A Third Of Power Capacity Added In India This Year Is Solar

27.11.2017

2017 has been a good year for Indian solar power market, if one compares it with the developments in the coal-based power market. Record solar power capacity has been added in India during the first nine months of the year.

India has reported a solar power capacity addition of 5,759 megawatts in 2017, by 30 September 2017. This is the highest-ever solar power capacity added in a calendar year in India. In fact, the solar power capacity added in the first nine months is more than the capacity added during the entire last year — 4,666 megawatts.

Around 10,140 megawatts of renewable energy capacity has been added during this time, which puts solar’s share at an impressive 57%. India added a net power generation capacity, across all technologies, of 17,011 megawatts in the first 10 months of the year. 34% of this came from solar, and 26% from wind, with the total share of renewable energy at 60%. This is in stark contrast with the current share of renewable energy in the total installed capacity of the country. Renewable energy capacity of 60.1 gigawatts forms just 18% of the total installed capacity of 331 gigawatts.

The first quarter of the year, which was the last quarter of India’s previous financial year, was the best-ever for solar power with a record 3.3 gigawatts capacity installed. Capacity addition crashed to 826 megawatts in the following quarter, before registering a 100% increase in Q3 to 1.65 gigawatts.

Capacity addition usually jumps in the first quarter of each year, however, solar power generation peaks during winter months and developers may rush to install their projects in the fourth quarter. This could lead to further growth in solar power capacity addition in the last three months of this year.

Coal catching up with renewable energy, or solar, seems a bit difficult. Coal-based capacity contracted during the third quarter as several ageing power plants were retired.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Global Wind Turbine Orders Reach 11.6 Gigawatts In 1H’17, Vestas Still Leads

27.11.2017

A total of 11,570.9 megawatts worth of wind turbine orders were announced through the first half of 2017, a nearly 2 gigawatt decline on the same time a year ago and over 3 gigawatts on the second half of 2016, and was led once again by Vestas.

Navigant Research published its Wind Turbine Order Tracker 4Q17 report this week, detailing publicly announced wind turbine orders from throughout the first half of 2017. The important part of this description is “publicly announced,” and as such does not represent the total amount of capacity, with Chinese wind turbine OEMs failing to make public their orders — orders which are almost always restricted to China, the world’s leading wind energy market.

Nevertheless, Navigant Research explains that the information within its Tracker “can still be used as a proxy for turbine installations trends by region for the majority of Western wind turbine OEMS.”

As such, for the first half of 2017 a total of 11,570.9 MW (megawatts) worth of wind turbines were announced. This is well down on the 14,743.9 MW of orders in 2H 2016 and 13,477.6 MW in 1H 2016.

“Despite this year’s decrease in order capacity, the average turbine rating continues to grow, with many of the top turbine vendors having weight average ratings near 3 megawatts (MW) or higher said Adam Wilson, research analyst with Navigant Research. “Total wind farm sizes are also increasing.”

According to Navigant, “There have been several shake-ups in the wind industry over the last year.” This includes big moves like Nordex acquiring Acciona in the spring of 2016, and the big merger between Siemens and Gamesa which resulted in the newly-formed Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. However, Navigant is unwilling to directly trace the drop in wind turbine orders back to these transactions but instead looks to “a major change in the Indian wind industry” as being partly to blame for the significant decline. Specifically, India’s shift from a feed-in tariff system to a competitive bidding process resulted in significant uncertainty in the country’s renewable energy industry and is partly responsible for its drop of nearly 2 GW (gigawatts) in wind turbine orders for the Indian market.

Overall, the Asia Pacific region led all other regions in terms of wind turbine orders with 2,775.2 MW, or 31% signed throughout the first half of 2017, followed by Europe with 30% and North America with 29% — however, the United States accounted for all North American capacity, with Canada failing to announce any orders.

In terms of OEMs, Vestas again led all turbine vendors with 4,265.9 MW worth of turbine orders between the first six months of the year, a drop of (again) over 2 GW from the second half of 2016. General Electric (GE) jumped into second spot with 2,928.1 MW thanks to a pair of massive contracts in Spain and Vietnam, followed by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy in third with 1,632 MW.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Honda to halve electric cars’ charging time to 15 minutes

26.11.2017

Honda Motor plans to release in 2022 a selection of fully electric cars that can run 240km on a single 15-minute charge. Most electric vehicles now available take at least twice that long to reach an 80% charge even using a high-speed charger.

