Archive for May 2016

Home Archive for May 2016

The End of Fossil Fuel Subsidies

May 31, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Providing handouts to the wealthiest corporations on earth does not make much sense, particularly when their activities are the leading driver of climate change. Ending fossil fuel subsidies is the most obvious next step in our efforts to tackle the climate crisis. In the wake of the Paris Climate Agreement forged at COP21, continuing fossil fuel subsidies is an oxymoron.

These subsidies take many forms including, tax breaks, cheap loans, price controls, purchase requirements, purchasing equipment, royalty breaks and direct spending. According to some reports there are over 800 ways that taxpayers support the fossil fuel industry.

According to the IMF, global energy subsidies amount to 5.3 trillion dollars, or $10 million a minute. This translates to 6.5 percent of global GDP, in 2015 alone. This is more than the entire health spending of all the world’s governments. The IMF suggests that removing fossil fuel subsidies could reduce greenhouse gas emission by 20 percent. Everybody from Prince Charles to the IMF have called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies.

Nicholas Stern, climate economist at the London School of Economics, said: “There is no justification for these enormous subsidies for fossil fuels, which distort markets and damages economies, particularly in poorer countries.”

Christiana Figueres, the UN’s climate change chief commented: “The IMF provides five trillion reasons for acting on fossil fuel subsidies. Protecting the poor and the vulnerable is crucial to the phasing down of these subsidies, but the multiple economic, social and environmental benefits are long and legion.”

The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, succinctly stated: “We need to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies now.”

Shelagh Whitley, a subsidies expert at the Overseas Development Institute, said: “governments around the world are propping up a century-old energy model. Compounding the issue, our research shows that many of the energy subsidies highlighted by the IMF go toward finding new reserves of oil, gas and coal, which we know must be left in the ground if we are to avoid catastrophic, irreversible climate change.”

The world's biggest providers of fossil fuel subsidies are China, ($2.3tn) US ($700bn), Russia ($335bn), India ($277bn) and Japan ($157bn), and the European Union ($330bn).

By making fossil fuels cheaper, subsidies increase the use of dirty energy resulting in more emissions. A new report shows how subsidies are increasing our emissions. According to the report's author Radek Stefansk from The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary:

“The resultant 170-country, 30-year database finds that the financial and the environmental costs of such subsidies are enormous- and steadily increasing. The overwhelming majority of the world’s fossil fuel subsidies stem from China, the US, and the ex-USSR; as of 2010, this figure was $712 billion or nearly 80% of the total world value of subsidies. For its part, Canada has been subsidizing rather than taxing fossil fuels since 1998. By 2010, Canadian subsidies sat at $13 billion, or 1.4% of GDP. In that same year, the total direct and indirect financial costs of all such subsidies amounted to $1.82 trillion, or 3.8% of global GDP.”

Perhaps the most noteworthy statistic contained in the report show that in the absence of subsidies emissions would have been cut in half in 2010.

IMF

Numerous other studies including IMF research have come to similar conclusion as the Policy School study. The IMF called these subsidies "unsustainable"." The IMF described these subsidies as "perverse" saying "they are using public funds to create a problem the world has agreed to fix in Paris. And they leave us all to pay the societal costs that fossil-fuel pollution causes."

Ending the subsidies would also reduce the number of premature deaths from air pollution by half translating to about 1.6 million lives a year.

In 2014, IMF leader Christine Lagarde said reducing subsidies for fossil fuels and pricing carbon pollution should be priorities for governments around the world.

“We are subsidizing the very behaviour that is destroying our planet, and on an enormous scale. Both direct subsidies and the loss of tax revenue from fossil fuels ate up almost $2 trillion in 2011—this is about the same as the total GDP of countries like Italy or Russia,” Lagarde said.

G7

In 2009 the G7 (composed of UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union) announced that it would end fossil fuel subsidies but no timelines were given. At a recent meeting of the G7 in Japan, the world's wealthiest economies have agreed to end fossil fuel subsidies in the next decade.

“Given the fact that energy production and use account for around two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, we recognise the crucial role that the energy sector has to play in combating climate change,” said the leaders’ declaration, issued at the end their summit in Japan.

G20

In 2009, G20 countries promised to phase out "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies. According to a report titled "Empty Promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production," G20 countries are spending $452 billion US a year in direct subsidies to their respective fossil fuel industries. The study's co-author Alex Doukas, who is senior campaigner with Oil Change International, said,

"We're subsidizing companies to search for new fossil fuel reserves at time when we know that three-quarters of the proven reserves have to stay in the ground if we hope to avoid the worst impacts of climate change...So paying companies to find more fossil fuels is folly."

The report was produced jointly by Oil Change International, an advocacy group focused on moving the world away from fossil fuels, and the Overseas Development Institute, the U.K.'s leading independent think-tank on international development and humanitarian issues.

US

Despite numerous attempts to remove these subsidies in the US Congress (primarily the Republicans) have thwarted these efforts. The fossil fuel industry owns the Republican party who have consistently shown their loyalty to an industry that is rife with corruption and subterfuge. Internationally, the leaders from over 50 countries have made public commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies in the “medium term.” However there has not been much concrete action to date.

Canada

Canada's total federal and provincial support for the petroleum industry was close to $2.7 billion US ($3.6 billion Cdn at current exchange rates) in the 2013-14 fiscal year, with federal subsidies accounting for roughly $1.6 billion. In his election platform, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged his government would end fossil fuel subsidies.

COP21

During the COP21 conference at the end of 2015, the UNFCCC released a statement which read: “An unprecedented coalition of close to 40 governments, hundreds of businesses and influential international organisations has called today for accelerated action to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, a move that would help bridge the gap to keep global temperature rise below 2°C.”

John Key, the New Zealand Prime Minister, presented the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Communiqué to Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Key said:

“Fossil fuel subsidy reform is the missing piece of the climate change puzzle. It’s estimated that more than a third of global carbon emissions, between 1980 and 2010, were driven by fossil fuel subsidies.

Figueres said in accepting the Communiqué: “These subsidies contribute to the inefficient use of fossil fuels, undermine the development of energy efficient technologies, act as a drag on clean, green energy deployment and in many developing countries do little to assist the poorest of the poor in the first place...low oil prices are a good opportunity to really get going on this issue.”

Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden, said: “History will prove fossil fuel to be a dead end. Sweden will be amongst the first fossil free welfare nations of the world. And eliminating fossil fuel subsidies is an important step on this path.”

Hakima El Haite, Environment Minister of Morocco, candidate for the presidency of COP22, said: “Not only do fossil fuel subsidies put a strain on government coffers but they also don’t help the poorest of society.”

Solutions

The end of fossil fuel subsidies is coming and there are ways that we can expedite this transition. As reviewed by Price of Oil here are four major ways we can address the problem of subsidies:

Increased transparency – governments must stop hiding the handouts they give to fossil fuel companies!
Support for the poor and vulnerable – we need to be sure that poor countries and communities are supported to ensure access to energy while removing these subsidies.
Global coordination – without a way for the world to coordinate on this effort, countries will continue to drag their heels.
Phase-out Deadline – we all know that unless you have a deadline, you’re apt to procrastinate. It’s time to set one for fossil fuel subsidy elimination!

