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Thassalia: France’s First Marine Geothermal Energy Power Plant Inaugurated

tttFrench utility Engie has inaugurated the nation’s first self-termed marine geothermal power station on France’s southern coast, in Marseille. The Thassalia power station will pump seawater from the Port of Marseille into heat exchangers and heat pumps to provide heat and refrigeration to a custom-built network integrated with the heart of Marseille’s business center.

Although similar plants are already in operation — including another from Engie located in Paris that functions with the River Seine – the Thassalia plant is the first in France to use saltwater and to provide heat and cooling in tandem.

Isabelle Kocher, CEO of Engie, said in an Oct. 18 statement: “The Thassalia inauguration is an opportunity for me to appreciate the involvement of this beautiful region in energy transition, especially in terms of renewable energy development and continued commitment to improve building energy efficiency. The marine geothermal power station serves as a new innovative display of this approach.”

Thomas Jung, president of the company running the Thassalia plant, told Renewable Energy World that “Marseilles has been undertaking something of a green, environmentally friendly initiative — so it was ideal timing for development of the Thassailia plant and demonstration of this technology.”

Indeed, the project represents a key component within the Euroméditerranée EcoCité sustainability initiative. According to Jung, the plant uses thermal energy from the sea to supply buildings with heating and cooling.

“Seawater is pumped up — [from] a depth of six meters, at a temperature between 16 and 24 degrees Celsius — and to cold chillers and thermal-refrigeration pumps that are able to produce cold (4 degrees Celsius) and hot (60 degrees Celsius) water at the same time,” Jung said.  “The plant will reach capacities of 16 MW cooling and 18.6 MW heating. This is quite a special configuration, and serves an immediate need within the network to which it is connected.”

A back-up gas boiler has also been built into the plant to ensure supply during times of peak demand. After processing at the Thassalia plant, thermal energy is then directed through a custom-built network to customers. “In total, the plant will satisfy the energy needs of more than 500,000 m2 of space shared over the buildings connected to the network,” Jung said. The network is set to expand over the coming few years, but for now is based around underground pipes running to a little over two kilometers. The plant has cost 35 million euros (US$38.6 million), according to Engie. But for what the investment has bought, Jung says that the plant is highly cost-effective.

“We’re able to produce energy at the same costs as using traditional heating/cooling solutions; however, because our technology is clean, there are savings on the heating taxes (reduced by 15 percent) and on the long-term prices if we consider that the gas and electricity prices will go increasing in the next years,” he said.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

‘Nuclear Industry in France in Crisis,’ 20 Reactors Shut Down

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

A third of France’s nuclear reactors have been shut down by industry regulators as revelations emerge about the supply of sub-standard parts.

As investigations into falsified documents and excess quantities of carbon in steel continue, more closures are expected. This is not yet a full-blown crisis for the nuclear industry, but it is putting serious strain on the finances of French nuclear giant EDF and causing electricity price rises across western Europe.

It is also very bad news for the climate. France is reopening mothballed coal plants and burning more coal than it has for 32 years. Neighbors, including Germany, which normally takes cheap nuclear power from the French, are also powering up old fossil fuel plants and exporting the electricity to France at premium prices.

France is not the only country affected by the scandal. A Japanese company, the Japan Casting & Forging Corporation, has also allegedly been involved in falsifying quality control documents for parts supplied to reactors both at home and in France.

The Japanese nuclear safety organization is now investigating, but so far no plants in Japan have been ordered to close, partly because most of them have in any case remained shut since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

This is a drama that has been unfolding slowly for months. But as more forged documents and potentially faulty parts have come to light, the French regulator ASN has begun insisting on shutdowns and inspections to ensure plants are safe.

One problem is that there is too much carbon in the steel components and containment vessels, which will make them brittle. The carbon content is well above specified safety limits, leading to fears that there could be catastrophic failures in plants currently operating.

The second, related, problem is forged, falsified or incomplete quality control reports about the components themselves. Areva, the troubled French state-owned nuclear component manufacturer, is reviewing all 9,000 manufacturing records from its giant forge at Le Creusot dating back as far as 1943. This includes 6,000 parts made for nuclear reactors—some of them outside France.

The anomalies were first discovered in 2014 at the plant being built at Flamanville in northern France. Excess carbon was found in the plant’s pressure vessel. This has caused considerable further cost and even longer delays to the completion of the flagship reactor. It has still not been cleared as safe and a final decision will not be taken until next year.

