In Ontario, Going Coal-Free Costs Less Than a Coffee and a Donut

30.06.2016

How electricity generation from coal in Canada’s most populous province went from 25 percent to zero in just over a decade.

On April 8, 2014 the last remaining coal-fired power plant in Ontario, Canada was shut down for good, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in the world to phase out dirty coal-powered electricity completely for health and environment reasons.

How did Ontario’s electricity generation from coal go from 25 percent to zero in just over a decade?

It started with an alliance between doctors and environmentalists. For environmentalists, the benefits of shutting down coal-fired power plants were clear: phasing out coal in Ontario would be the single largest greenhouse gas emissions reduction initiative in North America, equivalent to taking 7 million cars off the road.

For doctors, the benefits were all down to the health of their patients. Family doctors in Ontario had been treating the negative effects of air pollution for years without connecting the dots back to the coal plants powering the province. In 1998, the Ontario Medical Association had declared air pollution to be a public health crisis. Then, a study came out indicating that air pollution from coal plants alone was killing over 600 Ontarians every year and doctors began to understand the deadly consequences of the problem. And the public listened, with increasing numbers of families joining doctors and environmentalists in pressuring legislators to respond. The result: the beginning stages of coal phase-out had begun.

How hard was this transition? The economist for the Ontario Clean Air Alliance found that a phase out of coal-fired power plants would cost $1.86 a month, less than a cup of coffee and a donut at the time.

The Ontario coal phase-out is an inspiring example of how individuals can successfully influence policy to protect public health and the environment. With this success as a blueprint, more cities, states, and provinces can follow Ontario’s footsteps and power their economies with healthier and cleaner energy. Starting right now.

Source: www.climaterealityproject.org

Solar Massive Expansion

29.06.2016

Munich, Germany – The share of global electricity generated by solar photovoltaics (PV) could increase from 2 per cent today to as much as 13 per cent by 2030, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Released last week at InterSolar Europe, Letting in the Light: How Solar Photovoltaics Will Revolutionize the Electricity System finds the solar industry is poised for massive expansion, driven primarily by cost reductions. It estimates that solar PV capacity could reach between 1,760 and 2,500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 227 GW today.

“Recent analysis from IRENA finds that cost reductions for solar and wind will continue into the future, with further declines of up to 59 per cent possible for solar PV in the next ten years,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “This comprehensive overview of the solar industry finds that these cost reductions, in combination with other enabling factors, can create a dramatic expansion of solar power globally. The renewable energy transition is well underway, with solar playing a central role.”

Focusing on technology, economics, applications, infrastructure, policy and impacts, the report gives an overview of the global solar PV industry and its prospects for the future. It includes data and statistics on:

Capacity: Solar PV is the most widely owned electricity source in the world in terms of number of installations, and its uptake is accelerating. It accounted for 20 per cent of all new power generation capacity in 2015. In the last five years, global installed capacity has grown from 40 GW to 227 GW. By comparison, the entire generation capacity of Africa is 175 GW.

Costs: Solar PV regularly costs just 5 to 10 US cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in Europe, China, India, South Africa and the United States. In 2015, record low prices were set in the United Arab Emirates (5.84 cents/kWh), Peru (4.8 cents/kWh) and Mexico (4.8 cents/kWh). In May 2016, a solar PV auction in Dubai attracted a bid of 3 cents/kWh. These record lows indicate a continued trend and potential for further cost reduction.

Investment: Solar PV now represents more than half of all investment in the renewable energy sector. In 2015, global investment reached USD 67 billion for rooftop solar PV, USD 92 billion for utility-scale systems, and USD 267 million for off-grid applications.

Jobs: The solar PV value chain today employs 2.8 million people in manufacturing, installation and maintenance, the largest number of any renewable energy.

Environment: Solar PV generation has already reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 300 million tonnes per year. This can increase to up to three gigatonnes of CO2 per year in 2030.

“World electricity demand is expected to grow by more than 50 per cent by 2030, mostly in developing and emerging economies,” said Mr. Amin. “To meet this demand while also realising global development and sustainability goals, governments must implement policies that enable solar to achieve its full potential.”

Reaching a 13 per cent share of global electricity by 2030 will require average annual capacity additions to more than double for the next 14 years. The report highlights five recommendations that can help achieve this increase including: updated policies based on the latest innovations; government support of continued research and development activities; creation of a global standards framework; market structure changes; and the adoption of enabling technologies like smart grids and storage.

Letting in the Light is the third solar-focused publication released by IRENA this summer. Last week, IRENA released The Power to Change, which predicts that average costs for electricity generated by solar and wind technologies could decrease by between 26 and 59 per cent by 2025. Earlier this week, IRENA released End-of-Life Management: Solar Photovoltaic, which found that the technical potential of materials recovered from retired solar PV panels could exceed USD 15 billion by 2050, presenting a compelling business opportunity.

V.V.

