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‘Buried in marshes’: sea-level rise could destroy historic sites on US east coast

Foto: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

New research shows by the end of the century an increase in sea level will threaten the White House, early colonial settlements and other historic places.

Large tracts of America’s east coast heritage are at risk from being wiped out by sea level rise, with the rising oceans set to threaten more than 13,000 archaeological and historic sites, according to new research.

Even a modest increase in sea level will imperil much of the south-eastern US’s heritage by the end of the century, researchers found, with 13,000 sites threatened by a 1m increase.

Thousands more areas will be threatened as the seas continue to climb in the years beyond this, forcing the potential relocation of the White House and Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC and inundation of historic touchstones such as the Kennedy Space Center and St Augustine, Florida, which lays claim to being the oldest city in the US.

“There are going to be a lot of cultural sites lost and the record of humanity’s history will be put at risk,” said David Anderson, a University of Tennessee anthropologist who led the published research.

“Some sites will be destroyed, some buried in marshes. We may be able to relocate some. In some places it will be devastating. We need to properly understand the magnitude of this.”

Threatened areas, including locations on the national register of historic places, include Native American sites that date back more than 10,000 years, as well as early colonial settlements such as Jamestown, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina. Researchers pinpointed known sites using topographical data and analyzed how they would fare in various sea level rise scenarios.

Florida, which has a southern portion particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, has the most sites in danger from a 1m raising of the oceans, followed by Louisiana and Virginia.

A 1m sea level rise by 2100 could prove optimistic, with several studies showing the increase could be much greater. Scientists have warned that the break up of the Antarctic ice sheet could significantly fuel sea level rise, pushing the global increase to around 6ft by 2100.

The latest US government estimate predicts a worldwide increase of 1ft to 4ft by 2100, although an 8ft rise “cannot be ruled out”.

The eastern seaboard of the US is at particular risk, with water piling up along the coast in greater volumes than the global average. The problem is compounded by areas of the coast, such as in New Jersey and Virginia, gradually subsiding due to long-term geological hangover from a vast ice sheet that once covered much of North America.

Sea level rise is expected to displace millions of people from the US coasts over the next coming decades, with Anderson warning this will create further damage to heritage sites as people move inland.

There is still some uncertainty over the exact timescale involved in the changes – it may take several hundred years for some coastal places to be at risk – leading to hopes that coastlines can be adapted in time in order to protect vital infrastructure and sacred sites. But losses appear inevitable.

“Putting a sea wall around the whole of the US won’t be an easy thing to do and would cause a lot of damage elsewhere,” said Anderson. “We are going to have to do a lot of planning as a civilization in the next 50 to 100 years and we have to take heritage into account.”

Coastal heritage has been lost by previous fluctuations in sea level rise and Harold Wanless, a coastal geologist at the University of Miami who wasn’t involved in the study, said that tough decisions will need to be made as to what to protect in the future.

“We will have to look at how much effort we expend saving these sites over more practical things such as critical infrastructure or developing new agriculture resources,” Wanless said. “Our human history is important but there are a lot of new things to focus on. They will all need time and effort.”

Human-driven climate change is already creating its own historical artifacts, with around a dozen towns in Alaska set to be abandoned or relocated due to rising sea levels and diminishing sea ice. In Louisiana, a community near New Orleans received federal funding last year to relocate because much of their low-lying land has disappeared.

“It’s going to be an important choice for government,” said Rob Thieler, a sea level rise expert at the US Geological Survey. “There’s land that is becoming uninhabitable right now and we’ve seen from the hurricanes this year that people have to leave not just from the flooding but because infrastructure and services become unreliable.”

Source: theguardian.com

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Siemens Team up on Hybrid Airplane

Photo: airbus
Photo: airbus

Automakers are scrambling to add hybrid powertrains to more cars in an effort to meet stricter global emissions standards. But cars aren’t the only vehicles burning a lot of fossil fuels.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce (the aircraft engine manufacturer, not the car company), and Siemens are teaming up to develop a hybrid aircraft. Called the E-Fan X, it won’t go into production, but the partners hope it will demonstrate the feasibility of electrified commercial aircraft. The E-Fan X is expected to make its first flight in 2020, following thorough ground testing.

The testing program will start out with a modified BAe146 jet. Initially, one of the plane’s four gas-turbine engines will be replaced with an electric motor. If all goes well, a second electric motor will replace another one of the conventional engines. As development work continues, the partners will also try to establish new standards for certifying hybrid and electric aircraft, according to an Airbus press release.

Airbus, which has toyed with all-electric aircraft before, will supply the control system and batteries, and integrate the hybrid system’s components with existing flight controls. Siemens will provide the two-megawatt electric motors and related electronics. Rolls-Royce will provide a generator and jet-engine components for the electric motors to integrate with. The E-Fan X will still be a jet aircraft, just one that uses electric motors rather than burning fossil fuels to generate thrust.

