By Sergio Ferreira / Published on Thu, 2009-05-28 14:38
Energy and climate policy in the United States are being proposed at a fast pace, and it is difficult, even from people working in energy, to keep track of all the new proposals.
In this webinar, we will review the impact of some of the current proposals and bills on energy efficiency. The presentation will include both federal and state level considerations.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Fri, 2009-02-13 13:16
Variability of weather and climate represents a significant source of risk to the electric power industry. Weather influences power trading, fuel acquisition, load forecasting, systems planning, hazard planning and a range of related tasks within the industry. Lead-times for weather and climate information range from minutes for rapidly changing hazard conditions and wind-power resources to decades for infrastructure planning. Demands on forecast accuracy are equally daunting.
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By Angelo Baggini / Published on Thu, 2008-09-18 09:00
Year: 2006
Policy Status: In force
The
final report of a national commission set up in 2005 "to present a concrete strategy to break Sweden's dependence on oil by 2020" outlines measures aimed at securing long-term energy supply, reducing climate impact and making better use of energy resources from forestry and agriculture.
Targets proposed by the
Commission on Oil Independence include improvements in overall energy efficiency of at least 20%, 40-50% cuts in the use of petrol and diesel in road transport, 25-40% less oil in industry, and a complete phase-out of oil used in the heating of residential and commercial buildings.
The commission also calls for pilot and demonstration plants to start production of "second generation biofuels" such as synthetic gas fuels, forest-based ethanol and biogas from the bio-based raw materials.
Promotion of vehicles running on alternative fuels would continue in part through public procurement requirements, with the aim of making Swedish cars on average 25-50% more efficient by 2020.
To meet the Commission's strategic targets, fuel efficiency should be included as a factor in environmental
classification of cars and consideration should be given to introducing an energy-labelling system. A special centre for energy efficiency should also be established.
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By Hans Nilsson / Published on Wed, 2007-07-25 07:00
A month ago, a statement was issued, signed by almost 200 large global companies, calling for actions in relation to climate. These kinds of documents are certainly good in the sense that positive engagement is better than the contrary attitude of denial that some big companies have had for along time. So, let us give this initiative the benefit of the doubt.
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By Hans Nilsson / Published on Wed, 2007-06-13 07:00
Lehman Brothers have produced a report called "The Business of Climate Change, Challenges and Opportunities"in which they both compile the evidence of climate change, produces essays on its relevance for different sectors and draw some conclusions. It is very interesting reading in its own right because of the comprehensiveness, but also when you think that the target group are important investors who (whether we like it or not) determine a part of our future by the way they shift their funds.
You may remember that in his review Sir Nicholas Stren wrote "The most successful economies are those that have the flexibility and dynamism to embrace the change". The Lehman report has its own variation on this theme when it says "The firms that will prosper in a climate-changing world will tend to be those that are early to recognise its importance and its inexorability; foresee at least some of the implications for their industry; and take the appropriate steps well in advance".
Can we assume that there is more focus on these matters in some boardrooms nowadays?
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Thu, 2007-06-07 13:06
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just published its 2007 energy review on Germany. Through its size, strategic position and progressive stance, Germany has a strong impact on European energy policy.
Using language that is unusually strong for an intergovernmental organisation, IEA makes the following recommendations regarding nuclear energy, renewables and climate policy:
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Sat, 2007-04-21 12:33
Stories mushroom of individuals and organisations offsetting their carbon emissions by purchasing credits. With increasing demand for carbon offsets, several dozens of companies now offer such credits [1]. Prices vary, but typically you can go carbon-free for a price of 5 to 10 $/tonne CO2. A typical European with a carbon footprint of 10 tonne could go carbon-neutral for less than 100$.
