Another Strong Year for China’s Wind Industry

11.10.2016

The proposal for new feed-in tariffs for onshore wind in the draft NEA decree:

The Chinese wind market continued to power ahead during the first half of 2016. According to the Chinese Wind Energy Association’s unofficial estimate, H1 installations were 9-10 GW, which indicates that this year’s total should be over 20 GW again.

Installations are driven by the pressure of the next downward adjustment of the feed-in tariff, which is expected to come into force in January 2018. Talks about the 2018 tariff adjustment have been going on for a long time, and the Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) released a draft decree just one day before China’s Golden Week on Sept. 29. The draft NEA decree on “Lowering down of tariff of Renewable Energy” affects the renewable energy sector as a whole; tariffs for solar PV and for both onshore and offshore wind were all touched upon.

The most discussed are the tariffs for offshore wind and solar PV. The onshore wind tariff adjustment did not change from previous drafts, which have already been circulated.

The new proposed tariff for offshore wind is ruthless towards the industry with a reduction of 0.05RMB/kWh for each category(offshore and intertidal):

This downward adjustment of the FIT is driven by the large scale installations of both wind and solar PV. The National Renewable Energy Fund, which was formed by money raised from renewables surcharge to finance renewable energy, had a RMB 55 billion (US $8.2 billion) deficit in the first half of 2016, according to a government official at a recent workshop celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Renewable Energy Law.

In the meantime, curtailment continues to worsen. According to NEA’s statistics, the first half year’s curtailment rate reached 21 percent, which is 5 percent higher than last year. The heavy curtailment, together with a worsening of the lack of connections for new projects has caused local governments and grid companies to call for a temporary halt on project licensing in some of the provinces in northern and western China, such as Jilin, Gansu, Heilongjiang and Ningxia; and this is diverting investment into lower wind areas in the central and eastern provinces.

Offshore wind development has yet to take off in China. The sector seems to continue with its “medium pace” development in 2016 and this is likely to be the case for the next few years. The offshore tariff adjustment, together with the difficulties in investments in onshore wind projects in the northern and western provinces, might bring more investment into the offshore sector, but that won’t make a huge difference. The reality of the difficulties in the offshore sector is keeping many Chinese OEMs and developers away. So far only a handful of OEMs are competitive and active in the offshore market. None of the international OEMs has set foot in the offshore business in China (Siemens formed a joint venture with Shanghai Electric, but the JV partnership has now ended). The low tariffs are the major reason for this. Four OEMs — Shanghai Electric (joint venture with Siemens until recently), Sinovel, Envision and Goldwind — account for 86 percent of the offshore market.

In 2016, the first real offshore project, over 10 km from shore and in waters more than 10 meters deep, was fully commercialized, using the Shanghai Electric-Siemens’ 4-MW machines. All in all, with the current tariff level and the current market setup, it is hard to see a huge surge in the offshore market in the short term.

The Chinese offshore industry is indeed following the old Chinese saying: to cross the river by feeling the stones. Without a proper investment environment that is friendly to international players in the offshore market, the Chinese offshore wind sector will continue with its current development pace for some years to come.

This and much more will be discussed in detail at China Wind Power taking place from Oct. 19-21 in the New China International Exhibition Center in Beijing.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Canadian Solar, EDF to start construction of a 191.5 MW solar PV project in Brazil

11.10.2016

solar-panel-1393880__340 — Photo: Pixabay

Canadian Solar Inc. (Gueplph, Ontario) and EDF Energies Nouvelles, (EDF, Paris, France) on October 11th, 2016 announced the sale of 80% interest in Canadian Solar’s Pirapora I solar energy project in Brazil to EDF Energies Nouvelles’ local subsidiary, EDF EN do Brasil.

The 191.5 MWp PV project is starting construction and expects to reach commercial operation in the third quarter of 2017. Canadian Solar will supply the modules for the PV project from its new 360 MWp modules factory established in Brazil. 20-year PPA awarded in the second Reserve Energy Auction in 2015

The Project, located in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, was awarded a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the second Reserve Energy Auction in 2015. Once completed, the Project will generate 391,263 MWh of solar power per year, reads the press release.

“The investment by EDF Energies Nouvelles in Canadian Solar’s Pirapora I project is a demonstration of the strong potential of the solar energy market in Brazil,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar.

“Pirapora I is one of Canadian Solar’s three current projects in the country totaling 394 MWp with awarded long-term PPAs. We plan to grow our project portfolio and support the domestic solar market with our 360 MWp module manufacturing plant.”

Source: solarserver.com

Solar-Powered Houses Take Starring Role in Denver’s Community of Tomorrow

10.10.2016

solarni krov — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Zero-emission electric vehicles charge along the street. People walk along LED-lighted sidewalks. A commuter train drops travelers off from the airport to enjoy dinner at a corner café. And the houses? They’re entirely powered by sunshine.