Source: www.irena.org

Mexico, Canada, U.S. to Make Clean Power Pledge

29.06.2016

WINDMILLS — Photo - Illustration: Pixabay

The U.S., Mexico and Canada are expected to pledge Wednesday to collectively generate 50 percent of their electricity from zero-carbon sources by 2025, according to White House officials.

The agreement is expected to be struck at the North American Leaders’ Summit in Ottawa. It means that when all the electricity generated in the three countries is added up, the amount coming from zero-carbon sources will jump from 37 percent today to half within 10 years. Zero-carbon sources include solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear, along with energy efficiency and other measures, White House officials said Monday.

“At a time when other parts of the world are splintering, it’s encouraging to see more of a unified effort in North America,” said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. “This pledge won’t be legally binding, but it signals political commitments by the current leadership of these three countries.”

About 31 percent of U.S. electricity comes from zero-carbon sources today, including 20 percent from nuclear power, and about 11 percent from hydropower, wind and solar. Hydropower is Canada’s primary source of electricity, representing nearly 60 percent of its power supply. Clean energy generates 22 percent of Mexico’s electricity.

The U.S., Canada and Mexico have each pledged to cut their greenhouse gas emissions as part of their commitments to the Paris climate agreement struck in December. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electric power plants forms the core of U.S. climate policy, including the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which aims to drastically cut carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Wednesday’s agreement will put all three countries on a path to meeting their climate goals, though it won’t be enough by itself, said Michael Mann, a Penn State University climatologist.

“Similarly strong commitments to reduce emissions in the electric power sector and other sectors of the economy will be critical if they are to meet their total greenhouse gas emissions pledges,” he said.

Gerrard said Wednesday’s agreement will provide many opportunities for cross-border cooperation, including emissions trading and the export of clean energy.

“The U.S. can’t meet its Paris climate goals based solely on the Clean Power Plan and other policies now in place, and joint efforts with Canada and Mexico can make important contributions,” he said. “The magnitude of the needed energy transition away from fossil fuels is such that, in addition to efficiency, wind and solar, we need large doses of hydropower and probably nuclear to fill the gap.”

Robert Stavins, a professor of business and government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, said while the pledges are not binding, they can lead to a greater reliance on renewables if Canada, the U.S. and Mexico follow through with meaningful policies and new energy efficiency standards.

“Such policies are the instruments through which the U.S. will meet its Paris contribution,” he said.

Mann cautioned that some “zero-carbon” energy sources, including hydro and nuclear power, come with high environmental costs, and the risks need to be weighed carefully.

For example, hydropower reservoirs often emit methane — a powerful greenhouse gas helping to drive climate change. California does not consider large hydropower projects to be a renewable power source.

“Wind and solar are arguably preferable choices from a full environmental cost-accounting standpoint, but such matters are worthy of a robust policy debate,” Mann said.

Source: www.climatecentral.org

Scientists Plead with Australia to Get Off Coal to Save the Great Barrier Reef

29.06.2016

Coral reefs around the world are in a dire predicament, as warmer-than-usual waters are causing widespread bleaching and death among these crucial marine organisms. Now, more than 2,500 marine scientists and policy experts are urging the Australian government to protect the world’s largest and most well-known coral ecosystem: the Great Barrier Reef.

“Coral reefs … are threatened with complete collapse under rapid climate change,” the scientists, who last week attended the International Coral Reef Symposium in Hawaii, write in their letter to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. “Fifty percent of coral reefs have already been destroyed by a combination of local and global factors. Additional serious degradation will occur over the next two decades as temperatures continue to rise.”

The scientists also offer up a way to protect the Great Barrier Reef from future climate change: Get off coal.

“We call upon the Australian Commonwealth Government to stop endorsing the export of coal, and specifically to stop or revoke the approval of new mines, including those in Queensland, which have the potential to become the world’s biggest and most harmful single sources of atmospheric pollution,” they write.

One of the most controversial coal decisions Australia has made in recent years was October’s approval of the Carmichael coal mine. The mine, which will be located in central Queensland, has drawn the ire of environmentalists, who note that the emissions the mined coal will produce will worsen the climate change that’s causing coral bleaching — a process in which stressed coral expel the photosynthetic algae living in their tissues, and are left weakened and more likely to die if water conditions don’t go back to normal. Another concern is the shipping of coal from the mine through the Great Barrier Reef, which will require large channels to be dredged through the sea floor. This shipping channel, Vice has reported, could cause light and noise pollution and disrupt the breeding of sea turtles and migration of whales.

“Carmichael would be a complete disaster for the climate and the Great Barrier Reef,” Greenpeace Australia campaigner Shani Tager said in October.

