wind Costs Fall 25 Per Cent in Latest Auction

17.08.2017

The cost of onshore wind energy continues to drop sharply, with the latest auction results from Germany suggesting costs for new projects have dropped by a quarter since May.

The results from the latest German government tender for new onshore wind projects reveal the price per kilowatt hour for onshore turbines fell from an average of 5.71 euro cents at the last contest in May to 4.28 euro cents in August.

The results, released by the regulator Bnetza on Tuesday, saw Germany issue licenses for 1GW of new onshore capacity.

The auction is the second under a new licensing system introduced this year to intensify competition among developers and drive the costs of wind energy down even further.

Rather than agree a fixed price contract, the new regime issues licenses only for those projects which will accept the lowest possible subsidy within a fixed capacity.

Around 90 per cent of the winning bids came from citizen groups, which are favoured under the new system.

“The second round of tenders, too, was characterized by high competition,” Bnetza president Jochen Homann said in a statement. “Compared with the first round, the average price at which projects were awarded fell by more than one euro cent per kilowatt hour.”

Source: businessgreen.com

London Mayor Sadiq Khan Announces World’s First National Park City

16.08.2017

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched plans to turn his city into the world’s first National Park City and one of the greenest cities on Earth, including the creation of a £9 million fund to increase the cities’ trees and green infrastructure, and a proposal to build more green roofs, walls, and rain gardens.

Announced last week, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched plans that he hopes will make London the world’s greenest city by dramatically increasing the number of trees and green infrastructure, protecting the city’s Green Belt, and improving green spaces. The initiatives are all part of the Mayor’s draft Environment Strategy, which aims to tackle pollution, promote renewable and cleaner energy, and make more than 50% of London green by 2050.

Already home to more than 8 million trees, numerous parks and gardens, and increasing numbers of green roofs and walls, London is already relatively green, but Sadiq Khan wants to expand that level dramatically.

“London is home to outstanding green spaces that I want to protect, invest in and improve as we aim to become the world’s first National Park City,” Sadiq Khan said.

“We can also increase the amount of greenery in the city by installing many more green roofs and making our streets greener. From our famous Royal Parks, to our much-loved community gardens and urban nature reserves like Woodberry Wetlands, this ‘green infrastructure’ is a vital asset that improves air quality, boosts quality of life, conserves wildlife and attracts thousands of visitors.

“I’ve set out my plans to improve London’s environment by fighting pollution, tackling waste and promoting cleaner energy so we can make London a healthier city that adapts to the impacts of climate change. I want to hear your views and ideas about how we can make London the greenest city in the world.”

The Mayor will use city planning regulations to first of all protect London’s Green Belt — a ring of land that is designed to prevent urban sprawl by preventing what is deemed “inappropriate” development (see right) — a policy that is found throughout the UK. In addition to protecting the Green Belt, London will also seek to promote new green infrastructure development, including things like green roofs (roofs literally covered in grass and plants), green walls (building walls covered in plants), and rain gardens (small green spaces intended to prevent flooding), as well as more habitats for wildlife. The City of London will also fund the planting of thousands of trees and improvements to existing green spaces. To begin with, Mayor Khan announced a new £9 million Greener City Fund, which is already open to local groups to apply for £1 million to plant neighborhood trees and maintain green community areas.

