Report: There is Enough UK CO2 Storage Capacity for Decades to Come

16.06.2017

There is ample capacity for storing captured carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new report that argues low cost storage sites could support a series of carbon capture hubs along the east coast of the UK.

The report from the government and industry-backed Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) details how large scale storage sites under the North Sea could be accessed using shared infrastructure that would provide “the lowest cost route to developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the UK”.

Entitled Taking Stock of UK CO2, the report calculates the UK has more than enough potential CO2 storage sites to meet its needs out to 2050, adding that a substantial number of prospective sites have already been fully or partially appraised.

“There appears to be no significant technical barrier that would limit the CCS industry developing at scale in the UK from a number of strategic shoreline hubs,” the ETI said.

The study should provide a boost to plans to develop a series of CCS hubs in the north east, which could capture emissions from industrial sites and power stations in the region.

The government is currently working on plans for a new approach for supporting the sector, after a high profile £1bn demonstration fund was controversially cancelled in 2015.

Ministers are understood to be concerned about the relatively high cost of CCS technology. But advocates of the technology maintain costs are falling and the approach is likely to be essential for curbing emissions from heavy industry and capturing carbon from biomass power plants to deliver negative emissions.

The ETI report also cites recent research carried out with Heriot Watt and Durham Universities, Element Energy and T2 Petroleum Technology, which shows that brine production can increase storage capacity and injection rates cost effectively.

Dennis Gammer, the ETI’s CCS strategy manager and the report’s author, said the study suggested that a route to market for new CCS projects could be developed.

“Following the closure of the government’s CCS commercialisation competition, we have reassessed options for developing the UK’s possible CCS transport and storage infrastructure and found that there is no shortage of potential storage sites, either fully or partially appraised,” he said in a statement.

“Any attractive CCS projects to developers and the government will need to realise economies of scale at, or relatively shortly after start-up, and because of this are most likely to be large gas power stations delivering strategic infrastructure to enable the later tie-in of industrial emissions. For some potential matches of emitter and store options to start small and build quickly may reduce the size of any initial commitment at risk and this offers an additional approach to building a CCS network.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Could the Coldest Days Provide a Wind Power Boost?

16.06.2017

A new study released yesterday suggests concerns about the impact the cold days have on wind power output may have been overblown, and provides new evidence wind power output exceeds the winter average on the coldest days.

The study, which involved scientists from the Met Office Hadley Centre, Imperial College London and the University of Reading, will be published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

The report analyses wind power availability and electricity demand during the winter months.

Critics of wind energy have long argued that turbines struggle to provide power on the cold, still winter days when power demand across the UK is at its highest.

However, Hazel Thornton of the Met Office Hadley Centre said the study had provided evidence “contrary to what is often believed.

“During winter in the UK, warmer periods are often windier, while colder periods are more calm, due to the prevailing weather patterns,” she said in a statement. “Consequently we find that in winter as temperatures fall, and electricity demand increases, average wind energy supply reduces.

“However, contrary to what is often believed, when it comes to the very coldest days, with highest electricity demand, wind energy supply starts to recover.”

The research team found that during the highest five per cent of energy demand days, one third produce more wind power than the winter average.

“The very coldest days are associated with a mix of different weather patterns, some of which produce high winds in parts of the UK,” Hazel explained. “For example, very high pressure over Scandinavia and lower pressure over Southern Europe, blows cold continental air from the east over the UK, giving high demand, but also high wind power. In contrast, winds blowing from the north, such as happened during December 2010, typically give very high demand but lower wind power supply.”

The report suggests that a spread of turbines across Great Britain could exploit the varied wind patterns associated with the coldest days, and ensure renewable power can play a role in meeting peak winter power demand.

The report also suggests that during high demand periods offshore wind power provides a more secure supply compared to onshore, as offshore wind is sustained at higher levels.

“A wind power system distributed around the UK is not as sensitive to still cold winter days as often imagined,” said Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, of the University of Reading and Chair of Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment. “The average drop in generation is only a third and it even picks up for the days with the very highest electricity demand.”

However, the report does highlight the risk associated with concurrent wide-scale high electricity demand and low wind power supply over many parts of Europe. It warns that in such a scenario neighbouring countries may struggle to provide additional capacity to the UK, when the UK’s own demand is high and wind power low.

Catherine Mitchell, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Exeter, said the report was “a welcome reminder that renewables are a fundamental part of the solution, but are not able to fully solve the problem on their own”.

“Highlighting the potential issues that would be caused by over-reliance on supply of wind power, this research emphasises the value of flexibility in electricity networks, balancing out changes in both supply and demand to keep the lights on at the lowest cos,” she said. “There are numerous flexibility tools in use and many more in the pipeline – such as demand-side measures, interconnection and storage.

“Rolling out mechanisms to expand these in the UK, perhaps through the Clean Growth Plan, will unlock further progress in the decarbonisation of our energy system and help consumers realise the £8bn per year savings highlighted by the National Infrastructure Commission.”

The report came as National Grid issued its annual update revealing that it expects its spare capacity margin for this winter to increase to between 7.2 per cent and 9.9 per cent, compared to 6.6 per cent last year.

A number of newspapers and think tanks have repeatedly warned the UK’s increased reliance on renewables will lead to greater blackout risks throughout the winter months. However, National Grid, Ofgem, and the government have all insisted these concerns are overblown and there is evidence the UK can support significantly higher levels of renewables capacity without jeopardising grid reliability.

“The impeccable reliability of our own electricity network should give ministers confidence to open the market to a wave of technologies set to ease the energy revolution currently taking place,” said Mitchell.

Source: businessgreen.com

US Wind & Solar Accounts For 10% Of March Electricity For 1st Time

16.06.2017

solar-panels- — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

For the first time ever, US wind and solar electricity generation exceeded 10% of the monthly total in March, according to figures published by the country’s Energy Information Agency this week.

