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The Energy End Game: Renewables vs Fossil Fuels

March 02, 2020 Add Comment Edit

The combination of market forces and changing public sensibilities are driving a major shift in the energy landscape. The need for renewable energy to combat climate change is incontrovertible, while a plethora of warnings tell us that we are rapidly exhausting our carbon budgets. Ending fossil fuels is a mathematical imperative if we are to have a chance of keeping temperatures from rising above the upper threshold limit of 1.5 - 2.0 C.

In 2016 we were already seeing how diminishing profits were contributing to the fall of fossil fuel and the rise of renewables In 2020 the momentum away from fossil fuels is undeniable. They are being shunned by investors, insurance companies and banks. Fossil fuels are approaching the end of their life cycle while renewables are becoming increasingly attractive due to the declining cost of solar and storage.

In the U.S. Donald Trump's fossil fuel powered politics rejects renewables and supports dirty energy. Although Trump is infamous for his corruption, Republican's fossil fuel powered corruption.
has been driving the party for years before Trump came on the scene.

Evidence for the demise of the fossil fuel industry is evident in Canada where the Teck mine, the largest tarsands mine ever proposed, has become the latest casualty of changing market dynamics and public attitudes. The disdain for dirty energy is also being felt in Australia where people are rejecting the coal powered agenda of Scott Morrison. The polls show that people want climate action and this means we must end fossil fuels. Public attitudes are increasingly distrustful of the fossil fuel industry's anti-climate agenda.

Countries like Sweden, Norway and Ireland are transitioning to renewables. Even MENA countries are showing clean energy leadership. However, in many parts of the world government policies are an impediment to the transition to clean energy. However, despite headwinds from climate denying leaderships, the solar and wind industries continued to thrive in 2019

The transition from away from fossil fuels to renewables is already underway. Driven by a wide range of divestment narratives, the fossil fuel industry is losing its social license to operate. The fossil fuel industry may be dying, however they can be expected to fight to the bitter end.

Workshop - Risk Mitigation in Renewable Energy Investments in Africa

January 21, 2018 Add Comment Edit

A workshop on Risk Mitigation in Renewable Energy Investments in Africa will take place on January 29 – 30, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Although US President Donald Trump has called Africa a "shithouse", the facts dispute his characterization, particularly as it relates to another topic he dislikes, renewable energy.

Africa is an ideal location for solar, wind, and geothermal. It is the sunniest continent on Earth and has a large coastline, where wind power and wave power are abundant. Geothermal power has the potential to provide considerable amounts of energy in many eastern African nations due to a 5,900-kilometer rift.

Renewables like wind and solar are highly scalable and this can help Africans, particularly those in rural locations, to leapfrog energy solutions, thereby avoiding the economic, health and environmental problems associated with fossil fuels. Renewables also combat poverty and promote economic growth. They afford technological improvements, better education, and increased agricultural yeilds.

There are already a number of renewable energy projects in Africa with many more in the pipeline. Distributed generation using renewables are an integral part of an increasingly energy decentralized continent. However, investment capital is required especially in rural locations.

In order to enhance the use of risk mitigation instruments for renewable energy financing, IRENA and the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) has organized a one-and-a-half day workshop on risk mitigation instruments, with a geographical focus on Africa. The workshop will bring together the main stakeholders for practical, hands-on discussion on the opportunities and challenges of risk mitigation instruments in renewable energy investments and how to increase the availability and use of such instruments for renewable energy projects in Africa.

For more information contact IRENA Secretariat
phone: +97124179000
e-mail: info@irena.org

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One Planet Summit Highlights the EU's Climate Leadership

December 28, 2017 Add Comment Edit

As evidenced by the recent One Planet Summit, the EU and its member states are leading climate action. In the EU, governments, businesses and investors are all engaged in hopeful efforts and initiatives designed to combat climate change.

On the anniversary of the signing of the Paris Climate agreement on December 12, French President Macron convened a summit to encourage private and public financing for the implementation of the Paris agreement. The One Planet Summit was attended by governments, corporations and other organizations. At this event the European Union announced that it would invest at least €9 billion (US$10 billion) on clean energy, sustainable cities and agriculture. Even Theresa May, the less than green-minded prime minister of the UK, acknowledged the need for wealthy nations to help the developing world. She pledged to contribute £140 million to help poorer countries manage climate change.

European nations are also working towards the goal of eradicating emissions. Germany is already a climate leader and that nation has announced that it will slash its greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 95 percent by 2050. France has emerged as the global climate leader. The country in engaged in serious emission reduction efforts through the adoption of a host of forward looking initiatives.

The EU and its member states are leading producers of renewable energy. engaged in consorted efforts to reduce emissions, ratchet-up climate finance, move away from fossil fuels, grow the green economy, and invest in agricultural adaptation.

The EU's efforts are all the more important in the face of the fiasco that is the Trump administration. Trump has eviscerated the US government's climate action plan. Trump announced that he is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Climate agreement.

The US is now the only nation on Earth that has will not honor to their emissions reduction pledges. In the face of an historically irresponsible US government the EU is leading nations, organizations and individuals who are committed to the goals of the Paris Accord.