Key to this plan is developing a new type of high-capacity battery that can handle the ultra-quick charging. The carmaker sources batteries for its electric-gas hybrid vehicles from Panasonic and others, but plans to create the new batteries in collaboration with a partner to be chosen later. A lighter vehicle body and more efficient power control system will ensure the new cars can go farther on a single charge.

Before then, Honda plans to release mass-market electric vehicles in Europe in 2019 and in Japan the following year.

Source: Electric Vehicle News

Soil Management: Key to Fighting Climate Change?

25.11.2017

An important tool for mitigating climate change may lie beneath our feet—soil management could increase our ability to keep carbon out of the atmosphere, a new study shows.

A paper published last week in the journal Scientific Reports estimates that by altering land use practices, the top layer of soil around the globe could increase the amount of carbon stored anywhere from 0.9 to 1.85 billion metric tons per year—an amount that equals the transportation sector’s carbon emissions.

Worldwide, scientists estimate that the earth’s soil contains about 2.5 trillion tons of carbon in its top three-foot layer. Agricultural activity, depending on the type, could release large amounts of carbon by disturbing the soil. Almost 50 percent of all potentially vegetated land surface has been converted to croplands, pastures, and rangelands. This, in turn, has contributed approximately 136 petagrams of carbon to the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. For comparison, fossil fuel combustion has pumped an estimated 270 petagrams of carbon into the atmosphere, according to the study.

The good news is this study shows how land management practices are an opportunity to reverse that trend. Rotating crops, composting, zero tillage, cover cropping and agroforestry can increase soil’s potential to keep carbon out of the atmosphere.
Despite this, soil management as a climate mitigation tool did not make it onto the official Bonn climate conference agenda, although it has been discussed in side events run by environmental groups.

Improving food security, increasing crop yields and increasing the resilience of agriculture to the effects of climate change are the main discussion points among policymakers. However, they tend to ignore the importance of land use management and what it can do to mitigate climate change.

Source: EcoWatch

Costa Rica Runs Entirely on Renewable Energy for 300 Days

25.11.2017

Costa Rica has charted another clean energy accolade. So far this year, the Central American country has run on 300 days of 100 percent power generation from renewable energy sources, according to the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE), which cited figures from the National Center for Energy Control.

With six weeks left in 2017 to go, Costa Rica could easily surpass 300 days.

This impressive feat bests its 2015 record of 299 days of 100 percent renewable production. The country went 271 days using only renewable energy production in 2016.

Costa Rica currently receives 99.62 percent of its electricity from five renewable sources, the highest proportion since 1987. This year, 78.26 percent of electricity came from hydropower, 10.29 percent from wind, 10.23 percent from geothermal energy and 0.84 percent from biomass and solar.

Costa Rica has emerged as a global environmental leader, with its frequent 100 percent renewable energy streaks and its 2021 goal of becoming carbon neutral—a deadline set a decade ago.

In June, Costa Rican government officials announced an ambitious plan to become the world’s first country to achieve a comprehensive national strategy to eliminate single-use plastics by 2021.

The ICE also noted that 2017 is poised for the biggest year for wind production in the country’s history, with 1,014.82 gigawatt hours generated by 16 wind farms.

Source: EcoWatch

German Auction Sees Wind Energy Costs Drop Another 10 Per Cent

24.11.2017

Germany’s green business community may have endured a volatile few weeks, after disagreements over the future of coal power derailed Angela Merkel’s attempts to form a coalition government. But there was some good news for the clean energy sector this week, as the latest auction results confirm wind energy costs are continuing to fall sharply.

Grid regulator Bundesnetzagentur announced it had awarded just over 1GW of contracts in an auction that was significantly oversubscribed and resulted in a 10 per cent fall on the prices established by the most recent previous auction.

“Once again, there has been a significant decrease in the prices awarded, down a further 10 per cent on the last auction. The average award price is around 3.8 ct/kWh and thus clearly below 4 ct/kWh,” said Bundesnetzagentur president Jochen Homann in a statement. “The results confirm observations from the previous auctions: almost all of the successful bids came from citizens’ energy companies. These bidders now have four and a half years to implement their projects and in our estimation based their bids on anticipated positive developments in plant technology and falling prices.”

