COP21: saving energy 'triple win,' Ban says, as $5 billion Africa plan launched at climate summit

7 December 2015 – The United Nations and partners launched today a $5 billion initiative to expand renewable energy capacity in Africa today as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the UN climate change conference (COP21) in Paris that saving energy is a triple-win in the battle against global warming.

&#8220The production and use of energy is responsible for more than half of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. That means energy is also more than half of the solution. We need sustainable energy to reduce global greenhouse emissions and avert the risks of runaway climate change,&#8221 Mr. Ban said, stressing that clean energy is equally important for ending extreme poverty.

&#8220Saving energy is a triple-win solution. It can save money, reduce emissions, and provide additional energy capacity,&#8221 he added, noting that renewable energy technologies are becoming cheaper and more competitive, with many people accessing energy for the first time thanks to solar panels, wind turbines or small hydro power plant.

&#8220But, to replicate this experience for billions more people, we will need finance,&#8221 he declared.

&#8220Let us build on these bold initiatives. A global energy transformation must reduce heat-trapping emissions. It also needs to ensure that we leave no one behind. Those things can only be achieved if we tackle the issues of energy access, energy efficiency, and renewable energy together as a trinity.&#8221

COP21 held a thematic day on energy today, with the Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4All), a multi-stakeholder partnership backed by the UN and World Bank, urging Governments, businesses and financial institutions to act much faster and go much further to meet the ambitious goals of ensuring sustainable energy for all while keeping the global temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius.

SE4All is acting as a catalyst for a huge global movement for revolutionary change in the world’s energy systems, helping to build working alliances across the public sector, private sector and civil society and foster innovative policies, technologies and financing mechanisms.

Any rise of more than two degrees above pre-industrial levels by 2050 will have an ever more dangerous impact on planet Earth with devastating droughts, floods and storms, and rising seas swallowing up ever more low-lying land.

The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative to expand renewable capacity by 2020 and achieve universal access was just one of several launched today.

The Initiative is led by the African Union’s NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) the African Group of Negotiators, the African Development Bank, the UN Environment Program (UNEP), and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

At least $5 billion in public and highly concessional finance between 2016 and 2020 from bilateral, multilateral and other sources, including the Green Climate Fund, will be needed to leverage a further $15 billion in other investments, for a total investment of at least $20 billion pre-2020.

Other initiatives launched today included efforts to improve access to electricity and energy efficiency, and promote renewable energy.

Hundreds of Governments, businesses and financial institutions pledged major action on energy efficiency, recognizing it as the basis of the energy transition.

More than 100 banks and a group of investors, managing close to $4 trillion in assets, committed to a major increase in energy efficiency lending in their portfolios. Led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the UNEP Finance Initiative, this is a major undertaking toward the four-fold increase needed to realize the full energy efficiency potential for climate change.

COP21: saving energy "triple win," Ban says, as $5 billion Africa plan launched at climate summit

High risk, but high reward in Tesla and these other 'green' stocks, says Goldman Sachs

Reuters

Tesla and a few other clean-energy stocks are top picks at Goldman Sachs.

Electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. is a Goldman Sachs top stock pick in green energy, a sector in the spotlight this week as climate-change talks begin and the world’s wealthiest people pledge to invest in clean technologies.

Electric and hybrid cars, LED light bulbs, and solar and wind power are reshaping global industries and presenting investors with a new opportunity, the Goldman analysts said in a note Monday. The market is worth $600 billion, the investment bank said.

Investing in such industries will be a “high risk/high reward” proposition, but staying out of the field entirely is “increasingly risky” for investors, the Goldman analysts said. Companies that made Goldman’s list enjoy competitive advantages and are geographically diversified, they said.

The note was published as world leaders gathered in Paris to discuss climate change, and as dozens of the world’s most powerful people — including Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.78%  co-founder Bill Gates, Alibaba Group BABA, +3.32%  Chairman Jack Ma, financier George Soros, Facebook Inc. FB, -1.15%  co-founder and Chief Executive Zuckerberg, and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -1.26%  founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos — have pledged to invest billions of dollars in clean-energy research.