France Shows Trump What Climate Leadership Looks Like

December 19, 2017 Add Comment Edit

France is leading climate action. The host nation for the signing of the historic Paris Agreement has repeatedly refuted Trump's climate denial while adopting a raft of measures as part of an ambitious national climate plan. It is fair to say that with its support of science, climate focused political agenda, and progressive climate plan France is one of the most sustainable countries in the world. French efforts have been ongoing for years and include everything from mandatory sustainability reporting to the problem of food waste. In May France announced that it was moving forward with 17 GW of clean energy investments. These are just some of the reason France has emerged as a global climate leader.

Science

The US under Donald Trump is the only nation in the world that is not signed on to the Paris Climate Agreement. In reponse to Trump's contempt for climate science, France awarded "Make Our Planet Great Again" grants to 18 researchers including 13 US climate scientists. The research grants will extend throughout the remainder of Trump's term (assuming he is able to avoid impeachment). The laureates include professors and researchers from Cornell University, Columbia University, and Stanford University.

Following Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Accord in June French President Emmanuel Macron said that France would cover the US share of funding for a U.N. climate change panel. When Macron and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met in July they made fun of Trump's climate denial. "Now we will deliver together to make the planet great again," Macron said.

He also sent out an invitation to US climate scientists saying:

"To all scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs who were disappointed by the decision of the President of the United States I want to say that they will find in France a second homeland. I call them to come and work here, with us on concrete solutions for our climate and our environment. I can assure you that France will not give up the fight".

Macron awarded 3-5 year long climate research grants worth between €1 - €1.5 million. The grants cover research for climate modeling as well as well as the technological and social challenges associated with transitioning away from fossil fuels. At the beginning of 2018, France is teaming up with Germany to provide €60 million worth of grants to 50 projects.

Macron said during the ceremony: “We will be there to replace US financing of climate research. If we want to prepare for the changes of tomorrow, we need science”.

As reported by the Star one of the awardees lamented the "devaluing of science by this administration" These remarks came from Louis Derry, a leading professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell, who also said that he is happy to be free of the "crazy stuff that goes on in Congress and with the current administration".

Another grant recipient is Núria Teixidó Ullod, a visiting scientist at Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. Her research revealed the relationship between fossil fuels and drought. Another recipient of the French grant is Alessandra Giannini. Giannini is a Research Scientist at Columbia University. Giannini is well known for having conducted research that makes a causal connection between global warming and drought.

Trump is pleased to see these people go because their research flatly contradicts his climate denying narrative.

Politics

Macron has made it clear that climate action will continue regardless of what the ruling US administration does. After it has become clear that the US president has no interest in listening to reason, The French president seems to have decided that Trump is not relevant. Macron is part of a growing chorus that sees Trump as irrelevant. To make the point Trump was not invited to the climate-focused UN and World Bank's "One Planet Summit," that took place one day after the Macron's grant award ceremony.

France must also be acknowledged for having stemmed the tide of right-wing populism. In the wake of Trump's electoral victory, some were concerned that similar dystopia creating governments would pop up all across Europe.

Many are saying that France's rejection of the far right in recent elections killed the momentum that threatened all of Europe. Germans followed the French lead reelected Angela Merkle. Europeans seem to be rejecting the politics of Trump (and UK Prime Minister Theresa May), instead they are embracing progressive centrist forms of government. The importance of France in this respect cannot be overstated. France is a bulwark against the cancerous nationalism that is presently dividing Americans.

The fossil fuel industry pays the Repubublicans handsomely to deny climate science and the recent tax bill is an homage to that relationship. It would appear that Trump and the GOP are using nationalism to mask a plutocracy.

Although Macron's government is decidedly pro-capitalism, they are also anti-corruption. The Trump administration by contrast is the most corrupt administration in Amercian history.

Economy

France is a model for Republicans who purport to be concerned about the economy and claim to be pro-business. Since 2015 the French economy has been steadily growing. Entrepreneurs seem to be thriving in the country and this has pushed France ahead of the rest of Europe in startup fundraising.Macron acknowledges the importance of climate consideration as both a health concern and an economic issue. This is evident in their appraisal of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada. In October France announced that they would only ratify the trade deal it will not affect the nation's climate policies and regulations.

France has seen tremendous economic returns from their investments in clean energy. First with nuclear and increasingly with renewables France is a clean energy titan. France is currently a low carbon energy leader getting more than 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. It produces so much energy, in fact, that it exports much of it to nearby nations to the annual tune of $3.2 billion.

"France wants to become the No. 1 green economy." This is part of France's ambitious climate plan. After the announcement Shares of French automaker, PSA Group rose 2.4 percent and Renault SA gained 1.9 percent, making them the day’s best performers on the Bloomberg 500 Autos Index.

Climate plan

In July French Ecological Transition Minister Nicolas Hulot unveiled details of a national climate plan to help France eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050. Macron's predecessor President Francois Hollande, strongly supported renewable energy and he made bold strides towards ramping up capacity. Holland announced that France will close all of the nation's coal-fired power plants by 2022.

Macron is continuing Holland's agenda by ramping up renewables and encouraging homeowners to produce their own energy. Last summer Macron announced that he is planning a massive home renovation retrofit program that will reduce energy consumption and cut CO2 emissions.

