Global Solar Market Demand Expected To Reach 100 Gigawatts In 2017, Says SolarPower Europe

30.10.2017

panel-2562239__340 — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

European solar industry association SolarPower Europe has published a new analysis predicting that global solar market demand will reach 100 gigawatts for the first time ever this year, a 30% growth from 2016 levels.

SolarPower Europe, the region’s member-led solar association, published its latest market analysis for annual global solar power demand, which it predicts will reach 100 gigawatts (GW) for the first time ever in 2017. This represents a 30% growth from 2016 solar power demand levels when 76.6 GW was connected to the grid.

“It is good to see the growing deployment and political support for solar power, the most versatile and clean form of energy that is now also the lowest-cost for power generation in most countries of the world,” said Michael Schmela, Executive Advisor and Head of Market Intelligence at SolarPower Europe.

This is not the first time that analysts have predicted 2017 solar demand levels will near or reach 100 GW this year, but this late in the year the validity of the prediction grows. In July, GTM Research predicted that global solar power demand would exceed 80 GW for the first time, whereas in September EnergyTrend published an analysis which predicted China’s demand would help push total global demand over the 100 GW mark.

Published this week, SolarPower Europe’s new analysis predicts that China alone has already installed around 42 GW worth of new solar capacity in the first nine months of the year, and will likely add more than 50 GW for the whole year — a 45% growth over the 34.5 GW installed during 2016. Europe and Japan are both expected to add at least 7.5 GW in 2017, the United States around 12 GW, and India around 10 GW.

“In just two and a half years, the average prices in German auctions for solar power have decreased by nearly 50% to only 4.91 euro cents per kWh — and in Spain solar just won an impressive 4 GW in the national clean energy tender,” said Thomas Doering, Policy Advisor and analyst in SolarPower Europe’s Market Intelligence Team. “The time has never been better to invest in solar in Europe and beyond.”

“Solar is the fastest growing source of new energy and the most popular energy technology amongst Europeans,” added James Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe. “This serves as a reminder to European policymakers to raise their solar ambitions. On the EU level we need at least a 35% renewable energy target by 2030. If we take advantage of this opportunity, we will see more jobs and investments in solar across the continent, and in turn, solar demand will grow again in Europe.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

China Declares War On Polluters — Shutters 40% Of Factories

30.10.2017

China is getting serious about curbing pollution. According to sources, up to 40% of its factories have been closed at least temporarily recently as the country has struggled to meet its year-end pollution reduction goals. Officials from more than 80,000 factories have been charged with criminal offences for breaching emissions limits over the past year.

“[B]asically, you’re seeing these inspectors go into factories for surprise inspections,” supply chain consultant Gary Huang from 80/20 Sourcing tells NPR (h/t Futurism). “They’re instituting daily fines, and sometimes — in the real severe cases — criminal enforcement. People are getting put in jail.”

How is the crackdown affecting China’s sprawling manufacturing sector? The government says total output will not be affected, but it is hard to see how the stepped up enforcement could fail to have a negative economic effect.

In prior years, factory shutdowns only lasted a few weeks at most, but environmental protection minister Li Ganjie says the number and length of closures this year is “unprecedented.”

“For those areas that have suffered ecological damage, their leaders and cadres will be held responsible for life,” Yang Weimin told the New York Times recently. He is the deputy director of the Communist Party’s Office of Financial and Economic Affairs. “Our people will be able to see stars at night and hear birds chirp,” he promises.

At the Communist Party annual congress this week, China announced that it plans to reduce the amount of fine particulate matter (that’s the stuff in the air that is less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which is small enough to cross over into the bloodstream from the lungs) from 47 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 to 35 micrograms per cubic meter by 2035.

“It will be very difficult to reach the goal, and we need to make greater efforts to achieve it,” Li says. “These special campaigns are not a one-off, instead it is an exploration of long-term mechanisms. They have proven effective so we will continue with these measures.”

The tougher enforcement of pollution laws is putting pressure on China’s industrial sector, which will need to adapt by instituting better, smarter, and safer ways of doing business.

