Air Pollution Can Cut Solar Panel Efficiency By Up To 25%

28.04.2017

Izgradnja solarne elektrane — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

A new study has disturbing news for India’s solar power industry. It claims that dust and particulate matter (often a by-product of diesel engines) can reduce solar panel efficiency by 17% to 25%. Half this reduction comes from dust and particles deposited on the surface of solar panels which form a physical barrier to the passage of sunlight.

That’s according to Duke University professor Mike Bergin, who led the study. The rest of the reduction comes from ambient haze from atmospheric pollution, a condition known as solar dimming. “This study thus shows that improving air quality can lead to a big improvement in solar energy yield,” says Bergin. “Cleaning panels is not enough.” Many solar power plants today include systems that periodically wash the solar panels to remove dust, dirt, pollen, and bird droppings.

Dust can have a significant effect on solar panel output. A 2016 study in Baghdad, for example, found an 18.74% decline in efficiency for solar modules left uncleaned for a month. Another 2014 paper from Colorado, found that up to 4.1% of light transmission was lost due to dust buildup.

But losses from air pollution have received less attention. In one 2013 study, researchers investigated the power output of ten PV systems in Singapore during a haze episode caused by forest fires in Indonesia. That study found that lower air quality caused system output to decline by up to 25% over a 10 week period. On one day in particular, output was reduced by a staggering 50% according to Andre Nobre, lead author and head of operations at Cleantech Solar in Singapore. The study did not look at particulate deposits because frequent rain keeps solar panels clean in Singapore, he noted. “For a city like New Delhi, you have the added effect [of] soiling on the panels from the fact that it is a much drier and dirtier city.”

The Bergin study is the first to quantify the combined impact of ambient particles and deposited matter. He and his colleagues analyzed deposits on solar panels at the IIT campus in Gandhinagar and tracked energy yield before and after cleaning. Power generation increased 50% after each cleaning, the study found.

Air pollution is now a factor in solar power plant business decisions, says Nobre, whose company has solar projects across Asia including India. “Developers like ourselves will be extra cautious when signing power purchase agreements with clients with facilities located in highly polluted zones,” Nobre said. “Our returns are impacted by air pollution, which in turn end up increasing electricity tariffs we are able to offer. As the fleet of PV systems is drastically growing in India, there could be millions of dollars in revenue being lost,” he says.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Apple to Power Oregon Data Center with Wind Energy

27.04.2017

Apple recently disclosed a deal to purchase 200 MW of wind power from the Montague Wind Farm for its Prineville, Oregon data center. The news was announced in the company’s annual environmental responsibility report, and it is being dubbed as the “first Apple-created wind project.”

Construction on the first phase of the Montague Wind Power Project is scheduled to begin in September, with energy generating late next year. The 404-MW wind farm is owned by Montague Wind Power Facility, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables LLC, and it will be capable of producing 560 million kWh annually.

According to the Oregon Department of Energy, the Montague Wind Facility will be located in Gilliam County, Oregon, in the high desert east of the Cascade Mountains nearby several other wind projects.

In a separate announcement, Apple maintains it has plans to buy power from a 56-MW project called Solar Star Oregon II, under construction a few miles from the Prineville complex. Two micro-hydro projects, generating 12 million kWh of energy per year, are also powering the data center.

Source: windpowerengineering.com

Deep-Sea Mining Could Help Develop Mass Solar Energy but Only at a Cost to the Environment

27.04.2017

Scientists have just discovered massive amounts of a rare metal called tellurium, a key element in cutting-edge solar technology. As a solar expert who specialises in exactly this, I should be delighted. But here’s the catch: the deposit is found at the bottom of the sea in an undisturbed part of the ocean.

People often have an idealised view of solar as the perfect clean-energy source. Direct conversion of sunlight to electricity, no emissions, no oil spills or contamination – perfect. This, however, overlooks the messy reality of how solar panels are produced.

While the energy produced is indeed clean, some of the materials required to generate that power are toxic or rare. In cadmium-telluride-based solar cells, for example, the cadmium is toxic and the telluride is hard to find.

Cadmium telluride is one of the second generation “thin-film” solar cell technologies. It’s far better at absorbing light than silicon, the bedrock of solar-power tech, so its absorbing layer doesn’t need to be as thick. A spread of cadmium telluride just one thousandth of a millimetre thick will absorb around 90 per cent of the light it receives. It’s cheap and quick to set up compared to silicon and uses less material.

As a result it’s the first thin-film technology to effectively make the leap from the research laboratory to mass production. Cadmium telluride solar modules now account for around 5 per cent of global installations and, depending on how you do the sums, can produce lower-cost power than silicon solar.

