Alternative Energy Blog » wind energy

Renewable energy technologies are not so new, after all

apasolini — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:56:45 +0000

Via Crystalinks

When Chris Huhne the British secretary of state of energy and climate change wrote in a letter to the Financial Times newspaper that nuclear will not have public subsidy because in contrast to the “infant industries of renewables”, it is a mature technology, he attracted the scrutiny of the newspaper’s history-savvy readers.

One reader from Bucks, in England, wrote to say that the first wind turbine for electricity production was built by Prof. James Blyth of Anderson’s College in Glasgow in 1887. He reminded Huhne that that was 45 years before the atom was split in Cambridge in 1932 and 69 years before the world’s first full-scale nuclear power station was commissioned at Calder Hall in 1956.

Another reader from London wrote to say “mature” or “infant” are “in the eye (or ideology) of the beholder … The harnessing of wind power predates [nuclear] by several centuries – witness the travails of Dom Quixote – it is not just recently that the Spanish have been covering their countryside with windmills.”

The reader also made a comment about hydro. He said that “electric power has been generated from hydro sources since at least the 19th century. And then of course, when it comes to solar energy, there is the famous “solar oven”, built in 1767 by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure”.

It sounds like Chris Huhne was skipping history lessons as a schoolboy…

Dispatch from Brazil: the energy issue

apasolini — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:45:33 +0000

Brazil takes a lot of pride in the fact that 48% of its energy matrix is renewable, mostly thanks to hydropower, the source of 80% of the electricity consumed in the country, and ethanol, which has been powering vehicles in the country since the late 1970s. In Brazil, energy accounts for only 2.5% of the country’s carbon emissions, unlike deforestation, which accounts for 75% of it and is caused mainly by livestock. But dam building may be one of the threats to the Amazon forest, as the country looks to the region to build new hydropower plants.

Márcio Zimmermann (Via Jornal da Energia)

During a press meeting last Thursday (22) with the Ministry of Environment, Izabella Teixeira, she confirmed that “the Amazon accounts for 66% of the untapped potential of hydropower” in Brazil. That same day, during a dinner with the Minister of Mines and Energy, Zimmermann, an energy veteran with 30 years’ experience in the sector, defended the construction of the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric power station in the Amazon region.

“We have carried out careful environmental assessment studies in the region. Besides, we have one of the strictest legislation to implement hydropower”, he said during the press meeting. But environmentalists disagree, including film director James Cameron, who came to country in April to join the chorus of protest. Opponents to the project say 40,000 people are set to be displaced and hundreds of square miles of rainforest will be flooded. Besides, wildlife will be seriously impacted. Since the turmoiled $17bn auction in April, Belo Monte’s future looks uncertain and its very existence the subject of severe criticism, not just from environmentalists but also from experts and the mainstream press.

As I write this article, another hydroelectric project has run into trouble. According to a Reuters report published on Sunday (25), “400 Indians from several different tribes occupied a power plant they say was built on an ancient burial site”. The incident took place at the Dardanelos dam on the Aripuana river, about 250 miles north of the Mato Grosso state capital Cuiaba. The dam was due to come online in January 2011. A representative of the government’s agency of indigenous affairs (Funai) said the company didn’t take into account the situation of the Indians and dynamited part of an archaeological site. Now the Indians want a compensation. The construction company in charge of the place said it has been in touch with Funai to design a community development program for them.

Belo Monte deforested site (Via AFP)

Despite the controversy and risks, the Lula government is bent on pushing hydropower to the Amazon region, with 12 projects in the works. Besides hydropower, Zimmerman also believes that nuclear power has a role to play. “Brazil has the 6th largest uranium reserve in the world. From 2019, nuclear will play a bigger role. It is an irreversible process”, he said. As to oil exploration in the Amazon, the Minister believes it should always follow Urucu’s model, although “our biggest reserves are not in the Amazon”, he added.

In fact, Brazil’s biggest oil reserves are off-shore. The country has just started drilling deepwater, pre-salt layer wells along its coast. Pre-salt oil has become a major marketing staple of Lula’s government program and PR machine. But Zimmerman insists that all this new oil will not alter the country’s renewable energy matrix. “We will meet our domestic demand and export the rest”, he said. “The country currently consumes 2 million barrels per day. In 2015 we’ll have an export balance of 1.5 million barrels per day. In 2019 that figure will jump to 2-2.2 million.”

In the face of the Gulf and China oil spills, shouldn’t Brazil have waited until it started drilling its pre-salt reserves? “There are no expectations to discover on-shore reserves. The future is off-shore and the natural tendency is deep water exploration”, said Zimmerman. “Brazil intends to investigate the causes of the spill. Our legislation is very strict and we will look at the three reports that will be published by the American congress, government and judiciary”, he said. The country has sent a team to the Gulf to follow the clean-up process.