The EIA published a short update on its website on Wednesday, revealing that electricity generation data from March showed that wind and solar energy together generated 10% of the month’s total share of electricity, the first time this has ever happened in the country. In 2016, wind and solar accounted for 7% of the year’s electricity generation, so this new record might presage bigger things to come from the US renewable energy industry.

The EIA also predicts that electricity generation from wind and solar will exceed 10% of total US electricity generation in April as well, given the time of year. Wind powered generation from states like Texas, Oklahoma, and other nearby states, experience their peak during the spring months, while Californian wind energy sees its peak happen during summer months. Considering that Texas has the country’s largest amount of installed wind capacity, nearing 22 gigawatts (GW), it is therefore unsurprising that March and April would be strong months for wind energy generation.

In fact, if we look at new capacity added during the first quarter (which would not inherently have contributed to March’s record generation figures), we see that Texas led the way with 724 megawatts (MW) of new wind capacity, followed by Kansas with 481 MW. The first quarter was the most successful quarter for new wind capacity additions since 2009, according to the American Wind Energy Association, and overall 908 utility-scale wind turbines totaling 2 GW were installed during the quarter.

Further, figures published in early-May revealed that wind and solar provided the majority of first quarter new generating capacity additions. Interestingly, the numbers provided by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) differ from those published by the AWEA, suggesting only 1,479 MW of new wind was installed, alongside 939 MW of new solar capacity. This would suggest that, in fact, the first quarter saw close to 3 GW of new wind and solar installed.

Things get even more confusing when you integrate figures published this month by GTM Research and the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which claim 2,044 MW of new solar PV was added in the first quarter — double the figure suggested by FERC. Given that FERC published its figures a month ago, it is possible that the reason organizations like the SEIA, GTM, and AWEA wait to publish their figures is due to the need to wait for all the information to filter in.

The story, however, regardless of which figures you subscribe to, shows that wind and solar generation is booming in the United States. While Donald Trump’s Presidency has not yet had the time to impact installation figures, the industry can rest a little easier knowing that it would take a massive effort to restrict and hamper the existing momentum already in effect. The US renewable energy industry might be hampered over the next four years, but existing pipelines, combined with the existing economic argument that can be made for clean technology, are both likely to keep the industry ticking over until a more sensible Administration is installed in the White House.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil Reports Surge in New Members

15.06.2017

The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has this week revealed that efforts to ensure palm oil companies are adhering to environmental best practices have extended their reach in the past year, with the group’s membership base swelling by around 10 per cent.

The not-for-profit group said it had added almost 300 members in the past year, taking its total membership base to over 3,400 companies across the palm oil supply chain.

New figures released at the RSPO’s annual summit in London this week also revealed that almost 67 per cent of members submitted their annual communication on their progress on certified sustainable palm oil (ACOP). Moreover, a further 255 smaller companies in the palm oil supply chain reported voluntarily taking the total number of firms reporting on their progress against sustainability standards to 1,322, an increase of nearly 200 on the previous reporting period.

The update came as the group also announced a new partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to promote business practices on children’s rights and workers welfare in the palm oil sector.

“It’s important for the industry to acknowledge the social issues it faces, if we want to find sustainable solutions,” said Darrel Webber, chief executive officer at RSPO, in a statement. “The partnership with UNICEF represents an opportunity to collaborate, promote best practices across the industry and address some of the existing gaps in our sector.”

In addition, RSPO unveiled a new interactive mapping service which has been developed with the World Resource Institute and provides detailed satellite mapping information on RSPO members’ certified mills, land concessions, overlaid with information on tree cover, topography and any fire alerts.

The group said the new data and initiatives highlighted “the broad commitment among palm oil stakeholders to continue the market transformation process led by the RSPO”. It also confirmed work was on-going on the second five-year review of the principles and criteria RSPO uses to certify palm oil as sustainable.

Critics have argued the standards used to judge whether palm oil can be classified as sustainable need to be strengthened and policing of RSPO members needs to be improved.

The industry is also under mounting pressure from multinational customers who have themselves faced campaigns highlighting the way in which demand for palm oil can fuel deforestation and biodiversity loss.

However, the RSPO has consistently maintained it is working closely with its members and the wider industry to ensure sustainability best practices are embraced.

The news came in the same week as some of the world’s largest palm oil companies launched a new initiative alongside a series of environmental NGOs to improve the management of orang-utans and other wildlife in areas of Borneo where palm oil concessions and natural habitats co-exist.

Dubbed the Palm Oil & NGO (PONGO) Alliance, the group argues the palm oil industry and orangutans can coexist and aims to promote a raft of best practices that minimise impacts on local biodiversity.

However, some environmental campaigners maintain wider effort should also be made to curb demand for palm oil, given its potential impact on natural habitats, and they received a boost earlier month when the Norwegian parliament voted to ban the public procurement and use of biofuel based on palm oil.

“Palm oil- based biofuel is a bad choice for the climate and drives rainforest destruction,” said Nils Hermann Ranum of Rainforest Foundation Norway. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a country bans all use of palm oil biofuel by public entities. Norway’s decision is an important step towards removing environmentally damaging goods from the market. It also demonstrates the need for a serious reform of the world’s palm oil industry.”

Source: businessgreen.com

US Solar Industry Creates Jobs 17 Times Faster Than Rest Of The Economy

15.06.2017

A new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reveals that solar jobs in the U.S. (and other nations) are expanding quickly. As of November 2016, the American solar industry employed 260,077 workers. This is an increase of 24.5% from 2015, with a growth rate that is 17 times faster than the United States economy as a whole.

The lion’s share of these jobs (241,900) were in solar photovoltaics, with an additional 13,000 in solar heating and cooling, and the remaining 5,200 in concentrated solar power (CSP). More than half of all solar jobs in the U.S. were in installation. Another 15% were in manufacturing, with 13% in project development, 12% in sales and distribution, and a final 6% in other areas, including research and development.