It was the investigations into how this potentially disastrous flaw got through the safety vetting process that led to the discovery in May this year of 400 other sub-standard parts and a mass of falsified quality control documentation. Many of the parts are inside nuclear plants currently operating.

According to Power magazine, an ASN press relations officer, who requested anonymity in line with ASN rules, said more nuclear power plants with suspect parts will be inspected in the next few weeks. “We are now finding carbon segregation problems from components coming from both Le Creusot and Japan Casting & Forging. As for now, there are 20 EDF reactors offline,” the official said.

And the Japan Times reported that Japan Casting & Forging Corporation is now also under scrutinyby the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority because it supplied French plants. With most of Japan’s nuclear fleet closed since Fukushima, there are moves to reopen some reactors.

Shaun Burnie, nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Germany, said: “The nuclear industry in France is now in crisis as a result of the carbon test results, with 11 reactors supplied by Japanese steel ordered shut down and under investigation by the regulator.”

“No such testing has been done in Japan … until actual testing is conducted, the NRA and more importantly the communities living near nuclear reactors, will not know what risks the nuclear plants pose,” Burnie added.

“The NRA must instruct utilities in Japan to undertake testing as a matter of urgency.” He said the priorities are the Sendai-2 and Ikata-3 reactors, the only plants operating.

Source: ecowatch.com

Last 5 Years Hottest on Record, Human Footprint ‘Increasingly Visible’

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There is growing evidence that man-made climate change is contributing to individual extreme weather and climate events, according to the latest analysis by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The report, released at COP22 in Marrakech, finds that greenhouse gas emissions raise the probability of extreme heat events as much as 10 times or more. The report also noted that 2011-2015 was the hottest five-year period on record with 2016 on track to become the hottest year on record.

Among the worst extremes, a 2011-12 drought and famine in the Horn of Africa killed more than 250,000 people and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines killed 7,800 in 2013, the WMO said.

“The Paris agreement aims at limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursuing efforts towards 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in a press release.

“The effects of climate change have been consistently visible on the global scale since the 1980s: rising global temperature, both over land and in the ocean; sea-level rise; and the widespread melting of ice,” Taalas said. “It has increased the risks of extreme events such as heatwaves, drought, record rainfall and damaging floods.”

Source: ecowatch.com

Agreement on a 5 MW biomass fired heat plant delivery to Rantasalmi, Finland

keerThe new plant replaces the existing boiler plant which has been in operation since 1980. Located in Susimäki industrial park, the plant produces district heat to Rantasalmi downtown area and process heat to Savopak Oy’s factory. As fuel the plant uses local forest wood chips and side products from Savopak Oy’s factory as well as other local wood industry companies. The share of biofuels used in Rantasalmi’s heat production will continue to be close to 100 %. The project starts immediately and the plant will be inaugurated in autumn 2017. The foundation and civil works will begin in spring 2017.

”This project in Rantasalmi is a replacement investment that will ensure heat production with local biofuels far into the future. The new technology will improve heat production’s efficiency and decrease emissions caused by the plant,” tells Heikki Tirkkonen, Business Director of Suur-Savon Sähkö Oy.

”The plant will be delivered to Rantasalmi mostly as prefabricated modules manufactured in the Kiuruvesi workshop with the necessary equipment already in place. This modular Unicon Biograte plant enables cost efficient and high quality Cleantech solution where most of the installation work is done in workshop conditions by Finnish energy professionals. With the new plant, the heat production in Rantasalmi can be executed more effectively and by utilizing domestic fuels in a sustainable way,” tells Olli-Pekka Aarnio, Sales Manager of KPA Unicon.

KPA Unicon builds the new parts of the plant from the foundation upwards. The scope of delivery includes Unicon Biograte grate boiler with auxiliary equipment, fuel receiving station and fuel feeding to boiler, flue gas cleaning systems, stack, new boiler house as well as plant electrification, instrumentation and automation. Some of the new plant’s equipment will be located in the existing boiler house.

Source: kapaunicon.fi

5 Years of Reliable Operations of the Nord Stream Pipeline

imagesYesterday, the Nord Stream Pipeline celebrated the fifth anniversary of its start of operations. Line 1 started on 8th November 2011 the transportation of natural gas from Russia to European businesses and households, Line 2 came on stream beginning of October 2012.