A truly comprehensive strategy to reduce transportation-related emissions has to involve vehicles besides cars, and the E-Fan X could be an important step toward improving the efficiency of commercial aircraft. Airlines will probably appreciate the reduction in fuel costs, too. But introducing a new technology into the heavily-regulated airline industry will probably take time.

Source: The Drive

Increasing Ozone Pollution In Chinese Cities Raising Mortality Rates, Research Finds

Foto: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The rising air pollution levels in many of China’s largest cities are having a pronouncedly negative effect on human health there. Though, that much has been known for quite a while now. A new study, however, has unearthed something not unexpected but still worth taking note of — “robust evidence” that rising levels of short-term ozone exposure are ramping up mortality rates considerably.

The new paper — published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal — utilizes data gathered between the years of 2013 and 2015 in 272 cities in China to link increased mortality from heart disease strokes and cardiovascular disease to short-term ozone exposure.

If you live in a large city, then you’re already acquainted with ground-level ozone pollution — otherwise known as photochemical smog. It is produced through the interaction of sunlight and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are themselves mostly released from vehicle tailpipes and fossil-fueled power plants. So, this news is probably relevant to you as well, not just to the people in China.

Commenting on the fact that, while particulate matter is a larger cause of disease burden in China, ozone is a very significant cause as well — particularly in certain regions (the Pearl River delta, for instance) — the director of the department of public health at Shanghai’s Fudan University, Kan Haidong, stated: “Ozone has been increasing in the past several years in China. In contrast, PM2.5 has decreased by about 30% in the past 5 years.”

Here’s more from Reuters: “Lauri Myllyvirta, a Beijing-based campaigner with environmental group Greenpeace, said soaring ozone is partly a result of China’s success in reducing PM2.5, which has increased the amount of sunlight, but China has lagged when it comes to tackling NOx and VOCs.

“China’s average ozone exposure increased 17% over 2014–2017, implying an additional 12,000 premature deaths per year, Greenpeace estimated, using data from China’s environment ministry and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database.

As it stands, very notably, China doesn’t have any official ozone reduction targets on the national level. Perhaps the new study will help cause a change in that regard?

Source: cleantechnica.com

Wales Urges UK Government to ‘Think Again’ on Onshore Wind Ban

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The Welsh Government, RenewableUK and several green groups have jointly called for onshore wind and solar projects to be allowed to compete in future UK clean energy auction rounds, arguing that the UK’s current subsidy regime is “threatening” the renewables sector in Wales.

A statement issued today calls on the UK government to “look again” at the way in which Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction schemes currently operate in order to better support development of renewable electricity facilities, and to help Wales meet its decarbonisation targets.

The development of large scale new onshore wind farms has effectively been banned in the UK since 2015, while onshore wind and solar projects are excluded from competing for state subsidies through the CfD process, with government focus instead shifting to ‘less established’ clean energy technologies such as offshore wind.

In the last few days the government has confirmed it wants to explore potentially allowing onshore wind farms to be built in parts of Scotland and Wales, but at present rules governing the CfD process mean contracts cannot be awarded on a geographically specific basis.

Meanwhile no auctions for more mature technologies – including onshore wind and solar – have been announced by government. The technologies are likely to be excluded from bidding for funding from the remaining £557m CfD budget, which is likely to cover a period running until 2025.

However, the statement issued today argues the lack of support for onshore wind and solar has had a significant impact on renewables development in Wales. No new planning applications have been lodged for onshore wind and solar farms in Wales since that time, it states, while many applications lodged before 2015 are now “not progressing” through the system.

“Projects being developed by communities and local authorities to deliver local benefit, including solar rooftop schemes in fuel poor areas as well as wind and solar to power public buildings and local businesses, can no longer attract investment,” the statement reads. “This is threatening both the once-growing sector developing and delivering these projects and the ability of bodies in Wales to build resilience for the future. It also threatens Wales’ ability to meet its climate goals, which contribute to the UK’s 2050 targets. This is at a time when the future looks more uncertain than ever as a result of the decision to leave the EU, and the need for resilient low carbon business models becomes even more urgent.”

Other organisations backing the statement include the Welsh National Trust, agricultural trade body the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) Cymru, developer Sirius Renewable Energy, the Centre for Alternative Technology, Welsh wind cooperative Awel Coop and Community Energy Wales.

“We believe that excluding the most affordable technologies from market mechanisms makes little sense from the supply side, with respect to the cost to bill payers, or from the economic perspective,” the statement continues. “Support for earlier stage technologies is important for economic prosperity and for decarbonisation. We need a concerted approach that provides incentives to new technologies as well as supporting those which are most economical in order to keep costs at affordable levels.”

