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The Internet of Things

abbbThe digital revolution, also called the 4th revolution, started in 1969, but today it is mostly related to software. The change is in paradigm shift, of which one is related to the power business and one in the automation business, Reiner Schoenrock, Strategic Product and Innovation Communication at ABB said, when speaking about the  All this also impacts people and running the companies. The shift is happening in power business, with more RES being integrated in the network, the flexibility to integrate them comes from software and data.

Big shift is also in automation. “We look at the whole value chain to improve businesses, one f the main things is to enhance safety and reliability,” he said. It also enables to boost productivity and flexibility. With  new device ABB can measure 11 things in a motor that was unable to monitor before, in order to analyse the data the sensor picks from the motor. This will increase the lifetime of motor up to 30%, shorten downtimes by up to 70% and increase the energy efficiency by up to 10%. In case of hydropower plants this means 100 GW.

Cloud-basedIt is monitoring 20,000 substation transformers and circuit breakers in the supply network of the American Electric Power with an Asset Health Center which recommends maintenance and supports in priorising which devices needs to change. The technology’s impact on economy, making everything cheaper and easier accessible. The development is very fast nowadays. We see greater opportunities for all the offerings and the advancement in the services we can offer with smart sensors, the electronics and intelligence has not been combined to such degree as by ABB which also sends the data to the cloud, he said.

How many are out and ramping up the production, the project for the first time was revealed a few weeks ago in Frankfurt, and we are looking for pilot customers. We are not talking about the price, rather about the amortisation, this would save on average with 100 motors in operation 50,000 EUR annually. The first products will be shipped later this year to the US. Robot can be taught in a few minutes what to do. UMI robots. You can take him by the hand and he remembers what to do. The most important market for low voltage motors which he has shown us, and the scope is in all industries and all countries.

Source: www.abb.com

Solar Impulse Lands in Pennsylvania

Photo: Solar Impuls
Photo: Solar Impuls

The sun-powered aircraft Solar Impulse has landed in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, after a near-17-hour flight. The plane began the stage on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio, travelling 1,044km to reach the East Coast waypoint. The journey is the 13th leg in a quest that started in Abu Dhabi last year to circumnavigate the globe on zero fuel. Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard was in the pilot’s seat of the 72m-wingspan, electric plane. The aircraft took off from Dayton International Airport at 04:02 local time (08:02 GMT). It landed in Lehigh Valley at 20:49 local time (00:49 GMT, Thursday). The achievement positions the project to make its entry into New York in the coming days. The “Big Apple” is set to be the base for Solar Impulse as it waits for a weather window to fly the Atlantic.

Deciding when to cross the ocean will be a tricky decision. The slow-moving, ultra-light plane needs benign winds, and the team concedes that the right conditions may not present themselves for several weeks. “It’s going to be a long flight – more than 26 hours. But it’s going to be extraordinary because it will be so symbolic to be at [the Statue of Liberty],” said Andre Borschberg, who will pilot the stage.  “I was just visiting the Wright Brothers museum here in Dayton, and one of the flights he did – I think it was Orville – was the first airplane flight over the Statue of Liberty. He didn’t have to deal with co-ordinating the traffic because he knew there was nobody else, no other airplane flying at the time!”

V.V.

Source: www.bbc.com

Ontario Investing up to $900M in Energy Retrofits for Social Housing, Private Residential Apartment Buildings

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Climate Change Action Plan will reduce GHGs, create jobs, support sustainable communities.

Ontario is leading the fight against climate change by investing up to $900 million over four years from cap and trade proceeds to support people who rent by retrofitting social housing apartments and providing grants and rebates for residential multi-tenant buildings.

As part of the Climate Change Action Plan, which will be released this spring, the province will invest up to $500 million to retrofit social housing apartments with energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies such as energy-efficient windows, and thermal insulation on piping and other mechanical systems. In addition to reducing emissions, this would improve comfort for residents and save money for social housing providers to make other capital improvements. Indigenous social housing would also be eligible for retrofits under this program.

Ontario will also help improve energy efficiency in private residential apartment buildings by investing up to $400 million in an incentive program that will offer rebates or grants toward the purchase and installation of energy efficient technologies, like boiler replacements and lighting retrofits.

To ensure that carbon pricing does not negatively impact tenants and that private building owners take advantage of retrofit programs, the province will also consult on and develop options to make it illegal to pass these costs onto tenants.