Bill Gates cites India in new energy initiative

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Bill Gates is launching a multi-billion-dollar initiative to accelerate clean-energy research and development. Without incentives to go green, he says “India will generally err on the side of development.”

Tesla TSLA, -0.58%  battery power packs “are key to Tesla’s growth,” the Goldman analysts said. The electric-car maker has halved the unit cost of its packs, with costs expected to drop further to about $150 a kilowatt/hour once Tesla’s “gigafactory” is fully running.

“In contrast, Tesla’s competitors use (lithium ion) batteries that are expected to cost $250/kWh in 2020,” Goldman said. Tesla expects its battery factory, under construction outside Reno, Nev., to begin cell production in 2017.

Semiconductor company SolarEdge Technologies Inc. SEDG, +2.88% , which makes inverters that improve the efficiency of solar panels, has doubled its volume year-on-year, and Goldman expects it to remain on this path. Along with gaining more market share, SolarEdge is also diversifying customer base, adding more customers outside the U.S.

Among wind-power turbine makers, Goldman highlighted Vestas Wind Systems VWS, +1.41%  , the leading player in the sector, and a “key beneficiary of strong volume growth.”

Specialty chemicals producer Albermale Corp. ALB, +0.85%  has both access to raw materials and the technology needed to turn out value-added battery-grade materials, while LED lighting maker Acuity Brands Inc. AYI, -0.31% is likely to benefit from emerging Internet of Things applications where LED lights command higher prices and margins, according to Goldman.

Solar and wind power are a $200 billion market, the bank’s analysts said. They projected sales of electric and hybrid vehicles to grow to $88 billion by 2020 and to $244 billion by 2025, from $12 billion in 2015.

It’s no coincidence that green cars, power and lighting are at the forefront of a low-carbon economy, the team noted. Power generation and transportation account for more than half of energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions, and lighting consumes 15% to 20% of electricity.

In contrast, other low-carbon technologies, such as nuclear and hydro-power generation, biofuels, and fuel-cell vehicles, either lack the scale or the momentum to drive change, Goldman said.

More from MarketWatch

High risk, but high reward in Tesla and these other "green" stocks, says Goldman Sachs

Greenpeace says nations should place more reliance on renewable energy

On the eve of the Climate Week NYC kicking off on Tuesday, Greenpeace has called on nations to place more reliance on renewable energy.  It says further that clean energy economics is now getting better and better. ‘Reinventing Fire’ by the Rocky Mountain Institute, had predicted four years ago that companies and countries will be leading climate protection, rather than international organizations and treaties. The civil society and the private sector would get more involved than the governments and leading developing economies as opposed to matured and developed economies will pave the way. 

The economic fundamentals of clean energy and efficiency rather than carbon pricing in the future will be the focus.

Global investment in renewable energy in the year 2013 alone was $254 billion, and that does not include the big hydropower.  Another $310 to $360 was added by energy efficiency and a further $70 billion from cogeneration of electricity from useful heat. Together the three carbon savers attracted some $650 billion in capital in just one year.

In the U.S., the fixed price for selling U.S.windpower and solar power on a utility scale have in recent times averaged below the 0.025 and 0.04 per kWh for long term contracts.  These are net prices after factoring in federal subsidies. But, the subsidy on wind power has expired and by the end of 2016, two-thirds of the subsidy for solar will also vanish. Nevertheless, both will emerge winners in spite of the permanent subsidies enjoyed by fossil fuels for decades. Solar and wind energy would continue to average below $0.06 and 0.04 respectively. Consequently, many of the new plants based on fossil fuel would be forced to close down for want of economic viability.

Over the next 15 years, it is expected the plants based on fossil fuel would reduce their capacity by 50% (without accounting for bigger retirements) while renewable would double their capacities. Renewables, without considering the bigger hydropower and including cogeneration accounts for 50% of all new generation producing a quarter of global electricity needs.

Energy efficiency is another area that makes things even cheaper. Smarter technologies have aided enormous savings for some 40 years now. But, this remains invisible while the renewables are in the limelight because they are distinctly visible.

Interestingly, many of the developed countries across the globe are using lesser energy in spite of decent overall growth in their economies. Germany, for instance, has set an example of how renewable energy can be a profitable alternative to fossil fuels.  

