Reports: Syria to Sign Paris Agreement, Further Isolating US

08.11.2017

Ideja, Planeta, klimatske promene — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

The US looks set to become the only country outside the Paris Agreement, after Syria reportedly signalled it would ratify the international climate change accord.

The New York Times reported today that a member of the war-torn country’s delegation at the UN climate summit in Bonn told the plenary session of the talks that Syria was ready to formally sign up to the agreement.

The move could leave the US as the only country outside of the agreement, after President Trump announced this summer that he would trigger the formal process to exit the treaty.

Up until this autumn only two countries had failed to sign the agreement: Nicaragua, which opposed the treaty on the grounds it was not ambitious enough; and Syria, which has been gripped by civil war since 2011.

However, Nicaragua last month announced it would ratify the agreement in a move that appeared designed to leave the US further isolated.

Syria now appears to have adopted a similar stance, although it remains to be seen whether the country will be able to submit a formal climate action plan given the on-going violence.

The move means that if the US goes ahead with plans to leave the treaty in 2020 it will become the only country not to formally support the Paris Agreement and its goal of limiting average temperature increases to well below 2C.

The NYT reported that in responding to the latest news, a White House spokeswoman, Kelly Love, pointed reporters to the statement the administration released when Nicaragua joined the treaty.

“As the president previously stated, the United States is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms the are more favourable for our country,” the statement read.

However, all other signatories to the Agreement have resisted US calls for the treaty to be renegotiated, arguing that as it stands the pact gives nations considerable freedom to adopt policies that are in line with their domestic requirements.

Leading US businesses and state governments have also voiced opposition to the White House’s stance and are due to provide a high profile presence at the Bonn Summit through the ‘We Are Still In’ initiative, which aims to highlight how large parts of the US economy remain committed to honouring the Paris Agreement’s goals.

Source: businessgreen.com

GE and Green Investment Group Team Up for 650MW Swedish Onshore Wind Project

08.11.2017

GE Renewable Energy and the Green Investment Group are teaming up to deliver a 650MW wind project in Sweden, having acquired what they claim will be one of the largest single-site onshore wind installations in Europe from renewables developer Svevind.

The Markbygden ETT wind farm in Northern Sweden is expected to begin commissioning during the second half of next year before entering into operation by the end of 2019, when it is set to increase the nation’s wind generation by more than 12.5 per cent, the projects two new owners said.

The 50-50 equity partners raised approximately €800m in total financing for the project and construction of the wind farm is already underway, with GE Renewable Energy supplying 179 3.6MW turbines with 137-metre rotors it says are “ideally suited to the project site’s wind speeds and climate”.

The blades are also being equipped with an ice mitigation system provided by blade specialist LM Wind Power, while GE has a 20-year full service agreement through its grid solutions business to provide the high voltage switchgear for the two planned substations at the wind farm.

Pete McCabe, president and CEO of GE’s Onshore Wind Business, said the firm was “excited to have been chosen by Svevind to contribute to this massive project”.

“Markbygden ETT marks our commitment to the Swedish onshore wind arena and extends our presence in Europe while showcasing our technical capabilities – with LM Wind Power – and project development and management differentiators,” he said.

GE has acquired the project alongside the Green Investment Group (GIG) from Svevind, with the two investing more than €300m in equity to finance the project.

The transaction is GIG’s first outside the UK, and its first equity investment since its acquisition by Macquarie earlier this year. GIG was formerly known as the Green Investment Bank (GIB) until it was controversially sold by the UK government to the Australian bank.

It also comes just days after the announcement from UK Climate Investments, which is part of the GIG, that it has teamed up with UK developer Lightsource Renewable Energy to fund the development, acquisition, and ownership of large scale solar projects in India.

Edward Northam, head of the GIG in Europe, said the Markbygden project was a “a landmark transaction on many fronts and represents the new frontier in European onshore wind”.

“It demonstrates that in the right market, with the right location, the right technology and the right partners, it is possible to develop and attract private capital into new onshore wind farms,” he said.

Advisory teams sought a mix of funding for the project, with close to €500m in debt financing secured from: the European Investment Bank; export credit guarantees from the German federal government; NordLB; KfW IPEX-Bank; and HSH Nordbank.

A 19-year fixed volume Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has been agreed with a subsidiary of aluminium producer Norsk Hydro to buy electricity from the project in order to power its Norwegian manufacturing facilities, in what is thought to be one of the largest corporate wind energy PPAs in the world.

Wolfgang Kropp, CEO of Svevind, said the company had worked on the development of the Markbygden cluster of wind farm projects since 2002. “We look forward to seeing this project, and future projects around Markbygden, constructed and contributing to the much-needed fight against climate change,” he said.

Source: businessgreen.com

Scientists: Strategic Crop Growth Based on Climate Change Could Feed 825 Million More

08.11.2017

Scientists in the U.S. and Italy have worked out a strategy to feed an extra 825 million people—by rearranging where crops are grown. Their new menu for the global table could serve up 10 percent more calories and 19 percent more protein, while reducing the use of rainwater by 14 percent and cutting irrigation by 12 percent.

