China’s Grid-Connected Wind Power Capacity Increases

21.11.2016

China’s grid-connected wind power capacity continued to pick up, but the utilization rate was waning after years of capacity expansion, the latest data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed.

China’s total installed capacity of wind power generation facilities connected to the power grid reached 139 million kilowatts by the end of September, up 28 percent from a year earlier, according to the NEA.

The growth rate outpaced that of the nation’s total power use, a key barometer of economic activity, which totaled 4.5 percent year on year for the first nine months, official data showed.

The first nine months also saw newly added grid-connected wind power generation capacity of 10 million kilowatts, said the NEA.

However, those power generation facilities had average utilization hours of 1,251 in the first nine months, declining by 66 hours from a year earlier.

Of all provincial areas, Southwest China’s Yunnan province registered the largest gain in grid-connected wind power capacity of 2.26 million kilowatts in the first nine months.

China, the world’s second largest economy, has been trying to develop a clean energy network and pursue green growth in recent years.

Source: chinadaily.com.cn

Solar Power: Best Alternative to Light Up Rural Africa

21.11.2016

Solar energy has always been an alternative power source in areas not connected to the electricity grid. And this is what Bernard, a Kenyan chicken breeder, living in a small village about sixty kilometers from Nairobi believes.

With a solar panel installed on the roof of his house, it now illuminates his nights and feeds power to his radio and television.

Bernard believes the answer to the electrical demand for millions of African homes can come from solar power, which still represents less than 5% of the energy sources of the African electricity networks. This number however continues to grow.

Several African countries have embarked on increasingly ambitious projects for renewable energy.

These solutions have mainly flourished in the eastern part of the continent, as in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, but are also expected to spread in West Africa, where the problems are comparable.

Senegal has commissioned two photovoltaic power plants of 22 and 20 MW, the first of a series, with a stated target of 20% renewable energies in 2017 and 30% in 2018.

More than a choice, these cheaper solutions are in any case a necessity in relation to an ever-increasing demand for electricity, in a rapidly changing continent.

Source: africanews.com

World Bank Steps Up Climate Funding in Arab World

18.11.2016

world-2081907_960_720 — Photo illustration: Pixabay

The World Bank Group announced few days ago a new plan to ramp up support for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to confront the multiple threats of climate change. Over the next four years, the MENA Climate Action Plan aims to nearly double the portion of Bank financing dedicated to climate action, taking it to around US$1.5 billion per year by 2020. Speaking at a press conference at the COP 22 global climate summit in Marrakech, World Bank MENA Vice President Hafez Ghanem said the plan would focus on the four priorities of food and water security, sustainable cities adapted to new climate conditions, the transition to low-carbon energy, and the protection of the poorest who are most exposed to the impacts of climate change.

“Climate change will make a difficult situation much worse, and will affect millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa region” said Ghanem, “this is especially true of the impact on scarce water resources, already the lowest in the world, which will become even scarcer, threatening critical industries such as agriculture, on which millions in poorer, rural areas depend for their livelihoods.” You can see the plan here.

Source: worldbank.org

France Announces Coal Power Phase Out Date

18.11.2016

France this week became the latest country to vow to phase out unabated coal power from its energy mix, pledging that its last coal plant will shut by 2023 at the latest.

French President Francois Hollande announced the target at the COP22 Climate Summit in Marrakesh earlier this week, providing further momentum to the campaign to get governments to set target dates for phasing out the most carbon intensive fuels from their energy mix.

France sources around three quarters of its power from its fleet of nuclear power plants, and like several other European countries is looking to reduce its reliance on coal power as it seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions and comply with EU air quality rules.

However, the clear target date provides a boost to the country’s wider decarbonisation efforts and follows a similar UK commitment to phase out unabated coal power by 2025. The UK last week launched an official consultation on its plan to phase out coal power, acknowledging that its last coal plant could close earlier than the 2025 cut off date.

