9. Renewables around the world

California – 3.5 GW of new green power

California is to support 3,500 MW of sustainable energy capacity by 2006, including 2,400 MW of renewable energy generation capacity, according to the California Consumer Power & Conservation Financing Authority. It says that "there are sufficient economic resources of Clean Energy - energy efficiency, load management, renewables and clean decentralized generating resources - to meet future reserve capacity needs". Work will start immediately to develop 1,800 MW of new capacity at a cost of US$2 billion.

CPA was created last August to respond to the energy crisis in California. It can float up to $5 billion in bonds to finance projects, which would be repaid from the sale of electricity to investor-owned utilities.

The CPA says that "There are significant benefits to California from investing in clean growth: adequate reserves; a more secure energy system; more job creation and economic development; increased fuel diversity; cleaner air and environmental justice. The proposed CPA Portfolio will cost less than most Californians currently pay for the generation of electricity. The level of reserves California has today is inadequate to remove concerns about blackouts and price spikes. California needs to add conservation and renewables to its system over the next two years. The CPA’s ability to accelerate the use of clean resources to enhance reserves provides good insurance for the State’s electricity reliability."

For more information: http://www.capowerauthority.ca.gov/EnergyResourceInvestmentPlan/ERIP.pdf

France still Green ?

In the run up to the recent elections, French government announced that is was planning to boost investment in renewable energy and reduce energy demand to prevent electricity shortfalls, as coal plants are withdrawn. A target of a 21% contribution from renewables has been set for 2010, with up to 14GW wind capacity being planned. Renewables currently supply 15% of France’s electricity.

The future for nuclear power, which supplies 76% of French electricity, remains uncertain. The nuclear issue figured quite strongly in the recent election, with the greens, who were part of the government coalition, calling for a phase out. However, to put it mildly, in the event, other issues dominated and its not clear whether different policies will now emerge.

Green Portugal

Portugal is expecting the generation of electricity from renewables to increase by about 40 % by 2010. A report on the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias web site on 22 January, noted that there had been around 500 applications from producers of electricity from natural sources seeking to connect to the national grid, including around 7000 MW of wind power. There were also bids for172 MW of mini-hydroelectric plants, 341 MW of co-generation plants and 70 MW of other renewable energy forms. If all these projects went ahead, they could supply 70% of Portugals electricity. However, the paper reported, Jorge Borrego, of the Energy Directorate, warned that ‘in practice, it will only be possible to expand the electricity network by some 3,500 to 4,000 MW’. Portugal imports 87% of the energy it needs.

Japan backs Renewables

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) plans to oblige power retailers to obtain 3.2% of the energy they sell from energy generated by solar, wind and other types of renewable sources by April 2003. If the proposed legislation is passed, an annual target will have to be set by each company, and the ministry will fine them up to 1 million yen if they fail to comply with the law. METI will set the aggregate targets for the use of new energy in the coming eight years as the basis for annual target calculations by each firm. Each firm will be required to report to the ministry its specific target for the coming year and results from the preceding year. As with the UK’s Renewables Obligation, now in force, the firms would be able to achieve their targets either by generating new energy with their own facilities; buying electricity from these authorized new energy generators, or buying surplus from other retailers. The surplus will be made exchangeable as METI will issue certificates, effective for two years, for every MWh of renewable energy generated. A company failing to meet its target in the initial year may submit to METI the following year an amount of certificates equivalent to its annual target plus the first-year shortage.

The 1997 Kyoto accord required Japan to cut greenhouse gases by 6% from the 1990 level in the 2008-2012 period. However, the latest data showed carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption rose 1.1% in 2000, 10.2% above the1990 level.

Source: EyeforEnergy Newsdesk at http://www.eyeforenergy.com

Greener Eire

The Irish government has approved £400m in renewable energy projects that will generate electricity for 250,000 homes. Forty companies bid in an open process for 15-year contracts under the 5th round of the Alternative Energy Requirement Programme. This provides access to power purchase contracts with the Electricity Supply Board, which purchases the output at guaranteed prices for 15 years, thus generating sufficient confidence for investors to secure finance which would not otherwise be provided. The latest applications will double the amount of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. 225 MW was originally sought in the bidding round, but almost 370 MW was tendered. Ireland generates 7% of its electricity from renewables, but plans to move to 12% by 2005. The European Commission Renewables Directive targets Ireland to generate 13% by 2010. As we noted in Renew 137, the government has given the private company, Eirtricity, approval to build a £640m windfarm that, at 520 MW, would be the largest offshore facility in the world, supplying 10% of Eires power.