The sunlight that is harvested by solar systems is, obviously, free. This makes labor costs and materials the main areas of spending in the solar industry. As costs for materials continue to drop, solar jobs remain a well-compensated area for blue-collar workers. The solar labor force is also becoming more diverse, with the number of women workers at 28% in 2016, up from 19% in 2013, with up to 33.8% in the sales and distribution area. This means more women have jobs in solar than in the conventional energy industry, although women in solar still lag behind their representative 47% of the U.S. economy.

Solar jobs aren’t the only thriving area in the U.S. economy right now. Wind industry employment produced around 102,500 jobs in 2016, which IRENA projects will grow to 147,000 jobs by 2020. Jobs in ethanol declined despite increased production due to rising labor productivity; most ethanol-related jobs (about 161,700) were in agriculture, with about 35,000 jobs in actual ethanol production. 23% more biodiesel production in 2016 meant a corresponding 23% in jobs, about 61,100 total, with almost 80,000 total in direct and indirect employment in solid biomass. Finally, there were about 7,000 biogas jobs in the U.S. in 2016.

Jobs in fossil fuels are going away as the sources of the fuels become scarcer and less expensive options become available. As R&D overcomes more of the stumbling blocks to bringing power from renewable sources into the grid and prices continue to drop, we can expect to see more jobs in renewables. They are safer, healthier, and more sustainable than jobs in the fossil fuel industry, so this is great for our labor force as well as the planet.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Duke Energy Behind North Carolina’s Proposed Solar Policy Change

15.06.2017

Izgradnja solarne elektrane — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Alongside Highway 401 in northern North Carolina is a 21st-century twist on a classic rural scene. A few miles outside of Roxboro, sheep graze among 5,000 panels at the Person County Solar Park, keeping the grass tidy on the rural installation.

Fields like these aren’t just scenic settings for roadtripping tourists to snap photos. Solar has “been some of the only economic development to happen in rural North Carolina in the last 30 years,” explained Richard Harkrader, CEO of a local solar company.

For companies like Harkrader’s Carolina Solar Energy, the Tar Heel State is a great place to do business. Abundant sunshine, ample support for clean energy, and smart public policy have spurred the rapid growth of solar. Today, North Carolina boasts more solar capacity than every state except California. In the first quarter of 2017, North Carolina added more solar than any other state, and its solar industry employs more people than Wake Forest University.

But, despite — or perhaps because of — its success, solar is facing a battle in the state.

North Carolina solar companies owe much of their success to an obscure federal law passed in the wake of the 1973 OPEC oil crisis, when shortages produced lines around the block at gas stations and tipped the U.S. economy into recession. At that time, Americans got about one-sixth of their electrical power from burning petroleum, much of it imported from the Middle East. In a bid for greater energy independence, lawmakers approved The Public Utility Regulatory Policy of 1978, known as PURPA.

Among other things, PURPA required utilities to buy renewable power from independent producers if it cost no more than electricity from the conventional power plants owned by the utility. The aim was to source more power from small renewable facilities, like the Person County Solar Park, easing demand for electricity from coal, gas and — in particular — petroleum-fired power plants.

In the 1970s, PURPA didn’t do much for renewables. In the era of bellbottoms and disco, cheap solar power was a distant dream, and the fledgling solar industry was peddling clunky technology at sky-high prices. But solar has taken off over the past decade, and PURPA has become far more important — especially in North Carolina. Some 92 percent of the state’s solar projects have been supported by the decades-old law.

While PURPA is a federal law, state regulators have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to implementation. North Carolina regulators have historically required longer contracts from utilities, making solar an especially attractive option. That’s because while solar poses high upfront costs, it pays for itself over the long term through savings on fuel. With conventional power plants, by contrast, operators continue to pay for coal or gas over the life of the plant.

But just when PURPA is beginning to do what its drafters intended, utilities in North Carolina want to hobble the policy.

Utilities make money in part by owning and operating power plants. But when utilities are required to source power from independently owned solar arrays, their own coal- and gas-fired power plants generate less electricity — and less revenue. Moreover, the need for additional capacity is shrinking. North Carolina’s electricity demand has flattened in recent years.

Duke Energy, the largest utility in North Carolina, is now leading the charge against PURPA. Duke currently is required to buy power from any cost-competitive small-scale solar installation. The utility wants to change the policy so that it would solicit bids to build new solar arrays only when it needs additional generating capacity.

Duke also wants to shorten power purchase agreements so that the company isn’t locked into long-term solar power agreements if the price of coal or gas falls, or if a new solar installation proves cheaper.

“Their argument is that renewables will be cheaper than they are today, so [Duke] shouldn’t have to pay” for power from existing solar installations under PURPA, said Chris Carmody, executive director of North Carolina Clean Energy Business Alliance. “But they’ll turn around and establish a 10-year contract to buy natural gas, which is volatile and has heavy fluctuation. Utility-scale solar has no fluctuation — once the project is built, that’s it.”

Duke also claims that solar farms are flooding the grid with power on sunny days. This forces the utility to ramp down and then ramp up coal- and gas-fired power plants, which is less efficient than letting generators run at a constant rate. Complicating matters, developers are mostly building solar farms in the rural, eastern part of the state, far from hydroelectric storage systems that could bank surplus solar power.

But renewable-energy advocates say this isn’t a problem with solar. It’s a problem with the aging power grid — some places haven’t seen an update in more than 50 years. North Carolina, they contend, needs better transmission lines and more energy storage.

Solar companies are hopeful they can reach an agreement with utilities. Steve Levitas, a lawyer for Cypress Creek, said that the solar industry “has been trying to work toward consensus” with Duke, and is open to new policies that allow solar to continue its impressive growth.

