B.Grimm’s Solar Power Generates B500m

27.12.2016

B.Grimm Power Co, a unit of B.Grimm Group, has started commercial operation of solar power plants in four provinces with a power-generating capacity totalling 114 megawatts.

President and chief executive Preeyanart Soontornwata said power generated from the new plants has been sold to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and has created 500 million baht in revenue for the company since the middle of this year.

She said power generation from renewable energy, such as solar, wind, biogas and biomass, has increased significantly in Thailand over the past three years.

As of March 2016, Thailand was producing a total of four gigawatts of electricity from renewable energy, of which about 1.5GW was solar power, which is expected to reach 3GW by the end of the year.

That means that solar power will account for more than 5% of the country’s total power supply.

B.Grimm Power has developed solar power plants in high sunlight areas in Bang Len and Don Tum districts in in Nakhon Pathom province, and Sena district in Ayutthaya province, with a combined capacity of 59.7MW.

The company’s other solar power plants in Nakhon Pathom, Saraburi and Sa Kaeo provinces have a combined capacity of 54.5MW.

Electricity is sold to the PEA via 22 kilovolt and 115kV transmission lines connected to the PEA’s substations.

“Electricity generation from solar energy is an important project for B.Grimm Power that not only strengthens our business but also promotes the development of renewable energy in Thailand to reduce the reliance on imported energy and carbon dioxide emissions, which is a primary cause of global warming,” Ms Preeyanart said.

The transmission lines were built solely by B.Grimm Power. The company only retains ownership of the transmission lines that are within the power plants’ boundaries, while the remaining sections are owned and maintained by the PEA.

Ms Preeyanart said B.Grimm Power has invested 8 billion baht in the 15 solar power plants, which together occupy a total of 1,670 rai of land in four provinces, with a combined generating output of 114.2MW.

In addition, the company has invested through four subsidiaries and joint ventures: B.Grimm Yanhee Solar Power Ltd, Solarwa Company Ltd, TPS Commercial Company Ltd and B.Grimm Solar Power Sakaeo Ltd.

It recently signed another contract to raise its total capacity both domestically and overseas to 2,383MW.

B.Grimm Power, which has set a target capacity of 5,000MW, is conducting feasibility studies and seeking opportunities in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. The long-term goal is to increase renewable power generation from 10% to 25-30% of its overall capacity.

Source: bangkokpost.com

Uganda Launches 10 MW Solar Power Plant

27.12.2016

Power cuts are common in Uganda with several businesses suffering thousands of losses. In Soroti village located in the eastern part of Uganda, power shortage is common just like any other town in the country.

Power shortage has severely affected perishable products that rely on cooling systems powered mainly by the national power supply.

“Unfortunately when power is not there for like 6 hours that is automatically loss we are expecting. Because perishable goods cannot stay out of fridge for long time, like minced meat, sausages, ice-cream. When they melt that is a loss automatically,” said Hussein Samsudin, a supermarket manager in Soroti.

The east african nation decided to invest in a $19 million solar plant that lies in a 33 acre piece of land. The plant is able to produce 10 megawatts of power that can be fed in the national grid.

According to the vice president of Eren Renewable Energy, Christophe Fleurence, thousands of people in Soroti village will benefit from this new plan.

“The power output of this plant is 10 megawatts. This is enough power to power up to 40,000 families, schools, small business and end users,” he said.

The inhabitants are hoping that a new solar power plan will help solve this problem for good.

Kenneth Evans Okim is a DVD dealer who now hopes for a better future in Soroti village after the solar project was launched.

“Power supply in the country, national wide is not sufficient. So if this new solar plant has come in to, I would say, to back up on the power, then I think it is going to be too much help. It is going to help cover up the gaps of power blackout that have been there,” he said.

Uganda currently has 850 Megawatts of installed capacity of which approximately 645 MW is hydro and 101.5 MW is thermal generating capacity.

Demand for electricity has also been growing spurred by the increasing population. Statistics from the Ugandan government indicate that peak demand for power is growing by 15% every year.

Source: africanews.com

Switzerland’s Largest Agricultural Biogas Plant Comes on Stream

26.12.2016

Nestlé Waters & Groupe E GreenWatt have just inaugurated the largest agricultural biogas plant in Switzerland, located next to the Henniez bottling plant. This initiative represents a further step in the Eco-Broye program launched by Nestlé Waters in 2009. The Eco-Broye program preserves biodiversity and natural resources ensuring the protection of 100 hectares around Henniez’ site.