Greenpeace says nations should place more reliance on renewable energy

Fedeli says North Bay needs a champion in wind farm fight

Tuesday, March 24, 2015   by: Liam Berti

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli held a town hall meeting regarding wind power generation at the Davedi Club on Tuesday night, where a crowd of over 100 listened to the impact of wind farms based on facts from the Auditor General of Canada. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI

If North Bayites are as passionately opposed to wind farms as Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli is, they are going to need a local champion.

Fedeli hosted a town hall meeting at the Davedi Club on Tuesday night, where he told the audience of over 100 people why they should oppose wind energy generation. 

With Innergex Renewable Energy proposing a project just north of city boundaries in Merrick Township, Fedeli felt it was time to present the facts about wind farms in Ontario.

“In Southern Ontario, this is discussed on a daily basis because they are so prevalent, but this is the first time it has come up our way, so it’s new discussion,” he said. “They are running out of places who will accept these wind turbines, so we are fresh meat, new territory.

“Find a champion who will give you the facts and figures and will walk you through how to attack this, how to fight it, how to delay it and ultimately cancel it,” he added. “These developers will do and say anything to convince you that this is a good thing.”

Fedeli quoted previous Auditor General reports to tell the audience that he thinks the provincial Green Energy Act is an empty, ideologically driven mistake. 

Despite spending some $50 billion on lucrative subsidies and long-term fixed contracts with the green energy companies, renewable energy sources continue to provide the province with just 25 per cent of their power he said.

What’s more, the province has paid more than $2.6 billion to export excess energy to the United States and Quebec since 2006.

But most importantly for Ontario ratepayers, Fedeli said hydro rates are expected to soar thanks to costs of exporting Ontario’s extra energy, paying the wind developers regardless of if the energy is needed or not.

“There’s nothing green about this Green Energy Act,” he said simply. “We still make the same amount of green energy that we made $50 billion ago, the Auditor General has told us it’s bad for the economy, and it cost us 300,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario.”

Despite Ontario already having some of the highest industrial hydro rates in North America, Fedeli said rates are forecasted to increase by up to 42 per cent in the next three years.

Those rates, he said, have chased some big, high-consumption industrial players out of the province because their hydro bills were too high.

Guests Warren Howard of Wind Concerns Ontario and Raymond Beaudry of the Manitoulin Coalition for Safe Energy Alternatives backed him up with anecdotal support as well. 

Beaudry, in particular, said that economically, the imminent increases on hydro bills are going to outstrip everyone’s ability to pay and, ultimately, bring the wind power projects down. 

Some of the members in the audience said they have witnessed the negative impacts of wind farm projects elsewhere in the province, like Lake Erie, Manitoulin Island, Huron County, and Port Dover.

In the end though, the trio of presenters emphasized that, while the municipalities have little power in preventing the projects, it’s up to the community to rally against them and make the statement themselves.

“You are going to have to start fighting it now,” said Howard.

The Merrick Township Wind Farm Proposal

While Fedeli said he didn’t host the town hall meeting to address any specific projects or companies directly, those in attendance were clearly gearing up for the one that’s expected to hit close to home.

Innergex Renewable Energy, the Quebec-based company proposing the industrial turbine system for Merrick Township, had the preliminary plan to erect a 50-60 turbine wind farm in one of the flight corridors of Jack Garland Airport in the unorganized Merrick Township.

But after the Mayor and City Council submitted a letter of opposition to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change objecting the wind farm, Innergex met with Mayor McDonald and airport representatives last week to resolve their early concerns.

Chief among them was the threat to their heavy investment in the Airport Industrial Park.

But François Morin, the senior advisor of public affairs for Innergex, who was in attendance for Fedeli’s meeting on Tuesday, said the company has already addressed the city’s concerns by proposing the turbines be outside a 15-kilometre area from the airport.

He said they are now in the process of developing a sound proposal that they are confident will come to fruition with social acceptability.

“It was a good, positive first meeting and we have clarified many things, so it was a constructive meeting,” said Morin. “The city will be careful to question and be sure that we bring something to the community, but I think we share the same objective.

“Yes, there will be short-term jobs; but it’s 300 jobs against zero jobs without the project,” Morin added. “They just want to be sure that if we build a project that we don’t cause problems and there will be a positive contribution to the community.”

