China moves fast towards renewable energy, slows down nuclear program
Solar, wind power gain over nuclear power in China, says German official South China Morning Post, Joyce Man in Berlin 8 July 13, German official says solar and wind generation is reaching the market faster than nuclear power under Beijing’s latest five-year plan China’s thinking has shifted increasingly towards renewable energy, which is reaching the market faster than nuclear power, a German environment official has said.
“If you analyse the last 10 years, the thinking in China has shifted more and more towards renewables. I see that renewables are getting to the markets quicker than expected and nuclear energy is getting to the markets slower than expected,” said Karsten Sach, deputy director general for European and international environment policy at the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. He was speaking to the South China Morning Post in Berlin.
Sach emphasised the importance of wind and solar energy: “If you read Chinese projections a decade ago on how nuclear and renewables would develop over the next decade, you would have seen nuclear far ahead of renewables. If you look at what happened and the projections of what will happen in the most recent five-year plan, you see renewables in front of nuclear.
“That’s just the facts and those are sometimes ignored. I don’t comment on Chinese policy. I just see [China is] doing much more on renewables than on nuclear. It’s a very welcome decision, but China has to make its own decision,” the German official said.
Sach said China recognised renewables would form a world market in the future. He said the country understood it could deliver energy in a socially beneficial way, without air pollution, and create jobs in remote areas………. http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1277560/solar-wind-power-gain-over-nuclear-power-china-says-german-official
California’s enthusiastic moves to renewable energy
California finds clean energy’s magic ingredient: Ambition REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 8 July 2013 “……There is no talk of repealing or diluting the carbon price, and its renewable energy target is 33 per cent by 2020 …….. Some time in the next couple of years the California legislature in Sacramento is likely to move the bar even higher, to 40 or even 45 per cent (by 2025 or 2030).
Edward Randolph, the energy director from the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees the investor-owned utilities in the state, says constantly raising that level of ambition has proved extremely successful.
“A lot of people argued against the 33 per cent target saying it was too difficult, but the legislature said ‘no, we’re going to set broad and ambitious goals and let the engineers figure out how to do it,” Randolph tells RenewEconomy in an interview in his San Francisco office last week.
“And quite frankly I think that has been the right way of doing it, saying ‘this is what we are going to do, you guys go figure it out’. That’s worked really well and that’s why I’m certain that in the next year or so the legislators will come back and say we ready to move to 40 per cent or 45 per cent. They don’t wait for us to get to the goal. Once they start seeing progress, they move the goals. And I honestly think it works.”
It’s not stopping there. The office of Democrat governor Jerry Brown, who apparently loves solar, has mandated 3,000MW of rooftop solar by 2017, has a program to encourage “self generation” in other technologies (such as fuel cells), and is looking at taking leadership in the electricity storage market, pushing for a mandated 1GW of storage to be installed by 2020. All these targets are over and above the renewable energy target, known here as Renewable Portfolio Standard. Continue reading
Saudi Arabia set to become – well – the Saudi Arabia of Solar Energy
Saudi Arabia Pushes Renewable Energy Programs, Wants to Become Solar-Powered Efficient and Capable by 2032 http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/486391/20130704/saudi-arabia-renewable-energy-solar-power.htm#.UdiSeztwo6I By Esther Tanquintic-Misa | July 4, 2013
Saudi Arabia has started to aggressively push forward its renewable energy programmes by installing 70 stations across the oil-rich nation that will measure the potential for energy production from sun, wind and geothermal sources. The kingdom targets to become solar-powered efficient and capable by 2032.
Ten of these stations have been put up. They will collect all weather and air data to show renewable energy sources in all parts of the kingdom. Researchers will then be able to access the data through a Web site, relaying information such as solar radiation and wind speed. Essentially, the findings will provide potential investors with guidance on where to build renewable-energy related plants. Saudi Arabia wants to attract about $109 billion to be able to create a solar industry that will help give off one-third of its electricity requirements by 2032, or about 41,000 megawatts.
Saudi Arabia targets to install 23.9 GW of renewable power capacity by 2020 and then 54.1 GW by 2032.Incidentally, countries in the Gulf region are turning more their focus toward clean renewable sources of energy for their power generation. Collectively, they target solar energy one of the region’s main sources of energy by 2017.
Apart from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait have started aggressive planning towards renewable energy programs. Qatar targets to source 10 per cent of the electricity and energy used in water desalination from solar energy by 2018, while Kuwait wants to obtain 10 per cent of its power requirements from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Overall, some $155 billion worth solar power installation projects are in the pipeline for the entire Gulf region. These projects can give off more than 84 GW of power.