The auction attracted 210 bids totalling over 2.5GW of capacity. BNetzA credited the competitive pressure with driving down prices with the lowest bid reaching just 2.2ct/kWh.

Community projects can bid for contracts before securing planning approval, but BNetzA said the next two onshore wind auctions next year would require bidders to obtain approval before submitting a bid.

Writing on Twitter, Greenpeace’s Doug Parr noted that if similar prices could be achieved in the UK onshore wind projects could significantly undercut wholesale power prices of around £40/MWh.

Supporters of onshore wind have long argued that it provides the cheapest form of new capacity, but development in the UK has been widely blocked in recent years by planning constraints and the government’s refusal to allow projects to compete for price support contracts.

Source: businessgreen.com

India’s Coal Imports From North America Tripled Year On Year In October

24.11.2017

Imports of coal from North America have risen rapidly in recent times in India, on the back of a regional ban on the use of petroleum coke and a domestic coal shortage, according to recent reports.

Relying on shipping data compiled by Thomson Reuters, it appears that India’s imports of coal from North America have “tripled to 2.1 million tonnes in October from a year ago.”

Notably, though, sources from other trading sources put the figures lower — at 1.47 million tonnes. Additionally, “they said coal imports for November 1–20 have reached 1.14 million tonnes,” whereas the Thomson Reuters data put coal imports to India from North America during the November 1–20 timespan at 1.5 million tonnes.

Reuters provides more: “A ban on the use of petroleum coke, a dirtier but better-burning alternative to coal, is spurring expectations India will buy even more coal from the United States in coming months. Petcoke has been banned in some states around the Indian capital New Delhi which is battling heavy smog.

“But rising pollution in other Indian cities could lead to tougher restrictions such as a nationwide ban on use and imports of petcoke, with environmentalists requesting other states in the country to consider banning the use and import of the dirty fuel.

“’Every cement company is looking for an alternative to petroleum coke, and all of them are scrambling for U.S. coal,’ a senior executive from one of India’s top three cement companies told Reuters.

“… Cement companies account for nearly 75 percent of India’s annual petcoke demand of 27 million tonnes, according to trade data, and small industries such as lime manufacturers are also considering the use of U.S. coal, which is almost as efficient as petcoke.”

Taken altogether, what this news means is that India’s plans to reduce coal imports may end up being derailed (at least partly) by a possible petcoke ban, a band being pursued to help deal with rising air pollution problems. Maybe it’s time to just cut straight through to the end, to much cleaner options.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Insurers Warn 2017 To Be Most Expensive After Year Of Climate Disasters

24.11.2017

Climate-changes — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

A combination of natural disasters and extreme weather events impacting the entire globe is likely to mean 2017 will be the most expensive on record according to 28 insurance industry organizations.

According to ClimateWise, a global network of 28 insurance industry organizations, not only is 2017 likely to be the most expensive year on record due to natural disasters and extreme weather events all over the globe, but over the past decade only 30% of catastrophic losses were insured, leaving a climate risk protection gap of $1.7 trillion.

“Our industry has been shaken by climate perils impacting urban centres and 2017 is on track to become one of the most expensive years on record,” said Maurice Tulloch, Chairman of Global General Insurance at Aviva and Chair of ClimateWise. “The climate risk protection gap presents insurers with one of our industry’s most profound challenges. The cost of extending sustainable insurance cover is now simply not affordable in many places. A proactive response is required.”

Many in America will still recall vivid memories of Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas in August and caused $180 billion in financial losses. According to ClimateWise, Harvey was just one among many numerous events exposing the growing climate risk protection gap and the urgent need to improve the resilience of cities to better withstand the changing climate and natural disasters.

Further, Hurricane Harvey’s devastation further revealed the lack of insurance coverage for such events, with only one in five residents in Greater Houston having flood insurance — and insured losses amounting to less than $19 billion, or just 10.5% of total losses.

Unsurprisingly, the dangers and financial concerns are even greater in developing countries, such as recently seen in Bangladesh and India. The dangers only become more obvious and the need to increase the resilience of cities more urgent when you consider that 50% of the world’s populations now live in cities, and 1.5 million people are migrating to urban areas every week.