But cadmium telluride’s Achilles heel is the tellurium itself, one of the rarest metals in the earth’s crust. Serious questions must be asked about whether technology based on such a rare metal is worth pursuing on a massive scale.

There is a longstanding divide in opinion about this. The abundance of data for tellurium suggests a real issue but the counter-argument is that no-one has been actively looking for new reserves of the material. After all, platinum and gold are similarly rare but demand for catalytic converters – which platinum is chiefly used for – means in practice we are able to find plenty.

The discovery of a massive new tellurium deposit in an underwater mountain in the Atlantic ocean certainly supports the “it will turn up eventually” theory. And this is a particularly rich ore, according to the British scientists involved in the MarineE-Tech project – a collaboration between UK universities, the National Oceanography Centre and their counterparts in Brazil. While most tellurium is extracted as a by-product of copper mining and so is relatively low yield, samples taken from the seabed contain concentrations 50,000 times higher than on land.

Extracting from the sea would be formidably hard and very risky for the environment. The top of the mountain where the tellurium has been discovered is still a kilometre below the waves, and the nearest land is hundreds of miles away.

Mining is never a good thing for the environment. It can uproot communities, decimate forests and leave huge scars on the landscape. It often leads to groundwater contamination, despite whatever safeguards are put in place.

Given the technical challenges and the pristine ecosystems involved, it’s easy to imagine the devastation that deep-sea mining could cause. No wonder it has yet to be implemented anywhere yet, despite plans off the coast of Papua New Guinea and elsewhere. Indeed, there’s no suggestion that tellurium mining is liable to occur at this latest site any time soon.

But the mere presence of such resources, or the wind turbines or electric car batteries that rely on scarce materials or risky industrial processes, raises an interesting question. These are useful low-carbon technologies, but do they also have a requirement to be environmentally ethical?

There is often the perception that everyone working in renewable energy is a lovely tree-hugging, sandal-wearing leftie but this isn’t the case. After all, this is now a huge industry, one that is aiming to eventually supplant fossil fuels, and there are valid concerns over whether such expansion will be accompanied by a softening of regulations.

We know that solar power is ultimately a good thing but do the ends always justify the means? Or to put it more starkly: could we tolerate mass production of solar panels if it necessitated mining and drilling on a similar scale to the fossil fuels industry, along with the associated pitfalls?

To my mind the answer is undoubtedly yes, we have little choice. After all, mass solar would still wipe out our carbon emissions, helping curb global warming and the associated apocalypse.

What’s reassuring is that even as solar becomes a truly mature industry, it has started from a more noble and environmentally sound place. Cadmium telluride modules for example include a cost to cover recycling, while scarce resources such as tellurium can be recovered from panels at the end of their 20-year or more lifespan (compare this with fossil fuels, where the materials that produce the power are irreparably lost in a bright flame and a cloud of carbon).

The impact of mining for solar panels will likely be minimal in comparison to the oil or coal industries but it will not be zero. As renewable technology becomes more crucial, we perhaps need to start calibrating our expectations to account for this.

At some point mining operations in search of solar or wind materials will cause damage or else some industrial production process will go awry and cause contamination. This may be the Faustian pact we have to accept, as the established alternatives are far worse. Unfortunately nothing is perfect.

Source: independent.co.uk

Mayors Take Bold Step Toward 100% Clean Energy

27.04.2017

Mayors from across the nation joined with the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign Wednesday to announce a new effort to engage and recruit mayors to endorse a goal of transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy.

Ahead of the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Miami Beach in June, the launch of Mayors for 100% Clean Energy aims to demonstrate bold local leadership and showcase the depth and breadth of support from city leaders for a transition to 100 percent renewable energy.

The new initiative is co-chaired by Mayor Philip Levine of Miami Beach, Mayor Jackie Biskupski of Salt Lake City, Mayor Kevin Faulconer of San Diego and Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina. Benjamin is also a vice president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“We have already taken steps to expand renewable energy and we will continue to improve our infrastructure and innovate clean energy solutions for a stronger Miami Beach,” said Mayor Levine. “Climate change may be the challenge of our generation, but it is also the opportunity of a lifetime. The transition to clean and renewable energy will both help Miami Beach confront climate change and strengthen our local economy.”

Mayor Biskupski noted that cities contribute about 75 percent of human greenhouse gas emissions, and said Salt Lake City is warming at a rate twice as fast as the global average.

