European support for Wind Farm in Belgium

04.10.2016

The European Union will support the construction of the Rentel wind farm off the Belgian coast with a loan of up to EUR 300 million from the EIB. EUR 250 million of the loan will be guaranteed under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe, in which the EIB is the strategic partner of the European Commission. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around EUR 1.1 billion, of which the EIB will provide approximately 27%.

Source: eib.org

Calls to Integrate more Solar Power into System

04.10.2016

The UK could treble the amount of solar power on the system without pushing up costs, a study suggests.

Concerns have been raised about the costs of integrating intermittent renewables, such as solar panels which only generate electricity when the sun is shining, into the UK power market.

But analysis for the industry shows that the cost of handling variability and providing “back-up” to ensure the lights stay on adds just £1.30 per megawatt hour (MWh) of power provided – less than 2% of the costs of solar of around £80 per MWh.

The analysis by Aurora Energy Research also finds that it would be relatively cheap to more than treble the amount of solar on the system from 11GW today to 40GW (gigawatts) by 2030, which would provide 10% of the UK’s power.

A central forecast for integrating the technology and providing back-up power adds £6.80/ MWh, an amount likely to be “dwarfed” by overall falls in the cost of solar power.

With a large amount of wind power also on the system, the figure would fall to £5.10/MWh, and if new nuclear – which is hard to integrate as it is inflexible – does not go ahead, it is even cheaper, at £3.10/MWh.

The cheapest option involves 40GW of solar and large-scale battery storage, which work well together in a “smart” system to store excess power generated from sunshine and provide it when demand peaks in the late afternoon and evening.

Combining solar and batteries, which cuts the need for back-up and integrates battery technology efficiently, could even reduce costs to such an extent it results in a net benefit of £3.70/MWh.

The Solar Trade Association (STA) said the analysis supports expectations that solar could be the lowest-cost way of generating electricity by the 2020s and called on the Government to “seize the agenda” to drive clean energy forward.

Dr Benjamin Irons, a director at Aurora Energy Research and lead author of the report, said: “Recent spectacular technological progress in renewable power generation puts the promise of cheap, low carbon power within reach.

“The challenge of integrating large volumes of renewables into the network in a way that provides reliable power to consumers and an attractive market for complementary generation technologies is the ‘last frontier’ in delivering the power system of tomorrow.

“Our analysis shows that such integration is possible and surprisingly affordable: the UK could more than triple the amount of solar power on the system by 2030, with associated costs of integration and backup so low as to be dwarfed by the enormous cost savings anticipated from falling solar prices over the same period.”

He added: “Battery storage aids integration even further, as does a diverse renewable portfolio including wind.”

Paul Barwell, chief executive of the STA, said the report showed that solar “sits right at the heart of the smart power agenda, which overall could save consumers billions every year”.

He added:”If we seize this agenda now, the UK can own the clean energy future.”

Source: money.aol.co.uk

Smart Electric Drive Has a Little Renault-Nissan Underneath

04.10.2016

Elektromobil, Punjač — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

One of several new electric cars and concepts at last week’s Paris Motor Show was the electric version of the second-generation Smart minicar. As Smart pointed out, it’s the only maker that offers the option of gasoline or electric power trains in every model it makes.

Those are the For Two two-seat coupe, the For Two cabriolet with its roll-back cloth roof, and the Europe-only For Four four-seat hatchback. The new Smart was a joint development between Daimler, which owns Smart as well as its flagship Mercedes-Benz brand, and the Renault-Nissan alliance.

So the new Smarts share underpinnings with the latest generation of the Renault Twingo minicar sold in Europe. That means the Twingo joins the Mitsubishi ‘i’ of 10 years ago and the Smart For Four as one of the very few small five-door hatchbacks with rear-wheel drive.

Renault’s reason, as further explained by CEO Carlos Ghosn during a joint press session with Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche at the Paris Motor Show, was that volumes on the Zoe weren’t high enough to justify a smaller vehicle that would essentially compete with it.

“We had already a number of electric cars on the Renault Nissan side,” Ghosn said, “and the take up was slow, so a further widening of the portfolio with the Twingo was not warranted.” And yet, as it turns out, there’s a little bit of Renault in the Electric Drive versions of the various Smarts.

The Renault Nissan Alliance announced last week that the electric motors for all Smart Electric Drive vehicles would be manufactured at the Renault plant in Cléon, France. The batteries for the electric Smarts are produced by Daimler, using the same cells as it relies on for the expanding portfolio of plug-in hybrid Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Source: greencarreports.com

Wind Cheapest Power Source in Argentina Renewable Auction

04.10.2016

Wind was the cheapest source of energy in Argentina’s first power auction after the country implemented reforms designed to transform its fossil fuel – dependent grid.