“Cities are at the epicentre of the climate risk protection gap crisis, given their concentration of economic activity and vulnerability,” said Tom Herbstein, ClimateWise Director.

“The challenge is how to extend insurance cover in a world where climate risk exposure continues to grow.

“While the climate risk protection gap presents a very real challenge for cities, there are also many opportunities for new partnerships and products. Insurers must start proactively exploring where, within their own value chains, and collaboratively across the industry, these opportunities lie.”

ClimateWise was set up by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) back in 2007 to help insurers and society respond to the growing risks of climate change. ClimateWise members have been working for a decade to benchmark their response to the protection gap in line with The ClimateWise Principles, first set up in 2007 and then revised in 2013.

“ClimateWise members are already on the front foot with regards to implementing the TCFD recommendations. They have been voluntarily considering and disclosing their strategic response to climate change for a decade,” said Mary Schapiro, Special Advisory to the Chair of the TCFD and former Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. “The next step for them will be to begin the process of identifying and quantifying the financial impacts of climate change, exploring how resilient their strategies are to different climate scenarios, and encouraging others to do the same.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Steep Cost Reductions Confirmed as Ribbon Cut on Giant Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm

24.11.2017

The giant 402MW Dudgeon offshore wind farm off the coast of Norfolk was officially opened yesterday, providing further evidence costs are falling sharply across the industry.

Operator Statoil and its partners Masdar and Statkraft announced the construction costs for the project had fallen more than 15 per cent from £1.5bn to £1.25bn since the original investment decision for the project was made in 2014.

The project and its 67 turbines are now fully operational, providing enough power to the grid for up to 410,000 homes.

Statoil’s CEO Eldar Sætre hailed the project as “an important contribution to realizing the UK’s renewable energy strategy”.

“The UK has already achieved impressive reductions in CO2 emissions with clear policies to phase out coal, and last year achieved the lowest CO2 emissions since before year 1900,” he said. “Statoil is proud to contribute to this both by being a large supplier of natural gas and by our investments in offshore wind.”

He added the project was further evidence of Statoil’s plan to diversity its portfolio of energy projects.

“As part of our strategy to develop from an oil and gas company to a broad energy major, Statoil will grow significantly in profitable renewable energy, with an ambition to invest around NOK 100 billion towards 2030,” he said. “Dudgeon has successfully been developed in cooperation with Masdar and Statkraft, and is a key part of Statoil’s strategy to complement our oil and gas portfolio with profitable renewable energy solutions, as well as adding to Statoil’s strong UK presence.”

The company is now hoping to curb costs further for the Dudgeon wind farm and the neighbouring Sheringham Shoal project.

“Over recent years Statoil has worked hard to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase profitability in both our oil and gas projects and our renewable projects,” said Statoil’s executive vice president for Technology, projects and drilling, Margareth Øvrum. “Reducing costs by more than 15 per cent, or £250m, at Dudgeon and completing the construction phase without any serious incidents is a great achievement by all three partners.”

The news came as the UK government cranked up pressure on offshore wind developers to deliver further cost reductions.

In a surprise move the Budget confirmed the existing £557m budget for clean power auctions through to 2021 would be extended to 2025 with no further funding assigned.

The government said the rapid recent fall in renewables costs meant no further funding was needed to meet the UK’s clean energy goals over the period. It also hinted some additional contracts could be offered if projects could show that they can be delivered without any increase in levies and helped meet the government’s strategic goals.

However, the government’s official projections predict negligible increases in capacity for all forms of renewables barring offshore wind, which it expects to rise from 5.2GW to 14GW by 2025.

“The renewable energy industry has a little more certainty than it did this morning,” RenewableUK’s chief executive Hugh McNeal said yesterday. “The existing budget of £557m remains intact, and there is a commitment to maintain the Carbon Price Floor at current levels until coal comes off the system. The removal of an annual cap on the Levy Control Framework reduces the risk of a boom and bust cycle. While this is welcome, what is missing is the ambition to take full advantage of the UK’s global-leading renewables industry at such a crucial time for our country.”

James Court of the Renewable Energy Association said the failure to increase the £557m budget could lead to a hiatus in renewables investment.