Overall, Australia isn’t known for its swift action on climate change. The scientists note in their letter that the country, whose previous prime minister Tony Abbott called climate change “absolute crap,” is seen as a “laggard” on climate change. In 2015, that laggard status was confirmed in a report by the country’s Climate Council, which found that, while legislation to tackle climate change has been on the uptick globally, “Australia has become the first developed country to take a legislative step backwards from action on climate change” via the 2014 repeal of its carbon tax.

But taking steps to protect the Great Barrier Reef — including rethinking the Carmichael coal mine — would help. And already, Australia has made some progress: Last week, the Queensland government purchased a $7 million cattle farm that was responsible for sending huge amounts of sediment pollution into the reef each year. Under the government’s protection, the farm won’t be used for cattle grazing anymore, which is great news for the reef, as pollution and other added stressors make coral reefs more susceptible to threats caused by warming waters. And earlier this month, Prime Minister Turnbull announced a $1 billion fund aimed at protecting the reef from bleaching and other stressors.

But more needs to be done, as the scientists’ letter notes. And fast — this year’s bleaching event is the longest on record, and could stretch into a third year. Already, over a third of the corals in the Great Barrier Reef have died.

Source: www.thinkprogress.org

Which Are the World’s Most Environmentally Friendly Countries?

28.06.2016

Nordic nations often appear at the top of rankings for the world’s greenest places, so the countries dominating Yale’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) will come as no surprise – with the exception of Norway, which is lagging behind in 17th place.

Since 2000, Yale’s annual index has ranked the top-performing countries for the environment, based on how well they’ve fared at protecting human health and vulnerable ecosystems. It looks at a number of specific metrics to give each country a score out of 100.

European nations top the list, with Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark taking the first four places. The report says Norway lags behind its neighbours because of poor agricultural practices and high carbon emissions.

Are countries getting better at protecting the environment?

Since the EPI started, several countries have made improvements to a number of environmental and social issues, such as access to clean drinking water and sanitation. However, fish stocks have dwindled and air pollution has become worse since the index began.

Finland has made a “societal commitment to achieve a carbon-neutral society that does not exceed nature’s carrying capacity by 2050”. This is reflected in its position at the top of the rankings – with high scores for health impacts, fish stocks, climate and energy, biodiversity and habitat, water resources and air quality.

With 100% of Iceland’s electricity and heat coming from renewable sources, it’s no surprise the nation ranked highly – with a score of 90.51. Iceland was also third for health impacts, as well as climate and energy, and fourth for air quality: meaning they came second in the index overall.

Sweden came third, scoring 90.43, ranking fifth in health impacts, 10th in climate and energy, and in the top 20 for both sanitation and water resources. The country earned near perfect scores for drinking-water quality and waste-water treatment, but it was marked down for poor logging practices.

In order to support environmental protection along with economic growth, Denmark (in fourth place) has pledged 13.5 billion Danish krone (approximately US$1.9 billion) to its Green Growth initiative. Denmark scored 89.21 overall, ranking in the top 20 for health impacts, water and sanitation, water resources, biodiversity and habitat. However, at 128 for fish stocks, Denmark still has areas to work on.

Slovenia was let down by air quality, with common pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and particle pollution PM2.5 continuing to pose problems. However, with eighth place for biodiversity, 15th for forests, and the top spot for habitat, Slovenia scored an impressive 88.98 in the index.

While economically developed countries are more likely to achieve higher scores in the EPI rankings, the UK and France are the only G8 countries in the top 20.

The report says larger developing economies, such as China, which is ranked 109, are often let down by poor air quality as a result of industrial production.

Source: www.weforum.org

Sun Power Holds World Record for Most Efficient Rooftop Solar Panel, Again

28.06.2016

SunPower once again holds the record for the world’s most efficient rooftop solar module, achieving an NREL-validated 24.1 percent. NREL scientist Keith Emery, manager of the PV cell and module performance laboratory, provided the verdict in a release: “The module measured 11310.1 cm2 (aperture area) and had a power of 272.5 watts. We recorded 24.1 percent efficiency, which is a new record for silicon module efficiency.”

The record SunPower module was made “using laboratory solar cells of 25 percent mean efficiency” and is based on its commercially available module architecture. In February, NREL verified that a SunPower production panel had hit 22.8 percent efficiency.

Late last year, SolarCity made the claim that solar panels coming off of its 100-megawatt Silevo pilot production line were setting world records for solar module efficiency as “the world’s most efficient rooftop solar panel, with a module efficiency exceeding 22 percent.” A week later, Panasonic claimed the crown at 22.5 percent module efficiency.

An updated chart might help clear things up.

As covered in PV Magazine, Panasonic held the record for a while, with a 22.5 percent conversion efficiency verified by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology -which “builds upon the 25.6% efficiency record the company set in 2014 at cell level.”