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By Hans Nilsson / Published on Wed, 2007-04-04 07:00
Is this an echo of the past - or just a negotiation attitude? Harlan Watson, the chief US climate negotiator has, according to Swedish press, said that Europe can stop dreaming of a new Kyoto-agreement. The reason is, he says, that developing countries like Brazil, China and India, do not want to sign. The unbalance in competition would then harm US jobs, which can not be allowed.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Sun, 2007-01-21 22:46
Over the past few years, there have been increasing reports of organisations going 'carbon neutral' and schemes are mushrooming offering individuals to offset their personal emissions - see for example 'eleven trees to buy a green conscience'. It is, however, not always clear 'what emission-free really means'. And some schemes fail to provide sufficient guarantees that projects financed by the scheme actually reduce emissions to the amounts claimed.
In a recent document, the Carbon Trust presented a 3-stage approach for a carbon offsetting strategy:
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2007-01-09 08:30
Gaining public acceptance for climate change mitigation efforts
At present, we do not have a proven tool that quantifies the environmental impact of various electricity generation systems. And without it, we cannot take well-founded decisions concerning our energy future. That is one of the conclusions in the paper Environmental Effects of Electricity Generation by The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) . Current discussions about the Severn barrage and the construction of a wind park on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland (see article in the Sunday Times) illustrate in practice how urgently such a tool is needed.
These cases also show that such a decision tool alone will not be enough to guarantee that we are taking the best available measures to mitigate climate change. There is also a need for a European structure in which such a decision tool can be applied.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Wed, 2006-12-20 03:00
Balancing local and global arguments
The debate over the construction of a tidal barrage in the Severn Estuary between England and Wales is a textbook example on how difficult it can sometimes be to balance local and global environmental issues.
The Severn Estuary, located between the English city of Bristol and the Welsh city of Cardiff, has the second largest tidal range in the world — about 15 metres. It is exceeded only by the Bay of Fundy in Canada. This makes it the ideal place to build a tidal barrage for generating electricity. A 16 kilometre barrier between Brean Down (England) and Lavernock Point (Wales) could have a massive capacity of 8,640 MW during flow, or 2,000 MW on average. This is 5% of the UK’s projected energy needs by 2020.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Fri, 2006-12-08 08:30
Is climate change excessively dramatised?
On the BBC News website, Mike Hulme, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, warns that presenting climate change as ‘catastrophic’, ‘chaotic’, and ‘irreversible’, could cause more harm than good.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Wed, 2006-11-22 08:30
The Google Solar Campus put into perspective
It has been all over the news: at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, Google is installing a 1.6 MW photovoltaic (PV) system. It will be the largest solar power system ever installed at a single corporate site. It will generate 2,612 MWh of electricity a year, or about 30% of the power required for the campus, which contains a large number of computers and servers. The installation will save 1,650 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Mon, 2006-11-20 08:30
‘The world needs gigawatts not megawatts’
That is the title of an article in Earthtoys, an e-magazine on energy resources. The article, 'What are Photovoltaics?', gives a clear insight into the major challenges facing the Photovoltaic (PV) industry.
The current production cost of PV systems is still far too high to make it competitive with traditional power production technologies. Nevertheless, PV systems represent one of the fastest growing industries worldwide and demand largely exceeds supply.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Fri, 2006-11-10 08:30
The cases of Germany, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands
Will the second National Allocation Plans (NAPs) of the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) reach their objectives? That is, ensure that member states fulfil their Kyoto commitments, and stimulate the development of low carbon intensive technologies to reach a large carbon emissions reduction on the longer term?
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2006-10-31 06:30
A thorough assessment
In August, the German Federal Environment Agency released its report "Assessment of Technologies for CO2 Capture and Storage". The report presents the results of a research project conducted by the Fraunhofer-Institut in Karlsruhe.
Capture, transport, storage
The report compares the three main technologies for capture: pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture, and oxy-fuel combustion. It also investigates the consequences of CO2 capture on the emissions, efficiency, and operational cost of power stations, and it analyses the impact of CO2 transport to the storage site. Finally, various possibilities for long-term storage were studied.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Fri, 2006-10-27 05:32
An unprecedented national program for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Norway has become a trailblazer in CO2 reduction. On 11th March 2005, the Norwegian government appointed a Commission on Low Emissions, whose task was to draw scenarios for reducing Norway’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50-80% by 2050. The Commission presented its final report to the Norwegian Minister of Environment, Helen Bjørnøy, on 4th October.
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