“Twice this year, [Germany]’s 21,000 wind turbines pumped out so much power that utilities reduced customer bills for using the surplus electricity. Since the first rebate came with little fanfare at 5 a.m. one October day in 2008, payments have risen as high as 500.02 euros ($665) a megawatt-hour, about as much as a small factory or 1,000 homes use in 60 minutes.”
“Wind power is as cheap as electricity made from burning coal on windy days, and those lower costs drive down power prices. In parts of Texas, some utilities are using wind power because it’s the cheapest form of energy.”
GreenTech Opinion:
Although much of this Bloomberg article tries to portray this situation as a negative for European and U.S. power utilities, this clearly demonstrates that at least one form of renewable electricity generation (wind power) is now more than ready to compete with fossil fuel based sources of electricity. This should also do much to allay the fears of those who worried about more expensive utility rates with higher rates of renewable power integration into electricity grids.
U.K. Offshore Wind Power Reaches 1 Gigawatt on E.ON, Dong Farms
"U.K. offshore wind power now has 1 gigawatt of generating capacity after projects by E.ON AG and Dong Energy A/S began producing electricity, the industry group RenewableUK said.”
“The “landmark” figure -- enough to power 653,000 homes -- was reached this week when E.ON’s Robin Rigg and Dong’s Gunfleet Sands wind parks started operating, the group said today in an e-mailed statement.”
GreenTech Opinion
The U.K. has become the world’s leader in offshore wind installations, with Denmark, Germany and China developing offshore wind farms as well. The global offshore wind industry accounts for a mere 1.5% of the total installed capacity of 160 GW, but is forecast to build out offshore installations at a massive pace in the next decade. In the U.K. alone, up to 32 GW of offshore generation capacity will be built by 2020, enough to meet 25% of the U.K.’s electricity needs.
GreenTech Opportunities - Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day is Changing
40 years old today, Earth Day is changing. It used to be just about the environment, protecting it and conserving it. Now, the movement is broader, more inclusive, and more about the economic opportunities that are presenting themselves. Our energy landscape is changing, in North America and elsewhere. It’s becoming cleaner, more environmentally friendly. Not only are we going to have cleaner energy, that energy is going to provide jobs.
We need people to install all those solar panels, construct those wind turbines, and retrofit the hundreds of millions of homes in North America that need to be made more energy efficient. What’s good for the planet, for the environment, is good for our economies. As we move towards this future of cleaner energy, we repair the planet and tackle the global recession as well as climate change.
US Navy to launch Great Green Fleet: Eco-friendly warriors will keep an eye on carbon footprint as it destroys its enemies
“While a large proportion of Americans remain sceptical about global warming, the Pentagon does not. Its long-term strategic review earlier this year officially recognised global warming as a security threat. "The department of defence takes climate change seriously," said Amanda Dory, deputy assistant secretary of defence for strategy.”
“The Pentagon has committed to procuring 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. It is also looking to convert its fighting machine to greener sources of fuel.”
GreenTech Opinion:
While the debate over climate change continues in certain circles, hard-headed organizations such as the U.S. Department of Defence are anticipating the coming changes and planning to adjust their operations as required. Yet another reason to start taking energy and climate change issues seriously.
China: low carbon sources to supply quarter of electricity by end of 2010
“Low carbon energy sources will account for more than a quarter of China's electricity supply by the end of 2010, according to official statistics released yesterday to the state-backed Xinhua news agency.”
“The statistics also confirmed that China's energy infrastructure remains highly carbon-intensive with "thermal power" – chiefly coal-fired power stations – still accounting for 700GW of capacity. But they revealed that renewable energy sources are now expanding faster than coal plants: of the 178GW of power generation capacity under construction at the end of 2009, more than 96GW were renewables and 80GW were thermal power.”
GreenTech Opinion
After the constant drumbeat of the past 5 years regarding China and its power plant construction plans (‘they’re building a new coal plant every week’), this is a stunning demonstration of the change that is happening in both developed and developing nations. Following on from Europe and the U.S. in the past 2-3 years, China is now also building more renewable electricity generation than fossil-fuel based power plants. The energy landscape is undergoing dramatic change.
GreenTech Opportunities - Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Oil Subsidy ‘Reform’ Needed to Ease Budget Gaps, IMF Staff Say
“It is necessary to reform the
policy framework for setting petroleum product prices in order to reduce the
fiscal burden of these subsidies and to address climate change,” according to
the report released by the IMF’s fiscal department yesterday.