Last week, the state House passed a sweeping, bipartisan, Duke-backed energy bill that would curtail PURPA while creating new incentives for solar. The bill would shorten contracts for solar installations, cap the volume of renewable energy that utilities are required to buy from third parties, and create a competitive bidding process for new solar projects. At the same time, the bill allows ratepayers to buy power directly from community solar arrays, and it would establish a rebate program for rooftop solar, among other changes. On balance, the bill appears to favor the utility. Solar firms have largely kept quiet on the measure.

Solar companies say they are accustomed to the sweeping changes in public policy. Harkrader said that, for small firms, “new challenges and new markets” are a normal part of the equation. “We call it the solar coaster.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

The Factors Driving The Sea-Level Rise Impacting Global Coastlines

15.06.2017

Most people understand that melting ice will mean rising seas, but when scientists look closely, they’re finding the reality is more complex. In many places, local observations and measurements contradict global trends.

Sönke Dangendorf, a scientist at the University of Siegen in Germany, published a study explaining sea-level rise over the last century. His conclusion: seas levels are not only rising, they’re rising faster than anyone expected.

The study combined GPS measurements with historic observations. It is the first study to use such a large data set and the first to correct for factors like local changes in sea level and variations in how different scientists take measurements.

Sailors started tracking local sea level more than 200 years ago to determine when water levels were too low for a ship to safely enter a harbor. Gauges across the planet still help shipping, but they also help climate scientists tease apart local and global effects on sea level.

For example, North America and northern Europe were once weighed down by huge ice masses. When they melted, relieving the pressure, the Earth’s crust started moving up again.

“This means that sea level, relatively, is falling at these locations,” Dangendorf explained. Meanwhile, in Jakarta, Indonesia, the land is moving down by 14 millimeters per year, “just due to groundwater depletion”, he added, meaning sea level there is rising locally.

The rate of global sea-level rise is now more than 3 millimeters per year, according to the study, while rise was only 1.1 millimeters before 1990 when GPS satellite measurements began, a lower number than every other published reconstruction.

“That means that the acceleration in sea-level rise is much larger than previously thought, and this is quite important,” Dangendorf explained.

The acceleration appears to be a result of melting ice sheets. Scientists attribute the last century of sea-level rise to glaciers melting and the ocean expanding as it warms. However, the last 10 to 15 years of increased melting in Greenland and Antarctica have changed the equation.

“This leads to an acceleration in sea-level rise, and this is the more important factor in the long term,” Dangendorf said.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Serbia’s MK Fintel Wind Starts Construction of Third Wind Farm

15.06.2017

Serbia’s MK Fintel Wind, a joint venture of Serbian vertically integrated conglomerate MK Group and Italy’s Fintel Energia Group, said on Wednesday it has started the construction of its third wind farm and expects to complete its first phase by the end of 2018.

The company plans to invest 124 million euro ($139.6 million) in the first phase of the construction of the wind farm, named Kosava, and 100 million euro in the second stage of development of the facility, MK Fintel Wind said in a statement.

MK Fintel Wind will install 20 wind turbines, with a combined capacity of 69 MW, under the first construction phase, while additional 19 units will be installed during the second development stage, the company’s CEO Tiziano Giovanetti, said during the official ceremony for the start of works.

Serbia has a total of 483 MW of wind power capacity under construction currently, but Kosava is the biggest project that enters into the building phase, Serbia’s energy minister Aleksandar Antic said.

MK Fintel Wind carries out the project with the financial support of Serbian lender AIK Banka, the company noted.

Last month, MK Fintel Wind said it aims to raise 60 million euro through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Belgrade Stock Exchange that will be invested in the construction of the 117 MW Kosava wind farm, located near Vrsac, in northern Serbia.

MK Fintel Wind, a 46/54 joint venture between MK Group and Fintel Energia Group, was set up in 2008 and already operates two wind farm in Serbia, with a combined installed capacity of 16.5 MW.

Source: seenews.com

ANNA BOULOS: Serbia Consumes Only 1/3 of Its Potentials

14.06.2017

During the Energy and investments fair in Novi Sad the editorial office of ENERGETSKI PORTAL had a pleasure to attend the exposition of Ms Anna Boulos, the economic counsellor at the US Embassy in Belgrade, at the conference: “Energy Prospects and Challenges”. Her presentation was mostly devoted to fossil fuels, gas and the fact that Serbia depends on the import of gas from Russia, which makes Serbia energy uncertain according to her cognition. Serbia is, according to her words, in the lowest D category of energy independence. Due to this fact, we have asked Ms Boulos to tell us something more about renewable energy sources and how the United States see Serbia in this regard.

EP: Minister for Energy and mining, Mr Aleksandar Antić, has recently announced that the regulation which enables the use of energy from renewable sources was adopted. It is planned that the level of energy usage from renewable sources reaches 27% by 2020. How do you comment this announcement and the set deadlines?

Anna Boulos: As a part of the Energy Community, Serbia has committed itself to using 27% of final total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, and the current percentage is 22. For the last two years which I have spent in Belgrade, Serbia has not significantly increased the share of renewable energy in its energy system. However, I absolutely believe that this is realistic goal for Serbia, provided that the Government takes necessary steps in order to promote renewable energy. To begin with, Serbia has significant potentials for the use of renewable energy sources, but it uses only one-third of these resources. So, if the Government could support the investments in renewable energy, it would be very easy for Serbia to reach its goal by 2020, and not only to reach it but also to become a regional leader. Due to all this the Minister’s statement on adoption of regulation for renewable sources is very encouraging, since this regulation will allow Serbia to develop its potential for renewable energy. When the government adopts investment friendly and sustainable model of contract for the purchase of electricity for the power plants with the installed capacity of over 50 MW, the investors in the field of renewable energy will begin to develop bigger projects in Serbia.

