Trucks-to-Trains Swap Significantly Cuts Emissions in Volvo Cars Logistics Network

02.04.2020

Volvo Cars is significantly cutting CO2 emissions in its logistics operations by switching transports between its manufacturing plants and new car depots from trucks to trains.

Especially in Europe, where trucks are still ubiquitous in transporting new cars to distribution depots and dealerships in individual markets, the company is in the process of reducing emissions by replacing more and more transports by trucks with rail transport.

For example, by implementing rail transport it reduced CO2 emissions by almost 75% on the route between its Ghent, Belgium-based manufacturing plant and a purpose-built depot in northern Italy. On another route, from Ghent to a second depot in Austria, emissions were cut by almost half since switching to rail transports.

Both initiatives form part of the climate action plan that Volvo Cars revealed this year. Under the plan, the company aims to reduce its lifecycle carbon footprint per car by 40 per cent between 2018 and 2025, which will require a 25% reduction in operational emissions, including logistics. The 2025 plan is one tangible step towards Volvo Cars’ ambition of becoming a climate neutral company by 2040.

“When we said we planned to significantly reduce emissions across all our operations, we meant it,” said Javier Varela, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Logistics at Volvo Cars. “Our logistics network is just one piece of that puzzle, but an important one nevertheless. This is one example of our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment through meaningful, concrete steps.”

Volvo Cars is also looking to use rail transport at a wider scale in China and the United States. Already now, cars are transported from its China-based manufacturing plants to the Ghent port in Belgium by train two times a week. Other train connections deliver new Volvo cars to regional depots within China and in Russia.

In the US, the company’s Charleston, South Carolina-based manufacturing plant has tapped into a well-established rail cargo network taking new cars to depots in cities across North America. Already now, these trains replace the equivalent of dozens of trucks per week, a number likely to increase once the next generation XC90 goes into production.

Volvo Cars climate action plan represents one of the most ambitious plans in the automotive industry. It contains concrete actions in line with the global Paris climate agreement of 2015, which seeks to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Volvo Cars’ 2040 ambitions go beyond addressing tailpipe emissions through all-out electrification, as it realises that electrification is not enough to reduce its impact on the environment. Therefore it also looks at tackling carbon emissions across the board: in its manufacturing network, its wider operations, its supply chain and through recycling and reuse of materials.

The company’s electrification ambitions are reflected in the recently launched, brand new Recharge car line. Recharge will be the overarching name for all chargeable Volvo cars with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain. The Recharge car line aims to further boost sales of Volvo Cars’ electrified cars and encourage plug-in hybrid drivers via incentives to use Pure mode as much as possible.

Source: Volvo Cars

Biopesticides for Locust Control in East Africa

02.04.2020

medium_6f2a24e557432887c32f648156f3f462 — Photo: FAO/Sven Torfinn

East Africa is going through a massive Desert Locust infestation that’s stripping farming families of food and income and threatening the food security of millions throughout the region. And the number of locusts keeps growing.

In emergencies like these, killing locusts with pesticides is a necessary evil to limit the crisis and prevent swarms from multiplying exponentially. Traditionally, chemical pesticides have been the only effective method to control extreme locust infestations. And because they work the quickest, they remain a key tool in extreme cases like the current large-scale infestations affecting the greater Horn of Africa region.

But increasingly, nature-based biopesticides offer a reliable, less harmful alternative for controlling locust outbreaks before they reach crisis levels. They also offer a solution for treating outbreaks in fragile ecosystems.

“We’ve been using biopesticides to control Desert Locusts and it’s a great tool to treat initial, small groups of hoppers before they form huge hopper bands,” says Keith Cressman, a locust expert at FAO.

“We’re looking at an insect that multiplies 20-fold with each new generation every three months, so it’s critical that we shift our focus to interventions than can disrupt the breeding cycle. And using an effective ecological tool that farmers and governments can use in any environment makes sense in this time and age,” he notes.

How biopesticides work

As the name suggests, biopesticides repurpose nature’s own tools and use them against pests. One popular set of bio tools are microbes, meaning bacteria, fungi and viruses that affect critters. Fungi of the Metarhizium acridum family, in particular, have proven to be very effective in controlling locusts, killing hoppers and adults within a week or two.

Commercial brands use this kind of fungus in their powder products. Such powders are mixed with oil and sprayed onto fields from planes or trucks. The fungus then penetrates the locust’s hard outer layer and starts feeding on the insect, sapping away its energy. The locust starts to get weaker within three days, becomes sluggish, feeds less and eventually dies.

The oil used to prepare the biopesticide is often diesel oil – although vegetable oil is also an option. But because no more than 1 litre of oil is used per hectare of land, studies of past treatment campaigns have not detected any negative environmental impacts.

“Obviously, vegetable oil is a better option, but diesel seems to work better in terms of avoiding clogging of sprayers. And it is certainly far less risky to the environment still than chemical pesticides,” says Cressman.

What are the benefits?

One major benefit of biopesticides is that they are designed to target specific kinds of insects only. That means biopesticides for locust control don’t affect other “good” insects, which can continue going about their business pollinating plants and supporting the local ecosystem.

What’s more, because biopesticides don’t hurt other wildlife and they have no negative effects on plants, they can be used in nature reserves, wetlands and other areas with bodies of water.

Obstacles to wider use

It’s true that biopesticides take longer to work than conventional chemicals. This means that in extreme cases, they can’t replace conventional sprays, which take less than half the number of days to kill the insect. This means that biopesticides work best in holistic control strategies that are designed to prevent, rather than cure, large-scale outbreaks.

Habit and convenience are other obstacles to wider use, but neither are insurmountable, experts say.

“Many farmers are used to buying one chemical pesticide that they can use to kill multiple pests throughout the year,” says Alexandre Latchininsky, an FAO locust expert who specializes in control options. “With biopesticides, farmers need to buy different kinds of products to fight different pests, so it requires a change of habit. Additionally, biopesticides are more complicated to use, in terms of transportation, storage, and mixing. All this actually requires more training than the use of the conventional pesticides. Both specialists and the general public should be well educated on this paradigm shift from curative to preventive means.”