“The UK government seem to be turning their back on renewables by announcing no new support for projects post 2020 and a freeze on carbon taxes,” he said. “This could see a hiatus in much needed infrastructure development. Considering this is coming only a couple of months after the much vaunted Clean Growth Plan, it’s hugely disappointing.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Tesla Set to Beat 100 Day Deadline for Giant Australian Battery Project

24.11.2017

Tesla is set to deliver on its promise to complete the world’s largest lithium-ion battery project within 100 days, after the South Australian government today confirmed testing of the high profile installation is about to get underway.

Earlier this year, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk made a public promise to deliver a large scale energy storage project capable of tackling South Australia’s recent grid instability within 100 days, promising that it would be delivered for free if the self-imposed deadline was missed.

The company subsequently won a competitive tender for the 129MWh project and signed a grid connection deal in last September.

South Australia’s State Premier Jay Weatherhill confirmed today that testing of Tesla’s Powerpacks is now set to begin following their installation at a wind farm operated by French developer Neoen.

“While others are just talking, we are delivering our energy plan, making South Australia more self-sufficient, and providing back up power and more affordable energy for South Australians this summer,” he said in a statement.

The hope is the project will be fully online in time for summer demand peaks, minimising the risk of the blackouts that have marred South Australia’s grid in recent years.

Weatherhill said the project would provide an important part of the state’s wider A$550m energy infrastructure upgrade programme, which promises to deliver a wave of new renewables, energy storage, and back-up power plants.

“The world’s largest lithium-ion battery will be an important part of our energy mix and it sends the clearest message that South Australia will be a leader in renewable energy with battery storage,” he said.

Source: businessgreen.com

India Installs 2.2 Gigawatts Of Solar In Third Quarter

23.11.2017

India installed a total of 2.2 gigawatts worth of solar in the third quarter, up 300 megawatts from the previous quarter, and left another 1 gigawatt unconnected due to grid issues caused by government agencies, according to Mercom India.

Mercom India Research published its third-quarter India Solar Market Update report this week, detailing a total of 2,247 MW (megawatts) of new solar capacity constructed and added to the Indian grid during the third quarter. This might sound pretty good, considering that India installed an impressive 4.8 GW (gigawatts) in the first half of 2017 — and it is pretty good, when you take into account India only installed 4.3 GW of solar for the whole of 2016.

However, according to Mercom India Research, approximately 1 GW worth of large-scale solar projects were left completed but unconnected due to grid connection and grid evacuation delays caused by government agencies. Mercom explains that these delays further contributed “to the slower than expected installation figures seen in Q3” — which shows just how much experts are expecting from the Indian solar industry this year.

Throughout the third quarter a total of 265 MW worth of rooftop solar was installed, and 1,982 MW worth of large-scale solar projects, bringing 2017’s cumulative installed solar capacity up to 7.1 GW. Meanwhile, India’s pipeline of utility-scale projects currently sits at around 11.5 GW, with another 5.6 GW worth of tenders pending auction.

“Even though the Indian solar market is on pace for a record-breaking year, the momentum has definitely slowed,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. “Just like the preceding quarter, we saw many project commissioning dates get delayed. In addition, there are approximately 1 GW of large-scale solar projects that are complete but unable to get connected to the grid. These factors are likely to lead to a weaker-than-projected Q4.”

Looking forward, Mercom predicts that total solar installations for 2017 will peak in the range of 9.5 GW to 10 GW, before sliding back to 7 GW in 2018.

Mercom also highlighted the fragility of the Indian solar market at the moment, caused by uncertainty over tariffs and tax rates. “After solar tariffs fell below the ₹2.50 (~$0.0385)/kWh level in Q2 2017, tender and auction activity came to a grinding halt as distribution companies (DISCOMs) pushed developers to match those low tariffs no matter what state they were in,” Mercom India Research noted, adding that “the central government has directed states to honour signed PPAs and not to try and renegotiate contracts, they cannot force DISCOMs to buy power at any price.”

There is also ambiguity surrounding what GST tax rates will apply to which component of solar manufacturing, with 5% set for solar modules as the only component with any real clarity, compared to the possibility of GST rates anywhere between 18% and 28% for other components.

