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На 12 август, мексикански президент Енрике Пеня Нието представи своя дългоочакван енергиен реформа предложение , което в момента се очаква одобрение от Конгреса. Има доста спекулации и дебати, както преди и след предложението беше открита, за неговия обхват и потенциални въздействия, особено върху националната петролна компания Пемекс. Въпреки че предложението бе разделен на две части, масла и газ, както и електроенергията, като последният сектор е до голяма степен оставени на общественото обсъждане. Освен това, предложението на президента не счита реформи за друга важна част от енергийния сектор: възобновяеми източници на енергия. Собственост членка на петрол в Мексико е деликатен въпрос, пропит с история и придружени дори от национален празник, и с причина: масло е от решаващо значение за икономиката на Мексико, което представлява една трета от федерален доход. Въпреки това, производството на петрол в Мексико намалява от 2004 г. насам, като плитки резерви са започнали работа при ниско ниво, и там е липсата на национален технически капацитет, за да проучи неконвенционални източници. Това не е тайна, че позволява на частните инвестиции в петролната индустрия може да увеличи производството на въглеводороди в Мексико и с това, нейната икономика, но приватизацията на националните ресурси не е политическа опция. Предложението на президента Пеня Нието се стреми да привлича инвестиции без приватизация чрез обръщане забрана на конституцията на частни договори в петрол и газ разработване на находища (т.е. проучване и добив) и предлагане на дял от печалбата. Други реформи петрол и въглеводороди сектор включват преструктуриране Пемекс и повишаване на нейната прозрачност и отчетност. Реформа на предложението на пазара на електроенергия, който до голяма степен липсваше в заглавията на вестниците, включва един прост, но мощен промяна: позволява участието на частния сектор в производството на електроенергия, като същевременно се запази държавния контрол върху преноса и разпределението. В момента държавната Comisión Федерална де ELECTRICIDAD (CFE) притежава монопол върху производството на електроенергия, разпространение и предаване. Докато измененията в Закона за държавната служба Ток през 1992 г. отваря частично производство на електроенергия в частния сектор, са го направили, така че само за себе си доставка, когенерация, независимите производители на електроенергия (ИПОИ), продаващ изключително на ДОВСЕ и планирани съгласно стратегия CFE е, малко производство (по-малко от 30 MW), внос, за да задоволят нуждите на собствените си нужди, и износът към други страни. В допълнение, тъй като предаването на ДОВСЕ контрол и разпределение, тя също така избира от които производителите на електроенергия да купуват електроенергия. Това от своя страна ограничава конкуренцията в сектора на електроенергията и е допринесла за цените на електроенергията, които са средно с 25 процента по-скъпо, отколкото в Съединените щати. Реформата също така ще създаде независим оператор системи за увеличаване на конкурентоспособността чрез определяне участието производител мощ на пазара на електроенергия на базата на най-ниските разходи за производство. Ако се прилага правилно, реформите на електроенергия в Мексико ще се увеличи конкуренцията в производството на енергия и ще помогнат да намалят цените. Така че реформата на енергия може да помогне да се намалят разходите за електроенергия, но как той се вписва с изменението на климата и политиката за възобновяемата енергия в Мексико? Въпреки че има някои език в предложението на президента Пеня Нието по отношение на необходимостта за по-нататъшното развитие на чисти енергийни източници, за да прехода към устойчива енергия и намаляване на Мексико емисиите на парникови газове (ПГ), няма нищо в предложените реформи, които засягат сектора на възобновяемата енергия директно. Въпреки това, ако реформата минава, ще има косвени ефекти, които не трябва да се пренебрегват. От една страна, по-нататъшното развитие на петролни и газови ресурси на Мексико ще доведе до по-високи нива на емисии на парникови газове, а от друга, отваряне на електроенергийния сектор на частни генератори ще позволи на повече играчи на пазара, включително възобновяемите енергийни източници, които стават по-евтини всеки ден . Миналата година, Мексико зададете ПГ цели за намаляване на емисиите с 30 процента до 2020 г. и 50 на сто от 2050 г., в сравнение с базовата линия на емисиите през 2000 г.. За да постигнат тази цел, е изчислено, че Мексико ще трябва да генерира най-малко 35% от електроенергията си от възобновяеми източници до 2024. Този мандат поддържа допълнителни закони, приети през 2008 г. за развитие и финансиране на устойчив преход енергийна система. В момента, обаче, по-малко от 20% от производството на електроенергия в страната е от възобновяеми източници, от които по-голямата част (16%) е хидро. От разрешителните на частните производители на електроенергия 691, че регулаторната комисия е одобрила енергия, само 125 са проектите за възобновяема енергия (главно вятърни и водноелектрически инсталации). Мексико няма фискални стимули за широкомащабно внедряване на възобновяеми енергийни източници, и освен ако тези и други мерки, се прилагат напълно, то най-вероятно ще се окаже недостатъчна за своите цели. Експертите смятат, че реформите в енергетиката президент Пеня Нието ще получите одобрението на Конгреса, тъй като тя попада кратко от приватизиране на мексикански петрол и газ, но на реалните измерения на реформата няма да бъде разбрано, докато вторичните закони, които конкретно ще описват как ще се реализира на законопроекта, са изготвени. С оглед на това, все още има надежда допълнителен език по отношение на стимулите за развитието на възобновяемата енергия ще бъдат включени.