Through the Climate Change Action Plan, Ontario will ensure cap and trade proceeds are invested in a transparent and accountable way back into projects that fight climate change by helping households save money on their energy costs, creating good jobs in sectors like clean-tech and construction, and helping small- and medium-sized businesses reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

Fighting climate change while supporting growth, efficiency and productivity is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes investing in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history and investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

Source: news.ontario.ca

HEINEKEN-UNIDO Partnership Supports Sustainability in Developing Markets

csm_2016-05-23_10_57_45-Heineken_NV_2015_Sustainability_Report.PDF_-_Adobe_Acrobat_Pro_f2a43baf7cBy 2030 the world is expected to require 40 per cent more water and 50 per cent more energy. Population growth, changing lifestyles and climate change will place increasing pressure on the environment, particularly on the water, energy and food nexus. One sector that touches all three of these areas is the brewing industry.

The ongoing partnership between the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and HEINEKEN, the international brewer, addresses a range of sustainability-related challenges with the aim of promoting inclusive growth and enhancing the environmental impact of HEINEKEN’s operations in developing countries. The HEINEKEN-UNIDO partnership covers three areas: water stewardship, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and local sourcing of input materials.

Under the water stewardship component, the partnership focuses on developing initiatives for catchment areas classified as “water-scarce”. These initiatives complement HEINEKEN’s commitment to reduce water consumption in their breweries located in these regions. Currently, joint activities are concentrating on breweries in Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico and Nigeria.

For more information visti link.

5th Annual Expo and Energy Investment and Technology Conference

Balkan-Energy-Leaders-2017-bannerGreen World Conferences are proud to host the Balkan Energy Leaders, 5th annual expo and energy investment and technology conference on 28-29 March 2017 in the Crowne Plaza hotel in Belgrade. Gathering top energy leaders from all Balkan countries this year the event will even broader cover the energy and electricity deployment across the Balkans discussing opportunities for conventional and renewable energy sectors in the region.

Expo:

Now in its fifth year of running the event will host a sizeable expo area with booths where technology providers, OEMs, contractors and service providers active within energy and electricity industry across the Balkans will showcase their latest market offer. 300 decision-makers are expected to visit the expo.

Source: www.greenworldconferences.com

Green World Conferences Announce 3rd Annual HydroTech Albania Conference and Exibition

HT-Albania-2017Green World Conferences are pleased to announce that 3rd annual HydroTech Albania conference and exhibition will be held on 22-23 February 2017 in Tirana Business Park.

HydroTech Albania is the only event focusing on Albania’s hydro energy potential, development and investment and is organised together with the Ministry of Energy & Industry and a number of local partners.

The conference is the only hydro energy event in the country and will provide a platform to exchange information and the opportunity for both the potential and existing investors and the investment community to meet and network in a 5 star environment. It is intended to support hydro development in Albania, to increase foreign direct investment and aid further privatisation of the hydro power industry.

While the event will be showcasing many technology providers it will also be content driven and will address the key issues the hydro energy industry is facing today in Albania, including the main drivers: reducing CO2, increasing energy security, enabling access to affordable financing, reducing production costs and alleviating poverty in rural areas.

Source: www.greenworldconferences.com

Sweden Phases out Fossil Fuels in Attempt to Run Completely off Renewable Energy

renewables2Sweden’s prime minister announced his country will work towards becoming ‘one of the first fossil fuel-free welfare states of the world’.

Renewables account for over half of Sweden’s energy, while the UK has one of the lowest renewable energy shares in Europe.

In 2015, Sweden’s prime minister announced his country will work towards becoming “one of the first fossil fuel-free welfare states of the world,” in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

Between 2013 and 2014, 51.1 per cent of Sweden’s energy needs were met by renewables, according to data from Eurostat and the Renewable Energy Directive.

As the chart by Statista shows, Sweden’s renewable energy share (RES) was larger than that of many other European nations.

Latvia was the second most green country, with a RES of 37 per cent, followed by Finland, which had a RES of 36.8 per cent and Austria, with an RES of 32.9 per cent.

In contrast, Luxembourg had the lowest RES at 3.8 per cent, followed by Malta and the Netherlands.

The UK had the fourth lowest RES at 5.7 per cent, followed by Ireland with 8.2 per cent.