“An extremely cost sensitive market like India will find it very tough to handle any aggressive imposition of tariffs,” explained Prabhu. “The developer community could adjust and model their bids accordingly, but we are concerned that state utilities who are already renegotiating PPAs so that they can procure solar power at the lowest possible prices will stop buying more solar if the tariff moves toward the ₹3.50 (~$0.054)/kWh level.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Australia Could Go 100% Renewable By 2030

23.11.2017

New research from the Alternative Technology Association has showed that Australia could transition to a fully renewable energy electricity grid by 2030, which would be cheaper and less risky than building new coal-fired power stations.

“Australia should transition quickly to a 100% renewable electricity grid, as it is cheaper and less risky than the alternative of building new coal-fired power stations,” wrote the Alternative Technology Association’s (ATA) Energy Projects Team, led by Andrew Reddaway, an energy analayst at the ATA, a transition which they believe “can be achieved by 2030.” The report takes into account recent research conducted by the Australian National University (ANU) and considers recent trends and developments in local projects such as the Snowy Hydro 2.0 to forecast likely progress towards a 100% renewable energy electricity grid.

For a fully-renewable operation of Australia’s National Electricity Market, a total of 93.3 GW of renewable energy generation capacity is necessary. If solar and wind installation continues at the 2017 rate this would happen by 2040, but to reach this milestone by 2030 would require an acceleration of 80% from current trends.

On top of accelerating wind and solar development, the ATA forecast envisions pumped hydro storage increasing to cover intermittency issues. The various energy storage projects in mind are shown in the chart below, showing energy storage capacity in MWh and as a percentage of the 490,000 MWh required for a 100% renewable electricity grid.

“Electricity from new-build coal-fired power stations would likely cost between $81 and $182 per megawatt hour,” said lead author Andrew Reddaway. “This becomes a range of $102 to $203 once we allow for hidden health impacts and climate impacts.”

“In a fully renewable electricity grid, electricity would cost about $93 per megawatt hour. This includes the cost of building energy storage and extra transmission to manage intermittency.”

These costs are only likely to continue to widen apart as we increase our understanding of the impacts of coal-fired generation and as renewable energy technology costs continue to decrease.

“Australia should prepare a proper plan for 100% renewable energy, and implement it,” continued Reddaway. “Decisions should not be left to separate companies driven by short-term profits because this might lead to a poor overall system.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Global Electric Car Sales Up 63% In 3rd Quarter, BNEF Reports

23.11.2017

It’s good news, bad news time at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. First, the good news. Global electric car sales (including plug-in hybrids) surged 63% in the third quarter of this year and are up 23% since the second quarter. BNEF is now confident EV sales will top 1,000,000 units this year. The bad news? China accounted for almost all of those increases.

Sales of electric cars totaled 287,000 in July, August, and September, with China responsible for half of them (something you already knew). Sales in other markets are trending up gradually, but nothing like what is happening in China. The increase in EV sales in China can be traced directly to a number of government policies that strongly encourage people to purchase an electric car instead of a conventional car, as well as fast growth of its car market overall. Many policymakers are worried their own incentive programs are too generous, but the Chinese experience makes it clear that if you want people to buy electric, you have to make it worth their while up front.

“The Chinese government is very focused on pushing up EV sales,” says Aleksandra O’Donovan, advanced transport analyst at BNEF and one of the authors of the report. “One reason for that is the local pollution levels in the cities, and a second is for China to build domestic heroes to compete internationally in this market.”

Many countries are sending mixed messages about their electric car policies. On one hand, they are talking about banning conventional cars. On the other, they are complaining incentives are budget busters that disproportionally benefit the wealthy. The main issue is that EVs still cost quite a bit more than the least expensive conventional cars, the ones that many people rely on for daily transportation. Incentives may not make a big difference to wealthy buyers, but they can make all the difference for low-income drivers who need basic transportation to get back and forth to work.

China proves electric car incentives work. One key question is, can governments afford them? Another is, do they have the political will to provide them? The factor that could make incentives unnecessary is lower battery prices. Batteries make up a large part of the price of electric cars. The less they cost, the more affordable those cars will be and the less the need will be for incentives. Until then, incentives matter.

Source: cleantechnica.com

The e-Volution of vehicles continues WOULD YOU TRY OUT AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE?