“We can’t ignore climate change because climate change is not ignoring us,” she said. “Among many other risks, we face water shortages, decreased snowpack and threats to our $1 billion ski industry. Cities must adapt to cope with these threats, and that’s also why we must take action to mitigate them.”

Noting that San Diego has become a leading city for solar energy capacity, Mayor Faulconer said that business and environmental groups are cooperating to achieve a mutually beneficial goal of 100 percent renewable energy.

“Clean energy isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” he emphasized. “We’re going green not only because it supports clean air and water, but because it supports our 21st century economy.”

Mayoral leadership has been a powerful driver of city-wide action on climate change and clean energy in municipalities across the country. The Mayors National Climate Action Agenda (Climate Mayors) founded by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, recently released an electric vehicle request for information to demonstrate demand to automakers for nearly 115,00 vehicles that could be electrified in 30 cities.

Now the co-chairs of Mayors for 100% Clean Energy, a number of whom are Climate Mayors, are further demonstrating their commitment to lead nationally on the shared challenge of reducing climate pollution and contributing to Climate Mayors’ framework of local leadership and action.

“Mayors can lead our nation toward a healthier, stronger and more prosperous country by championing a vision of 100 percent clean, renewable energy in their communities,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “Cities don’t need to wait for Washington, DC to act in order to move the ball forward on clean energy.”

Twenty-six cities across the U.S. have now committed to transition to 100 percent clean and renewable energy. This growing list of cities most recently includes South Lake Tahoe, California, which last week unanimously voted to transition entirely to renewable energy by 2032. Other big cities including Los Angeles and Denver are studying pathways to 100 percent clean energy. Earlier this month, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a commitment to transition Chicago municipal buildings and operations to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2025.

India To Auction 4,000 Megawatts Of Wind Energy Capacity This Year

27.04.2017

Following the massive success of its first-ever wind energy tender, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy in India is planning to launch another tender this year four times the size.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has announced that it will auction 4,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity this financial year, i.e. by March 2018. The agency will offer this capacity to prospective project developers in multiple tranches. SECI is also expected to launch wind energy tenders of 5,000-6,000 megawatts every year until 2022.

India plans to have an installed wind energy capacity of 60 gigawatts by March 2022, and these auctions are will be aligned to achieve this goal. India’s current installed wind energy capacity stands at just over 32 gigawatts.

India added a record 5,400 megawatts of wind energy capacity during the financial year 2016-17 (April 2016 to March 2017). This is 35% more than the envisaged target of 4,000 megawatts set at the start of the financial year. Between April 2016 and February 2017, a total of 2,374 megawatts of wind energy capacity was added. In March 2017 alone, the capacity addition jumped to 3,026 megawatts.

The Chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) recently stated that a record 6,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity is expected to be added in the financial year 2017-18 which, will be 11% higher than the 5,400 megawatt capacity added in 2016-17 — also a record.

The first-ever wind energy auction in India yielded the lowest-ever tariffs of Rs 3.46/kWh (5.2¢/kWh). Four companies — Mytrah Energy, Green Infra (owned by Sembcorp), Inox Wind, and Ostro Energy — were awarded 250 megawatts of capacity each, while Adani Green Energy secured the rights to develop 50 megawatts of capacity.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Saudi Arabia To Offer More Than 1 Gigawatt Of Solar & Wind In Second Tender Round

26.04.2017

Obnovljivi izvori — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay (seagul)

Saudi Arabia is set to offer more than 1 gigawatt of contracts to buy renewable electricity by the fourth quarter of this year, according to an official speaking this week. The plans are part of the country’s recently-announced intention to grow its renewable energy sources and spur development of wind and solar.

Speaking at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in New York on Monday, Saudi Arabia’s Turki al-Shehri, head of renewable energy project development at the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, announced that the country will auction power purchase agreements (PPAs) worth 620 megawatts (MW) for solar PV and 400 MW for wind farms in its second round of tenders by the end of this year.

Earlier this month Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih, revealed that his country was aiming to produce 10% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2030 — amounting to around 30 wind and solar projects worth 9.5 gigawatts (GW). “The energy mix to produce electricity will change, today the kingdom uses large quantities of oil liquids, including crude, fuel oil and diesel,” al-Falih said. “So the percentage of renewable energy by 2023 (will be) 10 percent of total installed capacity in the kingdom.”

Speaking on Monday, Turki al-Shehri further explained the next step in the country’s plans. “It is truly unprecedented for the kingdom,” he said. “The kingdom has set a truly wonderful vision. The tenders that were recently issued, this is only the beginning of our accomplishment. We are open for business.”

