By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-08-25 05:30
NGOs and TSOs join forces
Historically, environmentally conscious NGOs and Transmission System Operators (TSOs) were for the most part diametrically opposed on the subject of high-voltage transmission lines. This makes it all the more remarkable that now two NGOs, including WWF, have joined an initiative that advocates an enforcement of the European transmission grid. Such enforcement is considered necessary to enable the integration of renewable energy systems.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-07-28 05:30
Money goes to gas pipeline and CCS
Despite EU commissioner Piebalgs recent declarations that energy efficiency is the number one priority, the recently approved EU economic recovery funds for energy projects virtually completely overlooks energy efficiency. The allocation for renewable energy projects is also rather poor.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2009-06-11 11:08
Our partner REEGLE has highlighted an interesting story. REEGLE is a one-stop shop and search engine for all renewable energy and energy efficiency-related information including jurisdiction and laws, policies and measures, finance and investment opportunities, reports and analyses and latest news.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Mon, 2009-05-04 12:37
Electrical energy is the cornerstone of this UNEP policy brief
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has published a policy brief prepared for the G20 meeting of world leaders in April 2009. The report introduces the idea of a 'Global Green New Deal'. Such a worldwide integrated and coordinated programme could revive the global economy and job market today while building a new post-recession economy that is sustainable on both the medium and long term.
The report proposes development of stimulus packages in five action areas:
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-04-28 16:09
A report by the World Economic Forum
The Investors Community at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos of January 2008 mandated a Green Investing report. This report was to be presented at the next Annual Meeting in January 2009. The remit of the report was to explore the potential engagement by leading investors in addressing climate change.
Huge investments required
The report starts by sketching the scale of the challenge. It points out that green energy is often considered a luxury. Nevertheless, a huge volume of investment will be required to avoid catastrophic climate change and ensure our future energy security. Various experts all place the estimated cost in the range of US$500 billion per year.
Fortunately, the investment in green energy in the past five years has already been substantial. According to the report, 'Clean energy technologies are becoming increasingly cost-competitive with fossil-based energy. A carbon price will eventually level the playing field, but in the meantime clean energy solutions require support from policy makers.'
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2008-12-30 06:30
In the second half of 2008, the global financial crisis has dominated the news media. What will be the effect of this crisis on the sustainable energy market? Will it bring this young market to a standstill, or will it bring about new opportunities? The following is an attempt to group the pessimistic and the optimistic arguments.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Tue, 2008-12-02 11:20
RETScreen International is a unique decision support tool developed with the contribution of numerous experts from government, industry, and academia. Over the coming months, Leonardo ENERGY will be publishing a series of webcasts on energy project analysis using RETScreen.
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By Angelo Baggini / Published on Wed, 2008-11-19 10:00
Year 2005
Policy Status In force
According to Article 25 paragraph 2 of the Tax Incentive Limitation Law, domestic residents seeking to invest in energy saving facilities, as designated by the President’s Executive Order excluding investments on second hand equipments, can apply for a tax waiver (10% of total investment cost) from income or corporate tax (limited to investments made after January 1st 2005) until December 31st 2008.
Products targeted include:
- Single phase electric motors
- Fluorescent lamps, ballasts for fluorescent lamp, compact fluorescent lamps, high illumiance reflectors for fluorescent lamp, sensor lighting equipments
- Waste heat recovery ventilators
- High efficiency windows
- High efficiency heatpumps, transformers, high efficiency certified boilers
- Installation of energy-saving facilities
- Alternative fuel-using facilities
Additional information can found here.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-11-13 06:30
$4 billion investment required
Ocean power is still a minor in the renewable energy sector. It consists mainly of wave power and tidal stream power, and both technologies have only just embarked on their first commercial projects. Today, less than 10 MW of ocean power capacity has been installed. However, according to a report by Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, this technology could reach 1 GW of installed capacity and grid parity within six years from now.
Such progression would require $2 billion of investment in research, design and development and another $2 billion in commercial production and installation. Compare those figures with the $500 million investment made between 2001 and 2007.
How this technology will develop in the next few years depends greatly on the investment climate and the willingness of the power sector to buy in to these type of projects. These, in turn, depend on the readiness of governments to create dedicated policies and incentives for this sector.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-07-10 05:30
Feasible if all stakeholders actively co-operate
A new study by Clean Edge concludes that generating 10% of the electricity consumed in the US with solar energy by 2025 is a feasible target. The Utility Solar Assessment (USA) Study has presented utilities, solar companies, and regulators a roadmap of how to reach this target.
Today, solar energy in the US contributes a mere 0.06% of all power generated. Reaching 10% by 2025 would require an active and co-ordinated effort on the part of all stakeholders. The following are the main action points mentioned in the report:
- Utilities should take advantage of solar energy’s ability to generate peak power, and they should implement solar energy as a key element in the build-out of the smart grid
- Solar companies need to bring the cost of a solar installation down to $3 per watt peak by 2018
- Regulators and policy makers should continue the current system of tax credits for solar energy for the foreseeable future
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Mon, 2008-06-02 05:30
The trend over recent decades is clear
The frequency of large power blackouts in the U.S. has not decreased. In fact, there has even been a slight increase during the period from 1984 to 2006. That is the main conclusion of a working paper, published last January, by the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Centre, based on analysing data from the North-American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). This increase in blackouts occurred in spite of substantial investments by the electricity industry to improve system-wide reliability.