The secret: shift the patterns of crop growth to make the best of climate change, in a rapidly warming world in which rainfall patterns could become less predictable and drought and heat waves will become more frequent and more intense.

So that means, for some, less reliance on traditional staples such as rice, wheat, millet and sugar cane and sugar beet, and a switch to more groundnuts, soybean, sorghum, roots and tubers.

Climate change has already announced itself in small ways with earlier wine harvests in Europe, the promise of a sparkling future for wine in southern England, and the first successful cultivation (in South Wales) in the UK of that costly Mediterranean delicacy, the black truffle.

But the overall picture is alarming: there have been predictions of lower yields for coffee producers in South America and for wheat farmers in Europe, Asia and the Americas. There have been warnings that climate change could hit African farmers hard and that traditional crop varieties may not be able to adjust to new conditions.

Kyle Davis of Columbia University’s Earth Institute and colleagues reported in the journal Nature Geoscience that they matched models of water use in farming and yield maps for 14 of the world’s most important food crops.

They found that their new models of crop distribution could create substantial savings in water costs in 42 countries, including Australia, India, Mexico, Morocco and South Africa, as well as in California’s Central Valley and Egypt’s Nile Delta.

Some regions—the U.S. Midwest, for example—would continue to face water scarcities whatever crops were planted. But for at least 63 countries—many of which, like Ethiopia, Iran, Kenya and Spain, rely heavily on food imports—crop redistribution would deliver 20 percent higher levels of calories or protein, and increase self-sufficiency overall.

Research of this kind relies on considering local conditions and making judgments that will deliver the best returns to the farmers and their communities. Farmers have, traditionally, done just that.

But an average rise in global temperatures of around 1°C in the last century or so means that local traditions are in question. It is a given that the Mediterranean truffle Tuber melanosporum depends on the Mediterranean oak and the climate conditions of southern France and northern Italy. But UK researchers reported in the journal Climate Research that they have successfully cultivated a 16-gram specimen in Monmouthshire, in Wales.

Black truffles are one of the world’s most expensive delicacies. The success, attributed to climate change, was more or less accidental.

“This is one of the best-flavoured truffle species in the world and the potential for industry is huge,” said Paul Thomas of the University of Stirling in Scotland, and Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd, one of the co-authors.

“We planted the trees just to monitor their survival, but we never thought this Mediterranean species could actually grow in the UK—it’s an incredibly exciting development.”

Climate change will act as a global lottery: there will be winners. But as global population continues to grow, and extremes of heat, drought, windstorm and flood become more frequent, there may be many more losers.

The Nature Geoscience researchers argue that their recipe for agricultural change is a starting point, not a final answer. Harvest choices must be adapted to local conditions and local cultures.

“Our analysis shows that redistributing crops across lands that are cultivated at present can make use of the technologies and knowledge that are already present in a country to offer distinct benefits across food security and environmental spheres,” Davis and his colleagues wrote.

“In particular, our results are encouraging for several world regions that are grappling with water scarcity, food insecurity or a combination of both.”

Source: ecowatch.com

EPA Estimates Rolling Back Clean Power Plan Could Cause 100,000 Deaths By 2050

08.11.2017

zagađenje vazduha, termoelektrane, — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

In its mania to prove how horrible the Clean Power Plan is, the EPA has rejiggered the numbers and found — the Clean Power Plan could save more lives than the Obama officials thought. Oddly enough, the means that rolling back its provisions could lead to between 40,000 and 100,000 more premature deaths in America by the year 2050.

The devil is in the details, and we are definitely in “figures lie and liars figure” territory here. Washington Post journalist Chris Mooney found the information buried deep within an arcane EPA filing known as a Regulatory Impact Analysis, a document the agency needed to create to provide a legal basis for its plan to cancel the provisions of the CPP. It looks at a number of scenarios in an attempt to gauge the impact on the environment with and without the provisions of the Plan in effect.

The most recent data are drawn from the 2o17 Annual Energy Outlook prepared by the Energy Information Agency. It should be obvious that the information supplied by the EIA is several years newer than the data the Obamans relied on. “The right way to do this is update your model, your analysis for more recent conditions,” Alan Krupnick, an economist with the non-partisan think tank Resources for the Future tells the Post, “Which is what that second analysis does. And then the chips fall where they may.”

What those chips reveal is that the Obama people may have underestimated the benefits of their Clean Power Plan. The prior administration estimated it would prevent 1,500 to 3,600 premature deaths a year up to 2030. Thereafter, the result of cleaner air would be magnified going forward. One set of numbers from the new EPA numbers finds the number of premature deaths if the Clean Power Plan is implemented would more likely be 1,900 to 4,500 per year through 2030.