“It’s a huge event. It’s a serious event. I think many of us here believe it will become the new normal,” exporter Michael Crotty from China-based MKT & Associates told NPR. “The consumers of China don’t want red and blue rivers. They don’t want to see grey skies every day.”

Unlike the United States, where polluters are rewarded with generous government subsidies at taxpayer expense, China is determined to do what is necessary to protect its citizens from environmental harm. Some would call that leadership.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Carbon Intensity of Global Economy Falls, but not Fast Enough

30.10.2017

Termoelektrana, Ugalj, Zagađenje — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

The carbon intensity of the global economy is falling faster than ever before, but the pace of change is still not enough to hit global climate targets, new research published by PwC warns today.

In 2016 the carbon intensity of the world’s economy fell 2.6 per cent, a continuation of the “step change” in the pace of decarbonisation seen since 2014.

But according to the latest Low Carbon Economy Index (LCEI), which tracks G20 countries’ efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of their economy, progress still falls well short of the 6.3 per cent rate needed to deliver emissions cut compatible with keeping temperature increases to under 2C.

Some countries actually increased the carbon intensity of their economies in 2016 – Indonesia, Argentina, Turkey and South Africa all saw emissions rise faster than their economies grew.

And although nations such as the US, Australia and Mexico did manage to cut their emissions intensity faster than the global average, only China and the UK cut their emissions in line with the two degrees goal. They reduced their emissions intensity by 7.7 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively, mainly by cutting coal consumption and boosting energy efficiency.

“As countries prepare to discuss the process for raising the ambition of their national targets at the next round of climate talks in Bonn next week, our report emphasises the fact that the Paris Agreement will only be possible if they are serious about accelerating action,” Jonathan Grant, director of climate change at PwC and co-author of the report, said in a statement.

Emerging economies – the so-called ‘E7’ group of China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia and Turkey – together cut their emissions intensity at a faster rate of 4.2 per cent, while the G7 nations lagged behind with an overall emissions intensity cut of 2.9 per cent.

The widening gap between the worst and best performing countries poses a serious problem for business, Grant warned. “Companies are being encouraged by investors and others to assess the risks of two degrees scenarios,” he said. “But they’re not forecasting or planning on a two degrees outcome, because the signals from governments just aren’t there right now.”

“Despite the increase in carbon pricing regulation in countries around the world, the price signal is often too feeble to prompt significant low carbon investment,” he continued. “Many companies are now planning for a range of potential outcomes including an increase in extreme weather and other climate impacts.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Vestas Joins RE100 in Bid to Help More Firms go 100 Per Cent Renewable

30.10.2017

Vestas has become the latest high profile name to officially join the RE100 initiative, after reiterating its commitment to sourcing 100 per cent renewable power as its turbine manufacturing operations expand.

The wind turbine giant already sources all its power from renewables, but said it wanted to join the international group to help support its wider mission to encourage more firms to set and meet renewable power targets.

Launched by The Climate Group, We Mean Business coalition of green business groups, and CDP back in 2014, RE100 has seen over 110 multinational firms set target dates for sourcing 100 per cent renewable power.

“The private sector is increasingly committed to meeting the challenges of climate change through the use of renewable energy, and so is Vestas,” said Morten Dyrholm, Vestas Group senior vice president of marketing, communications and public affairs. “RE100 underlines our joint efforts to make renewable energy an easy choice for companies, because it’s the right thing to do for the planet, and because it makes economic sense.”

Specifically, the company said working with RE100 would support its efforts to promote and develop a policy framework for power purchase agreements that make it easier for companies to source clean power and for renewables to grow their share of the energy mix.

Sam Kimmins, head of RE100 at The Climate Group, welcomed Vestas’ signing up to the initiative.

“Vestas is already using 100 per cent renewable electricity across its own operations to create wind power infrastructure,” he said “Now the company is furthering that leadership by joining RE100, and calling for important policy changes that will enable more companies to plug into renewables too.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Solar Power Forecast: Record-Low Costs Expected to Keep Plummeting as Technology Improves

29.10.2017

The already-plummeting costs of installing solar power could fall an additional 60 percent over the next decade, the head of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said Monday.