“Nord Stream is a pioneer in our industry: we set new benchmarks in terms of technology, design and implementation of the project. To continue this way is the vision of the whole Nord Stream team to which we feel obliged to and which we are proud of”, says Nord Stream Managing Director Alexey Zagorovskiy.

The twin pipeline system through the Baltic Sea from Vyborg, Russia to Lubmin near Greifswald, Germany constitutes the shortest connection between the vast gas reserves in Russia and energy markets in the European Union. The safe, modern and efficient route has the capacity to supply 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. Since the beginning of its operations, Nord Stream has reliably fulfilled all transport nominations without interruptions.

Since 2012, international certification body DNV GL has performed an annual assessment of the integrity of Nord Stream pipeline system during safe and reliable gas transportation and confirmed compliance with the best-in-class industry requirements for design, integrity and functional safety.

Source: nord-stream.com

Costa Rica: Using mangroves to mitigate the impact of climate change

giz2016-costa-ricaCosta Rica is ambitious when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions: the Central American country aims to be carbon-neutral by 2021. This will be achieved with various projects, including one on the Nicoya peninsula. A report from the magazine akzente explains how.

Costa Rica aims to plant 5,000 mangroves per hectare on Nicoya. The deep roots of the trees strengthen the soil along the coast and provide habitat for many animals. Working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been helping the country since 2014 to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The German company Ristic, which exports organic shrimp from Costa Rica, is financing the planting of the mangroves on Nicoya. The company’s involvement in reforestation is driven by environmental and business interests: the project is recognised as environmental compensation for shrimp production, and this in turn is necessary for organic certification.

Source: giz.de

Britain’s Last Coal Power Plants to Close by 2025

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

The last coal power station in Britain will be forced to close in 2025, the government has said as it laid out the detail of its plan to phase-out the polluting fossil fuel.

Ministers promised last year that the UK would close coal power within a decade and replace it with gas and other sources to meet its climate change commitments.

But in a delayed consultation on the phase-out, published on Wednesday, officials admitted that the last coal power station was likely to shutter in 2022 even without government intervention, prompting calls from campaigners to bring forward the cut-off year.

Greg Clark, the energy secretary, said the move sent a clear signal to the world that the UK was a good place to invest in clean energy. “Taking unabated coal power out of our energy mix and replacing it with cleaner technology, such as gas, will significantly reduce emissions from the UK’s energy use,” he said.

The government also confirmed renewable energy would receive £730m in support this parliament, and that bids for £290m of support annually would be opened from next April. Most of that is likely to be taken by offshore windfarm developers, which will receive at least £105 per megawatt hour of electricity generated if built in 2021, considerably lower than the £135 for ones deployed in 2018.

While admitting that recent history has shown coal power plants can close at short notice, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said its analysis suggested taking action on coal posed no risks to electricity supplies.

The department is consulting on two options for effectively forcing the UK’s last eight coal power stations to close by 2025 at the very latest. Both involve changes to the Emissions Power Standard, which sets a limit on new coal power plants’ annual carbon emissions based on their capacity, and which the UK’s ageing fleet would be unable to meet.

Officials expect that because air pollution and climate change measures are making coal uneconomic, all coal power plants will close by 2022. But they also said that if the price of coal was low it was conceivable they would not close until 2030. They said this uncertainty showed the need for intervention.

Ben Caldecott, associate fellow of the thinktank Bright Blue, called for the end date to be brought forward. “There are significant benefits of phasing coal out sooner, rather than later. We believe that the 2025 target should be brought forward by at least two years to give investors greater certainty to invest, which will improve security of supply.”

Green groups and climate change commentators welcomed the move and commended the government. WWF said ministers should strongly resist any attempts to water down the phase-out. Friends of the Earth applauded the government and said it should now block a proposed opencast coal mine in Northumberland, given the UK was no longer planning to burn the fuel.

Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief, welcomed the proposals. “Congratulations to UK government for the consultation on coal phase-out. Coal needs to take its rightful place in history of yesterday. Coal workers need to be given a fresh chance at the jobs of tomorrow.”

The government acknowledges the potential human cost of coal power stations shuttering, saying plant closures could have a “significant impact on communities” as they employed around 100-500 directly.

The only way the coal plants could stay open would be if they fitted technology to capture and store the carbon emissions, though officials said that was “considered unlikely”.