Countries around Europe are building increasing amounts of renewable energy capacity in order to reduce their carbon emissions and boost supply security.

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cornwall Feels the Force of Community Energy

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Towns and villages will be helped to take control of their own energy systems as part of Cornish devolution.

Cornwall Council is supporting communities to develop plans to take control of local energy systems as part of its agreement for the UK’s first rural devolution deal.

The deal commits the council and government to work together to test new models for community energy, focusing on how local and neighbourhood plans can support local ownership of renewable energy and community-owned heat and create more meaningful links between the energy that is generated in Cornwall and local energy consumers.

Merlin Hyman, chief executive of Regen South West, said: “Cornwall Council has taken a strong approach to put this at the heart of its devolution deal.

Across the country there are already thousands of community energy schemes, and Regen SW has partnered with Devon county Council in a community energy support programme.

Cornwall Council launched its new neighbourhood planning guidance at last week’s Cornwall Energy Summit in Truro.

The guidance, “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: a community-led approach” will ensure that communities can take control of the future of their local energy systems by setting out the types of projects that will be supported and ensuring that local residents and businesses are the beneficiaries.

Julian German, Cornwall Council’s Cabinet member for economy and culture and chair of the summit, said: “It is great to see Cornwall Council leading the way in supporting community energy groups at what is a difficult time for the sector.

“Cornwall benefits from significant clean energy resources and the council believes that the benefits of making use of these resources should be shared with local communities, businesses and residents.”

Sarah Newton, MP for Truro and Falmouth, speaking at the event, said: “Reducing energy bills and increasing energy security while supporting renewable energy remain key priorities of my work for constituents. I support the parts of Devolution Deal that tackle these issues with people and communities in Cornwall.”

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall’s Cabinet member for planning, said: “The new Neighbourhood Planning guidance is an example of how the council is using Cornwall’s Devolution Deal to devolve further control to local communities. Neighbourhood planning is a significant new opportunity for communities to have their say on what happens in their area.

“By explaining how Neighbourhood Plans can be used to promote community energy the council is giving communities further tools to help them take action on local issues by developing policies which can lead to new income streams and help to tackle fuel poverty.”

Source: www.plymouthherald.co.uk

Portugal Runs for Four Days Straight on Renewable Energy Alone

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Zero emission milestone reached as country is powered by just wind, solar and hydro-generated electricity for 107 hours.

Portugal kept its lights on with renewable energy alone for four consecutive days in a clean energy milestone revealed by data analysis of national energy network figures.

Electricity consumption in the country was fully covered by solar, wind and hydro power in an extraordinary 107-hour run that lasted from 6.45am on Saturday 7 May until 5.45pm the following Wednesday, the analysis says.

News of the zero emissions landmark comes just days after Germany announced that clean energy had powered almost all its electricity needs on Sunday 15 May, with power prices turning negative at several times in the day – effectively paying consumers to use it.

Oliver Joy, a spokesman for the Wind Europe trade association said: “We are seeing trends like this spread across Europe – last year with Denmark and now in Portugal. The Iberian peninsula is a great resource for renewables and wind energy, not just for the region but for the whole of Europe.”

James Watson, the CEO of SolarPower Europe said: “This is a significant achievement for a European country, but what seems extraordinary today will be commonplace in Europe in just a few years. The energy transition process is gathering momentum and records such as this will continue to be set and broken across Europe.”

Last year, wind provided 22% of electricity and all renewable sources together provided 48%, according to the Portuguese renewable energy association.

While Portugal’s clean energy surge has been spurred by the EU’s renewable targets for 2020, support schemes for new wind capacity were reduced in 2012.

Despite this, Portugal added 550MW of wind capacity between 2013 and 2016, and industry groups now have their sights firmly set on the green energy’s export potential, within Europe and without.

“An increased build-out of interconnectors, a reformed electricity market and political will are all essential,” Joy said. “But with the right policies in place, wind could meet a quarter of Europe’s power needs in the next 15 years.”

In 2015, wind power alone met 42% of electricity demand in Denmark, 20% in Spain, 13% in Germany and 11% in the UK.

Source: theguardian.com

100 MW-AC Solar Project to Power the Santiago Metro

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

SunPower and Total’s Pelican solar project will supply 42% of the subway system’s electricity needs, and a wind plant will supply another 18%.