IRENA director general Adnan Amin told Reuters that the organization expects an additional 80 to 90 GW of solar capacity will be added worldwide each year for the next five to six years, and that improvements in technology, including batteries, will help drive down costs.

Earlier this month, a new solar project in Saudi Arabia set a record for the lowest bid prices ever recorded for solar energy at 1.79 cents/kWh. An Oct. 4 report from the International Energy Organization hailed a “new era” for solar, naming it the fastest-growing source of new energy in 2016.

As reported by ThinkProgress:
“Prices for new solar power projects are falling so fast that the cheapest prices from 2016 have become the ceiling price for solar today.

In April 2016, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reported that the record low unsubsidized solar energy price was 3.6 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), in a March 2016 contract in Mexico.

This month, every single bid that Saudi Arabia received for its 300-Megawatt (MW) Sakaka solar project was cheaper than that.

The lowest bid price was 1.79 cents/kWh. For context, the average residential price for electricity in the United States is more than six times that, 12 cents/kWh.

The jaw-dropping price of 1.79 cents is not about to become the new ceiling for solar bids—since the market conditions in Saudi Arabia are fairly unique and it’s not clear the bidder, Masdar (owned by the United Arab Emirates) and its French partner EDF would actually make money at that price.

But, still, seven of the eight bids were below three cents—and the two lowest bids were ‘the lowest prices ever recorded at a global level,’ as PV magazine noted.”

Source: ecowatch.com

Glasses Generate Power with Flexible Organic Solar Cells

28.10.2017

Organic solar cells are flexible, transparent and lightweight, and can be manufactured in arbitrary shapes or colors. Thus, they are suitable for a variety of applications that cannot be realized with conventional silicon solar cells. In Energy Technology, researchers from KIT report sunglasses with colored, semitransparent solar cells applied to the lenses that supply a microprocessor and two displays with electric power. This paves the way for other applications such as the integration of organic solar cells into windows or overhead glazing.

“We bring solar power to places where other solar technologies fail,” says Dr. Alexander Colsmann, head of the Organic Photovoltaics Group at KIT’s Light Technology Institute (LTI). The “smart” solar glasses were designed as a case study by the scientist and his team at KIT. They are self-powered to measure and display solar illumination intensity and ambient temperature. The solar cell lenses, perfectly fitted to a commercial frame, have a thickness of approx. 1.6 millimeters and weigh about six grams, just like the lenses of traditional sunglasses. The microprocessor and the two small displays are integrated into the temples of the solar glasses. They show the illumination intensity and the ambient temperature as bar graphs. The solar glasses also work in indoor environments under illumination down to 500 Lux, which is the usual illumination of an office or a living area. Under these conditions, each of the “smart” lenses still generates 200 milliwatt of electric power—enough to operate devices such as a hearing aid or a step counter.

“The solar glasses we developed are an example of how organic solar cells may be employed in applications that would not be feasible with conventional photovoltaics,” says Ph.D. student Dominik Landerer, who largely contributed to the development of the solar glasses at the Material Research Center for Energy Systems of KIT. In the eyes of the engineer, these solar cells, which are based on hydrocarbons, offer mechanical flexibility. Their color, transparency, shape and size can be adapted for the desired application.

According to Colsmann, another application is the integration of solar cells into buildings. Since the glass facades of high-rise buildings must often be shaded, it is an obvious option to use organic solar modules for transforming the absorbed light into electric power. Another possibility is to coat large surfaces with organic solar cells using reel-to-reel technology.

The study published in Energy Technology is titled “Solar Glasses: A Case Study on Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells for Self-Powered, Smart Wearable Devices.”

(KIT)

Air Pollution Kills 9 Million, Costs $5 Trillion Per Year

28.10.2017

Ulica, zagađenje, saobraćaj — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

“For decades, pollution and its harmful effects on people’s health, the environment, and the planet have been neglected both by Governments and the international development agenda. Yet, pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and death in the world today, responsible for an estimated 9 million premature deaths.”