23.11.2017

When it comes to vehicles of the future, most people will immediately think of electric cars. The reality, however, is different. In fact, electric cars are already part of our present. Nowadays, the interest in EVs is growing on many markets, Serbia included. Besides environmental protection and more economical charging, there are numerous reasons for purchasing EVs, some of which are presented below in further detail:

These vehicles provide quiet operation and do not add to the noise pollution.
There is no tailpipe emission and no air pollution due to smog.
Flexible and easy charging. You can charge your vehicle at work or at home – all it takes is to pass a cord through and connect it to a socket.
Fewer repairs resulting from reduced likelihood of a mechanical failure.
Easier to maintain.
Improved cost‑efficiency in the long run.

Second generation electric Golf cars, now based on the improved existing seven series, can already be seen on the roads in this country. Improvements have been made to a number of features: battery power is declared to the level of 35.8 kW/h while the aggregate power is increased to 100 kW, which can be easily converted to 136 hp. On the basis of these performances, one can very easily determine the realistic driving mileage, charging time, and of course the price of consumption.

e-Golf can now run for over

200 kilometers in the everyday drive

on a single battery charge

With electric energy, everything is strictly defined, and the power of an electric engine in kW equals the product voltage (220 V) and electricity (A). With a 10A charger, it takes a modest 2.2. kW of power, but also almost 18 hours of charging time, to reach the full capacity of 35.8 kW. A more powerful charger will reduce this time proportionally to its power and amperage; thus with a 40kW charger, your e‑Golf may be “ready to go” within 45 minutes.

Users largely drive by day and recharge their vehicles overnight, at reduced rates. The cost‑efficiency of e‑Golf can be demonstrated through the following example: the 10A charger, which comes as a part of an e‑Golf package, takes roughly 10 hours to charge to full battery potential, using up about 25 kW/h of electric energy. A simple calculation shows such charging will end up costing us a total of 125 dinars or 1 EUR. The additional advantage is that daily charging requires only a regular power socket.

As for the annual average, which is relevant for all users, e‑Golf can now run for over 200 kilometers in the everyday drive on a single battery charge, depending on the driving style, use of air conditioning and other parameters. Quality driving enthusiasts will also be interested to learn that e‑Golf can accelerate to 100 km/h in 9.6 seconds.

It is particularly interesting that e‑Golf lost none of its driving comfort or the signature design. The LED headlights, characterized by low electric energy consumption, enhance its appearance with a new, technological flair. Blue designer elements and aerodynamic optimization provide it with additional standout features.

Numerous advantages notwithstanding, there are real constraints that continue to slow down the popularization of the concept of electrical mobility. One of them is the price, which remains relatively high at the moment of purchase. Given that cost‑efficiency of e‑vehicles is far higher compared to conventional vehicles, the starting price of e‑models should not be directly compared to the equivalent standard models. The price of e‑Golf models starts at €40,000.

Building a network of public charging points in Serbia is a project well underway and particularly contributed to by the company Porsche SCG, the authorized representative of the Volkswagen brand. Always ready to get involved in a project of this type, they have placed a charging point for EV users on Zrenjaninski put 11, the location of Volkswagen authorized dealership and service center, Porsche Beograd Sever.

The e-Volution of vehicles continues. Get introduced to the details of the process at: www.volkswagen.rs/novi-e-golf

This content was originally published in the eighth issue of the Energy Portal Bulletin, named ECOMOBILITY.

Indian State Earns Nearly $1 Million Selling Excess Wind Power In 14 Days

23.11.2017

The record wind energy generation that India witnessed brought in record revenue (and profit!) for the state of Tamil Nadu, the leading producer of wind power in the country.

According to officials, the state power distribution company sold 11.94 gigawatt-hours of wind power over 14 days in August of this year on the open market. Around 500 megawatts of wind power was sold per day in the market for two to four hours over the 14-day period.

This exercise reaped revenue of more than Rs 61 million ($0.95 million). The average per unit cost translates into around Rs 5.16/kWh (7.9¢/kWh). The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company Limited (TANGEDCO) buys wind power at tariffs of Rs 3.00-4.15/kWh (4.6-6.4¢/kWh). The company thus earned a profit of Rs 1.01-2.16 on each kilowatt-hour of electricity sold. The overall profit for the company is around Rs 12 to 26 million ($183,725-$398,071) during this period.

Given that this is the first time that TANGEDCO has actually managed to generate a profit by selling wind power speaks volumes of the opportunity that the company will have every year during the monsoon season of high-speed winds.