Prevention is becoming increasingly important with climate change, which is likely to bring more cyclones and severe rains that make for ideal breeding grounds for hoppers. The current locust crisis is a case in point. It started on the Arabian Peninsula after two cyclones in 2018, before swarms moved and multiplied rapidly throughout the region.

Going forward, biopesticides have an important role to play in strategies that monitor such risky weather events and start preventive treatment in the early stages of an outbreak. This would go a long way to avoiding the kinds of large-scale crises the Horn of Africa is experiencing today and safeguard the food security of millions of people.

Source: FAO

Fitness Tracker for Electric Motors

01.04.2020

running_trčanje — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Fitness trackers for people are a genuine success story: more than 40 million are already in use worldwide, helping individuals to stay healthy and improve their fitness. Monitoring and saving vital data like heartrate and blood pressure, the device tracks not only current fitness but also follows an individual’s fitness development over time. Thanks to ABB the principles of a fitness tracker now go beyond people and are being applied to electric motors of any age from many different manufacturers.

Similar to how a fitness tracker works with people, the ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor provides more accurate details on the condition and behavior of an electric motor in a working environment.

To gain a better understanding of how these smart devices operate, we visited ABB’s semiconductor factory in Lenzburg, Switzerland. Crucial to the smooth operation of the factory are the ventilation system’s motors, which have to function flawlessly 24/7 because even the tiniest trace of dust in the air could interfere with production.

Data about the motor’s vibration, temperature, magnetic fields and many other parameters are being captured and analyzed by the ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor, presented with an App in an easy-to-understand format. This vital information ensures that early maintenance work can be coordinated in timely way, enabling ongoing improvements in the motors’ performance. Have a look how it works and what the professionals have to say about it in the video below.

Source: ABB

COVID-19 and the Risk to Food Supply Chains

31.03.2020

vegetables_povrće — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

As the COVID-19 pandemic turns into a global crisis, countries are taking measures to contain the pandemic.

Supermarket shelves remain stocked for now. But a protracted pandemic crisis could quickly put a strain on the food supply chains, which is a complex web of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, shipping, retailers and more. The shipping industry is already reporting slowdowns because of port closures, and logistics hurdles could disrupt the supply chains in the coming weeks.This policy brief provides recommendations on measures to consider in order to keep the supply chain alive in these times of crisis.

This policy brief suggested by FAO provides recommendations on measures to consider in order to keep the supply chain alive in these times of crisis.

Source: FAO

Panasonic Is Building a Comprehensive Energy Management System for Homeowners

31.03.2020

solar_panels_solarni_paneli — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Panasonic’s batteries underpin the electric vehicle revolution as we know it today, thanks to an early partnership to supply its 18650 lithium-ion cells from Japan to Tesla for its Model S and X vehicles. More recently, Panasonic’s new 2170 cells built at Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 outside Sparks, Nevada are now used in Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y.

Panasonic was a behemoth before its partnership with Tesla and it is building on its deep bench of products in the consumer space to build a suite of residential energy storage products. Clean Technica spoke with Panasonic Sales Engineer Dan Glaser about the work Panasonic is doing to unify the various energy systems in the home into a single, intelligent operating unit.

Panasonic Evervolt

The core of Panasonic’s push into intelligent home energy management is its Evervolt energy storage system. At its core, Evervolt is a residential energy storage system that can store excess power generated by a rooftop solar system, feeding it back into the house when the sun goes down. Evervolt uses the same Panasonic batteries that power many electric vehicles around the world today and comes from a brand with more experience producing and building products that use batteries than just about anyone else in the world.

Evervolt was launched at SPI in Salt Lake City last year and is just now hitting the market. “We just started really shipping product at the start of this year,” Dan said. “We do have the app that goes along with it,” Dan said. “It’s simple but powerful for the homeowner,” enabling a variety of different operating modes to be selected.

The system enables homeowners to store up power for use as a backup in the event of a grid failure and can also be tuned for more nuanced applications like time of use management, or to maximize self-generation from a rooftop solar system. “We have pure backup mode, we have peak shave mode, different operating modes to maximize the consumer’s ROI,” Dan said.

Evervolt is unique in that it is offered in an AC and DC configuration that optimizes the energy flow between the solar system, the battery, and the home. When installed in a new home, the DC version of Evervolt enables rooftop solar generation to flow directly into the batteries without the additional losses that come with converting the power to AC first, then back to DC again for storage. The AC version makes it easy for homeowners to simply bolt on an energy storage system to their home as a retrofit.

The Evervolt system does have to be installed with a rooftop solar system, but doing so enables homeowners to keep the lights on for days as the battery is continually recharged by the solar panels instead of just hours with the power stored in the battery.

Whole house integration

With the Evervolt system at the center of the solution, Panasonic sees a much larger opportunity in tying its other products in the home into a single unified system. “We’re looking at integrating everything into a single platform,” Dan said. “We’re in a fairly unique position in the market with home builders and home building applications.” Panasonic’s products in the home range from ductless mini-split HVAC units to indoor air quality monitoring systems and more. Tying all those systems into a single energy system within the home gives Panasonic the ability to optimize the energy consumption of some of the larger consumers in the home.

This is the low hanging fruit, but Panasonic is already looking beyond its own products out into the home. Dan talked about Smart Load Centers and how Panasonic is looking at tapping into the bigger picture of energy consumption in the home to see where the opportunities are. “Knowledge is power so there are different devices out there where you can install them and they can tell you where most of your energy is being consumed,” he said.

Dynamically operating and sensing at the house level means the system does not require direct knowledge about each and every device in the home. It simply uses bolt-on systems to determine what the energy generation and consumption profiles within the home look like.

The concept is simple, and Panasonic believes its strong brand provides a logical foundation for partnerships with new home builders to fill the new home with modern technology from day one.”Hopefully we can provide the entire system so when a homeowner is spending a lot of money on a new house or a retrofit to their existing house, it’s from a single entity they know they can trust.”