How Corporate Transparency can Save the World

May 30, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Transparency is a central tenant of sustainability. There are powerful social, environmental and economic implications associated with transparency. Corporations are not the only ones that should be concerned about transparency; governments, employees, consumers and the whole of civil society all have a stake.

Transparency is about open access to an organization’s activities and this has implications for everything from climate change to the bottom line.

Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz effectively communicated the importance of transparency when he said:

“I think the currency of leadership is transparency. You’ve got to be truthful. I don’t think you should be vulnerable every day, but there are moments where you’ve got to share your soul and conscience with people and show them who you are, and not be afraid of it.”

Megatrend

Transparency is a trend that has been gaining momentum in recent years and in 2016 it has emerged as a critical success factor. Corporate disclosure is a key component of sustainability and a salient element in B Corporations. Transparency is now an imperative that is being integrated into university curricula.

As explained by Dr. Chet Chaffee, the Director of Sustainability at FirstCarbon Solutions:

“Many leading global companies today are embracing sustainability practices as they understand that this method is not simply a reporting exercise; they realize that full and transparent disclosure to all stakeholders is crucial for success.”

As reviewed in an Economist article, factors contributing to the rise of transparency include greater demands for corporate accountability from governments, investigative journalism, and NGO activism from organizations like Transparency International (TI) and Global Witness.

We have come a long way in the past two decades. Ben Elers of TI described the journey as follows: “Twenty years ago our work seemed an impossible dream. Now it’s coming true.”

Transparency is now de rigueur in supply chains as fashion start-up maven Laura McCann Ramsey explained in an interview with Apparel Magazine:

“Corporate initiatives around supply chain transparency have become just as essential as a brand’s logo, mission statement and value proposition,

Bottom line

As reported by the CDP, Sustainability, including transparency has been shown to be profitable. Investors, employees and other businesses are attracted to firms that engage in disclosure reporting and this contributes to the health and financial well-being of an organization.

Corporations are becoming more transparent because they want to keep up with the progressive efforts of their competition and position themselves to prosper going forward. In addition to a host long term economic returns, research even supports short term material benefits associated with transparency.

As quoted in the Economist article, George Serafeim of Harvard Business School said, “there is evidence that it [transparency] boosts the share price by signaling that management is tackling hidden risks.”

Climate action

Transparency may be among the best tools we have to advance climate action. Making climate efforts public enhances a corporation’s self-awareness and invites public scrutiny. This can contribute to corporate mitigation and adaptation efforts. These efforts are aided by reporting initiatives like CDP’s Climate Performance Leadership Index (CPLI).

Sustainable development

Transparency can also advance sustainable development. This is the view of many organizations including the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

“G8 leaders need to see transparency not as an end-goal, but as the means to an end. Transparency needs to increase accountability in natural resource management. It needs to empower local people affected by resource extraction projects,” said the IIED’s Dr Emma Wilson. “People affected by resource extraction projects or land investments need to be able to access the information that the various transparency initiatives gather.”

Consumers

Another factor driving sustainability and corporate disclosure is consumer awareness. Businesses are also coming to the realization that transparency is an essential part of forging enduring ties with consumers. Consumers are well informed and they are demanding ever more information. More knowledge translates into more responsible buying behaviors. Consumers armed with accurate information have the power to change the world through their patronage, or lack thereof. Consumers are also exerting pressure on companies directly and they also influence stockholders to table resolutions.

Tax evasion and corruption

Transparency combats the kind of secrecy that facilitates tax evasion. The tangled web of corporate subsidiaries makes it difficult to identify tax havens. By aggregating their accounts, corporations commonly obscure their tax avoidance. Country by country reporting would expose this kind of shell game that is sadly altogether common. Transparency is also bulwark against excess and greed. The gaze of watchful eyes illuminates the shadows in which corruption and corporate malfeasance can grow.

Extractives (fossil fuels)

Nowhere is corruption more rampant than in the fossil fuel and other extractive industries. However, even here we are seeing signs of change. More than 50 countries and 90 companies have already signed on to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s (EITI) reporting guidelines. One of the companies that have backed the EITI initiative is Norway’s Statoil. Hege Marie Norheim, head of Statoil sustainability efforts, argues that disclosure is “better for the company’s long-term stability”.

Opacity

Getting on-board affords a host of benefits while failing to engage entertains a range of risks. Being opaque makes an organization vulnerable to both reputational and financial risks. Leaks of information are one of the risks associated with opacity. In the digital age, containing these leaks is an impossible challenge. Leaks are part of a trend that is growing alongside disclosure. As reported in the Economist article, employees now, “see it as their civic duty to leak information if their employer is shady and secretive.”

Government action

Governments are not only a crucial part of the push for transparency they are also a pivotal source of resistance. As explained by George Cazenove of Tullow Oil, “it’s more often the governments than the companies that want the terms kept quiet.” For corporate disclosure to truly come into its own, governments must also be transparent. This needs to be a global effort. In the absence of a truly global initiative, such reporting could offer unfair short term advantages to companies that do not disclose.

Conceptually, the governments of wealthy nations are onboard, as revealed by the G20’s support of central registers. Countries like Britain and Denmark have made it known that their registers will be publicly accessible. While we are seeing movement from governments, there is much work that remains to be done.

Avoiding data fatigue

Data can enable companies, investors and the public to make better decisions. However, too much data can be just as problematic as too little. Corporate disclosures need to focus on relevant clusters of data so that less than honorable activities are discernable and not buried under a mountain of information.

There are also justified concerns that demanding too much data from companies can put unnecessary demands on corporations that do not ultimately contribute to the public good. As explained by the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Michael Meehan, large companies have “data fatigue”. Reporting every single data point can be counterproductive to global transparency initiatives.

While open access to raw data is useful, pertinent constellations of data and a review of relevant interrelationships between these clusters of data are needed. This is the type of work we are seeing from organizations like OpenCorporates. They have done a good job of data-scraping to cut through massive amounts of information to collate important data.

Panacea

On its own, transparency is not a panacea, but if widely implemented, it could significantly contribute to our collective social, environmental and economic betterment. Consider what detailed disclosure could have achieved had it been implemented decades ago.

Transparency could have prevented the kind of tax dodging revealed in the Panama papers. Even more importantly, corporate disclosure could have revealed the relationship between fossil fuels and climate change. Our world would be radically better today if Exxon and other oil giants would have shared their insights into the relationship between climate change and fossil fuels. Had this been done it may have been enough to attenuate the climate crisis. At the very least, we may have engaged in climate action much sooner.

As explained in the Economist article:

“The world is still full of murky shell companies. But the direction of travel is clear. In tax and contract transparency, there is general acceptance that change is coming, like it or not.”

Today’s savvy consumers and a growing number of corporations want transparency and tomorrow’s consumers will expect it. The future is calling corporations to weave transparency into their DNA.