Hollande also used his speech to the Marrakesh Summit to pointedly praise President Barack Obama and stress that the Paris Agreement and action on climate change was “irreversible”, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to “cancel” the international treaty.

His comments were echoed over the course of the week by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and other world leaders, who all predicted Trump would not be able to derail the global effort to keep temperature increases below 2C.

The news also comes amidst speculation the UK is set to become the 111th country to ratify the Paris Agreement, either later today or tomorrow.

Parliamentary scrutiny of the ratification process was completed yesterday, leaving the government free to submit the official documents to the UN.

Source: businessgreen.com

Australia Ranked Among Worst Developed Countries for Climate Change Action

18.11.2016

vetroturbina — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Australia has been singled out again as a climate laggard, being ranked fifth-worst for emissions and policies among developed countries and among the six worst countries in the G20 when it comes to climate action.

In the climate change performance index, released overnight at the UN climate talks in Marrakech, Australia comes ahead of only Kazakhstan, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

The 58 countries assessed by Climate Action Network Europe and Germanwatch are responsible for 90% of global energy-related carbon pollution. They are then ranked according to their emissions level, the trend in emissions, the deployment of renewable energy, the energy intensity of the economy and climate policies.

Australia is near the bottom of the countries, labelled as having “very poor performance”.

Australia’s hostile relationship between federal and state climate policies was noted in the report, which said: “While the former were rather unambitious and uninspired, the latter managed to some extent to take independent action.”

The finding came following comments from the prime minister and federal ministers, criticising state-based renewable energy and emissions targets.

Since previous rankings, Australia improved slightly with its emissions trend but dropped in energy efficiency.

The Australian Conservation Foundation’s chief executive, Kelly O’Shanassy, said: “The government spruiks its climate credentials but Australia remains a laggard on cutting climate pollution.

“The world is watching as our pollution rises and governments support new mega-polluting coalmines.”

O’Shanassy said Australia must not proceed with Adani’s Carmichael coalmine.

Meanwhile, the federal minister for energy and the environment, Josh Frydenberg, used his time in Marrakech to lobby the US in favour of Adani’s Carmichael coalmine, complaining about US activists funding a campaign to stop the huge project from proceeding.

In a separate study from the London School of Economics, researchers examined the consistency of actions of G20 countries, compared with the goals of the Paris agreement.

It found Australia – as well as Argentina, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the US – were “falling behind with their national climate mitigation action”.

“These countries lack overall framework legislation or regulation on climate change, need to move from sectoral to economy-wide targets and extend the timeframe of their targets to 2030,” the report said.

Source: theguardian.com

EIB confirms plans to strengthen support for North African renewable energy and energy efficiency

18.11.2016

The European Investment Bank today confirmed plans to strengthen support for the Green for Growth Fund to enable new investment in small scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across North Africa, in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, as well as Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories. Expanded geographic engagement of the specialist climate fund to the southern Mediterranean region will focus investment on projects that can generate high energy savings and significant CO2 reduction in countries that have high levels of fossil fuel use, limited renewable energy and restricted implementation of energy efficiency schemes.

“Unlocking new investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency is a global challenge and the Green for Growth Fund has an impressive track record that has already enabled more sustainable energy use in Southeast Europe and the European eastern neighbourhood. The European Investment Bank is committed to strengthening the local impact of climate related investment and the planned expansion of the Green for Growth Fund to North Africa and the Middle East can help to reduce emissions and provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels use across the region.” said Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank Vice President.

The Green for Growth Fund provides dedicated credit lines to local financial and non-financial intermediaries, including commercial banks and microfinance institutions, for investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency schemes by local partners, such as businesses, households, municipalities and energy companies. Targeted technical assistance is also used to strengthen environmental and social impact assessment, energy audits and roll out energy efficiency focused credit lines.