Panasonic does have a strong brand, and from what we’ve seen to date, an extremely strong line of products for the renewable home of the future. Panasonic’s HIT solar panels are some of the best solar panels out there and the newly launched Evervolt system looks to be built to deliver an impactful solution for homeowners. These two technologies form the foundation for homeowners moving forward, but even with this impressive pairing, Panasonic believes it is just getting started.

“Basically, automating everything in the home so when you go, the ideal situation is that when a new home is built, it’s built to the standards to minimize ecological impact,” Dan said. “Make sure that home is as healthy as possible and as energy efficient as possible. That’s really the ultimate goal.”

The home energy hub

The beauty of a massive player in the consumer electronics, battery cell, HVAC, indoor air quality, and energy management spaces (to name a few areas Panasonic plays in) moving into the smart home energy management space is that it already knows what the energy consumption profiles of other devices look like in the home. Consumers don’t want to have to configure each and every energy consuming device, appliance, thermostat, etc in the home. “Many homeowners do just want to set it and forget it,” Dan said. “If we have different apps, it could be a pain point for consumers.”

Much like most smartphone apps, the Panasonic app is geared towards ease of use. Dan talked about how simple the setup was for Evervolt in the app, and really, how often would you expect owners to check the status of their home battery?

When we first installed our two Tesla Powerwalls, I checked the app incessantly, but that quickly tapered off – and I’m an enthusiast. I’d expect the vast majority of customers to want to know where they can go to check on the state of charge and change the operating mode. Beyond that, the app is basically just hanging out on the phone until an outage or similar event that would trigger owners to check the app.

While the setup is super simple by design, behind the scenes, Panasonic’s system is anything but simple. “We have different inputs for the product yourself,” Dan said. “The inverter is measuring output from the solar system. We measure what’s coming to and from the grid.” Taking all these inputs and making decisions over time based on the initial configuration from the homeowner or from an artificial intelligence is the logical direction for the system. “It’s something homeowners had to think about in the past because in general, it’s not something that’s at the forefront of people’s minds.”

Not the first, but often one of the best

As a longtime global player in consumer facing products, Panasonic prefers to take a more cautious approach when bringing new products to market. That’s the price the company pays for delivering products that can stand the test of time and live up to the impressive warranties it tacks onto its products. “From our perspective, one of the biggest value adds we can provide, just being the company we are and our core motto as the Panasonic solutions company is to make a better society for everybody.”

That approach has made moving into energy storage a challenge as the space continues to evolve rapidly. “With energy storage, at least so far and the situation is changing daily, people are still very interested in energy storage,” Dan said. At SPI in 2018, we met with Panasonic to talk about its partnership with residential energy storage solution provider Pika Energy. The solution gave Panasonic first-hand experience with residential energy storage products and clearly paved the way for the launch of its own Evervolt system.

One year later, the company launched Evervolt, and here we are just a few months later talking about building a complete home energy monitoring and management system on top of a Panasonic-powered solar and storage system for residential use. “We’re obviously taking the approach with Panasonic that we’re really good at certain types of hardware and technology,” Dan said. It may take them longer to bring those products to the table, but when they arrive, consumers can be confident the products will deliver.

Moving forward

Panasonic built the Evervolt system to be upgradable over time. One critical piece of functionality they knew had to be included was the ability for the energy storage system to play in the grid services market as part of a larger virtual power plant or similar aggregated bartering unit, Dan said.

“It’s a very new mode of distributed energy,” and presents a massive opportunity for growth beyond just selling hardware. “Looking to the future, there’s a lot of stuff happening and a lot of new products coming,” he said. “We’re still in the early tranches of energy storage so there’s a lot of exploration and navigation to be held in the future so we’re happy to be here.”

It’s clear from my chat with Dan and research into Panasonic’s new product offerings that they are gradually building out a suite of solutions that will indeed leverage its strengths to improve the lives of customers over the long haul. “That’s our main focus and the reason many things move a bit slower,” he said.

Author: Kyle Field

Source: Clean Technica

Oil Price Volatility Will Give a Boost to Renewables

30.03.2020

Everyone loves low prices, but what the business community values most of all is predictability. The recent volatility in global oil markets — spearheaded by a fight to the death between Saudi Arabia and Russia — has sent the price of oil plunging to lows not seen in years. You might think that is good news for electrical energy generators who rely on fossil fuels, but that may not be true.

Thermal generating plants typically have a planned service life of 30 to 50 years. The financing that makes building new facilities possible relies on stable prices during the term of the loans. Disruptions that detract from that stability are bad for investors even if lower prices result, but lower average internal rates of return as a result.

Valentina Kretzschmar, vice president of corporate research for Wood Mackenzie, writes in a recent research note, “Could low oil prices slow down global growth in renewables? Historically, the oil price has shown no correlation with investment in renewables. The installation of both wind and solar continued to increase through the last oil price downturn.”

The upward trajectory of renewables is attributable primarily to investors being able to predict a stable rate of return over time. The internal rate of return is “the interest rate at which the net present value of all the cash flows (both positive and negative) from a project or investment equal zero. [It] is used to evaluate the attractiveness of a project or investment. If the IRR of a new project exceeds a company’s required rate of return, that project is desirable. If IRR falls below the required rate of return, the project should be rejected,” according to Investing Answers.

In addition to price stability, low oil prices are also making investments in renewables more appealing. Kretzschmar says, “At US$60/bbl, solar and wind assets — with average returns of 5-10% IRR — have found it difficult to compete with expected double digit returns for oil and gas. But at the current oil price, returns from oil and gas are now in line with what investors can expect from low risk solar and wind projects.” Price parity and stability may be the formula that turbocharges the renewable energy industry in coming years.

Forget About Environmental Concerns

Kretzschmar warns that low oil prices may signal an end to efforts by oil and gas companies to trim their carbon emissions.