The minimum price for wind power reached $49.10/MWh in the auction, Sebastian Kind, undersecretary for renewable energy, told reporters in Buenos Aires Friday. Solar power came in at $59/MWh, biomass was $110 and hydropower projects were $111.10. The government said it will announce the winners on Oct. 7, five days earlier than it had initially planned.

“We hope future prices keep declining as we have more competition,” said Energy Minister Juan Jose Aranguren.

President Mauricio Macri has made renewable energy one of his main priorities since taking office last December, by establishing new regulations and organizing auctions. The government expects to attract $1.5 billion to $2 billion in investments with the tender. One of Macri’s first acts was a law requiring industrial consumers to get 8 percent of their power from renewable sources in 2017 and 20 percent by 2025.

Renewable energy developers applied to sell 6,366 MW of power in the auction, more than six times the amount the government plans to sell. Wind farms accounted for more than half, or 3,478 MW of capacity.

The average price for wind power was $69.50/MWh. That’s a bit higher than Brazil got last year, 203.46 reais ($62.37). Wind power in Brazil is some of the cheapest in the world. The Argentinian government expected companies to offer rates of $40 to $100/MWh, lower than current power prices that exceed $100.

More than 60 percent of Argentina’s energy capacity comes from fossil fuels. While Mexico and Chile have 4.8 MW and 3 MW of renewable energy installed at the moment, respectively, Argentina has 682 MW, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Large Renewable Energy Procurement Suspension to Hit Energy from Waste in Ontario

04.10.2016

Ontario’s Ministry of Energy is to immediately suspend the second round of its Large Renewable Procurement process and the Energy-from-Waste Standard Offer Program, halting procurement of over 1000 MW of waste to energy, solar, wind, hydroelectric and bioenergy projects.

Ontario’s Ministry of Energy is to immediately suspend the second round of its Large Renewable Procurement (LRP II) process and the Energy-from-Waste Standard Offer Program, halting procurement of over 1000 MW of waste to energy, solar, wind, hydroelectric and bioenergy projects.

The Ministry said that it expects the decision to save up to $3.8 billion in electricity system costs relative to Ontario’s 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) forecast. On 1 September this year the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) provided the Minister of Energy with the Ontario Planning Outlook, an independent report analysing a variety of planning scenarios for the future of Ontario’s energy system.

The IESO advised that Ontario will benefit from a robust supply of electricity over the coming decade to meet projected demand.

Informed by the Ontario Planning Outlook, the Ministry said that consultations and engagements will begin this autumn with consumers, businesses, energy stakeholders and Indigenous partners regarding the development of a new Long-Term Energy Plan, which is scheduled to be released in 2017.

The Ministry added that as part of this plan, Ontario remains committed to an affordable, clean and reliable electricity system, including renewables. The province has 42,000 jobs in the clean technology sector and around 18 GW of wind, solar, bioenergy and hydroelectric energy contracted or online. The electricity supply was claimed to now be over 90% emissions-free.

Glenn Thibeault, Minister of Energy commented:

“Over the course of the last decade, Ontario has rebuilt our electricity system and secured a strong supply of clean power.

“Our decision to suspend these procurements is not one we take lightly. This decision will both maintain system reliability and save up to $3.8 billion in electricity system costs relative to the 2013 LTEP forecast.

“The typical residential electricity consumer would save an average of approximately $2.45 per month on their electricity bill, relative to previous forecasts.

“As we prepare for a renewed LTEP, we will continue to plan for our future and ensure Ontario benefits from clean, reliable and affordable power for decades to come.”

Source: waste-management-world.com

Three out of Ten Cars sold in Norway Are Chargeable!

03.10.2016

electric-car-1394335_960_720 — Photo:-illustration: Pixabay

The total share of chargeable cars in Norway is continuously increasing, showing yet again how much the Norwegians appreciate their battery driven cars.

The sales numbers so far this year show that the chargeable vehicle market in Norway is nowhere near sizzling down. Battery electric cars (BEV) are still the number one alternative for many people, while the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) are selling better than ever. Plug-in vehicles make up roughly 28,4 per cent of the total sales and are expected to continue increasing throughout the year.

– The Norwegian politicians are now discussing a goal of 100 per cent market share for zero emission vehicles by 2025. We think this is an ambitious, but absolute feasible goal. New models with longer range are coming up. And a national network of fast chargers every 50 km on main roads will be established by the end of next year, says Christina Bu, General Secretary in the Norwegian EV Association. The association is the world’s largest EV owner association with over 35.000 members.