At COP 22 currently taking place in Marrakech, Morocco, representatives of the European Investment Bank and the Green for Growth Fund yesterday highlighted how the initiative had already unlocked investment for projects that the EIB could not directly support and confirmed their shared commitment to support new energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

“The EIB has played a key role in the creation of the Green for Growth Fund and remains one of the fund’s leading partners. We are very pleased about the EIB’s increased commitment, which will help the Green for Growth Fund to attract additional private investors and enable the fund to further expand and build on its proven support for energy efficiency and renewable energy.” said Elvira Lefting, advisor to the Green for Growth Fund.

The EUR 410 million Green for Growth Fund has been backed since 2009 by the EIB and co-initiator KfW, along with partners including EBRD, IFC, FMO, the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and the European Commission and supported investment by final beneficiaries that saves an estimated 1,300,000 MWh and 329,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Source: eib.org

Bicycle Friendly Amsterdam Aims for Clean Transport, Smarter Buildings, and a Circular Economy

18.11.2016

Cycling is a big part of Amsterdam’s clean transport story. The city has more bikes than people and is increasing the number of green bikeways, separated from roads.

“More and more, we’re biking,” said Peter Paul Ekker, spokesman for Amsterdam Alderman Abdeluheb Choho, vice mayor for sustainability. As described in an earlier article in this series, “Strong Support in Amsterdam for City’s Climate and Sustainability Efforts,” the city intends public transport to be totally electric by 2025, at which point all taxis also will need to be electric.

It also plans to completely bar older, dirtier fossil-fueled vehicles from entering the city. Some restrictions on conventional commercial vehicles are already in place.

A Clean and Circular Economy

Once Amsterdam officials realized that the city could replace a third of the building materials it uses annually by recovering and reusing them, the city became a strong proponent of the “circular economy.”

“You need to build smart,” Ekker said, constructing buildings so raw materials can be more easily recovered once the building has reached the end of its useful lifespan.

All concrete that the city uses in the future will be recycled—“a huge CO2 reduction,” according to Ekker. In contracting with developers for buildings in Amsterdam, 30 percent of a prospective project’s rating is based on its sustainability score.

Amsterdam is not just focusing on its “tear downs.” The city is keen on retrofitting buildings to make them more energy efficient. Nowhere is this concern more evident than when it comes to school buildings.

Green Schools, Clean Energy

Amsterdammers are solicitous of their next generation.

“All schools will have green roofs, solar panels, good insulation,” Ekker said. Green roofs insulate the building, reducing the need for heating and cooling. They thereby improve air quality along with occupants’ comfort. “It’s a win-win situation,” he noted.

The city plans to increase the number of households with rooftop solar generators from 5,000 to 80,000 by 2020 while it expands the city’s wind power generating capacity from 67 MW to 85 MW. But whereas many residents are interested in solar, relatively few have suitable roofs.

To meet this challenge, the city has been working with owners of large factory and commercial roofs since 2015 to arrange for them to lease their roofs to residents for solar generation.

Waste-to-Energy

In adhering to its ideals of a circular economy, Amsterdam is reusing municipal waste to co-generate heat and power for residents in northern and western Amsterdam. The waste is collected and delivered to a central incinerator with advanced pollution controls. Heat generated by the plant is distributed to households in large insulated pipes, replacing individual gas furnaces.

In addition, excess heat from a gas-fired power plant on the east side of Amsterdam in Diemen currently serves residents in the city’s southern and eastern quadrants, and the city is planning to create a region-wide heat network.

All told, Amsterdam plans to have 102,000 homes on district heating by 2020 and 240,000 by 2040. Geothermal heat sources and surplus heat from urban greenhouses, where flowers and vegetables are grown, will provide heat to the regional heat-network.

Amsterdam’s leaders understand that clean air and clean water are essential if the city is to be habitable, sustainable, and attractive to residents and businesses in the future. They know that a clean environment is intrinsically more attractive than a polluted one and that it is not only compatible with economic prosperity, but conducive to it.