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By Haibing Ma Guangdong is releasing a series of policies to ensure a green future. ©nfdaily.cn According to media reports, Guangdong province has taken the lead in becoming the pioneer of low-carbon practices in China. Guangdong is one of 13 pilot regions—including five provinces and eight municipalities—that the Chinese government has selected to explore low-carbon development. So far, it is the only pilot region that has issued a comprehensive plan for this development and had it approved by the central government. In January 2012, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) reviewed and then “approved with positive comments” Guandong’s “Implementation Plan for Low-Carbon Pilot Programs.” Although this plan has not been made public, it reportedly lays out eight “key actions”: 12th Five-Year Plan, cap and trade, carbon emission, carbon intensity, China, emission trading, energy intensity, green development, Guangdong province, low-carbon, MRV, NDRC, pilot program, statistics Read the rest of this entry With the continued advancements in the development of renewable energy technologies and their ever-increasing cost competitiveness, there is more and more money at stake for countries and companies alike. A number of countries have recently found themselves at odds with one another over the international impact of certain domestic financial support policies for promoting renewables. The United States, China, Japan, Canada, and the European Union, discussed here, along with many others, currently find themselves on varying sides of major international trade disputes on this topic. High-end manufacturing of renewable energy technology components, and the money and jobs this brings with it, is becoming an increasingly important component for policymakers and an increasingly contentious issue at the international level. A worker assembling solar PV panels in a Suntech Power Holdings Co. factory in Jiangsu Province, China. (Source: Bloomberg) The dispute between the United States and China over solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing is probably today’s most high-profile renewable energy trade dispute. The Chinese share of global solar PV manufacturing has grown at an incredibly fast pace since the country entered the market, as Chinese manufacturers have rapidly expanded from a 15 percent market share in 2006 to provide nearly half of the world’s total solar PV manufacturing output today. As of 2008 China produced 2,500 megawatts (MW) of solar cells, up from just 4 MW a decade earlier, as reported in the Worldwatch-REEEP report Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in China. With an existing installed capacity of 900 MW at the end of 2010, much of this production is being slated for export. China, energy policy, European Union, feed-in tariffs, green jobs, renewable energy, subsidies Read the rest of this entry Earlier this month, the Indian state of Maharashtra announced a US$25 million smart grid program covering electricity distribution networks in eight cities including Mumbai, the country’s financial capital. Maharashtra has commissioned the German company Siemens to install smart grid technologies in the state to tackle issues such as outages and electricity theft. Smart grid technologies will also improve the efficiency of the existing and very inefficient Indian transmission and distribution network. Currently, nearly a quarter of electricity in India (and up to half in some states) is lost while being transported through the grid system (compared to 7 percent in the U.S.), causing economic losses to utility companies and contributing to widespread electricity shortages. Evidence of an inefficient electricity grid in Hyderabad, India. Image source: Flickr user mckaysavage. This investment is just one aspect of a recent major push for smart grids by state and central government in India. India ranks third in the world for smart grid investment behind the U.S. and China, and its investment is growing rapidly. A meeting of the Central Electricity Authority on March 5 led to a proposal for nearly US$50 million of funding from the Ministry of Power for smart grid projects across India. State governments are also expected to contribute about half of the funding required for smart grid pilot projects. The Ministry of Power has established the India Smart Grid Forum – a voluntary consortium of power utilities, implementing agencies, smart grid consultants, research agencies, and nongovernmental organizations, among others – which aims to bring different stakeholders together to ensure a rapid and efficient deployment of smart grid technologies in India. The Forum calls for implementation of smart grid systems in all state capitals and large cities between 2014 and 2017. The Ministry of Power also established the