This might sound like a scene from the distant future, but it’s not as far away as you think. In October 2017, Solar Decathlon 2017 will kick off in Denver. The biennial competition challenges teams of college students from around the country to design, build and operate beautiful solar-powered houses that are ultra-energy efficient and balance innovation with cost effectiveness. Fourteen Solar Decathlon student teams are now hard at work refining their initial plans for houses designed to provide shelter after disasters, conserve water and achieve other goals.

The Solar Decathlon houses will join the landscape at Peña Station Next, a burgeoning “smart city” between downtown Denver and the airport that city planners began mapping out several years ago. The plan calls for adding 1.5 million square feet of corporate office space, 500,000 square feet of retail stores, 2,500 solar-powered residential units, and 1,500 hotel rooms to the space separating the vibrant urban hub from the nation’s largest airport in total land area.

The foundation is already taking shape. In April, the publicly operated Regional Transportation District (RTD) opened the University of Colorado A line route, which zips workers, residents and tourists alike between Union Station and Denver International Airport via train at speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour.

Panasonic’s innovation arm, Panasonic Enterprises, joined forces with the City of Denver to act as the corporate anchor at the Peña Station Next development. The company aims to take a similar approach as it did with the Sustainable Smart Town project in Fujisawa, Japan, which features solar energy on every rooftop, bike and foot paths, electric vehicle charging stations, wireless internet, and a three-day supply of battery-stored renewable power.

Denver’s concept aligns with the Energy Department’s goal of powering the nation with clean, affordable and diversified energy resources that reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment. We’re proud to partner with the City of Denver as we count down to Solar Decathlon and help shape a brighter, more sustainable future.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Elon Musk’s Magnificent Seven: How Dream Deal May Test Boardroom

10.10.2016

Elon Musk has brushed off doubts about his plan to marry Tesla Motors Inc. and SolarCity Corp. with reassurances the idea is sound, including that his board is unanimously behind him.

That’s hardly surprising. Six of Tesla’s seven directors are Musk insiders with SolarCity ties, a setup often criticized as overly cozy. “You can’t have a board that is just an echo chamber,” said Vivek Wadhwa, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and longtime critic of boards’ lacking diversity.

Now some Tesla shareholders are saying a Tesla-SolarCity combination could finally bring changes to the boardroom, presumably one with slots for more directors. “The upcoming merger is an opportunity to rethink the board’s structure,” said Dieter Waizenegger, executive director of CtW Investment Group, representing pension funds that hold Tesla shares. Size, though, isn’t the main issue for CtW. “A bigger board is not necessarily a better board,” Waizenegger said, “if it is stacked with family and friends.”

CtW wants Tesla to add two independent directors, and to rewrite the rules so immediate family members can’t serve concurrently, as Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk do now, and to prevent the same person from being chief executive officer and chairman, as Musk is.

Many Connections

There’s no shortage of advice about what the electric-car maker should do to make the board healthier, in critics’ opinions, for a company with a $30 billion market value. Charles Elson, head of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said with just seven members the board looks like one belonging to a fledgling start-up.

Elson agrees the CEO and chairman’s jobs should be separated. “The person being monitored by the board shouldn’t be chairing it,” he said. Wadhwa, a distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering at its Silicon Valley campus, recommends more women and people from foreign markets where Tesla does business. At the moment, he said, Tesla is similar to Silicon Valley tech companies where “boards are basically boy’s clubs.”

What are the chances any of that will happen? Tesla directors didn’t respond to requests for comment, nor did the company.

Source: Bloomberg.com

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation Launches Circular Cities Network

10.10.2016

On 6 October the Ellen MacArthur Foundation hosts the launch event of its Circular Cities Network, a global network of city leaders who are pioneering the application of circular economy approaches to address today’s urban challenges.

In an increasingly urbanised world – 75% of the population is expected to reside in cities by 2050 – cities are facing enormous pressure on resources, but they are also the powerhouses of the global economy, with great potential to lead the transition to a circular economy.

The Circular Cities Network provides an online knowledge exchange platform to support decision and change makers from city authorities, to take action. An initial cohort of representatives from nine cities – Austin, Boulder, Copenhagen, London, Ljubljana, New York City, Peterborough, Phoenix and Rio de Janeiro – will join a quarterly meeting on circular city innovation, via video conference.

This week’s first meeting will include a welcome by Ellen MacArthur, an interactive session with Chris Grantham of leading design agency IDEO, and space for cities to discuss their view on challenges and opportunities in the process of embedding circular economy principles in their planning and operations.

