Solar Millennium Says U.S. to Supplant Spain in Solar-Thermal
The U.S. will supplant Spain as the biggest market for solar-thermal power plants as the world’s largest economy boosts support for renewable energy, according to Solar Millennium AG.
The U.S. will be the company’s main focus “for the next five years,” Solar Millennium board member Christian Beltle said in an interview in Valencia, Spain. Over the longer term, “North Africa is very interesting for Africa and for Europe.”
Southern California, Nevada and Arizona have some of the highest solar radiation in the world, reaching levels as high as 9 kilowatt hours for each square meter per day compared with about 3 kilowatt hours in New York, according to U.S. Energy Department figures. Solar power in the U.S. is supported with tax credits and rebates in some states.
Executives and policy makers from Europe and North Africa are meeting in Valencia to discuss plans to use the solar energy generated in the Sahara desert to help power the European economy. Abengoa Solar, a Spanish developer, will commission the first North Africa solar-thermal plants later this year, Chief Executive Officer Santiago Seage said yesterday.
Solar-thermal plants, which drive steam-powered turbines by concentrating the sun’s heat with curved mirrors, are most efficient in the sunniest parts of the world, such as the Sahara in Africa and the U.S. Southwest, the International Energy Agency said yesterday in a report.
Power from solar-thermal equipment may provide about 10 percent of the world’s electric needs by 2050 given appropriate support from governments, the IEA said. It will be able to compete with the price of power produced from more polluting fossil fuels at peak times by 2020, the agency said.
For background, see Concentrated solar thermal power Solar Baseload “” a core climate solution.
The picture above is Solar Millennium‘s “Andasol 1, the first parabolic trough power plant in Europe generating electricity since December 2008…. In the immediate vicinity, Andasol 2 has commenced its testing phase.“
IEA: Solar Industry to narrow cost gap and reach ‘grid parity’ by 2020
Solar panels could produce electricity at the same price as coal- and natural gas-burning power plants by the end of this decade if countries direct resources at this rapidly advancing corner of the energy industry, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
IEA, composed mostly of European nations and the United States, found in twin studies released yesterday that solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) together could account for about 22 percent of global electricity production by 2050 under the right conditions….
In the report, IEA says it expects concentrated solar power to become competitive for peak and mid-peak loads by 2020 in the sunniest places. This means it could start competing with natural gas in the United States, where gas is deployed by power generators to satisfy peak electricity demand.
Natural gas has become a thorn in the side of renewable energy companies. Gas prices have remained low for the past 18 months, reflecting increased onshore gas supply, and it is grabbing more power generation away from both coal and, to some lesser degree, wind and solar.
Thermal storage will help speed development of CSP, which can produce power throughout the day and could, by 2030, meet the substantial needs of baseload power in the United States, Europe, China and India.
“North America will be the largest producer of CSP electricity, followed by North Africa and India,” says the report. “North Africa would most likely export about half its production to Europe, the second largest consumer.”
Chemical effects to be examined as dolphins wash up onshore
With dead dolphins appearing on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, federal officials announced yesterday new plans to step up testing of marine life for petroleum compounds and the chemical dispersants being used to fight the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill.
The testing is intended to determine which areas should be closed to fishing and whether seafood from the Gulf remains safe for human consumption. More than 372,000 gallons of dispersants have been applied at the site of the spill and from airplanes flying over the Gulf, though the effectiveness and safety of the chemicals remains unknown.
Oil dispersed by the chemicals is still toxic to wildlife, particularly young fish, crabs and shrimp, which typically mature in the Gulf at this time of year.
“BP doesn’t want pictures of oil hitting the surface. Well, that’s all fine, but where is the oil going underwater after they use dispersants?” asked Alan Levine, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. “People are going to ask if Gulf Coast seafood is safe. If the answer for us is ‘No,’ that’s a $3 billion industry wiped out. Our concern, we don’t want a situation where the cure is worse than the disease” (Ben Raines, Mobile Press-Register, May 12).
