Clean energy, economy, employment win for Colorado
Another Big Victory for Renewable Energy – This Time in the Rockies http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/nlong/another_big_victory_for_renewa.html Noah Long, 29 April 13, Critical votes in The Colorado legislature late Friday night and yesterday represent yet another victory for renewable energy despite a national drive by the fossil fuel industry to roll back standards supporting increased clean power sources like wind and solar.
The Colorado House voted to increase rural renewable energy to 20 percent, doubling access for 100,000 Colorado customers. A version of the bill had already passed the Senate and is supported by Governor John Hickenlooper. A final vote is still necessary before it gets to the governor’s desk, but after these decisive votes, it should become law.
The move will bring clean energy, jobs and economic opportunity to rural Colorado. The increase could result in as many as 10,000 new wind, solar and renewable jobs.
The win for renewable energy in the heart of the Rockies sends a clear national message. Despite the fossil fuel industry’s attempt to roll back renewable energy standards around the country that require utilities to provide an increasing percentage of their power from renewable resources, voters continue to want more clean energy. Roll back attempts have failed in Kansas and North Carolina (more on NC, here). In Arizona, a lawmaker withdrew his proposal to reduce the renewables requirement on that state’s utilities.
Colorado — which will now get 20 to 30 percent of its energy from clean sources — is on pace to have the second highest renewable energy standard in the country- only behind California.
Renewable energy a financial boon for utilities
Solar and wind projects offer big advantages to electric utility companies. The utilities get a premium rate for solar power, the supply of which peaks in the afternoon alongside the higher demand for air conditioning. The utilities also can make a big profit from homes and businesses that install panels, buying the excess energy at off-peak prices and selling it later for a higher price.
Even the additional storage capacity needed to tap renewable energy can become a profit center.
Renewable energy becomes a utility lifeline http://money.msn.com/technology-investment/post.aspx?post=cbde9691-2d13-4345-9718-cb7453fdbb27 30 April 13, Continue reading
Breakthrough in solar energy storage for powering national grids
VIDEO The Lithium-Polysulfide Flow Battery http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3713 29 April 13,
U.S. researchers believe a breakthrough in battery technology will see more utility-scale solar and wind energy powering national grids.
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a new low-cost flow battery storage system that could solve issues relating to the peaks and troughs in power generation from renewable energy sources.
Flow batteries pump two types of liquid through a chamber, where two streams of dissolving molecules cause a chemical reaction that store or release energy.
They are currently thought to be the most effective way to maintain grid stability because the tanks, pipes and fittings used in flow battery systems can be scaled-up to store power for large-scale solar and wind facilities where energy generation depends on weather conditions.
But today’s flow batteries are expensive – the liquids used often require large quantities of rare earth materials to operate and a special membrane that separates the active and inactive ions. According to the SLAC/Stanford team, with solar and wind heading toward 20 percent of generation capacity, there needs to be a simpler and more efficient flow battery system.
“For solar and wind power to be used in a significant way, we need a battery made of economical materials that are easy to scale and still efficient,” said Yi Cui, Stanford associate professor of materials science and engineering.
Cui’s team designed a new membrane-free battery that does away with rare materials, using a chamber with a single molecular stream of lithium and sulphur ions. A reaction with a catalyst produces lithium polysulfides, discharging energy and absorbing lithium. The lithium ions are then reabsorbed into an organic compound to be used again.
The researchers say the next step is to develop and field test a utility-scale flow battery based on their design capable of handling megawatts of energy storage.
Another flow battery concept we’ve covered in the past utilising cheap and readily available materials is the Rustbelt Flow Battery; which uses iron.
Huge municipal solar energy program launched in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Celebrates Launch of Largest Municipal Solar Program in U.S.http://www.enn.com/business/article/45915 Bonnie Hulkower, Triple Pundit, April 29, 2013 Los Angeles, a city more often known for its celebrity sightings and Hollywood stars, also shines bright in the solar arena. The City of Angels has dazzled in the last decade with a strong record of sustainability. So much so that on April 19th, local and national government representatives as well as business leaders gathered to celebrate the launch of the city’s solar Feed in Tariff (FIT) program (Clean L.A. Solar Program) at the Los Angeles Business Council’s (LABC) Sustainability Summit. The program focused on how to harness sustainability programs and regulatory initiatives for job growth.Essentially, the idea of the FIT is to make solar competitive in what naturally is one of the nation’s sunniest communities. Similar to President Kennedy’s mission to the moon, L.A.’s moonshot moment is to benefit from solar energy in a region blessed with sunny weather year round. Solar energy is especially appropriate in hot climates, as air conditioning demand coincides with the period of peak solar radiation.