Nestlé Waters is now moving on a collective and innovative step focusing on renewable energy in total accordance with the Vaud’s canton energy policy.

Indeed, the aims are to raise awareness of the importance of the sustainable management of water resources and promote the use of local and renewable energy sources.

The installation will transform annually 25,000 tons of agricultural fertilizers issued from regional farms Thus, 3,800 tons of organic waste generated by Nespresso and Nescafé will be used as a raw material to produce biogas. The plant production of 4.5 million kWh of heat will be consumed into Henniez bottling factory.

Finally, Henniez will increase significantly by 50% the proportion of its renewable energy and reduce CO2 emissions by 1,750 tons per year.

This great pilot example is fully in line with Nestlé’s commitments in terms of sustainable development strategy and management of water resources.

Source: nestle-waters.com

Major Flooding in the UK now Likely Every Year, Warns Lead Climate Adviser

26.12.2016

Klimatske promene, poplave — Photo: Pixabay

Major flooding in the UK is now likely to happen every year but ministers still have no coherent long-term plan to deal with it, the government’s leading adviser on the impacts of climate change has warned.

Boxing Day in 2015 saw severe floods sweep Lancashire and Yorkshire, just weeks after Storm Desmond swamped Cumbria and parts of Scotland and Wales. The flooding, which caused billions of pounds of damage, led to the government publishing a review in September which anticipates 20-30% more extreme rainfall than before.

But Prof John Krebs, who leads the work on adapting to global warming for the government’s official advisers, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), told the Guardian: “We are still a long way from where we need to be, in that there is still not a coherent long-term view.”

Lord Krebs said it was important for both government and households to learn from the run of floods that have affected many parts of the country in recent years. “Almost every year there has been some more or less major flooding event and that is a key message,” he said. “We have to now get it embedded that this is something that will happen somewhere most years.”

Increased flooding is the biggest impact of climate change for the UK, but the CCC has also warned that the nation is poorly prepared for deadly annual heatwaves, water shortages and difficulties in producing food. However, Krebs, who is stepping down from his CCC role after eight years in January, said: “There is still hope this country will make the progress it needs to make.”

Pressure to act now must continue from the CCC in its watchdog role and from the public, he said: “This is not something in the long-term future, this is something here and now. But it will also be worse for your children and grandchildren than it is for us, unless we do something about it.

“At the extreme end, parts of the world could become uninhabitable and there could be mass migration,” Krebs said. “At the more modest end, we are likely to experience more extreme weather events in this country and we need to prepare for that.”

Krebs also said ministers would regret cutting flood protection measures for new homes. New laws passed earlier in 2016 aim to drive the building of 1m new homes but Krebs, an independent member of the House of Lords, said he was disappointed ministers had rejected proposals to cut the risk of the homes flooding and make them cheap to heat.

“The imperative to build more homes was overriding anything that might get in the way and I think the housebuilders got at the Department for Communities and Local Government to say all of this is going to be costly and difficult,” he said.

“It isn’t [costly] really, but they just want to get on and build homes according to the bog-standard, simple template and not have to worry about whether the development is sustainable in terms of carbon footprint and flood risk. In 20 years time, people will look back and say, ‘What were they thinking?’”

The CCC has also warned the government that there are no plans to deliver half of the cuts in carbon emissions needed in the 2020s, a caution Krebs likened to a yellow card.

On the third runway at Heathrow, Krebs said the government had not been clear whether the plan meant carbon emissions from planes would remain under the limit recommended by the CCC. “Is it crazy [to build it]? We don’t know yet,” he said.

But if the new Heathrow runway were built and the government stuck to the CCC limit, growth at other airports would be severely constrained, he said: “The big concern will be for the regional airports where there will be very little room for growth. So if Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh have aspirations, they may be dashed.”

Krebs said rejection of human-caused climate change and its great risks – which he calls denial – is a “fringe discourse”, with 114 of the world’s nations already having ratified the global climate deal signed by 194 countries in Paris a year ago.

But he said: “We shouldn’t be complacent because those dissenting voices are well-organised, funded and persistent. One has to be strong in the message that the risks are so great that taking out insurance [by acting] now is well worth it.”