Tamil Nadu, and India, witnessed the highest-ever wind energy generation this year. In July, Tamil Nadu witnessed 5 gigawatts of wind energy generation for the first time ever, while in August it recorded the highest-ever single day generation, exceeding 100 gigawatt-hours.

The state had to reduce generation from thermal power plants by 50% in order to accommodate the excess wind power in the grid. However, around 40% of the wind power generated was lost due to inadequate transmission capacity.

In July we reported that for more than 2 hours on July 11th, Tamil Nadu generated a record 5,079 megawatts of wind power. This forced TANGEDCO to shutdown 1,020 megawatts of thermal power capacity and operate several other power plants at half of their capacity.

While the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has directed all states to procure all electricity generated from solar and wind energy projects, even if they have to shutdown thermal power plants, this directive has not been implemented fully. One of the major reasons for this is the lack of adequate transmission capacity and the intermittent nature of these power technologies which puts traditional grid infrastructure at risk.

Source: cleantechnica.com

UK Environment Department Using 1,400 Disposable Coffee Cups a Day

23.11.2017

More than 2.5m disposable cups have been purchased by the UK’s environment department for use in its restaurants and cafes over the past five years – equivalent to nearly 1,400 a day.

The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesman, Tim Farron, said the revelation, obtained through a freedom of information request, showed Michael Gove “needs to get his own house in order” in light of his public pledges to tackle the growing scourge of plastic pollution.

The Lib Dems revealed that 516,000 disposable cups had been purchased by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) catering contractors in the last year alone, under two separate outsourced contracts for use in catering outlets across its sites. The figure was 589,700 in 2016 and 785,100 the previous year.

The catering contractors did not previously provide any reusable cups, but purchased 200 reusable cups on 31 October 2017.

Separate figures uncovered by the Lib Dems have revealed the House of Commons itself is also failing to get to grips with disposable cup waste, using almost 4m disposable cups in the past five years.

They reveal that 657,000 disposable cups have been purchased by the Commons’ catering service in the last year alone – equivalent to 1,000 per MP – but down from 918,700 in 2013. In addition, 500 reusable or so-called “keep cups” were purchased in 2013, but only four of these have been sold in the last three years.

An estimated 3bn paper cups are thrown away in the UK every year, but it was revealed last year that less than one in 400 is recycled, meaning that millions end up in landfill. The plastic lining in cups means they cannot be recycled in normal depots and have to be put in special bins and sent to one of three dedicated recycling mills.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the introduction of a 5p charge on disposable coffee cups in the budget, following the success of the plastic carrier bag charge which has reduced usage in England by 85 per cent since it was introduced in October 2015.

The chancellor, Philip Hammond, is expected to announce in Wednesday’s budget a “call for evidence” on how taxes or other charges on single-use plastics such as takeaway cartons and packaging could reduce the impact of discarded waste on marine and bird life. Under Defra’s litter strategy launched in April, a working group has been set up drawing together industry and retailers to develop further practical steps to tackle plastic waste.

“It’s astounding that the department which is supposed to be protecting our environment is responsible for such a colossal amount of waste” said Farron. “Millions of plastic cups have been thrown away by the government, some of which will now be polluting our seas, rivers and countryside. Michael Gove needs to get his own house in order. A coffee cup charge should be introduced in the budget to tackle waste and encourage the use of reusable cups, including in the civil service and parliament.”

A spokesperson for Defra said: “We are committed to reducing unnecessary waste within the department and these figures show the number of disposable cups used has fallen by more than half since 2013. We are working with our suppliers to see what more can be done to further cut their use and promote recycling.”

Source: businessgreen.com

1...263264265...407 Page 264 of 407

Newsletter

Calendar of events

2025 June

Events for 30 June

Events for 1 July

Events for 2 July

Events for 3 July

Events for 4 July

Events for 5 July

Events for 6 July

Events for 7 July

Events for 8 July

Events for 9 July

Events for 10 July

Events for 11 July

Events for 12 July

Events for 13 July

Events for 14 July

Events for 15 July

Events for 16 July

Events for 17 July

Events for 18 July

Events for 19 July

Events for 20 July

Events for 21 July

Events for 22 July

Events for 23 July

Events for 24 July

Events for 25 July

Events for 26 July

Events for 27 July

Events for 28 July

Events for 29 July

Events for 30 July

WRITE US