Renew On Line (UK) 51

Extracts from NATTA's journal
Renew, issue 151 Sept-Oct 2004

11 Other International news

40GW of wind.... 

More than 8GW of new wind energy generating capacity was installed around the world in 2003, increasing the total wind capacity to 39.294 GW according to the European and American Wind Energy Associations- and installations since then will have taken it to over 40GW in all. The new wind investment is worth Euro 8bn, up from 6.8bn in 2002. Europe and the US dominated the global market with 88% of new installations, but India added 408 MW, putting it at number four in the world league. Germany continues to have the largest wind capacity with 14,609 MW, followed by the U.S. with 6,374 MW, Spain 6,202, India 3,110MW and Austria with 2,110 MW at the end of 2003.  Cumulative global capacity increased 26% in 2002, and the addition of 8,133 MW was 18% higher than the 6,868 MW in 2002.  Globally, the total for wind has grown 500% since 1997, from 7,636 MW to 39,294 MW in 2003.  Growth of wind power is forecast to continue in double digits into the next decade, with a survey by DEWI, the German wind energy institute, predicting that the global market could reach 150 GW by 2012, worth an additional Euro 130 bn.      

                                                                                       Source: www.ewea.org

Hope for Australia?

Australia could reduce its CO2 emissions by half by 2040 by increasing its use of solar, wind, bioenergy and natural gas according to a report ‘A Clean Energy Future for Australia’ produced for the Clean Energy Future Group, which includes the Australian Wind and Bioenergy Associations and WWF Australia.   It says this could be done without major technological breakthroughs and “without imposing any significant economic burden” and also without undermining expected levels of economic growth- this being the governments excuse for opposing Kyoto. ‘With a strong commitment to a clean energy future, Australian decision-makers can ensure that Australia can continue to maintain an energy cost advantage over its competitors in a carbon constrained world,” according to author Hugh Saddler, although he added that market distortions presented “significant barriers to a low-cost transition to a clean energy future.”  The report develops a  scenario for demand for energy in 2040 based on a medium level of adoption of efficiency measures, which is then met by a mix of renewables and fossil fuels- cleaned up where possible, with natural gas being preferred. The main renewables are biomass, solar heating and wind- with 19GW of wind installed. There are also significant contributions from hydro (mostly existing) and, to a lesser degree, solar electricity. But wave, tidal, and hot dry rock geothermal are not felt  to be sufficiently developed at present to be counted in the 2040 supply mix and solar chimneys are seen as being more expensive than wind.

A new Research Institute for Sustainable Energy  (RISE), to be based at Murdoch University in Western Australia, has received A$5.5m federal government funding for RESLab, its Renewable Energy Systems Laboratory. But the governments new White paper on Energy seems to have adopted a rather more backward approach- focussing mainly on clean coal.

Canadian H2

The Canadian government is to invest  $1.4-million to support innovative research and development of hydrogen backup power generators and other hydrogen-related systems. It  is part of a $4.25-million programme with Stuart Energy Systems Corporation to adapt its hydrogen generation technology, used in refueling stations, for the development of advanced hydrogen backup power generators and hydrogen-based storage systems for renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power.  The hydrogen generators would be able to power a building’s critical systems during a power outage, replacing traditional diesel backup power generators, which are currently used in most large buildings. By adding a fuel dispenser module to the mechanism, Stuart Energy Systems’ generators could also let companies refuel hydrogen powered vehicles.

$202m for Turkey

The World Bank is to loan Turkey $202m to increase private wind and hydro generation, as part of a $502m programme aimed to support convergence with the EU on environmental and renewable energy targets, and fiscal stabilization by spurring private sector investment.

Global emissions rise

The level of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere has reached a record high, according to new data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Worse still, the US team suggests that the rate of increase of the gas may have accelerated in the last two years. Recordings from a volcano-top observatory, NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory on Hawaii, showed CO2 levels had risen to an average of about 376 parts per million (ppm) for 2003. This is 2.5 ppm up from the average for 2002. When the US team started recording atmospheric CO2 in the late 1950s, levels were around 315 ppm The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that, if unchecked, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere will have risen to between 650 and 970 ppm by 2100. As a result, global temperatures could rise nearly 6°C compared with 1990 levels.

United Nations chief Kofi Annan, marking the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which led to the Kyoto accord in 1997, has warned that ‘Some of the effects of climate change are by now inevitable and, indeed, we may already be seeing- in the increased incidence of drought, floods and extreme weather events that many regions are experiencing- some of the devastation that lies ahead,’. He added that the delay in  ratification of the Kyoto treaty was ‘a major hurdle to effective action’.   But it seems that Russia may soon ratify Kyoto, so maybe some progress will be possible...