Source: theguardian.com

35MW Waste to Energy Project for B&W Vølund in Boden, Sweden

26.12.2016

EZ - SIDA_1 — Photo: imagebank.sweden.se

Babcock & Wilcox Vølund has been awarded a contract worth approximately $35 million to design, supply and construct a waste to energy boiler for a combined heat and power plant in Boden, Sweden.

Danish waste to energy technology firm, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund, a part of US company Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. , has been awarded a contract worth approximately $35 million to design, supply and construct a waste to energy boiler for a combined heat and power plant in Boden, Sweden.

Vølund’s customer, Bodens Energi AB (BEAB), is a municipally owned producer and distributor of electricity and heating.

The boiler, featuring a DynaGrate® combustion grate system and with a thermal capacity of 35MW, will be added to BEAB’s existing plant and will supply steam for power generation and district heating.

B&W Vølund completed the existing Boden facility in 2008. “Waste to energy continues to be a proven, clean and reliable technology to address the energy and waste disposal needs of our customers in Europe.” Commented Jimmy Morgan, senior vice president of B&W’s Renewable business segment.

The new waste line and boiler will be capable of handling up to 13 tonnes of municipal solid waste per hour and is scheduled for completion in April 2019. $40m Contract for B&W Vølund to Supply “World’s Largest” Waste to Energy Plant in China.

Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S has been awarded a contract worth close to $40 million to design the boiler for the huge 168 MW waste to energy plant being planned for Shenzhen, China. Babcock & Wilcox Urges US to Favour Waste to Energy Over Landfill

Babcock & Wilcox has provided formal comments to the U.S.EPA’s proposed emissions rules for MSW landfills, calling for more stringent limits on emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that plays a role in climate change.

Source: waste-management-world.com

Shell Agrees Sale of Stake in Vivo Energy to Vitol Africa BV

26.12.2016

Shell has signed an agreement with Vitol Africa B.V. to sell its 20% shareholding in Vivo Energy for US$250 million. Completion of this transaction is expected during the first half of 2017, subject to regulatory approval. The sale is in line with Shell’s strategy to concentrate its Downstream operations where it can be most competitive.

As part of the transaction, a long-term brand licence agreement has been renewed with Vitol to ensure that the Shell brand will remain visible in more than 16 countries across Africa.

Vivo Energy, the Shell licensee in 16 African markets, was established on 1st December 2011 to distribute and market Shell-branded fuels and lubricants. Vivo Energy provides high quality solutions for motorists and businesses in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda.

Its retail offering includes fuels, lubricants, card services, shops and other non-fuel services (e.g. oil change and car wash). For businesses it provides fuels, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to business customers across a range of sectors including marine, mining, and manufacturing. Jet fuel is sold to customers at 23 airports though a partnership with Vitol Aviation.

The company employs around 2,300 people, operates over 1,700 retail service stations under the Shell brand and has access to approximately 900,000 cubic metres of fuel storage capacity. Shell and Vivo Lubricants has blending capacity of around 124,000 metric tonnes at plants in six countries (Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, and Tunisia) producing Shell branded lubricants.

Source: shell.com

NTPC, India’s Largest Power Producer, Enters Wind Energy Market

26.12.2016

NTPC Limited, the largest power generation company in India, has finally entered the country’s largest renewable energy sector.

NTPC Limited recently announced that it will set up its first wind energy project after months of an aggressive and continued push into the solar power market.

According to the company, a 50 megawatt (MW) wind energy project will be set up in the western state of Gujarat. The project shall be executed by Inox Wind Energy Limited. The project is expected to require a total investment of Rs 323.35 crore.

So far, NTPC has been pushing for solar power projects and has perhaps the largest solar power capacity addition target in India. NTPC will serve as the cornerstone of India’s ultra mega solar power projects programme. India plans to add up to 40 gigawatts of solar power capacity through this programme up setting up solar power parks of capacity up to 4 gigawatts each.

Auctions for several such solar power parks has already begun and a number of developers have commissioned large-scale projects as well.

Being a government-owned entity, NTPC should have little to no problem in selling the power generated from the wind energy project. Several private companies that own wind energy projects have complained about the poor off-take of power by utilities due to higher tariffs of wind power.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Ghatkopar Building Goes Solar, to Save Rs1.65 Lakh on Power Bills

26.12.2016

A residential building has become the first in Ghatkopar to use solar energy to meet their electricity needs.

