"
Photo credit. Reuters.
By Anders Lorenzen"
The National Grid, which runs the UK's electricity and gas supply has, according to the Times and BBC in a recent report released said that the UK could face a power crisis that could result in blackouts in the event of a cold snap this winter. The uncertainty is due to the so-called spare capacity, which last winter was at 5% but at this winter would drop to 4%, three years ago the margin was at 17%.
The shortage in spare capacity is due to several energy operators shutting down plants and generators, maintenance work, generators breaking down and new plants not coming online quick enough.
On top of that there is further evidence that due to rapid melting of Arctic ice, the UK could in the near future experience colder winters than the very mild winters in the last two years.
Some of the plants being closed down are ageing, inefficient coal power plants, and to meet the UK's climate targets cleaner alternatives are needed.
Wind power's role in keeping the lights onOne such thing is wind power, which has just set a series of new UK records. Throughout October 12% of electricity of the UK's electricity was met by spinning wind turbines while on the the 20th of October the number was as high as 24% throughout the day. But despite this, the UK government are leading a war against the cheapest source of clean energy: onshore wind.
The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who since June last year has been in charge of onshore wind farm applications, has interfered in 50 wind farm applications in just over a year. Those 50 wind power project would have added 520 megawatts (MW) capacity to the grid, enough to power 275,000 English homes and worth lb581 million to the economy, furthermore it would have created 2,186 jobs.
The trade body for the renewables industry RenewableUK are not amused, Chief Executive Maf Smith said that the 50 interventions in onshore wind projects goes against the public demand for renewables and that Mr Pickles decision-making policies are based on personal views rather what the public want and what is needed.
No blackoutsThe National Grid later said to the Guardian that there was little risk for power blackouts or emergency measures.
Though the UK government are investing in new energy, the vast amounts of new energy projects that the UK government are putting forward are long term projects such as the Hinkley nuclear power plant and extraction of shale gas. On top of that they are highly controversial projects with larger opposition than onshore wind power. The lifetime of nuclear power plant construction is around ten years and analysts are saying that even if extraction for shale gas was as successful as the government says, it would be 10-15 years before we would reap any benefit of it.
But the UK government is not entirely dismissive of wind power as long as it is large infrastructure projects and on the sea. Large investments are being made in big industrial offshore wind power projects, but these are also somewhat more long term projects than onshore wind power projects and are a lot more costly. From planning to construction the time span is at least 3-4 years. To build offshore wind more efficiently, to bring down cost and provide local jobs the right infrastructure will need to be in place and the first offshore wind factory will not be built in the UK before in 2016. Until then parts are being shipped from Denmark and Germany and so is a large part of the work force.
Conclusion:It is unlikely there will be power blackouts in the UK this winter, but the report from the National Grid outlines severe risk of a shortage of new energy capacity.
The government are playing a dangerous game in saying no to the cheapest form of renewable energy to replace aging and inefficient coal power plants. The only way to construct new coal power plants is to construct them with the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS); a technology which is still unproven and highly costly.
There is no doubt that the UK still need a balanced energy system and would be reliant on fossil fuels for some time to come. But wind power is becoming more dominant in that balance and it's evident that wind power increasingly is playing to its strengths and can supply a baseload of secure and efficient energy.
But the National Grid themselves must also make investments, a more efficient grid and a grid more friendly to renewables is vital in a future energy system, where renewables will play an increasingly higher and more important role and moving further towards a smart grid system will reduce energy demand and will mean energy will be used more efficient.
The government should also realise the stress that the increasing demand is having on the grid and should champion decentralised energy to having a more efficient and stable grid.
Lastly by investing in energy efficiency you will cut demand and cut wasteful use of both electricity and heat.
"Sub edited by Charlotte Paton"
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Siemens to construct offshore wind turbine factory in the UK
THE FIRST COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAMS WERE STARTED NEARLY A DECADE AGO, AND, AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, THE EARLY EFFORTS WERE LED BY COMMUNITIES -- NEIGHBORS, SMALL TOWNS, PLACES OF WORSHIP -- IN EACH CASE, A GROUP OF PEOPLE DEDICATED TO BUILDING SOLAR SYSTEMS AND SHARING THE BENEFITS OF THE ELECTRICAL OUTPUT.
From these humble beginnings, community solar programs have grown and evolved to include many different design structures -- in fact, some programs now use the moniker "shared renewables" to reflect the fact that the concept needn't be limited to solar. In this three-part series of articles, we'll focus on what has become the most typical program design: community solar programs launched by utilities in service of their customers.
Frequent readers of Greentech Media know that utility-led community solar programs are growing rapidly in popularity. According to the Solar Electric Power Association, there are now more than 50 community solar programs planned or operating. However, designing and launching a community solar program can be complex. Indeed, there are a number of questions that every utility faces as it works through the design of a program.
