China’s Budget and Plans for Renewable Energy

12.01.2017

Despite a recent downturn, the Chinese government is moving full-speed ahead to invest heavily in renewable energy.

The country’s national regulators have already promoted renewable energy as a possible cure for the country’s notoriously-bad air pollution. But China has placed more emphasis on renewable power in its latest five-year economic plan.

One of the provisions of that plan calls for spending $360 billion on renewable energy by 2020, according to The New York Times. China’s National Energy Administration said last week that the investment would create 13 million jobs in the renewable-energy sector, as well as reduce greenhouses-gas emissions and smog.

China is currently the world’s largest source of greenhouse gases, emitting around twice as much as the U.S., according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates.The move may also be an attempt by the Chinese government to catapult Chinese industry to a dominant position in the manufacturing of products like solar panels.

Aggressive promotion of renewable energy by the Chinese government has already contributed to a global plunge in photovoltaic solar-cell prices over the past few years. And it’s possible that the new Chinese policy could put the incoming Trump administration in a somewhat awkward position.

While China is doubling down on renewable energy, the U.S. may head in the opposite direction under a new administration. During his campaign, Trump espoused support for the coal and oil industries, and he has picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the EPA.

Pruitt is a climate-science denier who has sued the agency he is intended to lead multiple times. Yet Trump has also promised to boost job growth in the U.S. and prevent jobs from being outsourced to other countries—including China. However, the Chinese investment along with a possible U.S. pivot away from renewable energy could see jobs in the sector go to Chinese workers, notes The New York Times.

China’s relationship with Trump is already somewhat uneasy. Chinese state media recently warned him that he’ll be met with “big sticks” if he tries to start a trade war or otherwise antagonize the country, according to Bloomberg.

Source: greencarreports.com

Manchester Goes Green – Airport Significantly Reduces Energy Usage & City Centre Properties Follow Suit

12.01.2017

Photo: Pixabay
Manchester airport becomes first carbon neutral airport in the UK
From 1^st April 2018 it is unlawful to rent a property with poor energy efficiency rating
Mason Street uses low-carbon tech to be one of the city’s most energy-efficient properties (Surrenden Invest)

After a decade of striving to significantly reduce its energy usage and investing more than £7.5 million in efficiency projects, Manchester airport has become the first carbon neutral airport in the UK.

By installing more than 25,000 low energy LED lights throughout the airport, including the first on any UK runway, and saving the same amount of energy as used by 10,000 homes each year, Manchester airport has been awarded carbon neutral status (Level 3+), certified by the independent carbon management programme Airport Carbon Accreditation.

Ken O’Toole, CEO of Manchester Airport commented, “At Manchester Airport we are committed to being one of the leading European airports when it comes to environmental management. As an organisation we recognise that climate change is an important global challenge. This achievement demonstrates the lengths we go to ensuring we balance our role as economic generator, alongside caring for the environment.”

And now this sentiment of protecting the local environment through energy efficiency is emerging as essential within the UK property market, and more importantly to its investors. New legislation, due to take effect from 1^st April 2018, will make it unlawful to rent a property with a poor energy efficiency rating.

With properties currently graded from A to G, any property rented out in the private rental sector will require a minimum energy performance rating of E on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). However, there are opportunities arising within Manchester city centre that provide energy efficient solutions to investors, making the impending legislation a redundant worry.

Property consultancy Surrenden Invest’s most recent development in the heart of Manchester, Mason Street, uses modern low-carbon technology to ensure the building is one of the city’s most energy-efficient.

Source: abpropertymarketing.co.uk

National Grid Invests $100m in US Solar Partnership with Sunrun

12.01.2017

National Grid has invested $100m in a partnership venture with US solar firm Sunrun aimed at boosting the growth of the household solar rooftop market in the US.

Announced yesterday, the partnership includes a joint marketing agreement, a collaborative grid services pilot, and a direct $100m equity investment from National Grid in approximately 200MW of Sunrun’s existing residential solar installations.

As well as operating electricity networks in the UK, National Grid also serves customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, but the joint venture with Sunrun – the largest dedicated residential solar company in the US – represents the British utility firm’s first foray into the American solar power market.