So begins the executive summary of the landmark Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, just published. It continues: “The substantial health and economic costs of pollution globally can no longer be ignored.”

The introduction to the report is stark: “Pollution is one of the great existential challenges of the Anthropocene epoch … Pollution is now a substantial problem that endangers the health of billions, degrades the Earth’s ecosystems, undermines the economic security of nations, and is responsible for an enormous global burden of disease, disability, and premature death.”

Some of the statistics and findings are startling. People are not just dying—they are getting sick and living with years of disability. This has an economic toll. The “welfare losses due to pollution to be more than US$4.6 trillion per year, which is equivalent to 6.2% of global economic output.”

If the message was not unambiguous enough: Air pollution “threatens the continuing survival of human societies.”

The impact on health is immense: Air pollution was responsible in 2015 for 19 percent of all cardiovascular deaths worldwide, 24 percent of ischaemic heart disease deaths, 21 percent of stroke deaths, and 23 percent of lung cancer deaths.

However, the burden is disproportionately on the poor and the world’s most vulnerable. More than ninety percent of all pollution-related mortality is seen in low-income and middle-income countries.

Children are also “at high risk of pollution-related disease and even extremely low-dose exposures to pollutants during windows of vulnerability in utero and in early infancy can result in disease, disability, and death in childhood and across their lifespan.”

The commission points the finger at the fossil fuel industry: “Pollution is intimately linked to global climate change. Fuel combustion—fossil fuel combustion in high-income and middle-income countries” is a key driver of pollution and “coal is the world’s most polluting fossil fuel, and coal combustion is an important cause of both pollution and climate change.”

“We fear that with nine million deaths a year, we are pushing the envelope on the amount of pollution the earth can carry,” said professor Philip Landrigan at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who co-led the commission.

Landrigan told the Guardian that the scale of deaths from pollution had surprised the researchers and that two other “real shockers” stood out. First was how quickly modern pollution deaths were rising, and secondly, “The current figure of nine million is almost certainly an underestimate, probably by several million.”

Landrigan added, “We always hear ‘we can’t afford to clean up pollution’—I say we can’t afford not to clean it up.”

Instead of cleaning up pollution and pioneering a clean energy future, the Trump administration is promoting dirty fossil fuels, including coal. Gina McCarthy, former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, criticized the Trump administration after the report was released: “Now is not the time to go backwards in the U.S. Environmental protection and a strong economy go hand in hand. We also need to help other countries, not only for the benefit it will bring them, but because pollution knows no boundaries.”

It does not have to be this way. “This Lancet Commission should inform policy makers and serve as a timely call to action. Pollution is a winnable battle … Current and future generations deserve a pollution-free world,” the commission said in an editorial.

The time to act is now.

Source: ecowatch.com

Michael Gove Launches New UK Centre for Sustainable Oceans

27.10.2017

A new research centre to tackle challenges facing the UK’s seafood industry, marine wildlife and under-sea environment was officially launched yesterday by Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

Based at the University of Exeter, the new Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Futures will bring together world-leading scientists to try and address key threats facing the aquaculture industry both at home and internationally, in a bid to support international food security and sustainable ‘blue’ growth.

It forms part of an existing alliance between the university and government research laboratory the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).

Speaking at Cefas’ annual science conference at the launch of the new Centre yesterday, Gove said tackling the challenges facing the marine environment is vital to ensure a successful economic and environmental future for the UK’s marine industry.

“The new centre not only establishes our position as a world leader in marine science and sustainability, but will prove critical to the health of our fisheries and the economic vitality of our coastal areas – helping us in our continued drive to leave the environment in a better state for the next generation,” said Gove.

Key issues of focus for the Centre include providing scientific support to reduce the $6bn estimated annual losses due to aquaculture disease and ensuring sustainable development for the aquaculture industry.

Co-director of the Centre and Cefas pathologist Professor Grant Stentiford said applying science could help provide future generations with safe and sustainably farmed seafood as well keep the UK on track towards meeting national and international environmental commitments.