So far this year 11.744 of the total stock of 77.749 passenger cars were BEVs, indicating a market share of 15,1 per cent. The PHEVs on the other hand are rapidly increasing with 10.388 car registrations so far this year. As a result the PHEVs currently have a market share of 13,3 per cent, giving the BEVs a run for their money. At the same time last year the number of registrations were 3.325 (4,5 per cent market share). The vast increase in the PHEV segment is presumably due to a range of new models entering the market.

Volkswagen e-Golf and Mitsubishi Outlander on top

The Volkswagen e-Golf is still the bestselling electric car in Norway. The popular Golf has an impressive market share of 24,3 per cent of the total BEV sale in Norway, though just a fraction in front of the almost as popular electric car Nissan Leaf, with a market share of 22,1 per cent.

Volkswagen Golfs (GTE) are popular in the PHEV segment as well, but not as popular as the prominent Mitsubishi Outlander. This hugely popular car has a market share of 27,5 per cent of all new registered PHEVs in Norway.

Source: norwaynews.no

Six Billion Plastic Bags Can’t Be Wrong – so What Do we Tax Next?

03.10.2016

In the first six months of the 5p charge in England, 6bn fewer bags were handed out. Watch out coffee cups and plastic bottles.

England’s plastic bag charge was a long time coming – long after Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – and critics predicted its exemptions for small stores and paper bags would diminish its effectiveness. A year ago, Andy Cummins, campaigns director of Surfers Against Sewage, predicted that England’s charge would reduce use of plastic bags, but not as effectively as in Scotland, Wales (down 78%) and Northern Ireland (down 81%).

In fact, in the first six months of the charge, the number of single-use plastic bags handed out by the seven biggest supermarkets fell by more than 85% from 7.6bn a year in 2014 to 600m. In that period, the levy raised more than £29m for charities and community groups. A study by Cardiff University found that more than nine out of 10 people often or always carry their own bags, up from seven out of 10 before the 5p charge came into effect.

Six billion fewer plastic bags in six months: Cummins is happy to be proved half-wrong. “It’s a fantastic success,” he says. “The vast majority have adapted their behaviour without a check in their stride. There will be a phenomenal net benefit for the environment from 6bn fewer bags.”

The Marine Conservation Society undertook its annual beach clean in September. Laura Foster, head of pollution, says that volunteers aren’t seeing plastic bags on the beach any more. “There is strong anecdotal evidence to suggest a decline in plastic bags in our marine environment,” she says.

Single-use plastic bags may not be being discarded in their previous numbers, but there are reservations about their replacements. Bags for life and, in particular, cotton bags require much more energy – and carbon emissions – to produce. A study by the Environment Agency found a “resource expenditure” of just 2kg of carbon per plastic bag: a paper bag would need to be used seven times to achieve the same per-use expenditure; a cotton bag would need to be used 327 times.

Supreme Creations, which claims to be the world’s largest ethical packaging company, reports a 20% increase in sales of its reusable carrier bags since the levy was introduced in England.

Surfers Against Sewage, Keep Britain Tidy and the Marine Conservation Society all say that there are no problems with reusable bags being littered on land or sea. “Because people pay for them, they value them and there is no tossing them away,” says Foster. What about the free ones? “Even if you get them for free, you hoard them,” says Cummins. “You need every bag you can get if your shopping is anything like mine.”

For analysts such as David Powell of the New Economics Foundation, the unequivocal success of the plastic bag charge shows that the government shouldn’t be afraid of using financial “nudges” in new environmental regulations. Who would imagine that a 5p charge changes human behaviour so decisively?

“By far the most interesting thing about the plastic bag charge is just how successful an incredibly small charge can be,” says Powell. “Introduce the right charge in the right way and people respond to it, particularly if there’s such an obvious environmental problem. The government will have to conclude, how can we use this principle for other things?”

The Cardiff University survey also reveals that the charge has made people in England more willing to accept regulations to reduce plastic waste, such as a 5p charge on plastic bottles. Plastic bags may have been litter’s poster child, but they amounted to just 2% of beach rubbish. Powell suggests a charge on coffee cups is an obvious next step. “There are massive piles of unrecycled coffee cups everywhere. It’s an obvious problem that people are keen to do something about.”

While the plastic-bag charge was about changing consumer behaviour, announcing a charge on coffee cups to apply at a future date would give the industry an incentive to innovate and find alternatives, rather like the sugar tax, which will apply from 2017.

Both Keep Britain Tidy and Surfers Against Sewage would like to see the government close the loopholes in England’s current plastic bag charge so that paper bags incur a charge, too, and small shops are no longer exempt (the Association of Convenience Stores wanted to be included in the charging system from the outset). However, a Defra spokesperson says there are currently no plans to extend the regulations.