Although the data alone do not provide enough information to deduce the exact causes, the authors discuss four plausible explanations:
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By Hans Nilsson / Published on Mon, 2008-02-18 08:00
It is an oft-repeated hope that new technologies should enable developing countries to get a jump start into the future, a phenomenon called leap-frogging. Indeed, it happens, and has happened only recently with mobile phones. However, we should not take it for granted that it will happen, and there are many exceptions to the rule.
The World Bank has investigated the matter in a recent study and The Economist sees, based on the WB report, only one clear case where we could see an example of leap-frogging. That is with decentralised generation of electricity from Biofuel and PV.
Today everything is faster, but there are limits.
In the old days, technology penetrated their markets rather slowly, but globalisation has changed the rules completely.
However, there are still some basic requirements for making market absorption a reality.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2007-12-06 08:30
Technological dead end or a challenge to be overcome?
When screening the data sheets of prototypes electric vehicles and electric vehicle batteries, you often come across some spectacular recharging speeds. The 35 kWh lithium-ion batteries of Altair Nanotechnologies for instance are said to fully charge in a mere ten minutes.
What the data sheets don’t say is that the electric connection must be capable of supplying sufficient power for this rapid recharging. Only ten minutes for 35 kWh? That would require a 250 kW connection. This is about 20 times the maximum power of a residential connection. Consequently, rapid charging would be impossible at home. Moreover, it would create a serious challenge for any grid connections for electric recharging stations located along the road.
Several studies have asserted that a large penetration of plug-in electric vehicles is feasible without massive investments in new power generation and transmission infrastructure. But that is only true if those vehicles recharge at slow speed during the night, when there is sufficient idle generation and transmission capacity.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2007-11-08 08:30
Cooperation on nuclear safety and waste management
The new EU High Level Group on nuclear safety and waste management held its first meeting on October 12. Whether or not one supports nuclear energy, the Group is an initiative that can only be welcomed. Nuclear waste is a clear and present problem and urgently needs a solution. Moreover, it is certainly preferable that countries developing new nuclear plants, such as Bulgaria, Finland, France, and Romania, do so under agreed safety conditions. Since safety concerns don’t stop at national borders, it is sound that the High Level Group contains representatives from both member states that operate nuclear plants and member states that don’t.
EU divided on nuclear future
At the press conference following the first meeting of the Group, EU Energy Commissioner Piebalgs told reporters that 'a lively debate' characterized the meeting. This is no surprise, given the diametrically opposed positions of countries like France and Finland on one side and Denmark and Austria on the other. It is these differences of opinion (see previous blog post 'Incarnation of evil or saviour of the planet?') that make a common EU standpoint on the future of nuclear energy highly unlikely anytime in the next ten years. Piebalgs confirmed this by declaring that nuclear energy is 'clearly in the competence that lies with the member states' although he also stated that 'nuclear [energy] is here to stay'.
Italy having foreign affairs
The lack of common EU position doesn’t necessarily need to be a problem. But since the energy market and the energy grid are united, the differences in nuclear policies between countries can lead to strange situations.
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By Sergio Ferreira / Published on Wed, 2007-06-20 17:13
The investment in the oil sector between 1990 and 2000 is estimated in $1,700 billion. According to the World Energy Investment Outlook 2003 published by the International Energy Agency, the investments foreseen from 2001 to 2030 will reach $2 800 billion for oil, $3,145 billion for gas, $397 billion for coal, and $9,841 billion for the power sector. This gives clear evidence that energy use will grow dramatically. Energy companies will, of course do all they can to match demand and open doors to huge investments.
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By Hans Nilsson / Published on Wed, 2007-05-16 07:00
In an interview with Al Gore and David Blood, formerly with Goldman Sachs, the gentlemen gives very interesting insight in sustainability oriented investments; a world that is far beyond the short-termism that normally dominates business headlines. Actually, that short horizon is one of their prime targets, and they show how a different view on the assets could be combined with good and sustainable profit.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Mon, 2007-03-26 07:30
Best practices according to Copperleaf
A large part of the energy infrastructure in Europe and North-America is in need of significant re-investments. Many plants are close to their projected end-of-life. The investments however have to satisfy the demands of multiple stakeholders and have to incorporate high environmental and safety standards. To cope adequately with such large capital expenditures, energy companies must execute effective asset investment planning.
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By Hans Nilsson / Published on Thu, 2007-02-15 08:00
It is not often that banks use the word "revolution" in a positive context. The Barclays Capital Equity Gilt study, however, does. (see quote below).
It is clear that The Stern-Review and its projection, of energy system improvements needed to halt the climate change, and that this should be an injection the world economy, has had an impact.
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By Hans Nilsson / Published on Mon, 2006-01-23 17:40
The International Energy Agency, IEA, publishes every second year the World Energy Outlook. In the 2003 edition there were estimates of how much investment was needed in energy supply, distribution and transmission globally up till 2030. The result is handsome 16 trillion dollars of which roughly two thirds relates to electrical power. The study however also tried to calculate the impact of energy efficiency measures as alternative and came with a rather conservative view to the result that one trillion (1.000.000.000.000) could be saved by use of energy efficiency in such a form that generation, transmission and distribution was replaced.A very interesting thing in this study is that the major part of the savings was in distribution and transmission and not in generation as one may intuitively assume, see figure below. This also seem to verify the statements, that many make regarding the future electricity system, that it will be less of a system with big central generation units and more of a mesh with quite a substantial part of distributed generation. And also a system that will require a different way of thinking both in terms of operation and planning and in technologies. See also "The transition of the grid" on this site.
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