France is embracing renewables are abandoning fossil fuels. This includes an initiative to end the sale of fossil fuel powered cars by 2040. Hulot said that the government will stop issuing licenses for oil and gas exploration on French territory. "There will be no new exploration licenses for hydrocarbons," Hulot told BFMTV. Hulot has previously indicated that France will offer tax incentives to help get fossil fuel powered vehicles--especially older vehicles--off of the road. Hulot has also expressed an interest in raising diesel taxes.

On the issue of climate change Trump is like Macron's polar opposite just as Scott Pruitt is Huot's evil antithesis. Trump and Pruitt are eroding support for renewables and smoothing the path for more fossil fuel development. The contrast between the climate focus of Macron's government and the rampant denial in the Trump administration could not be starker. The two governments have diametrically opposed climate narratives. While Macron is charting a course into the future, Trump is reaching back to the darkness that got us here.

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Energy Storage Market Overview and Forecasts

July 31, 2017 Add Comment Edit

The stored energy market has grown exponentially but this is nothing compared to what we can expect to see in the coming years. Massive growth is expected all around the world and this will contribute to an exponential increase in distributed power in developed nations. This will also allow developing nations to forego the need for a expensive investments in grid infrastructure.

The combination of increasing-efficiency and decreasing-cost will keep driving demand for energy storage in 2017 and beyond.

Lithium-ion

Lithium-ion technologies accounted for more than 95 percent of new energy-storage deployments in 2015. There is no reason to believe that this trend will not continue. Given all the options on the table lithium-ion batteries have proven to be the most suitable type of storage for EVs and stationary energy across the grid, from large utility-scale installations to residential systems.

Although most insiders suggest that the battery storage space will continue to be dominated by lithium-ion technologies there is still the very real possibility that some novel storage configuration will emerge.

As explained by Matt Roberts, executive director of the ESA, "Global trends are feeding into that…partly because major applications of today lend themselves to batteries. Equally, lithium-ion dominates on account of cost; but it has reached that cost because of demand driving production."

Cost

Affordable storage is the missing link in intermittent renewable power. The cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is currently around $300 but it was $1,000 in 2010. According to some estimates costs could be $160 per kWh or less by 2025 and even cheaper thereafter.

As reported in a Renewable Energy World review of the storage market, Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects battery technology to fall to $120 per kWh by 2030.

We are seeing decreasing costs and increasing density in both the stationary energy storage sector and EVs. The release of the Model 3 is a signal that this trend will continue to drive growth. A report in Ward’s Auto says EV battery prices are falling faster than expected and could be lower than $100 per kWh by 2020.

Global

In 2014 NEC Energy Solutions predicted that energy storage would be worth $20 billion by 2020. Others expect the lithium-ion battery sector will be worth $54 billion by 2024.

Alex Eller, a research analyst at Navigant Research says that in 2017 he expects to see the global market grow 47 percent over the record set in 2016. Through 2020, Navigant forecasts over 29.4 GW of new storage capacity to be deployed worldwide across all sectors, and a compound annual growth rate of 60 percent.

According to a McKinsey article titled, "The new economics of energy storage" global opportunity for storage could reach 1,000 gigawatts in the next 20 years. The large-scale deployment of energy storage is expected to radical alter electricity markets.

US

According to a report from the Energy Storage Association (ESA), deployed non-hydro energy storage reached 2,276 MW by the start of 2016. Last year we saw 284 percent growth in the US energy storage market as measured by megawatt-hours. The ESA anticipates that this record setting growth will continue in 2017.

Greentech Media cites a report by KEMA that indicates that a record-setting 221 megawatts of storage capacity was installed in the US in 2015 , more than three times as much as in 2014. The US market alone is expected to be worth $2.5 billion by 2020. That is six times as much as in 2015.

The biggest growth is expected to be in distributed storage and grid integration of renewables. Even without tax incentives the KEMA report predicts that we will see 820 megawatts to facilitate integration of renewables.

A Massachusetts energy storage report titled, State of Charge, claims the cost of procuring 1.7 GW of energy storage will be between $970 million and $1.35 billion. However, the report also suggests that this could yield $2.3 billion in system benefits to ratepayers and $1.1 billion in market revenue to the resource owners.

UK

The latest Energy Entrepreneurs report from SmartestEnergy suggests that UK battery capacity could grow by as much as 100 times by 2020. In 2016 there were only 20 megawatts of commercial batteries in operation but 578 megawatts of capacity is scheduled to come online by 2020. The combined capacity may be as high as 2.3 gigawatts.

The UK is investing £246m in battery technology as part of a project called the "Faraday Challenge" This initiative, which includes a competition, seeks to establish the UK as world leader in battery technology.

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Obama Administration's Oil and Gas Initiatives

December 27, 2016 Add Comment Edit

In their final year, the Obama administration has moved forward with some important actions to curtail extraction and reduce pollution from the oil and gas industry. Fossil fuels are responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gases and deadly air pollution.

To help address these concerns President Obama has previously a raft of fossil fuel related actions. This includes, the Clean Power Plan, stopping the KXL, cuting Shell's Arctic drilling in half and halting the building of the Dakota Access pipeline. In 2016 President Obama went even further and banned offshore Arctic oil drilling, changed the methane rules for the fossil fuel industry and canceled gas leases on Native lands.

Obama's initiatives are designed to protect the health of Americans, combat climate change, and decrease risks to ecosystems. In the context of a hostile and obstructionist Republican controlled Congress Obama has done what he could to advance climate action. Unsurprisingly, these actions have been vociferously opposed by the fossil fuel industry and their GOP minions in the House and the Senate.