The joint venture is initially targeting approximately 100,000 single family homes in National Grid’s downstate New York service area for solar rooftop installations, but the firm also plans to work with Sunrun to explore better distribution, balance and optimisation of the energy grid in view of the increasing prominence of renewables generation.

John Flynn, SVP of strategy and business development at National Grid, said the partnership would provide an opportunity to increase the UK firm’s capability in the distributed energy space “and enhance our ability to meet the changing energy needs of our customers and communities”.

Sunrun said National Grid’s $100m investment highlighted the attractiveness of the residential solar sector and “emphasises the various sources of capital Sunrun can leverage to support continued growth”, including through its BrightBox solar-plus-energy-storage systems.

The move follows a deal struck last year between Sunrun and LG Chem – one of the world’s largest battery makers – to sell domestic energy storage products alongside solar panels in the US market.

“We are excited to partner with National Grid, a utility focused on truly creating a clean energy future, and to promote the growth of rooftop solar in the United States,” said Lynn Jurich, Sunrun’s CEO. “This partnership demonstrates Sunrun’s ability to develop new strategic and financial relationships with partners to increase consumer access to rooftop solar while further unlocking value for customers.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Essen is Europe’s 2017 Green Capital

12.01.2017

The German city of Essen is Europe’s “Green Capital” in 2017, a title awarded by the European Commission, for its success in transitioning from a heavily polluting mining center to a clean and green economy.

The award helps to highlight the crucial importance of city climate action in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn in November (COP23), hosted by the the UN and presided over by Fiji, with the support of the German government.

Both Essen and Bonn are located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. Commenting on the award, the Lord Mayor of Essen Thomas Kufen, said:

“This is powerful recognition that Essen and North Rhine-Westphalia are a hub for environmental and climate protection. We hope that both the UN Climate Change Conference and our role as Europe’s Green Capital can send positive impulses for change across Europe and the world.”

The greening of cities is essential to achieve the key goal of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, which is to limit the global average temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The role of cities is particularly important given that most of the world’s energy is produced in urban areas, along with the most greenhouse gas emissions.

Successful Transition from Mining Industry to a Services-Based Economy

Essen used to be one of Germany’s most important coal centers, and is the first mining city to win the title of European Green Capital.

In order to protect nature and biodiversity, Essen has built “green corridors” and is renaturalizing the river Emscher. In the area known as the Krupp Belt, former site of the Krupp cast steel factory, a leisure area has been built, full of trees and criss-crossed with bicycle paths.

Essen began large-scale coal production in the early 19th century. The decline of the coal and steel industries in the region led to the closing of the last colliery in 1986. The city then successfully restructured into a services and financial center.

The city of Essen intends to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% by 2020 over 1990 levels. Emissions already dropped by 29,5 per cent in 2011 in relation to 1990, exceeding the German national average reduction.

This happened through a combination of national, state and local measures, prompting a reduction in the use of fuels such as heating oil, lignite and black coal and by ramping up district heating and renewable energy deployment.

Since 2010, the city has been buying certified green electricity, and since 2012 it has been helping all relevant stakeholders go green via a dedicated municipal agency. The Essen Climate Agency offers advisory services and works as a hub for consumers, companies, associations and other entities. It is also responsible organizing environmental projects and campaigns.

The European Green Capital award will be celebrated in Essen with over 300 activities throughout this year, including many activities involving local citizens.

Source: newsroom.unfccc.int

MidAmerican Adds 551MW in Iowa

12.01.2017

MidAmerican Energy has commissioned two wind farms in Iowa that total 551MW. The 301MW Ida Grove and 250MW O’Brien developments make up the utility’s Wind X project. Mortenson was the general contractor in charge of construction.

The Ida Grove project includes 120 GE 2.3MW and 14 GE 1.79MW turbines, while O’Brien features 91 Siemens SWT 2.415MW and 13 Siemens SWT 2.346MW machines. The two wind farms will provide more than $115m in annual landowner payments and more than $160m in property tax revenues over the next 30 years.