L.A.’s FIT program will be the largest municipal commitment to solar, but not the first. Continue reading
Safe and clean – solar-powered mosquito traps
Solar Power Helps In The Battle Against Malaria http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3711 29 April 13, The Netherland’s Wageningen University is leading a project to install 4,000 solar powered mosquito traps on the Kenyan island of Rusinga. Continue reading
Even US conservatives supporting fair tax deal for renewable energy
Level Playing Field for Renewable Energy Design Build, By Marc Howe, 27 April 13 Conservative politicians in Washington have expressed strong support for legislation which will put renewable energy companies on a level playing field with fossil fuel providers.
The new legislation proposed by Senators Christopher Coons, D-Del., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, will expand the use of “master-limited partnerships” (MLPs), which confer major tax advantages to companies from oil, natural gas and coal mining projects to renewable energy projects as well.
MLPs are taxed only once via shareholders, as compared to listed limited liability corporations, which are taxed at both the shareholder and corporate levels.
Conservatives have come out in support of the bill, despite a recent stoush with President Barack Obama over his support for California solar power company Solyndra, which gave the impression that the GOP harboured strong reservations about renewable energy. Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group founded by the arch-conservative Koch brothers is a prime example. The group castigated Obama over Solyndrda and has expressed unwavering opposition to climate change legislation, yet is all for the extension of MLPs to renewable energy firms.
“There should be a level playing field and people should have access to similar tax and business structures,” says James Valvo, director of policy for Americans for Prosperity.
“I support including all energy sources, including renewables, in the definition of entities eligible for the [MLP] tax treatment,” Pompeo said. http://designbuildsource.com.au/level-playing-field-for-renewable-energy
Oil and gas lobbies losing their war against renewable energy?
The Oil And Gas Industry’s Assault On Renewable Energy, Environmental Defense Fund Jim Marston April 26, 2013 Renewable energy enjoyed a record year in 2012 – the U.S. wind industry surpassed 50,000 megawatts of electrical power generation capacity and solar proved once again to be the fastest growing energy source in the United States. That’s a milestone worth celebrating, since greater use of clean, homegrown energy resources creates jobs, cuts foreign oil imports, stabilizes prices, makes our system more resilient and reduces harmful pollution. The list of benefits is vast. So who could possibly be upset?
Well, some utilities that own old and often dirty fossil fuel power plants are upset that renewables are making it harder for their older, polluting units to stay in business. Then there are oil and gas industry association leaders like American Petroleum Institute (API) president Jack Gerard, who often talk about wanting a “level playing field” – implying that policies promoting renewable energy are unfair to fossil fuels.
Don’t be fooled. Renewable investments pale in comparison to the amount of money poured into fossil fuel companies since 1918 to fatten their bottom lines and crowd out competition. Fossil fuels have received around 75 times more subsidies than clean energy. Up to 2011 (adjusted for inflation), the oil and gas industry received $446.96 billion in cumulative energy subsidies from 1994 to 2009, whereas renewable energy sources received just $5.93 billion. An industry that has been enjoying federal tax subsidies for over a century has no standing to argue for a level playing field. Heavily subsidized fossil fuels may have made sense 100 years ago, when we were racing to build the energy infrastructure of the last century. But today we’re racing to build the clean energy infrastructure of the new century — and we need to support a new set of industries. And we’re making real progress.
So it is no surprise that we are seeing a well-funded, industry-backed effort to roll back the policies that have been so successful in developing and deploying renewables. Take, for example, the latest assault on a series of state laws around the country that have increased the amount of clean, renewable energy these states produce. …….. http://www.edf.org/blog/2013/04/26/oil-and-gas-industry%E2%80%99s-assault-renewable-energy
The Clean Energy Economy is Growing Fast
The Oil And Gas Industry’s Assault On Renewable Energy, Environmental Defense Fund Jim Marston April 26, 2013 “…….. In Texas – a state deeply rooted in oil and gas, where an ALEC-backed bill has been introduced to eliminate the state’s RPS entirely (though the legislation would leave in a similar portfolio standard for natural gas) – renewable energy is booming. Texas blew past the RPS goal set for 2015, and now more than 1,300 companies employ more than 100,000 in industries directly and indirectly related to renewable energy. The state’s own Republican Comptroller has noted that, “After the RPS was implemented Texas wind corporations and utilities invested $1 billion in wind power, creating jobs…and increasing the rural tax base.”
Colorado’s RPS, which is also being targeted by ALEC as well, has been very successful. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that the state’s RPS is supporting at least 5,000 direct and indirect jobs and generating a billion dollars in annual wages along with millions in leasing revenue for landowners who benefit from the policy. Between 2006 and 2011, the Denver-metro area saw a 35% increase in direct employment growth in the clean energy sector; today more people are employed by the solar industry than the coal mining or steel manufacturing industries.