Today SunPower, Total and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced a solar project that will supply 42% of the electricity used by the subway system in Santiago, Chile.

SunPower plans to begin construction on the Pelican solar plant near the border of the Coquimbo and Atacama Regions this year, and complete the plant by the end of 2017. The plant will supply an estimated 300 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually to the metro under a power purchase agreement.

SunPower will design and build the plant using its Oasis Power Block modular system. The company will additionally provide operations and maintenance services using its robotic cleaning solution, which it says will reduce water usage.

In addition to the Pelican solar project, the Santiago metro will also be powered by the new San Juan wind project, which will provide another 18% of the system’s electricity needs. Together, the two projects will meet 60% of the metro’s electricity demand for powering trains, lighting stations and other needs.

Investment in these two renewable energy projects will total be around US$500 million.

These projects will enter into service in 2018 and supply the metro for 15 years. During this time the remaining 40% of the system’s electricity will be supplied by Chilean electric company Chilectra. 2.5 million Chileans use the Santiago metro every day, according to President Bachelet.

“It is an example which hopefully we can extend, as quickly as possible, to other private and public companies, and certainly to our global energy mix as in our nation,” stated President Bachelet. The announcement was made during a visit to the National Stadium station, which is under construction.

With this initiative, Chile seeks to contribute to the CO2 reduction goals passed this last year in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

In Chile there are currently 3 GW-AC of non-conventional renewable energy plants, a definition which excludes large hydro, in operation. Of these, 1.1 GW-AC are PV projects.

Source: pv-magazine.com

BRANKO DUNJIC: The Best and the Most Successful Companies have Integrated Principles of Clean Production in the Basis of Their Business

Foto: Youtube / Print Screen / Color Media Communications
Photo: Youtube / Print Screen / Color Media Communications

UNIDO (United Nations Development Organization) is the United Nation’s specialised agency that promotes sustainable industrial development. UNIDO encourages the reduction of poverty in developing countries, as well as development of economy in transition. These commitments were defined in Lima Declaration in 2013 on the UNIDO’s General Conference. This organization in cooperation with companies provides consulting services in addition to technical. In our country, Cleaner Production Centre of Serbia within Belgrade’s Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy conducts mentioned activities. Each socially responsible company, that takes care of the environmental protection can be included in these programs and improve its business but, as our interlocutor PhD Branko Dunjic, executive Manager of Cleaner Production Centre of Serbia says, it is not the case. There are factors that affect the companies’ lack of interest and forming of the opinion that this is irrelevant and secondary thing.

EP: Cleaner Production Centre of Serbia exists within the framework of UNIDO’s project. You held a number of seminars and trainings for over 70 companies. Can you tell us more about the centre and the results of your work?

Branko Dunjić: Cleaner Production Centre of Serbia was founded in 2007 and it operates within the framework of Faculty for Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade. The Center is at global level a part of UNIDO/ UNEP’s network of Centres for raw material efficiency and cleaner production (RECP Net). So far, it has helped in the application of methodology of raw material efficiency and cleaner production in more than 70 companies in Serbia and has trained 64 experts for cleaner production. In addition to projects in Serbia, the Center successfully provides consulting services abroad. For the last four years the Centre has been cooperating with International Finance Corporation (IFC) on different projects of raw material and energy efficiency in Serbia, Russia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Center cooperates with the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and it has successfully prepared and implemented the project ‘Environmentally sound management and final disposal of PCB’ funded by Global Environment Fund (GEF).

Project ‘Implementation of IPPC/IED Directive in facilities for intensive rearing of poultry and pigs’ started in April 2015. Cleaner Production Centre and Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy implements this project in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Production of the Republic of Serbia and with financial assistance of the Embassy of Sweden in Belgrade. The basic objective of the project is to support authorities of the Republic of Serbia and operators to adopt sustainable approach for implementation of IPPC/IDE Directive in facilities for intensive rearing of poultry and pigs. At global level our Centre has become a part of newly established network of centres for efficient use of resources (RECP Net) which is jointly supported by UNIDO and UNEP. Cleaner production Centre has become regional coordinator for all projects of raw material efficiency and cleaner production in the Balkans from 2014. In the project ‘Chemical Leasing‘ which introduces a new business model in the management of chemicals, our Centre has been participating under auspice of UNIDO since 2007.