“The difference is approximately 400-900 deaths per year, or around $4-8 billion each year in health costs,” says Jonathan Levy, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. “This is a non-trivial amount of money, not to mention the importance of the public health toll.” A factor contributing to fewer premature deaths is a lower concentration of sulfur dioxide emissions if electrical generating plants switched from burning coal to natural gas. Sulfur dioxide is a precursor to particulates less than 2.5 microns in diameter. Often referred to as PM2.5, they are small enough to cross into the bloodstream in the lungs and are associated with increases in cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

Chris Mooney is careful to point out that “It’s important to underscore that all of the numbers presented above are based on different sets of assumptions, many of which can be individually questioned. In essence, they are scenarios, where if you assume a certain set of developments then you can predict an outcome based on those assumptions. But whether the developments will actually happen in the real world is another matter.”

EPA spokesperson Michael Abboud says, “In keeping with Administrator [Scott] Pruitt’s commitment to a heightened level of transparency, the Agency provided a vast series of scenarios of the potential effects of the proposed rule, including those based on EIA’s 2017 Energy Outlook; and we welcome any public comments on the RIA.”

In the final analysis, preventing death and disease may not be a legal reason for limiting emissions from coal fired generating plants, and the EPA may simply choose to ignore health benefits as it fashions new and creative ways to shovel truckloads of taxpayer dollars to the coal industry to keep it limping along, even though by every economic analysis it is no longer competitive with natural gas, wind, and solar power. “The law is a ass,” wrote Charles Dickens long ago. Little has changed in the interim.

Source: cleantechnica.com

October Winds Help Deliver ‘Unprecedented’ Renewable Power to Scotland’s Grid

07.11.2017

wind-turbin-vetroturbina — Photo illustration: Pixabay

Strong winds in October helped Scottish turbines generate more than 1.7 million megawatt hours of electricity the powered the equivalent of around 4.5 million homes.

The performance capped a “spectacular month” for renewables, according to WWF Scotland.

The campaign group confirmed today that Scottish wind power provided 99 per cent of Scotland’s entire electricity demand throughout the month, based on data from weather data experts WeatherEnergy.

Wind turbines north of the border also provided more than 100 per cent of overall electricity demand in Scotland on 15 out of 31 days last month, as well as meeting the power needs of more than 4.5 million average homes, which is nearly twice the number of households in Scotland.

WWF Scotland’s acting head of policy, Gina Hanrahan, said given last month saw the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia “no one will be surprised that October proved to be a spectacular month for wind energy”.

“Fortunately our infrastructure coped well with the windy weather which provided enough to power nearly twice the number of households in Scotland and almost all of our electricity demand,” she said, adding that further investment in renewables and energy storage was now required. “This is more good news for renewables which continue to power our homes and businesses with clean electricity.”

The news comes alongside The Crown Estate’s announcement today it is considering making new seabed rights available to offshore wind developers around the UK.

The £13bn real estate business, which manages the seabed around the UK, said offshore wind was a “fantastic UK success story” and that it would be working with the sector and key stakeholders to consider making more space around UK waters available for wind farms.

Huub den Rooijen, director of energy, minerals and infrastructure at The Crown Estate, said the UK had “some of the best resources in the world” for offshore wind power.

“With costs continuing to come down at a pace and government looking at further opportunities for additional offshore wind deployment in the 2020s, it is the right time to consider what additional seabed rights may be needed to help secure the UK’s clean energy future,” he said.

More detail regarding future offshore wind leasing activity will be released in early 2018, The Crown Estate said, in a move backed by energy minister Richard Harrington. “Our Clean Growth Strategy sets out that the UK could support another 10GW of offshore wind in the 2020s, with the opportunity for more if it’s cost effective,” he said. “This announcement today is an important step towards these future projects.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Developers Complete First Block 1,021 Megawatt Miraah Solar Plant For Oman Oilfield

07.11.2017

Petroleum Development Oman and GlassPoint Solar announced earlier this month the completion of the first block of one of the world’s largest solar plants, the 1,021 megawatt Miraah solar plant that will deliver 6,000 tonnes of steam per day for use on the Amal West oilfield in Oman.

On November 1, leading Omani exploration and production company Petroleum Development Oman, and GlassPoint Solar, the self-proclaimed “leading supplier of solar to the oil and gas industry,” announced the completion of the first block and first delivery of steam from the 1,021 megawatt (MW) Miraah solar plant to the Amal West oil field on the southern tip of Oman.

Each “block” — of which there are 36 — is a separate greenhouse which protects the solar array from the harsh conditions on the oilfield such as strong winds and dust storms. The project is intended to use solar thermal energy to produce steam used in thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in which steam is injected into an oil reservoir to heat the oil, making it easier to pump to the surface.

On the surface, using solar energy to make it easier to reach oil might seem a little backwards, but the result is that the Miraah solar plant will reduce the amount of natural gas used to generate steam by about 5.6 trillion British thermal units (BTUs) per year, and result in CO2 emissions saved worth 300,000 tonnes per year.

“The safe and successful delivery of solar steam into our network at Amal is a significant milestone for the Miraah project and a major step towards transforming the energy landscape in Oman,” said PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci.