Electricity generation from renewable sources in Wales has tripled since 2010 and last year supplied 32 per cent of the region’s electricity.

The call came as UK climate change and industry minister Claire Perry defended the government’s current stance on onshore wind, reiterating her comments yesterday that her department is working on a solution to allow such facilities to be built once again in Wales and Scotland. She also appeared to voice frustration that the debate over onshore wind was acting as a barrier to development of other renewables technologies.

Speaking at an event hosted in London by think tank Green Alliance this morning, Perry said that onshore wind was “absolutely part of the mix” for the UK’s future energy sources, but that the current Contracts for Difference (CfD) structure did not allow for support to be restricted only to projects in specific geographies, such as in Scotland and Wales.

“And as many people will be frustrated by in this room, whenever we’ve tried to have a sensible debate about renewable technology, it is crashed on the shoals of onshore wind turbines and mass protests,” she added. “And indeed on the issue of energy bills.”

Green groups were critical of the revelation in last week’s Budget that there would be no additional support for renewable development beyond the existing £557m CfD funding pot – with that pot likely to have to last until around 2025 – but Perry batted away concerns this would impact on investment for clean energy in the UK.

“I was just a little bit surprised at the reaction to that because we are moving to an era very rapidly of subsidy-free renewable technology,” she said. “I opened the Clayhill subsidy-free solar farm just a few months ago; everybody knows the astonishingly low price we are now paying for offshore wind; and it seemed to me that setting out almost £600m of taxpayers money as the ongoing subsidy over the next few years, it did give industry some certainty, and we should be subsidising technologies as the costs are dropping so dramatically. But I do agree that what we need to do is invest more in technologies that are further from the market.”

Now that the government is clearer on wanting onshore wind development in principle, expect the pressure for a route to market in practice to intensify.

Source: businessgreen.com

Solar Schools Are Better Schools

Photo-ilustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Hot off the presses, a new report released today by SEIA, The Solar Foundation, and Generation 180 shows vast growth in solar on K-12 schools in the United States. Solar capacity on our country’s schools has nearly doubled since the last version of this report in 2014, with 5,489 K-12 schools now powered by solar, totaling nearly 1,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity.

It’s no secret that many American schools are underfunded and classrooms often lack necessary resources for students to learn. Well, with the cost to install solar plummeting, schools are making the switch and seeing their electricity bills shrink, freeing up funds to use to strengthen what schools are here to do, which is teach our nation’s children.

The cost of a solar school installation pops off the page in this report, dropping 67% in the last decade and 19% last year alone. The result is a boom in installations allowing 4 million students in the United States to receive their education in a school powered by solar.

“There’s a reason solar is spreading so quickly across America’s school districts, and it’s pretty simple — when schools go solar, the entire community benefits,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO.

These 5,000+ schools are running with much lower electricity bills, and those savings can go toward higher pay for our nation’s teachers, school supplies, textbooks and other essential resources. An investment in solar on a school is a direct investment in that community. Plus, what could be better than a science and conservation lesson right on the school grounds?

California schools lead the way in solar adoption with nearly 2,000 schools making the switch. But it’s notable that other states have picked up the pace including New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts, and New York. These states are setting an example and laying the groundwork for other states to follow.

When a school goes solar and cuts their energy costs, that puts investment back into what matters most: the students. Learn more about the report here and see if your community’s school has made the smart choice to invest in their community and go solar.

Source: cleantechnica.com

To the Finish Line in a Healthy Way!

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Photo: Eprime

Electric bike, produced in our country by E prime, is an ideal means of transport for holidays or city traffic. This modern means of transport that is available to all generations, reaches the ideal speed and offers an environmentally friendly solution for you.

We can increasingly see electric bikes in the streets that you do not need to register, don’t have to get driver’s license and the range of up to 200 km on a single charge, hints that this bicycles could replace cars that are big polluters of our living space.

From year to year, electric bikes become more and more popular and unique design of E prime models will satisfy the most demanding customer needs.

The domestic producer made sure bringing to the market both, a male and a female model that runs by a fingerprint. In addition to a visually good-looking bike, this mode of transport saves a lot of money.

Photo: Eprime

Why spend money on fuel when you have a fully ecological means of transport on the battery? Without stress and with a lot of enjoyment electric bike gives you a safe and economical driving.

E prime salon is opened at 1 Milutin Milanković Street in New Belgrade and test drive can be arranged by calling the number: 011 43 20 100.

There are several models in the E prime offer that you can buy on an interest-free loan of 55 EUR per month with a repayment period of 2 years.

Call them to schedule your test drive and then choose the model that suits you to reach the goal in a healthy way.

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

Denmark Is Moving Convincingly Towards Decarbonization, Finds IEA

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The International Energy Agency this week has highlighted the work being done by Denmark in decarbonizing its economy and the country’s progress on meeting its ambitious goals of becoming a low-carbon economy by the middle of this century.