Saudi Arabia earlier this month also revealed that it had cleared 27 companies to bid for a 300 MW solar power plant, and 24 firms to bid for a 400 MW wind farm.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Houston, You Now Have Solar Power

26.04.2017

photovoltaic-solar — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

On Friday, Houston announced it will be purchasing 10.5% of its energy from the SolaireHolman utility-scale power plant located eight hours away in Alpine, Texas. The plant is one of the largest solar installations in Texas and was constructed by Solairedirect North America, a subsidiary of French energy giant ENGIE. The city will purchase the power under a 20-year power-purchase agreement.

“As the energy capital of the world, it is important that Houston lead by example and show that investing in solar and renewable energy is a critical tool cities must use to prepare for the future,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. “As the nation’s largest municipal purchaser of green power, we are living proof that large, industrial cities like Houston can have a robust economy but also help fight climate change.”

Houston is just the latest Texas city to derive a significant amount of its power from solar energy, following cities like Georgetown, San Antonio and Austin. The former hardscrabble oil town’s announcement comes barely a week after El Paso sold out subscriptions to its month-old community solar program in less than a month.

Texas has long been a leader in renewable energy. Under former governor Rick Perry (now Secretary of Energy in the Trump Administration), the wind industry thrived with help from the state and federal government. Solar is now receiving similar support, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has predicted the city will add 5.7 GW of solar power in the next five years.

If that much solar is added, it would catapult the state into the No. 2 position in the Top 10 Solar States as ranked by SEIA. It currently ranks No. 9. Houston has ranked No. 1 in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Top 30 Local Government list of the largest green power users, consuming nearly 1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. That number represents more than 89% of its total energy needs.

One of Texas’ largest solar installations, the SolaireHolman project includes 203,840 solar panels on 360 acres, providing electricity for Houston locations like the Hermann Park Zoo, the Bob Lanier Public Works Building, wastewater treatment plants, and several Bush Intercontinental Airport terminals.

Source: pv-magazine-usa.com

Charlottesville Wins Award for Solar Energy Efforts

26.04.2017

The city of Charlottesville just received a big award for being solar-power friendly and it’s the first city to get the recognition in the state.

The city now has a designation as “SolSmart Bronze.”

The award is an achievement that recognizes Charlottesville for adopting practices and programs to help the community go solar. Charlottesville is one of the first 50 communities in the U.S. to get the recognition.

“By becoming more solar friendly as a community, it can basically hedge our risks against increased energy costs in the future, it helps us doing environmental stewardship efforts and it also starts to put power generation into the hands of our local property owners,” Susan Elliott of the City of Charlottesville, said.

The SolSmart program is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The award has three different levels, bronze, silver and gold.

Source: nbc29.com

DUBRAVKA NEGRE: We Have Invested about 150 Million Euros in Serbia so far

26.04.2017

According to all indicators, 2015 was a record year for the EIB investments in climate projects with a total amount exceeding 20 billion euros. In all documents or interactive portals of the European Union institutions, the phrase that climate change is the greatest challenge for humanity is inevitable. Everybody recognizes the concern, the consequences are far-reaching and timeless, the responsibility of the current generation of politicians and decision-makers is exceptional. One can also come across the term that 2015 was the millennium year because a global campaign was launched that must yield results. There is no alternative.

This time we talked to Ms. Dubravka Negre, who has recently become the Head of the EIB Regional Representation for the Western Balkans. This is an institution that participates in the most direct way possible in the fight against climate change and also funds specific projects. The EIB is an investment institution established in 1958 and founded by members of the European Union. As such it closely works with all the institutions of the European Union – the European Parliament, the European Comission and the European Council. The headquarters is located in Luxembourg, the bank has about 2,900 employees and apart from the projects within the EU, it cooperates with nearly 150 countries that are not members of the EU. Those countries receive around 10 percent of the total EIB fund.

EP: An interesting conference was held in Morocco on 8 September, 2016, just two months before the conference COP 22. The EIB was the organizer and if our readers want to know more, they can go to: http://www.eib.org/infocentre/events/all/medconference-2016.htm. Can you tell us something about the participants, the results and the objectives of the conference?

Dubravka Negre: The Conference in Rabat was dedicated to climate issues in the Mediterranean region and was organized in partnership with the Government of Morocco and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Climate action promotes economic growth, prosperity as well as job creation. Therefore, as the largest international funder of climate activities the EIB mobilized there resources, skills and experts to give financial support for concrete projects in Morocco, but also in many other countries. The Conference provided an opportunity to investigate serious consequences of climate change in the Mediterranean region – particulary erosion and drought that have serios impact on production in agriculture, food safety that has to be provided in concentrated urban areas on the coast. Apart from that, we were also able to learn more about adapting to climate change, the mitigation, particularly in the area of financial requirements during the Conference and also to discuss specific methods for financing projects in the field of climate change in the Mediterranean region.