Source: Global Warming is Real

Event - World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC)

May 29, 2016 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place June 13, 2016 - June 16, 2016 at the Palacio de Congresos Expo Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. WHEC 2016 is the twenty-first World Hydrogen Energy Conference and it is being organized by the Spanish Hydrogen Association (AeH2).

WHEC is the world's most well-known conference in the field of hydrogen energy and fuel cells of the IAHE (International Association for Hydrogen Energy.

What you will get

Opportunities to share and exchange scientific information with global leaders in businesses, governments, and scientific communities.
The WHEC exhibition features a variety of hydrogen energy and fuel cell applications from companies and research institutions.

Networking

Apart from its primary role in disseminating scientific improvements among the Academia and public and private entities, WHEC 2016 represent a key opportunity to engage in conversations with potential partners and collaborators all over the world. For this purpose, there are two main hotspots during the Conference: the Welcome Reception and the Gala Dinner.

Who will be present

More than 1,000 attendees.
More than 60 countries.
The global hydrogen and fuel cell community.
International stakeholders in the hydrogen and fuel cells technologies fields.

Subjects that will be addressed

Hydrogen production.
Hydrogen storage.
Hydrogen transport.
Hydrogen end uses.

Plenary Sessions

Plenary Session 1: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles and Hydrogen Infrastructures
Monday June 13th, 10.30 - 12.30 h

Mr Matthias Klietz | Vice President Research Powertrain - BMW Group. "BMW Group hydrogen fuel cell technology as a path towards zero emission mobility."

Mr Jacques Pieraerts | Vice President, Communication, External and Environmental Affairs - Toyota Motor Europe. "Fuel the future."

Mr Bjørn Simonsen | Director, Market Development and Public Relations - NEL ASA. "Ramping up for the commercial hydrogen refuelling station market."

Plenary Session 2: Hydrogen and Fuel Cells National Initiatives, Strategies and Legislation
Tuesday June 14th, 08.30 - 10.00 h:

Mr Bart Biebuyck | Executive Director - Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).

Mr Eiji Ohira | Director of the New Energy Technology Department - New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). "Current Policy and R&D Activity on Hydrogen Energy in Japan."

Ms Chris White | Communications Director - California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP). "Lessons Learned: Starting the Retail Market for FCEVs in California."

Mr Eric Denhoff | Chairman - Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA). "The State of Canada's Fuel Cell Industry--Successes and Challenges."

Dr Klaus Bonhoff | Managing Director - National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH). “Supporting market ramp-up of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.”

Plenary Session 3: Hydrogen Storage and Power-to-Gas
Wednesday June 15th, 08.30 - 10.00 h:

Mr Filip Smeets | Chief Executive Officer - Hydrogenics Europe. "Renewable Hydrogen: Myth, Hype or Reality?"

Dr Simon Bourne | Chief Technology Officer - ITM Power.

Plenary Session 4: Cross-cutting Initiatives and Upcoming Events
Thursday June 16th, 08.30-10.00 h:

TBD | Spanish Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Technological Platform (PTE HPC).

Mr Pontus Lindberg | Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Electro-mobility in European Regions (HyER). “The role of HyER in the development of hydrogen and fuel cells in European cities and regions.”

Mrs Chiara Fiori | IAHE Young Scientists Division. "The Young Scientists Division of the IAHE - a key to the future of hydrogen energy."

Ms Inmaculada Cabrera | Center for the Development of Industrial Technological (CDTI). “EUREKA. Funding opportunities for R&D international collaborative projects.”

Dr Ing Karin Stehlík | WHTC 2017, Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform. “Invitation to the World Hydrogen Technology Convention 2017 in Prague.”

Dr Paulo de Miranda | WHEC 2018. “The 22nd World Hydrogen Energy Conference.”

Dr Yoshitsugu Kojima | WHTC 2019 “All Japan Hydrogen Project to Realize Hydrogen Economy."

Dr Tejs Laustsen Jensen | WHEC 2020, Danish Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. “WHEC 2020 in Denmark - the home of renewable energy”

Dr Miguel Antonio Peña | CCESC 2016

To register click here.

Tidal Power: Renewable Energy Panacea or Environmental Pariah (Videos)

May 28, 2016 Add Comment Edit

In June 2016 turbines will be installed to capture the incredible power of Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy. With the largest tides in the world, the Bay of Fundy also has the world's largest tidal energy potential. On its own the bay could supply all of Nova Scotia's energy needs.

Tidal power (tidal energy), is a form of hydro-power that converts the energy obtained from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity. This fledgling emissions free renewable technology has vast potential. It may even prove to be superior to traditional sources of renewable energy because it is far more predictable than wind or solar power.

Canada’s leading research centre for tidal energy is the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy. Also known as FORCE, this group is made up of public and private developers, regulators, scientists and academics. The subsea turbine demonstration facility in located at the Minas Passage, 10 kilometres west of Parrsboro.

The turbine that is scheduled to be installed in June will be located at the FORCE site. The two-megawatt turbine is one thousand tonnes and five storis high (16 metres). It will produce enough electricity to power 1000 homes. In 2017 a Black Rock tidal platform will be installed in the same location. This 2.5 megawatt array employs 40 smaller turbines, each about four metres in diameter. It is expected to generate around 2.5 megawatts of power.

As explained by Anne-Marie Belliveau, Director of Operations (FORCE) explained the reasons why the Bay of Fundy is ideal for tidal power:

"The Bay of Fundy is the best tidal power energy site in the world, both because of the amount of water and how fast it goes. 160 billion tons of water flow through the Bay of Fundy on every tidal cycle. That’s more than the combined flow of all the rivers in the world. If we are able to harness all of the power – just within the Minas Passage alone – it is enough to power all of the homes within Nova Scotia."

It should be noted that although there has been decades of research this is still a new technology. In February 2015 the world’s first grid-connected wave energy array switched on in Perth. Carnegie Wave Energy’s unique, Australian-made CETO technology moves with the ocean’s waves to drive tethered seabed pumps.

While many support emissions free renewable ocean power, others are concerned about its potential impact on fish. However as explained in this documentary, Michael Dadswell, a retired Acadia University biology professor who has studied the effects of these turbines on fish, and Darren Porter, a commercial fisherman in the Minas Basin, argue that tidal power could seriously damage the region’s valuable fisheries and its species at risk.

Second Shell Oil Spill in Less than Two Weeks

May 27, 2016 Add Comment Edit

For the second time in less than two weeks pipelines belonging to Shell have leaked oil. The most recent spill has leaked 21,000 Gallons (500 barrels) of oil near Tracy in San Joaquin County, California. This time the culprit was the company's underground San Pablo Bay Pipeline which transports crude oil from California’s Central Valley to the San Francisco Bay Area. The spill took place on May 20th but Shell did not report the leak until the evening of Monday May 23.

Ironically, this spill took place against the backdrop of the Altamont Pass Wind Farm, one of California's largest wind energy developments. The juxtaposition of an oil spill against a clean energy producing wind farm speaks volumes.

This is the second time that oil has spilled from this pipeline in 8 months and the second time Shell has reported a spill in less than two weeks.