When we reported on Solar City’s record panel claim late last year, it boasted an oddly precise 22.04 percent module-level efficiency as measured by the Renewable Energy Test Center (not a designated test facility). The silicon-based bifacial PV cell combines n-type substrates, copper electrodes, thin-film passivation layers, and a tunneling oxide layer that yields high conversion efficiencies. At the time, SolarCity claimed that its module would be “the highest-volume solar panel manufactured in the Western Hemisphere.” The record panel was manufactured on the company’s 100-megawatt pilot production line – its Buffalo factory won’t be at full production until 2017, with a target of 10,000 solar panels per day at full capacity. How the proposed acquisition of Solar City by Tesla will impact the new module factory remains uncertain.

Source: www.greentechmedia.com

Installation of PV Modules Begins on El Salvador’s Largest Solar Project

28.06.2016

The Providencia solar project by French developer Neoen is divided into two blocks, a 76 MW plant which was awarded in an auction and a block of 25 MW which will provide electricity to distributors under the framework of private negotiations.

Last week saw the official launch of a 101 MW solar project in El Salvador, by far the largest to date in El Salvador and one of the largest in Central America. A ceremony for placement of the first module in the Providencia project, which is located in the La Paz department, was attended by representatives of developer Neoen, and Salvadoran authorities, including El Salvador VP Óscar Ortiz.

The project consists of two blocks, a 76 MW PV plant which was awarded in the first auction of renewable energy projects held in El Salvador, which was held in 2014, and a 25 MW PV plant. This final block is the result of private negotiations with electricity distribution companies, according to press releases by El Salvador’s National Energy Commission (CNE).

Investments in the Providencia project totals around US$151 million. Among these, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Canadian Climate Fund are together providing US$88 million, French development bank Proparco will supply $30 million, and Neoen is investing $33 million.

The largest PV plant built to date in Central America is a 104 MW project in Honduras, which was inaugurated last year.

Source: www.m.pv-magazine.com

Transportation: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?

28.06.2016

On Thursday, the 23rd of June, Bertrand Piccard and Solar Impulse successfully made a historic, zero-fuel flight across the Atlantic, from New York to Seville, Spain.

The flight comes at a time when reports indicate that transportation is a major culprit when it comes to global greenhouse emissions, and when exhaust fumes continue to send thick smog and fine particle pollution into the atmosphere of some of the world’s major cities.

However, if we take a glass half full approach, we could argue that implementing, on a large scale, technologies that make vehicles more efficient – therefore using less fuel – and promoting electric transport would go a long way to solving the problem. And it isn’t as if these technologies don’t exist. Indeed, ABB has a wide portfolio of products and services already on the market. Government legislation could also see clean transport solutions rapidly adopted on a wide scale. For example, Norway has announced commitments to move to electric vehicles on the road by 2025. Such announcements will stimulate innovation, as manufacturers see the business case for putting in place the products and infrastructure needed to make this huge switch realizable.

Solar Impulse is a very visible ambassador for sustainable transport. Not only does it show that an electric plane can fly for long distances (the flight from Japan to Hawaii took over 117 hours!), it also makes us think about the source of the energy used to power electric vehicles. In the case of Solar Impulse, it is the intermittent energy of the sun which, nevertheless, is used so efficiently that the daylight hours are enough to both keep the plane in the hour and provide enough stored energy to enable it to stay airborne during the night. With ABB’s solar powered charging stations, such as the one inaugurated in Belgium at the beginning of June, EV drivers can feel reassured that the electricity filling their batteries is coming from a clean, renewable source.

Now that Bertrand Piccard and Solar Impulse have arrived in Spain, the team leading the ABB-Solar Impulse innovation and technology alliance will be drawing attention to some of these solutions across Europe. Once the plane begins to head towards the direction of its final destination, Abu Dhabi, we will embark on our own electric transport challenge, proving that we are doing on the ground what Solar Impulse is doing in the air!

A team from ABB Germany will soon embark on their own emission-free journey, also heading from West to East, in an electric car. This EV adventure begins in Seville, will take in France, Italy and Switzerland with Germany the final destination. The electric car will be charged at ABB charging stations, and stop off at ABB sites that are helping to turn transport into part of the solution to a cleaner future, from marine to rail to road.

My next post will include more information about the EV roadtrip adventure, but for now you can follow the latest news and information by going to www.abb.com/betterworld

Source: www.abb-conversations.com

Global Air Pollution Crisis ‘Must not Be Left to Private Sector’

27.06.2016

The global air pollution crisis killing more than 6 million people a year must be tackled by governments as a matter of urgency and not just left to the private sector, a report from the world’s leading energy authority says.

An increase of investment in energy of about 7% a year could tackle the problem, and would pay for itself through health benefits and better social conditions, the International Energy Agency estimates.

Its report says air pollution is often seen as a social problem but the economic consequences are huge. Lost work from air pollution is an increasing issue for rapidly developing cities, for instance.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, told the Guardian that governments should take more responsibility: “Air pollution does not get the attention it deserves. It is a global problem, and it is extremely important. It is a crisis.”