After the strong opposition to the proposed wind farm for the Mattawa area, Innergex pulled the plug on their proposal. But the Merrick project remains in the early planning stages for now.

Morin said he and Innergex are more confident in the Merrick project and plan on hosting public meetings in the coming months. 

“Now we will have the meetings and answer the concerns one-on-one, but there will also be public meetings and consultations, but only once we know we have a better project,” he said.

Some of the early issues from area residents, he said, revolve around environmental and health concerns.

“I heard many stories tonight that are not related to what we do at all,” said Morin. “We have 25 years of experience in developing projects with 33 facilities all over North America, and we have a spotless record when it comes to environment and we intend to keep it that way.”

While Tuesday’s meeting was scheduled well before the Mattawa project was called off, Fedeli said it’s a good opportunity to keep the momentum rolling. 

“It’s my role as an MPP to bring the facts from Queen’s Park for all groups,” he said. “After the Mattawa victory, it was important to carry on.”

What do you think? Do industrial wind turbines belong close to North Bay? Why or why not?

Note: Comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of BayToday.ca. Keep discussions civil and on topic. Refrain from obscenity and don’t post anything that your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Fedeli says North Bay needs a champion in wind farm fight

UK large-scale solar faces uncertain future, says IEA

By John Parnell

|

29 August 2014, 10:04 Updated: 29 August 2014, 10:59

The IEA has warned that the UK’s large-scale solar sector faces an uncertain future once the renewable obligation (RO) scheme closes at the end of March next year.

Speaking at the launch of the energy watchdog’s annual ‘Medium Term Renewable Energy Market Report’, it said predicting utility-scale solar’s prospects beyond the immediate future was difficult.

“The UK is right now the fastest growing utility-scale PV market in Europe due to the strength of the short-term incentives under the RO. We see that playing out in the next year but we see significant uncertainty over how durable that utility-scale forecast is,” said Greg Frost, head of public affairs at IEA during a conference call with journalists. Frost added that the cost of solar was slightly higher than in other parts of Europe.

Projects over 5MW seeking connection after 1 April 2015 will have to apply for the contracts for difference (CfDs) scheme. The competitive system pits solar against onshore wind and the first auction takes place in the Autumn, despite some details of the policy remaining unknown.

“It remains to be seen how the implementation details of the CfD will be adapted through the state aid guidelines of the EU and the higher political decisions made on the 2030 [EU climate and energy] framework,” said Paulo Frankl, head of renewable energy, IEA.

“At the moment I would say it is clearly an important incentive in the UK…but, it is not the sunniest place in the world. I see an upside potential for distributed UK but limited potential for utility-scale,” added Frankl.

Leonie Greene, head of external affairs at the Solar Trade Association (STA) said there was still work to be done to improve the new policy.

“It seems the IEA share our serious concerns about the suitability of CfDs for utility solar. The renewables industry has wider concerns about their suitability for SMEs in general. This is clearly a mechanism that favours big utilities that can shoulder big risks,” said Greene.

“The STA is continuing to engage DECC officials and ministers on a series of fixes, including more regular auctions and legal clarity on the requirement for a grid ‘agreement’, which is in fact just a grid offer. It is in all our interests for government to provide effective support for solar – we need just one final push to achieve subsidy-free solar and total solar independence. But we will only get there if we are given stable and effective support,” she added.

The government has signalled a preference to drive growth in the commercial rooftop sector. The UK’s largest developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy, has established a commercial-scale unit.
 

Additional reporting by Andy Colthorpe.

UK large-scale solar faces uncertain future, says IEA

New silent wind turbine could generate half of a homes electric needs, says company The ...

Megan Treacy of Treehugger reports Silent rooftop wind turbines could generate half of a household’s energy needs

A Dutch company cased The Archimedes has developed a small, highly efficient, and silent rooftop wind energy generator called the Liam1, which it claims could generate half the power a typical house would need, and which they say would be ideal for combining with solar rooftop PV panels.