The fossil fuel industry has used its considerable clout to challenge Obama's efforts. A recent Senate report, explained, "state officials, trade associations, front groups, and industry-funded scientists participating in the challenge actually represent the interests of the fossil fuel industry."

Moratorium on Arctic drilling

In 2015 Obama pledged leadership in Alaska and Just ahead of leaving office Obama found a creative way to deliver. Obama's actions ensure that there will be no oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic until at least 2022. The move kills any hope of extracting fossil fuels from the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The move also stymies new drilling in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (New England to the Chesapeake Bay). This means that the Gulf of Mexico is the only place in the US where new offshore extraction will be permitted for the foreseeable future. Obama's action was part of a joint announcement that included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to prevent new drilling operations in the Canadian Arctic.

In a statement published by the Washington Post, President Obama said: "These actions, and Canada’s parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on earth. They reflect the scientific assessment that, even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region’s harsh conditions is limited...By contrast, it would take decades to fully develop the production infrastructure necessary for any large-scale oil and gas leasing production in the region – at a time when we need to continue to move decisively away from fossil fuels."

While the amount of water being protected is unprecedented, it should not be surprising as it makes both environmental and economic sense. The decision bodes well for animals that make up the Arctic's fragile ecosystem, this includes the bowhead whale, fin whale, Pacific walrus and polar bear. It will also protect what the White House has called biodiversity "hotspots" critical to fisheries.

Obama used Section 12-A of a 1953 law called "Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act" to prevent the sale of new offshore drilling and mining rights. The real genius of invoking this law is that it will take years for the next president to reverse the decision.

These moves bode well for the future of tourism, fishing and other less harmful forms of economic development in the Arctic. According to the White House, the president has protected 125 million acres in the region in the last two years.

Conservation groups hailed the decision. League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski called it "an incredible holiday gift," saying that "an oil spill in these pristine waters would be devastating to the wildlife and people who live in the region."

Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called it "a historic victory in our fight to save our Arctic and Atlantic waters, marine life, coastal communities and all they support." Carter Roberts, president and chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, applauded what he called "a bold decision” that “signals some places are just too important not to protect."

New methane rules

Also in November the Obama administration released the final version of a new oil and gas rule for public and Native lands. Federal lands generate 11 percent of US natural gas production and 5 percent of domestic oil production. The new regulations are intended to capture flared natural gas and so-called "fugitive" emissions of methane from drilling operations. Large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas are emitted during drilling and fracking operations.

The Interior Department and its Bureau of Land Management, which will implement the rule, says the move will reduce methane emissions by 175,000 to 180,000 tons annually. This translates to enough gas to serve the needs of 6.2 million American homes each year.

"We are proving that we can cut harmful methane emissions that contribute to climate change while putting in place standards that make good economic sense for the nation," said Interior department secretary Sally Jewell in a statement. "Not only will we save more natural gas to power our nation, but we will modernize decades-old standards to keep pace with industry and to ensure a fair return to the American taxpayers for use of a valuable resource that belongs to all of us."

The new rules are part of the president’s goal of reducing US methane emissions from the oil and gas sector 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025.

"Natural gas is a valuable American resource, but when wasted into the air it causes dangerous pollution," Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement. "Reducing the amount of gas that oil and gas operators release will conserve an important domestic resource, improve air quality, lower asthma attacks, and slow climate change."

Leases canceled on Native lands

In November, Obama administration cancels oil and gas leases on Blackfeet tribe’s sacred grounds

"This is the right action to take on behalf of current and future generations,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said on the department’s Web site. She said it would protect the region’s “rich cultural and natural resources and recognizes the irreparable impacts that oil and gas development would have on them."

Another Washington Post article quotes Harry Barnes, chairman of the Blackfeet Nation Tribal Business Council as follows:

"A lot of our creation stories emanate from this area. It’s a significant area, it always has been for thousands of years...While we’re not opposed to oil and gas exploration, we are opposed to oil and gas exploration in that area." Barnes called the settlement, a "victory for not only the Blackfeet people, but for all of America. It’s such a beautiful area. It’s Mother Earth, and it needs to be enjoyed by everybody."

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Event - Renewable Energy World International

October 30, 2016 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place on December 13-15, 2016 in Orlando Florida at the Orange County Convention Center (North and South Halls). Renewable Energy World International tracks are designed to be made horizontally applicable across all technology sectors. Hear from our track champions on what is being covered during these impactful conference sessions.

Building Relationships

Make connections with 20,000 other renewable energy professionals from around the globe. Learn from each other during multiple networking events.

Expand Your Knowledge

Hear from industry experts on topics such as Energy Storage, Distributed Energy Resources, Large Scale Renewables, Global Markets and Utility Integration and more. Conference Tracks CPC Pre-Conference Tracks CEU Training Courses

1,400 Companies to Choose From

Explore the newest technology and see products/services in power generation, renewables, and nuclear. Make deals right from the show floor.

To register click here.

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Event - Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo North America 2016

October 09, 2016 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place from December 13 to December 15, 2016 in Orlando Florida. This BIG PICTURE' conference, will cover the full landscape of renewables. Attendees will hear from several Renewable Energy World International Committee Members about what HOT industry topics are being covered in this years conference.