The energy industry is a leading source of pollution – including sulphur and nitrogen compounds – that cause breathing difficulties in vulnerable people, including children and older people, and can lead to premature death. Another key problem is that about 2.7 billion people around the world are still dependent on wood and waste fires that cause indoor air pollution, affecting women and young children the most.

At least 6.5 million people a year are believed to be dying from air pollution, and many more lives are harmed, according to experts. But governments have been slow to respond, according to the first IEA report on the issue. If they act, the problem could be halved in the next three decades, the IEA says.

Air quality has been identified as the fourth-largest threat to human health, after high blood pressure, poor diet and smoking. Eight in 10 of the cities around the world that monitor the problem exceed the levels at which harm is caused.

This is the first time the IEA, which normally confines itself to statistics on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions arising from that, has ventured into this territory. Birol said it was a measure of the seriousness of the problem, which was costing the global economy billions a year.

He said the most important thing to be done was for governments to take responsibility and put in place the policies needed – such as regulation of industry – as well as to cooperate with each other. Clean energy sources such as renewables could play a key role, he added.

Energy production and use account for about 85% of particulate matter and almost all of the sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides, the IEA report says.

It notes that air pollution from agriculture should be a concern for governments, as fertilisers used on intensively farmed fields can cause problems both for air pollution and agriculture. Nitrous oxide and ammonia, arising from fertilisers, are more powerful than carbon in terms of trapping heat in the atmosphere, and can combine with other emissions to form more harmful gases.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Researchers Assess Power Plants that Convert all of their CO2 Emissions into Carbon Nanotubes

27.06.2016

Last year, researchers at George Washington University proposed a method for transforming CO2 emissions into carbon nanotubes (CNTs). When applied to power plants, the technology could completely eliminate the power plants’ CO2 emissions while simultaneously producing a valuable product that is used for a variety of applications, including batteries, consumer electronics, airplanes, and athletic equipment. The technology can work with almost any kind of power plant, but the researchers specifically investigated its application for combined cycle (CC) natural gas power plants, which are the most efficient kind of electrical power plant yet still emit massive amounts of CO2.

The idea is to add a molten lithium carbonate electrolyzer to a conventional CC plant, creating a CC carbon nanofiber (CC CNF) plant. Using electrolysis—the same technology that splits water to produce hydrogen—the system applies a voltage to split CO2 into oxygen gas and solid carbon nano fibers. Adding in small quantities of nickel causes the carbon nano fibers to be hollow, forming CNTs. To make sure that the idea isn’t too good to be true, in a new study the same researchers have performed a thermodynamic assessment of the proposed CC CNF plant. They found that the concept is economically feasible and even improves the power plants’ energy efficiency.

“The technology incentivizes carbon dioxide removal by transforming this greenhouse gas into a valuable product to ameliorate the impact of climate change,” Stuart Licht, a chemistry professor at George Washington University and leader of the study, told Phys.org. “The production of CNTs will actually be more profitable for fossils fuel power plants than making power, and this should incentivize the transition to a renewable, sustainable society. CNTs have over twenty times the strength of steel or aluminum and are lower weight, and we hope that the CNTs will provide a complete replacement for the trillion-dollar steel and aluminum market. CNTs are also useful in nanoelectronics and new medicine delivery systems, and are already being used in textiles [such as bullet-proof clothing].”

The researchers’ assessment shows that, for every metric ton of methane fuel consumed, a conventional CC power plant produces $909 of electricity and emits 2.74 tons of CO2. In contrast, the proposed CC CNF plant would produce about $835 of electricity, which is about 8% less than the CC plant. But the CC CNF plant would also produce about 0.75 tons of CNTs, which is worth an estimated $225,000, and emits no CO2.

In other words, the small decrease in power output is more than compensated for by the highly valuable carbon nano fibers and nano tubes that could be produced. This is mainly because industrial-grade carbon nano tubes are such an expensive commodity, which currently cost about $300,000/ton ($130/pound) to produce using methods available today. Using the new method, the researchers estimate that it would cost just $2,000/ton to produce CNTs—less than 1% of current production costs. The researchers hope that this large profit potential will make the technology seem like an obvious choice. Since CNTs are about 10,000 times more valuable than carbon tax credits (which are roughly $30/ton), the researchers predict that CNT production will offer a greater incentive for the energy industry to reduce carbon emissions than carbon tax credits offer.

Even though the value of CNTs would likely decrease in the future since they can be produced much more easily and cheaply using this new method, that would simply spread part of the economic benefit to other industries. Lower CNT prices would spur CNT market growth and positively impact the many industries that use them, including the automobile, airline, and wind turbine industries.

The researchers’ assessment also shows that the CC CNF plants make sense from a thermodynamic perspective when compared to conventional CC plants with and without carbon sequestration, as well as conventional coal plants.