Subsidies,
estimated using the difference between “an appropriate benchmark price” and
domestic retail prices, are likely to reach $740 billion to $970 billion this
year, or 1 percent to 1.3 percent of global gross domestic product, the IMF
said. Crude oil has climbed 74 percent in the past year, and was $78.55 a
barrel as of 1:10 p.m. in Singapore.”
GreenTech Opinion
There has been an incessant refrain from those opposed to subsidies for clean energy sources such as wind and solar. They claim that all technologies should compete on a level playing field. The clean energy industry would welcome that, but it has to deal with global petroleum subsidies that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pegs at between US$740 billion and US$970 billion for 2010. That is the equivalent of a TARP rescue plan for the global oil industry, every single year. Something to keep in mind the next time you hear complaints about the “unfair” subsidies that clean energy technologies currently receive.
GreenTech Opportunities - Thursday, April 08, 2010
Spanish Solar-Thermal Investment Forecast at $16.7 Billion
“Power companies are planning to invest a record 12.5 billion euros ($16.7 billion) in Spanish solar-thermal plants through 2013, seeking to benefit from government-set premium power rates for clean energies.
That will bring total Spanish investment in the mirror- based technology to 15 billion euros, national trade group Protermosolar said today in a report. Installed solar-thermal capacity is set to more than double this year, it forecast.“
GreenTech Opinion
After the success of solar PV over the past 5 years (39% annual growth over that period; now totaling over 21,000 MW worldwide, covering the needs of 7 million average European households), Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is the next solar sub-sector that will be very likely expand dramatically in the coming decade. We’re currently researching public companies in this sphere, and should have some recommendations by the summer.
GreenTech Opportunities - Wednesday, March 31, 2010
From the Solar Summit in Phoenix
A Lifetime in the Solar Industry: Travis Bradford
"Today, according to work at NREL and analysis by Bradford, PV is already at grid parity in high-population regions of the U.S., such as California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. But the grid parity situation is only going to improve in the next few years. Assuming no enormous structural shifts like a loss of the ITC or interconnection standard and a 0.5 percent or 1 percent increase in electricity pricing, grid parity could potentially soon spread to half of the utility users in the U.S."--http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/a-lifetime-in-the-solar-industry-travis-bradford/
CTW-S.V Featured in Wired - Laser Guidance Adds Power to Wind Turbines
"Still, Catch
the Wind may have a tough road ahead. The energy industry is notoriously risk averse. Besides, wind electricity in many places is already cheaper than wholesale electricity prices." One, this confirms the point we've been making since late last year about wind's cost competitiveness. Two, their point is rather silly: since when is a company not interested in increasing/improving their cost competitiveness.
"Still, some wind farmers may worry that the warranties they have on their turbines would be voided by adding a LIDAR system. Fetzer said Catch the Wind is working out the warranty issues." Explains what we perceive to be slow take-up of the technology.
"General Electric, which is the largest wind turbine manufacturer in
the United States, is not using or developing LIDAR specifically, either. Catch the Wind did recently sell one of their machines to a large, unnamed turbine manufacturer."
I'm guessing the unnamed manufacturer is the Spanish Gamesa.
"The 2005 NREL report calculated a preliminary cost for a generic LIDAR system of less than $95,000, once production was up and running." That's pretty close to the figure of $70,000-$80,000 I estimated. I'd imagine the number is closer to our figure, with the tech improvements in the past 5 years.
"If those numbers held across the nations 35 gigawatts of installed wind capacity, the LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors could add more than 3.5 gigawatts of wind capacity without adding a single additional turbine." A nice big number, equal to an extra nuclear plant (33% capacity factor).
Senate Close to Wrapping up Talks Ahead of Introducing a Compromise Climate Change Bill
“The Senate is close to wrapping up talks ahead of introducing a compromise climate change bill, said a top Democratic lawmaker who discussed ideas with industry groups on Wednesday.”
“Instead of an economy-wide cap and trade, the three senators are aiming to impose the market system initially on power companies, which contribute about 40 percent of carbon emissions. The senators are "talking about allowances for that sector that are built around pollution-reduction targets and prohibiting price spikes," Josten said. Power plants would face emissions limits starting in 2012 while big manufacturers and energy-intensive industry would not face limits until 2016, the source said.” --http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62G3YG20100318
GreenTech Opinion
With the year-long health care debate now concluded, it’s time for the US Senate to join the House of Representatives in passing an energy bill. Although certain details remain to be worked out, it looks as if a vote could come by the middle of summer 2010. This would resolve some of the confusion that currently abounds in the renewable energy sector in the U.S., as well as providing a base of support for these industries as they compete on the world stage with companies in Europe and Asia.
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