Become An Exhibiting Company Showcase Your Brand. Get Results.

Why Exhibit? Get in front of 20,000+ industry professionals from 111 countries. Generate quality leads and reach our concentrated group of targeted decision-makers.

Sponsor And Stand Out Accomplish Your Goals.

Bolster your event investment's ROI by working with the sponsorship team. They'll build a customized option based on your company's goals.

For more information and to register click here.

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Solar Roadways: Science Fiction Becoming Reality

June 29, 2016 Add Comment Edit

Solar roads are entering a new test phase that will see them installed along a portion of the iconic route 66. Solar Roadways is the brainchild of Scott and Julie Brusaw of Idaho. It all started ten years ago when Scott, an electrical engineer and his wife Julie began to imagine how solar panels could be embedded into the road. The concept eventually incorporated LEDs that could illuminate highways, and replace road lines. These solar panels can also be heated enabling them to melt snow and ice. The panels used in olar roadways are made out of recycled glass and in addition to collecting renewable energy, the panels can even redistribute storm water.

When it was first introduced the idea of embedding smart solar panels in our roadways seemed more fiction than science. It nonetheless captured people's imagination and a video called "Solar Freakin Roadways" went viral garnering over 21 million views.

Solar Roadways crowd-funding efforts raised $2.2 million to help accelerate the leap into commercial production. The project has also secured some high profile recognition when it won first prize in two of GE's Ecomagination challenges.

The US Federal Highway Administration funded the first working prototype. Solar roadways has received three funding contracts from the US Department of Transportation.

The concept has already been tested in an operational parking lot setup. By the end of this year Missouri’s Department of Transportation is expected to test the project at a rest stop. In April, the Idaho Department of Commerce committed $50,000 for a Solar Roadways demonstration project and crowdfunding campaign.

This technology may seem fantastic but it is an extension of existent technological innovations. Solar carports are a good example and they are popping up everywhere including in the US. There is a solar carport system at a Whole Foods Market in Brooklyn, New York. Recently completed solar carports in the US include one at Toyota's facility in West Caldwell, New Jersey and another at the Buck Institute in California.

Europe is also experimenting with solar roads and electrified highways. In the Netherlands SolaRoad has been operational since November 2014 and the French government wants to build 600 miles of solar roads over the next five years. Sweden has already built the world's first electric highway for heavy transport. Electric trucks can now get power along a 13 mile stretch of road between Norway and Sweden thanks to overhead power line technology developed by Siemens.

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Green Banks Leverage Private Investments for Climate Finance

June 17, 2016 Add Comment Edit

In addition to creating new jobs and improving the environment Green Banks are essential to ramping-up clean energy finance. Such banks are capable of helping to unleash the vast potential of climate focused investing. Green Banks reduce the cost of clean energy and efficiency. They are helping to change market thinking by taking a holistic, long-term view of industry support.

A Green Bank is a government-created institution that facilitates private sector financing for clean technology projects. Different Green Banks have different programs, however, they all leverage public funds to attract private investment.

In addition to providing capital and information these banks encourage private sector investments by helping to mitigate risk. They also help to standardize financial products to make them easier to buy and sell.

The tools used by Green Banks include low-interest or longer-term loans, interest rate buydowns, project equity stakes, small grants, and, as the market develops, credit enhancements.

In the US there are a number of Green Banks including the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation, the Connecticut Green Bank, the Hawaii GEMS Program and the New Jersey Energy Resiliency Bank.

Internationally Green Banks include the UK Green Investment Bank, the Japanese Green Finance Organization, the Australian Clean Energy Finance Corporation, GreenTech Malaysia.

For years we have watched Green Banks contribute to meaningful climate progress by supporting things like renewables and energy efficiency initiatives.

The potential of green investment banking is huge, however governments can contribute to or detract from this laudable initiative.

As reported by the Independent exactly one year ago, the government in the UK announced plans to sell off part of the first bank in the world established to make money out of environmentally sustainable projects.

Launched by the government in 2012, the UK's Green Investment Bank will be privatized in a move that is expected to generate £1 billion. However, Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, said the bank would be destroyed by privatisation. “It is unclear how the GIB can continue to perform its unique and vital function if it is sold off and it would be incredibly short-sighted if the important role it currently plays was lost,” he said.

In 2014 the Green Investment Bank backed 22 new energy projects worth £2.5 billion and generating enough energy to power 4.2 million UK homes.

As reported by Business Green in 2014, an investment Bank boss said that the UK's Green Investment Bank could mobilize £60 billion if government allows it.

Banks are an important part of creating the necessary infrastructure to support the transition to a low carbon economy. One high profile example is EV charging stations. While electric vehicles are an important part of the transition, green banks can support charging infrastructure which is essential to the widespread adoption of EVs.

As reported by Energy Manager Today, a study by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) indicates that banks play a key role in the transition to a low carbon economy. This includes both expanding EV infrastructure and clean energy.

As reported by Sustainable Business, the first "Green Bank Academy" was attended by leaders from over 11 states including California, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Washington, NY and Connecticut.

Green Banks can help fill the financing gap in the absence of government leadership. Mark Muro from the Brookings Institution, co-host of the Academy explained that Green Banks contribute to, "large-scale progress on big problems when the national government has gone absent."