So you can see why some in the oil, gas and coal industry might be getting nervous. … http://www.edf.org/blog/2013/04/26/oil-and-gas-industry%E2%80%99s-assault-renewable-energy
Boulder, Colorado makes a break for wind energy
Boulder Wants More Wind Power, and Wants It Now, Triple Pundit, By Tina Casey | April 25th, 2013 Earlier this year, we noticed that the residents of Boulder, Colorado have been moving forward with a plan to break away from their current electricity company, Xcel Energy, in order to establish a new municipal utility. The goal is for the city to provide its utility customers with more wind power and other forms of clean energy. In the latest development, just last week the Boulder City Council voted to move ahead with the final steps. Continue reading
Skyrocketing investment predicted in renewable energy by 2030
Annual Renewable Energy Investment Set To Sky-rocket By 2030, Cleantechnica April 25, 2013Joshua S Hill The next 15 years and more are going to be interesting ones for the renewable energy industry, as the cost of manufacturing and installation drop and the public face of fossil fuels continues to be tarnished. Specifically, the rising popularity and efficiency of wind and solar energy will push the renewable energy industry as a whole into a new era of prominence.
According to new research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the future of the renewable energy sector is a jump of 230% in annual investment to $630 billion per year by 2030. Continue reading
Investors attracted to renewable energy projects
Renewable energy projects gaining investor appeal Arab News REUTERS 26 April 2013 FRANKFURT: Renewable energy production and infrastructure are gaining investor appeal as they become less dependent on government support in more European markets, the asset management arm of insurer Allianz said.
Allianz, Europe’s biggest insurer, has been investing billions of euros of policy holder funds in renewable energy.
“These investments either offer attractive feed-in tariffs, are already at grid parity (competitive with conventional energy) or are going in that direction,” Armin Sandhoevel, chief investment officer for renewables at Allianz Global Investors, told a press briefing in Frankfurt.
“That is also the future of the market, it will make it bigger and more comfortable for institutional investors.”
Spanish and Italian wind or solar installations were the most advanced in terms of profitability while those in the Nordic countries, Britain, Germany, France and the Benelux would be catching up, he said….
Further advantages of a move to green systems were the decoupling from rising global fuel costs and proven viability of the new technologies, which ensured long-term cash flows.
Institutional investors such as pension funds were looking for a diversification away from government bonds at a time of unattractive yields, Allianz executives said.
“Renewables and infrastructure represent a good match with insurers’ and pension funds’ long-term obligations to policy holders,” said managing director Tobias Pross…… http://www.arabnews.com/news/449434
Plan for storage of offshore wind energy
Wind Power Storage, Environmental Network News, 26 April 13 One of the problems with wind power is that when there is no wind then there is no power. Offshore wind could provide abundant electricity — but as with solar energy, this power supply can be intermittent and unpredictable. A new approach from researchers at MIT could mitigate that problem, allowing the electricity generated by floating wind farms to be stored and then used, on demand, whenever it’s needed….. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/45904
Large photovoltaic solar farm now operating in Thailand
Thailand’s Largest Solar Farm Powered By REC Panels by Energy Matters, 25 April 13 Renewable Energy Corporation has arrived in Thailand in a big way – supplying panels for the country’s largest solar power station.
The 9.5 MW Chiang Rai installation commenced operations last month. 41,000 REC Peak Energy Series solar panels are now generating enough electricity to provide the power needs of 7,200 Thai households and will avoid the production of 9,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually…. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3710
The Google Renewable Energy Solution
Google pushes new plan for utility-supplied renewable energy, REneweconomy By Tina Casey on 21 April 2013 Cleantechnica
In a new post on Google’s blog, Google Director of Global Infrastructure Gary Demasi has just put forth a plan that could really blow up the domestic renewable energy market. Continue reading
Renewable energy provides 70% of Portugal’s electricity
Portugal Provides 70% of Electricity Using Renewable Energy , Design Build, 19 April 13, By Marc Howe Figures from Portugal’s electricity network operator indicate that 70 per cent of all electricity consumed in the country during the first quarter of this year was derived from renewable energy sources, leading to a marked decline in the usage of conventional fossil fuels for power generation purposes.
The record-breaking levels of renewable energy usage were heavily abetted by favourable weather conditions, expediting generation by hydro power facilities and wind turbines and bringing about declines in electricity consumption by Portuguese citizens. Continue reading
1 This Month
29 Jan. Thursday 7-8 p.m. Webinar – World’s Largest Nuclear Station in Port Hope, ON?
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