Source: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

Detroit Diesel Corp. to Pay Penalty and Reduce Exposure to Harmful Diesel Exhaust to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations

07.10.2016

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced a settlement with Detroit Diesel Corp. that resolves alleged violations of the Clean Air Act for selling heavy-duty diesel engines that were not certified by EPA and did not meet applicable emission standards. Under the settlement, Detroit Diesel will spend $14.5 million on projects to reduce nitrogen oxide and other pollutants, including replacing high-polluting diesel school buses and locomotive engines with models that meet current emissions standards. Detroit Diesel will also pay a $14 million civil penalty.

The government’s complaint, filed today along with the settlement, alleges that Detroit Diesel violated the Clean Air Act by introducing into commerce 7,786 heavy-duty diesel engines for use in trucks and buses in model year 2010 without a valid EPA-issued certificate of conformity demonstrating conformance with Clean Air Act standards to control nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The complaint also alleges that the engines did not conform to emission standards applicable to model year 2010 engines. The school bus and locomotive replacement projects will reduce ambient air levels of NOx and other pollutants. In addition, the school bus program will improve air quality inside school buses by reducing exposure to diesel exhaust. Diesel exhaust poses a lung cancer hazard for people and can cause respiratory effects such as asthma. Detroit Diesel intends to target areas for the replacement projects that do not meet Clean Air Act standards for certain air pollutants and areas with low-income communities.

“Today’s settlement protects clean air for many communities and vulnerable people across the country, including school children,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA will continue to hold engine manufacturers accountable for meeting emissions standards that protect public health and the air we breathe.”

“This case demonstrates the critical importance of EPA’s vehicle and engine certification program to achieving the goals of the Clean Air Act,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “By not certifying the engines in accordance with the rules, Detroit Diesel Corp. increased pollution and undercut competitors. We will uphold the integrity of that program by holding accountable those that skirt the rules.”

The Clean Air Act requires manufacturers to obtain a certificate of conformity demonstrating compliance with emission standards before introducing an engine into commerce. Certificates of conformity cover only those engines produced within a single model year. A model year for a family of engines ends either when the last such engine is produced, or on December 31 of the calendar year for which the model year is named, whichever date is sooner.

The complaint alleges that Detroit Diesel commenced construction of the heavy-duty diesel engines during model year 2009, but did not complete construction of the engines until calendar year 2010. Because Detroit Diesel completed all manufacturing and assembling processes for the engines in 2010, the complaint alleges that the engines were produced in 2010 and required a certificate of conformity demonstrating compliance with 2010 emission standards. From approximately January 5, 2010 through approximately June 1, 2010, Detroit Diesel sold the engines for on-highway use in heavy duty vehicles. Because the engines were not certified to the more stringent 2010 NOx emission standards, Detroit Diesel’s introduction of these engines resulted in excess emissions. The engines were manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, but were introduced into commerce across the country.

Under the consent decree, Detroit Diesel will be required to implement projects to replace high-polluting school buses with school buses that meet current federal emissions standards and replace or repower high-polluting switch locomotives. Detroit Diesel is also required to post data and information about the clean diesel projects on a public website.

Detroit Diesel Corp. is a Michigan corporation that began as a diesel engine manufacturing division of the General Motors Corporation in 1938. It is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America. Detroit Diesel manufactures heavy-duty diesel engines, axles and transmissions for the on-highway and vocational truck markets.

The consent decree was lodged in the District Court for the District of Columbia. Notice of the lodging will appear in the Federal Register allowing for a public comment period of not less than 30 days before the consent decree can be entered by the court as final judgement. The $14 million civil penalty is due 30 days after the effective date of the consent decree.

Source: epa.gov

Photo: energy.gov

OPEC Secretary General to attend annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group

07.10.2016

OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, along with a delegation from the OPEC Secretariat, will be attending the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) that take place in Washington DC from October 7-9.

HE Barkindo has already presented a statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee outlining OPEC’s current oil market outlook. This included commentary on global economic growth, oil demand and supply, commercial oil stocks and the demand for OPEC crude. HE Barkindo also reaffirmed OPEC’s longstanding commitment to support oil market stability for the mutual benefit of consuming and producing nations.

HE Barkindo also delivered an intervention to the G-24 Ministerial meeting that took place on October 6. This included some background and context to the decision taken at the 170th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference in Algiers last week.

He said that the landmark decision “underlines the Organization’s continued commitment to a ‘sustainable stability’ in oil markets, for the mutual interests of producing nations, for efficient and secure supplies to consumers, and with a fair return on invested capital for all producers.”

The Conference decision to opt for an OPEC-14 production target ranging between 32.5 and 33 million barrels a day, he said, “was focused on the need to accelerate the ongoing drawdown of the stock overhang and bring the rebalancing forward.”

Source: opec.org

Poland’s New Solar-Powered Bike Path Glows Bright Blue at Night

07.10.2016

Solarni paneli — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

Poland—home to some of the most bike-friendly cities in the world—unveiled a gorgeous, glowing bike path near Lidzbark Warminski in the Mazury region last week to help nighttime cyclists get from A to B.

