Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981 · 9 June 2015 at 7:25AM

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We've seen some debate on this thread about the relevance of some posts to the topic.

To ensure the thread remains on topic for forumites wanting to discuss the latest news we're asking that all posts contain a link to the news you're discussing.

For the purposes of this thread the "news" needs to be within the last two weeks.

Back to Martyn1981's original post.

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I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread for posting general news items that may be of interest.

PV and the 'Solar in the news' thread attract a lot of interest, so here's a thread for all the other goings on.

Mart.

Martyn1981 · 9 June 2015 at 7:28AM

Chinese greenhouse gas emissions may peak by 2025, says study

China’s greenhouse gas emissions will probably peak in 2025, five years earlier than its stated target, a study said on Monday, in a boost for hopes to curb climate change.

On current trends, the world’s biggest carbon emitter will discharge 12.5-14bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) in 2025, after which emissions will decline, it said.

The work was carried out by two research institutes at the London School of Economics (LSE).

“This finding suggests it is increasingly likely that the world will avoid global warming of more than 2C above pre-industrial levels,” they said in a statement.

The average temperature goal, which translates into 3.6F, is the upper limit targeted by the UN, which is seeking to enshrine it in a global accord in December.

“Analysing trends in the key emitting sectors, we conclude that China’s greenhouse gas emissions are unlikely to peak as late as 2030, the upper limit set by President Xi Jinping in November 2014, and are much more likely to peak by 2025,” said the paper, co-authored by climate economist Nicholas Stern and analyst Fergus Green.

Mart.

Martyn1981 · 9 June 2015 at 7:30AM

Siemens wins major order to connect British and Belgian national grids

Siemens has been awarded an order for a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system to connect the British and Belgian national grids via subsea cable

Siemens will be responsible for the installation of both converter stations using HVDC Plus technology with a transmission voltage of ±400 kilovolt (kV) DC. The customer is Nemo Link, which is a joint venture between the British grid operator, National Grid, and the Belgian Transmission System Operator, Elia Group. Following completion, Nemo Link will provide 1,000 MW of capacity, enough to power 500,000 households.

The interconnector will run for 140 kilometers between Richborough in Kent and Zeebrugge near the Belgian city of Brugge with a combination of subsea and underground cables. The commercial operation of the link is scheduled for 2019 and the contract includes a service and maintenance agreement for a period of five years.

Mart.

torbrex · 9 June 2015 at 7:37AM

Scottish greenhouse gas emission figures due and it looks like the target has been missed again

BBC story

Martyn1981 · 9 June 2015 at 7:38AM

Arnold Schwarzenegger tells Australia cutting emissions is good economics

Actor and former governor of California describes claims that climate action hurts the economy as ‘a bunch of nonsense’ and urges all countries to cooperate

During his stint as governor of California between 2003 and 2011, Schwarzenegger passed the first emissions trading scheme in the United States.

Schwarzenegger said after California introduced tough new environmental laws the state’s economic growth well outpaced the national rate.

“The thing that you always hear when you do that is ‘this will hurt the economy’,” he said.

“Going green and protecting the environment did not hurt the economy, it’s a bunch of nonsense.”

Mart.

Martyn1981 · 9 June 2015 at 6:18PM

Swansea Bay's £1bn tidal lagoon given go-ahead

The building of a £1bn tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay has been given the go-ahead by the UK government.

Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP) says it will now negotiate how much subsidy will be paid for the energy.

That is still a big hurdle for TLP, which want five other lagoons on the west UK coast to harness power, and needs a guaranteed price for it.

There are also concerns about the impact on the environment and migratory fish.

Then there's the cost. A cool billion pounds for an energy output that would be a third of an average sized power station.

TLP and the UK Government now need to agree a guaranteed price for the energy generated.

Last year, the company asked for £168 per MWhe - higher than for nuclear, solar and onshore wind energy - but will not say the current detail of negotiations.

Higher tariffs are offered to wave and other marine technologies, but unlike energy lagoons, they are far in the future whereas staff at TLP want to be able to start building next spring.

£168/MWh may sound high compared to wind and solar but the tidal scheme could operate for 120 years. I can't remember if tidal gets the same 15yr subsidy as wind and PV, or a 30/35yr subsidy like nuclear.

Mart.

theboylard · 13 June 2015 at 1:06PM

Smart Meter rollout - BBC News

Awfully underinforming piece - where's the rest of the story?
Where's the comments on it?!

I would have a smart meter, if it offered:
1) in house display, real time, both gas and electric
2) api access to the data, complete and unhindered real time access
3) Portability - currently if you have a smart meter installed whilst with one utility provider and you subsequently move provider, then you lose the smart functionality! Beggars belief but true!
4) Contractual agreement that the export of any surplus through microgeneration would only switch to metered from deemed with my consent, or compensation should be payable.

No point otherwise if I can't have the above?

The_Green_Hornet · 13 June 2015 at 2:38PM

theboylard wrote: »

3) Portability - currently if you have a smart meter installed whilst with one utility provider and you subsequently move provider, then you lose the smart functionality! Beggars belief but true!

That is because the current smart meters being installed by the various different suppliers don't meet the final smart meter specifications. Little point in having one installed until the official roll-out starts in April 2016.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/do-i-have-to-accept-a-smart-meter

theboylard · 13 June 2015 at 4:29PM

The_Green_Hornet wrote: »

That is because the current smart meters being installed by the various different suppliers don't meet the final smart meter specifications. Little point in having one installed until the official roll-out starts in April 2016.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/do-i-have-to-accept-a-smart-meter

That's why it's in my list, 4 targets to meet, none of them difficult but as !!!! and elbow don't communicate, then come next year people will still have problems!

Martyn1981 · 16 June 2015 at 11:36AM

Renewable Energy Could Dominate Electricity Market In 15 Years

Renewable energy could surpass coal, nuclear power, and natural gas as the world’s largest source of electricity within only 15 years, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

The report was published to provide a backdrop to the current state of affairs in energy markets ahead of the international climate negotiations set to take place in Paris in December. The IEA noted that economic growth is starting to “decouple” from energy – global GDP expanded by 3 percent in 2014 but emissions stayed flat.

Mart.

Martyn1981 · 16 June 2015 at 11:49AM

Fully renewable energy system is economically viable in Finland in 2050

A fully renewable energy system, including all energy consuming sectors, is not only a possible but a viable solution for Finland, according to a new research. Researchers from Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) have investigated renewable energy system options for Finland in 2050. Results indicate that a fully renewable energy system is possible, and represents a competitive solution for Finland with careful planning.

This system includes installed capacity of solar power of up to 35 gigawatts and 44 gigawatts of wind power, an amount well above those seen in previous analyses, but supported by an established potential for wind and solar photovoltaics in Finland.

This could create more than 166 TWh of electricity annually, approximately double the current level of final electricity consumption. The excess electricity would then be used to create synthetic fuels that can be consumed when needed for variety of purposes.

In addition, electricity would directly replace fossil fuels in the provision of many energy services, such as heating and transport. These results include stationary battery storage capacities of up to 20 GWh, three million electric vehicles with respective storage capacities and power-to-gas capacities of up to 30 GW.

In the study total annual costs for 100% renewable energy systems are approximately 25 billion euros, slightly less than scenarios with lower shares of renewable energy and a business as usual scenario (26 billion euros). The same trend was found for scenarios with lower shares and higher prices of forest biomass, albeit at higher overall annual cost. By comparison, the current energy system has an annual cost of approximately 18 billion euros and is set to rise to 21 billion euros by 2020 using the same method of calculation.

Mart.

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