Green (and blue and yellow) Swiss

Geneva is the first Swiss canton to allow customers to choose the source of their electricity, with the extra twist that the default energy will be 100 % renewable hydro.

The new system, called SIG Vitale, offers four colour-coded kinds of electricity - three of them entirely ecological. The default option, which is 100 per cent hydroelectric, will be Blue. Yellow is power produced in the canton. The more expensive Green choice offers a combination of renewable sources - solar, wind, as well as water. The fourth option, dubbed SIG Mix, is the electricity currently in use, i.e. a combination of renewable and non-renewable sources.

• Meanwhile, the German parliament has approved a bill to promote the use of Combined Heat and Power plants despite opposition from the power industry and some of the governing coalition.

US Green Energy Marketing Growth

Leading experts on U.S. green energy development have expressed confidence that, with improved marketing techniques, a dramatic growth in participation in U.S. green energy programs is likely to occur over the next several years, resulting in penetration levels viewed highly improbable just one year ago. The remarks were made at The Growing Green Power Demand Conference, the first green power conference devoted to the tools, tactics and metrics of selling green power sponsored by XENERGY in co-operation with the Center for Resource Solutions. Green energy programs, which typically involve customers paying a premium to cover the incremental cost of the additional renewable resources, have shown steady growth over the last 5 years, with programs now in existence in 31 states. However, some believed that the demand for such services had begun to level off, with participation rates of most programs in the range of 1 to 5%.

"A 10% participation rate in a green energy program was, until recently, viewed as the industry’s three-minute mile, a goal considered virtually unachievable," said Julie Blunden, vice president at XENERGY. However, tools, tactics and metrics shared at conference indicate that this rate could be achieved within the next five years. "Surveys consistently reveal customer preference for green power," said Blair Swezey, Principal Policy Director at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "There are important marketing lessons to be gleaned from these utilities that are having the most success with their green power programs. Leading organizations around the country - including Fortune 500 companies, major cities and universities - are starting to buy green power, recognizing it as the next step in environmental responsibility," said Kurt Johnson, Director of EPA’s Green Power Partnership. "We believe today’s forum is a microcosm of what is occurring industry wide," said Keri Bolding, Communications Director at the Center for Resource Solutions. "Green marketers are improving their ability to identify likely buyers of green energy and creating targeted marketing efforts to translate consumers’ desire for green energy into sales. This is an exciting time for providers of green energy with substantial growth likely in the next several years."

XENERGY (www.xenergy.com/) is an energy consulting, information technology and energy services firm with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices across the United States and in Canada. The Center for Resource Solutions is a non-profit organisation, based in San Francisco, dedicated to promoting renewable energy and economic and environmental sustainability. CRS administers national and international programs that preserve and protect the environment through the design of sustainable energy strategies and technologies.

More information on CRS is available at http://www.resource-solutions.org From PR Newswire

Global Growth

The market for renewable energy around the world will grow at 12%a year for the next two decades, according to Frost & Sullivan, the consultant company. And the installed capacity of renewables in member nations of the EU will exceed 109 GW by 2010, excluding large hydroelectric facilities, with wind power making much of the running. The main drivers are seen as government incentives and subsidies, the spread of green certificates and tariffs, and the decline in installation and generation costs.

WREC

The bi-annual World Renewable Energy Congress, this year held in Cologne, attracted a record turnout - over 1000 people came from all over the world to hear over 700 papers on all aspects of renewables and visit the parallel Renewable Energy Trade exhibition. Along with the usual coverage of wind, biomass and PV/solar,WREC participants heard some interesting papers on wave power and tidal current technology, and a series of pioneering studies on the hydrogen economy and fuel cells. We’ll report in Renew 139.