“A growing number of oil and gas companies, led by the European Majors, have set targets to reduce carbon emissions. In a US$60/bbl oil price environment, most companies were generating strong cash flow and could afford to think about carbon mitigation strategies. But now, the sector will struggle to generate enough cash to maintain operations and honor shareholder commitments. All discretionary spend will be under review — that includes additional budget allocated for carbon mitigation. And companies that haven’t yet engaged in carbon reduction strategies are likely to put the issue on the back burner,” she explains.

But if Big Oil pulls back from investments in renewable energy, will that hurt the renewable sector? Not at all, says Kretzschmar. “Oil and gas companies make up a tiny proportion of global investment in renewables. The sector accounts for less than 2% of global solar and wind capacity. Even if Big Oil stopped investing in renewables altogether, that would have a minor impact on growth.”

She thinks despite oil wars and the coronavirus, demand for lowering carbon emissions will only increase going forward. “Time will tell how clean energy spend is affected as budgets are cut. But the energy transition is here to stay.” Amen to that.

Author: Steve Henley

Source: Clean Technica

A Genuine Artificial Leaf – New Source of Clean Energy?

30.03.2020

The race to create a genuine artificial leaf has heated up to the boiling point. The latest development is a new device that looks like a greenish tile the size of a stick of gum, but actually contains billions — yes, billions — of nanoscale tubes that react to light and convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. So what, you say? Good question! The carbon monoxide is a first step toward the ultimate goal of producing methanol. Hmmm…why methanol?

Why solar fuel? Why methanol?

So many questions! Let’s turn to our friends over at the US Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center for an answer:

Methanol (CH3OH), also known as wood alcohol, is considered an alternative fuel under the Energy Policy Act of 1992. As an engine fuel, methanol has chemical and physical fuel properties similar to ethanol. Methanol use in vehicles has declined dramatically since the early 1990s, and automakers no longer manufacture methanol vehicles in the United States.

That doesn’t sound too promising, but methanol is commonly produced by steam-reforming natural gas. If you were going to make a methanol vehicle for the sparkling green future, then you would want to use a renewable source for your fuel.

For that matter, the original source of methanol is wood, as in wood alcohol. Methanol can also be produced from other carbon-based renewable materials.

The Energy Department is interested in methanol because it is less expensive and less flammable than gasoline, and it can supplement the domestic fuel pipeline, but since nobody is making methanol cars any more that’s kind of a moot point.

On the other hand, methanol has a plethora of other uses in the chemical industry. The wastewater treatment industry also favors methanol for removing excess nutrients from municipal effluent.

Since there is already an extensive, existing infrastructure for methanol and similar liquids, then why not replace fossil methanol with renewable methanol. You never know, maybe the methanol vehicle will make a comeback.

Solar fuel & the artificial leaf

Where were we? Oh right, billions of nanoscale tubes that generate solar fuel. The new artificial leaf was created by a research team based at the Energy Department’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

The new design resolves one key challenge that has been a “thorn in the side” of the solar fuel club, which is how to speed up the flow of protons.

Each nanoscale tube contains a layer of silica embedded with short hydrocarbon chains, which Berkeley Lab describes as “molecular wires.” The wires connect to cobalt oxide inside the tube, and to a silica-titanium dioxide boundary on the outside.

Here’s the explainer from the lab:

In the inner layer of the tube, energy from sunlight delivered to the cobalt oxide splits water (in the form of moist air that flows through the inside of each tube), producing free protons and oxygen.

These protons easily flow through to the outer layer, where they combine with carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide now – and methanol in a future step – in a process enabled by a catalyst supported by the titanium dioxide layer.

There’s a lot more too it — for example, the new solar fuel system solves another key challenge, which is how to keep the reactions separate.

For all the details on the new solar fuel, look up the study “Ultrathin Amorphous Silica Membrane Enhances Proton Transfer across Solid‐to‐Solid Interfaces of Stacked Metal Oxide Nanolayers while Blocking Oxygen.“

Onward & upward for solar fuel

The Berkeley Lab research team makes it clear that they’re taking care of the science part. Scaling up the device and achieving commercial viability for solar fuel is a whole ‘nother can of worms.

That can go horribly wrong on the commercial side, but things have been popping on the research side. A few years back Clean Technica took note of some other developments in the artificial leaf field, including a “bionic” device that can churn out rubbing alcohol. More recently the solar-sourced fuel concept has broadened to cover renewable hydrogen.

Speaking of sunlight, there has been plenty of speculation rolling around the Intertubes as to whether or not sunlight kills the COVID-19 coronavirus. While others speculate on that, check out the US Centers for Disease Control guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting your home. Sunlight doesn’t make the cut but there are other steps you can take to reduce the risk of passing infection within a household.

The impact of warm weather on the virus is another matter of speculation. BBC.com recently published a good plain-language discussion of all the speculating involved on that score — and why the only way to slow down the rate of infection, right now, is to separate yourself from other people. Please everyone out there, take care of yourselves.

Author: Tina Casey

Source: Clean Technica

Air Pollution Goes Down as Europe Takes Hard Measures to Combat Coronavirus

28.03.2020

milano_milan_italija_italy_saobraćaj_transport — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Revolt)

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) data confirm large decreases in air pollutant concentrations — of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in particular — largely due to reduced traffic and other activities, especially in major cities under lockdown measures. Reductions of around half have been seen in some locations. The EEA’s data are measured hourly, on the ground, at about 3,000 monitoring stations across European countries.

The EEA has received many questions about the impacts of the stark measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on air quality in Europe.

“The EEA’s data show an accurate picture of the drop in air pollution, especially due to reduced traffic in cities. However, addressing long-term air quality problems requires ambitious policies and forward-looking investments. As such, the current crisis and its multiple impacts on our society work against what we are trying to achieve, which is a just and well-managed transition towards a resilient and sustainable society”, stated Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director.

The EEA’s data for recent weeks show how concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), a pollutant mainly emitted by road transport, have decreased in many Italian cities. For example:

In Milan, average concentrations of NO₂ for the past four weeks have been at least 24 % lower than four weeks earlier this year. The average concentration during the week of 16-22 March was 21 % lower than for the same week in 2019;
In Bergamo, there has been a constant decline in NO₂ pollution over the past four weeks. The average concentration during the week of 16-22 March was 47 % lower than for the same week in 2019;
In Rome, average NO₂concentrations for the past four weeks were 26-35 % lower than for the same weeks in 2019.