“For the first time, government and academic science related to aquaculture sustainability is coming together in support of development and consolidation of the global industry,” said Stentiford. “The Centre will co-design solutions in national, regional and global aquaculture sustainability and is uniquely positioned to support the rapidly expanding global aquaculture industry.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Report: EVs Greener than Diesel Even when Refuelled with Electricity from Coal-Fired Power Stations

27.10.2017

Electric vehicles are far greener than their diesel and petrol alternatives over their entire lifetime, even when powered using electricity generated with the dirtiest fossil fuels, according to a new report released today by VUB University in Brussels.

The report, which was compiled on behalf of campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E), factored in emissions from the manufacture of an electric vehicle and its battery, as well as energy consumption over the course of its lifetime.

It shows that even where an electricity grid is dominated by dirty energy sources, it is still greener to drive an electric car rather than a diesel or petrol alternative. In Poland, for example, where 90 per cent of electricity is generated using coal power, an electric vehicle emits 25 per cent less CO2 over its lifetime compared to a diesel.

As the proportion of renewable energy grows on a grid, the comparison between electric cars and combustion engine vehicles becomes even more favourable. In Sweden, where all grid electricity is generated by renewables and nuclear power, electric cars emit 85 per cent less carbon dioxide over their lifetime than diesels.

“Today an electric vehicle driving on Polish electricity – the most carbon intensive in the EU – still has a lower impact on the climate than a new diesel car,” explained Yoann le Petit, clean vehicles and e-mobility officer at T&E. “With the rapid decarbonisation of the EU electricity mix, on average electric vehicles will emit half the CO2 emissions of a diesel car by 2030 including the manufacturing emissions.”

The paper builds on research from power giant Drax earlier this year, which found that in the UK the rapid decarbonisation of grid energy means that emissions from electric cars have fallen by two-thirds over the last five years.

Electric cars currently make up just 1.7 per cent of new vehicles sold in Europe, but this figure is expected to grow rapidly over the coming years as electric vehicles become a staple of the mass market. Governments are keen to push the shift to electric – the European Commission is considering including a zero-emission sales quota in legislation later this year for example.

Source: businessgreen.com

UK Startup Winnow Raises $7.4 Million With Food Waste Reduction Tech

27.10.2017

Commercial food waste is a huge problem. In the UK alone it was estimated that in 2011 the cost of food wastage was £2.5 billion for the hospitality and food service sector. This equates to approximately 1.3 billion meals. Of this wastage, 75% was avoidable. UK startup Winnow has been helping businesses tackle this problem head on by using smart meter technology attached to waste bins in combination with their software system to track and report the food wastage of commercial kitchens.

Since its founding in 2013, the company’s customer base has been steadily growing, and it can now boast high profile names such as IKEA and the Costa Cruises as clients. In total, the Winnow system is installed in more than 600 kitchens in a total of 29 different countries. The results are speaking for themselves, and it’s estimated that Winnow has been able to reduce the annual food waste of its customers by 4,300 tonnes. This has both a financial impact, and an environmental impact.

By reducing the amount of food that a commercial kitchen wastes, the kitchen can improve its bottom line and profitability. This is especially important given the very tight margins that restaurants and similar businesses operate on. In addition to this, when less food is being wasted, it saves on the CO2E emissions that would have been contributed by the extra food production. This saves somewhere in the region of 19,000 tonnes of CO2E emissions per year.

The strength of the company hasn’t gone unnoticed, and in its recent funding round it managed to raise $7.4 million in growth capital. Investors include Circulatory Capital, D-Ax and Mustard Seed.

Winnow co-founder and CEO Mark Zornes is understandably optimistic about the new funding round and its performance to date. “The hospitality sector is quickly waking up to the opportunity that food waste presents,” he said in a statement. “We are encouraged by some of our biggest clients now having the confidence to make public commitments to reduce food waste, and we expect the rest of the industry to follow suit doing the right thing for their businesses and for the planet.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

World’s Largest Coal Miner Launches 200 Megawatt Solar Power Tender

27.10.2017

The solar blitzkrieg in India has now attracted the world’s largest coal miner as well.