“Solar-powered oil production is a sustainable, long-term solution to meet the Sultanate’s future energy demand and utilise its natural resources most efficiently.

“GlassPoint, our staff and sub-contractors have worked tirelessly for more than 1.5 million man-hours without a Lost Time Injury, while continuing to drive efficiency across all facets of project construction and commissioning. Miraah is a real statement of intent from PDO as we begin the transition away from an exclusive focus on oil and gas to becoming a fully-fledged energy company with a greater focus on renewables.”

“We are proud to partner with PDO to build a world-class solar industry out of Oman’s oil and gas industry roots,” added Ben Bierman, Chief Operating Officer and Acting CEO of GlassPoint. “This project is helping put Oman on the global solar energy map, creating new jobs and developing expertise in solar technology innovation, project deployment and manufacturing.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

France & China Join Forces To Study Ocean-Based Climate Change

07.11.2017

The space agencies of China and France recently announced that they are joining forces to launch a brand new satellite into orbit to improve the understanding and prediction of ocean storms and cyclones. The China-France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT), the first satellite to have been constructed as a partnership between the two countries, will have two radars fitted. The French agency is developing a radar system designed to measure the wavelength and direction of ocean waves, and the Chinese agency is developing a radar to measure the direction and strength of wind.

The main goal of the satellite is to increase the accuracy of forecasts for storms, hurricanes, and cyclones that originate in the oceans. In addition to this, the data gathered will also be used to help scientists better work out how the oceans and atmosphere interact, and to improve predictions about climate change.

Given the increasing number of severe hurricanes, storms, and extreme weather events that we have been witnessing in recent times, it makes the announcement of this satellite timely and prescient. There is increasing evidence that shows the link between climate change and the intensity of hurricanes, even though some mainstream media sometimes fails to mention this fact.

Originally planned as a collaboration between French and European space agencies, the close working relationship between France and China that has been developing over the past ten years led the agencies to decide to form this new partnership instead. The two countries have also acknowledged that there is a political component involved. The satellite will be launched into orbit in the second half of 2018 via a rocket in China’s ‘Long March’ program.

Source: cleantechnica.com

The Consequence of Climate Change: The Caspian Lake is Slowly Disappearing

07.11.2017

Kaspijsko jezero — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

The results of the new study reveal that the largest lake on Earth has been evaporating slightly during the last two decades, which scientists associate with high temperatures and climate change.

The level of water in the Caspian Sea decreased from almost every year from 1996 to 2015 by almost 7 cm (a total of 1.4 meters in that period), according to research results.

The current water level in the Caspian Sea is just one meter above the lowest level to date, recorded in the late 1970s.

The evaporation of the Caspian Sea is associated with increased air temperatures on the surface. According to the data from the study, the average yearly surface temperature over the Caspian Sea rose by about 1 degree Celsius between two periods: 1979-1995. year and 1996-2015. years. These rising temperatures are likely a result of climate change, according to the study’s authors.

Evaporation brought about by warming temperatures appears to be the primary cause of the current drop in sea level and the decline will likely continue as the planet warms.

The new study began after Jianli Chen from the Space Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin and Clark Wilson, a geophysicist at the Jackson Geophysics School, also from the University of Texas in Austin, along with other researchers, used the Caspian Lake to analyze the data of two satellites of the Grace mission which was launched in 2002.

Source: Science alert

ROAD ARROW: Team of Students – Formula Lovers

07.11.2017

Road Arrow is the first Serbian Formula Student team whose members are the students from the University of Belgrade. For seven years now, this group of enthusiasts and formula lovers have created vehicles that represent their university and Serbia at prestigious engineering competitions in the world. In the current season, the Road Arrow team has more than fifty members from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Metallurgy, Transport and Traffic Engineering, Physics, Forestry, as well as Faculty of Organizational Sciences and Faculty of Applied Art. Year in, year out, Road Arrow goes to various competition with a formula that is always better than the one made in the previous season and there are notable results and numerous awards. The reason for the conversation with members of the most perspective student project at the University of Belgrade is the recent promotion of the sixth vehicle “Road Arrow 2017”, as well as their ecomobility project, which is in the process of being formed.

EP: How was the idea of creating a Serbian formula launched?

Drumska strela: Initially, the team consisted of 12 students who learned from their colleagues from Rijeka about the Student Formula project and wished to create the formula themselves, in order to represent the University of Belgrade and the Republic of Serbia at this international engineering competition. In the first year, they developed only the car concept design and competed in Class II in Silverstone, UK, where they took the third place. The following year they went to Silverstone with a completed formula. Over a hundred students have passed through the course and 6 vehicles have been made since then.

EP: What are students’ motives to join your team?

Drumska strela: Motives are different, from the fans of auto-moto sport that study at one of the technical faculties, to the students of social faculties who can apply their knowledge to this project. At first, students are interested in good practice and the opportunity to participate in a prestigious competition, but after a season spent on the team they get a completely new image on Road Arrow. As observed, it is obvious that the teamwork and gaining experience in this complex project bring a lot of benefits. However, later, reasons for staying on the team are much more complex and nicer.