Another reason, due to which I believe that the goal for 2020 is possible, is because unfortunately Serbia is energy inefficient. Although the increase in production of renewable energy is important and necessary for Serbia to achieve its goals by 2020, there is another way to achieve this goal and that is energy efficiency. Serbia consumes 2.7 times more energy per unit of energy consumption than the average country member of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). If Serbia would invest in energy efficiency measures such as modernization of local heating systems with the technology which is more energy efficient, of using more efficient materials and better insulation materials in buildings, than it could reduce its energy consumption and it would make a significant progress towards its goals by 2020.

EP: What is the ratio of the use of energy from renewable sources and non-renewable sources in the United States? Do you know whether there is any cooperation between the Ministry and the services in the USA and Serbia and is there exchange of experiences in the field of renewable energy sources?

Anna Boulos: In 2015, the renewable sources accounted for approximately 11 percent of total energy production in the USA, and nuclear power accounted for about 8 percent. Fossil fuels continue to represent a major part of our production and energy consumption, but when you have a look at new energy capacities in the USA, the renewable energy sources prevail.

Renewable energy takes up 68 percent of all newly installed capacities in the USA in 2015, and our CO2 emission have fallen to the lowest annual level since the mid-nineties. Our energy sector has gained an additional 8.5 GW of wind power plants and 7.3 GW of new solar power plants. The USA also records an increase in investments in renewable energy. Investments in clean energy reached $ 56 billion in 2015, thus I think we can say that investors in the USA realise that the clean renewable energy is the energy of the future.

Our Embassy has financed through USAID the exchange programmes for the Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia. For example, in 2007 the US National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) has helped the Government of Serbia to establish the Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia (AERS). Then, USAID helped AERS to establish a partnership with Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission in the USA. This partnership lasted till 2011 and it helped the strengthening of AERS’s capacities. In addition to exchange programmes, the USAID has been providing significant technical assistance to the Government of Serbia in the field of energy. It gave them guidelines for the increase of energy efficiency and the performance of local heating systems by switching to sustainable biomass, which reduces pollution and promotes sustainable forestry. USAID also connects two regional working groups – one for planning regional electricity transmission and the other for energy supply security – in order to develop good practices and strengthen the energy infrastructure, especially regarding the integration of renewable energy sources. EMS, EPS and AERS participate in these working groups.

EP: Do the Embassy and the USA funds support the legislation reform in the energy sector in Serbia, and in what way?

Anna Boulos: Yes, absolutely. Our Embassy has worked, again through USAID, with the Government on legislation of energy sector in Serbia. As I have already mentioned, USAID helped the Government to establish AERS. Also, our National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) supports AERS and other energy regulators in the region in identifying regulatory and legislative changes which are necessary for the liberalization of the electricity market, as it is required by the Treaty on establishing the Energy Community. Last year in January, USAID helped the Ministry of mining and energy in the analysis of model contract on the purchase of electricity from RES.

EP: Are there any plans for the investments from the USA in the renewable energy sources in Serbia, maybe in wind farms or solar power plants?

Anna Boulos: Definitely, yes. American company Continental Wind Partners (CWP) is ready to continue a project that will develop wind farm 158.4 MW as soon as the Government adopts the investment friendly and sustainable model of contract on the purchase of electrical energy from wind energy. CWP will invest over 40 million Euros and hire around 400 people for the construction of Wind Park.

CWP, together with River Power Solutions, is also interested in entering the public-private partnership with the city of Belgrade and also in other cities in Serbia, in order to produce heat by using the energy of river flow through the heat pump. CWP’s heat pump would take over the energy from the river flow – from only a few degrees of heat – and it would use it as sustainable alternative to the use of natural gas. It is a very interesting technology which works in a similar way as cooling where the cold air is used for the cooling of the objects. I think this is a brilliant way for Serbia to utilize its natural resources, and it is unbelievable that such technology exists! The technology that uses cold water from the river in order to heat your own homes! Taking into account the amount of potentials that Serbia has in the field of renewable energy and that unfortunately Serbia uses only third of its own potential, I would not be surprised if many international investors including American companies would start coming here as soon as the Government adopts legislative framework which supports the investments in the field of renewable energy sources.

Interview by: Vesna Vukajlović

This interview was first published in bulletin “Renewable Energy” on June 1^st 2016.

NextEnergy Invests in ‘Subsidy-Free’ UK Solar Projects

14.06.2017

In what could prove to be a major turning point for the UK’s embattled solar market, NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd (NESF) has this week announced it has acquired a portfolio of projects it intends to develop “without subsidies”.

The company confirmed earlier this week that it has acquired a portfolio of three operating solar plants boasting nearly 15MW of capacity, a Community Interest Company project with 1.7MW of capacity, and four development projects totalling nearly 60MW. Financial details for the deals were not disclosed.

The three operating solar plants in Nottinghamshire and Wiltshire are accredited under the Renewables Obligation scheme, while the community project receives incentives through the feed-in tariff scheme.

However, in an encouraging sign for a UK solar market that has stalled in the wake of steep subsidy cuts, NextEnergy said the development projects were designed to be “remunerated without subsidies by selling the electricity generated into the market or via power purchase agreements with individual off-takers”.

The company said three of the four development projects have planning permission and grid connections approved, while the acquisition of the fourth is subject to it securing full planning permission.

“The seller of the projects will work with NESF to extend the relevant project rights to maximise the time frame during which NESF can commence construction of the plants,” the company said. “NESF will initiate construction of each individual asset only once the financial returns are sufficiently attractive.”

However, it added that it was confident a point would soon be reached when the projects become viable investments.

“The company’s investment advisor expects subsidy-free solar plants to become financially viable in the UK over the next 12- to 24-month period as investment values and operating costs continue to decline significantly,” it added in a statement. “NextEnergy Capital is at present working with suppliers to drive investment values and operating costs down to sustainable levels.”