The projects were built at no net cost to customers, said MidAmerican. “Wind is a key element of our balanced approach to energy generation because it’s a renewable and clean source of energy,” said MidAmerican vice president resource development Michael Fehr.

MidAmerican’s average retail price for electricity is 6.78 cents/kWh, about 37% lower than the national average retail price of 10.68 cents/kWh, according to the Edison Electric Institute.

Source: renews.biz

Chemistry Research Breakthrough that Could Improve Nuclear Waste Recycling Technologies

12.01.2017

nuclear-power-plant — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Researchers from The University of Manchester have taken a major step forward by describing the quantitative modelling of the electronic structure of a family of uranium nitride compounds a process that could in the future help with nuclear waste recycling technologies.

This research has been published in the leading multi-disciplinary journal Nature Communications.

“In this nuclear age, there is a pressing need for improved extraction agents for nuclear waste separations and recycling technologies,” explained Professor Steve Liddle, Head of Inorganic Chemistry and Co-Director of the Centre for Radiochemistry Research at The University of Manchester.

“To achieve this, a much better understanding of the electronic structure of actinide complexes is needed since this impacts on how these elements interact with extractants.

“However, quantifying the electronic structure of these elements in molecules is a major challenge because many complex electronic effects become very important and of similar magnitude to each other with heavy elements.

“This makes their modeling very complex and much more difficult than for more routinely probed elements such as the transition metals.

“This means that traditional descriptions of the electronic structure of actinide elements are often of a qualitative nature but this is precisely the area where quantitative models are needed because our understanding of core chemical concepts become increasingly nebulous at the foot of the periodic table.”

Many members of the team had previously reported uranium nitride and oxo complexes where the molecules are essentially the same except for swapping a single nitrogen atom for an oxygen. The team realised that the symmetry of the complexes and oxidation state of the uranium ions rendered them ideal systems from which to develop quantitative models.

“However, the problem was that in order to move from qualitative to quantitative regimes a large family of molecules would be required to make the method robust, but their synthesis was not reliable,” added Professor Liddle.

“Fortunately, the team identified a new and reliable way to make the uranium nitride complexes. This enabled a large family of molecules to be prepared, which then gave the necessary platform from which to develop a robust quantitative model.

“With a family of 15 nitride and oxo complexes, a wide range of state-of-the-art techniques available at Manchester were deployed. Using variable temperature magnetisation studies the researchers were able to gain key information about the some of the lowest-lying electronic states of the molecules.

“Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, based in the national service at Manchester, was then used to further build a picture about the lowest-lying electronic states.

“Finally, near-infrared spectroscopy provided information on the rest of the full electronic structure by probing electronic transitions into states above the ones probed by the first two techniques. In order to make sense of a wealth of experimental data advanced ab initio calculations were used to build a rough picture of the electronic structures of these complexes, which was then refined using the experimentally obtained data to provide a final quantitive picture of the electronic structure.”

Source: sciencedaily.com

Duke Energy Goes for Sun Energy in California

11.01.2017

Duke Energy Renewables has acquired three solar power plants in California totaling 55MW from SunPower Corp.

The projects are the 20MW each Rio Bravo I and Rio Bravo II facilities and the 15MW Wildwood Solar II scheme, all of which are located in Kern County.

Southern California Edison is buying the electricity generated by the plants under 20-year agreements, Duke said.

Duke Energy Renewables president Rob Caldwell said: “These solar projects are excellent facilities that increase our solar presence in California by 50%.”

Source: renews.com

Paris Boosts Cycling Infrastructure, Names 2017 ‘Year of the Bike’

11.01.2017

Paris plans a major boost to its cycling infrastructure and will ban cars from outside the Louvre museum as it steps up its fight against traffic pollution, the mayor said on Sunday.

Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo announced a new two-way 4 kilometre bike lane to run along the Rue de Rivoli, a major east-west thoroughfare and one of the city’s most famous streets, and to connect the Place de la Bastille and Place de la Concorde.

She also said Paris will accelerate a plan to double the surface of its cycling lanes by 2020.

“Climate is the number one priority. Less cars means less pollution. 2017 will be the year of the bicycle,” Hidalgo said in a statement.