“We walk into meetings with Defra where the position is: ‘The government doesn’t want new regulations.’ Unfortunately, that’s the default position,” says Cummins. He thinks the next example of a win-win regulation that would benefit consumers, industry and the environment is a deposit-return system for drinks bottles. Such systems are used in dozens of European countries from Germany to Croatia, and in Australian and American states, too.

Reverse vending machines that give people, say, 20p for their plastic and glass bottles and aluminium cans deliver recycling rates of up to 90%, provide high-grade recyclable materials for industry, and save councils’ doorstep recycling and rubbish bin costs, argues Cummins. If placed on shop floors, they also encourage footfall; it’s not hard to imagine kids collecting bottles and quickly spending their earnings in the shops.

“We all know that litter breeds litter,” says Cummins. “If you can take these really visible litter items out of the environment with a successful deposit-return system, it will have a knock-on effect and everyone will treat their environment better.”

Source: theguardian.com

IEA Encourages Turkey to Deepen Energy Market Reforms

03.10.2016

Since the last IEA in-depth review in 2009, Turkey has made significant progress in reforming its energy sector. Completing the reforms will allow Turkey to tap into its renewable and energy efficiency potentials, latest IEA report says.

With rising energy demand, increasing oil and gas imports, and an energy mix largely relying on fossil fuels, Turkey has a unique opportunity to tap into renewable energies, save energy and diversify its fuel mix, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest survey of Turkey’s energy policies.

In its review, Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Turkey 2016 Review, the IEA called on the government to swiftly adopt an energy efficiency programme and create a one-stop-shop for the deployment of renewable energy in the country.

Turkey’s energy sector has attracted substantial interest in the investor’s community thanks to privatisation and electricity market reforms. The country should continue down this path and reform its energy markets. During the last decade, electricity market reforms have advanced. The liberalisation and privatisation of electricity generation and distribution triggered a private investment boom (generating capacity doubled between 2007 and 2014) and secured energy access for its population.

“To attract more investments, the liberalisation of the energy markets needs to progress further,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director.

The report highlighted three avenues for reform: strengthening the independence of the system operators and regulatory authorities; abolishing market distortions in favour of market pricing; and continuing to invest in more flexible and modern gas and electricity infrastructure. These pillars are critical for securing stable and reliable electrical power supplies and ensuring sustainable economic growth, and ensuring much needed diversification, according to the IEA.

Turkey has a unique geographical location and is an important energy player in its region. The country’s regional integration is advancing, thanks to the construction of the Transanatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and the connection to the European electricity grid (ENTSO-E) with the Turkish Transmission System Operator for Electricity (TEİAŞ) becoming an observer of ENTSO-E. “Turkey’s contribution is vital for regional and European energy security,” Dr Birol said.

With the drop in gas prices and the rise in the global LNG trade, the IEA also sees an important opportunity for Turkey to reform its natural gas market. Natural gas accounts for 40% of Turkey’s electricity generation; and gas demand has more than doubled in one decade, outpacing electricity growth. The review highlights the need for competition, diversification and investments in the gas infrastructure, given Turkey’s proximity to major resources and private sector interest.

One major issue to be addressed, however, is the country’s high import dependency on oil and gas and the fast increase in carbon dioxide emissions, which have more than doubled since 1990. Commendably, Turkey has for the first time set an emission reduction goal.

However, the plan to double coal-fired electricity supply by 2019 will require further investment in clean coal technologies and the swift refurbishment of old plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb air pollution in Turkey. “With more energy efficiency and renewable energy, cleaner coal and nuclear can be part of a secure and low carbon mix, but the legal frameworks must be put in place to ensure high standards of environmental performance and safety,” said Dr Birol.

The report encourages the government to build on the Vision 2023 and set out a longer term energy policy agenda up to 2030 to guide private energy investments. Clear and long-term targets for renewables and energy efficiency, faster permitting procedures and enhanced grid integration rules can ensure long-term sustainable economic growth in Turkey.

Source: iea.org

World’s First Radar for Offshore Wind Power now Delivers Data

03.10.2016

Dong Energy recently started receiving three-dimensional data from the advanced BEACon radar located at the Westermost Rough Wind Farm on England’s east coast. “This is a huge step forward for wind insights,” explains Nicolai Gayle Nygaard, BEACon Technical Manager at Dong Energy:

“We’re getting minute-by-minute 3D images of the wind flow through the wind power plant. This is a game changer for the industry. We’re no longer limited to measuring the wind at just one point, now we can document the wind field across the entire wind power plant and coastal domain. Conventional measurement technologies are like using a torch in a dark room – you have a limited view. With the new radars, the entire room is flooded with light. We get new insights that provide valuable information for the design and operation of future wind power plants,” he says.