Electricity generation from the UK’s coal plants has already declined steeply, and is expected to have fallen 66% by the year’s end, compared to 2015. There are already no coal plants in Scotland after the last one, at Longannet, closed in the spring. Gas has taken up most of the slack this year, and is expected to replace most of the capacity provided as coal plants close in coming years.

Michael Grubb, professor of International Energy and Climate Change Policy at UCL, said: “Outlining how and when coal plants will cease to operate will pave the way for new investment, including gas. Coal is already struggling economically and removing coal clarifies the market space for gas during the 2020s.”

Source: theguardian.com

Water resilience in Africa at forefront of COP22 agenda

cop22cover-fbSeveral African ministers in charge of water took part in a side event organised in the Moroccan pavilion yesterday during which they stressed the pertinence of putting water issues at the top of the COP22 agenda in light of the drastic impact of climate change on water resources.

Speaking on this occasion, Morocco’s Minister Delegate in Charge of Water, Charafat Afilal, said that climate change takes a toll on the water cycle impacting the ecosystems of societies and hindering the achievement of sustainable development goals in Africa.

She highlighted Morocco’s international advocacy for global action to counter the devastating impacts of climate change on the water sector, saying that the momentum witnessed in terms of enhancing water resilience has been strengthened at COP21 and further consolidated during the International Conference on Water and Climate, which adopted the Rabat Call: “Water for Africa.”

For his part, Honorary President of the World Water Council, Loic Fauchon, commended the efforts spearheaded by HM King Mohammed VI enabling water to be considered as a main climate change challenge at COP22. “In Marrakech, it is the first time in COP’s history that water is put at the top of the agenda,” he said.

Fauchon noted that adapting the water sector to climate change requires a three-pronged approach smartly combining finance, governance and knowledge and recommended the inclusion in the “Blue Book on Water and Climate” of the solutions that will be developed in COP22.

The side event was also an occasion for the ministers in charge of water of Burkina Faso and Chad to shed light on the challenges facing their respective countries in fighting climate change effects on water.

In this respect, Chad’s Minister Sidick Abdelkerim Haggar deplored that lake Chad has been shrinking at a dramatic rate as a result of severe droughts causing rural flight and threatening the lives of about 30 million people who depend on its water.

Source: cop22-morocco.com

Global ‘Greening’ Has Slowed Rise of CO2 in the Atmosphere, Study Finds

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

A global “greening” of the planet has significantly slowed the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the start of the century, according to new research.

More plants have been growing due to higher CO2 levels in the air and warming temperatures that cut the CO2 emitted by plants via respiration. The effects led the proportion of annual carbon emissions remaining in the air to fall from about 50% to 40% in the last decade.

However, this greening is only offsetting a small amount of the billions of tonnes of CO2 emitted from fossil fuel burning and other human activities and will not halt dangerous global warming. “Unfortunately, this increase is nowhere near enough to stop climate change,” said Dr Trevor Keenan, at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the US, who led the new work.

The absolute level of CO2 in the atmosphere is continuing to rise, breaking the milestone of 400 parts per million (ppm) in 2015, and rising temperatures continue to surpass records.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warned on Tuesday that 2011-15 was the hottest five-year period ever recorded and that climate change had increased the risk of half of extreme weather events, with some heatwaves made 10 times more likely by global warming.

The new study on global greening is published in Nature Communications by an international team of scientists who concluded cutting carbon emissions remains vital to preventing severe climate change.

“Enhanced carbon uptake by the biosphere to date has slowed the growth rate of atmospheric CO2 and our results [suggest] uptake has been especially strong recently,” they wrote. “Without effective reduction of global CO2 emissions, however, future climate change remains a stark reality.”

Prof Corinne Le Quéré, director of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia, who was not part of the new research, said: “Natural vegetation is a fantastic help in slowing down climate change by absorbing about a quarter of our carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.

“Fundamentally though, this help is not enough to stop the planet warming – far from it – carbon emissions have to drop to almost zero to stop global warming.”
The scientists used extensive land, air and satellite data to assess how carbon uptake by plants has changed over recent decades and used modelling to help untangle the different factors underlying the changes. It has been unclear whether the fertilisation effect of higher CO2 levels for plants is outweighed by the harm caused to them by warming and droughts.

The researchers found that between 1960 and 2000 the rise of CO2 in the atmosphere was increasing every year, but that after 2000 the rate slowed to about the same increase every year. They found that the main factor was the higher CO2 levels, which were just 290ppm at the start of the last century, compared to 400ppm today.