By emphasizing the health and economic benefits of their climate and energy programs, they’ve built a strong public consensus in its favor.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Program of metrological support for Gazprom’s operations approved for 2017–2021

18.11.2016

The Gazprom Management Committee approved the Comprehensive Targeted Program of metrological support for the Company’s operations between 2017 and 2021.

The Program is aimed at further improving the quality of metering Gazprom’s gas deliveries to domestic and foreign consumers. Particularly, the document stipulates measures for upgrading, reconstructing and retrofitting gas metering stations.

The Program will contribute to better operation of the Unified Gas Supply System, more efficient use of energy resources, including associated petroleum gas, and fewer air emissions.

Gazprom’s specialized structural units were instructed to use the Program as a basis for the Company’s annual and medium-term investment programs covering the construction, reconstruction and retrofitting of Gazprom’s metrological support facilities.

Source: Gazprom.com

‘We need everyone,’ Ban says

18.11.2016

Ban_Ki-moon_February_2016 — Photo: en.wikipedia.org

Rallying stakeholders gathered in Marrakech, Morocco, for the United Nations Climate Conference, known as ‘COP 22,’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday urged everyone – “from the local to the global” – including the private sector, cities and civil society, to get involved in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

“We need everyone. And we need action from the local to the global. Partnerships should focus on results today – and make progress for the long-term. We have no time to waste, and much to gain, by acting now,” Mr. Ban told a High-Level event on Accelerating Climate Action.

The President of COP 22, Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco, noted that “without minimizing the eminent responsibility of States,” the contribution of non-State actors serves as a “structuring supplement” to multilateral action against the impacts of climate change.

Last December at the previous Conference, known as COP 21, 196 Parties to the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, so-named after the French capital where it was approved. It aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, in time for COP 22, which has been under way since 7 November.

The Global Climate Action Agenda, launched formally in 2014 at COP 20, in Lima, Peru, aims to mobilize non-State actors in addressing climate change.

In Paris the next year, two Climate Champions, Laurence Tubiana, French Ambassador for climate change negotiations, and Hakima El Haité, Moroccan Minister for the Environment, were appointed to accelerate joint action on the Agenda.

Source: un.org

UK Ratifies Paris Climate Agreement

18.11.2016

The UK has become the 111th country to ratify the Paris climate agreement, which aims to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change by cutting carbon emissions.

The foreign minister, Boris Johnson, who has flirted with climate scepticism, signed the pact in London on Thursday after a parliamentary deadline passed on Wednesday night, with no objections raised.

Speaking at the UN climate summit in Marrakech, Nick Hurd, the industry and climate minister, said: “The UK is ratifying the historic Paris agreement so that we can help to accelerate global action on climate change and deliver on our commitments to create a safer, more prosperous future for us all.

“I hope this will send a very strong message of continued international commitment to implement Paris because it is obviously very important to send that signal out.”

Salaheddine Mezouar, the Moroccan foreign minister and president of the COP22 summit, told the Guardian: “It is excellent news that the UK has ratified, and it comes at the right moment. It is a good response to all those people who are sceptical about climate change.”

The US election of Donald Trump, who has renounced climate science and promised to withdraw from the Paris agreement, has fed anxiety about future efforts to contain climate change.

But while the UK’s Brexit vote may be moving the country closer to the US geopolitically – and has literally shifted its climate summit pavilion from the EU to the US tent – its endorsement of the Paris deal was widely welcomed as a boost to the Paris treaty.

Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist, Doug Parr said that having set a target for curbing carbon emissions, the UK now needed to find the quickest and cheapest route to get there.

“A mix of renewables, battery storage and efficiency measures is the way to go,” he said. “If Theresa May wants to have an industrial strategy that can cut emissions, create jobs, and help keep down bills, she should put low-carbon infrastructure at its heart.”

The UK’s negotiating partners may also look to May to keep in check climate-sceptic impulses among some of her own ministers. Johnson has irreverently described the global leaders who drafted the Paris treaty as driven by “a primitive fear” that warmer weather was caused by humanity – a fear that he described as “without foundation”.