On May 12, Shell spilled almost 90,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In an interview with WMNF News, Scott Eustis, a coastal wetlands specialist with Gulf Restoration Network discussed the impacts of the May 12 oil spill on the corals, dolphins, whales, tuna and whale sharks.

“All this is happening while the government is considering new leasing in the Gulf. Although we know from this and many other events that there’s not enough clean-up, there’s not appropriate technologies to take care of the Gulf as a natural resource that belongs to all of us, here, and all of us in the United States. So, we’re calling for no new leasing until the government and industry can show that they can take care of our natural resources.”

Cleanup efforts at the spill site near Tracy are focused on the oil that has reached the surface. Oil is visible on a patch of land that is roughly 10,000 square feet in size. However, the majority of the leaked oil remains underground. California's fire marshal has launched an investigation into the spill.

The company claims that, “no release [of oil] is acceptable“. However, Shell's history of spills mirrors the experience of all oil operations. The extraction and transportation of oil is subject to spills. This is an unavoidable fact of life.

In addition to being the leading cause of climate change, oil spills contaminate soil and water with predictable regularity. In recent days there has been an oil spill at Three Oaks High School in Summerside, Prince County, Prince Edward Island.

Every year there are thousands of spills around the world. A summary of some of the fossil fuel spills in North America last year reveals just how common they are. These spills illustrate the dangers of transporting fossil fuels.

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Obama Administration Cuts Shell's Arctic Drilling in Half
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Another Offshore Oil Leak this Time from Shell

Obama Begins to Reign-in Methane Emissions from Fracking

May 26, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Through the Environmental Protection Agency the Obama administration is cracking down on methane associated with the extraction of fossil fuels. Fugitive emissions are unintended or irregular gas leaks, however most of the emissions associated with fracking are intentional. Releases of gas are part of the standard operating procedure of the extraction process.

Methane is main ingredient in natural gas and one of the world's most potent greenhouse gases. The Obama administration’s new rules to curb methane come in the wake of two reports that illustrate the dangers of fracking. These reports show that methane is seeping into that atmosphere throughout the fracking process from extraction to the end users.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released the final version of their new federal rules to limit methane emissions at oil and gas facilities. While this is a good first step, the regulations only apply to new facilities.

Although carbon gets most of the attention, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Although burning natural gas releases half as much carbon dioxide as coal, fracking for gas also releases unburned methane. CH4 (methane) is the main component of natural gas, it is a potent GHG and as such, a major contributor to global warming. Although methane has a shorter active life, it is as much as 105 times better at trapping heat over a 20-year timeframe than carbon.

In addition to contributing to climate change, fracking has been shown to contaminate drinking water, cause seismic activity (earthquakes), contribute to air pollution, and destroy land. Further, US fracking operations may make it difficult for the US to achieve its 26 to 28 percent GHG reduction targets.

A recent Environment America Fracking Report concluded that fracking poses a risk to local communities and wildlife. The report comes to the clear and unavoidable conclusion that fracking must be stopped.

The report says that there are 137,000 fracking wells drilled or permitted across more than 20 states. In 2014, new fracking wells released 5.3 billion pounds (2.4 million metric tons) of methane into the atmosphere which is equivalent to the emissions from 22 new coal-fired plants. Fracking is fraught with a host of problems, starting from the point of extraction. Methane is released during fracking, in the processing, transporting and distribution.

The report concludes that there is “tremendous environmental harm and puts the health and safety of communities across the country at risk.” It further states that the companies behind this destruction should be made to pay for the damage they have caused.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) methane calculations appear to have drastically underestimated the scale of the problem. A recent Harvard study used satellite data from across the country over a span of more than ten years and found that US methane emissions have increased by almost a third since 2002. What makes this data so shocking is the fact that the EPA had been insisting that US methane levels were falling. The Harvard satellite data concluded that the surge of methane from the US is responsible for between 30 and 60 percent of the global growth in methane emissions this past decade.

The Harvard research corroborates previous findings including a 2014 Stanford study that reviewed over 200 earlier studies to find “U.S. emissions of methane are considerably higher than official estimates.” A 2014 PNAS study of fracking sites in southwestern Pennsylvania found that methane was being released into the atmosphere at a rate 100 to 1,000 times greater than estimated by the EPA.

Together, these studies demonstrate that fracking obliterates any climate benefits associated with natural gas.

A study, entitled, “Greenhouse Gases from a Growing Petrochemical Industry” shows that in addition to methane emissions, fracked gas is encouraging the development of energy-intensive infrastructure and industries that produce huge quantities of carbon dioxide. The study concludes that cheap shale gas is encouraging the development of other energy-intensive infrastructure and industries, which in turn produce approximately 86 million tons a year of CO2 each year. This is the equivalent of 19 coal-fired power plants.

The EPA recently released the final version of new federal rules intended to curb methane emissions. It aims to reduce gas-sector methane emissions 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025. The EPA expects the regulations will cost $530 million by 2025, while generating $690 million in environmental benefits.

Even before the EPA’s latest move, the fracking industry had fallen on hard times. It seems market forces, specifically the low price of oil, are forcing the shutdown of fracking operations.

Up to a third of all fracking companies may declare bankruptcy by the end of 2016, Fortune predicted at the end of 2015.

James West, an energy industry analyst at ISI Evercore, says months of low activity have left many of the companies in the hydraulic-fracturing business either insolvent or close to it. He says as many as a third of the fracking companies could go bust.

As reported by Desmogblog, some of the biggest players in the fracking industry are in trouble. Among them are Chesapeake Energy, Continental Resources, Whiting Petroleum and Halliburton. The latter has announced that it was axing 5,000 drilling jobs globally or eight percent of its workforce. Continental Resources has stopped its fracking operations and they reported their first annual loss since they began operating in 2007.

States dependent on fracking are being hit hard. North Dakota and Oklahoma are projecting a $1 billion budget shortfall and in Alaska, the budgetary shortfall is $3.5 billion.

We need to expose the myth that fracking is a source of clean energy. The research indicates that fracked gas is not a bridge fuel. Ramping up the use of fossil fuels is incompatible with the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep temperatures from rising no more than 2 degrees Celsius. This is the conclusion of numerous studies including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Environment America Fracking report makes it abundantly clear that this also includes fracked gas.

Source: Global Warming is Real

Related
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Video - Methane is a Potent Greenhouse Gas
Radiative Forcing: Carbon Dioxide and Methane
Whats the Fracking Problem
The US Environmental Protection Agency and Fracking
The Implications of the US being a Global Leader in Fossil Fuel Production

Fracking Contaminates Drinking Water

May 25, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Despite the secrecy of the fracking industry and the protections afforded by some states there is mounting evidence that hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" contaminates drinking water. Fracking is a fossil fuel extraction process that consists of injecting chemicals deep underground to break up shale formations.Conservative estimates indicate that there have been at least 260 documented examples of wells contamination due to fracking in Pennsylvania alone. As reported in Scientific American, a 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA found widespread examples of methane laced drinking water In Pennsylvania. The researchers showed that the closer you are to a fracking site the more likely that your well will be contaminated.

