Wind industry says more confidence needed going into final climate talks
October 24, 2009
The European Wind Energy Association is releasing new calculations on how much wind power can contribute to achieving greenhouse gas emission targets.
In a briefing for Ministers and Members of the European Parliament, EWEA says that it expects wind energy to avoid the emission of 333 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2020. This is the equivalent to 29% of the EU’s current greenhouse gas reduction target of 20% by 2020.
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Toshiba first to commercially launch methanol fuel cell charger
October 23, 2009
After years of prototypes and promises that the technology was just around the corner, Toshiba has become the first major consumer electronics maker to launch direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology.
The Dynario, a charger that can replenish the batteries in gadgets like cell phones and digital cameras via USB, went on sale this week on Toshiba’s Web store. Sales will be limited to 3,000 units and each will cost ¥29,800 (US$328). Refill bottles with 50 milliliters of methanol will cost ¥3,150 although Toshiba is giving 5 bottles away with each purchase made in the next month.
DMFCs produce electricity from a reaction between methanol, water and air. The only by-products are a small amount of water vapor and carbon dioxide, so DMFCs are often seen as a greener source of energy than traditional batteries. Another advantage of the technology is that they can be refilled with a new cartridge of methanol in seconds and are then ready to begin generating electricity again.
The charger is about the same thickness and width as a cell phone, although it is slightly longer than most phones at 15 centimeters. A single 50-milliliter charge of methanol will enable it to recharge a cell phone twice.
That makes the initial model an expensive way to recharge gadgets but the price will likely fall when volumes increase.
For Toshiba the launch of the charger represents the end of a development program that’s lasted more than six years. An early prototype of the DMFC charger was presented at the Ceatec electronics show in Japan in 2003 and at the time Toshiba said it would likely debut in 2005. Other companies followed with their own prototypes and all gave similar launch estimates but none of them came to market on time.
Over the following years Toshiba has displayed a number of prototypes including a DMFC-powered portable media player and a laptop computer. The time frame, no matter what the year, was always “next year.” Last year Toshiba began promising its first product in 2009.
After the launch of the charger the next step for Toshiba will be gadgets with embedded fuel cells. Earlier this month at Ceatec 2009 one of its DMFCs was on display inside a cellular telephone but both Toshiba and Japanese carrier KDDI, which was demonstrating the phone, gave no estimate for its release.
Toshiba didn’t disclose any plans to sell the charger overseas.
Category: Energy | One comment »
ENEL GREEN POWER STARTS OPERATING ITS FIRST WIND FARM IN BULGARIA
October 19, 2009
Enel Green Power, the Enel Group company fully dedicated to developing and managing power generation from renewable sources, commenced operation of its first wind farm in Bulgaria, the “Kamen Briag” plant in the municipality of Kavarna.
The new wind farm consists of 7 turbines with a capacity of 3 MW each, for a total installed capacity of 21 MW. The park covers an area of approximately 70 hectares of land. With an annual production of over 56.5 million kWh, it will be able to meet the energy needs of 19,000 households while avoiding the emission of 50,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
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Solar Europe Initiative funding: positive but incomplete way forward
October 18, 2009
Communication on the financing of low carbon technologies: the European Commission positively recognises the strong potential of solar photovoltaic technology but does not sufficiently reflect industry R&D and demonstration priorities; furthermore, significant uncertainty remains on the financing model.
Today the European Commission (EC) presented its communication on the financing of low carbon technologies. It proposes an ambitious budget for the Solar Europe Industry Initiative, including photovoltaics (PV), but does not sufficiently address the challenges the European PV industry will have to face until 2020. Technology roadmaps to clarify the way forward are very much awaited.
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100 electric scooters from Den Bosch to Copenhagen
October 17, 2009
This December, Copenhagen will host the 15th United Nations Climate Change Convention (COP15). Its objective: to negotiate a new global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the perfect destination for young people who would like to inspire world leaders with their recommendations about fighting global warming. Do you like the idea? Then join us on our relay road trip by electric scooter: The Road to Copenhagen (R2C).
After prologues in Amsterdam (NL), Leeuwarden (NL) and Mediapark Hilversum (NL) on December 1st, we will be leaving officially on December 2nd from Den Bosch (NL), pass through Germany and arrive in the Danish capital 2 weeks later. The Road to Copenhagen caravan will consist of about 100 electric scooters. The trip will be driven in relay – about 300 participants (sign up!) will be invited to come along for 4 days.
