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“A E-magzine meant for private circulation among the members of SEEM”
Vol. No. 3
Vol. No. 4
Issue No. 7
Issue No.6
e- newsletter e- newsletterof of SEEM SEEM
July 2010
June 2012
SEEM Tid-bits
MOU signed between AISAT and SEEM
National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) – PAT Scheme
T
companies, in their continual improvement process, better their targets fixed, they can sell credits to non-performers and if the latter happens to be State PSUs or alike where low cost capital is one of the deterrents for energy efficiency and some of them having ‘red’ balance sheet, it is likely that the deal may fail. BEE should be taking all these factors and many more into account when the PAT scheme is being detailed. 714 seem to be a good manageable number in a country like India and therefore all concerns on PAT scheme should be possible to address. Looking at 714, after fixing neither over- nor under-ambitious targets, it may also be wise to see what really prohibits them to enhance their energy efficiency. If there is a chance to address individual problems with tailor-made solutions, like extending technical assistance to PSUs through the newly formed Energy Efficiency Services Limited (the JV company of BEE); providing finance through the BEE (being) established Partial Risk Guaranty Facility, that will provide back-to-back guarantees to banks for loans to energy-efficiency projects so as to reduce the perceived risks of these projects; capacity building / sensitization of different levels / categories of officers within these 714 units, then it would be better to look in these lines as well. Probably this can lead to individual agreements with these 714 units wherein they pledge to reduce their energy intensity to a certain level, vis-à-vis a host of facilitation from BEE through its different service providers. Efforts from SDAs and professional associations like SEEM would certainly supplement. R Harikumar Vice President
the case of CDM. The following the in specific energy Probably tighteractivities regulations,are likeindicative insisting on of reduction types Contemplated through joint program. consumption only through energythe efficiency measures (i.e., not accounting for the Close interaction of academicians working minimised transaction costs reduction through increased production/ and productivity), professionals is aimed with thisfailMOU where thealready energy efficient per unit of the certificates, etc can the deal. When Academic brilliance of AISAT will complement the professional network clout of SEEM, a body of committed professional from various segments of Empower India, a three day exhibition on energy economy viz. industry, consultants ,academia and policy Many joint are aimed where efficient products and systems was organized by We bodies. are proud toprojects introduce Faculty and students fromPradesh AISAT and State neighboring Urjavaran Foundation jointly with the Bureau of Energy the SEEM -Uttar Engineering Colleges will participate in project Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Government of India Chapter Officer bearers development and problem solving activities during 25-27 June 2010 at the Chennai Trade Centre, through projects sponsored by SEEM or through Nandambakkam. joint Collaboration of SEEM and AISAT. Another The exhibition was specially intended to promote important action planned is a BIENNIEL ENERGY energy efficient products and systems, renewable CONFERNCE during Jan 2014, where an International energy systems, energy efficient building materials Conference along with the exhibition of energy as specified under ECBC, as well as star rated products T. N. Chaturvedi ChandraisShekhar AzadProgrammes Pramod Sheel efficient equipments proposed. that Secretary Treasurer and approved by BEE. allowChairman students to gain valuable experience The three-day exhibition-cum-symposium was training as interns will also be encouraged through inaugurated by Shri Bharatsinh Solanki, Minister of State this MoU. AISAT also plan to Conduct Courses for for Power, Government of India. Shri P. Uma Shankar, the technicians/public where SEEM will support Secretary, Power, Government of India was the Guest energypress AISAT, in the development and coordination ofenergypress Honour. Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau publication publication of Energy Efficiency, Shri R.N. Engineer, President, Dr P Vijayakumar, Associate Professor at the Centre for Patron: Urjavaran Foundation, Shri Anil Razdan, Chairman, Human Resources Management and Labour Relations, Dr.Brahmanand Mohanty, Adviser for Asia, ADEME Urjavaran andand Former Secretary, Power, GOI School of Foundation Management Labour Studies of Tata Editorial Team were also present at the inaugural function. Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai visited SEEM R.Sudhir Kumar, Co-ordinator | R. Harikumar, Member | event, Shri. Solanki theprogram National HqInaugurating on 17 May the 2012 to discuss on thesaid joint K. Madhusoodanan, Member | C. Jayaraman, Member Dr Sasi K Kottayil, Member Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) on “Energy and Leadership”, planned to be organized