The noisy and polluted Rue de Rivoli, which links major landmarks like the Louvre Museum, Palais Royal and the historic Marais area, would become an area for walking, cycling and shopping, where the space for cars will be halved.

The city will also ban private cars from the historical Place du Carrousel du Louvre, which cuts through the Tuileries park and the square in front of the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum with about 9 million visitors per year.

Paris this year plans to pedestrianise most of the Marais by limiting car traffic there to residents, public transport and local businesses.

From 2018, Paris will also start operating a new “tram-bus” along the right bank of the Seine to boost public transport infrastructure as part of its bid for the 2024 Olympics.

Deputy mayor in charge of transport Christophe Najdovski said cities like Bordeaux and Lyon are way ahead of Paris in terms of reopening access to their riverbanks and banning polluting diesel cars from the city centre, as Tokyo has done.

“We have a lot of work left to do, as is obvious from the numerous days with peak pollution levels at the end of 2016,” Najdovski said.

In September, Paris turned a stretch of highway on the right bank of the river Seine into a pedestrian zone in an attempt to reduce pollution despite fierce protests from drivers and the conservative opposition.

In the past 15 years, private car traffic in Paris has fallen by about 30 percent as the city introduced its popular Velib bicycle sharing scheme and its Autolib electric vehicle sharing scheme, city authorities said.

Source: reuters.com

These 5 States Host Two-Thirds Of India’s Solar Power Capacity

11.01.2017

Solar power installed capacity is highly concentrated in few states in India. This is largely the result of proactive initiatives taken by some states that are also endowed with ample solar radiation resource and surplus land.

Just five states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu — host more than 67% of the total solar power capacity operation in India. Three of these states (Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) have been leading in terms of fresh capacity added this financial year, data up to the 31st of October 2016 released by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy shows.

Gujarat and Rajasthan have been pioneers in India’s solar power sector as they were among the first states to host utility-scale solar power projects. Solar power plants in these two states predate even the National Solar Mission which now targets having 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by March 2022.

Despite being the first to set up utility-scale solar power projects, neither Gujarat nor Rajasthan is the leader in terms of installed capacity. Southern states — Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh — aggressively implemented their ambitious solar power policies. Tamil Nadu now leads all Indian states in terms of operational solar power capacity.

Apart from the availability of surplus land and ample solar radiation resources, another possible factor that led to the domination of south Indian states in solar power sector is the lack of adequate fuel to power gas-based power plants in the region.

Several gas-based power plants have been set up across southern states. However, due to lack of adequate gas from the domestic gas fields these power plants remain idle. Perhaps to fill this generation gap, the state governments came out with aggressive solar power policies.

Last year, Andhra Pradesh proposed the most ambitious renewable energy target among all Indian states. The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) proposed to increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix to 25.25% by March 2022. Indian regulations call for separate renewable purchase obligations for solar and non-solar technologies. For non-solar renewable energy technologies APERC has proposed a target of 12.50% by March 2022. The commission has also proposed to increase the solar power share from 4.75% in 2017-18 to 12.75% in 2021-22.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Wind Power Now Runs All Electric Passenger Trains in the Netherlands

11.01.2017

All of the electric passenger trains running in the Netherlands are now powered entirely by wind. One year ahead of schedule, Dutch railway company NS announced its entire electric train fleet is running on 100-percent wind power as of January 1, 2017, ushering in a new era of green transportation. Renewable energy advocates hope the early success will inspire planners to incorporate wind-powered trains in other high-speed rail projects around the world, including some proposed in the United States.

In late 2015, the Dutch government announced its goal to power the country’s electric trains entirely with wind power by 2018. However, early successes in rolling out the clean energy program resulted in 75 percent wind power for the trains in 2016, so the initiative made a final push and achieved 100 percent effect January 1, 2017. One of the Netherlands’ largest railway companies, known as NS, partnered with the Eneco energy company in 2015 to funnel renewable energy into its fleet of electric trains, which carry 600,000 people per day.