The 15-storey Shivshakti Heights, located near the railway station, has got a 9.135 kilowatt (kW) peak power rooftop solar system installed, which lights the lifts and the building’s common areas. The building is home to 76 families.

“Adopting solar energy is not only a smart move that results in savings but also contributes to improving the environment by helping reduce the carbon footprint,” said Dinesh Doshi, member of the co-operative housing society.

Spread across 1,100 square feet, the system consists of 29 solar panels that generate 14,600 kilowatt hour (kWh) solar energy as compared to 60,000 kWh, the annual electricity consumption of the society. The residents hope to save Rs 1.65 lakh in electricity bills annually. “During winter months, the panels generate 45 kWh solar energy in a day and during peak summer months, it goes up to 50 kWh,” said Animesh Manek, founder and director, Avishakti Rooftop Solar Pvt. Ltd, the private company that installed the system.

A Mumbai house with two bedrooms uses, on an average, around 8 KWh electricity daily. “By going solar, we reduce the dependency on the electricity grid and thereby cut the electricity bills by 25%,” said Bharat Satra, another resident of the building.

The society has also installed a net-metering system, which allows surplus power generated by solar panels to be sent into the public grid and any deficiency is imported from the grid. At the end of a financial year, the society is charged by the electrical power supplier only for the ‘net usage’.

“Rooftop solar power plants once installed will provide power for 25 years. The initial cost of installation may be a little high but you recover the same within 3-4 years and after that we are not only free from exorbitant electricity bills but we have done our bit towards contributing to a pollution-free environment,” said Jay Desai, secretary, Shivshakti Heights.

Mumbai receives 300 days of sunlight in a year owing to its geographic location, making the sun an abundantly available source of energy with the potential to move away from the usual carbon-emitting process of burning coal and gas for electricity.

“The government’s initiatives in pushing people towards adopting renewable means of energy and this has resulted in a lot of enthusiasm and awareness,” said Manek. “It is interesting to see how people are not only doing it to save money but also for the larger cause of a greener tomorrow.”

“Mumbai is leading the way for harnessing clean, green energy from the sun and is participating in government’s mission to scale up the solar power to more than 10% of total energy supply in the next five years. Efforts of the Ghatkopar housing society are commendable,” said a senior official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Source: hindustantimes.com

Norway’s Biggest Oil Company to Build Huge Offshore Wind Farm Off Coast of New York

23.12.2016

If everything goes to plan, New York City and Long Island will be harnessing the Atlantic Ocean’s strong and dependable winds as a source of renewable energy.

Norway’s biggest oil company will be developing an offshore wind farm outside of New York. Statoil submitted the winning bid of $42.5 million to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last Friday to lease nearly 80,000 acres of federal waters roughly 14 miles off the coast of Long Island, the Huffington Post reported.

The company estimates that the leased area could host a 1,000-megawatt offshore wind farm, with the first phase of development expected to begin with 400 to 600 megawatts. The first plan of action is to survey seabed conditions which can be as deep as 131 feet, grid connection options and wind resources at the site.

“We now look forward to working with New York’s state agencies and contribute to New York meeting its future energy needs by applying our offshore experience and engineering expertise,” Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil’s executive vice president for Statoil’s renewable energy branch, New Energy Solutions, said in a statement.

New York state aims to generate 50 percent of its electricity needs from renewable resources by 2030 and is betting big on offshore wind to help meet that goal. The Long Island Power Authority, with the support of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is slated to approve a contract for a 90-megawatt offshore wind project 30 miles northeast of Montauk.

Offshore wind is resource begging to be tapped in the U.S., which has a projected 4,223 gigawatts of electric generating potential, LEEDCo estimated.

“The U.S. is a key emerging market for offshore wind — both bottom-fixed and floating — with significant potential along both the east and west coasts,” Statoil’s Rummelhoff said.

Still, the U.S. lags behind other countries in utilizing this form of emissions-free electricity. U.S. offshore wind development has faced a number of stumbling blocks, such as the embattled Cape Wind Project in Massachusetts that has stalled for more than a decade.