In 2014 US Green Banks committed to spending $15 billion on energy Projects over 5 years. This investment could be leveraged to over US $40 billion in private investments. Here is a brief review derived from an EDF article on the major Green Banks in the US.

Connecticut's Green Bank

In 2012, Connecticut created the first green bank, known as Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority or CEFIA. As reported by the EDF, CEFIA’s 2013 annual report indicates that for every dollar of ratepayer funds CEFIA invested, roughly $10 was invested by private sources. Much of this investment was focused on clean energy building upgrades that are part of Connecticut’s Property Assessed Clean Energy program. CEFIA also has an innovative financing solution for solar projects on commercial properties. In 2014 Connecticut's Green Bank (CEFIA), financed 1,160 projects and attracted over $180 million in private capital based on $41 million in state funds, resulting in 26.7 megawatts of new clean energy.

New York’s Green Bank

New York has the largest green bank in the US, with $1 billion in funding. Launched in 2013, New York’s Green Bank focuses on advancing the clean energy market by encouraging business partnerships.

Hawaii's Green Bank

Hawaii's Green Bank called GEMS launched in 2014 with a $150-million green bank called GEMS, that focuses on social justice. The program allows homeowners to finance solar projects that significantly reduce their power costs.

California's Green Bank

In 2014 California introduced a Senate bill that laid the groundwork for attracting private capital for a green bank that launched in 2015.

New Jersey's Green Bank

In 2014, Governor Chris Christie announced plans to launch an Energy Resilience Bank. Though technically not a green bank, the Energy Resilience Bank has proposed using federal Superstorm Sandy funds to finance the resiliency component of infrastructure projects that strengthen the state’s electricity grid during extreme weather events.

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Innovative Solar Financing Instruments
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New Sustainability Focused Finance Instruments
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Investor Warning: Fossil Fuels and the Risk of Stranded Assets

April 25, 2016 1 Comment Edit

It is becoming increasingly apparent that fossil fuels represent a substantial risk that should make investors wary. Fossil fuel reserves, including oil, gas and coal will be rendered obsolete in the coming decades, leaving investors holding valueless investments. A plethora of peer reviewed science tells us the curbing fossil fuel use is key to climate mitigation.

From widespread calamitous coastal flooding to devastating extreme weather events the need to urgently act on climate change has finally been accepted by every nation on earth. The economics of climate action is sound. A cost benefit analysis reveals the overwhelming logic. We must the eradication of fossil fuels as soon as possible. The impetus to act on climate change, once dismissed by some, is now a fact of life for all thinking people.

There is already downward pressure on the fossil fuel industry and this will only intensify in 2016 as we begin to see policy shifts and new regulatory regimes. The Paris Climate Agreement formally signals the end of fossil fuels.

We are already seeing trillions of dollars being divested from the fossil fuel industry. Much of the money divested is being reallocated to renewable energy, the primary competition for the fossil fuel industry. Investments in fossil fuels need time to mature, however post Paris time is the one thing that fossil fuel investors do not have.

The IPCC Synthesis Report indicates that the burning of fossil fuels must be completely ended by 2100. We must work quickly to radically reduce our use of fossil fuels because the longer we wait the more it will cost. We also risk surpassing dangerous tipping points from which we will not be able to recover. Simply put we cannot continue to burn fossil fuels if we hope to stay within the 2C upper threshold limit.

The concerns about fossil fuels and stranded assets were reviewed in an April 8, 2016, CBC Business article by Don Pittis in which he warned investors about the dangers of fossil fuels. As he explained, the issue of stranded assets is not merely the concern of environmentalists, it is central to shrewd analyses of the investment community. Concerns about stranded assets are coming from all quarters including mainstream, credible sources, like Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.

Research from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has already announced a $50 billion drop in Canadian oil and gas investment in electrical power plant generation from fossil fuels. However, there are implications for the oil sands and pipelines.

As explained in the CBC article, a Oxford University study indicates that after 2017, fossil fuel powered electricity generation may "not be able to run long enough to pay off their capital costs, turning them into stranded assets." This study expands the stranded-assets concept to include what economists call capital.

"Investors putting money into new carbon-emitting infrastructure need to ask hard questions about how long those assets will operate for, and assess the risk of future shutdowns and writeoffs," says Cameron Hepburn, one of the academics involved in Oxford study.

"If the 2 C target is to be taken seriously, then current and future assets will have to be written off before the end of their economically useful life (become stranded assets) or we will have to rely on large-scale investments down the line in carbon capture and storage technologies that are as yet unproven and expensive," says the report.

While the Oxford study is focused on electricity generation the implications extend to the fossil fuel industry as a whole. According to Duetsche Bank at least half of all known fossil fuel reserves will need to be kept in the ground to stay within our carbon budget.

"For their own financial benefit, what investors must consider is whether the climate risk has been properly calculated into the future income stream." Pittis wrote. "If investors in power plants, pipelines and new oil development go ahead without proper regard to climate risk and find those assets stranded, they will be worth less than advertised."

The Financial Times covered the same study and reported:

"Virtually all new fossil fuel-burning power-generation capacity will end up stranded... A similar logic can be applied to parts of the capital stock."

Carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere for centuries so we must appreciate not just annual emissions but their cumulative totals or the global carbon budget.