Even though the CC CNF plants would produce somewhat less electricity than the other types of plants, they would do so at a higher efficiency. The improved efficiency is due to heat energy gained in several areas that could be recycled back into the steam turbines. The heat energy comes, for instance, from the energy produced from chemical reactions with lithium oxide; the energy gained from cooling the carbon and oxygen products; the energy gained from burning the natural gas with a mix of pure oxygen and air (splitting the CO2 releases pure oxygen as well CNTs); the energy saved from preventing CO2 emissions; and the energy gained by capturing CO2 at a much higher temperature than the temperatures at which CC plants with carbon sequestration operate. And unlike carbon capture technologies, energy is not need to store the CO2 as a waste material, since instead it is converted to a valuable product.Currently, the researchers are working to build and implement the technology as quickly as possible.”We are quickly scaling up the process, which is the challenge to rapid deployment and substantial CO2 reduction,” Licht said.

Source: www.phys.org

Harvard Study Finds $38 Billion of Public Health Benefits from Carbon Reduction Rule

27.06.2016

wind-turbine — Photo-ilustration: Pixabay

While the Clean Power Plan (CPP) works its way through the court system, researchers continue to look into what it could mean for consumers.

The results of a new Harvard study show there’s nothing to fear: using a model that resembles the CPP, researchers found net benefits of $38 billion a year. Because wind power’s costs have fallen 66 percent in the last six years, it’s the biggest, fastest, cheapest way to cut carbon pollution, making it responsible for a big portion of these benefits.

“Health benefits would outweigh the estimated costs of the carbon standard in our study for 13 out of 14 power sector regions within five years of implementation, even though we only looked at a subset of the total benefits,” said lead author Jonathan Buonocore, research associate and program leader at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard’s public health school.

Carbon-cutting rules also necessarily reduce other air pollutants. In this scenario, the Harvard researchers analyzed benefits resulting from less sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and particulate emissions. These pollutants can cause smog, trigger asthma attacks and other respiratory complications, and harm the heart and lungs.

But the benefits to public health are likely even greater than the study’s findings, because it didn’t take into account direct health benefits due to climate change mitigation, such as fewer heat-related illnesses, reduction in extreme weather, and avoided increases in vector-borne diseases. Nor did it calculate other pollutants like mercury that can cause birth defects.

Americans across the country are already saving lots of money on public health costs because of wind power.

In 2015 alone, wind created $7.3 billion in public health benefits by reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Through 2050, that number could climb to $108 billion, and wind could help prevent 22,000 premature deaths.

Harvard’s study found that for the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, benefits of complying with a carbon reduction rule could create $1.7 to $5.6 billion every year.

“The nice thing about this study, and others like it, is that it’s able to quantify air quality and health benefits that are immediate,” said Buonocore. “So it’s able to kind of put this information in terms of benefits that can be a lot more relevant to policy makers and other decision makers.”

Source: www.aweablog.org

New Mexico Breezes into Wind-Energy Gigawatt Club

27.06.2016

New Mexico became the seventeenth state in the U.S. in December to surpass the 1,000-megawatt mark for installed wind energy capacity, following the startup of a 250-megawatt wind farm in Roosevelt County.

New Mexico is now generating 1,112 MW of electricity from a dozen utility-scale wind installations, or enough electricity to power 190,000 homes every year, according to a recent report from the American Wind Energy Association.

“New Mexico emerged as a wind energy leader at the end of 2015, surpassing 1,000 MW of installed capacity to join 16 other states in the nation’s 1-gigawatt club,” said Hannah Hunt, a senior industry data analyst for the association. “The state is really starting to harness the benefits of wind energy.”

New Mexico’s growth is part of a trend blowing across the country.

Wind accounted for more than 40 percent of all new electric generation added to the grid last year, reflecting, in part, a rapid decline in prices. Costs for wind generation have fallen by about 66 percent over the last five years.

All told, wind generation reached nearly 75,000 MW of installed capacity as of March. That represents enough electricity to power about 20 million average homes, accounting for about 5 percent of all the country’s electricity.

“Wind is a significant part of the grid now, and the prospects are strong for a lot more growth in the near term because it’s affordable and reliable,” association CEO Tom Kiernan told the Journal. “In some parts of the U.S., wind energy is now the cheapest source of electricity, even with today’s low natural gas prices.”

The wind industry is also helping spur economic development, with about $128 billion invested to date in wind projects, and more than 88,000 people currently employed in wind-related jobs.

In New Mexico, wind developers have invested about $1.8 billion, employing about 2,000 people as of year-end 2015. And the state has capacity for a lot more wind generation, particularly on New Mexico’s gusty central and eastern plains.

“New Mexico stands out in terms of its rich wind resources,” Hunt said. “It has the potential for exponential growth.”

For that to happen, the state needs more transmission infrastructure, something local and national developers are working on. But even without new transmission lines, more wind farms are in the works.