Another factor was the slower rate of global temperature increase after 2000, the so-called “pause” during which more of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases went into the oceans than the air. This meant the increasing respiration of plants driven by rising heat was curbed, trapping more carbon.

Prof Chris Rapley, at University College London, said: “The researchers make it clear that this effect is almost certainly temporary. The ‘greening’ effect of CO2 will ultimately be overwhelmed by the plants’ own respiration and decay, which will cause even more CO2 to be released.”

The research also shows the importance of preserving forests and other ecosystems that absorb carbon, said Prof Dave Reay, at the University of Edinburgh: “The land and oceans have been bailing us out of dangerous climate change for decades. Unless key carbon sinks such as forests are better protected, the delicate green veil that has saved our worst climate blushes will be in tatters.”

The WMO submitted its new report to the UN climate change summit taking place in Morocco. “We just had the hottest five-year period on record, with 2015 claiming the title of hottest individual year. Even that record is likely to be beaten in 2016,” said WMO secretary-general, Petteri Taalas.

“The effects of climate change have been consistently visible on the global scale since the 1980s: rising global temperature, both over land and in the ocean; sea-level rise; and the widespread melting of ice,” he said. “It has increased the risks of extreme events such as heatwaves, drought, record rainfall and damaging floods.”

Source: theguardian.com

World’s First Streetlights Powered by Footsteps Installed in Las Vegas

Photo: engoplanet
Photo: engoplanet

When most people think “clean energy,” solar panels and wind turbines typically come to mind. But what if the simple act of walking could create emissions-free electricity? Las Vegas is proving that kinetic energy is a real world solution to harmful carbon pollution that is causing global warming – by installing the world’s first smart streetlights powered by pedestrian footsteps. NYC-based EnGoPLANET partnered with the city to install lamps powered by solar panels and kinetic energy pads at Boulder Plaza in the Arts District.

“We want to provide the highest service levels while also looking to the future and ensuring that we are sustainable,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman said. “Through our LEED certified buildings, solar projects, water reclamation, alternative-fueled vehicles and sustainable streetlights, Las Vegas continues to lead the way. Las Vegas strives to be on the cutting edge of all things, and this project coincides with plans to develop an innovation district in our downtown.”

EnGoPLANET estimates that the world spends more than $40 billion per year in energy costs for the more than 300 million traditional streetlights that result in more than 100 million tons of carbon pollution annually. So solar-kinetic streetlights are a massive opportunity to help governments meet their climate targets as more cities announce plans to achieve net zero emissions and go 100 percent renewable energy.

The company also wants to bring emissions-free solar-kinetic streetlights to the 1.4 billion people that do not have access to street lighting. They started a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo to raise money for a project to install solar-kinetic streetlights in 10 villages in Africa.

Source: inhabitat.com

Geothermal-Powered Ferry Terminal in Stockholm Has a Public Park on Its Roof

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

The recently completed ferry terminal in Stockholm is a cross between an urban park and a departing ship. Residents of Stockholm can use the roof of the terminal, designed by C.F. Møller, as a public park, which creates a fluid bridge between the city and the waterfront, the space between which is dominated by cranes and warehouses.

The new terminal references the shapes of moving marine vessels and the surrounding area’s cranes and warehouses. It functions as a natural extension of the urban fabric. It slowly emerges from the ground to allow city inhabitants to use its roof as a public park. Varied green landscapes with stairs, ramps and niches create a beautiful environment where people can stroll and have relaxing moments while enjoying the view of the ferries, the archipelago, and the city skyline.

The building is powered by solar and geothermal energy, distributed through integrated systems. Self-sufficient and aiming for a LEED Gold certification, the new terminal is expected to become both architecturally and environmentally a new landmark for the Norra Djursgårdsstaden development area.

Source: inhabitat.com

Day 1 of Climate Talks: We Must ‘Change the Course of Two Centuries of Carbon-Intense Development’

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

The UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech kicked off yesterday, just three days after the Paris climate change agreement entered into force.

At the opening, Morocco’s Foreign Minister and newly-elected COP22 President Salaheddine Mezouar underscored his country’s willingness to host the conference as a demonstration of Africa’s commitment as a whole to contribute to global efforts to tackle climate change. “It emphasizes Africa’s desire to take its destiny in hand, to reduce its vulnerability and strengthen its resilience,” he said.

