Tesla’s Next Supercharger Could Charge Electric Cars in Mere Seconds

28.12.2016

Elektromobil, Tesla, punjač — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

When it comes to electric vehicles becoming the norm, many people scoff at the idea of having to plug in their cars and wait around for the batteries to recharge. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have a solution in the form of a next-gen Supercharger capable of recharging a Tesla vehicle battery in mere seconds. Over the weekend, Musk hinted (on Twitter, of course) that the Supercharger V3 would serve up at least 350 kW, which is more than twice the output of current Superchargers on the Tesla network.

The teasing began when another Twitter user asked Tesla‘s head idea man when solar panels would be installed on the existing Supercharger stations, to which Musk said, “There are some installed already, but full rollout really needs Supercharger V3 and Powerpack V2, plus SolarCity. Pieces now in place.” When Electrek writer Fred Lambert wondered whether the V3 chargers would hit the 350 kW mark, Musk laughed it off, implying he may have something even more powerful in mind. “A mere 350 kW … what are you referring to, a children’s toy?” Musk tweeted in response.

Tesla’s current Superchargers are already the fastest electric car battery-charging units on the planet, capable of recharging a car battery in minutes rather than hours, but there is always room for improvement. The current Superchargers top out at 150 kW, so if V3 can offer up 350 kW (or more, as Musk may have been suggesting), Tesla drivers won’t have to wait around while their car batteries get juiced up. Instead, the new Superchargers could potentially be capable of charging the batteries in just a few seconds, a practice recently named “flash charging.” If such charging speeds could be obtained without sacrificing performance, Tesla drivers will be able to recoup tons of time, especially on long-distance journeys.

And, if the Supercharger V3 is installed at stations across the US, a cross-country Tesla road trip will be even faster. Given how eager some Tesla drivers are to set records, we bet it will only take a few days after the install until someone beats the current coast-to-coast record.

Source: inhabitat.com

Spanish Energy Firm Buys Two Biomass Facilities

28.12.2016

Spain’s Ence – Energía y Celulosa on Dec. 15 said it will buy Spanish utility Endesa’s stake in two biomass plants.

“This operation constitutes a new step in fulfilling our Strategic Plan, which plans to achieve 383 MW of installed capacity in biomass generation by 2020,” Ence CEO Ignacio Colmenares said in a statement.

Ence said that the two plants — Enemasa and La Loma — mainly use olive stones (biomass derived from the treatment of the olive for oil extraction), abundant in the surroundings of the installations, and have a total power of 32 MW. Together the plants are expected to reach an estimated net production of 175 million kWh in 2016.

According to the company, the two power plants began commercial operation in 2003 and they have advanced systems for the minimization of emissions.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Indonesia’s steady progress in tackling fossil fuel subsidies

28.12.2016

Many countries use fossil-fuel subsidies to advance particular goals – whether political, economic, social and environmental. Common justifications range from reducing energy poverty, redistributing wealth, or protecting jobs.

But in many cases, the net effects of fossil fuel subsidies are negative. In practice, subsidies introduced for social reasons, such as price controls on household fuels or support for coal mining to protect jobs, often carry large financial, economic and environmental costs.

In Indonesia, the consequences of persistent under-pricing of energy have been acutely felt. Thanks to low energy prices, rising incomes and low interest rates for vehicle loans, the demand for vehicles – mainly cars and motorcycles – has grown rapidly over the past decade. Transportation accounts for nearly all of the subsidised fossil-fuel consumption.

But Indonesia is taking action. The so-called “big bang” removal of subsidies in early 2015, along with efforts to target remaining subsidies to poor households and low oil prices, have been successful in significantly reducing the amount of subsidies. Spending on fossil fuel subsidies in 2016 is projected to amount to less than 1% of GDP, versus more than 3% in 2014.

Fossil fuel subsidies are not new in Indonesia. Subsidies were introduced around the time of independence in 1949 and by the 1960s accounted for nearly 20% of fiscal expenditure. The sharp devaluation of the currency during the Asian crisis of the late 1990s further ratcheted up their cost. By 2014, the economic value of fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia amounted to $27.7 billion.

One consequence, immediately visible in the capital Jakarta, is chronic congestion. This comes with its own costs, including air pollution, negative health effects and reduced productivity. All this creates additional carbon emissions and undermines progress towards the government’s ambitious carbon emission goals.