Similar trends can be seen in other European cities where lockdown measures have been implemented during the week of 16-22 March.

In Barcelona, average NO₂ levels went down by 40 % from one week to the next. Compared with the same week in 2019, the reduction was 55 %;
In Madrid, average NO₂ levels went down by 56 % from one week to the next. Compared with the same week in 2019, the reduction was 41 %;
In Lisbon, average NO₂ levels went down by 40 % from one week to the next. Compared with the same week in 2019, the reduction was 51 %.

Exposure to air pollution can lead to adverse health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. A number of health authorities have warned that those citizens with certain pre-existing conditions, such as respiratory illnesses, may have an increased vulnerability to COVID-19. However at present it is not clear whether ongoing exposure to air pollution might worsen the condition of those infected by the virus. Further epidemiological research is needed to address such questions.

Source: EEA

Siemens Gamesa in Deal to Provide Clean Electricity to 240,000 People in Vietnam

27.03.2020

wind_turbine_vetrenjača — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Vietnam has some of the best wind resources in Southeast Asia. In an effort to tap the country’s potential and provide more clean energy to the country, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will supply 25 SG 4.5-145 for one of the nation’s largest wind farms. With a total capacity of 113 MW, the Hoa Thang 1.2 wind farm will generate enough electricity to meet the demands of over 240,000 Vietnamese following its commissioning in 2021.

The deal also marks the largest order in the country for Siemens Gamesa. Additionally, the company has secured a long-term 10-year service contract.

The project, located in the Bac Binh district, Binh Thuan province, on the South-Central coast of Vietnam, is developed by Hoa Thang Energy Joint Stock Company, a special-purpose vehicle of Vietnam’s construction group Trading Construction Works Organization (WTO) which has close to 60 years construction experience.

Hoa Thang Energy is a pioneer of renewable energy in Vietnam, where the fast-growing economy has seen electricity demand rise by around 10% annually. The Vietnamese government estimates that total power generating capacity will reach 125-130 GW by 2030, up from 46 GW in 2018. In order to mitigate climate concerns, the government also aims for renewable energy to account for 15-20% of its total energy output by 2030 and has established a target of developing 6 GW of wind power capacity by 2030.

“With an accumulated installation of 101 GW, Siemens Gamesa can leverage its global expertise and footprint to partner with Hoa Thang Energy to develop one of the largest wind farms in Vietnam. As market scale and financing are helping to unlock potential in Vietnam, we are committed to supporting our Vietnamese customers to accelerate the penetration of renewable energy and bring clean power for generations to come,” said Richard Paul Luijendijk, CEO of Siemens Gamesa’s Onshore business unit in APAC.

“With deep rooting in Vietnam, we are pleased to partner with Siemens Gamesa and leverage its industry-leading experience and reputation to develop renewable energy in the country. We selected Siemens Gamesa as the most appropriate supplier for our first wind farm project. This first ever cooperation between the two companies will lay a good foundation for us to further explore the wind market in Vietnam,” said Nguyen Thanh Oai, CEO of Trading Construction Works Organization.

Siemens Gamesa has been expanding in the Asia Pacific markets since the 1980s and has installed more than 8.4 GW of onshore turbines in China, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. In the offshore segment, the company successfully completed the installation of Taiwan’s first offshore wind power project in 2019 (128 MW) and in addition reached close to 2 GW of firm orders. The company also signed preferred supplier agreements for an additional 755 MW combined volume in Japan and Taiwan.

Source: Siemens Gamesa

Battery Storage Paves Way for a Renewable-Powered Future

26.03.2020

Battery storage solar farm — Photo: IRENA

Battery storage systems are emerging as one of the key solutions to effectively integrate high shares of solar and wind renewables in power systems worldwide. A recent analysis from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) illustrates how electricity storage technologies can be used for a variety of applications in the power sector, from e-mobility and behind-the-meter applications to utility-scale use cases.

Utility-scale batteries, for example, can enable a greater feed-in of renewables into the grid by storing excess generation and by firming renewable energy output. Furthermore, particularly when paired with renewable generators, batteries help provide reliable and cheaper electricity in isolated grids and to off-grid communities, which otherwise rely on expensive imported diesel fuel for electricity generation.

At present, utility-scale battery storage systems are mostly being deployed in Australia, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and other European countries. One of the larger systems in terms of capacity is the Tesla 100 MW / 129 MWh Li-ion battery storage project at Hornsdale Wind Farm in Australia. In the US-State of New York, a high-level demonstration project using a 4 MW / 40 MWh battery storage system showed that the operator could reduce almost 400 hours of congestion in the power grid and save up to USD 2.03 million in fuel costs.

In addition, several island and off-grid communities have invested in large-scale battery storage to balance the grid and store excess renewable energy. In a mini-grid battery project in Martinique, the output of a solar PV farm is supported by a 2 MWh energy storage unit, ensuring that electricity is injected into the grid at a constant rate, avoiding the need for back-up generation. In Hawaii, almost 130 MWh of battery storage systems have been implemented to provide smoothening services for solar PV and wind energy.

Globally, energy storage deployment in emerging markets is expected to increase by over 40% each year until 2025.

Currently, utility-scale stationary batteries dominate global energy storage. But by 2030, small-scale battery storage is expected to significantly increase, complementing utility-scale applications.

The behind-the-meter (BTM) batteries are connected behind the utility meter of commercial, industrial or residential customers, primarily aiming at electricity bill savings. Installations of BTM batteries globally is on the rise. This increase has been driven by the falling costs of battery storage technology, due to the growing consumer market and the development of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs), along with the deployment of distributed renewable energy generation and the development of smart grids. In Germany, for example, 40% of recent rooftop solar PV applications have been installed with BTM batteries. Australia aims to reach one million BTM batteries installations by 2025, with 21 000 systems installed in the country in 2017.