Source: dongenergy.com

Water Crisis in Bangladesh

03.10.2016

With a population of over 15 million people, Dhaka – the capital of Bangladesh – is considered a mega-city and shares many of the water management problems common to other major cities.

While efforts are made to sustain water quantity and quality in city water supplies, Dhaka pumping has caused groundwater levels to drop more than 200 feet over the last 50 years and these levels continue to decline at a rate of up to 9 feet per year.

An often-overlooked consequence of these actions in mega-cities is the associated effect on the water quality and supply to surrounding peri-urban or rural communities, where water resources are stressed and surface pollution from toxic metals, organic materials and other pollutants, is widespread.

This is particularly problematic in Bangladesh, where naturally occurring arsenic in shallow (less than 200 feet) groundwater threatens the health of tens of millions of people. High levels of arsenic exist in areas surrounding Dhaka, and there people use deep (greater than 500 feet) groundwater, which is low in arsenic.

Khan and Michael’s work shows that even in water-rich systems like those in the Bengal Basin, pumping to supply water to mega-cities can threaten regional groundwater resources by inducing fast transport of the contaminants, specifically arsenic, a known carcinogen, to deeper areas of the aquifer, even outside the city limits where it can contaminate deep wells used for arsenic mitigation.

“It is an environmental justice problem because the people who benefit from the city water supply are not the people whose wells are at-risk of contamination – arsenic contamination only exists outside of the city. There, if a community’s well becomes contaminated because of what’s happening in Dhaka, they may not have another source of safe water,” said Michael, Unidel Fraser Russell Chair for the Environment and associate professor of geology, which is housed in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment.

Source: sciencedaily.com

Bangalore’s Airport to Become a Leader in Solar Energy Production

03.10.2016

Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport plans to become the largest solar-producing airport in India, aiming to generate 14.6 MW of solar power. The airport announced in December that it will source 40 percent of its electricity from solar energy, offsetting approximately 17,000 tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of more than 3,200 passenger vehicles each year. The airport is now deciding upon a developer to execute the project.

The commitment is the next step in India’s push to transform its airports and achieve national and state-wide renewable energy commitments to diversify the electricity supply and mitigate emissions. Just last year, the city of Kochi’s Cochin International Airport became the first airport in the world to run completely on solar power. More cities will need to take note of the potential of airport solar if the country is to achieve its ambitious commitment to 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022.

Why Solar Energy for Airports?

Air transport is often associated with high energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft, but airports themselves also create a significant impact. Heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, chillers and lighting systems all contribute to an airport’s electricity consumption, which can amount to 100-300 GWh per year, the same as 30,000 to 100,000 households, or a small city.

Solar can be a good renewable energy solution for airports, as airports typically have a lot of buildings and open land available for solar PV panels. As the case of Bangalore’s airport shows, in addition to the on-site options, off-site generation of solar energy with the electricity being wheeled across a transmission and distribution network is also possible. This makes solar technology an effective tool for cutting airport operating costs, supporting small business development, reducing greenhouse gases and achieving renewable energy goals. Furthermore, airports are well-defined communities that can be easily studied and benchmarked.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Volkswagen ID: More Details of All-Electric Concept Car at Paris Motor Show

30.09.2016

Two days ago, Volkswagen held one of the first press conferences at the Paris Motor Show, unveiling the first of several electric cars from different makers.

Its Volkswagen I.D. Concept is a preview of a high-volume battery-electric hatchback that will hit the market in 2020, priced “par with comparably powerful and well-equipped Golf models,” the company said.

And it’s one of several vehicles that VW says will take the company toward its goal of selling 1 million electric cars a year by 2025—or about 10 percent of its current global sales.

Volkswagen released six concept renderings and a handful of details yesterday, and the official reveal of the car didn’t provide a huge amount of new information.

It did mention the next generation of the Volkswagen e-Golf as having a range of up to 186 miles (on the European test cycle), which will likely translate to 110 to 130 miles on U.S. EPA range estimates.

That confirms earlier reports that an updated 2018 VW e-Golf will get a boost in battery range to take it over 100 miles of rated range.

But if the next e-Golf is “tomorrow,” VW said, the I.D. Concept represents “the day after tomorrow.”

That means that it will have 400 to 600 kilometers (250 to 375 miles) of range (again on the European cycle)—but will also have to compete with a Chevy Bolt EV, a second-generation Nissan Leaf, possibly a Tesla Model 3, and other mass-priced electric cars on the market well before it.

One interesting detail, however, was that unlike the current Nissan Leaf and the upcoming Chevrolet Bolt EV, the I.D. Concept has its electric motor mounted in the rear, powering the rear wheels—like the BMW i3.