The 100-meter track, created by construction company TPA Instytut Badan Technicznych in Pruszkow, is still in test phase.

Next Nature Network reported that the bike path illuminates at night thanks to blue luminophores, a synthetic material that emits light after being charged by the sun. The color blue was chosen for the path because the engineers thought it would best suit the scenic Mazury landscape.

TPA president Ruttmar told Polish publication Gazeta Wyborcza that the material used for their track can emit light for more than 10 hours, meaning it can radiate throughout the whole night and re-charge the next day as it absorbs the sun’s rays.

The engineers drew inspiration from a similar solar-powered bike path in the Netherlands known as the “Starry Night” bike lane that was unveiled by Studio Roosegaarde about two years ago.

The two paths, however, are different in a notable way. While the Dutch path lights up via solar-powered LEDs, the Polish path requires no additional power supply, Waldemar Królikowski, director of the Board of Regional Roads in Olsztyn, said.

According to Inhabitat, TPA designed the path with sustainability in mind. The company is also researching ways to optimize production costs since this illuminated bike path indeed costs more than conventional ones.

Source: ecowatch.com

Coffee Producers in Costa Rica Use Science to Tackle Climate Change

07.10.2016

coffee-beans — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The report “A Brewing Storm”, released on Aug. 29 by the Climate Institute of Australia, warned that the main coffee producing countries will face difficulties such as the proliferation of plant diseases and the loss of arable land.

In the last few years, these kinds of warnings have given rise to a loose network of experts, government agencies, cooperatives and associations of producers that have the shared mission of saving local coffee production with the best available technology.

Some 40,000 families depend on coffee for a living, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, growing Arabica, the variety of coffee that is grown in the country, on a total of just over 85,000 hectares of land. This makes it the third agricultural export and the eighth largest export overall, although it only represents two per cent of the coffee in the global market.

The remaining farms have adapted; in order to survive they have tried to position themselves as producers of premium quality coffee. The 673 coffee farmers in Llano Bonito, a third of whom are women, have formed a cooperative called Coopellanobonito, which exports to the United States.

Now they have to find a way to deal with climate change and the rise in temperatures.

“Costa Rica is considered internationally a top coffee producer. So we have to look for ways to remain positioned in the market,” Elías de Melo, a Brazilian expert on coffee and agroforestry systems at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE), based in Brazil, told IPS.

One of the proposed solutions is a project that De Melo brought to Llano Bonito. Along with the local Café Forestal Foundation, De Melo is visiting six coffee farming communities in the country to understand their problems and devise solutions together.

“We want to set up four pilot farms in this community, to function as outdoor classrooms,” Carlos Jones, the Foundation’s executive director told the producers.

The idea is to create four of these model farms in each of the six communities.

This project received 100,000 dollars from the international Adaptation Fund, which finances projects and programmes aimed at reducing the effects of climate change in developing countries. Through this mechanism Costa Rica obtained 10 million dollars to use in 30 projects to be implemented by the non-governmental Fundecooperación.

Costa Rica has gradually taken on a leading role in coffee production. In 2013 the country presented a voluntary initiative to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the coffee sector: NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) Café – the first agricultural NAMA in the world.

NAMA Café is also committed to climate change adaptation, said the head of the coffee division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Luis Zamora.

“Coffee can withstand adverse conditions, but only up to a certain extent,” Zamora, one of the proponents of NAMA, told IPS.

How to avoid reaching that point referred to by Zamora? With adaptation measures, said the expert, such as planting trees in the coffee plantation to regulate the temperature through agroforestry systems, harvesting rainwater or using more resistant new varieties.

A common practice on coffee farms is to use fruit trees such as plantain trees in order to provide shade for the coffee plants and a number of additional advantages for producers.

“There can be no mitigation and adaptation to climate change without putting trees in the productive systems,” said De Melo.

Trees create a microclimate preventing problems related to high temperatures and soil erosion, while improving water filtration. A careful selection of trees can even diversify crops, while serving as a climate change adaptation measure.

“Now we come home with plantain, cassava, and taro (Colocasia esculenta, a tuber widely consumed locally), jocotes (Spondias purpurea, Spanish plum). All these are trees that give shade,” said Abarca.

However, solutions to continue producing coffee with rising temperatures must be found quickly, said Zamora, because “there is not much time to think,” given the advance of climate change.

Coffee farmers went through difficult times in 2013, when high levels of moisture and high temperatures allowed the coffee fungus or roya to spread through Central America.

These episodes force farmers to use new coffee varieties more resistant to diseases, like the so-called H1 hybrids, the Costa Rica 95 variety or the Brazilian Obata.

The farms need financial support, noted Zamora and De Melo, because to change plant varieties has a cost of about 8,000 dollars per hectare. Trees can take up to three years to produce their first harvest.

