September 2014
News from Energy [R]evolution, no. 5 In the field of energy, real revolution is happening. As representatives of a global environmental organization, we wish for our country and the rest of the world to step on the path towards clean and renewable energy (RES) future. Global climate change is the toughest challenge of humanity in21st Century and renewables are the most obvious solution. After first and second edition of E[R]news good feedbacks, we decided to publish new stories every month. Previous editions of Energy [R]evolution news are posted on our webpage (in Slovenian): April 2014 (#1), May 2014 (#2), June 2014 (#3), July-August 2014 (#4). In September edition you can read about new climate and health warnings from reputable institutions and weaknesses/deficiencies of nuclear power. On the other side, two myths about renewable energy are busted and there are reports about new milestones. Technology development is faster and faster, when energy experts like to emphasize their progress.
1) PROBLEMS World health organization (WHO) calls for action against climate change. Solutions for millions of people each year are green energy and sustainable mobility. WHO and rtcc.org California is suffering from the severe drought, which started in spring and is continuing over the summer. Ground water is record low and several fires have spread. Climate Central and Climate Progress Global warming causes different problems. Scientists researched impact of warming on invasive species. Due to lack of Âťnatural opponentsÂŤ, they are able to spread very fast, mostly on account of local autochthon species. Science Daily Scientists showed the influence of nuclear radiation on genetic material, mutations and decline in the number of populations. We still don't fully realize all the consequences of nuclear disaster in Fukoshima. Science Alert European nuclear power plants are getting older and, as such, bigger security threat, and are more expensive. Great Britain and Belgium face problems due to several power plants outages. Additional 3 GW of electricity needed to be replaced from other sources in Great Britain. Nuclear power is not so sustainable, constant and safe, as it is represented. Reuters, Reuters Africa (Great Britain) and Greenpeace (Great Britain and Belgium) UK government is lobbying for continuous operation of European dirtiest coal power plant. Local lignite is difficult to ignite, making emissions even more dangerous. The Guardian Human chain happened on Germany-Poland border on 23rd August. Thousands of people formed 8-kilometer long human chain and clearly stated opposition towards coal burning.
Several settlements are planned to be evicted, energy source is polluting our air and it is a huge climate pressure. 65 people from Slovenia attended this protest, which is our biggest environmental mobilization so far. Bloomberg, The Guardian, YouTube clip
2) SOLUTIONS Renewable energy RES capacities are growing faster and faster. Justin Wilkes, the deputy chief executive of the European Wind Energy Association, said: »Europe's heads of state need to agree in October on a binding 30% renewables target if real progress is going to be made to improve Europe's energy security, competitiveness and climate objectives!« The Guardian Project Solutions seeks optimal plan for energy development of 50 US states to reach 100 % renewables goal till 2050. Mobility energy is taken into account. The Solutions Project US energy is becoming more renewable – in first half of this year, 7 % electricity was produced of hydro energy and 7,3 % other renewable sources. Photovoltaics and wind energy are developing fastest. Renewable energy World Despite of stereotype, that energy network will become less stable due to increase in renewable energy, German energy network (huge increase in RES capacities) is very stable. Federal Network Agency for Energy, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (in German), German energy blog Another myth has been busted – different studies showed the quantity of bird deaths, caused by different types of power plants. Methodologies are different, but the numbers are clear – RES technologies are friendlier than fossil. ClimateProgress Largest private bank UBS wants RES investments. Bigger centralized power plants are less profitable and are not flexible to new energy situation. Wind and solar power are already cheaper than fossil. The Guardian Sun Micro-grids in India – Solar energy is powering street lights, water pumps and other appliances, thus increasing quality of living. There are still 300 million people in India without access to electricity (and 1.3 billion people across Globe). Moreover, many people must produce electricity out of expensive fuels, which are also causing health problems. Article is available at The Guardian. Moreover, company Tata Power Solar plans to provide 10 % electricity from Sun in the next ten years, thus creating 670.000 new jobs. Can you imagine charging your mobile phone constantly when exposed to sunlight? And your home appliances powered from your windows? And your car charging its battery, parked in a parking lot? Development of transparent luminescent solar concentrator can make this possible. Michigan State University
Solar energy combined with e-mobility is developing faster and faster. There are several interesting numbers in article, published at Forbes. Electricity has many advantages, but the key disadvantage is its storage. Tesla plans to end this. They are planning “giga-factory” in Nevada, which will be able to produce 50 GWh batteries, enough for 500.000 Tesla cars yearly. Moreover, factory will be energy self-sufficient. Gigaom and Engineering.com Russian Federation opened its largest solar power plant (5 MW). President Putin watched the startup. ITAR-TASS Press agency Wind Read 10 interesting facts about wind energy, mostly in the case of USA. Clean Technica Courts aren't buying anti-wind initiatives. It is »nocebo effect«: if people are convinced that something is causing them harm, they will suffer from it. Out of 49 cases, courts ruled in favor of anti-wind initiative only once. In all other cases it turns out, that wind turbines causes no harm. Huffington Post and Climate Central South Australia increases wind capacities – 43 % of all electricity in July was produced by wind. Business Spectator Croatian city Senj is supplied by clean wind electricity. It also creates income for city. Tportal (in Croatian)
3) OTHER GOOD NEWS Our descendants will probably wonder why we haven’t seriously reacted towards climate change. The Guardian collected 10 good news from the field of measures against climate change. 18th August was a great day for Oregon federal state – coal export permits were denied. Over Columbia River, 9 million tons of coal was transferred yearly. This had a huge impact on local population, water and air quality. If we take decline in coal consumption in China (which occurred first time in this Century) into account, it is also a huge climate victory. Greenpeace blogs and Reneweconomy »Soft mobility« (i.e. cycling and walking) and public transport are not only best sustainable modes of mobility, but also the healthiest. Air pollution, especially in cities, is causing the most health problems to car drivers. Watch the video clip at The Guardian. Indian court dismissed several coal dig permits – beside obvious environmental concerns, it was also a big corrupted business. BBC Greenpeace report Green gadgets: Designing the Future was published. Toxic chemicals and energy footprint of those devices are decreasing. Apple is leading in the field of mobile devices and Phillips in the field of televisions.