The lithium-ion battery pack, for which VW did not specify a capacity, is mounted under the car’s floor.

But putting the 125-kilowatt (168-horsepower) motor in the rear, under the load bay, gives the car’s designers far more flexibility in design, permitting a shorter and lower nose.

It also makes frontal crash protection easier to engineer, by providing a larger crush space without having to accommodate the large and uncrushable metal object that is a front-wheel-drive car’s engine and transmission unit.

Not having an engine up front also allows for deeper front wheel wells that accommodate a tighter turning circle than comparable front-wheel-drive cars. The I.D. has a turning circle of just 32.5 feet, VW says.

The VW I.D. Concept also gives a preview of a fully automated driving mode that Volkswagen expects to roll out in 2025.

When the car is driving itself, the company says, the steering wheel will retract fully into the dashboard, opening up for more space for the driver to converse with passengers comfortably.

The production version of the I.D. will be the first vehicle built on VW’s new MEB modular architecture, designed specifically for electric vehicles.

It is characterized by a long wheelbase with short overhangs, a tight turning circle, a flat battery pack under the floor, and a multi-link rear axle mounted in a subframe.

For continual coverage of all the launches and news from the show, check back regularly with our Paris Motor Show news page.

Source: greencarreports.com

The Earth Is Leaking Oxygen from Its Atmosphere, and We Can’t Figure Out Why

30.09.2016

In case your week was going well so far, we’re here to bring you calmly crashing back down to Earth again.

Now we’ve been reassured that this news is nothing to lose sleep over, but you might want to take a few deep breaths.

It turns out that the Earth’s atmosphere is slowly leaking oxygen in a “clear trend” and scientists don’t really know why.

In fact, atmospheric oxygen levels have dropped 0.7% over the past 800,000 years, which scientists had not predicted happening.

Princeton University geologist Daniel Stolper said: “We didn’t know whether oxygen would be going up, down, or flat. But it turns out there is a clear trend.”

Although oxygen levels have fluctuated over the history of the planet, given enough time that leak could make the planet uninhabitable.

And let’s not forget that by burning carbon, we are making things worse for ourselves: “We are consuming oxygen at a rate a factor of a thousand times faster than before. Humankind has completely short-circuited the cycle by burning tons of carbon,” said Stolper.

Scientists were able to measure oxygen levels by looking at ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica that have trapped air bubbles from the past million years.

They offered a couple of reasons that this might be the case: long-term climate change and the erosion rates of the ice – which causes more fresh ice to be exposed and oxidised, causing more oxygen to be consumed.

The team says that this decline is consistent with changes in weathering fluxes of organic carbon, which are driven by either: “Neogene cooling or increasing Pleistocene erosion rates”.

They’ve got it under control.

Source: huffingtonpost.co.uk

Serbia has remarkable wind-based energy generation potential

30.09.2016

Energy portal had chance to meet in Novi Sad Mr Henk van den Dool, ambassador of Netherlands in Serbia. We talk to him during the fair “International days of energetics and investment” which were held in March. He presented energy sector of his country at the opening ceremony of the international conference Perspective & Challenges in Energy sector. In the summer of 2015, Henk van den Dool was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade. He is also accredited to Montenegro. The main areas of expertise and interest of Ambassador Van den Dool are European Integration, Human Rights and transformation processes in Central and Eastern Europe. Since Serbia has many challenges to solve in process of EU integration, his opinion about energy sector is very useful.

EP: Can you please compare The Netherlands and Serbia, speaking of renewable sources of energy, and due to this comparison tell us what should we change here in Serbia?

Mr. Dool: The Netherlands has a strong, innovative energy sector, and the government wants to further strengthen its competitiveness. This is good for the Dutch economy and will thus contribute to economic recovery. The government has therefore identified energy as a priority sector. In the area of green energy, the approach focuses on the development and profitability of renewable energy technologies. Innovation is essential for making renewable energy competitive, and business can benefit by selling these technologies on the domestic and international market. The emphasis must therefore move towards stimulating innovation and move away from promoting renewable energy through expensive and ineffective operating grants for unprofitable technologies.

I am often saying that The Netherlands is a very efficient country compared to many other countries, including Serbia. The main reason for our resource efficiency is that we were forced to cope with very limited resources for a long period of time, and at the same time we strived to be as independent as possible from external suppliers. The EU integration process is very precise when it comes to legislative framework adjustments, and Serbia has progressed significantly in this sense. The main challenge in Serbia is the implementation of existing legislation, and in this sense, more focus on this aspect would be beneficial. Serbia has accepted its 2020 targets and is still far from the threshold of 27%. This means that developers in all renewable sectors should be supported more by more efficient and transparent administrative procedures, while at the same time efforts to save energy in public and private consumption should be stimulated.