President Mezouar pointed to the groundswell of momentum building around the world. At the same time, he acknowledged the fact that the Paris agreement does not yet put the world on track towards the goal of a maximum global average temperature of 1.5 to 2 degrees, as agreed by the international community in Paris last year.

Addressing government delegates he said: “I would like to invite you over the coming 11 days to be more ambitious than ever in your commitments. All over the world, public opinion must perceive change. It has to be a change at all levels, from local projects through to those that cross international borders and it must create genuine win-win partnerships.”

Together with Ségolène Royal, French environment minister and president of last year’s Paris UN Climate Change Conference, Salaheddine Mezouar handed out solar lanterns to all delegates in the room, as a symbol of the transformation to clean technology which is essential to achieve the Paris agreement goals. The delegates then held up the lights in a show of solidarity.

In her opening address Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change said that whilst early entry into force of the Paris agreement is a clear cause for celebration, it is also a timely reminder of the high expectations that are now placed on governments: “Achieving the aims and ambitions of the Paris agreement is not a given. We have embarked on an effort to change the course of two centuries of carbon-intense development. The peaking of global emissions is urgent, as is attaining far more climate-resilient societies.”

Espinosa underlined five key areas in which work needs to be taken forward, notably on:
• Finance to allow developing countries to green their economies and build resilience. Finance is flowing. It has to reach the level and have the predictability needed to catalyze low-emission and climate-resilient development.
• Nationally determined contributions—national climate action plans—which now need to be integrated into national policies and investment plans.
• Support for adaptation which needs to be given higher priority, and progress on the loss and damage mechanism to safeguard development gains in the most vulnerable communities.
• Capacity building needs of developing countries in a manner that is both tailored and specific to their needs.
• Fully engaging Non-Party stakeholders, from the North and from the South, as they are central to the global action agenda for transformational change.

“Our work here in Marrakech must reflect our new reality. No politician or citizen, no business manager or investor can doubt that the transformation to a low-emission, resilient society and economy is the singular determination of the community of nations,” she said.

Source: ecowatch.com

Carnegie Wave Energy is Bringing Their Clean Energy and Desalination Technology to the UK

Photo: PIxabay
Photo: Pixabay

Australia-based company Carnegie Wave Energy (CWE) will bring their wave power and desalination technology to Wave Hub in Cornwall, England. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) granted 9.6 million pounds, around $11.8 million, to CWE for the first phase of their Wave Hub project. Ultimately CWE aims to install enough of their wave power converter devices to generate 15 megawatts (MW) of clean energy at Wave Hub.

Wave Hub is a wave power test site connected to the grid, and in 2014 CWE received a berth at the test site to install their wave energy technology. The money from ERDF will enable CWE to start the first phase of their Wave Hub project and generate one MW of energy with a CETO 6 wave power converter device. CWE aims to commission the converter in 2018, and then the device will operate for one year. They hope to begin the project’s second phase in 2020 or 2021, ultimately implementing a 15 MW commercial array.

According to CWE, their technology is a superb match for Wave Hub. In a statement they said, “Cornwall’s Wave Hub is the world’s largest and most technologically advanced site for the testing and development of offshore renewable energy technology. CWE is the only company in the world to have operated a grid-connected wave energy project over four seasons.”

CWE’s CETO system differs from other wave energy systems because it works underneath ocean waves, and can’t be seen from the shore. The devices don’t impact beachgoers since they’re submerged completely in deep water. Underwater operation also helps keep the devices safe during storms. Further, CWE says their CETO devices are environmentally friendly, even attracting marine creatures.

Not only do CETO devices convert wave power into “zero-emission electricity,” according to CWE, they also desalinize water. CWE has worked on their CETO technology for more than a decade.

Source: inhabitat.com

Belgrade to set up Energy Efficiency Fund

Photo: sr.wikipedia.org
Photo: Wikipedia

The City of Belgrade will set up an Energy Efficiency Fund by the end of the first quarter of 2017, which will initiate a huge construction project, Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali announced.

Belgrade will be the first Serbian self-government to have such a fund, said Mali in the City Hall, opening the Conference on Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Remote Heating, organized by UN Environment Program and the World Resource Institute.

In August 2016, Belgrade officially joined the Building Efficiency Accelerator and District Energy in Cities initiatives, making it the only city worldwide where both initiatives will be implemented over the next year.

Mali explained that smart buildings will also be constructed, improving the system of energy, heating, water consumption, which will lead to increased energy efficiency.