The Oxford paper states that capital stock created after 2017 would break the global carbon budget. However the Financial Times article suggests that the Oxford study is premised on some optimistic assumptions and therefore it may be more difficult to keep temperatures from rising beyond the 2C upper threshold limit. This assessment suggests that the risks are even greater than those presented in the Oxford research.

Why would any sane investor put his or her money into a source of energy that is doomed to be shut down?

As explained in the FT article:

"[G]iven the longevity of a large part of the capital stock, the time for decisive change is right now, not decades in future."

As reported in the Green Market Oracle, just ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement two reports corroborated concerns about stranded assets. One of these reports come from the Think Tank, Carbon Tracker and another comes from Critical Resource, a firm that advises fossil fuel companies.

The Carbon Tracker report indicated that more than 2.2 trillion worth of fossil fuel projects are at risk of being stranded. Anthony Hobley, chief executive at Carbon Tracker said:

"Our report offers these companies a warning [about] avoiding significant value destruction,"

The top four countries at risk from stranded fossil fuel assets are the US at $412 billion, Canada at $220 billion, China at $179 billion and Australia at $103bn. The companies with the greatest exposure are Shell, ExxonMobil and Pemex.

Despite these risks, $1.3 trillion is being spent on new oil projects and $124 billion is being spent on existing projects. We need to start with a moratorium on new fossil fuel development.

Daniel Litvin, MD of Critical Resources said.

"The critical mass point could be as soon as a couple of years down the road, which is pretty soon for an industry that has been around for 100 years."

How can the oil industry fail to see the writing on the wall? The fossil fuel industry would not be the first that failed to see clear signs of its demise. Hobley pointed to the demise of Kodak and Blockbuster as illustrations.

In the past decade, the emissions implied by the investment in power generation have been rising at 4 percent a year. The math behind this investment growth when partnered with the need for climate action make investing in fossil fuels a fool's errand.

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Green Finance Goes Mainstream in 2016

April 18, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The world is embracing green finance as never before and all expectations are that this will increase as we move towards a low carbon economy. Financial systems should play an important role in the green economic transition said, Zhou Xiaochuan, the Governor of the People's Bank of China. Zhou was speaking at the Green Finance Symposium which took place on Saturday, April 15th in Washington.
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After years of volatility, green finance is emerging as a central part of our efforts to address climate change and transform our energy infrastructure. Green finance is preoccupied with adapting to the impacts of climate change and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is the means by which we can stream tremendous amounts of needed capital into emissions free sources of power.

Although a precise definition of green finance (GF) is somewhat elusive, generally speaking it can be understood as sustainable investment and banking, where investment and lending decisions are taken on the basis of environmental considerations. This applies to both the public and the private sector and it specifically entails environmental screening and sustainability focused risk assessment.

For years, GF was dismissed as being too risky. Now in the wake of the signing of the Paris climate accord, lenders cannot ignore the economics of climate action that make clean energy an attractive opportunity. Governments began seriously investing in clean technologies in 2005. However, the early years were fraught with challenges, not the least of which was the economic crisis of 2007 – 2008. Nonetheless, between 2005 and 2010, there was a 200 percent increase in the growth of GF.

There is well warranted optimism that 2016 will be the year in which green finance comes of age. Governments, businesses and global organizations are all getting on-board to make this a landmark year for GF.

In an article published in the Huffington Post, Nick Robins, the Co-Director of the UNEP Inquiry into a Sustainable Financial System, said:

"From a strategic perspective, 2015 built a new set of policy foundations for the global economy, signaling new directions for the financial system…So, if 2015 designed the foundations, the task for the financial community in 2016 is to take the practical steps to deliver the reallocation in capital that’s required, and doing this in ways that result in an orderly transition in global markets."

At a G7 meeting last summer, the world’s leading economies agreed to phase out fossil fuels. At this meeting, Angela Merkel said the leading industrialized countries were committed to raising $100 billion in annual climate financing by 2020 from public and private sources.

According to a new report, green finance has what it takes to deliver decisive climate action. The report says that GF is capable of keeping temperatures from rising beyond the upper threshold limits of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius set in the Paris climate accord. The report was produced by a partnership between Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Ceres and Ken Locklin of Impax Asset Management. The report, titled Mapping the Gap: The Road From Paris, finds that there is enough money in the global economy to finance the transition to clean sources of energy.

We have gleaned valuable insights about the feasibility of GF from a number of pilot projects. A report from the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) shows that green finance works. The report titled, "Learning by Doing: The CIF’s Contribution to Climate Finance," studied GF in 48 countries. CIF oversees more than $8 billion, which it uses to support projects in cleantech, forests, climate resilience and renewable energy.

This year, the Green Climate Fund has come of age and there are now a wide range of initiatives that support the growth of GF, including the SDGs and a rapidly growing green bond market. The IMF is now focusing on climate change and the World Bank along with the IBD are contributing to the funding of clean energy in the developing world.

The G20 has indicated that it is committed to green finance. Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board, has said that GF has grown up and it is no longer a “niche”. In March, Carney said that in a bid to mainstream climate friendly funds, the G20 will make green finance a "priority". The G20 has explored the concept through its Green Finance Study Group and the subject will receive special attention at September's G20 meeting in Hangzhou.