Denmark is aiming to secure 50% renewable energy by 2030 — up from its already impressive level of 45% — and by 2050 the country is hoping to be a low-carbon economy independent of fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) in-depth review of the country’s policies, Denmark is “moving convincingly” towards meeting these targets, which would solidify the country as being a world leader on decarbonization. “Effective policies and measures have been put in place to support energy efficiency improvements and switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” the IEA writes. “Denmark is to be commended, in particular, for organising successful offshore wind tenders that have resulted in record-low prices.”

The IEA believes that the existing policies in place will allow Denmark to easily meet all of its interim/2020 targets, with the possible exception of its 10% renewable target for the transport sector. However, while Denmark is “moving convincingly” towards its longer-term targets for 2030 and 2050, the IEA nevertheless deems that to meet these targets “would require new policies because most of the existing support schemes expire around 2020.”

One of the key points from the review is the increasing levels of wind and solar power and the difficulties and opportunities for the Danish electricity and heating sectors, as well as for end-use sectors such as transport, building, and industry. Denmark is already a world leader in integrating variable renewable energy (VRE) sources and has the highest share of wind power in electricity generation without sacrificing electricity supply stability at both the transmission and distribution level.

“It is highly encouraging to see that wind power is becoming market competitive,” said Paul Simons, the IEA Deputy Executive Director, who presented the report in Denmark. “Tapping into the large offshore wind resource will help Denmark decarbonise even further.”

“Denmark is now widely recognised as a global leader in integrating variable renewable energy while at the same time maintaining a highly reliable and secure electricity system, thanks to a flexible domestic power system and a high level of cross-border connections.”

But work needs to be done in some of Denmark’s other sectors, such as transport and heating. While progress is being made, such as switching the country’s district heating from coal to biomass, and favoring renewable energy over oil and natural gas in individual heating, these trends must continue if the country is to meet its targets. The focus will be on electrification and sector coupling — the linkage of an electricity sector with heating, transport, and other sectors — which must be expanded to help “reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels in district heating, transport and other sectors.”

Denmark is leading the way and proving that economic growth need not be sacrificed in favor of stringent and effective energy measures. But, as with almost every review of policies these days, the IEA concludes by saying that more must be done and government ambition must secure the transition.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Australia Can Meet CO2 Emissions Target By 2030 With Renewables At Zero Net Cost

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The Australian National University has published a new study which shows that Australia can meet its 2030 carbon emissions target of reducing emissions by 26-28% by 2030 by replacing all coal-fired power stations with renewables at zero net cost.

The new study published this week by the Australian National University (ANU) explains that Australia is currently installing around 3 GW (gigawatts) worth of wind and solar PV each year, and concludes that if this rate continues then the country would meet more than half of its electricity consumption with renewable energy sources and would reach its Paris greenhouse gas emissions reduction target by 2030.

Further, because the cost of electricity from new-build wind and solar PV is below the cost of electricity from new-build coal generators, below the cost of electricity from existing gas generators, and below the wholesale price in the National Electricity Market (NEM), the end result is a net cost of zero for meeting Australia’s Paris carbon emissions targets.

“The cost of renewables includes stabilising the electricity grid with energy storage and stronger interstate powerlines to ensure that the grid continues to be reliable,” said Professor Andrew Blakers from the ANU Research School of Engineering. “As Australia grapples with the challenge of securing its energy supply into the future, our study shows that we can make the switch to affordable and reliable clean power.”

In addition to the wind and solar capacity to generate electricity, the ANU study includes in the cost of renewables the cost of hourly balancing of the grid to acquire the same reliability as is currently found in Australia’s energy mix. Hourly balancing of the grid will rely on pumped-hydro energy storage, stronger interstate high voltage power lines.

“This rate is sufficient, if continued until 2030, for renewable energy to meet more than half of Australia’s electricity consumption needs and Australia’s entire Paris greenhouse emissions reduction target,” added co-researcher Dr Matthew Stocks, a research fellow at the ANU Research School of Engineering. “The Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro energy storage project could provide half of the new energy storage required. The other half of the additional storage could come from more pumped hydro, batteries in houses and in electric cars, and improved demand management.”

The report comes at the same time that EY Global’s head of power and utility section, Serge Colle, told the Sydney Morning Herald that Australia might soon be one of the first countries to reach grid parity between renewable energy and electricity generated from fossil fuels: “As early as 2021, [globally] we reach what we call grid parity. With Australia, the expectation is that this will come one year earlier, as early as 2020,” Mr Colle said.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Third Mexican Auction Awards Enel 593 Megawatts Of Wind, Canadian Solar Awarded 367 Megawatts Solar

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Solar power company Canadian Solar announced this week that it won 367 MW worth of solar power projects in Mexico’s third Long-term Auction for renewables which was held earlier in the month, while the Enel Group was awarded an impressive 593 MW worth of wind projects, including a record low $17.7/MWh award.