Overall, total battery capacity in stationary applications could increase from a current estimate of 11 GWh to between 180 to 420 GWh, an increase of 17- to 38-fold.

Read IRENA’s full Innovation landscape briefs on Utility-scale batteries and Behind-the-Meter batteries.

Find more information about enabling technologies in IRENA’s Innovation Landscape briefs: Enabling Technologies.

Source: IRENA

To Make Things Last Longer and Create Less Waste

25.03.2020

saksije_cveće — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Bernard Hermant)

“Circular economy as a part of the concept of society’s sustainable development” is the project of the professional organisation Ambassadors of sustainable development and environment. The goal of this organisation is to inform the general public about the values of circular economy concept, along with the portrayal of prior experiences and good practise examples about how this concept has already been implemented in education centres in Serbia. As a result of this project, the review was provided about the situation in Serbia, and farther (through previous experiences in EU and worldwide, in terms of Sustainable development goals), also about the progress of circular economy concept, our position at the moment and possible direction of further development and options for participation. The project was supported by the Ministry of environmental protection through co-financing model for projects of a nongovernmental organisation.

Photo: Private archive of Aleksandra Mladenovic

Aleksandra Mladenovic, the chairman of the organisation and national coordinator of the International programme Eco-schools, says that in the course of the programme, from July till November 2019, and having in mind the fact that Serbia has only scratched the surface of circular economy, it was necessary to examine the possibilities and legal frame, find the best practice examples and make the public familiar with them, allowing for follow-up on further development.

The concept of circular economy encompasses industrial production, which is based upon renewability of the materials, renewable energy sources implementation, reduction and/or elimination of chemicals usage, minimising waste generation, product design which will allow longer life cycle etc. The value-added product stands on “staying” longer in use and not making waste.

The transition to a circular economy requires changes in the entire life cycle of a product and product design. Thus, new business and trade model is needed, as much as an improved way of turning waste into resources and different consumers’ attitude, etc. Furthermore, it is necessary to change and innovate the system: in technology, organisations, society, financing procedures and policies, which are only a few of the starting points required for the transition process from linear to a circular economy.

In focus:

During the implementation of the project “Circular economy as a part of the concept of society’s sustainable development”, the major stakeholders were determined, whose role in the development of the circular economy concept in Serbia is conspicuous, particularly about to entrepreneurial initiatives of the education centres, women and youth. Also, the consultations were organized with the prominent representatives from the sectors of industry, science, state and local governments and non-governmental organisations, who already have experience in the implementation of the circular economy concept in Serbia. At the same time, the general public had a chance to get familiar with the accomplishments in the circular economy, through the publication designed for the school kids and public appearances of teachers and local governments’ representatives.

“Two years ago, when we first mentioned to the Ecoschool coordinators that what they do within their institutions, through the course of lectures, but especially through afterschool activities, has great importance and that they might help development and ’testing’ of circular economyin practice, they were surprised and slightly confounded. In the beginning, they weren’t sure what term ’circular in economy’ generally means and how they could implement basic ideas about that same ’circular economy’ into their regular curriculum”, Aleksandra explained how the first encounter of the project participants with a new concept had gone through.

However, it wasn’t much of an obstacle to the members of the “Ambassador of sustainable development and environment” team. They started with a series of lectures and numerous practical activities, which at last concluded with an expert conference “Principles of circular economy in the environmental protection” that is accredited by the Ministry of education, science and technological development. The conference was held in October 2019, in partnership with local communities of Cajetina, their tourist organisation, Eco-schools “Dimitrije Tucovic” from Cajetina and “Milivoje Borovic” from Mackat. Aleksandra says that they are particularly pleased as they managed to introduce thecircular economy, at least for the time being, as a way of thinking and guidelines for future activities, into the Ecoschools and local communities.

“In those communities, people have already changed their attitudes, and they look at materials, products, waste, production process etc. in a different way. They spread further the idea of the circular economy. This way new approach to resources and items has come out of the Ecoschools and entered the homes, institutions and around the local communities”, proudly points out Aleksandra.

The document “Circular economy in Serbia: the process started (2019)” shows precisely where the development of the circular economy concept stands at the moment, which encompasses advantages, obstacles, downsides, possible solutions for overcoming problems etc. The document alone has importance as a unique review on progress and further ways of staying involved in.

“Besides this ’serious’ document, we made a booklet for children and youngsters, with imaginative illustration and original texts. We distributed the booklets throughout the Eco-schools in Serbia so that youngsters can learn and apply basic values of this concept since the circular economy is explained in pictorial and appropriate to their age manner”, Aleksandra said. All publication will be available on the website of the “Ambassadors of sustainable development and environment https://ambassadors-evn. com/

The team of the organisation “Ambassadors of sustainable development” keeps track of the progress of circular economy and climate changes not only in Serbia but in the region too, as the partners on the regional project, financed by European Union, named “ENV.net factoring the environmental portfolio for the Western Balkans and Turkey in the EU Policy Agenda” (ref.no. 2017/394-372). Meanwhile, they expect that Eco-schools, as a never-ceasing source of good examples and substantial activities, will approach with suggestion and ideas about how to reuse an old textile, recycle secondary raw materials or extend the life cycle of objects and appliances. We are surely going to report on that in the future too!

Prepared by: Tamara Zjacic

This article was published in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine GRINNOVATIONS, December 2019 – February 2020.

Virus Which Causes COVID-19 Threatens Great Ape Conservation

25.03.2020

black_gorilla_gorilla — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Kelly Sikkema)

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Mandy Henry)

Both great ape research and tourism have allowed people to learn about chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans, and to observe them from a close proximity. Great ape tourism also serves as an important source of revenue for governments and communities, and a significant proportion of this income is reinvested in the protection of endangered species and their natural habitats.

However, infectious diseases such as COVID-19—caused by the SARS CoV-2 virus—are a major concern for great ape conservation.