David Shonnard, Robbins Control Coach of Chemical Modern, analyzed the carbon dioxide emissions of jet fuel made from camelina oil beyond the measures of its making paddock, from planting to tailpipe. "Camelina jet fuel exhibits one of the biggest winter garden gas flow reductions of any agricultural feedstock-derived biofuel I've perpetually seen," he supposed. "This is the come next of the unusual attributes of the crop-its low compost provisions, high oil assign, and the availability of its coproducts, such as buffet and biomass, for other uses."
Camelina sativa originated in Europe and is a enthusiast of the mustard surroundings, defeat plus broccoli, cabbage and canola. Sometimes called duplicity flax or gold-of-pleasure, it thrives in the semi-arid terminology of the Northern Plains; the camelina used in the likeness was fully developed in Montana.
Oil from camelina can be won over to a hydrocarbon bitter jet fuel that meets or exceeds all petroleum jet fuel provision. The fuel is a "drop-in" lever that is like-minded plus the up to date fuel broadcasting, from suspend and transportation to trade fleet technology. "It is touching on an preside over lever for fossil fuel," Shonnard explained. "Jets can't use oxygenated fuels subsequently ethanol; they deem to use hydrocarbon replacements."
Shonnard conducted the making paddock go through for UOP LLC, of Des Plaines, Ill., a development of Honeywell and a provider of oil enlightening technology. In an April 28 apparent, it cited Boeing legitimate Billy Glover, omission director of biological devices, who called camelina "one of the highest promising sources for renewable fuels that we've seen."
"It performed as acceptably if not leak out than open jet fuel at home our test emigration plus Japan Airlines past this time and supports our perseverance of accelerating the shout out availability of sustainable, renewable fuel sources that can enjoy aviation run down emissions," Glover supposed. "It's sound from the making paddock go through that camelina is one of the most important pending options and, flatten leak out, it's untouched today."
Since camelina requests trivial hose down or nitrogen to shadow, it can be fully developed on insignificant agricultural lands. "Dissimilar ethanol made from hard skin or biodiesel made from soy, it won't jog plus stores crops," supposed Shonnard. "And it may be used as a seizure crop for wheat, to growth the remedial of the alight."
Tom Kalnes is a supervisor development teammate for UOP in its renewable energy and chemicals research extrication. His setup used hydroprocessing, a technology typically used in the enlightening of petroleum, to become adult a dim process that converts camelina oil and other inherent feedstocks inside bitter jet fuel and renewable diesel fuel.
As to whether we thrust all be carried by the wind in plant-powered trade, his react is, "It depends."
"Exhibit are a few insulting issues," Kalnes supposed. "The highest insulting is the sacrifice and availability of commercial-scale quantities of jiffy generation feedstocks." And, bonus farmers need to be optimistic to growth a new crop, and refiners need penury to process it."But if it can create jobs and allowance opportunities in pure areas, that would be terrific," he supposed.
Japan has approved incentives for renewable energy that possibly will unleash billions of dollars in clean-energy investment and bureau the world's third-biggest economy persuade remark from a hope on nuclear power in arrears the Fukushima catastrophe.
Big business Priest Yukio Edano approved the overture of feed-in tariffs (FIT), which channel over charge will be rewarded for renewable energy. The leader possibly will enlarge proceeds from renewable generation and attached equipment to finer than 30 Bn by 2016, brokerage CLSA estimates.
The subsidies from July 1 are one of the few certainties in Japan's energy see, where the adaptation has left bear to the motif domicile to notice a power policy in arrears the Fukushima radiation delinquent, the world's decisive nuclear catastrophe starting Chernobyl in 1986.
The stab for renewables is held at sarcastic hope on not basically nuclear, but costly oil and liquefied natural gas for energy desires.
The scheme requires Japanese utilities to buy electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal at pre-set premiums for up to 20 years. Costs will be passed on to customers ready over bills.
Utilities will pay 42 yen (53 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour (kwh) for solar-generated electricity, dual the impose unfilled in Germany and finer than three period that rewarded in Collectibles.
Weave power will be subsidized at least amount 23.1 yen per kwh, compared with as low as 4.87 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) in Germany.
Subsidies store spurred hot-blooded expansion in renewable energy in countries such as Germany, which has all but tripled its output in smaller quantity than a decade.
Though, Japan's aim to send on investment in safer, cleaner and self-governing energy is since from a low base: renewable sources apart from large hydro-electric dams declaration for basically 1% of power supply in Japan.
Nuclear power accounted for practically 30% of Japan's electricity supply previously an wobble and tsunami on Exposition 11 wear year triggered the Fukushima catastrophe.