Given that this is the world’s first attempt at making a National Park City, the Mayor will also seek to work with partners across London to set out criteria for exactly what a National Park City will look like, including:
 Protecting and increasing the amount of green space in the capital
 Increasing access to green spaces for Londoners of all ages, particularly in areas where there is currently a deficiency
 Increasing the quality of green spaces, ensuring they are well maintained and create healthy habitats for wildlife
 Valuing London green spaces, accounting for the health, environmental, social and economic benefits it brings to London.
Additionally, this is all gearing up towards launching London as a National Park City at an international summit in Spring of 2019, which are based on several key proposals that are aimed at helping the city reach this target date:
 Creating a ‘Challenge Map’ to highlight areas of London that should be priorities for green infrastructure investment as part of the Mayor’s target to make more than 50% of London green by 2050
 Setting up a Green Spaces Commission to work with environmental experts to help boroughs attract investment, and transform and preserve their parks and green spaces
 Developing a new ‘Urban Greening Factor’ to ensure that green roofs, green walls — walls which are covered in plants and grass often by busy road sides and help lower pollution, trees and rain gardens are incorporated into new developments in London. The Mayor will also use his planning powers to protect the Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land
 Targeting ‘grey’ areas to make them greener. With more Londoners living in flats and working in high rise offices, and with fewer people having access to private gardens, the Mayor wants to ensure more streets and public spaces become greener to improve health and encourage more walking and cycling.

“Making London a National Park City is an opportunity to improve the health of all Londoners,” added Daniel Raven Ellison, National Park City campaigner.

“One of our main goals is to make the majority of London physically green and we very much looking forward to working with the Mayor on this target. The capital is famous for being a financial, cultural and political centre, but it’s an ecological centre too, with an incredible 14,000 species of wildlife, 3.8 million gardens and nearly as many trees as people. I look forward to working with the Mayor through the National Park City Foundation which is galvanising a movement to turn this big vision for London into a reality.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

UK Set to Be ‘Self-Sufficient’ in Battery Recycling by Year End

16.08.2017

The UK could have its first two battery recycling facilities up and running by the end of the year after resource efficiency specialist Ecosurety and recycling expert Belmont announced plans this week to open a battery recycling plant near Glasgow in November.

The site would be able to recycle 20,000 tonnes of batteries every year – more than the UK’s entire annual waste battery supply – rendering the country “self-sufficient” in battery disposal before Brexit takes effect in 2019, the two firms said.

Based at Belmont’s Kilwinning site, the facility will handle all types of batteries, from small household alkaline batteries to industrial lithium units.

It is set to be only the second battery recycling facility in the UK, with the country’s first due to open next month in Yorkshire. Run by WasteCare and BatteryBack, the Yorkshire site also promises to be able to process the UK’s entire annual supply of waste alkaline and lithium batteries.

At the moment most of the UK’s waste batteries are shipped to France and Belgium for processing.

Ecosurety claims processing batteries in the UK instead could dramatically cut the UK’s waste export bill and in turn reduce costs for battery producers, which are often compelled to contribute to export costs.

“This partnership means the UK could potentially stop sending batteries abroad for recycling, reducing the additional environmental impacts of shipping tens of thousands of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste across the sea to Northern Europe every year,” Damian Lambkin, head of innovation at Ecosurety, said in a statement.

“It is also a big win for producers who will not have to cover the additional cost burdens of sending spent batteries overseas. This is proof that the UK waste and recycling industry can find its own innovative solutions to our waste resourcing issues through partnership working.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Sun-Powered Shopping: Syzygy and Landsec Deck Out Leeds Mall with PV Panels

16.08.2017

A shopping centre in Leeds is now home to the largest solar installation of its kind in the UK, thanks to a partnership between its owners Landsec and clean energy consultancy Syzygy.

The two firms teamed up to install 2,900 solar PV panels on the roof of the White Rose shopping centre in Leeds to create the largest solar installation at a retail site in the UK.

Unveiled today, the system is expected to meet almost 40 per cent of the shopping centre’s daytime electricity demand in the mall areas. It will also save 250 tonnes of carbon emissions each year for Landsec – the property giant formerly known as Land Securities – the equivalent of more than half a million miles of passenger car emissions.

“We are extremely proud to have set a UK-wide benchmark for renewable electricity,” Scott Parsons, managing director at Retail Landsec, said in a statement.

“Landsec is committed to setting and achieving sustainability targets and this is a fantastic example of how innovate thinking can benefit both retailers and the environment’.”

