Renew On Line (UK) 55

Extracts from NATTA's journal
Renew, issue 155 May-June2005

11. World Renewables roundup

Latin America....

* Brazil is to sell 2.5 megatonnes of certified CO2 emission reductions from landfill gas project in Rio to the Netherland under the Clean Development Mechanism- the first Kyoto CDM backed project to get the go ahead- at a price of Euro 3.35/ ton, until 2012. The total estimated purchase will be worth Euro 8m.  In parallel, Brazil is to replace its nuclear accord with Germany with a new energy cooperation pact that includes the use of renewables. The nuclear accord was signed in 1975, but the diversification of energy technologies since then is now said to justify a new agreement. Meanwhile, Iberdrola of Spain is to construct windfarms in Brazil with the first facility, the 50 MW Parque Eolico Rio do Fogo, to be sited in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

* Germany is providing Euro $16m to Ecuador for the next two years for use in environmental programmes and renewable energy management in the Amazon region.

* The Japan Bank for International Cooperation has signed an agreement to finance renewable energy projects in Chile under the CDM

* The Andean Community  (Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) has proposed that member countries develop a working plan for Andean energy integration, which promotes renewables.

                          ..and the rest

* The Australian government only aims to have 2% of electricity generated from renewables by 2010, but some large projects are nevertheless going ahead. The largest wind turbines in the southern hemisphere have started to generate power in S. Australia, 6km west of Tantanoola. The 46 MW Canunda windfarm has 23 2MW turbines. 

* The Asian Development Bank will provide US$1.96 bn to Pakistan over the next two years for 23 projects, including the development of renewable energy facilities.

* Nigeria has allocated N800 million in the 2005 budget for pre-feasibility studies on biomass, hydro, coal and nuclear energy, and is wind mapping to identify on-shore wind sites. It wants to source between 5% and 10% of capacity on the national grid from renewables by 2007.

.* The National Infrastructures Ministry of Israel is preparing a tender for a 100 MW solar power station in the Negev. The facility will cost $250m and is expected to expand to 500 MW capability later. Israel  wants to get 2% of electricity  from renewables by the end of 2005.

*  A Chinese study suggests that Geothermal resources along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway could be developed to supply electricity along the railway line and to help reconstruct Tibet’s energy structure. It says a preliminary survey estimated geothermal could have the potential for 100MW. Tibet has 80% of China’s geothermal resources.

* The OPEC Fund for International Development has  signed  agreement with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia to support a project on ‘Dissemination of Renewable Energy Services to Rural Areas’ in the Middle East. The OPEC Fund will provide US$100,000.  The project aims to ‘integrate renewable energy resources into the life pattern of poor rural communities, thereby enhancing development opportunities and protecting the environment’.

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