Europe, in comparison, has embraced this form of energy and developed several offshore wind farms projects, as the Huffington Post detailed:
“The United Kingdom alone gets about 5.1 gigawatts of electricity from 1,465 turbines operating at 27 separate wind offshore farms, according to data from the trade group Renewable UK. In 2012, Statoil completed its first commercial offshore wind farm, an 88-turbine project called Sheringham Shoal, off the eastern coast of England. That farm now powers up to 220,000 British homes. The company is building a second farm in deeper waters, roughly 20 miles off the North Norfolk coast in England, that is expected to produce enough power for up to 401,000 homes. Statoil’s third British farm, set to begin production off the coast of Scotland next year, could become the world’s first floating wind farm.”

In fact, Europe’s offshore wind is now cheaper than fossil fuels. According to The Guardian, the price for a megawatt hour is between €73-€140 ($76-$146) for offshore wind compared to €65-€70 ($68-$73) for gas and coal.

On a more positive note, America’s first offshore wind farm — the 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island developed Deepwater Wind — switched online just last week. And at least 10 other U.S. offshore wind projects are in development.

The country’s renewable energy sector as a whole has been buoyed by federal tax credits that help reduce the price of developing such costly technologies such as offshore wind. For instance, the $30 million Block Island wind farm is eligible for a tax credit worth 30 percent of the project’s cost.

However, under a Donald Trump presidency and a potential cabinet consisting of fossil fuel execs and climate change deniers, federal support of the country’s renewable energy sector could weaken.

Wind farms, in particular, are a sore subject for the president-elect. Trump has waged legal battles against an offshore wind farm near his golf courses in Scotland because it was a “blight” on the view and once said “the wind kills all your birds.”

That federal renewable energy subsidy is set to be lowered in 2019. An extension will require support from both Congress and the Trump administration.

Source: truth-out.org

Sweden, World Bank Support Better Solid Waste Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina

23.12.2016

The World Bank has received a contribution of US$2.0 million from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) to provide Technical Assistance (TA) for improved solid waste management practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Technical Assistance activities will seek to strengthen the country’s institutional capacities to plan, manage and operate this important sector in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner through four components: 1. Solid waste management sector review and reform plan; 2. Institutional strengthening; 3. Public awareness and education campaign; and 4. Assessment of selected priority investments.

“As part of Sweden’s firm commitment to support improvement of environment and sustainable development in BiH, waste management is considered one of the important areas where collaboration should be extended. Sweden has actively supported the waste management sector in BiH since 2010. Our long term engagement in this sector aims at supporting BiH to effectively bridge the transition from the current status of waste management to a more integrated and sustainable sector aligned with EU Directives”, says Marie Bergström, Counselor at the Embassy of Sweden.

This Technical Assistance is aligned with the Swedish Cooperation Strategy with BiH for 2014-2020, specifically, its third pillar focused on better environment, reduced climate impact and enhanced resilience to environmental impact and climate change. The TA is also aligned with the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for BiH for 2016-2020, which identifies assistance to the solid waste sector as one of key priorities. In addition, this TA will support BiH’s efforts towards EU membership, which requires gradual transposition of the acquis.

“Over the last 15 years, BiH has made significant progress in improving its solid waste management system”, said Tatiana Proskuryakova, World Bank Country Manager for BiH and Montenegro. “The World Bank is encouraging all stakeholders, including local communities and all government levels to cooperate with each other in addressing solid waste management priorities in a manner satisfactory to the local population and in accordance with the laws in force.”

The Swedish Strategy for BiH envisages continuous support to environmental improvements, together with supporting good governance and economic development. The ultimate aim is to accompany the country along the line of EU accession and the Reform Agenda.

The World Bank portfolio of active projects in BiH includes 10 operations totaling approximately US$383 million. Areas of support in the area of environment include energy efficiency, local and urban infrastructure, and flood protection.

Source: worldbank.org

UK Hits Clean Energy Milestone: 50% of Electricity from Low Carbon Sources

23.12.2016

Half of the UK’s electricity came from wind turbines, solar panels, wood burning and nuclear reactors between July and September, in a milestone first.

Official figures published on Thursday show low carbon power, which has been supported by the government to meet climate change targets, accounted for 50% of electricity generation in the UK in the third quarter, up from 45.3% the year before.

The rise was largely driven by new windfarms and solar farms being connected to the grid, and several major coal power stations closing.