These solutions that are encouraged by experts and producers should come from the grassroots, even if they are scientifically proven.

This is demonstrated by a poll carried out by economist Milagro Saborío, who surveyed 300 coffee producing families about climate change for a joint project between CATIE and Conservation International.

Source: ipsnews.net

NASA Takes Next Step in Green Aviation X-planes Plans

07.10.2016

Yesterday, at the 39th meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization, 191 countries reached a global climate deal to reduce carbon emissions from aviation. At the same time, NASA is working to create new experimental aircraft that will demonstrate new “green aviation” technology intended to dramatically reduce fuel use, emissions and noise – with the goal of cutting emissions from the nation’s commercial aircraft fleet by more than 50 percent, while also reducing perceived noise levels near airports to one-half the level of the quietest aircraft flying today.

To that end, NASA recently awarded six-month contracts to four companies, who will each define the technical approach, schedule, and cost for one or more large-scale, subsonic X-plane concepts. These concepts are in support of NASA’s ultra-efficient subsonic transport research goals.

The companies are Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation of Manassas, VA; Dzyne Technologies Incorporated of Fairfax, VA; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of Ft. Worth, TX; and The Boeing Company of Hazelwood, MO.

“Engaging these contractors now to gather this information will help us move forward efficiently and expeditiously when we’re ready to commit to building the X-planes themselves,” said Ed Waggoner, NASA’s Integrated Aviation Systems Program director.

Each company is to detail their specific X-plane system requirements for a piloted experimental aircraft capable of sustained, two to three hours of powered high subsonic flight, as well as conducting at least two research flight sorties per week over the course of a year-long program.

The requested information is to be built around a plan that would see the selected experimental aircraft eventually flying no later than 2021.

NASA’s return to flying large-scale X-plane technology demonstrators – a staple of its aeronautical research heritage – is part of New Aviation Horizons, an ambitious 10-year accelerated research plan developed and announced by NASA earlier this year.

Source: nasa.gov

IAEA Mission Says Canada’s Pickering Nuclear Plant Has Strengthened Safety, Sees Scope for Further Improvement

07.10.2016

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts today said Canada’s Pickering Nuclear Power Plant has strengthened safety in recent years but also identified areas where work is needed to further improve the facility’s operational safety.

The Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) yesterday concluded a 19-day mission to assess operational safety at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, located outside Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario.

The team found that the facility has made good progress in a number of operational safety areas, for example by installing severe accident simulation software. The team also proposed further safety enhancements, including measures to ensure proper maintenance of safety-relevant equipment.

OSART missions aim to improve operational safety by objectively assessing safety performance using the IAEA’s Safety Standards and proposing recommendations for improvement where appropriate.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) operates six reactors at the site, with an additional two reactors in safe shutdown state. The units are CANDU pressurized heavy water reactors, which commonly use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as a coolant and moderator. Unit 1 came online in 1971, while unit 8 was the last to be connected to the grid, in 1986. The site hosted OSART missions in 1987 and 2004.

“We noted that the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant has made good progress in their operational safety performance in the past several years. Many safety enhancements were implemented,” said team leader Fuming Jiang, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA.

Source: iaea.org

Renault-Nissan Alliance Named Official COP22 Passenger Car Partner with Zero-emission Fleet

07.10.2016

Elektromobil, Punjač, Renault, , Stanica za punjenje — Foto: Pixabay

The Renault-Nissan Alliance, world leader in zero-emission mobility, will provide a fleet of 50 all-electric vehicles as the official passenger-car provider for the United Nations’ COP22 Climate Conference in Marrakech, Morocco. The fully electric fleet will shuttle delegates.

More than 25,000 participants from 195 countries are expected to attend the annual climate summit Nov. 7-18. It marks the second time the United Nations will use a zero-emission shuttle fleet in support of public transport at one of its major conferences.

The COP22 fleet will feature the Renault ZOE subcompact car, the Nissan LEAF compact car and the seven-seat Nissan e-NV200 van. The vehicles will be available to shuttle delegates 24 hours, seven days a week to key venues at the conference, as a complement to public transportation.

The Alliance will also provide a network of more than 20 accelerated and standard charging stations at strategic locations. The accelerated charging stations will be able to charge the EVs from 0 to 80 percent in about one hour.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the global leader in zero-emission vehicles. With six models, it has already sold more than 360,000 electric vehicles worldwide. Nissan LEAF, launched in 2010, remains the industry’s best-selling EV. Renault ZOE is the best-performing EV in Europe. The Alliance has sold about half of the electric vehicles on the road globally today including the Renault Twizy two-seat, urban commuter vehicle, and the Nissan e-NV200 van, which has been on sale in Europe and Japan since 2014.

In addition, the Renault-Nissan’s Tangier, Morocco, plant is designed to move towards “zero CO2” emissions through the use of renewable resources, for thermal energy produced on site, as well as its purchased electricity. The plant began operations in 2012, and its approach remains unique in the automobile industry.