According to an Environment America Fracking report water contamination is one of the most environmentally destructive corollaries of this process. "People living or working nearby can be exposed to these chemicals if they enter drinking water after a spill or if they become airborne."

"For the past decade, fracking has been a nightmare for our drinking water, our open spaces, and our climate," Rachel Richardson, a co-author of the paper from Environment America, told ThinkProgress.

There have been a number of high profile frack-water related problems. Here are a few examples

"Two families in Pennsylvania were awarded more than $4 million in March — ending a seven-year legal battle against a fracking company they said contaminated local water sources. Last summer, a Texas man was severely burned after methane, allegedly from nearby fracking, caused an explosion in his well shed. Last summer, scientists in Texas found elevated levels of cancer-causing chemicals in the drinking water in one of the state’s major fracking regions."

Fracking also wastes vast quantities of water. According to Environment America, at least 239 billion gallons of water have been used in fracking since 2005. These fracking operations are reducing the availability of water and driving up the price. This is particularly pronounced in drought stricken areas of the country. In Colorado the price of water went up 100 times the usual rate. The competition for scarce water resources is a serious issue for agriculture.

One of the major problems associated with studying fracking is the fact that many of states do release data. This includes some of the states that do the most fracking (eg Texas and North Dakota). Of the states that do release information it was found that 14 billion gallons of wastewater was produced by fracking in 2014.

In February Triple Pundit covered the fracking water contamination connection. A 2015 a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft report linked fracking to water contamination concluded that the absence of data and other “limiting factors” made research difficult. A similar conclusion was reached in a recent Stanford fracking report that was presented at the 2016 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This study sought to explore how natural gas from the drilling sites contaminate local water supplies. However, it should be noted that the report’s lead author, Stanford professor Rob Jackson, has ties to the natural gas industry.

Nonetheless Jackson cites a case in Parker County, Texas, where the drillers did not include a cement liner all the way down the well and the result was that gases contaminated the drinking-water supply. Jackson singled out the dangers of contamination of drinking water from more than 2,600 shallow wells (ie wells that are less than 3,000 feet).

"We found a surprising number of places where companies are fracking directly into shallow freshwater aquifers," he says. "In no other industry would you be allowed to inject chemicals into a source of drinking-quality water."

After an exhaustive study New York state banned fracking in 2015. Last June, TriplePundit referenced studies which showed that fracking operations impact on water quality in Texas, and another associating lower birth-weight with mothers living near gas wells in Pennsylvania. Rolling Stone magazine followed up on an earlier Newsweek report on anecdotal evidence of infant mortality linked to fracking in Utah. Another fracking report linked a significant increase in hospitalizations to the "meteoric" rise in natural gas wells in Pennsylvania.

Determining the exact composition of the chemical cocktail used in fracking has been very elusive. However we are getting a better idea of what can be found in this toxic soup. There are over 700 chemicals used in fracking fluids which includes endocrine-disrupting chemicals, carcinogens and neurotoxins. This includes chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene and hydrochloric acid.

A 2014 study by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that around ten percent of chemicals used in fracking brine are toxic to humans or aquatic life. In addition to these poisonous substances, fracking can also bring naturally occurring radioactive materials to the surface.

As reported by the LA Times, a 2013 study of water collected from fracking sites in Colorado finds substances that have been linked to infertility, birth defects and cancer. They found endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which can affect human sex hormones. Of than 700 chemicals that could be used in the fracking process and estimated that about 100 are known or suspected EDCs.

Exposure to EDCs has serious health implications for fetuses, babies and young children. The World Health Organization issued a report which indicates that endocrine-related illnesses were on the rise worldwide.

The study, published in the journal Endocrinology, also found elevated levels of the hormone-disrupting chemicals in the Colorado River.

"With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure," said senior author Susan Nagel, who investigates the health effects of estrogen at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

Out of 39 water samples collected at five drilling sites, 89 percent showed estrogenic properties, 41perent were anti-estrogenic, 12 percent were androgenic and 46 percent were anti-androgenic..

"The human endocrine system and that of wildlife is guided by very small fluctuations of hormones," said Dr. Meg Schwarzman, associate director of the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry at UC Berkeley. "Even low levels of anti-estrogenic or anti-androgenic activity could potentially alter development in ways that are meaningful."

Secrecy in the fracking industry may be coming to an end. A March 2014 ruling by the Wyoming Supreme Court ordered companies engaged in fracking to reveal the concoction of chemicals they use. However, the fracking industry has Republican allies in legislatures across the country. At the end of May 2016 the GOP in North Carolina pushed a bill that would jail anyone for disclosing the chemicals found in fracking fluid.

Related
Fracking: A Tragic Waste of Water Resources
Infographic - How Much Water Does Fracking Consume
Fracking Operations Shut Down to Protect Drinking Water in California
Jurisdictions Across the US are Saying "No" to Fracking
The Myth that Fracked Gas is a Bridge Fuel
Natural Gas Versus Renewable Energy
Fracking and Earthquakes go Together like Sodom and Gomorrah
Obama Begins to Reign-in Methane Emissions from Fracking
Leaking Methane Associated with Fracking
The Porter Ranch Methane Leak Could be a Catalyst for Change

A Trump Presidency Would Kill Climate Action and Push us Past Irreversible Tipping Points

May 24, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The fate of climate action and by extension the health of the planet and all its inhabitants depends on who Americans choose as their next President. The choice is between two unpopular candidates, however the leading Democratic candidate has indicated she will stay the course of the Obama administration's climate leadership while the Republican nominee has vowed to end President Obama's slate of green policy initiatives.

As reported by US News the next President will be pivotal. A number of leading climate activists are calling for immediate action and urging Americans to understand that we simply cannot afford to delay this important work.

The science is clear and the wealth of scientific data shows that we are rapidly running out of time to deal with the climate crisis. We must act now before it is too late.

Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center at Georgetown Law said we cannot afford to wait another four years. "It is urgent and the timeframe is critical and it has to be right now," she said. And Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonpartisan energy research group said, "There is absolutely no doubt we have to act now."

The key to climate action is transforming our energy infrastructure. We must transition away from fossil fuels and radically increase our use of renewables. According to Deutsche Bank, at least half of all known fossil fuel reserves must be left in the ground if we are to have a chance of avoiding runaway climate change.

We know that to curtail emissions we must keep the majority of known fossil fuel reserves in the ground. We have seen that market forces are already helping to eradicate fossil fuels. We are also seeing how investments in renewables are eclipsing fossil fuels. However, governments have a pivotal role to play to expedite this process. Trump would do exactly the opposite.

If Trump is elected President of the United States he will double down on fossil fuels and kill government support for renewables. This will send shock waves around the world and effectively stymie the progress made at COP21. Trump has promised to renegotiate the Paris Climate Agreement and this would be tantamount to tearing up the deal.

It is not hyperbole to say that a Trump victory would be suicide on a planetary scale. A wealth of scientific evidence calls us to act and act quickly and a strong economic case has been made for climate action. In fact the economic data keeps pouring in suggesting a plethora of economic benefits associated with transitioning to a low carbon economy. The data shows that not only are we able to act to stave off climate change we can do so while creating a vast number of economic opportunities and new jobs. In addition to these economic incentives there are powerful disincentives that are moving investors away from fossil fuels.