Pre-salt region in Brazil (via Brazil and Business)

In this scenario of hydropower, ethanol (18% of the country’s energy matrix) and oil exploration (23% of the global total), do solar and wind power have a place? He says the country acknowledges the need to diversify its energy matrix and has introduced an auction system to stimulate the use of renewable energy. The second auction took place recently and contracted 1,805,7 MW in wind power. A new auction is scheduled to take place in August. Most of wind power mills in Brazil are in the northeast of the country.

All those efforts seem to be paying. Brazil’s place in the renewable market is increasingly recognized internationally. Just before last week’s meeting with Mr. Zimmermann in Brasilia, the minister had been invited to Washington for a Major Economies Forum (19-20 July) to talk about the country’s public policies for renewable energy and exchange information with other countries.

It’s an exciting time for the country. The economy is growing, by the end of the first semester of 2011 the whole country will be, for the first time, connected to electricity and coal only provides 2% of the electricity consumed there. As Brazil prepares to become the fifth global economy, energy is one of its biggest challenges – and so is the preservation of its natural resources, especially the Amazon. The world is watching how the growing giant will perform this balancing act, which could provide a model for other economies.

Disclosure: Energy Refuge’s trip to Brazil was sponsored by Apex, a governmental agency that promotes trade and investment in Brazil, with funding provided by Petrobras, Eletrobras and Banco do Brasil.

Renewable energy consumption grows in Europe

apasolini — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:45:43 +0000

According to a report issued by Eurostat, in 2008, energy from renewable sources was estimated to have contributed 10.3% of gross final energy consumption in the 27 member countries of the European Union, compared with 9.7% in 2007 and 8.8% in 2006.

The goal set by the 2009 Directive on renewable energy is a 20% share of total energy consumption by 2020. These targets take into account the member countries’ different starting points, renewable energy potential and economic performance.

Sweden topped the ranking with 44.4% of renewable energy sources in total consumption. Other top European users of renewable energy included Finland (30.5%), Latvia (29.9%), Austria (28.5%) and Portugal (23.2%). At the bottom of the league were Malta (0.2%), Luxembourg (2.1%), the United Kingdom (2.2%), the Netherlands (3.2%) and Belgium (3.3%).

The good news is that between 2006 and 2008, nearly all member countries increased their share of renewable energy in total consumption. The largest increases were recorded in Austria (from 24.8% in 2006 to 28.5% in 2008), Estonia (from 16.1% to 19.1%), Romania (from 17.5% to 20.4%), Portugal (from 20.5% to 23.2%) and Slovakia (from 6.2% to 8.4%).

The calculation is based on energy statistics covered by the Energy Statistics Regulation. Renewable energy sources cover solar thermal and photovoltaic energy, hydro (including tide, wave and ocean energy), wind, geothermal energy and biomass (including biological waste and liquid biofuels). The contribution of renewable energy from heat pumps is also covered in countries where this information was available.

Happy World Environment Day

apasolini — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 11:08:00 +0000

05th of June is the day we celebrate the environment. The date marked the beginning of the first UN conference on human environment, which took place between 05 and 16 June 1972.

Here at Energy Refuge we celebrate the environmental all year round, writing about related issues while keeping the main focus on renewable energy. Renewable energy, be it solar, wind and geothermal, is one of the great hopes for a cleaner, sustainable future. We can all tap it somehow, regardless of how much money we have, and we all can do countless things to lead a greener life, from cycling to work, recycling and reusing goods, switching to a plant-based diet as recommended by the UN and choosing green options every time we have to buy something.

Let’s celebrate our beautiful planet by respecting it. It’s the only one we have.

Solar power: the future, the present and the past

apasolini — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:10:11 +0000

I recenty discovered a blog called Paleofuture which specializes in retro-futurism, visions of a perfect, high-tech future that never really was (or did not materialize as expected).

One of the posts in the blog harks back to the WWII period when fears over the future was real. The apocalypse was nigh, it seemed. The blog links to an article by one Dr Frank Thone in which he imagines a future powered with solar energy. The article was published in 1942 and is available on an embeddable Scribd file (see below).

“When the world stops destroying and starts rebuilding, vast new sources of power will be needed. Can the sun supply that demand?” the author asks.

In the face of the ongoing Gulf oil spill, this question remains pressingly relevant, not only in relation to solar power, of course, but also in relation to other clean sources of renewable energy, such as wind and geothermal.

1942 March 22 Galveston Daily News – Galveston TX paleofuture

Switching to renewable energy

apasolini — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:24:02 +0000

Source: Standord Uni

This week I read a brilliant interview with Mark Jacobson (pictured, left) on the Financial Times’ Energy Source blog. Jacobson is a Stanford professor of engineering who is a strong proponent of the idea that the world could move to 100 per cent renewable power, which is music to our ears. (for more details about the proposal he outlined with Mark A. Delucchi, go here).