EP: What is the driving energy in Road Arrow?

Drumska strela: It is, above all, the fact that Road Arrow was created thanks to enthusiasm and resistance to various problems that stood in the way of making the first vehicle and going to competitions. Also, there is a good atmosphere on the team and a common goal that is passed on from generation to generation.

EP: Do students exclusively work on this project or did some of the professors come to help?

Drumska strela: The team structure has changed completely since 2010, but the essence of Road Arrow remained the same. Effort, cooperation, thousands of working hours each season and team spirit keep this project active and with more quality year after year. According to the competition rules, all team members must be students, but the difficult and responsible task of creating a formula would neither be possible, nor safe, without constant support and advice from professors. Also, the team has great assistance from former members, who keep up with plans for each season and without whom Road Arrow would not be what it is.

EP: Which technologies were used during the process of creating the vehicle? What is the biggest trump card of Road Arrow?

Drumska strela: Vehicle production is divided into sub-teams, which deal with different systems on the vehicle. Specifically, in the design of “Road Arrow 2017” sub-teams Chassis and Handling, Aerodynamics and Design, Powertrain and Electronics and Materials took part. It is interesting that all parts of the vehicle were designed and produced by students themselves and only parts such as engine, tires and wheels are purchased. Of the innovations introduced, the interesting thing is the use of carbon fibers for the production of the whole aero package, driver’s seat, steering wheels, electronic boxes, as well as many other parts where the mass is significantly reduced in the same way. This has contributed to the vehicle’s better performance, which is the practical goal of the team – to make the best formula possible with their knowledge and innovation. By realizing their ideas, Road Arrow has been created, a student formula that reaches a speed of 100 km/h.

The team of the Belgrade University became recognized throughout Europe for its rapid progress, since the second formula was lighter than the previous one by as much as 40 kg and had a maximum power of 16 kW. Already on the third vehicle, the first aero package was presented, as well as the inlet chamber of variable geometry, and in the fifth they introduced parts made of carbon fibers, such as those in Formula 1. The biggest success of the team so far is the 10th place in the competition of 43 prestigious teams in the competition in Italy in 2013, and 4th in the race of endurance, the most demanding discipline, in the Czech Republic 2015.

EP: In May this year, the sixth vehicle was presented. What characteristics have been improved in comparison to previous vehicles? Where will Road Arrow race in the next season?

Drumska strela: “Road Arrow 2017” is the sixth vehicle of this team and it is the result of many years of advancement that led to the development of formula with the most optimal technological solutions up to now. Significant improvements have been made in handling system and driver’s ergonomics, and the mass of the vehicle has been reduced and the balance is lower. Its own radio communication was developed, changes were made to the aero package, and the use of 3D printed parts was expanded. We expect that this car will be the best so far, that we will soon be able to see, after the first competition that takes place on July 19th in Italy. After that, we will compete in the Czech Republic, from there we will travel directly to the biggest and most important competition in Europe that takes place on the track in Hockenheim in Germany. It will be the third appearance of Road Arrow on Formula 1 track in the competition of the best teams around the world.

EP: You have recently announced the development of an eco-vehicle, so tell us which technologies will be used? Will it be hybrid or electric vehicle?

Drumska strela: Last year, the idea of creating an electric vehicle was born. There is a special class within the Formula Student Competition, which is becoming more increasingly popular, due to the ecological significance of the reduction of CO2 emissions from vehicles. By participating on this project, students learn how to design and make an electric vehicle, so they may later, during their professional career, be given the opportunity to develop passenger vehicles that operate in the same principle. Last year Road Arrow came up with the design concept for the electric vehicle and won the praiseworthy third place in Italy. The concept is a vehicle that has two electric motors on the rear wheels, with alternate current supply of variable frequency. The battery of the electric vehicle is made of batteries and our team decided to use lithium-ion cells. Also, there is a concept of a variant with four electric motors, one at each wheel, which requires a more complex control algorithm.

EP: How did the team decide to further develop the formula in the direction of ecomobility? Is the motive of being driven on alternative drives currently trendy or the reason is sustainable future of racing cars?

Drumska strela: Foreign teams have been making electro formulas for years and they have a huge support. The world’s largest automotive companies finance these projects because it is an investment that will pay off in multiple ways. The sticker on the vehicle is a trifle in comparison to the knowledge and experience of young experts who leave Formula Student teams to go to positions with big responsibility in companies where they apply everything they have learned. Road Arrow team saw the growing interest in electric vehicles, which is one of the solutions in the fight against pollution in urban areas. Students work on innovations and development in the industry and they could be able to help Serbia’s economic growth in a short time. The conclusion is that behind the engineering challenge of completely new and different vehicle, there is an economic aspect that is both important in the competition and in a future career.

EP: How will the battery and charger be solved when the concept of an electric vehicle turns into a new formula?