EP: After the Conference COP 21 and the Paris Agreement all the parties in the public sector were involved in projects in order to ensure the reduction of the level of CO2 coming from industrial and public sectors. What is the strategy of the EIB? In what way do you support these efforts and what products does the EIB have dealing with this subject? How does the EIB cooperate with commercial banks and institutions?

Dubravka Negre: The EIB supports the transition to an economy that is friendly to the environment, has a low level of CO2 and takes account of the climate. As the bank of the European Union we understand the need to promote the objectives in the field of environmental protection in developed countries, but also in those that are still developing, with the aim to support sustainable development across the globe. As one of the largest investors in the world when it comes to climate change, we define at least 25 percent of the portfolio on the low carbonic and climatically favourable activities. Our investments support sustainable projects in more than 160 countries, supporting also private financing for climate activities. In that way we encourage others to be involved in our long-term investments. In 2015 we had the biggest investments ever when it comes to investing in climate change. It is about 27 percent of total lending, or to be more precise 20,7 billion euros.

We take into account the climatic conditions when assessing new projects and during the monitoring of existing investments. We call this integration!

In the period of preparation, we observe the following:

– When we evaluate the economic aspects for the project which leads to significant changes in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), we incorporate the economic costs of carbon dioxide emissions.

– The estimation of greenhouse gas emission in the projects that we invest in, is made on the basis of specific methodologies for the sector.

– For all fossil fuel generation projects we apply a special Emission Performance Standard in order to do the screening of investments whose carbon dioxide emissions exceed the threshold.

– For projects, sectors and regions particularly vulnerable to the climate change impacts, we require the following – that the promoter considers climate risks and includes adaptation measures in the project design and operation. The potential of the project to generate carbon credits is estimated. Technical assistance can be given to promoters and thus help them take advantage of this potential.

The EIB gladly accepted a global agreement on climate change that took place in Paris. The bank, that already provides the biggest financial support for climate projects, will now play a key role in mobilizing additional resources, mainly in private sector. In the next 5 years the EIB expects to lend about 100 billion euros for the projects dedicated to climate change worldwide.

We cooperate with the others as well in order to help further investments in climate projects and projects on environmental protection. Our traditional products for financing are medium-term and long-term projects with fixed or variable interest rate in euros or other currencies. We finance large projects with direct loans for projects, but we also support smaller projects indirectly. We finance them through credit lines from local banks or in combination with other agents. We complement our traditional lending with other products such as investment funds.

EP: Renewable energy sources are a part of the strategy against climate change. Can you tell us what type of activities you have on the market? Who can apply for your loans and who can attend your conferences?

Dubravka Negre: The promotion of sustainable, competitive and secure sources of energy is the key of the policy of the European Union and for the EIB is an important sector for funding. The EIB applies strict criteria for energy credits established on the basis of a comprehensive review. Thus, we ensure that our lending in the energy sector mimics EU policies when it comes to energy and climate policies. We focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, energy networks, as well as research and innovation. Likewise, we support the development and expansion of the projects in the field of renewable energy sources in order to make energy suppliers more sustainable, competitive and secure.

By investing in renewable energy sources we support the EU policy on climate change. We will help in achieving the goal according to which 20 percent of the energy used should be from renewable energy sources by 2020. Not only that we finance secure renewable technologies, such as wind farms, hydroelectric power plants, projects in the field of geothermal energy and biomass, but we also strongly encourage the development of such projects. We demand that the best possible technology available is used in the projects we fund.

Loans are the main product for the projects in the energy field. We also offer structured finance options. Our clients are states, local governments, private investors, small and medium enterprises, commercial banks and corporations. We fund large projects alone and for the small ones we form a partnership with market intermediaries.

EP: Tell us more about Serbia and the region in terms of climate change and projects? How much have you invested in the area so far? What are your plans for the next year and for the following few years?

Dubravka Negre: So far in Serbia, the EIB has invested about 80 million euros through GGF (Green for Growth Fund), whose goal is to support small projects in the field of RES such as hydropower plants and wind farms of less than 30 MW. We support projects related to solar energy, biogas, biomass, geothermal energy and all this through financial intermediaries.