In Scotland, the share of low carbon power is even greater, and now stands at 77% of electricity generation. A record 29% of Scotland’s electricity was exported, with almost all of it going to England.

The renewables and nuclear industry said the figures for Scotland were “fantastic” and demonstrated how carbon emissions could be cut while maintaining security of supply.

Scotland’s last coal power station closed in the spring, and coal plants in West Yorkshire and Staffordshire were shuttered. That caused coal power’s share of generation to plummet by more than three quarters, down from 16.7% in Q3 2015 to just 3.6% in the same period this year.

Environmental measures have made coal power increasingly uneconomic in the UK, and ministers have promised to phase it out entirely by 2025 at the latest.

Despite a recent rise in wholesale prices, which were blamed for one small energy supplier going bust last month, the average household energy bill was down 4.6% in 2016, to £1,237.

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We have made a firm commitment to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions, and these statistics show that we are doing exactly that.”

Source: theguardian.com

France Officially Opens World’s First Solar Panel Road

23.12.2016

France’s Minister of Environment Ségolène Royal has officially opened the world’s first solar road this week with one kilometer and 2,880 solar panels in Tourouvre-au-Perche. Now the country is waiting to see if the road, built with construction company Colas‘ Wattway technology, will live up to the hype surrounding the clean energy experiment. The road is designed to produce sufficient power to electrify street lighting in the 3,400-person village.

France bet big on what they say is the first solar panel road in the world, shelling out 5 million Euros, around $5.2 million, for construction. Resin including five layers of silicon covers the solar panels to ensure their resilience against damage. Wattway said they expect the solar panel road will produce 280 megawatt hours of power annually, with daily production varying depending on weather. The company also said they anticipate 767 kilowatt-hours (kWh) each day, with electrical output even 1,500 kWh a day during the summertime.

The new solar panel road will be tested for two years with lifespan and output being the two main factors to consider. Wattway Director Jean-Charles Broizat seemed cautiously optimistic in a statement: “We are still on an experimental phase. Building a trial site of this scale is a real opportunity for our innovation. This trial site has enabled us to improve our photovoltaic panel installing process as well as their manufacturing, in order to keep on optimizing our innovation.”

But not everyone is thrilled about the solar panel road. Some people think the government spent too much money. The Guardian translated Network for Energetic Transition vice president Marc Jedliczka’s comments to Le Monde: “It’s without doubt a technical advance, but in order to develop renewables there are other priorities than a gadget of which we are more certain that it’s very expensive than the fact it works.”

France’s ultimate goal is to cover 1,000 kilometers of roadways with solar panels.

Source: inhabitat.com

Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2016

22.12.2016

The International Energy Agency said today that it was significantly increasing its five-year growth forecast for renewables thanks to strong policy support in key countries and sharp cost reductions. Renewables have surpassed coal last year to become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world.

The latest edition of the IEA’s Medium-Term Renewable Market Report now sees renewables growing 13% more between 2015 and 2021 than it did in last year’s forecast, due mostly to stronger policy backing in the United States, China, India and Mexico. Over the forecast period, costs are expected to drop by a quarter in solar PV and 15 percent for onshore wind.

Last year marked a turning point for renewables. Led by wind and solar, renewables represented more than half the new power capacity around the world, reaching a record 153 Gigawatt (GW), 15% more than the previous year. Most of these gains were driven by record-level wind additions of 66 GW and solar PV additions of 49 GW.

About half a million solar panels were installed every day around the world last year. In China, which accounted for about half the wind additions and 40% of all renewable capacity increases, two wind turbines were installed every hour in 2015.

“We are witnessing a transformation of global power markets led by renewables and, as is the case with other fields, the center of gravity for renewable growth is moving to emerging markets,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.

‌‌There are many factors behind this remarkable achievement: more competition, enhanced policy support in key markets, and technology improvements. While climate change mitigation is a powerful driver for renewables, it is not the only one. In many countries, cutting deadly air pollution and diversifying energy supplies to improve energy security play an equally strong role in growing low-carbon energy sources, especially in emerging Asia.

Over the next five years, renewables will remain the fastest-growing source of electricity generation, with their share growing to 28% in 2021 from 23% in 2015.

Renewables are expected to cover more than 60% of the increase in world electricity generation over the medium term, rapidly closing the gap with coal. Generation from renewables is expected to exceed 7600 TWh by 2021 equivalent to the total electricity generation of the United States and the European Union put together today.