Many governments are gearing up to get involved with GF and some nations have already implemented policies. As reported by Bloomberg, Indonesia plans to limit the ability of banks to lend money to projects that are deemed environmentally destructive. While this is a move will curb slash and burn agricultural practices in the country, it can be applied to any set of environmental parameters. A May 2015 WWF report stated that there are four major banks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore that have embedded environmental factors as part of their credit-decision process. Last fall, the Association of Banks in Singapore introduced guidelines on responsible financing.

A 2016 UNEP report titled, "The Financial System We Need," declares that the UK is a global hub for GF. London’s financial community is positioning themselves to lead green finance, while Hong Kong and Singapore are already leaders in GF.

As explained by Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment, "2016 is set to be the year of green finance. Across the world, we are seeing a growing number of countries aligning their financial systems with the sustainability imperative."

Governments, financial institutions, investors and businesses have been pouring capital into clean energy at ever increasing rates. After a protracted period of intense volatility, green finance has finally arrived. It is now an unstoppable global force that is helping to build a clean power infrastructure.

Source: Global Warming is Real

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Green Bonds Emerging as a Major Force in Green Finance
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Drivers of Green Investment Growth
New Sustainability Focused Finance Instruments
Opportunities in Sustainability Finance Highlighting Renewables & Energy Efficiency
The Panama Papers Highlight the Need for Sustainability
A World Bank Action Plan to Combat Climate Change
European Commissioner for Climate Action Urges Development Banks to Divest from Fossil Fuels
A Large and Growing Chorus is Calling for an End to Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Green Bonds Emerging as a Major Force in Green Finance

April 14, 2016 Add Comment Edit

The momentum driving green bonds is growing and they have emerged as a major instrument of green finance. Green bonds generate funding for sustainable development and clean energy technology. They attract debt investment capital and drive innovation in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, forests and other environmental causes. At COP21 green bonds were touted as being one of the vehicles that could help deliver $100 billion annually by 2020 to support of climate action.

A 2014 HSBC report indicates that we will need to see $300 billion a year in investments to keep us below the upper threshold limit of 2 Celsius. If even a fraction of the $80 trillion bond market moved to environmental finance, it could tip the scales in the climate fight, says Angus McCrone, Chief Editor for Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

According to Ceres, we need to invest around $1 trillion each year in clean energy projects worldwide by 2050 to ensure that global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius.

The first green bonds were issued in 2007 by development banks. As of 2012 we were seeing investments of around $2 billion, by 2013 that grew to $11 billion and by 2014 it was around $36 billion. In 2014 three green bond indexes were launched (S&P Green Bond Index; Bank of America; Barclays Bank and index creator MSCI).

In 2015 there was $42 billion worth of green bonds issued. These bonds have grown quickly over the past few years and as reported by the EDF, in 2016 they are forecasted to reach about $50 billion.

Green bonds have become a powerful means for corporations to broadcast their environmental credentials. Apple issued $1.5 billion in bonds earlier this year dedicated to financing clean energy projects at its facilities worldwide. New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority issued $500 million in green bonds and Georgia Power issued $325 million to support investment in renewable energy.

As reported by Sustainable Business, in 2015 the World Bank issued $3.1 billion in green bonds including $600 million in fixed-rate 10-year green bonds. The Oslo Stock Exchange began listing green bonds. SunEdison's yieldco TerraForm Power, issued $800 million for 8-year junk bonds. Other top issuers were European Investment Bank with $5.6 billion in Climate Awareness bonds, German Development Bank KfW with $3.5 billion and GDF Suez with $3.4 billion. Toyota issued $1.75 billion, French Development Bank AfD issued $1.3 billion and Iberdrola issued $1 billion in green bonds. Vestas wind energy also issued green bonds.

"We are convinced that green bonds play an important role in unlocking the green market capital that is necessary to finance the transformation to a cleaner and more sustainable future," states Stefan Reiner, Director in Corporate Finance and responsible for the bond business of German development banks,

Mexico has successfully used green bonds as a financing mechanism to reduce emissions. In 2014 the Huffington Post reported that Africa will issue one billion in green bonds. In March 2015 the first Green Bond issued in Asia easily raised $500 million.

Some early concerns related to green bonds are being addressed including the lack of standardization. In January 2014 a group of leading banks took preliminary steps to create standardization in the market by issuing something called Green Bond Principles. As explained by Ceres’ Mindy Lubber: "As standards get stronger, we’ll see more growth in the market."

Groups such as Green Bond Principles and the Climate Bonds Initiative are giving investors the tools they need. To see a report and guide from Lloyds Bank on green bonds click here.

Green bonds are a game changer. Growth in the green bonds sector is evidence that banks are starting to see the potential of low carbon infrastructure projects. If a fraction of the 80 - 90 trillion bond market were diverted to green bonds it would significantly advance climate finance.

Related
Green Finance Goes Mainstream in 2016
The Green Climate Fund Comes of Age
The Climate Investment Fund's Low Carbon Development
IDB to Double Climate Related Projects
World Bank to Finance More Renewables in the Developing World
Innovative Solar Financing Instruments
Drivers of Green Investment Growth
New Sustainability Focused Finance Instruments
Opportunities in Sustainability Finance Highlighting Renewables & Energy Efficiency
The Panama Papers Highlight the Need for Sustainability
A World Bank Action Plan to Combat Climate Change
European Commissioner for Climate Action Urges Development Banks to Divest from Fossil Fuels
A Large and Growing Chorus is Calling for an End to Fossil Fuel Subsidies