Saturday 20 July 2013

Germany: 100% renewable energy and beyond

While many countries still discuss whether or not a 100% renewable energy system – or “just” a 100% renewable electricity supply – is even theoretically possible, Germans seem no longer bothered by such unscientific doubts. To make matters “worse,” some of them (including myself) are even convinced that a transition to a 100% renewable energy system can and should be accomplished within only a few decades’ time.Cleantechnica

Some people might find this different perception of the problems we face to overcome the energy crisis of the 21st century so puzzling that they would rather choose to believe that the Germans have simply gone mad. Luckily, nothing could be further from the truth, and I’ve got a few nice examples that might explain the German mindset.
Think Big In Small Pieces
The German push towards a renewable future is often portrayed through the tunnel vision of the author’s worldview and the common themes of the political debates in her or his home country. Quite often, this kind of quality journalism turns a “minimum price law based on technology costs – in combination with guaranteed market access for all investors”(Feed in Tariff) into “generous, (tax-funded) subsidies”. Another popular myth among so called “professional journalists” is that what is happening in Germany is due to on some kind of “big government” program. Obviously, this domestic narrative-driven reporting is not very interested in looking at important details that could explain the big picture.
One of the most important details being missed by most of those common limited observations is the fact that the renewable energy success of the last decade was mainly driven by some pioneering regions, counties, and municipalities. Those local communities moved forward with conviction, while many others have remained dormant willingly or hindered by state governments that blocked investments by passing arbitrary anti-renewable regulations in favor of conventional power companies.
Luckily, some state elections and the spread of knowledge about the positive effects of renewable energy deployment for local economies have removed a lot of the brake blocks of the past. So, what can be accomplished within a decade if local initiatives get the opportunity to shape their energy future without obstruction?

Thursday 18 July 2013

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT ( FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ...: The Indian government unleashes big bang ( Foreign Direct Investment ) FDI reforms and the same have been termed as game changing reforms...

Wednesday 17 July 2013

 
Mathew Thomas
Former president Dr Abdul Kalam’s effort at mollifying the Kundamkulam protesters has not succeeded.
TV debates did not shed light on cheapness, emissions and safety of nuclear power plants. Are the efforts to push for nuclear power a reflection of ignorance? In the 2005 Energy Bill, the US Congress allocated $ 13 billion in subsidies to revive the moribund nuclear power industry. It did not succeed. Why was USA interested in the 123 deal? Public debates on the nuclear power option are needed.
That India signed the Kundankulam agreement with Soviet Union just a year after Chernobyl, speaks volumes both of the cavalier foolhardiness of Indian signatories and the delusional power of nuclear lobby. Fukushima has re-focussed attention on nuclear plants. Several claims about nuclear power should be examined, to avoid a ‘Fukushima’ here. Nuclear reactors are expensive, complex and inefficient burners; they are a sophisticated, yet hazardous, if silly, way to boil water to produce electricity. They consume and pollute huge quantities of water.
The nuclear lobby propagates the myths of cheap and clean power. Now disgraced Enron sponsored the ‘Clean Power Group,’ which constantly met former US vice-president Dick Cheney. Kenneth Lay, Enron CEO, gave Cheney a list of corporate recommendations. These found their way into the report of the US national energy policy development group. Could this be the root of US influence in our government’s anxiety to rush into nuclear power?
Three nuclear power myths are discussed here.
- See more at: http://www.dianuke.org/nuclear-power-myths-about-low-cost-safety-and-emission/#sthash.BUU1fQjc.dpuf

Monday 15 July 2013

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: INDIAN WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: INDIAN WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION: Corruption and black money menace has been the biggest stumbling block in the Indian march to the status of a global economic superpower a...