Earlier this month, Solar Energy Corporation of India issued a tender on behalf of Coal India Limited for setting up two solar power projects of 100 megawatts capacity each at the planned Neemuch-Mandsaur solar power park in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

SECI will call for bids and auction the projects on behalf of two subsidiaries of Coal India Limited — Northern Coalfields Limited and Southeastern Coalfields Limited. The solar power park will have an eventual installed capacity of 500 megawatts — 250 megawatts each at Neemuch and Mandsaur.

Project developers will be required to use only Indian-made solar modules to set up the projects. As Coal India Limited is a government-owned company it may be allowed to stipulate this condition even though India lost a case to implement Domestic Content Requirement at the World Trade Organisation.

The tender issuance is a follow-up to the agreement signed between Coal India and SECI in June last year for the development of 200 megawatts in Madhya Pradesh. Coal India has announced a target to set up a total of 1,000 megawatts of solar power capacity over the next few years.

The projects in Madhya Pradesh will form the first phase of this capacity addition. Additional projects will be set up in Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. SECI has been assigned to auction all these projects for Coal India.

Another coal mining company — NLC India Limited — has also announced ambitious plans to set up solar power plants. NLC India itself participated in an auction organized by the government of Tamil Nadu and secured rights to develop 709 megawatts. Additionally, it also auctioned a 20 megawatt solar power project in Andaman & Nicobar Islands which will also be equipped with 28 MWh of storage capacity.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Still No Takers For One Of India’s Cheapest Solar Projects

27.10.2017

Solairedirect, an international solar developer backed by French energy major Engie, is currently behind schedule for setting up a 250 megawatt solar power project in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh as there are no buyers identified for the power to be generated.

According to media reports, NTPC Limited — India’s largest power generation company and owner of the solar park where the 250 megawatt project is scheduled to come up — is still looking for final buyers of the electricity from the project. The project was allocated to Solairedirect in April of this year at a record-breaking tariff of Rs 3.15/kWh (4.8¢/kWh).

By convention, the power utilities of Andhra Pradesh were suppose to sign a power purchase agreement with NTPC to procure electricity from the project. However, these utilities have already contracted a large volume of solar power from the projects they themselves have auctioned under the state government’s policy; NTPC allotted the 250 megawatt project under the central government’s policy.

The two power utilities in Andhra Pradesh stated that they do not require any additional solar power at the moment as they have enough to meet their renewable purchase obligation, and that NTPC should look for new buyers. As a result, Solairedirect has been been officially awarded the project.

It is highly surprising that even after nearly six months NTPC has not been able to contract a buyer for the project, as the tariff of Rs 3.15/kWh (4.8¢/kWh) is one of the lowest solar power prices in India and is also cheaper than most of thermal power plants in India. The average tariff of thermal power plants owned by NTPC itself is Rs 3.20/kWh (4.9¢/kWh).

The development may also cast doubts over the future of the Kadapa solar power park development. According to the Solar Energy Corporation of India, Kadapa solar park will have an installed capacity of 1 gigawatt.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Clemson University Set To Test World’s Most Powerful Wind Turbine

26.10.2017

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has signed an agreement with Clemson University in South Carolina to test the world’s most powerful wind turbine, a 9.5 megawatt wind turbine, helping to elevate the United States as one of the world’s leading testing and research locations for offshore wind.

Announced earlier this week, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and Clemson University announced that the latter would conduct all the testing and verification of the former’s V164-9.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbine’s gearbox and main bearings at the University’s state-of-the-art 15 MW test bench. Further, the $35 million investment made by MHI Vestas into Clemson will direct $23 million over five years to Clemson and additionally stimulate a dozen high-tech jobs.

More importantly, it is also highly likely that the V164-9.5 MW wind turbine will be the model implemented through the first round of major offshore wind projects in the United States.