The alternative to action is the stuff of nightmares prompting PwC to say that we are on the cusp of a "climate catastrophe".

"If we are going to avoid catastrophic, irreversible climate change impacts, we have to be ramping down our carbon emissions dramatically in the years ahead. The current administration has begun that process, but our next president must not only continue but build on that progress," Climate scientist Michael Mann said.

We are ebbing ever closer to irreversible tipping points.However it is not too late, we can tackle climate change, but to do so we must ride fossil fuels into the ground. If Trump wins the election this fall he would accelerate our race towards what can only be described as a climate doomsday.

Related
Trump Takes his First Beating with More to Come
Trump Could Win and We All Could Lose
Trump Wants to Mine Coal Frack for Gas and Drill for Oil
Climate Doomsday Clock Advances as Trump Wins the Republican Nomination
Trump's Climate Ignorance Would be Laughable if the Implications weren't so Serious
Trump is Unelectable So Say the Koch Brothers and Others

Natural Gas versus Renewable Energy

May 23, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Natural gas, particularly gas from fracking cannot hold a candle to renewable energy. Nonetheless, the positive spin associated with fracking for natural gas persists. Natural gas is anything but clean but it continues to be sold as such.

This American made technology has been shipped all around the world. So has US natural gas. As the first load of American gas was being shipped by Cheniere Energy, the company’s vice president of marketing, Meg Gentle, told industry and government officials that natural gas should be rebranded as renewable energy.

"I’d challenge everyone here to reframe the debate and make sure natural gas is part of the category of clean energy, not a fossil-fuel category, which is viewed as dirty and not part of the solution," she said.

Contrary to Gentle's assertions, the emissions associated with natural gas are much higher than initially thought. In fact, gas may be worse than coal. We also know that fracking causes earthquakes and a host of other problems.

As explained in an Environment America report, air pollution from fracking also contributes to smog which can cause both disease and death. Fracking releases air pollutants that have been linked to cancer and other serious health effects.

Together the evidence is clear, natural gas is not clean energy. fracked gas does not warrant being called a bridge fuel. It is as bad or worse than some of the dirtiest forms of fossil fuels.

Natural gas will not slow climate change but it has undermined the growth of renewables. Starting in 2012 we began seeing evidence that the prodigious growth of fracking was slowing the market for renewables. Natural gas production started eating into renewable energy development more than four years ago. The result was that investments in wind and solar waned somewhat in 2012.

Despite these headwinds, renewable energy keeps growing in the US. As reported by Cleantechnica, a 2013 Credit Swiss report predicted US renewable energy would keep growing. The title to the first section of the report says it all, “Renewables Are Economic and Disruptive to Conventional Markets.” The falling costs of renewables has made them competitive with natural gas. Once so called externalities are incorporated into the equation, renewables definitively crush natural gas.

Despite the plethora of fracked gas that has flooded the market, renewables continue to grow in 2016. According to the "Energy Infrastructure Update," in the first three months of 2016, the US added 18 megawatts of new natural gas generating capacity compared to 1,291 megawatts (MW) of new renewables.

Related
The Myth that Fracked Gas is a Bridge Fuel
Fracking Contaminates Drinking Water
Fracking and Earthquakes go Together like Sodom and Gomorrah
Obama Begins to Reign-in Methane Emissions from Fracking
Jurisdictions Across the US are Saying "No" to Fracking
Leaking Methane Associated with Fracking
The Porter Ranch Methane Leak Could be a Catalyst for Change
Natural Gas Will Not Slow Climate Change and it Will Impede the Growth of Renewables
Natural Gas (Methane) is Not Clean Energy
Video - Methane is a Potent Greenhouse Gas
Whats the Fracking Problem
Natural Gas Explosions Highlight Safety Concerns

Webinar - Cost Competitive Large-Scale Solar Projects

May 23, 2016 Add Comment Edit

This webcast will take place on Thursday, June 2, 2016, 11:00 am Pacific / 2:00 pm Eastern. As news articles tout record low utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) prices in a handful of places across the country, many utilities are considering adding solar to their resource portfolios. The reality is that not all solar projects are created equal. Utility-scale solar project economics vary widely and are dependent on a number of factors. To procure high-value, cost-competitive projects, utilities must understand the drivers that impact the overall cost and value of a utility-scale solar project.

This webinar examines how to optimize the economics of utility-scale solar projects, drawing on the findings of a recent report from SEPA and solar project developer, Recurrent Energy. Participants will learn:

Solar cost drivers for large-scale projects
Learn how to value solar as a part of the resource mix
Establish a framework to evaluate PV projects

Click here to register.

Event - ASEAN Sustainable Energy Week 2016

May 22, 2016 1 Comment Edit

This event will take place on June 1 - 4, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. The ASEAN region presents huge opportunities for the use of Renewable Energy and member states are increasingly focusing on Renewable programs in order to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. ASEAN Sustainable Energy Week, ASEAN’s largest and most comprehensive renewable energy, environmental & energy effi ciency exhibition will showcase cutting-edge machinery, equipment and technology – including the latest wind and solar power systems.

Renewable Energy Asia 2016

The 12th South East Asia's Renewable Energy Technology Exhibition and Conference will focus on the latest renewable energy programs, trends and development, including green energy opportunities for entrepreneurs.

The show highlights Renewable Energy sources and the latest technology in this area. Wind & Solar Power are among the many systems & programs featured along with Thermal and Waste-to-energy, Hydo-powered programs, Bio-mass and other green technology also covered. Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Clinics staffed by experts are conducted at the show.

The ASEAN region presents huge opportunities for the use of Renewable Energy and member states are increasingly focusing on Renewable programs in order to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Renewable Energy systems and fuels help ensure a more sustainable and environmentally friendly power supply. They are also far more economical. Today, countries are doing their best to come up with individual renewable energy policies. For example.

Thailand is currently promoting Renewable Energy as a national agenda supported by a Master Plan called "Alternative Energy Development Plan (2012-2021)." The goal is to increase the share of renewable energy to 25% of the country's energy demand by the year 2021.

In Laos the government is embarked on developing Biomass, Biofuel and Wind Energy with the goal of achieving 30 percent of national energy consumption from Renewable sources by 2025.

The Philippines has developed the Philippine Energy Plan 2007-2014 which emphasizes self-sufficiency for energy independence. The Plan increases the use of Renewable energy and alternative fuels for a much cleaner environment.

The Malaysian Government has backed the launch of the Small Renewable Energy Power Program (SREP) which is among numerous steps being taken by the government to encourage the use of Re for clean power generation.

Entech Pollutec Asia 2016

The 26th International Exhibition of Environmental Protection and Pollution control Technology will feature a wide variety of the latest pollution control technology and equipment. There is strong demand here because of the major industrial growth now taking place in South East Asia.