Landsec is the UK’s largest listed commercial property company, with 23.2 million square foot of retail space and a property portfolio worth more than £14bn, including 20 Fenchurch Street – the ‘Walkie Talkie’ tower – and the Piccadilly lights.

Currently nine of its assets have PV installations and last year the firm switched to using 100 per cent renewable electricity as part of a company-wide sustainability push.

The firm also secured approval for its emissions reduction targets from the Science-Based Targets Initiative earlier this year, after pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 per cent per square metre by 2030, against a 2014 base-year.

Source: businessgreen.com

GE Pumped Hydro Project to Increase Israel’s Energy Resiliency

15.08.2017

GE Renewable Energy has won a contract to supply and build the 344 MW Kokhav Hayarden hydro pumped storage station in Israel.

The plant is deemed key to stabilizing the Israeli power grid.

The turnkey contract was secured with Israeli utility Star Pumped Storage, and GE will design, manufacture, supply, and install all the necessary electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical equipment for the plant. GE will also complete a balance of plant for the two 172 MW pumped-storage units, as well as provide 20 years of operation and maintenance for the project.

The project is expected to take four and a half years, involves the construction of two reservoirs, and is expected to be commissioned in 2021.

This stability will be further boosted by the neighboring Gilboa hydro power plant that GE is also building — a 300 MW project which is expected to be commissioned next year, entering service as Israel’s first ever pumped storage power station.

“Hydro pumped storage enables the integration of new renewable and intermittent energies to the grid,” said Yves Rannou, President & CEO of GE’s Hydro Solutions. “In Israel, where solar energy is booming, hydro pumped storage plants are critical to securing the stability of the grid. We are committed to providing world class technology and supporting our customer in operating the plant at its optimal level through its first 20 years of operation.”

Source: powerengineeringint.com

More Canadian Hydroelectric Power Imports Could Be Coming to U.S. Following DOE Report on Northern Pass

15.08.2017

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a final environmental impact statement for the Northern Pass, calling the proposed transmission line the “preferred alternative” for connecting the northeastern United States to Canadian hydroelectric power.

The line has been controversial throughout its development, with opponents arguing that the line will have a negative impact on property values, the environment and the region’s burgeoning eco-tourism industry.

However, the project’s developer, Northern Pass LLC, said the 192-mile long transmission line will allow New Hampshire and the New England region to tap into 1,090 MW of Hydro-Quebec power, lowering what are, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, utility rates more than 50% of the national average.

The report issued by DOE, available for viewing online here, was prepared under terms of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and is a collaboration between DOE, the U.S. Forest Service, White Mountain National Forest, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, amongst others, in addition to multiple rounds of public and stakeholder input.

Details included in the study represent a number of positives for the region, including:
-A reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 9% per year;
-The creation of nearly 6,750 jobs during construction and more than 900 permanent jobs;
-More than $730 million in economic stimulus through the project’s construction; and
-An increase of nearly $40 million in statewide property taxes in New Hampshire upon completion.

The document also notes that the line will have a “low” to “very low” impact on New England’s scenery, that it will not create any “population-level effects” on protected species, that there are no health risks from electromagnetic fields, and that noise levels associated with its operation fall below EPA guidance levels.

Per DOE, the proposed action is to now “issue a Presidential permit” to Northern Pass LLC for the construction, operation, maintenance and connection of the transmission line.

However, Northern Pass LLC must still clear a number of regulatory hurdles in securing the federal permits required for its construction, including DOE’s own Presidential permit, special use permits from the Forest Service, and Section 404 permitting from USACE.

The developer said it expects to complete the permitting process by the end of this year, with service to begin by the end of the decade.

The Northern Pass is one of several notable cross-border transmission lines being discussed in the northeastern U.S. Also notable is the New England Power Link. Proposed by Champlain VT LLC, the project was approved by the Vermont PUblic Service Board in January 2016. If constructed, the line would allow for the transmission of about 1,000 MW of Canadian hydroelectric power.