India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF), which serves as a platform for smart grid activities, but also focuses on coordinating initiatives between different government Ministries. Recent weeks have seen smart grid projects moving forward in other Indian states as well. Puducherry was selected by ISGTF as one of eight pilot cities for smart grid technologies, and it recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Power Grid Corporation of India to install smart meters on 87,000 homes over four months this year. The new advanced metering infrastructure will allow customers to view their electricity billing in real-time and better manage their consumption. Smart meters will also enable the Puducherry Electricity Board to detect electricity theft, which costs India billions of dollars each year, much more easily. The city of Bangalore also launched a program this month that aims to install one million smart meters over the next year. energy efficiency, Green Investment, India, renewable energy, smart grid Read the rest of this entry Last Sunday marked the first anniversary of an unprecedented catastrophe that struck northern Japan. On March 11, 2011, a tsunami—triggered by a major earthquake—swept into the area surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, disabling the cooling capabilities of three of the plant’s oldest reactors. In the days and weeks that followed, as workers struggled to cool and dismantle the plant, reactors 1, 2, and 3 went into meltdown. A series of explosions and fires led to the release of radioactive gas, and fears of contamination ultimately prompted the evacuation of approximately 100,000 people from the immediate area; some 30,000 may never be able to return to their homes. The Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Plant, 25 March 2011 (Source: econews) The first anniversary of this horrific event—the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl accident in 1986—is a time to commemorate the more than 20,000 people who died in the initial earthquake and tsunami, as well as the courage of those who risked radioactive exposure to regain control of the plant and prevent further calamity. But it is also a time to look forward—to examine what we have learned from Fukushima and what it means for the future of energy in Japan and around the world. A “moment of opportunity” for Japan In the aftermath of the meltdown, the Japanese public turned decidedly against nuclear power, marking a pronounced change in a nation that was once one of the world’s most committed proponents and producers of civilian atomic energy. Japan has been using nuclear power since the 1960s, and in 2010 it generated 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear plants. In the past year, however, the vast majority of nuclear facilities in Japan have been shut down for routine maintenance or “stress tests” and have not yet been reopened. Today, all but two of Japan’s commercial reactors have been shut down, with the last one scheduled to go offline as early as April. The country has also abandoned any existing plans to build new reactors. Angela Merkel, Asse, chernobyl, Daiichi, Deepwater Horizon, energy, energy roadmaps, Forsmark, Fukushima, Georgia Power, Germany, japan, Low-Carbon Development, Noda, nuclear, nuclear accidents, nuclear power, nucular energy, Olkiluoto, renewable energy, renewables, Southern Company, Three Mile Island, Upper Big Branch, Vogtle, Waynesboro, Yucca Mountain Read the rest of this entry In November of 2011 a solar photovoltaic (PV) energy project began construction on the roof of the “National Energy Commission” (CNE) headquarters in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. CNE is the institution responsible for overseeing the energy sector in the Dominican Republic. The solar PV energy project was completed in January 2012 with a total installed capacity of 22 kilowatts (kW) and an estimated annual generation of 35,358 kWh, around 20 percent of the building’s annual electricity consumption. The solar PV energy system is connected to the utility grid Edesur under a net metering contract. CNE is using the solar panels to help mitigate its use of electricity from traditional fossil fuel sources, such as coal, fuel oil, and diesel. The project’s main goals are to lower the headquarters’ greenhouse gas emissions and to demonstrate for others the feasibility of installing solar PV energy systems on roofs. The solar PV system at CNE's headquarters (Source: CNE). This project was made possible by the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americans (ECPA), which was created in 2009 in order to fund energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton invited Caribbean governments to join the ECPA Caribbean Partnership, which is administered by the Organization of American States (OAS) and is supported financially by the Department of State. In addition, Secretary Clinton announced that members will receive grants to improve renewable energy development. In 2010, Caribbean governments submitted over 20 proposals to the OAS for renewable energy development projects. The OAS awarded technical assistance to six projects in six countries. One of the six projects was for the construction of a solar PV energy system at the CNE headquarters. In addition to receiving assistance