Many environmental sectors are covered including Waste-to-energy which features technology required in many areas. The latest pollution eliminating systems along with other environmental technology is also on display. A special Business Matchmaking program will set up appointments between exhibitors and suppliers at the event. Major Seminars and Conferences are also featured throughout the exhibition.

ASEAN presents multiple business opportunities for environmental technology firms. Each country has individual challenges to deal with, most notably for water and wastewater - An excellent opportunity for much-needed business. For example.

At the recent Copenhagen Climate Summit Malaysia adopted a plan designed to reduce emissions 40% by 2020. It also committed to water treatment technology and the cleanup of energy projects such as soil remediation. The Philippines also suffers from water-related problems and 20-50% of the population still does not have access to safe drinking water. The state and local governments are funding these projects. Thailand's pollution control equipment and environmental services market has been estimated at 15 bilion USD. It is expected that the industry will grow at 5-10 percent per annum.

Industrial expansion, rising public awareness, strengthened legislation and economic growth has already given environmental firms a significant advantage in the ASEAN market, especially in Thailand. In fact the government has prioritized development of water supplies, wastewater management, and sewerage development. Big opportunities also exist in the area of solid waste removal and management in Bangkok and its Provinces. Another environmental problem that needs to be addressed in Thailand is hazardous industrial waste. Major opportunities consist of on-site treatment at industrial estates and medical waste management in many areas.

Expansion of the environmental industry relies on the technology and expertise of foreign products and services. Locally made products meet general standards for environmental needs, but specialized products must be imported. Currently 70 to 80 percent of environmental equipment is imported each year.

Energy Efficiency Expo 2016

The 2ndInternational Exhibition of Energy Efficiency Technology Exhibition and Conference will review the easiest and most cost effective ways to combat climate change, clean the air we breathe, improve the competitiveness of our businesses and reduce energy costs for consumers.

Energy Efficiency (EE) has become universally recognized as one of the most cost-effective ways of achieving energy security, addressing climate change and promoting competitiveness. ASEAN presents an increasing number of market opportunities for suppliers of Energy Efficiency technologies, products and services. Potential improvements in Energy Efficiency exist in all economies across all sectors; domestically, in factories, office buildings, airports, shopping malls, hospitals, power plants, and more.

Energy Efficiency (EE) has become universally recognized as one of the most cost-effective ways of achieving energy security, addressing climate change and promoting competitiveness. ASEAN presents an increasing number of market opportunities for suppliers of Energy Efficiency technologies, products and services. Potential improvements in Energy Efficiency exist in all economies across all sectors; domestically, in factories, office buildings, airports, shopping malls, hospitals, power plants, and more.

The ASEAN energy efficiency market is still in its infancy. But a recent study indicates that by 2020, ASEAN could achieve efficiency gains of between 12% and 30%, a projection that would translate into power savings ranging between USD 15 billion and USD 43 billion.

THAILAND'S 20-YEAR ENERGY EFFICIENCY DEVELOPMENT PLAN (2015 - 2036)

The 20-year Energy Efficiency Development Plan (EEDP) has been formulated to reduce energy usage 30% by 2036, compared to 2010. This is equivalent to reducing actual energy consumption by 25% in 2005. Assistance includes both financial and technical measures and will also be provided for small operators such as SMEs - particularly funding via the Standard Offer Program (SOP) and technical assistance via the Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Plan.

For more information click here.

Event - Innovation Day: The Age of Renewable Energy

May 22, 2016 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place on May 26, 2016 in Abu Dhabi the United Arab Emirates. In conjunction with IRENA’s eleventh council meeting, Innovation Day is intended to highlight the results of IRENA Innovation Week, which took place earlier this month in Bonn, Germany. The one-day event in Abu Dhabi will also offers an opportunity for input on IRENA’s planned Renewable Energy Innovation Landscape report. Two technology case studies will be presented and discussed. The Agency will also seek strategic guidance from its member-countries on its work related to innovation.

Falling technology costs, mounting investments and renewable energy capacity additions outpacing nuclear and fossil energy are all signals that the global transition towards a renewable power sector is underway. To accelerate this growth, electricity systems worldwide must transition to frameworks that embrace new business models and promote the deployment of innovative technologies.

IRENA’s Innovation Week is a first-of-its-kind event gathering the industrial and political frontrunners to present, discuss and explore innovative solutions within this year’s theme – “The Age of Renewable Power”. The focus of discussions will be on how technological innovations, operational innovation and systemic innovations in policy, regulation and business, interact and re-enforce each other.

Deepdive Sessions

The deepdive sessions are designed to allow policy makers and technical experts to discuss the latest developments on specific topics in interactive sessions. The deepdives are facilitated by technical experts through one or more partner organisations, and covers the latest developments, key players, opportunities and barriers, and expectations.

1. The Future Grid

This deepdive session will introduce the participants to the latest developments of grid infrastructure network technologies to support a transition towards renewables, including the manufacturing, designs, infrastructure materials and protection of grid systems. The session will focus on both, electric power transmission and distribution, and it will cover onshore high voltage, low voltage as well as offshore solutions. It will provide an overview on the different relevance innovations of cabling in the context of power sector transformation and will discuss the latest developments in mini-and microgrids, their functionalities and applications to support renewable energy deployment. Panel discussions will discuss innovative applications and strive to provide clarity and understanding to the economics of this increasingly growing market segment.

Co-organisers: ABB and Siemens

2. Energy Systems Modelling and Planning

This deepdive session will provide an overview of the latest development in the latest techniques and tools for energy systems modelling to support energy planning in the power sector transformation. Modelling experts will provide an overview and practical examples of how their techniques and tools can be used to envision the technical challenges and opportunities associated with high shares of renewable energy, and explore the potential impacts of and needs for innovative solutions. Following on this discussion, the deepdive session will provide an overview of the developments in data availability for energy planning, the different planning methodologies available, insights on their usage to support the power sector transformation, as well as feedback from users on their experience and future expectations for energy planning methods.

Co-organisers: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Siemens

3. From Science to Patents to Business Applications

This deepdive session will examine the process from science to technology development to actual business applications. The session will start with some experiences from successful RD&D projects, followed by discussion led by the European Patent Office (EPO) on the role of patents as an innovation-support mechanism. The EPO will also show how the wealth of information contained in patent documents can be used to elicit key global trends in the development and dissemination of RE technologies as well as investigate the increasing role of software and computers in spurring power sector transformation. Finally, the session will touch upon the growing importance of patents in the standards development process in Renewable Energy technologies. Particular examples on how knowledge and patents from science institutions can be used to support innovations in renewable energy technologies.

Co-organisers: European Patent Office (EPO) and European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)

4. Energy Storage and Electric Vehicles

This deepdive will introduce the current status and future outlook of energy storage systems for renewables deployment and electric vehicles, including their usage for balancing or grid stabilization services to support the integration of variable renewable energy. The combination of renewable energy technologies plus electricity storage for islands systems and rural electrification will also be discussed. Additionally, an overview will be given regarding the similarities and differences in the institutional regime governing the introduction of electric vehicles in different countries. The session will also provide some case studies and practical examples to demonstrate the energy storage and electric vehicles to support the integration of renewable energy.