Solar energy storage in a big way, in Nevada
Solar towers and storage – about to change the energy game? http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/solar-towers-and-storage-about-to-change-the-energy-game-91721, By Giles Parkinson on 4 July 2013 The 110MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant, a concentrated solar power project due to be completed in Nevada early next year, will not just be the largest solar power tower plant with fully integrated energy storage built – it could also challenge the way the world thinks about renewable energy. Or even energy sources in general.
The $1 billion Crescent Dunes project near Tonopah in the Central Nevada Desert, some 300kms north of Las Vegas, was developed by the Santa Monica-based SolarReserve and features the company’s market leading molten salt power tower technology with fully integrated energy storage.
What makes it unique and a potential game changer in the electricity industry is the flexibility and dispatchability of its power, meaning that it can deliver electricity whenever it is needed by customers; and its cost, which already beats diesel, is competitive with new build coal and gas generation.
The Crescent Dunes facility will have 10 hours of molten salt storage, which on average will allow it to deliver 110MW of baseload capacity to Las Vegas between the hours of 12 noon and midnight each day, when the city needs it most to power the lights and air conditioning of its casinos and entertainment palaces. It has signed a 25-year power contract with NV Energy, Nevada’s largest utility, to do that. Continue reading
Japan’s wind energy systems to increase, with off shore turbines
What is not well known is that Japan has considerable wind power, and that its string of wind turbines continued to function throughout the 2011 tsunami disaster.
Work starts on Fukushima floating project Wind Power Monthly 25 June 2013 by Martin Foster, JAPAN: Installation of wind turbines in the testing phase of the biggest offshore floating project to date will finally get under way this week, 20 kilometres off the coast of Fukushima. Two 2MW downwind floating turbines are scheduled to be towed from shipyards belonging to Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding in Chiba prefecture to Onahama port on 28 June, according to a new schedule released by Takeshi Ishihara a civil engineering professor at the University of Tokyo and technical adviser to the project…….
The cable is scheduled to be loaded on ship, laid and sunk in the seabed from the end of July until the end of August. It is planned to connect the cable some time in the month of August, with the project due to start generating power in mid-September.
The massive floating wind farm project, which is being developed by an 11-entity consortium lead by Marubeni Corporation, may eventually see 132 floating turbines come on line. It has been named Fukushima Mirai, literally the future of Fukushima, and has been planned as part of post-nuclear disaster recovery efforts in the area.
The project fulfils a ten-year dream for Ishihara.
“I feel that we have taken the first real step towards finally realising the dream I have embraced for the past ten years. I am really pleased,” he told Windpower Monthly. http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1187536/work-starts-fukushima-floating-project
A new way to store solar energy efficiently?
Australian Invention Could Revolutionise Solar Energy Storage July 13, ANU researchers have developed a material that can store large amounts of power rapidly – and with very little energy loss. Based on the mineral rutile, it is a ‘dielectric’ material; which are used in the construction of capacitors.The researchers say their material is superior to current capacitors in energy absorption, is cheaper to manufacture and can function effectively in a massive temperature range: -190°C to 180°C. Continue reading
Renewable energy to exceed gas and nuclear, says IAE
IEA: Renewables To Exceed Natural Gas, Nuclear Energy By 2016, Energy Collective 26 June 13 Natural gas is widely considered the bridge to take us from fossil fuel dependence to a clean energy future – but that bridge may be a lot shorter than anyone could have predicted. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts power generation from renewable sources will exceed natural gas and be twice the contribution from nuclear energy globally by 2016 – just three short years from now.
IEA’s second-annual Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report (MTRMR) forecasts renewable generation will grow 40% in the next five years despite difficult economic conditions.
Wind And Solar Power The Renewables Charge
Renewable energy is now the fastest-growing sector of the global power market, and will represent 25% of all energy generation worldwide by 2018, up from 20% in 2011. In addition, renewable electricity generation is expected to reach 6,850 terawatt-hours (TWh) and total installed renewable capacity should hit 2,350 gigawatts (GW), both by 2018.
Wind and solar photovoltaic generation is powering this jump, and non-hydro renewable power will double from 4% of gross generation in 2011 to 8% in 2018. IEA cites two main drivers for their incredible outlook: accelerating investment and deployment, and growing cost competitiveness versus fossil fuels.