Source: prnewswire.com

DOE Charts Show Why Climate Doom and Gloom Isn’t Needed

06.10.2016

A new report from the US Department of Energy paints a bright picture for our prospects to cut carbon pollution and prevent the most dangerous levels of climate change. The report looked at recent changes in costs and deployment of five key clean energy technologies: wind, residential solar, utility-scale solar, batteries, and LED bulbs. For each technology, costs fell between 41% and 94% from 2008 to 2015.

The report finds that due to its low cost, US wind energy capacity has nearly tripled since 2008. Wind now supplies nearly 5% of total US electricity generation.

As a result, there are now nearly 90,000 U.S. manufacturing, construction, and wind operations jobs. Research has resulted in bigger turbines that can generate more electricity.

Offshore wind also presents tremendous untapped potential, with the first such project set to begin generating power off the cost of Rhode Island this month. The DOE envisions wind generating 20% of the nation’s electricity by 2030 and 35% by 2050, with costs falling a further 35% by 2050.

Utility-scale solar farm costs have fallen 64% since 2008, and distributed (mostly residential) solar costs by 54%. While solar still accounts for a relatively small percentage of overall US electricity generation, its deployment has been increasing rapidly as costs have dropped. Even the military is getting on board.

In 2015, the solar sector employed about 220,000 Americans. The DOE envisions that solar power could supply 27% of US electricity generation by 2050. Solar deployment is surging in 2016, with around 10 gigawatts (GW) set to be installed this year – equal to all the solar capacity installed in the US through 2014.

Solar panel leasing from companies like Solar City and Sungevity has revolutionized the distributed solar market, accounting for the majority of domestic residential system installed in leading state markets in 2015. This approach makes solar panels obtainable for households that can’t afford to purchase them. Distributed solar costs are expected to fall a further 16–33% by 2020.

The best available LED bulbs use 85% less energy than incandescent bulbs. Although their high efficiency slashes electric bills, the bulbs’ high cost was initially a deterrent to many consumers. However, LED costs have plummeted 94% since 2008. From 2014 to 2015, LED installations in the US more than doubled, and already account for 6% of installed A-type lightbulbs, as well as 11% and 21% of directional bulbs and outdoor lighting fixtures, respectively.

By 2035, DOE anticipates that LEDs will account for 85% of American’s lighting installations, saving Americans nearly $630 billion in avoided energy costs.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales in the US reached 115,000 in 2015, more than double the number sold in 2012. Overall US EV sales will surpass a half-million by the end of this year. As shown by a new paper and app from MIT, EVs reduce greenhouse gas emissions 58% compared to gasoline-powered cars, and often cost less on a per-mile basis. As low-carbon energy deployment increases, EVs will only become cleaner.

The technology is advancing rapidly due to heavy research, with batteries produced at high-volume now costing 79% less than they did in 2009. Chevroletand Tesla will soon release electric cars with 200 mile-per-charge range and before-rebate prices under $40,000, and Renault beat both automakers to the punch with the 250-mile, $28,000 Zoe. There are now more than 35,000 public and private EV charging outlets in the United States, and in the UK, EV charging stations will outnumber petrol stations by 2020.

The MIT study showed that in order to meet climate targets, we need a transition to EV transportation fueled by low-carbon sources of electricity. The DOE report shows that this sort of high-tech clean future is entire plausible; we’re moving in the right direction with falling costs and rising deployment of the right technologies.

Source: theguardian.com

Strengthen the Capacities for the Use of Bioenergy in Serbia

06.10.2016

milica-giz-vukadinovic-foto — ????????????????????????????????????

Delegation of German Economy in Serbia organized a conference entitled ‘Biomass and Biogas in Serbia’ at the beginning of April in Belgrade. A number of interested companies from Germany held a presentation in order to establish cooperation and partnership in Serbia. Many Executive Managers and owners of the companies arrived in Belgrade (‘Vecoplan’. ‘New Eco-tech Verfahtenstechnik’, ‘Strawtherm’, ‘AP Bioenergietechnik’ and many others). However, the exposition of Milica Vukadinović dragged our attention. She is “Project Development” Component leader for the programme “Development of a Sustainable Bioenergy Market in Serbia” (DKTI) of GIZ. The aim of this presentation was to present the activities and cooperation with Serbian cities and municipalities. We were acquainted with plans that should improve the standard at the local level and the quality of life on farms, in rural households, schools, hospitals, etc.

EP: Would you be so kind to tell us something about the programme “Development of a Sustainable Bioenergy Market in Serbia” (GIZ DKTI) which focuses on the prospects and challenges in developing bioenergy market in Serbia? What are the timelines of this project and what does GIZ conduct within this project?