The Centre has received many international awards for the achieved results in introducing of the business model in competition with more than 50 organizations from 20 countries among which are a few gold and silver medals. We have also received an award for the best Centre in the world that implements this project. The partners ‘Knjaz Miloš’, ‘Ecolab’, ‘Henkel’ and ‘Bambi-Banat’ have also got medals. Your readers should visits sites www. chemicalleasing.com, www.cpc-serbia.org for detailed explanations of the business models. So far (2006-2015), this project has included 70 companies with 40,000 employees and the average amount of savings per company (not including the project with EPS) amounts to 100,000 € per year with:

 – Average reduction of water consumption: 50,000 m3/year.

 – Average reduction of energy consumption: 500 MWh/year.

 – Average reduction of CO2 emission: 500t/year.

Photo: Pixabay

EP: Which companies have applied your methodology and in what way do you start cooperation with new companies? What did these companies change in their operation after the training and is there a way to monitor and evaluate the implementation of methodology?

Branko Dunjić: Among the companies that have successfully implemented the methodology with our help are; ‘Metalac’, ‘Knjaz Miloš’, ‘Imlek’, ‘Carnex’, ‘EPS’, ‘ZvezdaHelios’, ‘Bambi-Banat’, ‘Štark’, ‘Maxima’, ‘Sojaprotein’, ‘Tarkett’, ‘Umka’, ‘Chemical Agrosava’, ‘Galenika Fitofarmacija’, ‘Unipromet’, ‘Delta-Agrar’, as well as companies from the cities of Pančevo and Čačak. As a rule the best, companies adopt and apply methodology of raw material efficiency and clean production in the best way. Six months after the completion of the project, our trained experts visit companies and take interest in the actual implementation of cleaner production options. These companies retain the team that was formed during the training process and they continue with systematic analysis approach of material and energy balance and constant improvements.

Experience tells us that these projects whose investment value is under 5,000 €, are almost fully implemented, while the percentage of implemented projects of 50,000 € investment value is 60%, and the ones whose investment value is over 50,000 € is around 30%. The upper limit of repayment period of investment in cleaner production measures, that is acceptable for our companies, is about 3 years. At the beginning, we started cooperation with companies after series of information seminars throughout Serbia, and through personal contacts. Now, the companies increasingly emerge alone, but still the biggest part of projects is co-financed by different donors (UN, IFC, bilateral help).

EP: Is cleaner production in Serbia sufficiently represented and what are your impressions from the terrain? What are the main obstacles and problems in terms of environmental protection in order for factories to be responsible in the long run?

Branko Dunjić: Absolutely not. Most of our companies see clean production as unimportant, secondary thing, while it actually represents a serious business strategy, sustainable in the long term. Business strategy that is based on corporate stewardship, constant evaluation and advancement, and curiosity. The Strategy based on the responsibility towards yourself, the environment, natural resources, and future generations. Truth be told, our colleagues from all over the world say that they have the same situation. Again I can say that the best and the most successful companies have the best integrated principles of cleaner production.

The main obstacles are obsolete technologies and lack of money. Our industry lost pace and money in the last decade of the XX century. So now it is forced to work inefficiently, losing money through excessive and inefficient energy consumption, raw materials, chemicals and water. There are no financial incentives for the introduction of clean production, and you can also notice insufficient law enforcement. At the same time, water and energy prices are relatively low (although these prices are too expensive for some!), and this additionally contributes to the lack of interest of companies for this type of projects. All this leads to some type of apathy and disbelief in the possibility of change, and that is the reason why certain improvements that don’t cost anything are not implemented.

Interview by : Vesna Vukajlović

This interview was first published in bulletin “Responsible Companies Environmental Protection” on March 2016.

ABB Electric Propulsion System

ABB_Azipod fuel savings_image 2

ABB today announced the total fuel savings of the entire installed Azipod fleet since being launched is estimated to be more than 700,000 tons. Assuming the average family car uses one ton of fuel annually, this savings corresponds to the annual fuel consumption of 700,000 cars.

The gearless, steerable propulsion system reduces fuel consumption by up to 20% and achieves decimeter accurate maneuverability without the aid of tugboats. It is installed on an extremely wide range of vessels, including the world’s largest cruise ship (6,600 passengers), the most advanced icebreaker, one of the largest crane vessels in Asia, a 105-meter luxury superyacht, and most recently, an innovative cargo transfer vessel. According to Clarkson’s Research, the leading shipbroker and research firm, the number of vessels with electric propulsion is growing at a pace of 12 percent per year, three times faster than the world’s fleet.