Hurd said such talk should be taken with a pinch of salt: “Words count for one thing. You look for proof points. I think the fact that within days of this administration taking over, one of its first acts was to put into law the fifth carbon budget is an important proof point.”

The shadow climate minister, Barry Gardiner, said: “The UK government must now show their commitment through climate action on the ground. We face a 47% shortfall to meet our 2030 climate target. Pursuing fracking and a six-fold tax hike on solar business rates only take us in the wrong direction.”

To meet its climate commitments, the UK will have to decarbonise the lion’s share of its electricity by 2030 according to the government’s official advisers, the committee on climate change (CCC).

The government’s strategy currently favours an expansion in nuclear power and fracking for shale gas, the latter of which could ramp up carbon emissions if it is not displacing coal. Controversially, it has also rowed back support for solar and onshore wind power.

Clean energy business groups, though, welcomed today’s announcement as a sign that the UK would continue to play a progressive role in the international climate process.

Stephanie Pfeifer, the CEO of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, which represents investors with over €14tn (£12tn) of assets in clean energies, said: “This encouraging announcement can only help sustain the ‘spirit of Paris’ and the momentum behind the international consensus to drive substantial action on climate change.”

Jill Duggan, the director of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group(CLG), said: “The UK government’s ratification of the agreement today sends an important signal to international allies, businesses and investors about the inevitable transition towards a zero carbon economy.”

Sir Crispin Tickell, former British ambassador to the United Nations, said: “Britain’s ratification of the historic Paris agreement is an important moment, not least because our country has for a long time led global efforts to cope with the effects of climate change.”

Source: theguardian.com

Morocco Lights the Way for Africa on Renewable Energy

18.11.2016

As the host of this year’s COP22 climate change conference in Marrakech, Morocco has been keen to demonstrate its green credentials and make this COP the “African COP”.

In the past year, Morocco has banned the use of plastic bags, launched new plans for extending the urban tram networks in Casablanca and Rabat, started the process of replacing its dirty old fleet of buses and taxis, launched Africa’s first city bicycle hire scheme, and launched a new initiative – the “Adaptation of African Agriculture” – to help the continent’s farmers adjust to climate change.

But by far the most attention has been on the development of “mega” infrastructure projects in an ambitious plan to transform the country’s energy mix.

Morocco has no fossil fuel reserves so is almost entirely reliant on imports. In 2015 King Mohammed VI committed the country to increasing its share of renewable electricity generation to 52% by 2030, aiming for the installation of around 10 gigawatts (GW). Of that, 14% is expected to come from solar, with plans to install 2GW of new capacity by 2020, as well as increases in wind power and hydraulic dams. Morocco has even opened the door to exchanging electricity produced from renewable sources with Europe.

Morocco’s INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution) plan submitted to the UNFCCC is equally ambitious and commits the country to cutting greenhouse gas emissions – particularly in agriculture – by 32% by 2030, compared to business as usual. Morocco has also committed to planting 200,000 hectares of forest (pdf) and greatly increasing in irrigation. The commitment is dependent on accessing climate financing, but translates to a cumulative reduction of 401 megatonnes of C02 over the period 2020-30. In 2015 Morocco completely removed subsidies on petroleum products.

The first phase of the giant Noor solar complex near Morocco’s southern desert town of Ouarzazate is the 160MW Noor One plant, which was opened by the king in February. Instead of PV (photovoltaic) solar panels, Noor uses CSP (concentrated solar power) technology – giant mirrors to reflect the sun’s rays on to tubes containing liquid which is super-heated to drive turbines. CSP offers storage of electricity for up to three hours after the sun has set, which covers peak demand times.

Close to the site of Noor One, Noor two, currently under construction, will use the same CSP technology, but on a bigger scale with the hope of storing electricity for seven hours. Noor Three however will use a new variant on CSP technology – the solar tower, where the mirrors are directed at a central point.