That includes the 298 MW El Cabo Wind Farm in Torrance County, which Oregon-based developer Iberdrola Renewables expects to bring online next year. Once operating, El Cabo will be the largest wind farm in the state.

For now, that record belongs to the Roosevelt Wind Project, a 250 MW farm that California-based developer EDF Renewable Energy brought online in December. That new farm, located about 18 miles southwest of Portales, will supply all its electricity to Southwest Public Service Co., which serves customers in eastern New Mexico and West Texas.

EDF also brought a second, 50 MW wind farm in Roosevelt County online in March to sell electricity through the Southwest Power Pool.

Source: www.abqjournal.com

Independent Power Projects Essential to Electrify Sub-Saharan Africa, New Report Finds

27.06.2016

A new World Bank report draws from experiences in five African countries to explain why independent power projects (IPPs) are crucial to help deliver electricity to the 600 million people without it in Sub-Saharan Africa. The report highlights the challenges policymakers face and factors that can lead to scaled-up and sustainable power sector investment.

Africa’s power sector needs far exceed most countries’ already stretched public finances, making it crucial for governments to attract greater levels of private investent to scale up generation capacity. To reach the scale required, governments must provide a sound investment climate and enabling environment, the report finds.

“Independent Power Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa – Lessons from Five Key Countries” Power projects on case studies carried out in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda – countries that have the most experience with IPPs in the region.

“Independent power projects now constitute the primary vehicle for private investment in the African power sector,” said Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s Vice President for Africa. “The objective of this report is to identify key lessons that can help African countries attract more and better private investment.”

Currently, there are 126 IPPs in 18 Sub-Saharan countries, accounting for an installed capacity of 11 GW and $25.6 billion in investments. But to benefit more countries the report recommends these IPPs should be much larger and spread across the region.

Enabling factors for attracting more and better IPPs include:

More competitive procurement efforts from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes encouraging long-term contracts through a competitive bidding process. This can help secure reduced prices and help avert other issues, such as the possibility of a problematic contract. If direct negotiations are conducted, they should be done transparently.
Clear and conducive energy sector policies, structures and regulatory environment.
Systematic and dynamic power sector planning, including the ability to accurately project future electricity demand, determine best supply or demand management options and anticipate how long it will take to procure, finance, and build the required electricity generation capacity.
Financial viability of the public utilities is vital as they remain the principal off-takers of power produced by IPPs. Given the high-risk environment of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, it will be important to provide proper mitigation through financial guarantees and security measures to attract new investors.

The report also finds that renewable energy IPPs are becoming more promising and can be viable if procured competitively.

The report concludes that all sources of investment need to be encouraged and for IPPs to flourish, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa need dynamic, least-cost planning linked to the timely, competitive procurement of new power generation capacity. This must be accompanied by effective regulations that encourage distribution utilities that purchase power to improve their performance and prospects for financial sustainability, thereby widening access to electricity.

www.worldbank.org

Ventura Oil Spill Misses the Ocean, but Damage on Land is Unclear

24.06.2016

Before the sun rose Thursday, Kirk Atwater’s wakeup call was a noxious breeze that filled his bedroom with fumes.

He stepped out of his ranch that overlooks an arroyo in the Ventura hills and saw a creek of thick, black goo traveling through the canyon that was dry just the day before.

A pipeline valve had somehow opened and sent thousands of gallons of crude oil down into an arroyo that flows through the city of Ventura and reaches the ocean near the Ventura Pier.

Atwater, 56, called 911 and the oil pipeline company. His early notice helped officials stop the oil in a drainage basin before it reached the ocean, but not before an estimated 29,400 gallons of unrefined crude bled into the canyon.

It marked the latest significant oil spill in California and underscored the hazards of the oil and natural gas industry along the Central Coast, where last year a corroded pipeline spewed 143,000 gallons of crude oil onto Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara.

“There’s no excuse for this happening,” said Henning Ottsen, a 74-year-old engineer who has lived for more than three decades across the canyon from where Thursday’s spill originated. Some of the oil flowed onto his property, coating rocks and foliage with black tar.

“We know the oil fields are back in the hills,” he said. “It should be assured they take care of the infrastructure and not let this sort of thing happen.”

County officials initially estimated that up to 210,000 gallons had flowed out of the pipe, but they later downgraded the figure. The oil flowed down a steep canyon slope and traveled about half a mile through Prince Barranca, a gorge that typically fills with water during storms.

The oil then pooled in a storm water basin, allowing officials to block the crude from flowing farther.

“There’s no way it can get to the ocean,” Ventura County firefighter Marisol Rodriguez said.

Still, residents were concerned that the toxic liquid would harm wildlife. Ottsen, whose ranch and garden sit about 60 feet above the barranca, said he typically sees coyote, deer and mountain lion tracks in the dirt during the mornings.

“It’s a freeway for the animals,” he added.

Capt. George Struble of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said there were no reports of animals affected.