Source: hydroworld.com

Europe Must Triple Offshore Wind Growth Rate To Bring Paris Goals Within Reach

15.08.2017

Vetroelektrana — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

If Europe is to fall in line with the Paris Climate Agreement intention of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the region must significantly increase its rate of growth for offshore wind development, tripling it at the very least.

These are the primary conclusions published by Michiel Müller from leading international energy and climate consultancy, Ecofys, who penned an article for Energy Post last week explaining that “Europe will need a fully decarbonized electricity supply by 2045” and that “Renewables are essential to making this happen,” specifically, Müller argued that “offshore wind from the North Seas region will be pivotal for realising a 100% decarbonised electricity supply in less than 30 years.”

Müller’s argument is based on research done between Ecofys and its parent company, Navigant, which looked at offshore wind generation in the North Sea for the ten countries surrounding the North Sea — France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Specifically, a white paper published in March by Ecofys and Navigant concluded that 15% of the North Sea region’s total electricity demand could be supplied by offshore wind energy by 2030. This integrated ‘North Sea Grid’ is believed to be the only way to achieve the growth necessary to help meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets.

The research from Ecofys and Navigant determined that the total available onshore generation from various renewable energy sources — wind, solar, bio, hydro, and a little bit of nuclear — would only be able to provide up to 55% of the required capacity to meet the Paris Agreement targets. This leaves 45% needed to be covered by offshore wind, which translates into approximately 230 GW (gigawatts) — 180 GW generated in the North Sea, and the remaining 50 GW in other seas such as the Baltic and Irish Seas, as well as the Atlantic Ocean.

There is currently only 13 GW worth of offshore installed in the region, requiring a massive turning of the screws to increase the rate of delivery. Ecofys and Navigant explains that the installation rate would have to triple from the current 3 GW a year to approximately 10 GW a year.

But, as has been pointed out repeatedly this year, this sort of growth cannot be achieved by one nation alone, and requires national collaboration, coordination, and interconnectivity between North Sea nations. Interestingly, a report published in July by the World Energy Council (WEC) Netherlands posited a similar solution, explaining that the North Sea must play a crucial role in the energy transition ahead for northwestern Europe — a transition which could result in between €100 billion and €200 billion in economic value for neighboring regions in the transition away from fossil fuels.

“The opportunities and diversity thereof in the North Sea are huge,” said Jeroen van Hoof, the chair of WEC Netherlands. “The Energy Transformation in the North Sea creates new industries. We can benefit from huge economic advantages by installing large wind farms. Also, a co-ordinated removal and smart re-use of former oil and gas assets can generate new economic activities. The potential is significant.”

The main point from all that has been published this year regarding the North Sea’s potential, however, is the desperate need for cooperation and interconnectivity between the North Sea’s bordering coutnries. As Müller concludes in his Energy Post article, before the demand for interconnection “can be addressed on the technical level, it will be the collaborative connection between the involved countries and public and private stakeholders that counts.”

“Developing a long-term spatial planning strategy and a robust 2045 roadmap for flexibility options will be two of the key steps to meeting the Paris goals. Joint strategic planning will secure operational security during and beyond the energy transition.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

1...290291292...407 Page 291 of 407

Newsletter

Calendar of events

2025 June

Events for 30 June

Events for 1 July

Events for 2 July

Events for 3 July

Events for 4 July

Events for 5 July

Events for 6 July

Events for 7 July

Events for 8 July

Events for 9 July

Events for 10 July

Events for 11 July

Events for 12 July

Events for 13 July

Events for 14 July

Events for 15 July

Events for 16 July

Events for 17 July

Events for 18 July

Events for 19 July

Events for 20 July

Events for 21 July

Events for 22 July

Events for 23 July

Events for 24 July

Events for 25 July

Events for 26 July

Events for 27 July

Events for 28 July

Events for 29 July

Events for 30 July

WRITE US