Concern about the impact of oil and dispersants on wildlife has been stoked by the recent appearance of dead animals, including dolphins, on beaches in the Gulf.
Officials are examining whether the oil spill was involved in the death of six dolphins that have been found dead in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama since May 2. Dolphins sometimes wash up onshore after swimming to calve in shallow waters, said Blair Mase of the National Marine Fisheries Service, and none of the carcasses was obviously affected by the oil.
Dolphins were seen swimming and frolicking in oily waters near the Louisiana coastline last week
Environmental Organizations Give Boost to Corporate Social Responsibility, Dutch Study Finds
Pressure from environmental organisations on the private sector has given a considerable boost to corporate social responsibility, says Dutch researcher Mari«tte van Huijstee. As a result of this, companies are now anticipating the criticism of environmental organisations.
Environmental organisations are increasingly demanding that companies make their products and production methods more people and environmentally friendly. For the companies under fire, contact with these environmental organisations has become a standard part of corporate social responsibility. For many well-known multinationals, the interaction has become a necessity, even if only to safeguard their own reputation, says Mari«tte van Huijstee. She investigated the interaction between non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and companies. Some contacts result in partnerships whereas others remain hostile.
Growing number of partnerships
The number of companies and organisations entering into partnerships has increased sharply over the past 10 years. For example, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is invited to consult and enter into partnerships with an increasingly diverse group of companies. Rabobank routinely and proactively involves various NGOs in the development of its corporate social responsibility policy. Moreover, the partnerships are increasingly extending to cover all companies involved in the production of goods and services from the start to the end of the chain. Van Huijstee has introduced the term ‘private responsibility arrangements’ to describe the increasingly standardised cooperation between companies and moderate NGOs.
U.K. coalition government sets green agenda, keeps nuclear power option open
The United Kingdom’s new center-right coalition government has an ambitious agenda to cut carbon emissions, develop a more environmentally conscious economy and set new emissions standards for power plants. The two parties agreed to disagree on a potentially divisive issue: new nuclear electricity generation.
The deal between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats that forced the Labour Party out of power Tuesday also promises a smart electricity grid, more renewables, creation of a green investment bank, more high-speed rail, a tax on flights and no new runways at London’s three main airports — Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
“It is good news that this new coalition government will reinforce the U.K.’s bold international leadership on climate change,” said Mark Kenber of the Climate Group, whose goal is to help businesses and governments switch to a low-carbon economy.
Underscoring the green hue of the new government — the first formal coalition in more than 70 years — new Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron handed the top position at the Department of Energy and Climate Change to Liberal Democrat lawmaker Chris Huhne as one of five Cabinet seats given to the left-leaning junior coalition party.
Before becoming the Liberal Democrats’ spokesman on home affairs in 2007, Huhne was the minor opposition party’s spokesman on environmental issues in a party that has always espoused greener policies that the other two main parties.
“We welcome the appointment of Chris Huhne as the new secretary of state for energy and climate change. He has an outstanding track record in this field, and we look forward to working with him on developing the policy frameworks needed to deliver low-carbon investment at the scale and speed necessary,” said Ben Caldecott of investment bank Climate Change Capital.
Nations pledge record $4.25 bln for environment fund
Donor countries on Wednesday pledged a record $4.25 billion over the next four years for the Global Environment Facility, the world’s largest public green fund that helps developing countries tackle climate change.
The commitments by 30 donor countries during a session in Paris on Wednesday is a 52 percent increase in new resources for the facility.
GEF Chief Executive Monique Barbut said the replenishment of funds is the first “tangible confirmation of financial commitments” made during international climate talks in Copenhagen in December.
In Copenhagen, negotiators from industrialized and emerging nations sought to agree on the basic terms of a new global climate agreement in the run-up to the next summit in Cancun, Mexico in December.
Part of the agreement was aimed at providing financing to developing countries to help them adapt to climate changes. Some of those funds will be directed through the GEF into projects implemented by U.N. agencies and development institutions like the World Bank.