Canadian Solar announced on Monday that it had been awarded a total of 367 MW (megawatts) across three separate solar projects in Mexico’s third auction for long-term renewable energy, held on November 15. The three projects will be developed in the Mexican cities of Aguascalientes, Hermosillo, and Obregón.

Upon completion, the three projects will sell their generated electricity to the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement for Energy and 20-year for Clean Energy Certificates (CELs) at an average price of $21/MWh (megawatt-hour) and are all expected to be connected to the grid in or around June 2020.

“We are delighted to win an additional 367 MWp of solar projects in Mexico, which expands our late-stage solar project pipeline in the country to 435 MWp,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. “We will continue to develop and deliver more quality solar projects in Mexico, while contributing to the government’s goal of increasing electricity generated from clean energy sources to 35 percent by 2024 and 50 percent by 2050.”

In total, the third long-term auction for renewables awarded a total of 15 new projects — 9 solar, 5 wind, and 1 turbogas — totaling 2.5 GW (gigawatts) at an average price of $20.57/MWh.

Included in the awarded projects was a world-record low $17.7/MWh for an onshore wind project, awarded to Enel, as part of a total of 593 MW worth of wind energy contracts. Enel will build Amistand II and Amistad II with a total installed capacity of 100 MW each, and Amistad IV with an installed capacity of 149 MW, in the city of Acuña, in the northern State of Coahuila. Additionally, Enel will build the 244 MW Dolores facility in China, a municipality in the northeastern State of Nuevo León.

“We are thrilled about yet another great success in Mexico, a core market for us, and we are proud to confirm our leadership in the country’s renewables arena” said Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel’s Global Renewable Energies Division Enel Green Power. “Through this important win, we will significantly contribute to the country’s demand for electricity from renewable sources. This is just another step of our strategy in the country that we will implement through organic growth as well as through the ‘build, sell and operate’ model that enables us to leverage on our global pipeline, accelerating our growth worldwide.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Carlsberg Launches Its First Carbon-Neutral Brewery In Sweden

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Global brewing company Carlsberg Group has this week announced the launch of its first carbon-neutral brewery in Sweden which is now powered 100% by renewable electricity.

Carlsberg Sverige’s (Carlsberg Sweden) brewery in Falkenberg, Sweden — which produces beer, soft drinks, and cider — is now powered 100% by biogas and green electricity, reducing the brewery’s carbon emissions from thermal energy and electricity to zero. While the Falkenberg brewery has been using green electricity for years — 26% of its thermal energy came from biogas generated from the brewery’s own waste-water — it has recently converted the remaining 74% of its electricity to biogas as well, thanks to local energy supplier Ørsted AB.

“For many, many years we have been working to create a more efficient brewery with as little impact on our environment as possible,” said Ted Akiskalos, MD Carlsberg Sverige. “This is clear when looking at how much we have reduced our energy consumption over the years. It is motivating that we now take a big step forward and use solely carbon neutral energy sources.”

The Carlsberg Group earlier this year joined 100% renewable energy initiative RE100 by committing to 100% renewable electricity in all its breweries by 2022, and aiming to become carbon neutral by 2030. Carlsberg’s new sustainability program — Together Towards Zero — is made up of four ambitions, including Zero Carbon Footprint which is intended to not only eliminate carbon emissions from all breweries but also includes achieving a 30% reduction in the beer-in-hand carbon footprint by 2030.

Further, Carlsberg Group has set an industry-leading 1.5 degree ambition thanks to help from the Science-Based initiative, and the Carbon Trust has highlighted the fact that Carlsberg is one of only three major companies which has set and approved targets with this level of ambition.

“Our work with Carlsberg has explored the range of options they will need to adopt in the coming years to evolve to a zero carbon brewer,” said Tom Delay, Chief Executive, the Carbon Trust.

“This will include adoption of innovative energy efficiency technologies, own renewable electricity and heat, as well as sourcing of renewable energy, such as biogas. Seeing this first Carlsberg brewery make this transition so soon is very encouraging and should be seen as a demonstration of how industries can embrace new technologies to mitigate climate change.”

“Climate change is perhaps the most important issue for our society today, both for citizens, governments and companies all over the world, and we are very pleased with the positive development in Carlsberg Sverige,” added Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, Sustainability Director, Carlsberg Group.