About 60% came from oil, coal and gas, but that taste has risen to practically 90% as safety concerns led to all of Japan's 50 reactors special keen. The apartment of Japan's electricity comes frequently from hydro.
The adaptation estimates dominance from renewable energy will share out to 22,000 megawatts by the end of Exposition 2013, up from 19,500 MW now, with 2,000 MW of that from solar panels.
But Japan has stellar dig to generate renewable energy from the sun, wind and geothermal, analysts say.
CLSA Asia-Pacific predicts solar dominance will progress to about 19 gigawatts by 2016 from about 5 GW or smaller quantity now, being wind dominance may progress 7.6 GW in four years.
Solar panel kits are readily available to homeowners. Solar technology has been widely understood since about the 1950s, with the technology appearing in limited business and residential applications at a noticeable rate around the 1970s. Today, solar technology has never been better, more efficient or more affordable. While there is still an up-front investment, affordable solar panel kits provide an easy way to get a system purchased and ensure that you have all the necessary components to create your own green and efficient power. What to Look For The main purpose of using affordable solar panel kits is to get all the parts necessary to create energy efficient power in one complete package. While there are numerous retailers and dealers who offer solar panel kits, look for companies that test all their components together, ensuring that the system will work perfectly once installed in your home. In addition, a kit gives you peace of mind that all the parts you need are in one easy-to-locate place. Most kits comes with solar panels, an inverter, wiring and installation tools and instructions. Batteries may be sold separately, so read the kit's contents carefully. What About Price? The price will vary a great deal among different solar panel kits. In most cases, this price difference is mainly based upon how large the system is and what is included with the bundle. A small and basic starter kit, for example, may only have one solar panel, an inverter and the necessary complementary parts; this kit may be under 1,000, but keep in mind that it will only generate a limited amount of electricity and will probably not be near enough to handle the load of the average home. Larger solar panel kits go up in price depending on how many solar panels are in a kit and how much electricity the system can generate. A 1.3 KW kit with six panels, for example, sells at one retailer for around 6,000, while the same company offers a 10.9 KW kit for almost 40,000. Obviously, you have to take the time to assess your needs and do a cost to benefit comparison to determine which size system is right for you. Cost vs. Efficiency The main discouraging factor for most people who are looking at solar panel kits is the initial cost; it can be expensive. However, if you get your numbers right, you can partially or completely eliminate your power costs. If you're paying an average power bill of 100 per month, for example, a system that required a 12,000 investment will pay for itself within a year. In addition, any revenue you generate from overproducing power is money in the bank. Keep in mind, however, that each power company deals with this differently. Some may pay a check to homeowners with solar panel kits for all power generated. Others may record extra power as a credit that expires after a 12-month period. If this is the case, try to buy affordable solar panel kits that match your usage as closely as possible to avoid losing money in the long run.
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[+] FORTUNE POWER SIGNS 5-MW MODULE SUPPLY AGREEMENT WITH SOLARWORLD : August 17, 2013 -- distributor secures deal for American-made solar
[+] FORTUNE ENERGY WILL UNVEIL CUSTOMIZABLE DUAL-RACK REMEDY FOR SOLAR CONTRACTORS AT INTERSOLAR NORTH AMERICA CONFERENCE NEXT WEEK : July 03, 2013 -- Introducing Dual-Rack, a customizable answer for mounting solar panels, designed for solar contractors, made in the
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HEADLINE NEWS:
* President Barack Obama, exercising his veto power for the first time in five years, rejected on Tuesday a measure green-lighting the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. It is unlikely GOP lawmakers will be able to reverse Obama's veto, as that would require a two-thirds vote in each chamber. [CNN]
* As part of its first major retrofit in 30 years, two custom-designed wind turbines have started generating power for the Eiffel Tower. Located above the World Heritage Site's second level, about 400 feet off the ground, the sculptural wind turbines are now producing 10,000 kWh of electricity annually. [ThinkProgress]
* SunEdison Inc, a US solar panel maker and project developer, expects its annual installations to more than double this year. The company intends to complete solar and wind power facilities with 2,100 to 2,300 MW of capacity during 2015. Last year it completed 1,048 megawatts of solar farms. [Bloomberg]
* The UK's renewable sources of energy like wind turbines could soon generate more electricity than nuclear power stations. Nuclear power is in a slow decline from its peak of 25% in 1995 to its current 19%. The contribution of renewables more than doubled from 6.8% in 2010 to 14.9% in 2013, and it continues to grow. [New Scientist]
* Africa's first grid-connected biogas plant will begin supplying power by March 1. The 6.5 million Gorge Farm Energy Park anaerobic digester in Kenya will consume an annual 50,000 tons of organic waste sourced from a neighboring 1,977-acre farm owned by VegPro Group, one of the plant's investers. [Starr 103.5 FM]
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