Milica Vukadinović: The programme “Development of a Sustainable Bioenergy Market in Serbia” is a bilateral programme between the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Germany. The programme is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and The Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia. The programme lasts till the end of 2017.

The main objective of the programme is to strengthen the capacities and to create favourable environment for the sustainable usage of bioenergy in Serbia in different fields.

Fields of the Project are the following:

Policy advice → improvement of framework conditions for bioenergy sector and adjustment of regulations and standards
Biomass supply → development of local structures for heat power plant’s provision of biomass such as wood residues (production or collection, processing, transportation, storage)
Efficient firewood utilization in households → promoting efficient utilization of wood fuels in households, as well as the introduction of standards for more efficient furnace
Project Development → helping Serbian and German investors in developing and implementing various types of innovative projects in the field of bioenergy (for example heating system on wood biomass in public buildings, biogas power plants, power plants for the production of heat for industrial purposes)

In concrete terms, the field of Project Development, which is in the framework of GIZ DKTI project, has been focused on the development of small and medium-sized biogas power plants this year.

Germany is the leader in the field of biogas and there are over 9,000 biogas power plants with total installed power of over 4,500 MWh. Serbia has only three functional biogas power plants, which have been operating since 2013.

However, the introduction of biogas power plants on medium sized farms in Serbia would create additional constant incomes to farmers and agricultural households and more important it would reduce the negative impacts of fluctuations of other income of the farms.

Small biogas power plants on farms imply the installation of technology which uses raw materials that farmers already have and that is free. This raw material is organic waste such as animal manure from which biogas can be produced. Biogas can be used for the production of heat for the farms’ needs, but also for the production of electricity which can be sold at pre-defined incentive prices (so-called ‘feed-in’ tariffs) and in that way farmers can earn additional income.

By using electricity from renewable energy sources, Serbia is moving towards the environmental standards of the European Union; achieves increased revenue at the local level, and agricultural households gain energy independence, which can have a major role in doing business and development planning in the future. Domestic farmers have shown huge interest in new technologies which we have been promoting as an organization and we hope that we will have an opportunity to talk to Serbian farmers about the prosperity and the benefits which biogas yields has brought to them in the years ahead of us.

EP: What is your experience regarding the cooperation with local governments? Which municipalities and cities have been included in your projects in the field of bioenergy? What has been achieved so far?

Milica Vukadinović: We would particularly want to highlight the excellent cooperation with local self-governments, engagingness of people and their readiness for changes which lead to better standard of living, sustainable development, economic development of municipalities and environmental protection.

I will single out the cooperation with the Municipality of Pirot, which will through public-private partnership soon provide heating on wood biomass in public buildings (schools and kindergartens) in their city. Then, we conduct campaigns together we the Municipalities of Leskovac, Vlasotince, Bajina Bašta and Užice for the promotion of more efficient usage of firewood. The municipalities in the southwest Serbia in Zlatibor District (Bajina Bašta, Nova Varoš, Prijepolje, Priboj, Mali Zvornik, Novi Pazar) have made joint efforts and shown willingness to switch from heating on fossil fuels onto locally available and CO₂ neutral energy source – wood chips.

EP: What is the situation regarding the use of wood biomass for energy purposes in the region? Can you compare the progress of Serbia in relation to other neighbouring countries?

Milica Vukadinović: Serbia has a huge biomass potential for electricity production in agriculture and forestry. The aim of Serbian Government is to make this potential accessible and thereby help the increase of the energy share from renewable energy sources. Heating power plants, industrial power plants and agricultural households show the increased interest for the use of bioenergy for heat and electricity. The efforts that GIZ makes in the development of bioenergy market in Serbia are of huge significance for the entire Balkan region. Our goal is not just the exchange of existing knowledge and good practices between Serbia and Germany but also between regional actors in this field. This contributes to the local economic strengthening, additional employment and significant positive impact on the environment. It is very important to point out that the sustainable usage of bioenergy requires an organised and systematic approach of actors in different sectors and at all levels.

EP: Cooperation between Germany and Serbia is long-term and includes all professions. What are the GIZ’s plans for the future period in Serbia in the field of bioenergy?

Milica Vukadinović: Cooperation between Serbia and Germany is exceptional in many areas and we are proud of our partnership because it creates real values for the citizens of Serbia. Development potentials of Serbian agriculture are extraordinary, since Serbia has significant resources. We pay much attention to this area. The German Agency for International Cooperation is very dedicated to agricultural development through the usage of bioenergy. Currently, domestic farmers rely on traditional energy sources to a great extent, which are expensive and have harmful impact on the environment. Energy independence, improvement of your business and achievement of additional revenues can be achieved with the adoption of new technological solutions and with turning towards the production of bio-energy.