recently approved by the Union Cabinet would open up a Rs 74,000 crore market for energy efficiency on a public-private participation basis and was expected to reduce nearly 98.55 million tonnes of carbon emission through various energy-saving initiatives. “We expect that energy efficient methods adopted by some of our biggest consumers in the industrial, agricultural and domestic sectors could help the country sidestep capacity addition of close to 20,000 MW, saving close to Rs 1,95,980 crore,” Shri Solanki said, adding that about Rs 235.35 crore will be allocated for the project, and the oil equivalent of the energy saved would be approximately 23 million tonnes. Speaking at the function, BEE director-general Ajay Mathur, who has been designated the Mission director, said it would help unlock the market for energy efficiency on a public private partnership (PPP) basis. at TISS, Mumbai. The two day event would have two The minister, along with other dignitaries, visited the modules – one on energy and the second one on exhibition pavilion thatS. included displays by agencies leadership. Ms Deepa Kumar (SEEM member), Mr like ADEME, GTZ, Powergrid Corporation, PCRA, LG, D P Nair (Manager – Programs) and Dr R Harikumar Crompton Greeves, Philips, Sunna, Innovation, (General Secretary, SEEM) attended the HMI meeting. Voltas, HPL, Teri Press, Samsung, Contd... page 2
Dr P Vijayakumar, of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS visits SEEM office) manager manager
Research Rojen P E Design Bobby George Varghese Disclaimer : The news published is directly picked up from the website and newspapers with the source and linked being published. The views expressed are not those of SEEM.
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Empower India 2010 at Chennai Trade Centre
energyenergy snippets e-newsletter of SEEM June |2012 1 | 1 snippets e- newsletter of SEEM July |2010
The Indian Union Cabinet approved the implementation plan of the NMEEE with a budgetary support of Rs.235.38 crore for the balance period of the XI plan. It would o take capacity on its decalred forward result in avoiding addition of mission about 19,598 MW, fuel savings of around 23 SEEMof oil recognizes to inaddress million tonnes equivalentthe and need reduction GHG emissions of 98.55 million take along withwill them thenew blooming tonnes. It isand estimated that this unlock and innovative forms of market for engineers who are the hope of our The nation energy efficiency estimated at Rs.74,000 crore. flagship of the mission is the and the On initiative, 29th of which May 2012 Perform Achieve andplanet. Trade (PAT) will cover facilities that account an MOU was between and help reduce CO2 emissions for more than 50% of thesigned fossil fuel used in AISAT India, and SEEM with atonnes broadper objectives to formalize by 25 million year by 2014-15. Almost joint 714 industrial units across the programin activities that helpthermal AISAT to enhance country nine sectors — will cement, power plants, fertilisers, aluminium, its and educational and research capabilities and railways — would be iron steel, chlor-alkali, pulp and paper, textiles and SEEM to achieve itstheir Social Commitment objectives mandated to reduce energy consumption by a specified percentage, which mentioned earlier. would depend on its current level of efficiency: the most efficient facility in a sector Albertian of Science and requirement, Technology and the less efficient would have Institute a lower percentage reduction Call Now (AISAT)would is have a Minority Institution initiated by facility larger percentage reduction requirement. The companies that Archdiocese of Verapoly, which has a track record credits to those failing to better their targets will be allowed to sell energy-saving of centuries serving in the of Education. whose effect the required cuts. Thisfield is almost akin to the CDM deal. In both these cases, missioin is of to deal provide value based education the success depends upon the ‘success’ of with failure in achieving the targets ample opportunities researchinand in-house by a group offor companies theconsultancy case of PAT and by a group of nations in
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ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Energy Efficiency Gaining Ground in Inefficient States, ACEEE Says Energy efficiency is gaining momentum in states that have traditionally been behind the curve in pushing such technology, according to research by the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy. But states that have usually ranked lowest on the ACEEE’s annual State Energy Efficiency Scorecard must still address numerous barriers to energy efficiency, according to the new report, Opportunity Knocks: Examining Low-Ranking States in the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. The report draws on a series of interviews with stakeholders in states ranked in the bottom ten of the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard: Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Despite their low rankings in the scorecard, each of the states examined in the report has improved its energy efficiency in some way, ACEEE
says. Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin signed into law legislation that directs all state agencies and higher education institutions to achieve at least 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2020. Alabama and South Carolina recently passed state wide building codes to ensure new homes and buildings are built to save energy from the start. A number of states, notably Kansas, have solid programs in place to plan and finance energy efficiency improvements in state government facilities, according to the report. Despite progress, numerous barriers are holding up progress on energy efficiency. The most notable barrier is the perception that energy efficiency costs more than it is worth. ACEEE says that the benefits of energy efficiency improvements substantially outweigh their costs in the long run. The report finds that a number of actions can advance energy efficiency and do not
GE switches on LED replacement for 100 W bulb
8 Watts Of Power, 50 Watts Worth Of Light
LED bulbs are admittedly more energy efficient than either incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs, and perform even better when used in directional lighting scenarios like can lighting, track lighting, desk lighting, hanging lights and spotlighting for retail displays. And new replacements bulbs seem to be popping up day after day. Now comes one from Lighting Science Group (LSG), which says commercialization of the 8-watt Definity MR16 HO (high output) LED bulb provides a drop-in replacement for the MR16 halogen light. According to LSG, the Definity is not only more efficient in terms of lumen output-per-watt, but overcomes significant design and manufacturing obstacles vis-à-
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/05/17/ energy-efficiency-gaining-ground-in-inefficient-statesaceee-says/
vis internal power supply in relation to brightness – a previously insurmountable obstacle in terms of consumer satisfaction and market penetration. Amazingly, Definity’s miserly appetite – a mere 8 watts – and its 25,000-hour lifetime rating was achieved even though developers adhered to industry standards, or form factors, which included the absence of fans to maintain Definity’s superlative performance. In fact, according to company CEO Jim Haworth, the Definity is a giant step forward in the development of a “more efficient, sustainable and brighter energy future.” Lighting Science Group, which recently unveiled its smaller Glimpse downlight for installation in most 4-inch recessed openings, is an innovator in LED development and manufacturing. The Glimpse, which provides 750 lumens of warm white light with a 70-percent reduction in the use of materials and the help of only a single heat sink, is typical of LSG’s energy-efficient approach to LED lighting. The Glimpse is available at Home Depot for about $37, but take note: It sells there under the name Commercial Electric Disk, and only in the six-inch model. However, both the four- and six-inch Glimpse models can be tracked down through Lighting Science Group’s distributors – which is also the source for the revolutionary Definity MR16 http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/05/8-wattsof-power-50-watts-worth-of-light/
energy snippets e-newsletter of SEEM | June 2012 | 2
GE’s lighting division is this week switching on its 27 W light-emitting diode (LED) replacement for the 100 W incandescent light bulbs. The technology, which has been developed at GE Lighting’s East Cleveland, Ohio lab, uses proprietary synthetic jet cooling technology to generate 27 W in a conventional ‘A-19’ bulb shape. GE already has a 9 W LED to replace the 40 W traditional bulb and a 60 W replacement in the form of a 13 W LED. But the new 27 W LED will leapfrog over the next milestone of a 75 W replacement to go straight to 100 W. The new LED produces 1600+ lumens, omnidirectional light distribution and has a lifetime of 25,000 hours. It is also dimmable and contains no mercury. “Our innovation has tackled a previously insurmountable technical challenge: cooling a 100 W A-19 shaped replacement LED bulb without making it physically any bigger,” says Steve Briggs of GE Lighting. GE claims that the new LED suffers from none of the problems that plague other dimmable LEDs such as flicker, drop-off or even inaction. “We now have a clear path to attaining even higher light levels, which will give customers more energy-efficient lighting options in both commercial and residential settings,” he adds. http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/ i/5090/?cid=3
require major government spending or regulatory action. ACEEE advocates strategies akin to that seen in Oklahoma, where states can lead by example by mandating efficiency in government facilities. States can also adopt and enforce building energy codes or implement utility-sector energy efficiency programs where such programs cost less than building new power plants, the organization says. In 2010 states and utilities invested over $811 million in direct industrial energy efficiency programs, far exceeding spending by the federal government and other national-level programs, according to Money Well.