Source: tanjug.rs

OGCI Announces $1 Billion Investment to Accelerate Development and Deployment of Innovative Low Emissions Technologies

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) announced an investment of $1 billion over the next ten years, to develop and accelerate the commercial deployment of innovative low emissions technologies.

OGCI Climate Investments (OGCI CI) will aim to deploy successfully-developed new technologies among member companies and beyond. It will also identify ways to cut the energy intensity of both transport and industry. Working in partnership with like-minded initiatives across all stakeholder groups and sectors, the OGCI CI believes its emission reduction impact can be multiplied across industries.

In a joint statement, the heads of the 10 oil and gas companies that comprise the OGCI said: “The creation of OGCI Climate Investments shows our collective determination to deliver technology on a large-scale that will create a step change to help tackle the climate challenge. We are personally committed to ensuring that by working with others our companies play a key role in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, while still providing the energy the world needs.”

This investment represents an unprecedented level of oil and gas industry collaboration and resource-sharing in this space. This new, additional investment will complement the companies’ existing low emissions technology programs and will draw on the collective expertise and resources of the member companies.

Through discussions with stakeholders and detailed technical work, the OGCI has identified two initial focus areas: accelerating the deployment of carbon capture, use and storage; and reducing methane emissions from the global oil and gas industry in order to maximize the climate benefits of natural gas. The OGCI believes that these are areas where the oil and gas industry has meaningful influence and where its collaborative work can have the greatest impact.

Beyond this, OGCI CI will make investments that support improving energy and operational efficiencies in energy-intensive industries. OGCI CI will also work closely with manufacturers to increase energy efficiency in all modes of transportation.

A CEO and management team for OGCI Climate Investments will be announced in the near future. The closing of OGCI Climate Investments is subject to customary conditions including regulatory clearances as required.

Source: statoil.com

Scotland Generates Enough Wind Energy to Power Almost Every Household for an Entire Month

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Wind turbines in Scotland provided enough electricity to supply the average needs of almost all Scotland’s homes last month, according to a report.

Data from WeatherEnergy showed turbines generated 792,717MWh of electricity to the National Grid in October, up more than a quarter on the same month last year.

The amount is enough to supply the average needs of 87% of Scottish households, WWF Scotland said.

However, the figures show Scotland’s total electricity consumption – including homes, business and industry – in October was 2,080,065MWh, with wind power generating just 38% of Scotland’s power needs for the month.

WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “Thanks to a combination of increased capacity and stronger winds, output from turbines surged by more than a quarter compared to the same period last year – supplying power equivalent to the electrical needs of over two million homes.

“As well as helping to power our homes and businesses, wind power is helping Scotland to avoid over a million tonnes of polluting carbon emissions every month.

“As delegates gather in Morocco to discuss continued international action on climate change, I hope Scotland’s success in cutting carbon emissions using renewable electricity inspires other countries to follow our lead.”

Karen Robinson of WeatherEnergy said: “According to the Met Office, Scotland had the sunniest and one of the driest Octobers since records began.

“However, the month also witnessed some powerful winds leading to a significant increase in wind power output when compared to last year. All this additional renewable electricity is good news in the battle to address global climate change.”

The figures come as the Scottish Conservatives accused the Scottish Government of overturning two-thirds of windfarm applications rejected by local authorities this year.

Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Alexander Burnett said: “The SNP’s obsession with onshore wind energy is damaging Scotland’s countryside and ruining local democracy.

“Too often, when these applications are lodged, the people say no, council planners say no and local elected representatives say no.

“You’d think the Scottish Government would respect this, yet still we see ministers in Edinburgh pulling rank and acting like they know what’s best for rural Scotland.

“Of course wind energy has a place in Scotland’s energy mix, but only when the turbines are not ruining local scenery and upsetting those who have to see them every day.”

SNP MSP Gillian Martin, who sits on Holyrood’s Economy Committee, said the latest wind power figures showed the Tories approach to energy is “misguided.

“Just last week, we saw the confusion at the heart of Conservative energy policy, as their energy spokesperson Alexander Burnett suggested subsidies should only support ‘emerging technologies’ whilst tying himself in knots trying to defend the UK government’s subsidising of the white elephant Hinkley Point project,” Ms Martin said.

“The people of Scotland are well aware of the need for an effective energy policy fit for the challenges of the future – and it is wonderful to see the Scottish Government’s efforts to achieve this continue to pay off.”

Source: independent.co.uk

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