The company states that the Liam F1 turbine could generate 1,500 kWh of energy at wind speeds of 5m/s, enough to cover half of an average household’s energy use. … When used in combination with rooftop solar panels, a house could run off grid. “When there is wind you use the energy produced by the wind turbine; when the sun is shining you use the solar cells to produce the energy,” The Archimedes CEO Richard Ruijtenbeek said.

The Liam’s blades are shaped like a Nautilus shell. The design allows it to point into the wind to capture the most amount of energy, while also producing very little sound. The inventor of the turbine Marinus Mieremet says that the power output is 80 percent of the theoretical maximum energy that could be harnessed from the wind.

“Generally speaking, there is a difference in pressure in front and behind of the rotor blades of a windmill. However, this is not the case with the Liam F1. The difference in pressure is created by the spatial figure in the spiral blade. This results in a much better performance. Even when the wind is blowing at an angle of 60 degrees into the rotor, it will start to spin. We do not require expensive software: because of its conical shape, the wind turbine yaws itself automatically into the optimal wind direction. Just like a wind vane. And because the wind turbine encounters minimal resistance, he is virtually silent,” said Mieremet.

The Archimedes is now working on an even smaller turbine that could fit on top of lamposts, boats, and smaller applications.

With the announcement today of the EPA’s proposed new standards for reducing carbon emissions, we have all the more reason to look to renewable energy options to supply our energy needs.

Here is a link to the embedded video below that the company offers to explain the history of the Liam1 turbine. The Archimedes windmill movie ENG high quality

New silent wind turbine could generate half of a homes electric needs, says company The ...

Vestas Wind Needs to 'Crack the Code of China,' Chairman Says

Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) wants to gain market share in China, where almost half of last year’s new wind turbines were installed, Chairman Bert Nordberg said.

The Danish wind turbine manufacturer, the world’s biggest, wants to be the “indisputable global leader,” Nordberg said late yesterday in an interview from Aarhus. He identified South Africa, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines as markets where the company is weak and can take market share, and he said China also represents a challenge.

“We need to crack the code of China,” Nordberg said. “We’re pretty weak in China, but we have to make money. Otherwise there’s no use in doing the business.”

China is attractive because more than a quarter of global wind capacity is installed there and it took 45 percent of last year’s market. At the same time, foreign manufacturers have struggled to grab share due to low prices and competition from domestic companies. That’s changing, said Justin Wu, a wind power analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Hong Kong.

“The Chinese wind market is quite different now than it was a couple of years ago — it’s maturing a lot,” Wu said in a phone interview. Developers are “caring more about quality and project performance now. It’s not all about up-front costs.”

Even so, turbines are selling in China for about 500,000 euros ($690,000) to 600,000 euros a megawatt, compared to 900,000 euros outside China, Wu said. That’s made it hard for Western manufacturers such as Vestas, General Electric Co. and Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA to grab share.

Chinese Share

Vestas was the top-ranked foreign turbine maker in the Chinese market last year, Wu said, citing Chinese Wind Energy Association figures. The Danish turbine maker came 11th, taking 3.2 percent of the market, while Gamesa came 16th and GE 19th. Both had less than 2 percent. China’s Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Guodian United Power Technology Co. and China Ming Yang Wind Power Group had the biggest shares.

Vestas has installed close to 1-in-5 of the world’s wind turbines, a proportion that drops to lower than 1-in-20 in China, where it has installed 4,312 megawatts of machines. China had about 91,000 megawatts of turbines at the end of 2013, or 29 percent of the world’s 318,000 megawatts according to figures last month from the Global Wind Energy Council.

China installed 16,100 megawatts last year, 45 percent of the global total of 35,500 megawatts and five times the next biggest market, Germany.

At the end of last year, Vestas had three turbines totaling 6 megawatts erected in Vietnam and 20 devices totaling 33 megawatts in the Philippines, according to company figures. It last installed machines in those nations in 2011 and 2008. In Thailand, it’s only ever installed one machine, rated at less than a megawatt, in 1996.

“Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines are good markets with good winds and ideas to grow,” Nordberg said. “There are a number of markets where we will invest to gain market share.”

In South Africa, another market identified by Nordberg as a growth target, the Danish manufacturer has installed 39 devices totaling 69 megawatts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net Alex Devine

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Vestas Wind Needs to "Crack the Code of China," Chairman Says