“This underlines our willingness to contribute to tackling climate change at the same time as governments are focusing on scaling and speeding up impact at the COP23 in Bonn these weeks. Carlsberg Group will continue to chase our ambitions and targets, as we strive to brew for a better today and tomorrow.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Shell Teams with Automakers to Rev Up European EV Charging Network

Photo - ilustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Shell has stepped up its growing interest in the fast-expanding electric vehicle (EV) market, with the announcement today it is to partner with a number of top automakers to deliver a new fast charging network across Europe.

Just weeks after the company started the rollout of EV charge points at 10 UK forecourts, Shell today confirmed it was working with the IONITY joint venture, which brings together BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen and is aiming to install 80 high speed charging sites on European highways by the end of 2019.

The move also follows hot on the heels of Shell’s announcement it has agreed to acquire Dutch EV infrastructure specialist NewMotion, which operates Europe’s largest charge point network.

The IONITY network will initially focus on Belgium, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The group has said it aims to have 400 sites in place by 2020 as it seeks to tackle the issue of ‘range anxiety’, which is regarded as one of the main obstacles to EV take up.

Shell said the technology could give a car 350km of range in five to eight minutes, making it much easier for drivers to cover long distances in EVs.

The move by the oil giant comes in response to its projections that the global EV fleet could grow from just one per cent of new vehicles currently to 10 per cent by 2025. Some analysts are predicting even faster market penetration as costs fall and ranges increase.

News agency Bloomberg quoted John Abbott, the top executive of Shell’s downstream business, as recently saying the company wants 20 per cent of profit margins from sales of fuel on its retail forecourts to come from vehicles that do not burn diesel or gasoline by 2025.

The news is the latest in a string of high profile developments of the global EV markets this month, as automakers rush to deliver a new fleet of EVs boasting longer ranges, shorter charge times, and lower price points.

VW recently announced it is to invest over €10bn alongside local partners to build a range of new EV and low emission vehicles for the Chinese market, while Ford has also announced plans to invest $753m to build small electric cars in China with local partner Anhui Zotve Automobile.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s Elon Musk unveiled the company’s new electric truck with a promise to slash charge times and boost range for the nascent zero emission truck sector. And Nikkei reported that Honda Motor is working on plans to deliver EVs capable of being fully recharged within 15 minutes by 2022.

Source: businessgreen.com

India Plans National Standards For EV Charging Stations

Foto: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries has adopted recommendations for the implementation of national standards for electric vehicle charging stations — Bharat EV Charger AC-001 and Bharat EV Charger DC-001.

The Ministry first issued draft protocols for national standards for AC and DC charging stations in March 2017, which was later released for stakeholder comments. Several stakeholders, including Electric Mobility Alliance, Mitsubishi Motors, and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, submitted the comments.

The recommendations made by a panel which studied the initial draft protocols, and the stakeholders comments, have been adopted by the Ministry, which is now expected to come out with the final protocols.

The draft protocol did not venture into the use of private chargers (installed at homes) and restricted itself to the use of public chargers. The protocol indicates a variable price for charging EVs from public chargers depending on the supply-demand scenario of the grid at a particular instant; no further details regarding price was mentioned in the draft protocol document.

Indian automobile manufacturers are unlikely to provide AC chargers of more than 3 kW capacity due to cost constraints. For such chargers, a charging point of 230 V single phase would be required, which can fully charge a 2-wheeler in an hour and a 4-wheeler, with batteries of 12 kWh or more, in five to six hours.

The protocol discusses two types of DC chargers — Level 1 and Level 2. Level 1 chargers can have a voltage output of 48/72 V with power outputs of 10 kW or 15 kW. Higher capacity DC chargers (Level 2) can have voltage output of 1000 V and power output of 30 kW or 150 kW. Specifications of Level 1 chargers only were discussed by the panel.

The panel further discussed how the charging stations will communicate with the power supplier and how the vehicle owner would be billed and payments made. It also proposed that a revenue sharing arrangement between the space providers and suppliers of chargers would present a commercially viable solution.

The draft protocol further states the details of specifications for AC and DC chargers, including the type of wires and cables needed, various buttons and displays required at the charging console and payment gateways.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Siemens Gamesa Secures 260 Megawatt Wind Turbine Order In Thailand

Photo-ilustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has secured its largest-ever order in Thailand, a 260 megawatt order of 100 wind turbines for the Hanuman wind complex in Chaiyaphum, in northeast Thailand.

On Monday, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy revealed that it had received a new milestone order in Asia with its largest-ever contract in Thailand — an order for 103 of its G126-2.5 MW (megawatt) turbines for the 260 MW Hanuman wind complex in the province of Chaiyaphum, in northeast Thailand.

It is expected that the turbines will be delivered in May of next year and commissioned by the end of the year.

Not only is the order a capacity record in Thailand, but it also marks a new technical feat as Siemens Gamesa will install Asia’s tallest wind turbines — 153 meters in height with a blade length of 62 meters, meaning that at their peak they will reach 215 meters high.