Johannes Refisch is a United Nations Programme Manager and Coordinator who oversees the Great Apes Survival Partnership. In this interview, he explains why disease prevention is critical, and what specific measures are being taken.

In relation to great apes, why is the SARS CoV-2 virus a concern?

The possibility of infection is a conservation risk. We do not yet know whether great apes are susceptible to the SARS CoV-2 virus, but we do know that wild chimpanzees were infected with human coronavirus OC43 in Côte d’Ivoire, and that great apes can be infected with many other human respiratory pathogens.

Among humans, the SARS CoV-2 virus is highly infectious and may survive in the environment for a few days. This being the case, we must assume that great apes are susceptible and prevent them from being infected.

What are the potential consequences of infection among great apes?

The survival of great apes is already threatened by habitat loss, illegal hunting, and other diseases. Ebola, for example—a hemorrhagic fever that affects both humans and great apes—has led to mortality rates of up to 95 per cent in gorillas; and calculations indicate that some of those populations will need more than 130 years to recover. Contraction of SARS-CoV-2 would add to these challenges.

There would also be economic and livelihood losses. Great ape tourism is an important source of employment, generates income for national governments and local communities, and produces the funds required to sustain conservation activities.

It is also important to note the risk of human infection by great apes. Because of our close genetic proximity, humans can transmit diseases to great apes, but humans can also contract diseases from great apes. Again, Ebola exemplifies a case in which both humans and great apes were affected. There is some evidence that hunters found carcasses of gorillas that had died of Ebola in the forest, and contracted the disease when they consumed infected meat.

What is being done to reduce these risks?

At present, there is no vaccine against SARS CoV-2 infection, and it could take months—if not years—to develop one.

In the meantime, the International Union for Nature’s Primate Specialist Group/Section on Great Apes and the Wildlife Health Specialist Group have published a joint statement, recommending that “great ape visitations by humans are reduced to the minimum needed to ensure the safety and health monitoring for the great apes”, and are emphatic that strict adherence to best practices for great ape tourism and disease prevention is critical.

Beyond this, the groups recommend that suspension of great ape tourism and reduction of field research should be considered and call for mechanisms “to offset loss of profit and employment from tourism” and to support public health in local communities. To this end, as of 23 March 2020, the majority of gorilla tourism sites have been closed.

In the long term, it will be critical to gain a better understanding of the spread of diseases between animals and people, as there is increasing evidence that loss of habitat and biodiversity has facilitated the spread of zoonotic diseases.

Source: UNEP

The Hidden Risks Nature Loss Poses for Businesses

25.03.2020

deforestation_krčenje_šuma — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Nature loss is still a hidden risk for many businesses.
This must change – both for the sake of businesses and the environment.
Here are four actions businesses can take to respond to this global risk.

As this past year’s news headlines have made all too clear, nature is in a state of emergency. In May 2019, following the most comprehensive scientific investigation ever into the planet’s health, a report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) sounded the alarm that one million species face extinction due to human activity. As IPBES chair Sir Robert Watson noted: “We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide”.

Ecosystems have declined in size and condition by 47% globally compared to estimated baselines, and species populations have faced stark declines.

The wake up call on nature loss is highlighted in this year’s World Economic Forum Global Risks Report (GRR), where biodiversity loss is, for the first year, ranked as one of the top-five global risks in terms of likelihood and impact in the next 10 years.

In boardrooms, investment and risk committees, however, nature loss still appears to be largely a hidden risk. This needs to change, and quickly.

Crossing the ecological limits of our planet will directly affect economic activities and businesses that depend on and have an impact on nature. Insufficient accounting for these risks could have unintended consequences, such as short or long-term risk mis-pricing, inadequate capital buffers, and in extreme cases the potential for stranded assets. For example, between $235 billion and $577 billion of global crop output is at risk annually from pollinator loss.

In recent years we have seen how governments, regulators, asset owners and managers, and – increasingly – businesses, have recognised that climate change poses a systemic financial risk. It is time for this recognition to be extended to the risk posed by nature loss.

In a new report by the World Economic Forum and PwC UK, the first in the New Nature Economy series, we look at the scale and urgency of the nature crisis for business. We highlight that as nature declines, so do the prospects for business growth and wider prosperity. For example, 60% of coffee varieties are at risk of extinction from a combination of climate change, disease and deforestation. If this were to happen, global coffee markets – a sector with retail sales of $83 billion in 2017 – would be significantly destabilized.

According to our analysis, $44 trillion of economic value generation – over half of the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and the services it provides. Industries which are highly dependent on nature generate 15% of global GDP ($13 trillion), while moderately dependent industries generate 37% ($31 trillion). This underscores the significant financial exposure to nature loss for businesses worldwide if current trends continue unabated.

It is critical that businesses regularly identify, assess, mitigate and disclose nature-related risks to avoid potentially severe consequences. One approach to doing this is to adapt the recommendations proposed by the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TFCD),which incorporate nature-related risks alongside climate risks within corporate risk management and disclosure.

The TCFD’s recommendations are focused on four broad themes of governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets, and can be used as a guide for businesses and investors to approach the management of nature-related risks and opportunities.

Four key actions for a business response to nature risk

1) GOVERNANCE for nature-related risks and opportunities

Businesses with material exposure to nature loss should ensure that they have a clear governance structure in place to identify and manage risks arising from nature loss. There should be a process for material risks to be fed up from the business units to the risk committee. It may make sense to use the same governance structure as for climate-related risks and/or environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. There should be a clear understanding of the management-level individuals or committees with responsibility for nature-based risks and how and when they interact on the issue at all levels within the organization.

2) Incorporate nature-related risks and opportunities into the organization’s STRATEGY and financial planning

It is important for each organization to understand how it expects nature-related risks to evolve over time and to use this to inform business planning and strategy. Businesses should disclose what nature risks and opportunities they are exposed to across their value chain and how these might affect future cash flows and asset values. This can include assessment of the financial consequences of plausible scenarios driven by ongoing nature loss, which could include the physical effects of natural capital decline as well as changes in regulation, markets, and legal and reputational issues. Businesses can then decide what type of strategy is appropriate to manage nature-related risks and how they can create opportunities.