Interview by: Vesna Vukajlović

UK’s Billions of Takeaway Cups Could Each Take ’30 Years’ to Break Down

06.10.2016

Coffee-addicted Britain is leaving a mountain of toxic waste for the next generation as scientists warn it could take decades for paper cups from Starbucks, Pret a Manger and other chains to decompose.

The environmental cost of the coffee-to-go culture has been highlighted amid growing concerns that much of the public wrongly believe the cups are recycled, when in fact they are dumped in the green bin in the office or the recycling bin on the street.

While the paper can be recycled, the problem arises because recycling plants do not have the facility to remove the plastic lining which makes the cups impermeable.

Chris Cheeseman, a professor of materials resources engineering at Imperial College London, says the polyethylene is resistant to degradation and could take around 30 years to break down. “Even then we don’t know for sure, because nobody has looked at the cup specifically,” added Cheeseman.

Even if there were no plastic lining, the cup could take at least two years to start breaking down because of the high quality paper. “In terms of environmental impact the cellulose fibre is potentially more of an issue than the plastic,” he said.

“This could take 18 months to two years to start to break down and then it produces methane gas which is probably not collected.”

For health and safety reasons the paper must be virgin, prompting claims that it takes at least 100,000 trees to fuel Britain’s coffee habit a year.

Last week the Liberal Democrats called for a 5p tax on coffee cups following the success of the plastic bag tax in a bid to change consumer behaviour.

Parminter is planning to call all the main coffee chains to talks to discuss the issue of recycling and pressure them into doing more.

Simply Cups, a company that collects cups from businesses and event organisers for specialist recycling has launched a plastic product developed from the cups.

It estimates the number of cups in circulation could be as high as 5bn when caterers, hotels, restaurants such as McDonald and shops such as Waitrose and Greggs are taken into account.

Efforts to fight paper cup waste will be centre stage in Manchester city centre next week when a series of giant cup-shaped bins will appear on pavements.

Charity Hubbub has launched the scheme with the city council and high street coffee retailers in a bid to change coffee-drinker habits. It says the cups collected will be taken to a specialist recycling centre and turned into plastic pellets which can then be used in products such as garden furniture.

Jason Cotta, managing director of Costa, said the company was hugely concerned with this important issue and it had partnered with a university to understand the lifecycle of a cup once it left its stores. It was also trialling in-store waste disposal and since April has been donating 25p to anti-litter charities every time a customer uses a disposal cup.

Source: theguardian.com

California Program Encourages Adoption of Zero-Emissions Vehicles

06.10.2016

California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program is expected to increase sales of electric, plug-in hybrid, and other alternative light-duty vehicles in the United States. The ZEV program is administered by the California Air Resources Board and affects model year 2018 and later vehicles, requiring automakers to earn credits for alternative fueled vehicles based on a percentage of their sales in California. So far, nine other states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Oregon) have adopted California’s ZEV program. Taken together, California and the nine other states that have adopted the program accounted for 28% of total U.S. sales of light duty vehicles in 2015. Analysis in EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2016 (AEO2016) looks at the ZEV program’s implications for vehicle sales and energy consumption.

The ZEV sales requirement is administered through credits that are earned for selling specific types of vehicles. The value of the credits for vehicles sold within each of the following categories depends on certain vehicle characteristics including, for example, the electric driving range of electric vehicles:
-Full zero-emission vehicles (full ZEVs), such as battery-only electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
-Transitional ZEVs, such as plug-in hybrid electric or hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles
-Advanced Technology Partial-ZEVs, such as gasoline- or diesel-electric hybrid, compressed natural gas, or methanol fuel cell vehicles
-Conventional Partial-ZEVs, which are considered extremely clean conventional vehicles

Partial and transitional ZEVs have lower credit values than full ZEVs. For example, sales of hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles yield fewer credits than sales of battery-only powered electric vehicles.

The required credits are calculated as a percentage of an automaker’s conventional light-duty vehicle sales. The total percentage requirement starts at 4.5% for model year 2018 sales and increases to 22% for model year 2025 sales. Full ZEVs must make up 16% of the required credits by model year 2025, which encourages the sale of vehicles powered by electricity or hydrogen fuel cells.

The AEO2016 Reference case projects sales and energy consumption of these vehicles assuming compliance with the ZEV program in all adopting states. Even though the program is based in California, national sales are affected as more alternative light-duty vehicle models become available as a response to the mandate. Taken together, California and the nine other states that have adopted the program accounted for an estimated 39% of national light-duty electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales in 2015.

The AEO2016 Reference case projects that by 2025, full ZEVs and transitional ZEVs will make up 6% of national light-duty vehicle sales and about 2% of the total light-duty vehicle stock. With the increased stock, light-duty vehicles are projected to account for about half a percent of national electricity demand by 2025. After full implementation of the ZEV program in 2025, market penetration and energy consumption for electric, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen, and other alternative vehicles is projected to continue to grow through 2040.

Source: theenergycollective.com

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