Drumska strela: We are just working on the concept of an electric vehicle. A total of 720 individual lithium-ion cells are connected appropriately to achieve the required capacity, and the capacity itself is determined based on computer simulations. The charger is powered by a three-phase AC 400 V voltage supply, and can be used anywhere (in a workshop, at a competition or some other event). This charger provides a very simple adjustment of the voltage and current at the output, and can be adjusted to charge other lithium-ion batteries. To charge the battery, it takes a little more than one hour.

Interview by: Marija Nešović

Yingli Solar Panels Will Help Low Income Villages in China

07.11.2017

photovoltaic-system solar — Foto: Pixabay

People assume that the booming economy in China over the past 30 years has made all Chinese citizens wealthy. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Zhangbei County, just 150 miles northwest of Beijing, there are 128 low income villages where residents struggle to get by. Now all those villages are in line to benefit from a 300 kilowatt solar power plant. The project will use 140,000 solar panels supplied by Yingli. They will be installed on ground mounted systems with sun tracking capability to maximize power output.

Once completed, the total installed capacity of the distributed solar systems will equal 38.4 MW. Sales of zero emissions electricity from the systems will benefit the more than 10,000 low income villagers in the county over the next 20 years. 10,000 of the solar panels will be Yingli’s advanced Panda Bifacial products. The multi-crystalline black silicon panels feature 12 bus bars.

In a press release, Bo Yu, vice general manager of Yingli, said:

“We are glad to supply our advanced PV panels for this poverty alleviation project in Zhangbei County, which is also the part of practice of our corporate social responsibility. With reliable quality and excellent performance, Yingli Solar panels can maximally guarantee the sustainable and stable power generation of the project, effectively increasing the income of local low income villagers from green solar electricity sales. The project is of great significance to local poverty alleviation and environment protection.”

Zhangbei County has been at the center of China’s push to replace coal-fired generating plants with solar power plants. Blessed with abundant sunshine, the area was the site for one of China’s first large solar installations in 2010, a 200 megawatt facility spanning an area nearly 10 square kilometers in size. There are also numerous wind turbines installed within the county, which seeks to lead China’s transition to zero emissions power in an effort to reduce the poor air quality in many parts of the country resulting from burning massive amounts of coal.

Source: cleantechnica.com

2017 Set to Rank as One of the Hottest Years Ever Recorded

07.11.2017

climate change — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Global temperature records look likely to be smashed once again this year, with 2017 on course to be one of the three hottest years on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

In a provisional statement released today to mark the beginning of the COP23 climate summit in Bonn, the WMO issued a stark warning that the average global temperatures from January to September were approximately 1.1C above pre-industrial levels.

As a result, it said 2017 was set to be the second warmest year ever recorded, just ahead of 2015. 2016 is likely remain the hottest on record due to last year’s powerful El Niño phenomenon.

Overall, the 2013-2017 period is set to be the warmest five-year period on record, WMO added, and 2017 is set to be the hottest year on record without El Niño influence.

Parts of southern Europe, including Italy, North Africa, parts of east and southern Africa and the Asian part of the Russian Federation endured their warmest-ever years, while northwestern USA and western Canada were cooler than the 1981-2010 average, the agency added.

And in a year so far marked by many high-impact events including catastrophic hurricanes and floods as well as debilitating heatwaves and drought, the WMO warned the long-term indicators of climate change – such as increasing CO2 concentrations, sea level rise and ocean acidification – continue unabated.

“The past three years have all been in the top three years in terms of temperature records – this is part of a long-term warming trend,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “We have witnessed extraordinary weather, including temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in rapid succession in the Caribbean and Atlantic reaching as far as Ireland, devastating monsoon flooding affecting many millions of people and a relentless drought in East Africa.”

“Many of these events – and detailed scientific studies will determine exactly how many – bear the tell-tale sign of climate change caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities,” added Taalas.

The statement also includes information submitted by a range of UN agencies on human, socio-economic and environmental climate-related impacts as part of “a drive to provide a more comprehensive, UN-wide policy brief for decision makers on the interplay between weather, climate and water and the UN global goals”, the WMO said.

It follows a recent study by the WMO which found concentrations of CO2 reached their highest level in 800,000 years during 2016.

Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said today’s findings underline the risks posed by climate change to people, economies, and “the very fabric of life on Earth” unless the world keeps on track with the ambitions and targets of the Paris Agreement.

“There is unprecedented and very welcome momentum among governments, but also cities, states, territories, regions, business and civil society,” she said in a statement. “Bonn 2017 needs to be the launch pad towards the next, higher level of ambition by all nations and all sectors of society as we look to de-risk the future and maximise the opportunities from a fresh, forward-looking and sustainable development path.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Report: 1/4 of World’s Oil Refineries Face Closure by 2035 if Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets Are Met

06.11.2017

Roughly a quarter of the world’s oil refineries face closure by 2035 if governments around the world manage to actually meet their current greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, according to a new report from the think tank Carbon Tracker, the investment fund AP7, and the Denmark-based pension fund PKA.