What's Undermining Energy Efficiency? Exhilaration swept through the energy efficiency industry as city after city, state after state and nation after nation set aggressive energy saving goals over the last several years. But with target dates nearing in certain jurisdictions, a more sober attitude now permeates. Some governments are asking: Are we reaching too high? A global report issued this week by PwC, which looks into the minds of power industry executives, suggests the worry may be justified. Called ‘The shape of power to come,’ the annual report emerged from interviews with senior executives at 72 power companies in 43 countries. With economic recovery, the risk of power shortages again rises, as worldwide energy demand expands from 17,200 TWh in 2009 to over 31,700 TWh in 2035. Energy efficiency is widely seen as the cheapest way to meet at least some of the new demand. But the report cites two significant problems that hinder efficiency efforts. The
first is fossil fuel subsidies; the second is human nature. Fossil fuel subsides create artificial price signals that encourage us to consume rather than develop more efficient technologies. Several government leaders, including President Obama, have pledged to reduce fossil fuel subsides, but change is slow to come. And time is of the essence according to PwC: “If a phasing-out of fossil fuels is to have an impact on energy efficiency in the period to 2030, it needs to be well underway by 2020. Our survey asked about the probability of fossil fuel subsidies being largely phased-out by 2020? Less than a fifth see this as highly probable. The overwhelming industry sentiment in our survey is that this is improbable and that such subsidies will persist. If this is the case, it will be a major factor undermining energy efficiency.” The other issue, human behavior, is a dilemma that arises out of smart grid technology. Smart meters, energy displays,
and other technologies offer a way for consumers to better manage their energy use. Take a look at the kind of research on behavior and energy being done by organizations like the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy or the work underway by innovators like Energy Points. We do not have unlimited dollars to invest in infrastructure, so can’t possibly proceed without setting priorities. And as PwC points out, one resource can displace another — continuing to push fossil fuels by way of subsidies undercuts efficiency. All-of-the-above leads to just some-of-the-above, and the winners are not necessarily the most cost-effective or environmentally benign. To reach our energy efficiency goals, we may need some hard decisionmaking — a scarce commodity in an election year. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/ post/2012/04/whats-undermining-energy-efficiency
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
How Do We Create an Ethical Grid? from that. To me, an ethical grid is an electric industry in which the rights and responsibilities of utilities are carefully and properly balanced with legitimate interests of power consumers, the environment and society at large. What does that mean when it comes to energy efficiency? You might think it would be hard to argue against EE. After all, it helps customers reduce their electric bills, and it trims both the use of fossil fuels and the emissions that result from using them. Still, assessing from an ethical perspective the degree to which utilities should help their customers become more energy efficient is no easy task. There’s a lot to consider. From the customer’s perspective, the benefits of aggressive utility-sponsored efficiency programs are clear and significant. Most homes and many businesses are pretty inefficient, and would gain quite a bit if a utility provided incentives to insulate, to change out old lighting for new, and to replace energyhog appliances and equipment. Society as a whole would also appear to gain if utility customers took a big leap forward in their efficiency. After all, a customer base that was more miserly in its energy use would demand less power, and utilities could get by burning a lot less fossil fuel. That wouldn’t just reduce emissions. It would reduce the need for mountaintop coal mining and natural gas fracking, and save more of the nation’s fossil fuels for future generations. Businesses that
are more energy efficient also would likely be more competitive and successful, thereby protecting existing jobs and maybe creating new ones. But utilities – particularly ones that are investor-owned – are regulated, and are authorized by their regulators to earn a rate of return on equity, or profit. And, after all, electric utilities were created to provide electricity. Is there really any justification for them to help their customers use less and less of what historically has been their primary product? A simple way to help resolve ethical issues is to use a Venn diagram, with three partially overlapping circles labeled “legal responsibility,” “economic responsibility” and “ethical responsibility.” The sweet spot in the middle, where all three circles overlap, is where utilities, regulators and EE advocates should find themselves every day. There’s no perfect model yet for providing utilities with just the right financial incentives to help residential and business customers optimize their energy efficiency and minimize their use of electricity. But it’s clear that the ethical thing to do is to pursue that model with abandon by learning what others are doing, measuring the success of different approaches, and fine-tuning until we get it right. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/ blog/post/2012/04/how-do-we-create-anethical-grid