But the partial removal of subsidies has yet to be fully implemented. Progress has been hampered by opposition to change from entrenched interests – a mix of household consumers, industry and trade lobbies.

IEA analysis has shown that the best way for policies to succeed involves a fully-fledged political and communications strategy that sets out the costs of subsidies and the benefits of savings to other sectors that will directly benefit citizens. Along with opinion surveys, focus groups and other discussion forums, the government can identify changes to expenditure that are widely supported. Finally, Indonesia can remove the link between social assistance programmes and energy pricing and policy, implementing more targeted social programmes.

The government of Indonesia has until recently, struggled to develop convincing political narratives for reform. For the sake of the economy and the environment, this may now be changing.

Source: iea.org

Tesla & Panasonic Finalize Agreement To Begin Solar Manufacturing In Buffalo, New York

28.12.2016

An agreement has been finalized between Tesla and Panasonic to begin manufacturing solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules at Tesla’s new plant in Buffalo, New York, according to a new blog post from the company.

The solar PV production at the facility initially won’t include the recently unveiled “solar roof” products, it should be noted. However, that is in order a little further down the line.

“When production of the solar roof begins, Tesla will also incorporate Panasonic’s cells into the many kinds of solar glass tile roofs that Tesla will be manufacturing. All of these solar products will work seamlessly with Tesla’s energy storage products, Powerwall and Powerpack. Production of the first PV modules will begin in summer 2017, and will ramp to 1 Gigawatt of module production by 2019.”

As Tesla and Panasonic begin production, Buffalo will continue to expand Tesla’s American manufacturing base and create thousands of new jobs in the coming years. Tesla reaffirms SolarCity’s commitment to create over 1,400 jobs in Buffalo — including more than 500 manufacturing jobs. Panasonic, with its technological and manufacturing expertise in PV production, will also work with Tesla on developing PV next generation technology at SolarCity’s facility in Fremont, CA.”

Importantly, as part of the new agreement, Panasonic will actually be covering required capital costs in Buffalo and Tesla has agreed to a long-term purchase agreement commitment.

It’s interesting to see the companies continue to deepen ties. Some of those reading this may not be aware that Panasonic actually wasn’t in a great position financially just a few years back. While the Tesla partnership is still in its infancy so to speak, I bet that company execs are quite happy to have stumbled upon it.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Lightsource Renewable Energy Launches £600m Solar Buyback Program

28.12.2016

UK-based renewable energy developer Lightsource is looking to diversify its revenue streams through a new program which will invest up to £600 million over the next five years in buying up solar assets from homes and businesses.

Under the proposed scheme, Lightsource would offer the owners of both residential and commercial rooftop solar arrays a lump sum for their installation, which will see Lightsource take ownership of those solar arrays and garner the company the payments they receive under the feed-in tariff (FiT) program. According to the company, “the original owner would continue to receive power free of charge” from the solar arrays, while Lightsource will take over the operations and maintenance side of the installations “for the remainder of the FiT payment period.”

Lightsource says it has already purchased more than 1,000 solar installations in the UK, accounting for more than 2.25 megawatts (MW) of capacity, under its buyback scheme, and is now looking to acquire more solar installations that were operational before the FiT rates were cut in early 2012.

“There’s no question that solar PV is a sound investment. Our buyback scheme offers early adopters the chance to realise an immediate substantial return on their investment today with the added benefit of continued free solar electricity. In return for the FiT payment, we operate, maintain and insure the system – taking the hassle and cost out of any necessary future repairs.” – Nick Boyle, CEO at Lightsource.

According to Lightsource, buyback schemes such as its own, or other alternative ownership structures, “could prove particularly attractive to commercial owners of solar arrays” beginning next year, due to “government plans to increase business rates for firms that own and operate solar systems.” One way around those rate hikes would be to have the solar arrays owned and operated by a third party that would still generate solar electricity for use on-site, as the solar electricity would be considered “mainly for export.”

As solar subsidies and rate structures continue to change, solar companies may need to look at new ways to diversify their revenue streams, including through buyback schemes such as this one, but Boyle maintained “the solar sector was still well positioned.”