The cause of the spill is under investigation by a team of state and federal agencies, according to Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Mike Lindbery. Investigators with the state Office of Spill Prevention also arrived to assess the site, an agency spokeswoman said.

Owned by Colorado-based Crimson Pipeline LLC, the 10-inch underground pipeline was installed in 1941 and is up to date on state and federal inspections, according to Kendall Klingler, a spokeswoman for the company.

The pipeline, however, had been undergoing maintenance Wednesday and was not at its full rate of flow or pressure, Klingler said. The valve that was the source of the oil had been replaced Wednesday, she added.

The pipeline company offered a lower estimate of the spill than county officials, saying that no more than 25,200 gallons had been released.

Crimson Pipeline is responsible for the cleanup effort and deployed contractors to lay down large, absorbent booms in the barranca to mop up the crude. On Thursday afternoon, workers in white haz-mat suits hiked down to the canyon with industrial pumps and planned to vacuum the pools of liquid that formed along the riverbed. A caravan of trucks would then haul the liquid away.

Officials could not provide a timetable for the cleanup.

State agencies were working in concert with the pipeline company to monitor the cleanup effort, Klingler said.

Source: www.latimes.com

Which countries have plans for all new cars to be electric, and when?

24.06.2016

electric-car-2783573__340 — Photo: Pixabay

Plug-in electric cars currently make up a fairly small percentage of the millions of new vehicles sold globally. But within the next two decades, they may be the only new cars available for sale in certain countries. Multiple countries have announced plans to end the sale of new internal-combustion cars as a way to cut carbon emissions.

So which one will be the first?

Norway is likely the friendliest nation in the world for electric cars, and it was the first to discuss making all new cars electrically powered (whether via batteries or hydrogen fuel cells). The Scandinavian country already offers generous incentives to electric-car buyers, and has built up substantial charging infrastructure. Electric cars already account for an average 24 percent of new-car sales in Norway, but certain politicians are pushing for them to make up 100 percent of new-car sales by 2025. This goal was first proposed last August by Ola Elvestuen, a member of Norway’s parliament and Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment.

Norway’s major political parties have now agreed to this “complete ban” on new internal-combustion cars, The Independent reported earlier this month. The Netherlands is also moving to end sales of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2025. In April, the Dutch parliament passed a motion to that effect, although it would still have to be approved by the senate to become law. Hybrids would still be allowed under the proposed rule, and internal-combustion cars sold before 2025 would be grandfathered for operation until the ends of their lives.

Like Norway, the Netherlands boasts significant electric-car incentives, and electric cars account for a greater share of sales than in most countries. Both Norway and the Netherlands also have concentrated populations, meaning short average commuting distances that won’t tax shorter-range electric cars. That’s less true of Germany, where electric cars currently account for a relatively low percentage of sales. Yet Deputy Economy Minister Rainer Baake believes the country should ban sales of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030. Baake believes an emission-free car fleet is the only way to meet Germany’s goal of cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, according to Bloomberg.

The government also wants to put 1 million electric cars on German roads by 2020. Right now, electric cars only account for about 0.6 percent of new-vehicle sales in Germany, although an incentives program approved by lawmakers in May could help boost sales. The country with the most ambitious electric-car goal, though, may be India. Rather than simply ending sales of new internal-combustion cars, India’s government wants to make all cars in the country electric by 2030. This would hinge on an incentive program that would allow people to buy electric cars very cheaply. However, the proposal faces the challenge of instigating mass electric-car adoption in one of the world’s most populous nations, and creating the necessary infrastructure to support all of those new cars.

Many Indian homes do not have access to electricity at all, and the country currently relies heavily on fossil fuels to generate power. But with some of the worst air pollution in the world, India may have the greatest incentive of any country to make all of the cars on its roads electric.

Source: www.greencarreports.com

AET Completes 5MW Solar Project in Puerto Rico

24.06.2016

Applied Energy Technologies (AET) announced that it has completed a 5MW solar installation project with Rosendin Construction Puerto Rico, in Juncos, Puerto Rico. The modules added to the project are Hanwha Q Cells 300W. The installation is expected to generate power to a Medtronic Pharmaceuticals site.

Aaron Faust, VP of business development for AET, said: “It is a privilege to be selected for another project in the Caribbeanand South American market. Our engineering team is earning its reputation for providing thorough analysis so that every component of a project is taken into consideration to ensure quality, while also keeping costs down for the customer.”

For this installation, AET’s engineering team had to account for 145 miles per hour wind load, a higher than average wind load for solar systems. Utilising AET’s Rayport-G ECO wind tunnel test, the company was able optimise the posts of the system to save on cost.

Ronald Hopgood, division manager of Rosendin, added: “AET was a clear choice for this project because of their experience in managing and delivering utility-scale projects. AET’s system is backed by their expert engineering and wind tunnel analysis, making their system an ideal fit for the unique site conditions of this project.”

Source: www.pv-tech.org

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