But while 2015 was an exceptional year, there are still grounds for caution. Policy uncertainty persists in too many countries, slowing down the pace of investments. Rapid progress in variable renewables such as wind and solar PV is also exacerbating system integration issues in a number of markets; and the cost of financing remains a barrier in many developing countries. And finally, progress in renewable growth in the heat and transport sectors remains slow and needs significantly stronger policy efforts.

The IEA also sees a two-speed world for renewable electricity over the next five years. While Asia takes the lead in renewable growth, this only covers a portion of the region’s fast-paced rise in electricity demand. China alone is responsible for 40% of global renewable power growth, but that represents only half of the country’s electricity demand increase.

This is in sharp contrast with the European Union, Japan and the United States where additional renewable generation will outpace electricity demand growth between 2015 and 2021.

The IEA report identifies a number of policy and market frameworks that would boost renewable capacity growth by almost 30% in the next five years, leading to an annual market of around 200 GW by 2020. This accelerated growth would put the world on a firmer path to meeting long-term climate goals.

“I am pleased to see that last year was one of records for renewables and that our projections for growth over the next five years are more optimistic,” said Dr. Birol. “However, even these higher expectations remain modest compared with the huge untapped potential of renewables. The IEA will be working with governments around the world to maximize the deployment of renewables in coming years.”

Source: iea.org

Las Vegas Now Runs Completely on Renewable Energy

22.12.2016

wind-energy — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

From street lights to city parks, community centers and fire stations, all Las Vegas city-run spots are now powered entirely by renewable energy, making it the largest in the U.S. to use such sources.

“We are now one of the few cities of the world that can say all the power we use comes from a green source,” the city announced.

The goal was reached with last week’s opening of Boulder Solar 1, a large solar plant run by NV Energy that’s located near Las Vegas.

“This is truly a proud day for Las Vegas,” Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman said last week.

Renewable energy is generated from natural processes that are continuously replenished, according to Penn State University. “This includes sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water, and various forms of biomass. This energy cannot be exhausted and is constantly renewed,” the school said.

While all Vegas government facilities are now only powered by renewable energy, many residential and commercial buildings are not, the Huffington Post reported.

Overall, the city’s energy savings because of its shift is estimated at roughly $5 million annually, the city said. The city invested more than $40 million in renewable energy over the past few years.

San Francisco and San Jose are some of the other big cities with plans to use 100% renewable energy by 2035, the Sierra Club reported.

Source: usatoday.com

Invest in EU: EUR 438 Million to Support Renewable Energy in Belgium

22.12.2016

wind-turbin-vetroturbina — Photo illustration: Pixabay

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will support the construction of the Norther wind farm off the Belgian coast with a loan of EUR 438 million. Half of this amount will be guaranteed under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Juncker Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe.

Norther is the third wind project off the Belgian coast to be supported under the EFSI. Upon completion, its 44 wind turbines will deliver an estimated 352 MW*, enough to supply renewably generated electricity to around 324,000 Belgian families. The wind farm will cut about 593000 tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse emissions per year.

Construction is set to begin in the spring of next year and is expected to be operational in summer 2019. The project is expected to create 2,530 person-years in employment, during the construction phase. It is expected to create further 16 full-time positions once operational. The total cost of the project is estimated to be EUR 1.1 billion, of which the EIB would provide nearly 40%. The project will use one of the largest offshore wind turbines in the world, with a rated capacity of 8 MW, which can be increased by 5% if wind conditions allow for it.

EIB Vice-President Pim van Ballekom commented: “Renewables are a long-term goal for the EIB and this signature shows that Belgium is serious about making the shift away from carbon-based energy production. In the last 5 years the EIB has invested over EUR 880 million in wind energy projects in Belgium to ensure a safe, affordable and diversified supply for a large portion of the Belgian population. Thanks to the backing under EFSI, the Bank can take on more of these projects, which create jobs while helping to support the energy switch.”

Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, responsible for Energy Union, said: “Today’s agreement demonstrates how the EFSI can act to boost investment while also helping to ensure that Europe has secure, affordable and climate-friendly energy sources. I believe that the Investment Plan will continue to make a substantial contribution towards Europe’s transition to a becoming a secure, competitive and low-carbon economy in the years ahead.”

Source: eib.org

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