Electric trains on the NS use around 1.2 billion kWh of electricity a year, which is roughly the equivalent of all the households in the city of Amsterdam. Switching to a renewable source for the energy-hogging transportation will make a huge dent in the nation’s carbon footprint, which has already been shrinking over the years due to investments in renewable energy projects. The electricity used to power the Dutch trains comes from wind farms in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Finland, many of which were just recently built. Because some of those farms opened ahead of schedule, it became possible to move up the timeline for powering electric trains with clean energy.

Source: inhabitat.com

Solar Panel Researchers Investigate Powering Trains by Bypassing Grid

11.01.2017

Imperial College and climate change charity 10:10 to focus on connecting solar panels directly to train lines, reports BusinessGreen.

Imperial College London has partnered with the climate change charity 10:10 to investigate the use of track-side solar panels to power trains, the two organisations announced yesterday.

The renewable traction power project will see university researchers look at connecting solar panels directly to the lines that provide power to trains, a move that would bypass the electricity grid in order to more efficiently manage power demand from trains.

According to the university, the research team will be the first in the world to test the “completely unique” idea, which it said would have a “wide impact with commercial applications on electrified rail networks all over the world”.

“It would also open up thousands of new sites to small- and medium-scale renewable developments by removing the need to connect to the grid,” Imperial College London said in a statement.

Network Rail is currently investing billions in electrifying the UK’s railways in a bid to reduce the number of trains running on diesel fuel, curbing costs, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions in the process.

Combining this effort with increased renewable energy generation in the UK could significantly decarbonise train lines by 2050, according to 10:10, but in many rural areas the electricity grid has reached its limit for both integrating distributed energy generation and supplying power to train firms.

“What is particularly galling is that peak generation from solar and peak demand from the trains more or less match but we can’t connect the two,” explained 10:10’s Leo Murray, who is leading the project. “I actually believe this represents a real opportunity for some innovative thinking.”

Initially the project will look at the feasibility of converting “third rail systems” which supply electricity through a power line running close to the ground and are used on roughly one third of the UK’s tracks.

“Many railway lines run through areas with great potential for solar power but where existing electricity networks are hard to access,” explained Prof Tim Green, director of Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College London.

The university will collaborate on the technical aspects of the project with Turbo Power Systems – a firm that works on distribution and management of power in the railway sector – while 10:10 is leading on research looking at the size of the long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) market for directly connecting renewables to transport systems.

“I don’t think you get a better fit for PPA than a train line,” added Murray. “A rural train line even more so, the project would open up many investment opportunities across the country and further afield.”

The news comes as it emerged that every one of the Dutch state-owned railway company NS’s passenger trains are now being powered entirely by wind energy.

As of 1 January 2017 all trips taken by the estimated 600,000 people who ride NS trains everyday are being powered by wind energy.

Having teamed up with the energy firm Eneco in 2015 with the aim of reducing its emissions, NS has now reached its target of switching the sources of power for its trains to 100% renewables one year ahead of schedule, with the firm originally setting a target date of 2018 for the milestone.

Source: theguardian.com

VW Shares Rise as $4.3 Billion Emissions Deal with U.S. Justice Department

11.01.2017

Volkswagen’s supervisory board had meeting on Wednesday to approve a draft $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, a key milestone in its attempts to recover from its emissions test cheating scandal.

Shares in Europe’s biggest carmaker rose more than 2 percent in early trading as investors welcomed the latest move to draw a line under the biggest business scandal in its 80-year history.

However, some said the 16-month saga could still have further to run, with U.S. authorities investigating who was individually responsible for the cheating and Volkswagen (VW) facing probes and lawsuits in Europe and elsewhere.

“This is a partial victory, but VW is by no means out of the woods yet,” said Ingo Speich, a fund manager at Union Investment which holds about 0.6 percent of VW preference shares. “There are still considerable litigation risks.”

“Facts need to be revealed now and, if necessary, further steps need to be taken regarding individuals to regain the trust of capital markets,” Speich added.

VW said after the market close on Tuesday it was in advanced talks over a civil and criminal settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over its diesel emissions test cheating, and planned to plead guilty to criminal misconduct.