In addition to GGF, in the energy sector in Serbia, we have invested a total of about 150 million euros in the last few years. In the Western Balkans, we have supported in the past few years the rehabilitation of several hydroelectric power plants in Bosnia, with the loan of 90 million euros. Now we also participate in the construction of a new hydro power plant of 20 MW. We also provide technical assistance through the Western Balkan Investment Framework for the preparation of irrigation projects in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but also for two wind farms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We are interested to continue to be involved in projects on climate change in Serbia, including the RES. In addition to projects in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, as well as the fight against elevated levels of carbon dioxide, the EIB aims to contribute to the reconstruction of existing transmission and distribution networks.

Interview by: Vesna Vukajlović

Extreme Arctic Melt Could Increase Sea Level Rise Twice as Fast as Previously Estimated

26.04.2017

Extreme Arctic melt could increase global sea level rise twice as fast as previously estimated and cost the world economy between $7 trillion and $90 trillion by 2100, a new analysis shows.

The assessment from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program projects that increased ice melt in the Arctic could contribute to an overall 20 to 29 inches of global sea level rise over the next century—nearly double the minimum estimates provided by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Arctic warmed faster than any other region on earth between 2011-2015 and the assessment speculates that the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in the summer by 2040.

“The Arctic is continuing to melt, and it’s going faster than expected in 2011,” Lars-Otto Reiersen, head of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) which prepared the report, told Reuters.

“Multi-year ice used to be a big consolidated pack. It’s almost like a big thick ice cube versus a bunch of crushed ice. When you warm the water, the crushed ice melts a lot quicker.”

Source: ecowatch.com

Tesla to Double Size of Charging Network in Race to Take EVs Mainstream

26.04.2017

Tesla elektricni auto — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla has announced plans to make charging “convenient, abundant and reliable” for all its customers by doubling the number of chargers in its global network by the end of 2017.

The move, which was announced yesterday, comes ahead of the planned rollout of the firm’s first mass-market EV, the Model 3, which is due to start hitting roads later this year.

Tesla currently has 5,400 rapid charge points in its global ‘Superchargers’ roadside network and a further 9,000 ‘

‘ in hotels, resorts and restaurants, all of which are free for Tesla customers.

Under the new plan it intends to boost the number of Superchargers to more than 10,000 and Destination Chargers to 15,000 by the end of the year.

Tesla hopes the move will deliver enough extra capacity to cope with the thousands of Model 3 vehicles it has already sold.

“As Tesla prepares for our first mass-market vehicle and continues to increase our Model S and Model X fleet, we’re making charging an even greater priority,” the firm wrote in a blog post yesterday. “It is extremely important to us and our mission that charging is convenient, abundant, and reliable for all owners, current and future.”

Much of this expansion will be focused in the US, where the number of Superchargers is set to increase 150 per cent, with 1,000 new Supercharger installed in California alone. Extra capacity will be added on its most popular travel routes to allow multiple Teslas to recharge at a time, alongside a concerted push to install more charge-points in city centres, Tesla added.

The move came on the same day as the Source London EV charging network announced it was on track to deliver 1,000 chargers across the capital by the end of the year. The network’s operator, BluepointLondon, also announced it has teamed up with SSE Energy to guarantee 100 per cent of the power provided to its EV customers comes from wind or hydropower sources.

Source: businessgreen.com

Report: Nearly Half of Fortune 500 Firms Set Carbon Goals

26.04.2017

Growing numbers of major corporates across America are making pledges to reduce their environmental impact and boost their energy efficiency, according to a new report.

The latest Power Forward research, published yesterday by WWF, Ceres, Calvert and CDP, found nearly half of Fortune 500 companies now have targets in place to reduce greenhouse gases, improve energy efficiency and/or increase renewable energy sourcing – up five per cent since the last study in 2014.

The report uses data from company disclosures made public to CDP, the investor-backed group that holds the world’s largest database of corporate climate data.

It reveals a significant shift in corporate attitudes is underway across America, according to Marty Spitzer, senior director of climate and renewable energy at WWF. “American businesses are leading the transition to a clean economy because it’s smart business and it’s what their customers want,” he said.

Spitzer insisted that despite the election of Donald Trump the trend would continue. “Clean energy is fueling economic opportunity from coast to coast without regard for party line,” he added. “Washington policies may slow this boom, but these companies are making it very clear that a transition to a low-carbon economy is inevitable.”

The report suggests the trend is most pronounced among the largest companies, with 63 per cent of Fortune 100 companies setting climate goals. However, the smallest 100 companies in the Fortune 500 have also displayed a sharp uptick in interest in climate goals, with a 19 per cent increase in the number of firms with green goals since 2013.