Between them they will add another 350MW to the national grid, and are expected to be completed by 2017/18. Noor Four will be constructed near the High Atlas town of Midelt and Morocco’s renewables agency, Masen, announced this week at COP22 that it would open the bidding for two 400MW combined PV and CSP plants in early 2017.

Morocco is also investing in wind. A consortium of Enel Green Power, Nareva (owned by King Mohammed VI’s investment company) and Siemens won a bid in March to build five new wind farms at different sites across Morocco – Midelt, Tangier, Jbel Lahdid, and Tiskrid and Boujdour in the disputed Western Sahara territory. Their combined capacity will be 850MW, a huge increase taking Morocco closer to its aim of producing 14% of electricity from wind by 2020. The unit cost in the tender documents was one of the lowest in the world, at just $0.03 per kWh.

But while developing renewable power sounds good on paper, cost will be a big factor. The launch of the Noor CSP project has helped the price of electricity produced by CSP to come down to around $0.16 per kWh, but that looks expensive compared to solar PV which has fallen as low as $0.03 per kWh.

It remains to be seen whether the costs of CSP will fall low enough to be globally commercially competitive, and deliver cost-effective renewable power for Moroccan consumers. CSP also uses large amounts of water to keep the mirrors clean – a real problem in water-stressed Morocco. At the same time, Morocco has not totally kicked the fossil fuel habit – coal still makes up the biggest part of energy production today (35%) and is set to be expanded over the next five years. The new energy mix will include at least 3,900MW of energy from natural gas, and the search for hydrocarbon deposits on Moroccan soil continues.

Source: theguardian.com

EU Set to Limit Priority for Future Renewable Energy Projects: Draft

17.11.2016

EU regulators plan to limit renewable energy producers’ right to be the first to sell their electricity into European power grids, but stopped short of scrapping such privileges for existing projects as some had feared.

The proposal, seen by Reuters, is expected to be published by the European Commission on Nov. 30. It keeps so-called “priority dispatch” for existing solar and wind farms, but new projects in EU nations where renewables account for more than 15 percent of energy production will no longer benefit.

Under a system of priority dispatch, electricity generated from renewable sources can be sold before that produced by coal, gas and nuclear plants, allowing for a more predictable market for renewable producers.

In addition, the Commission proposes limiting priority dispatch to installations smaller than 250 kilowatts from 2026. It proposes that member states could apply still to have a priority dispatch system if “substantial problems” for renewable energy installations would occur otherwise.

Renewable energy producers had worried that removing priority dispatch mechanisms completely would stifle future investments.

The draft law, part of a set of proposals to implement goals for 2030 on cutting emissions, sticks to an outline target to increase the share of renewables as part of energy consumption in the EU to at least 27 percent by 2030 – up from the 20 percent goal for green energy for 2020.

EU officials are pushing renewables as they seek to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and a dependency on expensive oil and gas imports from nations such as Russia.

The European Parliament and some environmental campaigners have said the Commission was in danger of complacency and that the 2030 renewable energy target was not ambitious enough.

“A low target and lenient rules will not give European households and companies the confidence to invest in the renewable future,” Jean-François Fauconnier of Climate Action Network said.

The Commission’s draft proposal says its 27 percent target is ambitious, as its current projections show the bloc is on course for a 24.3 percent share of renewable energy consumption by 2030 without additional measures.

Source: reuters.com

Renewable Energy Made Up Record 21.7% of National Electricity Market in October

17.11.2016

Australia’s renewable energy sector hit a record in October, with 21.7% of electricity in the national electricity market coming from renewables, according to the latest Cedex report.

That represents the biggest proportion of any month since the data was made available by the Australian Energy Market Operator in 2005, according to the report from the engineering consultants Pitt&Sherry and the Australia Institute.

The high proportion of renewables contributed to a drop in emissions from the national electricity market – 0.8% less than a year earlier, meaning they had returned to May 2014 levels.