“We are very proud to have secured this order which highlights our commercial strength and positions us as the leading OEM in Thailand,” said Álvaro Bilbao, Siemens Gamesa’s CEO in the Asia-Pacific region, adding that “it also endorses the versatility of our wind turbines and the company’s R&D capabilities.”

This is Siemens Gamesa’s fourth order in Thailand, a country where it has already installed a total of 310 MW.

Source: cleantechnica.com

History of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles from the First Cars until Today

Photo: Pixabay

When it comes to cars today, it mainly refers to vehicles with an internal combustion engine (ICE) that draws its energy from a reservoir containing some kind of fossil fuel (gasoline, diesel or less natural gas). However, it is not known that the situation was quite different 100 years ago.

At the beginning of the 20th century, you could find steam cars, electric vehicles, as well as the vehicles with an internal combustion engine. Of all these types of vehicles, the most common were electric ones. The reason for this was the fact that vehicles with ICE had to be physically started by turning the crank, which was a difficult task. With the invention of electromechanical ICE starter, this problem was solved.

The main advantage of the ICE was the amount of energy that could fit into one tank, which directly affected the distance that the vehicle could go without having to fill in the tank. In addition, fossil fuel sources (in the first place, oil) seemed almost inexhaustible. It was these reasons why vehicles with ICE quickly expelled electric vehicles from use and during most of the 20th century, they represented the only option.

However, as the number of cars in use increased, the negative sides of the ICE were also displayed. Primarily, air quality and noise level in urban areas have deteriorated significantly with the increase in the number of motor vehicles. In addition, the social awareness of global warming, as a consequence of human action has been increasing year in year out.

Bearing in mind, besides all this, the inevitable limitations of oil reserves, a motivation arose to find alternatives to ICE engines. Thus, electric vehicles came back to the center of attention.

The first attempts in the recent history to produce an electric vehicle were in the early 1990s. In 1996, General Motors introduced the electric vehicle model in serial production under the name “EV1”. Over the next three years, this model was sold in more than 1,000 units. However, due to the limited battery technology at that moment, the manufacturer decided to stop the production of this model.

The main problems were a gradual decrease in battery capacity over time, and therefore a decrease in the autonomy of the vehicle. In addition, the initial range of vehicles was about 100 kilometers, which made the vehicle unsuitable for long journeys. For these reasons rises the idea of combining classical technology (ICE and reservoirs) with environmentally friendly technologies (electromotor and battery).

The first hybrid electric vehicles originated from this idea. The first mass-produced hybrid vehicle – Toyota Prius – appeared on the Japanese market in December 1997. Over the next three years, this vehicle was sold in more than 50,000 units. Until today this vehicle has achieved the greatest commercial success of all hybrid electric vehicles with a total of 6.1 million units sold worldwide. The main advantage of this vehicle is the ability to use exclusively battery power in the city environment and at the same time, at higher speeds and longer journeys, an ICE would automatically be switched on to charge the battery through the generator. Since the vehicle contains a reservoir, the problem with the range has been solved.

However, the next challenge was reflected in the impossibility of charging the battery without the participation of an ICE and the use of fossil fuels, which brought their negative sides with them. For this reason, there has been the development of the idea of hybrid electric vehicles that could be charged from the electricity grid.

Today “plug-in” hybrid electric vehicles (abbreviated “PHEV”) or hybrid electric vehicles that can be charged directly from the electricity grid are increasingly represented on the market. The most famous representatives of this group of vehicles are Chevrolet Volt (sold in Europe under the name of “Opel Ampera”) and “Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV”, which together have over 260,000 units sold in the previous four years.

The main advantage of these vehicles is the fact that for most of the everyday needs of users, it is not necessary to use fuel at all. Most of these vehicles have a battery autonomy of about 50 kilometers, which meets the needs of an average consumer. This means that these vehicles could be used during the day for journeys shorter than 50 kilometers and when the day is over, they are left to be charged overnight when the price of KWh of electricity is lower and the power grid is unburdened.

However, the compromise is that it is still necessary to use fuel for longer journeys. In addition, for the use of this type of vehicle (as well as completely electric vehicles), it is necessary that there is a developed infrastructure of public stations for their charging.

Although “plug-in” hybrid electric vehicles are at the top of the technology of motor vehicles, they nevertheless represent only a transition stage. Their main advantage is that they have a much higher range (about 800 km) compared to conventional electric vehicles (typically about 200 km). The main reason for a short range of electric vehicles is low battery capacity in relation to their weight and dimensions. The ratio between the amount of energy contained in 1 liter of fuel and lithium-ion batteries (as used in electric vehicles) of the same dimension is as much as 100:1.