3) Identify, assess and manage nature-related risks as part of enterprise RISK MANAGEMENT processes

A robust process for managing nature-related risks must underpin strategy and governance. Businesses should identify the nature-related risks to their operations, products and supply chains across the key categories of physical, regulatory and legal, market and reputational risks. Businesses should conduct a materiality assessment to understand which risks are likely to be most significant and worth integrating into the core enterprise risk management (ERM) system. Businesses wishing to take a more mature approach will conduct a detailed assessment of key risks and opportunities, including quantification in financial terms.

4) Identify and track nature-related risk METRICS AND TARGETS

Developing metrics and targets is crucial for businesses to effectively monitor nature-related risks and assess progress against their strategy. Key metrics will differ by sector, though there may be some overlap with climate-related metrics already being reported (for example on water, land use, deforestation and virgin material use).

It’s time for nature risks to move up the agenda for business and economic decision-makers. We cannot reverse nature loss without industry playing a pivotal role; and industry cannot afford to ignore the nature crisis. New commitments, new policies, new business models and new solutions are urgently needed that protect and restore nature and incentivize its sustainable use.

Source: WEF

How to Move More People in Fewer Vehicles

24.03.2020

boston_traffic_saobraćaj_school_bus_školski_autobus — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Shared mobility services have the potential to dramatically reduce levels of congestion and pollution in our cities.
For maximum benefit, these services must be integrated with public transport systems.
The technology to make this happen already exists.

Advocates of autonomous mobility are looking forward to the day when zero-emission, shared autonomous vehicles deliver services that dramatically reduce urban congestion and pollution. But as the mass deployment of autonomous vehicles seems farther and farther off, it is important to point out that we don’t have to wait for autonomy to realize many of the efficiencies that shared mobility can provide.

Trip-optimization technology that can make shared transport work already exists – whether a computer or a human is driving. One proof point can be found in a project to make Boston’s public school buses more efficient. What can the humble yellow school bus teach us about efficient urban transport? Plenty, as it turns out.

Learning from schools

In 2019, Boston’s public school district held a contest to find a solution that could better move its 25,000 students to more than 200 schools across 20 zip codes. Parents are allowed to select their children’s schools, so the transportation patterns are irregular. To further complicate matters, Boston’s schools have different start times. Student transit was costing the district $2,000 per student—10% of its budget.

Researchers at MIT’s Operations Research Center rose to the challenge. They developed an algorithm capable of ingesting all ride requirements simultaneously instead of optimizing service for each school independently, one by one. By optimizing the entire network, under the new schedule, some buses dropped students off at multiple schools. In short, the algorithm enabled the district to eliminate 50 buses, more than a million miles of driving, and 9,000kg of CO2 emissions per day. Student ride times and walking distances were not impacted. And the district now has $5 million per year in savings to invest in education programmes.

Many have argued that the future of urban transport is electric, autonomous and shared. But the real key to reducing traffic and pollution comes from sharing—and we don’t have to wait for the widespread adoption of electric and/or autonomous vehicles to achieve significant efficiency gains that remove cars and their emissions from city streets.

Multiple studies have found that shared autonomous vehicles can dramatically improve traffic:

· An International Transport Forum (ITF) study of traffic in Lisbon found that shared self-driving cars combined with the existing public transport system could reduce traffic by 90% with a maximum wait time of five minutes.

· A University of Texas simulation of traffic in Austin found that one shared autonomous vehicle could do the work of nine private vehicles with extra ride times of two to five minutes.

· A study of traffic in Oslo by the PTV Group found that shared autonomous vehicles could meet the city’s rush hour needs with just 7% of today’s vehicles, and that combining the services with public transport would reduce trip times by an average of 11 minutes.

Swap autonomous vehicles that receive instructions into a computer with human-driven vehicles that receive instructions through a driver’s mobile app, and you can achieve the same results – albeit today with fossil fuel-powered cars. But reducing the number of vehicles on streets by as much as 90% would enable proportionate emissions reductions.

Public benefits

Critical to the success of these models is the integration of services with public transport. The flip side of the equation would be to use shared services in place of public transport, which would likely worsen congestion. Shared transport integrated with public mass transit would have to be mandated by cities rather than deployed as a free-for-all – which is how peer-to-peer ride-hailing services were introduced. Unregulated and unintegrated, these services have dramatically worsened traffic in most large cities.

Orchestrating success

Analysts at Accenture recently released a report calling for cities to take the lead in creating coordinated, “orchestrated” mobility ecosystems. Limiting shared services to routes that connect people with mass transit would be one way to deploy human-driven services now and to prepare for driverless services in the future. Services and schedules can be linked at the backend, and operators can, for example, automatically send more shared vehicles to a train station when the train has more passengers than usual; or the cars can wait for a train that is running late.

Orchestrating large fleets and processing large volumes of ride requests simultaneously and in real time, and dispatching vehicles and pooling ride requests in the most efficient manner possible, are extremely complex processes. This complexity increases as most urban environments are continually changing. Traffic, weather, special events, construction, and other conditions can impact trip times and wait times.

Managing space

Managing urban congestion and mobility comes down to managing space. Cities are characterized by restricted residential, commercial and transportation spaces. Private autos are the most inefficient use of transportation space, while mass transit represents the most efficient use of transportation space. Getting more people out of private cars into shared feeder routes to and from mass transit modes is the most promising way to reduce auto traffic. Computer models show that it can be done, and we don’t need autonomy to realize the benefits of shared mobility. With our climate crisis growing more acute by the day, we can and should start implementing shared mobility now.

Source: WEF

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In focus:

Panasonic Evervolt

Whole house integration

The home energy hub

Not the first, but often one of the best

Moving forward

Forget About Environmental Concerns

Why solar fuel? Why methanol?

Solar fuel & the artificial leaf

Onward & upward for solar fuel

In focus:

Four key actions for a business response to nature risk

Learning from schools

Sharing the future

Public benefits

Orchestrating success

Managing space

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