EP: Since wind power plants are very developed in Netherlands, is there maybe a plan for some investment in Serbia in the future period, and what companies are planning to invest in Serbia?

Mr Dool: The Netherlands has embraced a courageous vision: by 2050, the country will have a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy system. As part of this, the Dutch aim to cut CO2 emissions by half, and to generate some 40 percent of our electricity from sustainable sources such as wind at sea and biomass by that time. The Dutch have leading expertise in offshore wind energy, co-combustion of biomass in coal-fired power plants, methods to pre-treat biomass, the use of landfill gas, and the use of heat pumps combined with heat and cold storage. The Netherlands distinguishes itself from other countries with its offshore know-how, which is vital for wind projects at sea. For instance, the Princess Amalia offshore wind farm is the largest of its kind in the world outside the 12-mile limit, and is also built in the deepest water. Also, the largest European wind turbines testing site is located in the Netherlands, near Lelystad.

Serbia has remarkable wind-based energy generation potential as well. The entire south Banat and large parts of eastern Serbia have been recognized as good areas for wind parks development. It is enough just to look over Danube at the Djerdap gorge and to see how much electricity generation is taking place at the Romanian side of the shore. The wind projects in Serbia have been facing challenges since the beginning, regardless the nationality of investors. These challenges were mainly related to very slow adoption and implementation of regulations and rulebooks, quite frequent change of some of the regulations, low level of coordination with the developers and financing institutions. Still, I think it is very important to highlight that a part of our investors, Serbia would highly profit from more wind power in its portfolio. Being highly dependable on water and coal is perhaps not the safest strategy. It is enough to look just few years back when the floods paralyzed Serbian energy system. So more diversified means more free and safe future.

EP: What would be your advice about using of biomass and biogas? Can you describe in numbers and facts how it is developed in Netherlands?

Mr Dool: As part of our approach to a more sustainable energy system, the Dutch are fully embracing energy from organic sources, specifically biomass, waste, biofuels, the Jatropa plant and algae. Biomass accounts for almost two-thirds of the sustainable energy currently used in the Netherlands, while the government is aiming to produce 30 percent of its energy using biomass by the year 2030. It is the simplest of all the sustainable options to integrate into energy management. Obtaining bio-energy from biomass may involve combustion, gasification, fermentation, or the production of liquid biofuels. The most important bio-energy sources are biomass additives and fuel in power plants, biofuels for motor vehicles, and energy from waste incineration plants.

Similarly, green gas comes from biomass, which refers to biological material that can be used for fuel or industrial production processes. Green gas can be generated either by fermenting biomass or through gasification, which involves expositing biomass to pure oxygen and/or steam. Gasification is suited to large-scale uses, is not only CO2 neutral, but actually extracts large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. The Netherlands is soon expected to be a home to some of the first large scale Zero Emission Power Production (ZEPP) plants, and here I am talking about fully climate-neutral commercial gas-fired electric power plants.

The real biomass market in Serbia does yet not exist, but I see developments in this direction which is good. Let me remind you that Serbia has way more arable land than my country and that the biomass potential is enormous. People simply have to see how it works, and I am happy to announce that very soon we are going to have a brand new cogeneration plant of about 1 Mw in village of Botos near Zrenjanin. Our government contributed financially to the development, and the plant is developed by Dutch company HOST. This project is supposed to serve as an example of successful practice where agribusiness meets energy generation, and ultimately becomes more profitable and resource efficient.

EP: What is the future of energetics in Balkans and Europe according to your opinion, since there are many challenges in field of fossil fuels and gas?

Mr Dool: Diversification, cooperation, efficiency and renewable energy. I think these four elements together form the winning formula which holds for all the countries in the Balkans. The standard forms of energy generation such as coal are definitely part of that mix and I am not implying they should be closed down, but I would be good if coal extraction and combustion would be additionally modernized and less hazardous for the environment. Beyond coal there are also water, wind, biomass and natural gas. Using even 30% of the potential in each of these sectors would completely change the energy outlook of any of the countries in the Balkans.

Obviously, some countries have more potential in wind than water, or biomass than wind. More cooperation and grid connectivity would help countries to even easier balance their energy demands in short term, would provide more security and incentives to private investors, and would reinforce mutual cooperation and support in the region. So cooperation and interconnections are crucial. I am pleased to see that some steps in this direction have been made, and that countries of the region are cooperating on joint projects within and outside of the region. The Netherlands is more than willing to continue supporting Serbia on its EU integration path, especially in area of energy, sustainability and water management technologies.