Strongest Growth In Developing Countries
Even though government funding has been inconsistent, private investment has remained strong, especially in developing economies. Rural electrification, energy poverty, and rising demand have been major challenges for policymakers in these countries, and renewables have become an increasingly attractive option for diverse and non-polluting power…….http://theenergycollective.com/silviomarcacci/242601/iea-renewables-will-exceed-natural-gas-and-nuclear-2016
Much more powerful solar cells on the way
Solar Cells That Could Produce More Power Than Uranium http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3814 27 June 13 New research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology into graphene, one of the thinnest and most conductive photovoltaic materials in existence, could lead to the production of highly efficient solar panels that, weight-for-weight, could be capable of producing more energy than reactor-grade uranium.
In a paper published in the journal Nano Letters, MIT scientists describe the stacking of two atom-thick nanomaterials, graphene and molybdenum disulfide, to create a one-nanometre (billionth of a metre) thick solar cell capable of converting sunlight to energy at two percent efficiency.
Lead author of the research, Jeffrey Grossman, the Carl Richard Soderberg Associate Professor of Power Engineering at MIT, says while this is a very low number compared to conventional photovoltaic efficiencies, the solar cell is so thin that pound-for-pound the new material produces up to 1,000 times more power than current solar technology. Continue reading
Exelon tries (unsuccessfully) to blame wind energy for nuclear power’s commercial failures
Exelon Still Blaming Wind PTC For Nuclear Challenges, Exelon Still Wrong About It Think Progress, By Adam James, Guest Blogger on Jun 27, 2013 Exelon recently shelved plans to expand nuclear capacity at their LaSalle and Limerick plants, taking a $100 million hit and once again reverting to the tired old strategy of blaming subsidized wind. The specific target of their ire is the Production Tax Credit (PTC). For wind, that is, not the one that they happily collect for nuclear.
Exelon is (again) wrong about the PTC, as anyone who read our last post already knows.
First, let’s look at the big picture. Wind power has been a tremendous boon for North America. Costs have fallen 90 percent since 1992, the domestic content of wind turbines has dramatically risen, and 75,000 people are employed in the industry. This growth is directly tied to the continued extension of the Production Tax Credit. Wind power is cheap and carbon free, making it good for consumers and the climate alike.
However, Exelon has decided that wind power is bad for their business. The argument they’ve been making is that because wind can collect tax credits for producing energy at times when demand for electricity is very low, electricity prices become negative as the generator pays consumers to take electricity. This hurts their other generators, like nuclear plants, who then have to sell at a loss. Buried in the story about Limerick and LaSalle is a very important point though: negative prices didn’t occur once in springtime.
We debunked this tale before, but I’ll recap the highlights here:……http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/06/27/2210711/exelon-still-blaming-wind-ptc-for-nuclear-challenges-exelon-still-wrong-about-it/?mobile=nc
International Energy Agency predicts bright future for solar and wind energy
Quiz: What You Don’t Know About Solar Power http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/great-energy-challenge/solar-power-quiz/
Global Renewable Energy on Track to Soon Eclipse Natural Gas, Nuclear A new report predicts that renewable power energy generation will exceed that of gas and nuclear by 2016. Ker Than National Geographic June 26, 2013
The future appears to be bright for renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and water.In fact, power generation from such renewables will exceed that of gas and nuclear by 2016, according to a report published Wednesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“As their costs continue to fall, renewable power sources are increasingly standing on their own merits versus new fossil-fuel generation,” IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven said in a statement. Continue reading
Renewable energy worldwide to overtake gas by 2016
The report comes on the heels of recent research suggesting the threat of climate change is greater than earlier estimates.
An IEA report released earlier this month warned the world is on track to surpass by more than double the two-degree Celsius warming goal set by the United Nations, unless urgent measures are taken.
The IEA’s recommendations include curtailing coal-fired power stations and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.
Renewable energy use gaining worldwide:IEA http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/breaking-news/renewable-energy-use-gaining-worldwideiea/story-e6frg90f-1226670621465 AAP June 27, 2013 RENEWABLES like solar and wind power represent the fastest-growing source of energy generation and will make up a quarter of the global power mix by 2018, the International Energy Agency IEA says. Continue reading
World looks to Germany in the energy revolution
the people of Berlin seem to gravitate towards an environmentally conscious energy discussion. Bike commuters abound, energy efficiency and environmental concerns are a tenant of the informed public. In the relatively hot summer – 37 degree highs on average – the most noticeable omission from most building’s energy profile is air conditioning……..