from the OAS, CNE received assistance from the Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP), which is administered by the “German Society for International Cooperation” (GIZ) and is supported financially by the Austrian Development Agency. The total cost of the project was around US$ 130,000 with ECPA contributing US$ 65,000, CREDP contributing US$ 35,000, and CNE contributing US$ 30,000. Caribbean, Dominican Republic, emissions reductions, renewable energy, solar power Read the rest of this entry In early January, thousands of Nigerians took to the streets in what has been dubbed Occupy Nigeria. However, unlike the Occupy movement in the United States, Occupy Nigeria was spurred on by one issue: the government’s decision to reduce fossil fuel subsidies. Overnight, gas prices in Nigeria more than doubled as a result of the government’s new policy. The government argues that it is bringing gas prices closer to the global market price, but the price increase has caused significant economic hardship. Globally, advocates of renewable energy have called for the reduction of fossil fuel subsidies in order to make alternative technologies more competitive. If fossil fuel consumption subsidies were phased out by 2020, energy demand would be reduced by 4.1 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 4.7 percent due to increased energy conservation and development of renewable resources. Furthermore, these subsidies tend to be regressive by benefiting more affluent populations globally, with only 9 percent of electricity subsidies going to the poorest 20 percent of the population. An Occupy Nigeria rally in Ojota (Source: Flickr - Temi Kogbe) By raising the end-user price of fossil fuels to market prices, countries can discourage inefficient industry and promote renewable energy projects and green jobs. In 2009, the G-20, recognizing their negative environmental impacts, pledged to eliminate or rationalize all inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. No country has begun cutting subsidies as a result of this pledge, however, partly because popular pressure and differing conceptions of subsidies. Climate Change, energy policy, G-20, Nigeria, subsidies Read the rest of this entry Earlier this week, a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) established by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met to discuss environmental and economic issues facing the country’s electricity generation sector. CoS members included the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, as well as representatives from the Ministries of Power, Petroleum, Coal, Environment, and Finance. The 4,000 MW Tata Power Ultra Mega Coal Power Project at Mundra, photo credit: Flickr - Joe Athialy The first day’s discussion focused on increasing difficulties of coal power production, including domestic production shortages and import costs. While the availability of domestic and supposedly cheap coal supplies was once cited as a central justification for pursuing coal power in India, which currently supplies about 70 percent of the country’s electricity generation, recent coal shortages, dramatic price increases, and environmental mismanagement by the coal industry have led policymakers, energy developers, and investors to acknowledge the need for the country to pursue an alternative energy path. In January, an Indian Power Ministry official expressed concerns regarding the pricing scheme of the state-owned coal mining company, Coal India, which would increase the cost of coal power generation by an estimated 35 percent. Coal India is responsible for over 80 percent of the country’s coal production. A Coal India executive cited the need to rework the company’s pricing scheme, as coal prices have recently risen by 50 to 180 percent, depending on fuel quality. coal, human rights, India, mining, sustainable development Read the rest of this entry The Jamaican economy is highly energy inefficient. In 2008, the country’s energy intensity index ranked 47th in the world, at 8,937 btu per year 2005 U.S. dollar. The energy intensity index shows the energy efficiency of a nation’s economy; the higher it is, the more it costs to convert energy into GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Reasons for this high energy intensity include the energy demands of the bauxite and alumina industry, the inefficient public electricity system with its high transmission and distribution losses, inefficient energy use in the public sector, and low public awareness of the importance of energy conservation. Worldwatch meets with Jamaica government officials to discuss energy issues. From left: Senior Director of Energy at the Ministry of Energy & Mining Fitzroy Vidal, State Minister Laurence Broderick, Worldwatch Caribbean Project Manager Mark Konold, and Sr. Engineer at Ministry of Energy & Mining, Gerald Lindo Jamaica depends heavily on imported petroleum, which supplies 91 percent of domestic energy use. Transportation accounts for nearly half (47 percent) of the energy consumed, followed by the bauxite and alumina industry (30 percent), and electricity generation (23 percent). Despite the increase in world oil prices, Jamaica’s energy consumption has grown faster than its economy over the past decade. Given these realities, the Jamaican National Energy Policy