A pioneering technology leader, ABB is celebrating Azipod propulsion’s 25th anniversary this year. The electrical propulsion system – where the electric motor with propeller is mounted inside a streamlined pod capable of 360 degree movement beneath the ship – has evolved to become the industry standard for the marine industry. The system can drive and steer the ship at the same time.

More info 

Source: abb.com

ABB Electric Propulsion System Saved over 700,000 Tons of Fuel for Marine Vessels so far

ABB_Azipod fuel savings_image 1Zurich, Switzerland, May 24, 2016 – ABB’s environmental friendly Azipod propulsion system brings greater fuel efficiency to diverse shipping segments.

ABB today announced the total fuel savings of the entire installed Azipod fleet since being launched is estimated to be more than 700,000 tons. Assuming the average family car uses one ton of fuel annually, this savings corresponds to the annual fuel consumption of 700,000 cars.

The gearless, steerable propulsion system reduces fuel consumption by up to 20% and achieves decimeter accurate maneuverability without the aid of tugboats. It is installed on an extremely wide range of vessels, including the world’s largest cruise ship (6,600 passengers), the most advanced icebreaker, one of the largest crane vessels in Asia, a 105-meter luxury superyacht, and most recently, an innovative cargo transfer vessel. According to Clarkson’s Research, the leading shipbroker and research firm, the number of vessels with electric propulsion is growing at a pace of 12 percent per year, three times faster than the world’s fleet.

A pioneering technology leader, ABB is celebrating Azipod propulsion’s 25th anniversary this year. The electrical propulsion system – where the electric motor with propeller is mounted inside a streamlined pod capable of 360 degree movement beneath the ship – has evolved to become the industry standard for the marine industry. The system can drive and steer the ship at the same time.

Azipod propulsion units are the market-leading solution for today’s modern large cruise ships. The system is also dominating the growing icebreaking and icebreaking cargo ship sector. The most advanced port icebreaker will feature four Azipod propulsion units placed in an innovative design to allow the vessel to operate either bow or stern first, keeping ABB at the cutting edge of icebreaking technology.

The entire installed Azipod propulsion unit base has accumulated 12 million operating hours in merchant, offshore and special vessel segments. “Our engineers continue to innovate, like they did 25 years ago, to ensure Azipod propulsion meets the demands from a diverse range of ship owners.  Much has changed in the shipping sector since we introduced the first Azipod but the desire for efficiency, maneuverability and reliability remains the same. The fact that Azipod propulsion remains the dominant force in podded electric propulsion shows our commitment to meet our customer’s needs,” said Juha Koskela, the managing director of ABB’s Marine and Ports business.

For more information click on the links below:

·         Video

·         Azipod portal

·         Azipod 25 years portal

·         Audio-visual material

Source: abb.com

World Could Warm 8 Degrees Celsius If All Fosil Fuel Reserves Burned

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

As nations meet in Bonn, Germany this week to hash out how to achieve the 2-degree Celsius goal they set in Paris, new research is providing policymakers a glimpse of what would happen if the world does nothing to curb climate change. What if nations chose instead to burn through all of their remaining fossil fuel reserves, equal to 5 trillion tons of CO2 emissions? According to the new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the world would warm an average 8 degrees Celsius (14.4 degrees F), or up to 17 degrees Celsius (30 degrees F) in the Arctic. The research was conducted by a team of climate scientists at the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University in British Columbia who wanted to understand the worst-case scenario. “Such climate changes, if realized, would have extremely profound impacts on ecosystems, human health, agriculture, economies, and other sectors,” the researchers write.

Source: Yale Environment 360

Biodegradable plastic ‘false solution’ for ocean waste problem

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Biodegradable plastic water bottles and shopping bags are a false solution to the ubiquitous problem of litter in the oceans, the UN’s top environmental scientist has warned.

Most plastic is extremely durable, leading to large plastic debris and “microplastics” to spread via currents to oceans from the Arctic to the Antarctic, a UN report published on Monday found.

Greener plastics that breakdown in the environment have been marketed as a sustainable alternative that could reduce the vast amount of plastic waste that ends up in the sea after being dumped. But Jacqueline McGlade, chief scientist at the UN Environment Programme, told the Guardian that these biodegradable plastics were not a simple solution.