Germany spearheads global renewable energy awareness Mohammed Alshoai Saudi Gazette, 24 June 13 BERLIN – The streets of Berlin face a different kind of traffic than those of Riyadh: bicycle traffic, which speaks multitudes in a city cultured with environmental awareness, so much so that Energiewende – literally: energy transformation – has become a word recognized in every household and office building in the German capital.
Following the Fukushima incident in 2011, the Germans took an almost unanimous vote on moving away from nuclear energy and promoting renewables. This vote has lead to a consensus on nuclear phaseout, which has become a tenant of Energiewende, emphasized by the high public tension surrounding nuclear energy.
Rainer Baake, currently the director of Agora Energiewende and formerly State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety said at a roundtable: “Nobody wants to get back into nuclear. It is very clear that everybody wants to expand on renewables.” Renewable energy is an economic, environmental and political concern in Germany, currently emphasized by their upcoming elections in September. The main sources of renewable energy in Germany are wind power, solar and photovoltaic cells, collectively making up between 23 and 25 percent of the European nation’s energy structure, according to Agora Energiewende, along with several government organizations in Berlin.
One current issue being discussed on a political level, Baake said, is the expansion of Germany’s grid system versus a capacity market bent on storing energy for low peak production times and high consumption seasons, particularly in Germany’s cold winters.
“Grids are much more important than storage,” Baake said, adding that it is a much more affordable option, where heating in winter attributes a peak demand of 80 gigawatts. Baake added that the price per megawatt has gone significantly down from €90 to €100 in 1998 to approximately €30 to €50 today. Continue reading
Wind and solar power the lowest cost options for Africa
Renewable Energy Becomes Cost Competitive in Africa http://designbuildsource.comau/renewable-energy-becomes-cost-competitive-in-africa By Marc Howe, 24 June 13 The African continent is witnessing a stunning surge in the use of renewable energy as supply sources such as solar and wind power emerge as the lowest cost options for developing countries still struggling with poor infrastructure.
South Africa plans to bring 6.9 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity into play by the end of this decade, awarding 2.4 gigawatts in contracts via the first two windows of its procurement program.
At the other end of the continent, Morocco has also launched its own swathe of ambitious renewable energy programs. It plans to develop 850 megawatts in wind capacity in the form of five projects, which the goal of installing two gigawatts in capacity by 2020.
In the area of solar power, Morocco is on track to build the world’s largest concentrated solar power plan in the form of the 500 megawatt Ouarzazate project. Phase one of the project is already under construction, while Phase two is in the midst of procurement.
Despite a sharp decline in total global investment in renewable energy in 2012, which fell to $244 billion from $279 billion the preceding year, the Middle East and Africa experienced aremarkable increase in regional spending, surging 228 per cent to hit $12 billion.
For rural African communities, renewable energy has become cheaper than diesel or coal-fired generators once fuel costs are taken into consideration as a result of limited refining capacity and poor pipeline networks.
“Certain categories of renewable energy have become the de facto least cost generation option when compared to conventional new build alternatives,” says Christopher Clarke, founding partner of Inspired Evolution Investment Management.
“The average price for wind in the last bid was 89 Rand cents per kilowatt-hour, which is cheaper than the equivalent cost of cleaner coal new build in South Africa.”
Wall mounted solar inverter and battery to be mass produced
SMA’s New Solar Inverter Incorporates Battery Energy Storage http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3807 24 June 13 SMA’s latest inverter that incorporates a lithium ion battery has won an award at Intersolar Europe 2013 in Munich.
Sunny Boy Smart Energy is the first wall mounted solar inverter with an integrated battery to be mass produced. Continue reading
US electricity utilities see distributed energy as their killer
Solar panels could destroy U.S. utilities, according to U.S. utilities Grist By David Roberts
Solar power and other distributed renewable energy technologies could lay waste to U.S. power utilities and burn the utility business model, which has remained virtually unchanged for a century, to the ground That is not wild-eyed hippie talk. It is the assessment of the utilities themselves.
Back in January, the Edison Electric Institute — the (typically stodgy and backward-looking) trade group of U.S. investor-owned utilities — released a report [PDF] that, as far as I can tell, went almost entirely without notice in the press. That’s a shame. It is one of the most prescient and brutally frank things I’ve ever read about the power sector. It is a rare thing to hear an industry tell the tale of its own incipient obsolescence. Continue reading
1 This Month
petition to oppose the rapid increase of space-military industry threatening Jeju Island and the region.
[Petition by April 19th (KST)] Stop the joint military-Hanwha Systems-Jeju Provincial Government Sea Launch!
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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