The fund also announced this week that it is proposing a share issue to raise a further £100m in support of pending transaction activity.

The UK’s solar market has contracted sharply in the past year in the wake of the closure of the Renewables Obligation scheme, cuts to the feed-in tariff scheme, and the failure of the government to allow solar farms to bid for clean energy price support contracts.

However, industry insiders are growing increasingly optimistic that where projects can secure a power purchase agreement or a private wire connection that allows power to be used on site they could deliver subsidy-free solar.

In related news, UK-based green investment specialist Ingenious has unveiled ambitious plans to boost the development of the Australian solar sector through the formation of a new A$200m backed joint venture.

Ingenious announced yesterday that it has formed a joint venture with Australian solar developer Stellata Energy that will fund a pipeline of major solar farm projects, including a glagship 120MW development.

The companies said they were well placed to support the Australian government’s new goal of doubling the capacity of large scale renewables projects to 33,000GWh by 2020.

Australia-based Stellata has developed 600MW of ground and roof-mounted solar projects across Europe, while Ingenious has emerged as one of the leading renewables investors in the UK and Ireland, mobilising £500m of investment in recent years.

“As a West Australian company, we are very excited to be partnering with Ingenious in our quest to bring utility scale solar power to our state,” said Troy Santen, director at Stellata in a statement. “Our collaboration will drive forward the development of solar PV projects, as well as the creation of jobs in local communities.”

Sebastian Speight, managing director at Ingenious Infrastructure, said the venture would build on the companies’ successful track record of working together on previous projects. “Australia has huge potential to benefit from solar energy, due to its geographical positioning and high levels of irradiation, and we are confident that Stellata can fully capture the rewards this technology can offer,” he added.

In other industry news, the Global Solar Council announced today that Jodie Roussell has been appointed as the organisation’s new chief executive. She will take up the post from April 1st, having previously worked as head of public affairs for Trina Solar in Europe, Africa & Latin America.

Source: businessgreen.com

Google Adds Peer Pressure To Project Sunroof

14.06.2017

New ideas struggle for acceptance. We are all fascinated by new technology but repelled by it at the same time. Peer pressure is a big factor in breaking down the barriers to new ideas. Early adopters lead the way, then the masses follow. Google is taking advantage of our human foibles by tweaking its program to show people which houses in their neighborhood have rooftop solar systems installed.

Electric car advocates know the process well. People who have never tried an electric car have a raft of questions. What if I run out of range? What if the battery fails? What if it catches on fire? What if I want to drive to the coast tomorrow? Fossil fuel companies play on those fears to cement their competitive position.

But once a neighbor parks an electric car in the driveway, the dynamic changes. “It happens at the street level, it happens within zip codes, it happens within states. It seems to be a common feature of human decision-making that crosses many boundaries,” says Kenneth Gillingham, a professor of economics at Yale University. It has nothing to do with age, education, income, or whether your parents voted for Ralph Nader. Suddenly, once one person has something, everyone wants it.

Google’s Project Sunroof now adds a red dot to every roof that has a solar system in the neighborhood. Voila! Just by doing that, having rooftop solar doesn’t seem to strange anymore. Project Sunroof is a free online tool that makes it easy for people to obtain and use rooftop solar panels. With 60 million homes in its data base, it shows people how much sun hits their roof and how much solar panels could save them every month.

Project Sunroof was started in 2015 by Carl Elkin, a Google engineer. “It highlights that, for many people, solar is often free. In many cases, including for my house, solar is better than free,” Elkin says. “People want to know: ‘What if there’s some hidden gotcha in the contract? Usually there isn’t. ‘Does this work for other people like me? Is solar really viable in my neighborhood?”

With Project Sunroof, “You can zoom around through your town and understand how common solar is in your neighborhood. And many people have found — Wow, there is a lot more solar in my neighborhood than I’d realized. We want people to realize solar is absolutely part of the fabric of American life,” Elkin says.

Being able to see solar panels on a roof creates a big increase in interest from neighbors, but not all rooftop solar systems are visible from the street. The new Project Sunroof feature “tells you that people nearby have installed solar panels even if you can’t see them from the road,” Gillingham says.

“It creates a social norm around solar panels,” he says. “When many people have solar panels around you, it’s a normal thing to do. You’re not going out on a limb by having a company come out and look at your rooftop.”

Elkins says, “We want people to realize solar is absolutely part of the fabric of American life. Out of these many houses, each saving money, comes one solution to the environmental problem. Out of many, one. That’s a very American idea.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Wind, Solar, & Energy Efficiency Replacing Coal In The UK

14.06.2017

Solarni park Vetropark — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Wind and solar energy, as well as energy efficiency measures, are serving to replace the overwhelming majority of power which in the UK had previously been supplied by coal power, according to a new analysis conducted by Greenpeace’s Energydesk.

The UK’s share of coal in its electricity mix has been plummeting over the last few years, ever since 2010, and has now reached historic lows. In fact, a report published last month shows that coal’s contribution to the UK’s overall electricity mix fell to 6%, thanks in part to a massive retirement of coal plants during 2016 — 30% of the UK’s coal fleet.Over the past 18 months, wind and solar have repeatedly chalked up milestones and records, outperforming coal again and again for the first time in the country’s history. In just the last year, UK solar generated more electricity than coal over the 6-month period of April to September, 2016, while the UK wind energy sector generated more electricity than coal for the whole of 2016.

According to Energydesk’s new analysis, coal’s absence has not been made up for by natural gas — the UK’s new primary source of electricity — but rather by renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, that have together accounted for nearly 85% of the power the UK no longer sources from coal generation. Natural gas has definitely increased its share, and may yet rise further over the coming years, but according to Greenpeace, it is now “actually producing significantly less power than it was at the beginning of the decade.”