“It’s well-intentioned but wrong. A lot of plastics labelled biodegradable, like shopping bags, will only break down in temperatures of 50C and that is not the ocean. They are also not buoyant, so they’re going to sink, so they’re not going to be exposed to UV and break down,” she said.

Speaking at the the UN environment assembly in Nairobi, where 170 countries are meeting and expected to pass a resolution on microplastics later this week, she added: “We have detected plastics in places as far away as the Chagos Islands [in the Indian Ocean]. Even if you are remote, you are not safe from it.”

More than 300m tonnes of plastic were produced in 2014 and that is expected to swell to nearly 2,000m tonnes by 2050 on current trends, the UN report said. While the exact amount that reaches the oceans is not known, the report concluded: “plastic debris, or litter, in the ocean is now ubiquitous.”

The spread of everything from large plastic debris such as fishing gear which dolphins can become entangled with, to fragments smaller than 5mm in diameter known as microplastics, has ecological, social and economics costs.

Jellyfish, for example, are using plastic as a habitat and to hitch a ride, allowing them to extend their range. The spread of jellyfish is considered bad news by experts because of the amount of plankton they eat, taking away food from fish and other marine life.

“There is a moral argument that we should not allow the ocean to become further polluted with plastic waste, and that marine littering should be considered a ‘common concern of humankind’,” the report’s authors wrote.

The main solution to plastics in the ocean is better waste collection and recycling, particularly in the developing world, the UN said. But McGlade said that some of the biodegradable additives in plastic to allow it to break down made it harder to recycle, and potentially harmful in the natural environment.

“When you start adding all of that [additives], when it becomes waste, they [the additives] become the enemy of the environment. As consumers we need to think of the use of plastic,” she said.

The UN report said that it was only in the past decade that plastics in the ocean had been taken seriously. “Warnings of what was happening were reported in the scientific literature in the early 1970s, with little reaction from much of the scientific community.”

Source: The Guardian

Germany Just Produced So Much Renewable Energy That It Had To Pay People To Use It

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Electricity bills are often ludicrously high thanks to our energy-intensive modern world, but every now and then, thanks to the forces of nature, a metaphorical miracle takes place. As reported by Quartz, Germany just experienced such a phenomenon when a particularly bright and sunny day supercharged their solar and wind power sectors.

Around 1 p.m. on May 8, the nation’s renewable energy generating facilities were supplying around 55 gigawatts of the 63 gigawatts being consumed – about 87 percent of the total electricity consumption. With the addition of the country’s conventional power plants, the output actually exceeded the national demand. This energy surplus meant that, for a brief time, energy prices were actually negative, meaning consumers were effectively being paid to consume electricity.

A similar feat occurred in Denmark last year, when a terrifically windy day boosted their wind power sector so much that these turbines alone generated 140 percent of the nation’s electricity demand, with the excess energy being exported to Germany, Norway, and Sweden.

According to a United Nations report, Germany intends to be one of the frontrunners when it comes to renewable energy; it has pledged to be powered entirely by renewable energy sources by 2050, an ambitious feat to say the least. Days like May 8 serve to give this ambition genuine credibility.

A recent study suggested that all the pieces are in place for an energy revolution. Fossil fuels would be rejected, and renewable and nuclear energy would take over. A recent declaration by the International Energy Agency, that over a quarter of the world will be powered by renewable energy by 2020, seems to imply that this may be the case – as does the Paris climate change agreement, which can only be successfully implemented if fossil fuels are ditched in favor of renewables.

Countries all over the world are stepping up to the plate, including Germany. Sweden has initiated legislative and infrastructural changes to put it on track to becoming the world’s first fossil fuel-free nation; Morocco will soon have a 24/7 concentrated solar power plant that will be able to constantly supply the entire region; the U.S., Canada, and China have all agreed to cooperate to end their reliance on fossil fuels.

As always, though, it’s complicated. Many nations increasing their renewable energy generation capabilities are also scaling back on their nuclear power plants, particularly Germany. If they hope to be fossil fuel-free in the near-future, removing their nuclear power plants – which have a near-zero carbon footprint – will greatly hinder them on their quest, along with slowing down their efforts to mitigate man-made climate change.

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