“For Lightsource and the energy industry as a whole, I can see huge changes happening in the future, as technologies across solar and IT combine to create genuinely smart homes and businesses. These technologies are already changing the way that we live and work – and the application of energy management systems and batteries will revolutionise the energy industry making it cheaper and cleaner for everyone.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

First US Petcoke-To-Methanol Plant With Carbon Capture Tech Gets DOE Loan Guarantees

27.12.2016

On the shortest day of 2016, the US Department of Energy announced that it has made the “first ever offer for a conditional commitment” of loan guarantees under its Advanced Fossil Energy project to Lake Charles Methanol, LLC, for a petcoke-to-methanol facility.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) offered up to $2 billion in loan guarantees to help finance the facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as announced on December 21st. The operation, which will not only be the first of its kind in the US, but will also be the first methanol facility in the world to use carbon capture technology, will then become “the world’s largest industrial manufacturing carbon capture facility.”

In the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable economy, helping to finance a fossil fuel methanol plant may not seem like an obvious choice for the DOE’s LPO, as the cleantech sector is more likely to cheer on the success of loan guarantees in the solar industry than in the fossil fuel sector. But seeing as these loan guarantees are coming under the aegis of the Advanced Fossil Energy program, it’s a total no-brainer, at least as far as the project qualifying under Section 1703 of Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act. The wording in the act gives the DOE authorization to issue loan guarantees for projects that “avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases; and employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to commercial technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued.”

Petcoke certainly seems like a good fit for cleaning up, as it’s a byproduct of the petroleum refining industry, and one that is often exported to other countries, where it is burned instead of coal (and where it emits 5 to 10% more CO2 than coal on a per-unit-of-energy basis). According to the DOE, this petcoke-to-methanol facility is designed to emit 36% less greenhouse gases than typical methanol facilities (on a lifecycle basis), and will capture 77% of its carbon emissions, with an estimated annual sequestration of 4.2 million metric tons of carbon.

One of the other key reasons that the LPO made the conditional offer of loan guarantees to the project is that the DOE believes that carbon capture and storage technology “is on the cusp of commercial-scale deployment” and the loan guarantees “could play a role in helping to bridge the funding gap for CCUS so this technology is financed by private lenders in the future.”

It’s not quite ‘clean,’ but it’s cleaner than other methanol facility alternatives, and it certainly seems to fit under the ‘all of the above’ energy policy umbrella.

However, in an extremely ironic twist, the sequestered carbon captured by the lake Charles Methanol facility “will be transported via pipeline to southeast Texas for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR).”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Colorado, Nevada, & Utah to Develop Interstate EV Charging Network

27.12.2016

An electric vehicle charging network covering the major travel corridors of the states of Colorado, Nevada, and Utah will be developed by a coalition of the governors of the states in question, going by a joint public announcement from the group.

The plan is for the 3 governors to work together in 2017 to develop complementary plans for the development of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network through the 3 states — specifically, for the development of a charging network along “Interstates 70, 76 and 25 across Colorado; Interstates 70, 80, and 15 across Utah; and Interstates 80 and 15 across Nevada.”

The plans call for the charging network to eventually connect over 2,000 miles of highly traveled highway.

“This initiative recognizes that our states will continue to lead the country in the electric vehicle market,” stated Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. “Our residents and the millions of visitors to our states will be able to drive electric vehicles from Denver to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas — from the Rockies to the Pacific.”

The Governor of Utah, Gary R Herbert, provided a complementary statement: “Regional collaboration is a key driver to fueling our future transportation options. By working together, we can minimize costs, ensure technological consistency, and serve as laboratories of innovation.”

The move is part of a broader push in the states in question to incentivize the adoption and use of electric vehicles. Colorado, for instance, currently offers unmatched incentives (as far as the US goes) — with a $5,000 tax rebate being on offer for the purchase of an electric vehicle. That’s a tax rebate by the way, not a credit — meaning that even if you don’t have a $5,000 tax liability in the state, your vehicle purchase price can still be reduced by $5,000.

While incentives like that certainly don’t hurt, the reality is that another primary barrier to wider electric vehicle adoption is currently lack of charging infrastructure — and, in particular, fast-charging infrastructure. The new announcement and plans show that the governors of Nevada, Colorado, and Utah, are aware of this. (Obviously, the notes above are for electric cars in general — with Tesla, charging infrastructure isn’t much of a barrier but the barrier to adoption is basically high purchase prices).

Source: cleantechnica.com

Photo: electreck.co

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

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