“We are delighted to have found such world-class facilities to carry out vital testing of the world’s most powerful wind turbine,” said Jakob Søbye, senior director of technology at MHI Vestas. “The testing and verification of the gearbox and bearings will allow us to optimize the performance and reliability of the wind turbine.”

Clemson University’s test bench is the largest advanced wind energy testing facility and one of the world’s most-advanced, which was opened back in November of 2013. Located at a former Navy warehouse with easy access to rail and water transport, the Clemson test bench is built to test both onshore and offshore wind turbine machinery in a way that simulates 20-years worth of wear and tear. Clemson University’s development of the test bench was supported by a $47 million Energy Department investment as well as about $60 million in outside funding.

“MHI Vestas’ decision to partner with Clemson to test its most powerful wind turbine is a testament to the expertise of our faculty and staff working at the test facility,” said Robert Jones, Clemson executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “The work that will be done as result of this partnership also will further Clemson’s efforts to establish the university as a leader in technologies related to the production of alternative energy sources, and hopefully will lead to further research and economic engagement opportunities for Clemson.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

Open Ocean Wind Farms Could Power the World

26.10.2017

Two Californian scientists have worked out how to achieve a wind-powered world that provides the entire planet with wind energy without spoiling the view with turbines on every hilltop.

The answer: take wind farming onto the high seas. The force of the winds sweeping across the open ocean would be enough to generate 18 billion kilowatts—which is about the global annual energy demand right now.

The scientists report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that although the best that wind farms on land can deliver is electricity at the rate of 1.5 watts per square meter, the mid-latitudes of the North Atlantic could do much better: up to 6 watts per square meter.

In a calculation that is overtly hypothetical, they evaluate winds as so much kinetic energy to be exploited. Ocean wind speeds are at least 70 percent higher than wind speeds over land. Surface winds in the North Atlantic can reach 11 kms per second and 13.5 kms per second in the Southern Hemisphere, which would be enough in theory to take generating rates up to 20 or even 80 watts per square meter.

Research at this level does not answer the world’s energy problems: instead it sets out, once again, the viable possibility of a world driven by renewable energy, rather than the fossil fuels that drive ever-higher greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, and potentially catastrophic global warming and climate change.

And it is one step onwards from a cascade of such thinking over the past few years. In 2013, scientists at the University of Delaware worked out that wind, solar and renewable sources could deliver almost all the energy needs of the U.S.

Other groups—including one at Stanford University in the U.S.—have not just backed up this reasoning but extended it, with a roadmap for at least 139 of the 197 nations that in December 2015 resolved to take steps to contain global warming to no more than 2°C by 2100.

But the laws of thermodynamics present practical problems. One of these is that, because energy is always conserved, a wind farm inevitably “saps” the energy of the wind that slams into the turbines, leaving a weaker wind for the next turbine in its path.

So although, in theory, winds could deliver at the rate of 60 to 80 watts per square meter, this “turbine drag” would slow the winds at every stage.

Even so, engineers could look forward to a harvest of 3 to 5 watts per square meter, which is much higher than the best available on land.

Someone had to do the sums. “Are the winds so fast just because there is nothing out there to slow them down? Will sticking giant wind farms out there just slow down the winds so much that it is no better than over land?” asked Ken Caldeira, senior scientist at the global ecology department at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford.

“The real question is can the atmosphere over the ocean move more energy downward than the atmosphere over land is able to?”

In principle, their answer is: yes, it can. Open ocean wind farms spread across 3 million square kilometers of ocean could in theory harness so much more of the atmosphere’s energy and generate all the power the world needs right now.

That still leaves all the other problems unsolved: the challenge of engineering turbines fit for the open ocean and of catering for seasonal variations in wind energy; of collecting the generated current and delivering it to the world’s cities, and the even bigger problem of the national and global politics involved. But sophisticated modeling says there is nothing on Earth to prevent it being done.

“While no commercial-scale deepwater wind farms yet exist, our results suggest that such technologies, if they become technically and economically feasible, could potentially provide civilization-scale power,” the scientists wrote.

Source: ecowatch.com

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