Firms are also showing an increasing appetite for more ambitious targets, the report notes, with significant numbers of companies setting 100 per cent renewable energy goals and Science-Based Targets that align corporate policy with global efforts to limit warming to two degrees.

Growing corporate support for clean energy is mainly thanks to a sharp decline in the cost of renewables in recent years, the report noted.

Enthusiasm for target setting is most marked in the ‘Consumer Staples’ sector, with 72 per cent of these firms settings goals compared to just 11 per cent of energy companies.

However, firms are not just embracing climate action for the reputational benefits, the paper insisted. Nearly 80,000 emission-reduction projects from 190 Fortune 500 companies delivered almost $3.7bn in savings for 2016 alone, thanks to lower energy costs and improved efficiencies.

Source: businessgreen.com

Indian Railways Proposes 800 Megawatt Solar Park

25.04.2017

On the heels of the successful allocation of 750 megawatts of solar power capacity at record-low rates, the Indian Railways is now looking to replicate this model to ensure a cheap and sustainable power supply.

The Indian Railways has approached the government of Madhya Pradesh with a proposal to set up a mega solar power park with a capacity of 700-800 megawatts (MW). The project will come up at Shajapur, a few hundred kilometers east of the Rewa solar power park which received the lowest-ever tariff bid ever in India.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) recently signed a power purchase agreement to procure 24% of the electricity generated from the 750-megawatt Rewa solar power park. Indian Railways is looking to replicate the same model.

An auction for the Rewa solar power park yielded a levelized tariff of Rs 3.30/kWh, the lowest-ever tariff at that time (now the second lowest).

Three units of 250 megawatts each were recently auctioned by the Solar Energy Corporation of India. The three units of the solar power park have been awarded at tariffs of Rs 2.970 to Rs 2.979 per kWh (4.4¢/kWh). The lowest bid was placed by ACME Cleantech Solutions, one of the leading solar power project developers in India. Mahindra Renewables, part of a large industrial conglomerate, secured a 250 MW unit at Rs 2.974/kWh, and Solenergi secured the third unit at Rs 2.979/kWh.

The bids placed by these developers are for only the first year of project operations. The tariffs will increase by Rs 0.05/kWh (0.07¢/kWh) for a period of 15 years. Thus, the levellised tariff for all three units will be around Rs 3.30/kWh (4.9¢/kWh).

The Madhya Pradesh government is said to be in talks with Noida Metro and Coal India as well to set up a solar power parks. Last year, the state government signed an agreement with Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India to set up a 1,000-megawatt solar power park in Chhatarpur district.

A recent study showed that the Indian Railways can source 25% of its energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2025. This can be realized, in part, through the Railways’ plan to set up 5 gigawatts of solar power capacity across the country.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Corvus Energy Wins 10-Year Contract For Hybrid Ferries In Scandinavia

25.04.2017

Travelling by water has the same negative impact on the environment as moving freight by truck — a plume of deadly diesel emissions following behind. In Scandinavia, ferries are an important part of the transportation system both internally and across international borders and most of those ferries are powered by diesel engines. But hybrid ferries are beginning to appear along ferry routes in the region.

Just like a hybrid automobile, these new ferries store electricity in an onboard battery and use it to power electric motors to propel them forward part of the time. Corvus Energy has just announced that it has been awarded a 10-year contract to provide long term service and maintenance functions aboard all of the Scandlines hybrid ferry fleet.

Scandlines was the first ferry operator to build and operate large ROPAX (roll-on/off passenger) hybrid ferries that combine traditional diesel engines with advanced battery power. Scandlines uses Corvus lithium ion batteries exclusively. Corvus Energy provides purpose built battery systems for a variety of hybrid and fully electric heavy industrial equipment, including large marine propulsion drives.

“Scandlines is very pleased to continue and expand our long partnership with Corvus Energy. Beginning with Corvus in 2012, their industry leading energy storage technology has become the standard electric battery power solution for all of our hybrid vessels,” said Fini Hansen, Technical Superintendent of Fleet Management at Scandlines.

On February 5th of this year, Scandlines put itd two newest Corvus-powered hybrid ferries, the M/V Berlin and M/V Copenhagen, into regular service on its Rostock-Gedser route between Denmark and Germany. Along with the decreased environmental impact, the fuel consumption of the vessels has been reduced significantly compared to the previous ferries used on the same route.