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Acquisition of Solel Solar Systems for about USD418 million by Siemens
October 17, 2009
Siemens AG is to acquire the solar thermal power company Solel Solar Systems Ltd. To date, the majority stake has been held by Ecofin Ltd., a London-based investment firm, and another major shareholder. “After the rapid and highly successful expansion of our wind power business, we now want to continue this success story in the solar sector. With the acquisition of Solel, Siemens can now strengthen its market position in the promising business of solar thermal power plants. We can thus further expand our extensive Environmental Portfolio – and, as already announced, we will become even greener,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. Solel Solar Systems has a workforce of over 500 and is one of the world´s two leading suppliers of solar receivers, which are key components of so-called parabolic trough power plants. The high-growth company, which posted revenue totaling almost USD90 million in the first six months of its current fiscal year (January 1 to June 30, 2009), is also a leader in the planning and construction of solar fields. The purchase price is about USD418 million (currently equivalent to around EUR284 million ). The transaction is subject to approval by the responsible authorities. It is anticipated that the closing will take place before the end of this calendar year.
Solel is a successful company in the future-oriented solar power sector, with decades of experience in the development and manufacture of solar field equipment and the planning and construction of solar fields. Since 2006, Solel has also been present on the Spanish market, supplying key components for 15 solar thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 750 megawatts. In addition, the company is also active on the important U.S. market.
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Big energy research increase vital for Europe´s future
October 11, 2009
The European Commission’s Communication on “Low Carbon Financing” proposes a big and essential increase in funds for energy research.
“The €6 billion proposed for wind energy research represents unbeatable value for money” said Christian Kjaer, CEO of the European Wind Energy Association. “No other technology offers such a big return in electricity generation and greenhouse gas reduction for such a small investment.”
Less than 12% of the proposed new energy research budget allocated to specific generation technologies will go to wind and 25% to coal.
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Inauguration of new precast concrete tower factory in Magdeburg
October 10, 2009
On 2 October, tower manufacturer WEC Turmbau GmbH inaugurated its new production facility in Magdeburg-Rothensee in Eastern Germany. The new plant in Magdeburg‘s inland harbour “Hansehafen” was officially launched by Reiner Haseloff, Minister for the Economy of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, and Aloys Wobben, Managing Director of ENERCON GmbH.
The new building is 350 m long and 71 m wide and offers enough production floor space to increase the efficiency of precast concrete tower (PCT)manufacturing for ENERCON. “The arrangement of the stations in the spacious factory building – from the ironworking unit via the concrete casting stage to the finishing area – is designed to ensure fluent processes,” explained Norbert Hölscher, Managing Director of WEC Turmbau. Compared to the factory at the previous site in Magdeburg Alt-Salbke, the output capacity has increased from 15 to 25 concrete tower segments per day.
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IEA maps out global energy sector transformation and its financial consequences under a global climate agreement
October 7, 2009
The financial and economic crisis has had a considerable impact on the energy sector worldwide. Investment in polluting technologies has been deferred and CO2 emissions could fall in 2009 by as much as 3% – steeper than at any time in the last 40 years, finds the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its new study, a special early excerpt of the World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2009. This would lead to emissions in 2020 being 5% lower – even in the absence of additional policies — than the IEA estimated just twelve months ago. The economic downturn has thereby created an opportunity to put the global energy system on a trajectory to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions at 450 parts per million (ppm) of CO2-equivalent, in line with an increase in global temperature of around 2 degrees Celsius. Presenting the excerpt at the UNFCCC climate change talks in Bangkok, IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said, “This gives us a chance to make real progress towards a clean-energy future, but only if the right policies are put in place promptly. The success of the UNFCCC process is crucial in this regard.” Read more »
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Google working on smart grid solution for recharging electric vehicles
October 4, 2009
As the number of electric vehicles, or plug-in hybrids increases, there is a good chance that they may put greater strain on the grid with a lot of vehicles going for a recharge simultaneously. Google is currently working on a solution to this problem, by integrating vehicles with the electric grid so as to minimize strain and help utilities charge better.
Google is currently working on creating a software that would help meet this end, writes Yahoo. The idea obviously is to avoid a large number of vehicles getting plugged in at the same time. The software would monitor usage, and find the perfect time to recharge the vehicle, thus avoiding charging during times of peak and high demand, and putting less strain on the grid.
Customers who choose such options may be allowed for credit from the utilities in return. A couple of years back, Google also explored the possibilities of having the plug-in hybrids feed their stored energy back to the grid, and create a potential back-up power source.
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