It warned the deal exceeded the 18.2 billion euros ($19.2 billion) it has set aside to cover the costs of its wrongdoing, and it has yet to quantify the impact on its 2016 group results.

The settlement will allow investors to refocus on VW’s fundamental business, though there is uncertainty over the total cash required given exchange rate moves and the number of diesel cars VW may need to repurchase, Barclays analysts said in a note, keeping an “overweight” rating on the stock.

VW admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software in hundreds of thousands of U.S. diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner than they were on the road, and that as many as 11 million vehicles could have similar software installed worldwide.

Despite the scandal, the group said on Tuesday it notched up record sales last year, led by premium brands Audi and Porsche, though analysts say it may have offered big discounts on VW brand cars which have suffered most from the crisis.

Source: reuters.com

Alexey Miller’s Speech about Gazprom Results

11.01.2017

Beside wide analysis of 2016. year, Mr Alexey Miller at the end of last year stressed some facts at the internal meeting in Gazprom. Over the course of 2016, the working gas capacity of our UGS facilities grew by 1,260 million cubic meters. As of the end of the injection period, our UGS facilities contained 72.1 billion cubic meters of gas, an all-time high for Russia’s gas industry. Meanwhile, the potential daily deliverability of our UGS system reached a record 801.3 million cubic meters.

Throughout 2016, Gazprom ramped up gas production to over 419 billion cubic meters, exceeding the 2015 results and going beyond the planned output level by 11 billion cubic meters.

He stress es that Gazprom is making consistent efforts to expand our resource base. Since Gazprom is a partially state-owned company, the Russian Government can pursue an efficient policy to manage the national mineral and raw material base. Each year for many years, we have increased our gas reserves, with the reserve replacement ratio of more than 1. In 2016, the ratio is 1.09.

They set new records in terms of gas deliveries to Europe. On November 29, 2016, Gazprom’s gas supplies to that market totaled 614.5 million cubic meters per day. That amount is unprecedented for the Soviet Union and modern Russia alike. Add to that the fact that our total gas exports set an absolute record as well. The aggregate amount of gas exported to Europe in 2016 – and I can say that for certain – is expected to exceed 179 billion cubic meters. That is a historic high.

The Nord Stream 2 project is running strictly on schedule. The gas pipeline will be brought online in late 2019. Me Miller is absolutely convinced that they will put onstream new gas export capacities in a timely manner and in full. The amount of gas to be supplied across the Baltic Sea via Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 will total 110 billion cubic meters per year.

According to the data obtained this days, the Nord Stream capacities are loaded by even more than 100 per cent. We supply upward of 150 million cubic meters of gas daily via that gas pipeline. The growing consumption in our key partner countries is yet another proof of the fact that the Nord Stream 2 project is extremely important to the European market.

Source: gazprom.com

Iowa, Illinois and New Jersey Rank as Best States for Clean Energy Corporates

11.01.2017

Iowa, Illinois and New Jersey are the best states in the US for procuring clean energy, a new study from the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) has concluded.

The three states topped a new ranking of US regions based on the ease with which large corporates can procure clean energy, such as wind and solar power, for their operations.

The paper, released yesterday, suggests states across the US will attract more businesses – and with them jobs and investment – if they invest in boosting renewable energy capacity. By 2025 some of the US’ biggest retail and technology firms are expected to move to using 100 per cent renewable energy to power their activities, leading to an additional 60GW of clean energy demand, the report notes.

“The technology industry is increasingly transitioning to clean energy to meet customer demands, consumer expectations and our own strong sustainability commitments,” Rick Goss, senior vice president for environment and sustainability for ITI, said in a statement. “Clean and renewable energy sources are good for the environment, and they provide energy reliability and price stability benefits that are good for business. States interested in growing their tech sector should embrace this trend.”

Energy policies across US states vary widely, and some make it easier than others for large corporate companies to develop, fund or procure energy from large renewables projects. While Iowa, Illinois and New Jersey topped the rankings thanks to their high levels of clean energy development and favourable regulatory environment, Idaho, Wyoming, and Alabama came bottom of the list.