for 2009-2030 aims to design and implement cost-saving measures to boost energy efficiency and conservation across the public sector. In 2011, the Jamaican government set a target of reducing public sector energy consumption 5 percent below the 2010 level by 2015, mainly through public sector efficiency improvements. These include energy audits and building retrofits to replace lighting and air conditioning units, and improving building envelopes by implementing cool roof coatings and window films. Because reducing energy consumption also requires efforts of those who use public buildings, staff are expected to fully engage in the process by following the protocols in place. Education and knowledge dissemination about energy efficiency and conservation are a key component of this project. energy efficiency, energy intensity, Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica, oil Read the rest of this entry Call it unconventional oil, tight oil, shale oil, continuous oil, you name it, but the end result is the same: the bottom of the barrel. Recent technological developments are changing the oil extraction industry dramatically and opening up oil reserves to economically viable extraction. Unequivocally, this new development will have repercussions for the environment and the development of renewable energy and a sustainable energy economy. Hydraulic fracturing of a shale. Source: Environmental Protection Agency Unconventional oil sources are created by the same processes as conventional oil—that is, through the combination of organic material, heat, and pressure. The main difference between the two is their ability to move underground. Conventional oil migrates upward due to its buoyancy. This oil moves through pathways in the underground rock in its fluid state and becomes trapped between impermeable layers of rock. Unconventional oil, meanwhile, is formed in sealed spaces of rock and is not able to move up; it therefore remains in the source rock, trapped in unconnected pores. The development of new technologies such as hydraulic fracturing(or “fracking”), which is used to break up the porous rock in order to connect these micropores, is making the extraction of unconventional oil technologically possible and economically viable. To put such advances into perspective, the amount of recoverable oil from the Bakken Reserve in the U.S. states of North Dakota and Montana increased 25-fold (an additional 3 to 4.3 billion barrels of oil) from the 1995 estimate, becoming the largest oil accumulation in the lower 48 states and accounting for 7 percent of the total U.S. onshore oil production. Other technically accessible shale oil resources in the United States include the Eagle Ford formation in South Texas and the Avalon and Bone Springs formations in southeast New Mexico and West Texas. Bakken, fracking, Fuel Quality Directive, greenhouse gas emissions, hydraulic fracturing, life-cycle analysis, Low Carbon Fuel Standards, shale oil, tight oil, Unconventional oil Read the rest of this entry Central America is an economically and ecologically diverse region with growing energy needs and unique vulnerabilities to climate change. Boosting investment in renewable energy is a key way that the region can protect its ecologically sensitive areas while achieving reliable access to clean energy for its population. In Central America, the top four renewable energy sources are geothermal, hydroelectricity, biomass, and wind. The relative importance of each renewable resource is different for each country depending on the geographical and geological situation. The Worldwatch Institute has recently begun work aimed at creating a favorable policy and investment environment for renewable energy in Central America. Globally, the electricity sector is one of the largest and fastest-growing consumers of energy. It is therefore important The BELCOGEN bagasse plant in Orange Walk, Belize. Photo Credit: Belize News to consider the role of state and private utility companies in transitioning Central America to renewable energy sources. One of these companies, BELCOGEN, a subsidiary of state owned Belize Electricity Ltd (BEL), has received enormous amounts of attention and praise due to its recent investment in a 31.5 megawatt (MW) biomass power plant fueled by bagasse. BEL invested US$63 million to create BELCOGEN and the bagasse project. The price tag has officially made the deal the largest private investment ever made in Belize. Originally, the project was scheduled to be completed in 2007 and the investment was much lower; however, the necessary investment grew as the scheduled date of completion was postponed, and the project was finally completed in 2009. The plant runs on a combination of 92 percent bagasse and 8 percent heavy fuel oil. BELCOGEN is contractually obligated to sell at least 106 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to BEL for the first year of operation, making the company the source of at least 20 percent of Belize’s national energy demand. The rest of the energy produced (up to 44GWh) will be sold to Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI). bagasse, BELCOGEN, Belize, biomass, developing countries, development, electricity, emissions reductions, energy security, renewable energy, sustainable development Read the rest of this entry