Jacobson focuses mainly on solar and wind power, which in his view could be supplemented by geothermal and marine power.
He thinks we should just forget about biofuels because they “put out more pollution than real renewables”. He lists as real renewable power: wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal, and wave power.

It’s a great interview for anyone interested in renewable energy and a vision for a sustainable future powered from properly clean sources.

Europe: 100% renewable energy in 2050

apasolini — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:31:01 +0000

Source: Green Citizen

The European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) has published a report called Re-Thinking 2050, in which it presents a pathway towards a 100% renewable energy system for the European Union.

EREC is the umbrella organisation of the European renewable energy industry, trade and research associations active in the field of photovoltaics, small hydropower, solar thermal, bioenergy, ocean & marine, geothermal, wind energy, and solar thermal electricity. The renewable energy industry in Europe has an annual turnover of more than €70 billion (US$93 billion) and employs more than 550,000 employees.

The report looks at how renewable energy impacts on Europe’s energy supply system and the carbon emissions it generates, and highlights the economic, environmental and social benefits of renewable energy. The report also includes policy recommendations as to how to exploit Europe’s renewable energy potential.

According to EREC, “Europe’s demand for energy is increasing in an environment of high and unstable energy prices”. Dependency on foreign supplies and climate change make the case for bold action to tackle the “climate and energy dilemma with a clear commitment to a 100% renewable energy future by 2050”.

To download an executive summary of the report, please go here. For a full report, please go here.

Latin America starts to migrate to renewable energy

apasolini — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:33:21 +0000

Last week we blogged about the growth of wind energy worldwide. And it seems like renewable energy is starting to become an important of Latin American economy, according to an IPS report.

Mexico is hoping to get 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2012, mainly from wind turbines. Argentina is about the build a photovoltaic powerplant in San Juan, an Andean province. Brazil has been making inroads into wind, solar and biomass market sectors.

As the president of the Provincial Energy Partnership in San Juan said: “Humankind is on a one-way trip. We can’t continue relying on fossil fuels, which are expensive, are running out, and have high costs arising from the carbon dioxide emissions that cause the greenhouse effect.”

We couldn’t agree more …

Report says wind power capacity grew in 2009

apasolini — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:23:38 +0000

Source: Live Earth

The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) said in a report released earlier this month that worldwide wind power capacity reached 159’213MW in the period. 38’312 MW were added in 2009.

2009 saw the biggest growth rate since 2001, or 31,7%. That means global wind energy production now could meet the equivalent of Italy’s energy demand, or 2% of global electricity demand.

Asia accounted for the largest share of new installations (40, 4%), followed by North America with 28,4%. The United states remained at the top in terms of total installed capacity.

The industry generated a turnover of US$67.6 billion, employing 550,000 people worldwide. It is expected that 2010 will see total wind capacity exceed a 200’000 Megawatt capacity.

Renewable energy executives call for action from Congress

apasolini — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:08:59 +0000

Representatives of various renewable energy sectors have recently called on Congress to “swiftly enact key policies to continue accelerated growth across the entire sector in order to add jobs and boost economic growth in 2010”. During a press event last week, executives stressed that if these policies are not enacted, the renewable energy sector could face a downturn in investment and jobs in 2010.

They called for Congress to pass a strong national renewable energy standard (RES) with clear near- and long-term goals, along with expansion and extension of credit incentives, and comprehensive legislation. They said these policies will maintain American competitiveness and attract tens of billions of dollars of investment in clean energy production and manufacturing facilities.

The group cited a new study conducted by Navigant Consulting which reveals that a 25% by 2025 national RES would result in 274,000 more renewable energy jobs than a no-national RES policy scenario.

“The RES is the best way to provide the certainty that companies need to expand wind manufacturing nationwide,” said American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode. “The importance of building a strong renewable energy manufacturing base in the U.S. cannot be overstated. The U.S. has a historic opportunity to fortify the clean energy economy but is committing unilateral economic disarmament by not giving itself the policy tools to do so.”

“One of the fastest ways to create jobs in America is to invest in clean energy,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “These are quality jobs and they can’t be outsourced. From plumbers to electricians to construction workers, the solar industry created nearly 20,000 jobs last year with the support of the stimulus bill. We proved that we can create much-needed job growth now with the right policies in place. But we can only keep up that momentum if Congress enacts a jobs bill that promotes deployment of solar and other clean energy technologies.”

“The United States has been the world leader in geothermal energy production and in the past years our industry has seen renewed growth, even despite the recession. This is a testament to the support of federal and state policies and highlights the potential for our country to continue to lead the world in geothermal production and technology,” said Karl Gawell, Executive Director, Geothermal Energy Association.