In the full year to October, renewable energy accounted for 14.7% of supply to the national electricity market, which encompasses the eastern states and South Australia. The lead author of the report, Hugh Saddler from Pitt&Sherry, said that was the biggest share since 1982, when demand was much lower and was satisfied by a lot of hydro.

“It further demonstrates the potential of a combination of renewable sources to produce very large amounts of power, which will help put downward pressure on future price rises as replacement costs impact wholesale prices,” Saddler said.

The report also examined historical retail and wholesale prices, and found a surprising lack of correlation.

Wholesale prices in NSW and Victoria have remained roughly flat for 20 years in real terms, the report found.

Despite that, retail prices in those states have been rising sharply since 2007, nearly doubling over the 20 years.

“There has been much discussion about the effect of coal plant closures, such as Hazelwood, on electricity prices,” Saddler said. “But the data shows that wholesale electricity prices have been effectively flat in real dollars for going on 20 years now.”

That meant the prices rises were not being pushed up by wholesale prices but rather by the retailers and the distribution networks.

“Those concerned about electricity prices for households and business should logically be focused on the distribution and retail side of this issue but, for some reason, we usually hear about production and wholesale concerns from politicians,” Saddler said.

Source: theguardian.com

SUSI Energy Efficiency Fund enters the SEE region

17.11.2016

The SUSI Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) has acquired a portfolio of energy efficiency projects from GGE d.o.o. (GGE), one of the leading energy service companies (ESCO) in South-East Europe. The transaction is structured as a sale of receivables with a consideration of 7.5 million euro. The energy efficiency portfolio includes lighting, heating, cooling and filtration retrofit measures with industrial and public clients in Slovenia. The measures will allow for annual energy savings of 5,300 MWh, reducing CO2 emissions by over 1,130 tonnes every year.

Luka Komazec, CEO of GGE, commented this agreement: “GGE has always been at the forefront of the Slovenia’s energy efficiency sector, successfully opening up new markets in South-East Europe. Gaining access to financing for retrofits and energy efficiency projects is key to our growth strategy moving forward.” Please look here for information.

GE Enhances Digital Power Plant Software and Extends Reliability and Efficiency Apps to Hydropower and the Electricity Grid

17.11.2016

GE announced two days ago a significant expansion of its suite of Predix -based software for power producers, grid operators and energy managers.

GE’s latest release of Digital Power Plant software for gas, steam and nuclear plants features new tools to help customers reduce unplanned downtime by up to 5 percent, reduce false positive alerts by up to 75 percent and reduce operations and maintenance costs by up to 25 percent. It also includes software that provides power producers with accurate and timely plant operating capacity information which energy traders can use to generate incremental revenues.

Also unveiled today, the Digital Hydro Plant is GE’s fourth major Predix-based Digital Power Plant solution. The Digital Hydro Plant extends GE’s digital solutions to the hydropower vertical with possible benefits including up to 10 percent reduced maintenance costs, 1 percent increase in plant availability and up to 3 percent increased revenue.

Eight percent of all generated electricity never reaches its intended customer due to grid outages1. To address this challenge, GE has introduced a new set of Intelligent Digital Substation solutions for the electrical grid. These solutions include GE’s asset monitoring & diagnostics and automation applications, based on its DS Agile Digital Control System. GE’s Intelligent Digital Substations improve maintenance scheduling, optimize asset utilization, prevent failures and increase reliability of electrical grids by reducing power outage probability and duration.

Finally, a new intelligent energy management tool from Current, powered by GE, will help managers of commercial and industrial facilities use energy more efficiently.

“In just the past year, we’ve seen more than 30 international, state and private power producers and utilities begin their digital journeys with GE,” said Ganesh Bell, chief digital officer, GE Power. “Today’s announcements represent another major step forward in the digitalization of the industry. I believe we will look back on 2016 as a tipping point when digital transformation went mainstream.”

Source: genenewsroom.com

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