The report calls on policymakers at state level to take action to make it easier for corporates to procure clean energy within their borders by removing barriers to corporates installing their own clean energy projects, simplifying the regulatory landscape and backing new innovations governing the purchase of clean energy.

The report’s findings were backed by many of the world’s most famous technology and retail brands, including Walmart and Microsoft.

“Walmart is proud to be recognised as a leader in renewable energy procurement, and we are encouraged that a number of states have made significant efforts to support the practice,” Mark Vanderhelm, vice president of energy at Walmart, said in a statement. “Much work remains to be done, and we look to these efforts to determine the best practices that will drive the broader creation of cost-effective, customer-focused, and operationally sustainable renewable energy procurement programs.”

Source: businessgreen.com

“Man of the Year”, Choice Made by the Daily

10.01.2017

Mohammed_Barkindo_September_2016_(29604098012) — Photo: en.wikipedia.org

Photo: Wikipedia/Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äußeres

OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, has been named ‘Man of the Year’ for 2016 by The Daily, the leading African online newspaper.

The Daily explained: “This year,” the letter announcing the award states, “the choice is anchored on your untiring efforts, your adoption of strategic measures, your making of diplomatic shuttles, your engagement with oil-producing and consuming nations, your holding of various fora and your positive actions – all of which culminated in the rise of crude oil prices from less than $30 to over $50 per barrel in the global oil markets.”

“With these and other feats, we are very optimistic that many multiplier effects, including new investments, new oil and gas finds, additional reserves, job creation, new technologies, capacity-building, and increased concerns for the environment, will become ever more positive,” it added.

HE Barkindo, who was born in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria, has long ties with OPEC. A former long-standing OPEC National Representative for his country, he has served as OPEC Governor and also spent some time as Acting OPEC Secretary General.

During his working career, HE Barkindo has occupied many key positions in Nigeria’s public and private sectors, including a period as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Source: opec.org

Beijing Creates Anti-Smog Police to Tackle Air Polluters

10.01.2017

Beijing will create an environmental police force aimed at tackling deadly smog, after the Chinese capital spent the first week of 2017 mostly shrouded in a thick haze of pollution.

The new law enforcement outfit will patrol the streets, eyes peeled for open-air barbecues, trash burning and dusty roads that violate regulations, the city’s acting mayor Cai Qi said at the weekend.

Beijing will also shut its last coal-fired power plant and reduce coal consumption by 30% this year, Cai said according to state media. Officials will shut 500 factories and 300,000 older vehicles will be taken off the road.

“There is still a long way to go to meet the expectation of the public,” he added, admitting he wakes up every morning and checks the air quality, along with the weather report.

The capital is frequently beset with toxic smog and levels of harmful air pollution in 2015 were more than eight times those recommended by the World Health Organization.

China declared a “war on pollution” in 2014, but has struggled to deliver the sweeping change many had hoped to see and government inspections routinely find pollutions flouting the law.

Last week, inspection teams from the environment ministry found some companies resuming operations despite a government ban, known as a “red alert”, aimed at curbing smog. More than 500 construction sites and businesses and 10,000 vehicles violated measures to reduce air pollution.

But Beijing’s new police squad may do little to help residents breathe easy.

Its focus on local, street-level sources of pollution ignores the steel factories and coal-fired power plants just outside the city limits in neighbouring Hebei province, or the more than 5m cars clogging the roads. Cars account for about 31% of the most harmful type of air pollution, according to China’s environmental ministry.

While officials are aware heavy industry and automobiles are the largest sources of pollution, the government has been reluctant to impose sweeping change for fear of economic repercussions and potential unrest from fired workers.

“The root cause of the region’s smog problems, from a long-term perspective, is an unclean industrial and energy mix, which requires big changes,” said Chen Jining, China’s environmental minister, adding that he “felt guilty” about the toxic haze.

Beijing education authorities did bow to public pressure last week, agreeing to install air purifiers in school classrooms after more than a year of campaigning by concerned parents.

A study earlier this year found acrid air is linked to at least one million deaths a year in China, and contributed to a third of all fatalities in major cities, on par with smoking. Another research paper said the smog had shortened life expectancies by five and a half years in parts of China.

Source: theguardian.com

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