Pink on Green: How to Ignite the Second Electrical Revolution The electric industry is good at building things. That’s how it solves problems. Is there a threat of blackouts? Develop a new natural gas-fired plant. Worried about climate change? Build wind and solar power. Does electricity cost too much? Install a transmission line to import cheaper power. But build-to-solve represents only half of the equation in the new world of smart grid. The other half, the part that stumps the industry, is solve-without-building. Rather than adding more energy, smart grid tries to wring maximum efficiency out of the system by changing the way we consume electricity. But it turns out, trying to direct human energy behavior makes cat herding look easy. To get people to pay attention to their energy use, utilities and private companies are experimenting with alluring gadgets and social motivators. So far, success has been minimal. Thomas Edison’s light bulb has been such a smashing success for the last 100 years, none of us wants to turn it off. So what will it take? The Edison Foundation recently looked outside the industry for some answers, inviting Dan Pink, best-selling author of “DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” to speak at last month’s Power the People 2.0 conference in Washington D.C. Consumer motivation has become a common conference topic. But Pink’s talk was different. He stepped back and took a broader view and asked: How
do we motivate the people who are trying motivate the consumer? Pink calls this “the science of how people do extraordinary things.” The power industry’s creative thinkers need to bust out of their intellectual silos to ignite the “second electrical revolution,” according to Pink. But smart grid represents a particularly difficult problem for them because the industry is trying to invent gadgets consumers are not demanding. The electric grid needs the gadgets and needs consumers to use them. How do you get consumers to want a smart plug or home energy display just as much? Some in the industry say smart grid is doomed because it is not born of household demand but of the power industry’s need. Therein lines Apple’s genius; its ability to give the world something it didn’t know it was missing. Can the power industry do the same with smart grid? It must first recognize that this is a skill more likely to be found in artists than engineers. “I think the cognitive skills of artists today are the most important cognitive skills in the economy,” Pink said. “We need scientists that think like artists and artists that think like scientists.” The electric industry also needs to reconsider the way it motivates creative employees. “It turns out a lot our intuitions about motivation are not quite right,” according to Pink. In fact, it’s downright “Newtonian” to assume that “when you reward behavior you get more of it, and when you punish behavior you get
energy snippets e-newsletter of SEEM | June 2012 | 3
So much of what’s discussed in offices these days – and forever really – focuses on this: What’s best for the company? How do we increase profits? That’s totally understandable, given that a primary responsibility of any for-profit enterprise is to benefit its owners and investors. Still, as individuals, and I would argue, as part of the capitalist system, we have responsibilities that go beyond improving the financial bottom line. Most of all, we have a duty to be ethical. The initial thought of almost everyone in business or government when the issue of ethics comes up is, “Oh, I’m ethical in everything I do. I follow the letter of the law.” But there is much more to it than that, and the energy efficiency sector of the U.S. electric industry provides a perfect example. When it comes to ethics, there are three ways of doing business: immorally, amorally and morally. The immoral approach is based on pure selfishness; the goal of immoral managers is profitability and organizational success at any price. The amoral approach, which is unfortunately a dominant one in U.S. business, focuses on what can be done legally to maximize profits. Amoral managers may be well-intentioned, but they don’t give a lot of thought about what their decisions mean to others. They lack empathy. Moral managers are different. They run their thoughts and plans through another filter before making a decision. They ask, “Is what I’m doing fair to others? Is it just?” My definition of an ethical grid flows
less of it.” So forget the big bonus for the genius idea. While people need to be paid reasonably to perform well, big bonuses only motivate them to achieve short-term goals, like making a sales quota. “Igniting the second electrical revolution is not simple, is not short-term, but is complex and long term,” he said. So what gets creative thinkers moving? Free time, as Pink tells it. He cited studies and examples of artists doing their best work without a commission and inventors achieving Nobel Prize-winning work off the clock. The business community is beginning to catch on to this idea, and some are offering a regular day when their inventors and problem solvers are encouraged to stop their required tasks and just work on anything that intrigues them. “Complex industries, like yours, complex ecosystems demand this kind of complex, silo-busting thinking. Perhaps, if Pink is right, and the electric industry listens, he’ll be able ask audiences in a few years how many own some amazing energysaving device that no one has yet conceived, and many hands will fly into the air. Perhaps then the light bulb, as we know it, will finally be replaced. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/ post/2012/04/pink-on-green-how-to-ignite-thesecond-electrical-revolution
Google-backed wind power transmission line moves ahead A $5 billion project for a new transmission line from wind farms off the east coast of the US being backed by internet giant Google is moving ahead. The US Department of Interior stated this week that there was "no overlapping competitive interest" in the scheme, which means it can move onto the environmental review stage. The Atlantic Wind Connection line, which could transport up to 7000 MW of power, still has to get over many regional and federal hurdles but backers