Wind energy increased its generation from 10.2 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2010 to 37.5 TWh in 2016 — mostly from onshore wind, though the ever-increasing offshore wind capacity will likely see this figure rise much further and faster due to the inherently larger nature of offshore wind power plants. Solar, meanwhile, went from generating statistically not much at all to generating more than 10 TWh in 2016.

Add to that the fact that energy efficiency measures helped decrease power demand by 7% between 2010 and 2016, and coal power is quite unnecessary now.

A separate report published this month by UK group Biofuelwatch showed that the UK generated 72% less electricity from coal in 2016 than it did in 2011. Further, UK electricity generation from wind and solar tripled over that period. Biofuelwatch conclude that.

Biofuelwatch concluded that coal burning in the UK has fallen by 64% since 2011 overall, and by 72% in the electricity sector. While burning biomass (mainly wood pellets) accounted for 21% of the reduction in coal, the electricity from wind and solar replaced 41% of the drop in coal electricity.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Carlsberg Brews Up Science-Based Zero Carbon Targets

14.06.2017

Carlsberg has unveiled an ambitious new sustainability programme aimed at wiping out the carbon footprint of its breweries by 2030 and putting the company in line with a 1.5C climate scenario.

Launched today, the new plan is described as “a response to increasing consumer demand for sustainable products at a time of global challenges such as climate change, water scarcity and public health issues”.

The company revealed it has worked with the Carbon Trust consultancy to gain full approval for its emissions targets through the Science-Based Targets initiative, becoming one of the first global corporations – after Tesco last month – to set goals in line with a 1.5C global warming scenario.

Under the plan, Carlsberg Group is aiming to achieve zero carbon emissions at its breweries worldwide by 2030, with each being run on 100 per cent renewable electricity and using ‘low climate impact’ cooling from 2022 at the latest.

Moreover, it is also engaging with its supply chain to reduce its ‘beer-in-hand’ emissions – the full life cycle carbon footprint of its products – by 30 per cent by 2030 against a 2015 baseline.

On water, Carlsberg said it had worked with experts from WWF to identify those breweries situated in regions with a high-risk of water scarcity and would co-operate with local partners to improve water management.

The brewer has additionally set out to cut its water usage by 25 per cent by 2022 from a 2015 baseline, rising to a 50 per cent reduction by 2030.

Cees ‘t Hart, Carlsberg Group CEO, said he wanted to set industry standards on sustainability, as climate change and water scarcity challenges require collective action.

“I’m certain that in achieving our targets we’ll create efficiency improvements, risk reduction and a more resilient business that exists in harmony with local communities and the environment,” he added. “Our clear targets and ambitions reflect the mentality of our founders to always strive for perfection and contribute to society through science.”

Further bolstering its climate commitments, Carlsberg also announced plans to establish a community of young scientists led by its existing Carlsberg Research Laboratory to help improve the resilience of crops and “foster further scientific developments within CO2, water and sustainable brewing”.

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, praised the Danish brewer’s new climate ambitions for going “above and beyond” the levels of carbon reduction needed to stay within a 2C scenario.

“Just getting better is no longer good enough,” said Delay. “Carlsberg has taken a genuine leadership position on some of the most critical environmental issues the world currently faces, by developing an ambitious long-term business strategy that focuses on delivering a sustainable future.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Tesla Now Powers this Island with Solar Energy

13.06.2017

solar-cells-796700_960_720 — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

American automaker Tesla has recently built a solar energy project in Kauai in Hawaii, The Verge reported.

The Kauai project consists of a 52 megawatt-hour battery installation plus a 13 megawatt SolarCity solar farm, it said.

Tesla and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC), the power company that ordered the project, believe the project will reduce fossil fuel usage by 1.6 million gallons per year, the report said.

Islands like Kauai have traditionally generated electricity by shipping in many barrels of diesel fuel.

There’s no natural gas pipeline or rail line to haul in coal in Kauai and has many residences and businesses possessing installed solar power, so there is greatly reduced need to burn fossil during the day — but at night, the generators kick in, the report said.

Tesla wants to change all that, with a massive new solar farm and energy storage project on the island.

According to the report, like with the solar/battery microgrid installed on the island of Ta’u in American Samoa last year, the KIUC project uses Tesla’s Powerpack 2 battery system, built at Tesla’s Gigafactoryin Nevada.

KIUC didn’t purchase the solar panels and battery system from Tesla outright, instead, KIUC has contracted with Tesla to purchase electricity.

There’s a 20-year contract in place to buy the solar-generated power for 13.9 cents per kilowatt hour — in effect, Tesla is now in the power generation business.

It’s the first major solar-plus-storage project for Tesla since its $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity last year.

“Will work with energy providers around the world seeking to overcome barriers in the way of building a sustainable, renewable energy grid of their own,” the report said quoting Tesla as saying in a statement.

The report further quoting Tesla CEO Elon Musk said stationary storage is “something I think will probably be as big as the car business long term.”

“And will actually have a growth rate probably several times that of what the car business is per year. The growth in stationary storage is really under appreciated. That’s a super-exponential growth rate,” Musk said.

Source: zeebiz.com

Oil Giants Need to Invest Heavily in Renewables by 2035, Says Analysis

13.06.2017

More than a fifth of investment by the largest oil and gas companies could be in wind and solar power in just over a decade, according to analysis of how global changes in energy will reshape the sector.

Slowing demand for oil and forecasts of rapid growth in renewables posed both a threat and and opportunity BP, Shell and Total among others cannot ignore, said research group Wood Mackenzie.

“The momentum behind these [renewable] technologies is unstoppable now,” said Valentina Kretzschmar, director of research.

“They [the oil companies] are recognising it is a megatrend; it’s not a fad, it’s not going away. There is definitely a risk to their core business.”