Friday 12 July 2013

Wind at parity with new coal in India, solar to join by 2018: HSBC


The report on India Renewables, Good bye winter, hello spring, published on April 30, says the growing cost-competitiveness of renewable energy with new-build coal – and the arrival of wind parity, despite the upper wind FiT range being around 15 per cent lower than the upper tariff range for new coal capacity (see chart 3 below) – is helping to drive strong renewables growth on the sub-continent.Wind energy is now cost competitive with new-build coal capacity in India, and solar is likely to follow suit sometime between 2016-18, according to a report by HSBC.
India’s share of renewable generation in the total electricity mix increased to around 6 per cent in the 2012/13 financial year – an amount the government is hoping to grow to 20 per cent by the end of 2020, to help meet the nation’s a peak power deficit of 12GW, or around 9 per cent of its demand.
“With electricity demand expected to grow and conventional power capacity facing its own challenges, we expect developers and investors to favour renewable capacity addition,” says the report, pointing to increasing constraints on new-build coal, gas and nuclear, as well as increasing levels of water stress.
Screen Shot 2013-07-10 at 12.55.10 PM“Coal stress has been a key driver of renewables in India,” says the report. “We now see water stress as also supporting renewables growth. For the third consecutive year in a row, some coal-based capacity has been closed down during the pre-monsoon period driven by water shortages. We note that thermal power generation is the largest water consumer within the industry segment in India.”
For wind, favourable policy support mechanisms, such as increased state tariffs (although most remain well below coal tariffs, as mentioned – chart 3) and the expected 2014 reintroduction of the government’s Generation Based Incentive for wind energy projects, are expected to help deliver what some say could be a potential capacity of more than 100GW to a few hundred GW – well above the 50GW the Indian government has long been forecasting.


Screen Shot 2013-07-10 at 2.01.55 PM“Over the past 12 months, across key wind states, except Karnataka, the wind tariff has been raised,” says the report. “Six key states – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu – have increased tariffs in the range of 2-36 per cent,” it says, while Karnataka’s wind tariff is due to be reviewed next year, and a few other states, like Kerala, have also increased tariffs.
In a new interview with Deutsche Welle, the CEO of a Germany-based global solar developer made a good case for the potential for solar power to become cheaper than coal sooner rather than later. That would be Bernhard Beck, CEO of Belectric.
In the interview Beck had some interesting things to say about the direction of the global solar market and the potential for growth in large-scale solar power generating plants, and if anything, we think his forecast could come true even sooner than he thinks.
Solar power cheaper than coal
Belectric specialises in utility-scale solar power plants as well as rooftop solar, and the former area is where the focus of the Deutsche Welle interview takes place.
According to Beck, large scale solar power in Germany is already “approaching the costs” of conventional power, at 10 euro cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
Beck was reluctant to lay out a specific timetable, but he did predict that with additional technological improvements, the cost of solar power in Germany (and by extension, other relatively sun-poor countries), will ultimately fall below the cost of conventional energy.
He foresees a much shorter time span in ‘sun-rich’ countries, where the trend is rapidly moving in the direction of solar power for less than 10 euro cents per kWh. That could put solar power below the cost of wind power as well as coal or gas.
However, Beck indicates that these countries have some obstacles to overcome. By ‘sun-rich’ he means countries with a less developed transmission infrastructure, which puts large-scale power plants at a disadvantage in terms of operating costs. Also contributing to higher operating costs is the characteristic dust-heavy environment of the ‘sun-rich’ countries to which he refers, which translates into higher costs for cleaning and maintaining solar panels.
Cheaper solar power and the grid
Regardless of those obstacles, overall Beck is optimistic about the potential for future innovation to drive down costs. That optimism is partly based on his own company’s track record, which goes beyond advanced thin film solar cell technology to embrace the key area of grid integration.
In that regard, Belectric won this year’s InterSolar Award in the Solar Projects category, for its new utility scale solar power plant in Templin, Brandenburg.
The Templin solar array, which is currently billed as the largest thin film, ground-mounted solar plant in Europe, was designed as an “integrated intelligent power plant” that self-adjusts to ensure a stable operating voltage while compensating for grid fluctuations in real time.


Read more: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/7/11/solar-energy/solar%E2%80%99s-rapid-coal-chase#ixzz2YqWFypNM

Tuesday 9 July 2013

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: THE HOAX OF ELECTION PROMISES

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: THE HOAX OF ELECTION PROMISES: Come elections in India and it is a free for all in the shape of corrupt practices  to woo/buy voters and votes to grab power. The hoax o...

Monday 8 July 2013

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: INDIA CRYING FOR SINCERE AND HONEST POLITY

INDIAN DREAMS Vs REALITY: INDIA CRYING FOR SINCERE AND HONEST POLITY: What a big ask for a country on the threshold of becoming an economic global super power? Sixty five years after independence and still el...