Interviewed by: Vesna Vukajlović

Discuss disaster risk reduction at OSCE-supported meeting in Sarajevo

30.09.2016

A two-day regional disaster risk reduction meeting, organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and hosted by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), concluded today in Sarajevo.

The meeting gathered some 30 representatives from municipal civil protection units of Vlorë in Albania, Goražde in BiH, Ulcinj in Montenegro, Bajina Bašta in Serbia, ministries of security and interior, Aarhus Centres and OSCE field operations in the South-Eastern Europe.

Participants shared a wide spectrum of achievements within the project, ranging from preparation of municipal disaster risk reduction plans, making improvements to frameworks for industrial and gas-related accidents to revisions of flood and fire protection plans. They agreed to co-operate in addressing local disaster resilience challenges.

“Sustainable and responsible management of natural resources reduces the risk of disaster and conflict, and provides an environment for stability and development,” said Jonathan Moore, Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH. “Environmental challenges often know no borders, and so it is only through joint efforts and close co-operation that we can advance our resilience in the face of such crises.”

Director of Co-operation at the Embassy of Switzerland in BiH Barbara Dätwyler-Scheuer said: “Investing time and resources in emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction as well as disaster management need to be priority at all administrative levels.”

Wolfgang Thill, Deputy Head of Mission at the Austrian Embassy in BiH, said: “We want to make sure that in case of natural disasters existing tensions are not aggravated. What we need in this respect is sustainable management of natural resources and the involvement of civil society, so that natural disasters can be avoided, or at least their consequences mitigated.”

Participants agreed to Joint Recommendations of the meeting, underlining their commitment to cross-border co-operation in tackling shared challenges.

The meeting concludes the South-Eastern Europe component of the OSCE project on disaster risk reduction and security in the OSCE area, which is implemented with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation and the Austrian Federal Government.

Source: osce.org

ABB to Divest Cable Business to NKT Cables

30.09.2016

NKT Cables is acquiring ABB’s global high-voltage cable system business with a total enterprise value of 836 million euros (US$934 million). High voltage cables are key components in sustainable energy networks, used for transmitting large amounts of electricity over long distances. The business is part of ABB’s Power Grids division, which is currently undergoing a strategic review.

NKT Cables designs, manufactures and supplies power cables for low-, medium- and high-voltage solutions mainly in the Alternating Current (AC)-area. It has major production facilities in Europe and China as well as sales offices around the world, and employs around 3,200 people. In 2015, revenue was 1.2 billion euros.

“We are combining two strong cable portfolios rooted in a shared Nordic heritage that will be more competitive on a larger scale under NKT Cables’ ownership, while maintaining access to supply through a long-term strategic partnership,” said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. “The combination of our niche cable system business with the strength of NKT Cables demonstrates our commitment to active portfolio management, a key element of our Next Level strategy.”

ABB’s high-voltage cable technology and manufacturing as well as service footprint is highly complementary with NKT Cables’ activities, making the combined business ideally suited to serve the rising global demand for long-distance power transmission cable systems. The combined operational scale and reach of the two businesses is expected to lead to even better service for global customers.

“ABB’s high-voltage cable business will add considerable strength to our portfolio and bring us a world-class manufacturing operation. We will leverage the technology, domain competence and highly skilled workforce to grow this business,” said Michael Hedegaard Lyng, President and CEO of NKT Cables. “We look forward to ramping up our long-term partnership that will serve future projects all around the world.”

ABB’s cable system business offers turnkey solutions including design, engineering, supply, installation, commissioning and service. It had adjusted standalone revenues of US$524 million in 2015, employs around 900 people, and has state-of-the art manufacturing and R&D capabilities for high-voltage submarine and underground cables in Karlskrona, Sweden. The transfer of assets also includes a new, cutting-edge cable-laying vessel, currently under construction. With experience of over a century, the business serves a range of applications and has commissioned hundreds of alternating current and direct current links around the world.

“As part of the strategic partnership, ABB and NKT Cables will work together on future projects to access market opportunities in areas like sub-sea interconnections and Direct Current (DC) transmission links”, said Claudio Facchin, president of ABB’s Power Grids division. “This transaction will simplify and focus the Power Grids portfolio.”

The transaction is anticipated to close in Q1 2017, subject to regulatory clearances and fulfilment of the closing conditions. Goldman Sachs acted as exclusive financial advisor to ABB and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as legal advisor.

ABB will report on the progress of its Next Level strategy, including the strategic portfolio review of its Power Grids division, at its upcoming Capital Markets Day on October 4, 2016.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leading global technology company in power and automation that enables utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 135,000 people.

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