Another ferry line, Norway’s ColorLine, is building the largest hybrid electric ferry in the world. The 525-foot long Color Hybrid will carry 2,000 passengers and 500 cars and will operate between Sandefjord and Stromstad. It is expected to use only electric power in Sanderfjord itself and near the docks at either end of the route. It will be ready for commercial service in 2019.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Gamesa Captures 38% Share of India’s New Wind Capacity Additions

25.04.2017

Gamesa has reported a massive jump in installation numbers in India as it continued to dominate the crowded wind energy market.

According to media reports, the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer recently announced that it installed 2,050 megawatts of wind energy capacity in India in FY2016-17 (between April 2016 and March 2017). This is the first time that any turbine manufacturer has been able to achieve the 2,000 megawatts milestone in a financial year.

India added a total of 5,400 megawatts of wind energy capacity; at 2,050 megawatts Gamesa captured an impressive share of 38%. The company has been India’s leading turbine manufacturer for the last several years. In FY2014-15, the company commissioned 657 megawatts, while in FY2015-16 this capacity increased to 1,000 megawatts, translating into a 30% share in the Indian market.

The Indian wind energy sector has managed to beat the targeted capacity addition for the last two financial years and is expected to do so in the current financial year as well.

The Chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) recently stated that a record 6,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity is expected to be added in financial year 2017-18 which will be 11% higher than the 5,400 megawatt capacity added in 2016-17, also a record.

While being the largest supplier of wind turbines to the Indian market, Gamesa recently also participated in the first-ever wind energy auction in India. The company placed a bid to set up 250 megawatts of capacity at a tariff of Rs 3.68/kWh (5.7¢/kWh). The company failed to make the cut as its bid was 6.4% higher than the lowest and winning bid.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Planet Breaches 410 ppm for First Time in Human History

25.04.2017

The amount of carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere is now officially off the charts as the planet last week breached the 410 parts per million (ppm) milestone for the first time in human history.

“It’s a new atmosphere that humanity will have to contend with, one that’s trapping more heat and causing the climate to change at a quickening rate,” wrote Climate Central’s Brian Kahn. “Carbon dioxide hasn’t reached that height in millions of years.”

The milestone was recorded Tuesday at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii by the Keeling Curve, a program of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego. Since the planet reached the dangerous new normal of 400 ppm last year, scientists have warned that that the accelerated rate at which concentrations of CO2 are rising means that humanity is marching further and further past the symbolic red line towards climate chaos.

What’s more, as Aarne Granlund, a graduate student researching climate change at the University of the Arctic, pointed out, the recording was taken before carbon levels are expected to reach their annual peak, meaning they could soon notch even higher.

But despite the unprecedented threat, climate action has ground to a halt in the U.S. under the leadership of President Donald Trump and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, forcing campaigners and concerned citizens to take to the streets in droves to prompt the government to do something to address the threat of planetary devastation.

Saturday’s March for Science saw tens of thousands of people rally in Washington, DC and across the world to send a message to the Trump administration that governance should be based on research and facts—not ideology.

Speaking at the march in San Diego, Ralph Keeling, director of the CO2 program at Scripps whose father founded the Keeling Curve, gave an impassioned speech on why legislators need to abandon the partisan effort to stymie environmental legislation, declaring: “The climate change debate has been over for decades.”

Now, infused by the energy of the March for Science, campaigners are gearing up for next weekend’s Peoples Climate March with a week of action that centers on creating a just transition away from fossil fuels.

“The Peoples Climate March is the next step for the March for Science, a call to get more engaged in our political system, to confront power and to demand solutions,” explained May Boeve, executive director of 350.org.

“The demands we will put forward—respect for Indigenous peoples, investments in communities on the front lines of the climate crisis, transitioning from fossil fuels to 100 percent clean energy economy that works for all and more,” Boeve continued, “highlight the intersections between our different struggles and the common solutions we can work for together.”

Dubbed “From Truth to Justice: Earth Day to May Day 2017,” the more than 50 events in the lead-up to Saturday will include strategy sessions, a massive youth convergence, the introduction of a 100 percent Clean Energy Bill in Congress and non-violent direct actions.

On Friday, activists will form “Mother Earth’s red line” on the Capitol lawn to symbolize the multiple lines that must not be crossed by corporations and governments in the increasingly severe climate crisis, organizers said.

“This is about strength in unity; diverse groups of people are coming together like never before and are creating a red line of protection against capitalism, militarism and racism,” said Kandi Mossett, Indigenous energy and climate campaign organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, one of the group’s organizing the direct action. “We are here to push for solutions like Indigenous rights, divestment and renewable energy as we continue to fight for a just transition away from a fossil fuel based economy.”

Source: ecowatch.com

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