The commodities analysts found the major energy companies would need to spend more than $350bn (£275bn) on wind and solar power by 2035 to take a market share similar to the 12 per cent they have in oil and gas.

Wood Mackenzie admitted that such spending was high even for oil companies and therefore an “unlikely scenario”, but forecasted that renewables could still be more than a fifth of capital allocation beyond 2030.

Most of the oil and gas giants are slowly beginning to transform in the face of climate change policies and slowing demand.

Norway’s Statoil is to deploy the world’s first floating offshore windfarm later this year off Scotland to buoy its existing portfolio of offshore turbines. Shell spent several hours of its annual general meeting in May boasting of its commitment to tackling climate change and to renewable power projects, such as windfarms off the coast of the Netherlands.

Wood Mackenzie said most oil and gas companies realised renewables posed an existential risk to them and needed to hedge against the threat by diversifying.

“Capturing the growth opportunity in this growing market is a driver, but let’s not also forget there is investor pressure,” said Kretzschmar, citing the 62 per cent of shareholders who voted at Exxon’s AGM to force the company to be more transparent on climate change.

Like BP, Wood Mackenzie predicted demand for renewables would grow faster than oil in the next two decades: the analysts forecasted annual growth rates of six per cent for wind and 11 per cent for solar, compared with 0.5 per cent for oil demand.

Offshore windfarms are probably the most attractive individual technology because of the comparable in scale to drilling for oil and gas, Wood Mackenzie said. But “dramatic reductions” in costs for solar and wind meant that in some places both technologies were now subsidy-free, it added.

Kretzschmar said the European oil and gas companies had embraced renewables much more eagerly than US rivals such as Exxon and Chevron because the US firms had lower cost oil and gas production.

Statoil said it now employed about 100 people in its energy solutions division, which includes wind and carbon capture. The gas and renewable power division of France’s Total, which includes solar, biofuels and batteries as well as gas, employs 13,000 people and accounted for $4.7bn of capital expenditure in 2016.

Anglo Dutch firm Shell has said its new energies unit will spend $1bn a year on biofuels, hydrogen and renewables by 2020, up from the $200m it spent last year, mainly on R&D.

Wood Mackenzie said returns for renewables were about half those of oil and gas production, but the long-life of cashflow from assets such as windfarms could help firms support their dividends.

The analysts warned that companies that delayed diversification could risk finding themselves left behind – “at a structural disadvantage” – if wind and solar grow even more rapidly than expected.

Revenues from oil and gas are 33 times the level of renewables, but expected to narrow to 13 times by 2035.

Campaigners said Total was the only European oil and gas major taking renewables seriously.

“It has ambitious plans. For BP and Shell, renewables are nice for PR, but they are not doing anything significant on it. So the idea all the majors could be doing 20 per cent [of capital expenditure on renewables] is quite bold,” said Greg Mutitt of Oil Change International.

However, he said that even a fifth of investment was incompatible with the goals of the Paris climate deal. “Twenty per cent of Capex doesn’t even come close [for Paris]. You could put it the other way, that 80 per cent of Capex is still causing the problem.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Germany and California Bolster Climate Cooperation as US Backs Off G7 Statement

13.06.2017

Germany and California have agreed to bolster their cooperation on tackling climate change, as international criticism continues to mount over the US government’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement.

Just days after agreeing a climate cooperation pact with China, California Governor Jerry Brown met with Germany’s environment minister Barbara Hendricks over the weekend in San Francisco.

In a further sign of defiance against President Trump’s decision to back away from global climate action, Brown and Hendricks issued a joint statement underscoring the importance of the two economic powerhouses working together with other global governments and regions to provide leadership on international climate action.

The statement emphasised that tackling climate change “is not only a necessity but also an opportunity for growth”.

In addition it publicly backed the work of the Under 2 Coalition of 175 global cities and regions, which is working to keep worldwide average temperature increases below 2C.

“China and Germany – two of the most powerful countries in the world – are working with California and with other states to deal with climate change,” said Governor Brown in the statement. “The current withdrawal from the Paris Accord by the Washington administration is being overcome and countermanded by people throughout the whole world.”

The move is part of a raft of efforts from regional and national governments – as well as businesses – to solidify international support for the Paris Agreement and decarbonising the global economy in the wake of President Trump’s decision on quit the pact.

“The United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement underscores the significance of subnational actors in particular in our joint efforts to achieve the overall objective and goals,” Germany’s environment minister Hendricks added in the statement. “Together with California, Germany will provide strong leadership for the Under2 Coalition in the COP23 in Bonn this November.”

The bilateral agreement comes as the US administration refused to add its name alongside other countries to a G7 communique on climate change issued yesterday following a two-day meeting of environment ministers in Italy.

The summit was attended by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt, but he is said to have left the meeting early to return to the US.

The 15-page communique issued at the close of the summit includes a section on climate change, in which the environment ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the EU Commission reaffirmed their “strong commitment to the swift and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, which remains the global instrument for effectively and urgently tackling climate change and adapting to its efforts”.

However, having announced its intention to pull out of the Paris accord earlier this month, the US refused to join its fellow G7 members in backing sections of the communique covering climate change and Multilateral Development Banks.

In a footnote to the communique, the US government emphasises that it continues “to demonstrate through action, having reduced out CO2 footprint as demonstrated by achieving pre-1994 CO2 levels domestically”.

“The United States will continue to engage with key international partners in a manner that is consistent with our domestic priorities, preserving both a strong economy and a healthy environment,” the footnote states. “Accordingly, we the United States do not join those sections of the communiqué on climate and MDBs, reflecting our recent announcement to withdraw and immediately cease implementation of the Paris Agreement and associated financial commitments.”

Elsewhere, the US did endorse sections of the communique covering the UN Sustainable Development Goals and tackling marine litter, among other issues.

Source: businessgreen.com

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