hope this will be completed within the next two years. NorthConnect - a joint venture between SSE, Swedish utility Vattenfall and three Norwegian companies, E-CO Energi, Agder Energi and Lyse - is being backed by a €690,000 grant from the European Union. Thanks to the latest investment, work has now started on a study of the cable route and environmental studies are underway in the UK and Norway. “The NorthConnect project is an excellent example of the kind of grid
interconnection that will be needed across the continent to ensure we maximise the contribution of all European nations to reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels, increase energy security and meet targets for reduced greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy generation,” commented Salmond. http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/ i/5107/?cid=3
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
How We Made Clean Energy Cheaper
over-production in China, and that the fundamental obstacles to scaling up renewables remain. While in some sunny and windy places renewables are costcompetitive without subsidies, they still remain more expensive than fossil energy in most places. Their growth is constrained by their intermittency, the cost of new transmission, and other real world barriers. Developing nations in particular still need a lot of new base load power in to grow. In the one breath they condemn the wind production tax credit and in another they sing of the gift of today’s cheap shale gas — gas that exist in no small measure due to a federal production tax credit that lasted over two decades. At the same time, intelligent conservatives do distinguish between what they view as worthwhile government funded research and demonstration projects — true public goods — and blanket deployment, which risks supporting rent-seekers and stifling innovation. All
governments need to get smarter about how they support clean energy. Energy innovation funding models should borrow more from the military’s success in purchasing advanced microchips and jet turbines than from unending agricultural crop supports. The positive response to Beyond Boom and Bust gives hope that subsidy reform focused on rewarding innovation could be bi-partisan. “It’s clearly against our national interest to engage in long-term subsidies where the moment you pull the subsidy, businesses fail,” McKie Campbell, the Republican staff director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told the Wall Street Journal, “You basically have to make things cost competitive or they aren’t going to work.” http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/04/howwe-made-clean-energy-cheaper/
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Wind A Winner In Developing Nations, Study Says
Researchers at a Swiss science and technology university testing out which is the most cost-effective renewable energy source in developing countries have made a surprising discovery. The team calculated the cost of generating a tenth of the electricity demand for each of six countries using either wind turbines or photovoltaic cells. The countries were: Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nicaragua and Thailand. Although the six countries selected in the research by ETH Zurich were all in hot climates, researchers found that wind rather than solar power represented the best value for money. In Kenya and Nicaragua, the results were even more counterintuitive. In both those countries they found that because of the current high oil price, producing electricity with wind power was cheaper in real terms
energy snippets e-newsletter of SEEM | June 2012 | 4
Over the last five years, the world’s largest nations collectively engaged in a massive policy experiment: what happens when governments triple the historic rate of public investment in clean energy? In the U.S., taxpayers will have spent $150 billion between 2009 and 2014, three times more than we did between 2002 and 2007, according to a comprehensive new report, Beyond Boom and Bust, coauthored by Breakthrough Institute with scholars from World Resources Institute and the Brookings Institution. The U.S. wasn’t alone. China increased its clean tech spending to $80 billion per year. Europe has had high levels of investment in clean energy since before the recession. And rather than crowding out, these public investments attracted a huge amount of private investment — $774 billion between 2008 and 2011, up from $320 billion between 2004 to 2007. But as blunt as many of the renewables subsidies were, they still helped cause an astounding 75 percent decline in the price of solar panels, and a 27 percent decline in the price of wind turbines, from 2008-2012. By contrast, from 2002 to 2008, the price of both solar panels and wind turbines was flat. The episode challenges the assumption that pricing carbon is the key to technology innovation. Europe has imposed a carbon price on much of its economy for almost a decade, but Germany’s solar boom, and the dramatic declines in the cost of solar panels that it helped cause, was driven by subsidies, not carbon pricing. The carbon price equivalent of Germany’s solar feed-in tariff is a whopping $680 per ton, 36 times higher than the EU carbon price. Real world barriers, like the need for complicated new mapping and fracking techniques, and the risk of not being able to capture one’s investment, would still have existed. But if some liberals are obsessed with carbon pricing, much of the right has a double standard when it comes to renewables. Conservatives are correct that some amount of the decline in price of solar and wind is likely due to
than the present energy model, which relies mainly on electricity generated from fossil fuels. “It is the case that wind is cheaper than the present electricity mix in these countries if you base the calculations on the global market price for fossil fuels,” Tobias Schmidt, who led the team from the ETH Zurich’s Department