Co-organisers: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

5. New Market Designs

This deepdive session will discuss the relationship between regulation, associated market designs and the impacts of renewable power on existing and future business models for renewable energy deployment in the electricity sector. Topics that will be covered are the impact of zero marginal costs systems on business models, the impact of different market designs on the deployment and transition towards renewable energy systems, the impact of renewables on risk profiles for both old and new business models, the opportunities arising through the digitalization of the electricity sector, the regulatory conditions required to ensure both flexibility and predictability, and the policy conditions needed to allow for experimentation. Specific case studies of innovative regulation and market designs and associated examples of new business models will be provided.

Co-organisers: Renewables Grid Initiative

6. Advancing the Frontiers of Reliability and Quality

This deepdive session will present the latest developments from suppliers of renewable power generation technologies, namely wind and solar photovoltaic, to enable the integration of those technologies into existing power systems. Experts will introduce the state-of-the-art solutions for grid integration aspects, such as frequency and voltage control, power quality, behaviour during grid faults, provision of (synthetic) inertia to the system, followed by a discussion of the role of metrology, conformity assessment and standardization infrastructure to support and accelerate the deployment of renewable power. Specific examples of quality infrastructure and control systems will be provided.

Co-organisers: International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) and German National Metrology Institute (PTB)

Group Discussions

The in-focus group discussions will take place following the daily plenary sessions. The group discussions are organised for policy makers which aim to identify the relevant innovation, priorities for policy support, and international cooperation opportunities for a particular country. Each group discussion will take about 1,5 hour and will be led by one or more group leader representing the constituency.

The delegates can choose between five parallel groups, each representing a group of countries with similar country characteristics determining their opportunities and barriers. The five groups of constituencies are as follows:

1. Decentralised electricity systems for islands and rural electrification

This group will discuss the relevance of different innovations and associated international cooperation activities for transitioning electricity systems towards renewable energy in small, isolated islands and off-grid systems from tens of kWs up to 1 GW. Specific focus will be on innovations available to transform electricity systems dominated by diesel generators to renewable energy based systems, including the associated systemic changes needed. Other key aspects that will be considered in this group are innovations in renewable power generation technologies relevant for islands and remote areas, innovations to support mini- and microgrids development, flexibility options to integrate variable renewable energy in constrained systems, innovations to extend the main grid to connect remote areas, and innovations to support economic development and productive uses based on electricity access. Furthermore, this session will examine the policy implications of these systemic, technological, and operational innovations, including their impact on regulatory regimes, their impact on the role of residential and commercial electricity consumers, and their wider socio-economic and environmental implications.

2. Emerging electricity systems with high demand growth

This group will discuss the relevance of different innovations and of international cooperation in meeting growing electricity demand and expanding generation capacity and grid infrastructure. The group will focus on innovations available to support and manage the rapid expansion of renewables to satisfy growing electricity demand, opportunities to leapfrog to the most modern grid infrastructures, as well as innovative governance structures to manage the pathway towards renewables-based electricity systems. The group will also cover countries where electricity systems are already reliant on hydroelectricity, and how these countries can continue to expand their systems with other renewable energy sources.. One of the focus areas will be on innovations available to explore renewable energy resources most effectively, either locally or through regional collaboration, and to develop a portfolio of renewable power generation technologies to continue to meet the growing demand, and ensure reliability, affordability and security. The policy implications and policy needs of different development pathways will be examined, including how their impacts can be anticipated in existing policy frameworks. The wider implications of a power sector transformation on economic and industrial development will also be examined, including potential synergies from innovations. International cooperation opportunities among emerging electricity systems will be discussed, including the differences and/or similarities with mature electricity systems.

3. Mature electricity systems with low demand growth

This group will explore the renewable energy innovations and international cooperation in the context of mature electricity systems with low growth in electricity demand. Key aspects to be considered are the innovations related to the integration of high share of variable renewable energy into existing systems, as well as innovations to support sector-coupling between the electricity sector and the heat sector, electricity uses in transport, industrial applications, and residential and commercial buildings. Specific emphasis will be paid on the implications of new renewable power generation capacity on existing utilities with conventional power generation technologies, and how different systemic, technological and operational innovations can be used to ensure a smooth transition. Existing and future opportunities for collaboration on research, development, and demonstration projects will be examined, and how these can be matched with relevant innovation needs in other constituencies.

Plenaries

Innovations do not happen in a vacuum, but rather feed into one another. Technology innovations allow for innovations in business models and operational practices, whilst ambitious and innovative policies and regulation can trigger new technical and operational innovations.

The plenary session allow a platform for innovation leaders to share their expectations on innovative solutions for the power sector transformation. The sessions are designed to provide a holistic perspective on innovation, and examine how developments in policies, business models, regulation, operations, and technologies interact and can reinforce each other.

1. Renewables for Growth

More than 90% of the growth in future electricity demand will occur in non-OECD countries. In the panel discussion on “Renewables for Growth”, IRENA has invited high-level government officials to share their vision on the opportunities and challenges they foresee in deploying renewables to satisfy future demand, and which technological, operational, and systemic innovations are needed to address any problems or enable these opportunities.

2. Utilities of the Future

In “Utilities of the Future”, representatives from utilities, transmission and distribution network operators, and technology providers from across the electricity sector will be asked to share their view on how renewables may change the future of the electricity system, and what impact it may have on technology needs, operational practices, business models, regulatory frameworks and policy development.

3. Systemic Innovation

Systemic innovation covers major institutional changes needed in the governance structures, business and finance models, and regulatory regimes that determine the day-to-day practices of utilities and technology providers operating in the electricity sector.

This plenary session will provide an overview of innovative policy solutions for both centralized and distributed power systems, the impact of renewables on existing and emerging business models, as well as expectations on how regulatory regimes will have to be changed to accommodate or allow for new practices and stakeholders to engage in the electricity sector.

4. Technological Innovation

Technologies continue to involve in terms of costs, performance, and functionality. The introduction of information- and telecommunication technologies into electricity systems add another layer of new opportunities.

This plenary discussion will cover the latest developments and future expectations for technology development in renewable power generation technologies, smart grids and energy storage, including their impacts on the future costs, reliability and security of electricity systems in centralised and distributed systems.

5. Operational Innovation

The rapid growth of variable renewable power generation from solar photovoltaics and wind power is changing the traditional paradigm of linear power flows from dispatchable centralised power stations or diesel generators to the local consumers. At the same time, smart grid technologies and a more pro-active role of consumers are allowing for new ways to manage these power flows.

The plenary session will discuss the latest innovations in control options to support and integrate the variable production of electricity from solar and wind resources, the new opportunities provided by smart grid technologies to manage these power flows, and the opportunities and challenges arising from the participation of end-consumers in the electricity sector.

6. Closing Session

In the closing session, representatives from the group discussion will be presenting the results of their deliberations regarding the relevance of and policy needs for different systemic, technological, and operational innovations within their specific countries.

The differences and similarities between innovation and policy needs in the different countries will be used to prepare and propose a global action agenda for international cooperation on innovations for the age of renewable power.

Click here for the schedule

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