The advantage of electric over ICE (engines) is significantly higher utilization rate (60-80 percent for electric versus 15-20 percent for ICE engines). Yet, it is still not enough for an electric vehicle to have the same range as a vehicle with an ICE engine. In order to achieve this, it is necessary that the ratio is closer to 5:1, which requires a lot of investments in the development of new technologies for the production of batteries so that they have as much energy density as possible and the best possible price.

The fact is that over time hybrid or fully electric vehicles will be increasingly represented on the streets and that the number of such models will only increase in the future. It is also clear that this will not happen overnight, but this is a process that can last for decades. What will speed up this process is the will of the society to accept and support these changes.

EU members have signed Europe 2020 strategy, a document in which one of the main objectives is to turn to renewable energy sources. At the end of 2016, the upper house of the German federal parliament (Bundesrat) announced that it intends to abolish the sale of diesel and gasoline vehicles from Germany in 2030. The Norwegian Government has expressed similar intentions.

These efforts will contribute to making electric vehicles available to everyone in the future and able to meet all the needs of people for economy and ecological transport. As far as our country is concerned, we are still lagging behind in comparison to developed countries. The will exists on all levels, but when it comes to realization, it is very bad.

Lazar Živković

Photo: Pixabay

For this reason Energy Portal decided to choose ECOMOBILITY as the main topic for this edition of the bulletin, with the idea to set Serbia in motion with joint forces when it comes to green traffic, or to have a direct influence on official institutions to introduce incentives for importers and buyers of electrical, hybrid and low fuel consumption vehicles, to start the development of the infrastructure of electric chargers and the production of alternative fuels, but also to reinforce the awareness of a common man that energy efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles are the only correct way if we want to preserve the environment for future generations.

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

‘Ambitious’ Ventient Energy Launches into UK Wind Energy Market

Photo illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The UK wind energy market has today greeted a major new player thanks to the official launch of Ventient Energy Ltd, the new company created from the consolidation of three of the country’s largest wind energy portfolios.

The company was formed from the combination of the Zephyr portfolio of 15 wind farms, 19 wind farms that were formerly owned by Infinis, and the portfolio of wind farms owned by institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management.

The new company, which is headquartered in Edinburgh, said the mergers made it the third largest generator of onshore wind energy in the UK, and the largest non-utility owner of onshore wind.

In total the firm boasts 34 wind farms, comprising 507 turbines and 690MW of installed capacity. The company said it would provide up to 420,000 homes with clean power, offsetting 750,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year.

It also hinted that further expansion could be on the cards. “We are ambitious – committed to creating prosperity through safe and sustainable generation of renewable sourced electricity, through quality job creation and supporting the communities in which we operate,” said CEO at the new company, Scott Mackenzie. “The UK onshore wind market is fragmented, and Ventient Energy owns only six per cent of market capacity at present, so we see plenty of opportunities to grow our installed capacity through consolidation.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Diesel Car Market Share Fell To 41.4% In October In Europe, Lowest Level In Decade

Photo: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The fall of the diesel car in Europe is continuing at pace, with a market share of just 41.4% achieved in October 2017, owing to a 9.9% year-on-year decline in sales volume. That’s based on the most recent figures from JATO Dynamics.

The 41.4% market share figure represents the low point for diesel car sales in Europe going back at least 10 years. This decline is occurring against an overall auto market in Europe that’s booming, with new vehicle sales there during October 2017 being up some 5.6% year on year — with a total of 1,202,877 units moved during the month.

This contrasts starkly with the situation as regards plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles — with so-called alternative fuel vehicles managing to grab a 5.5% market share in Europe in October 2017, the second highest market ever held by such vehicles there. To explain that in a different way, the market share held by alternative fuel vehicles in Europe has risen some 5 percentage points over the last 10 years (during October 2007, they held a 0.3% market share).

JATO Dynamics’ Global Automotive Analyst Felipe Munoz commented on the news: “Demand for diesel vehicles has declined following a series of initiatives to reduce diesel use, and subsequent confusion around proposed bans. This shift has boosted gasoline and AFV registrations. Growth of electric and hybrid vehicles has accelerated during the last four months and consumers are more aware of the choices available. But, despite a series of launches, there’s still limited AFV choice in categories such as the SUV segment. When looking at the AFV data, hybrids still lead the way, accounting for 59% of the total volume for the AFV category, compared to PHEV and fully electric (BEV) vehicles, which accounted for 23% and 17% respectively.”

That’s a very good point about SUVs … until affordable plug-in electric SUVs are available in Europe (and of course in the US as well), there will be a significant portion of auto buyers who are essentially unreachable. It’s ridiculous, but it’s still true — there are many people who will only buy an SUV. (Of course there is a very limited portion of the population that genuinely does “require” a vehicle that can perform the way that an all-wheel drive SUV or truck does, but most people who buy them don’t actually need them.)

Source: cleantechnica.com