This shutdown of refining capacity will be accompanied by a surge in electric vehicle adoption, higher fuel efficiency in internal combustion engine (ICE) grounds vehicles, and higher efficiency in jet aircraft. That could come just due to the effect of legislation intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions expected to be introduced in the coming years, according to the report.

Owing to these expected changes, companies like Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron, Sinopec, etc. could see refining profits fall by 70% or more by 2035, the report alleges.

“Falling oil demand in a carbon-constrained world would squeeze margins across the industry, and drive the least profitable refineries out of business,” Carbon Tracker writes. “Processing less oil at lower margins means that refinery earnings and hence values could halve by 2035, finds Margin Call: Refining Capacity in a 2°C World. Earnings from the global industry totalled around $147 billion in 2015.”

One obvious take-home point is that there’s serious risk in investing in oil companies nowadays.

“A 2°C pathway sees oil demand peaking followed by major rationalisation in the global refining industry. Many players will exit the market rather than haemorrhage cash,” Andrew Grant, a senior analyst at Carbon Tracker and co-author of the report, said. “Investors should beware that the risk of wasting capital extends to all new investments, including expansions or upgrades to existing facilities.”

The analysis examined 492 oil refineries, which together account for 94% of global capacity. And it actually found that 21% of refineries are already unprofitable. “The 2˚C scenario modelling found Total and Eni are the most exposed, risking a 70%-80% fall in earnings from their refineries by 2035 as demand stalls. Shell and Chevron risk a 60%-70% fall and ExxonMobil and BP a 40%-50% fall. Saudi Aramco, which is due to be part-listed, may see earnings swing to a loss.”

The overall analysis “is based on the International Energy Agency’s 450 scenario[1], which sees oil demand peak in 2020 and then decline by 23% over the next 15 years.”

It should be noted here, though, that the world is currently not really on track to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. A recent report, for instance, found that the world is currently on track to exceed 2030 goals by as much as 30% — and even those goals (which aren’t looking too likely to be achieved) aren’t sufficient to avoid extreme climate warming and instability, according to some researchers.

I’ll end things here, though, with this line from the report: “We consider that prospective investors should be wary of all new refinery investments. When demand growth stalls and turns negative, new investments will carry the risk of failing to earn an adequate return.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

New Zealand May Become First Country to Create Climate Refugee Visas

06.11.2017

mitre-peak-New Zealand — Foto-ilustacija: Pixabay

New Zealand had a general election this month, and the government was voted out of power. Already, the nation’s new Prime Minister, Labour’s Jacinda Ardern, has made climate change advocacy a priority. As well as promising to adhere to the Paris agreement and to make the country carbon neutral by 2050, she’s now considering giving special visas to those displaced by rising sea levels.

Such a promise would fulfill the promise made by the Green Party – one of the government’s coalition partners – which promised to give 100 visas per year to people seriously affected by climate change. Judging by comments made by the country’s climate change minister, Green Party chief James Shaw, these visas would mostly be given to those living on Pacific islands that are set to disappear in the near future.

If implemented, it would make New Zealand the first country in the world to recognize climate change as an official reason to seek asylum.

Although estimates vary, anywhere from 1 to 2 billion people will be forced to abandon their homes due to the encroaching oceans by 2100. These climate refugees have got to go somewhere, and Ardern’s government is essentially considering making New Zealand a haven.

A separate visa category for refugees has existed in New Zealand, and plenty of other countries, for some time now. However, the people these are granted to have traditionally been fleeing war, economic collapse, persecution, and so on. Climate change hasn’t been on the agenda.

Climate change, a phenomenon primarily driven by rich and developing countries, disproportionately affects poorer nations, particularly those along the coast or near the equator. Although the future will be full of climate change refugees from even the wealthiest of nations, it’s fair to say that what New Zealand wants to do – look out for the most at-risk first – is morally right.

Source: IFLScience

The Ozone Hole is Shrinking and It’s Now the Smallest It Has Been in 30 Years

06.11.2017

MIT-Healing-Ozone_0 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Here’s a rare piece of good news about the environment: The giant hole in the Earth’s protective ozone layer is shrinking and has its smallest peak since 1988, NASA scientists said.

The largest the hole became this year was about 7.6 million square miles wide (19.7m square kilometres wide), about two and a half times the size of the United States, in September. But it was still 1.3 million square miles (3.4m square kilometres) smaller than last year, scientists said, and has shrunk more since September.

The news comes just after the 30th anniversary of the hole’s discovery, which led to the 1987 Montreal Protocol — a landmark international agreement that led to major global efforts to phase out the use of ozone-depleting chemicals.

Deterioration of the ozone layer was mainly taking place over Antarctica, and became a particular cause for concern for those living in the southern hemisphere. Ozone, a colourless gas, protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, which could cause higher rates of skin cancer and cataracts disease, as well as disrupt plant growth.