in developed countries – $72 billion compared to $70 billion. Despite massive Chinese investments, a significant driver of the renewable energy investment in developing countries has been a push for energy access in rural areas where centralized grid extension has failed. This is especially true in India where 97
of Management, Technology and Economics, said. In reality, however, natural gas and crude oil are subsidized in many countries. Schmidt called for a reduction to such subsidies because, he said, they flew directly in the face of recent commitments by industrial nations to fund the development of renewables in poorer countries. Renewable energy is starting to take off in many developing countries, in large part because of the growth of China. In 2010, investment in renewables in developing countries overtook the amount spent
percent of its solar installations in 2010 were in rural areas and off-grid. Schmidt said that if the subsidies for fossil fuels were left in place industrialized nations would be cross-subsidising crude oil and natural gas with the climate protection funding. “Therefore, it is important to attach certain conditions to the funding, such as the southern countries disclosing their subsidies, and for these to be taken into consideration in determining the funding,” Schmidt added. http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/04/wind-awinner-in-developing-nations-study-says/
Computer giant Apple, which has come in for criticism from environmental group Greenpeace over its environmental credentials, is to power its new data centre entirely with renewable energy. Earlier this year, Apple announced plans for a 20 MW solar array at its new Maiden data centre in North Carolina, along with a host of other efficiency measures that have garnered the development platinum LEED certification. Now, according to reports, Apple plans to build two solar installations in and around the Maiden site and run the data centre entirely with renewable energy. The developments will use high-efficiency solar cells and solar tracking system from US manufacturer SunPower Corporation to produce 84 million kWh of power a year,
as well as a 5 MW Bloom Energy biogas-powered fuel cell development. Apple says that it plans to have the Maiden facility running off coal-free electricity by the end of the year, followed by its other two data centres. The company says it will also identify nearby renewables resources to power its new facility planned for Prineville in Oregon. Greenpeace has praised the decision as a sign that Apple is taking seriously the concerns of hundreds of thousands of its customers, which want to see the company’s new iCloud offering powered by clean energy. Meanwhile, chipmaker Intel has set itself new ambitious sustainability targets, including reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions 10% per chip and water use to below 2010 levels. But although its latest corporate responsibility report indicates that Intel has reduced its carbon footprint by over 60% from 2007 and is producing more energy-efficient products, it is using more water and producing more chemical waste. And a little ahead of Apple, Intel is already using renewable sources like biomass, geothermal, smallhydro, solar and wind to cover 88% of its US electricity. Intel has also investing $58 million in energy efficiency projects over the last ten years, saving some $11 million in energy costs. http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/ i/5119/?cid=3
Asia Report: U.S., India Strike $125 Million Investment Deal Days after the United States Department of Energy announced a partnership with the U.K. on offshore wind, the DOE moved toward a $125 million partnership with India that could boost international biofuels production and further development of solar technology and energy efficiency. Researchers from the University of Florida will focus on biofuels derived from non-food source plants. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory will work on solar technology and
the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will tackle energy efficiency. Indian institutions include the Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology-Hyderabad and CEPT UniversityAhmedabad. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/ article/2012/04/asia-report-u-s-india-strike-125million-investment-deal
Wind Energy Update: India Wind Report Gives Confidence to Market Following interviews with experts from the Indian wind industry, Wind Energy Update have compiled a “State of the Industry” report which is now available to download as reported by Wind Energy Update. The report features interviews with 3 industry experts and highlights where the challenges lie and what the future prospects are for wind energy in the medium to long term. The Wind energy Update report highlighted that while the dismantling of the accelerated depreciation model is seen to have a negative impact on the industry in the short term, the introduction of GBI’s is widely seen to be a good move for the long term health of the renewable energy industry in India. “There may be temporary drop in capacity additions. But in the long run, the quality of projects will improve, and the investment environment will get better as well”, states Sunil Jain, Chief Operating Offer of Green Infra Ltd. “With the new Generation Based Incentive (GBI) introduced just over a year ago, we've seen the addition of 3,200 MW in 2011-12, which is the highest annual addition to date”, agrees Mr Krishnakumar, Managing Director of Orient Green Power. Will Broad of Wind Energy Update explained that readers of the report will get an “an honest and useful appraisal of one of the most dynamic RE environments in Asia”. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/5/ prweb9519367.htm
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RENEWABLE ENERGY Apple’s new data centre to run on 100% renewable energy
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