Scientists predict the ozone layer won’t return to its 1980s form until about 2070. The ozone hole was largest in 2000, when it was 11.5 million square miles wide (29.8 million square kilometres wide), according to NASA.

Source: Science alert

National Climate Report Finds Virtually ALL Global Temperature Rise Since 1950 Caused By Human Activity

06.11.2017

The National Climate Report is an annual assessment mandated by Congress. This year’s report has just been released and it contains this stunning finding — virtually all of the observed increase in average global temperatures since 1950 is the result of human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels.

The 600 page report was created from input by scientists working at 13 different federal government agencies. “Based on extensive evidence … it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century,” the report says (emphasis in original text). Noted climate scientist Michael Mann tells ThinkProgress, the report “indicates that a path of inaction will truly lead to disastrous climate change impacts.”

The NCR claims that the “business as usual” approach, much favored by the Trump administration, will lead to some nasty consequences for people living in North America. Average temperatures over the central part of the country would rise by 8 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Prolonged drought conditions in the west would seriously damage the nation’s ability to grow enough food to feed its citizens. Rising oceans would inundate almost all of America’s coastal cities. Further north, temperatures in the Arctic would increase by 18 degrees Fahrenheit.

The report has been peer reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences. “For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation [other than human activity] supported by the extent of the observational evidence,” it states. In fact, it suggests that, but for human activity, the earth would most likely have seen a slight cooling trend during that period. Is this a “worst case scenario?” No, it is not. The “climate models are more likely to underestimate than to overestimate the amount of long-term future change,” the NCR warns.

Okay, that’s the word from the scientific community. Either humans come together in a concerted global effort to rein in carbon emissions or face a future where famine and flooding — and the armed conflicts they will lead to — are the norm. One would think that rational people would find that an easy choice to make. But history teaches us that armed conflicts are plentiful, and examples of global cooperation are few. In fact, if you can think of one, please share it with us.

Nothing, it seems, can make us realize that using the earth as a communal toilet is a bad idea. It’s like trying to understand at some basic, existential level that we are all going to die someday. The reality is just too awful to confront, so we deal with it by not dealing with it. Fouling our own nest must be okay because that’s what humanity has always done and we’re still here, aren’t we? Surely, we will always be here, right?

Actually, no, we haven’t always been here and there is no guarantee we always will be. One of the only common threads running through all human experience is the legend of the Great Flood. All humans — even people on remote Pacific islands — share a narrative about a time long, long ago when the earth was flooded and only a very few survived.

Who will the Walton family sell their low-priced products to then? What good will fossil fuels be if there are no cars to drive, homes to heat, or factories to run? Will anyone even know we were here a million years from now when the waters recede and all records of our existence have been lost? Will genetic mutations make the next humans smart enough to work together rather than devising new and interesting ways of killing each other? Based on the history of humanity to date, the most likely answer is no.

As if to make the point even more forcefully, neither the front page of the New York Times nor the Washington Post makes any reference to the National Climate Report. Nothing to see here, move along. Nothing to see here, move along. And soon, there really will be nothing to see except wave tops as the land is swallowed by the ocean once again.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Portugal Aiming to Introduce “Free Zones” for Self-Driving Vehicles & Drones

06.11.2017

The government of Portugal is now planning to introduce “free zones” in certain parts of the country where self-driving vehicle and drone tech can be deployed and tested more easily through the use of special regulations and investment incentives, Portugal’s industry secretary has revealed.

The idea behind the plan is to further establish Portugal as a good place to base a tech startup, drawing also on the relatively cheap but well educated workforce and the relatively friendly to foreign investment property market (obviously, this isn’t necessarily a good thing for the poorer locals).

“We are working a lot on the regulatory and legal aspects because this is really totally fundamental for opportunities in this area,” stated Industry Secretary Ana Lehmann in an interview with Reuters. “One of the areas we are working on has to do with technological free zones and drones is one of the areas we want to promote … another is autonomous vehicles.”

Reuters provides more: “Many countries are looking at how to allow companies to test new technologies. In Britain, Amazon is carrying out special parcel delivery testing while Alphabet’s Google has tested drone delivery technology in Australia under its ‘Project Wing’. The US government last week approved a plan for expanded drone testing.

“Lehmann said the Portuguese government was working carefully on the laws needed for such zones. The country restricted the use of drones this year to raise public security. We are studying some locations and what is needed … within a legal framework that is very careful because these technologies have an impact. … This is a delicate topic and we want to do it properly.”

As it stands, Portugal’s laws don’t allow for the testing of self-driving vehicles on public roads. Interestingly, though, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) already possesses a “digital center” in Lisbon where autonomous vehicle tech is being worked on; and of course a number of other major auto manufacturers possess significant operations in the country as well.

As you’ll possibly recall, some parties in Portugal have been lobbying Tesla in recent years, trying to attract a new production facility of some kind — possibly a second or third Gigafactory.

Portugal reportedly has some of the largest lithium reserves in Europe, it should be noted.

Source: cleantechnica.com

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