Barbut said about $1.35 billion of the new funds committed on Wednesday would be directed at tackling climate change.
The rest will be used to better manage and expand protected and endangered areas, improve the management of trans-boundary water systems, reduce pollutants in land and water, and expanding and protecting the world’s forests.
The new funds are a “testimony to the international donor community’s commitment to the environmental agenda,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, the vice president for concessional finance and global partnerships at the World Bank.
British climate change expert Nicholas Stern, speaking at the International Monetary Fund, called on world leaders to reach a political agreement on climate change at Cancun in order to lay the foundation for an international treaty in 2011.
He said the agreement should set out how $30 billion in climate financing will be provided to developing nations over the next three years to adapt to climate change.
It should also indicate how this initial support will be increased to $100 billion a year by 2020, in particular by introducing new and innovative sources of funding.
The GEF has been replenished four times since its inception in 1991 starting with $2.02 billion in 1994, $2.75 billion in 1998, $2.92 billion in 2002 and $3.13 billion in 2006.
To date, the facility has provided $8.7 billion in grants for more than 2,400 environmental projects in over 165 developing countries and emerging economies
U.S. lags China on climate change – Europe climate chief
The United States’ future as a global economic power depends on what it does to fight global warming and it is lagging behind other countries like China, Europe’s climate chief said on Wednesday.
European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard told Reuters it was a positive step for the United States to have “finally” unveiled legislation to combat climate change on Wednesday.
“This is one of the crucial battlefields over who is going to be the economic leaders of our century,” Hedegaard said of the fight against global warming.
Democratic Senator John Kerry and independent Senator Joseph Lieberman presented a long-awaited climate bill on Wednesday, which aims to cut planet-warming emissions by a 17 percent in the next decade.
While President Barack Obama supports the legislation, it has slim chances of passing unless Kerry and Lieberman win over a group of moderate Democrats and Republicans.
“It’s not something an ordinary European citizen would say ‘Wow, that’s really ambitious,’” Hedegaard said. “On the other hand, we know that the United States has been among the later starters, so the important thing now is to get started.”
The 27-nation European Union has long claimed to be a world leader in the fight against climate change.
While the United States and China bicker in negotiations for a new global deal to combat climate change, Hedegaard said Beijing was making great strides against global warming.
Previous in TP Climate Progress
Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga
And in other news, NOAA has just published the Mauna Loa CO2 numbers for April – 392.39 ppm – a new all time record and, really disturbing, 2.93 ppm higher than April of last year, one of the largest year over year increases on record, if not the largest.
So, where is the progress? We are not slowing down CO2 production. It seems to be accelerating!
Perhaps some of that “acceleration” is evidence of the beginning of “positive natural feed back”.
U.S. production alone was down about 10% last year, if I recall correctly.
Joe – good job on Democracy Now.
(I normally turn the program off after a few minutes, but stayed on to hear your input. A full hour of Amy’s “everything is turning to sh!t” is hard for me to take day after day.)
PV solar has already reached grid parity in Hawaii, Southern CA, and southern Europe.
Thin film is now retailing at less than $2 a watt ($1 per watt when bought in pallet lots) and silicon solar is now under $3 a watt.
The EPA issued a final rule addressing greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting programs.
http://www.epa.gov/nsr/documents/20100413fs.pdf
What do you think of the rule and the timing?
… lizards are going extinct in many places, and scientists who have studied them say it’s because of rising temperatures. The heats affects reproduction.
“The results were clear. These lizards need to bask in the sun to warm up, but if it gets too hot they have to retreat into the shade, and then they can’t hunt for food,” said Barry Sinervo of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
He said he was “stunned and saddened” by the finding, reported in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.
“This is an extinction alert for all areas of the globe and for all the various species of lizards,” Sinervo said.
Lizards are an important part of the food chain because they are major consumers of insects and in turn are eaten by birds, snakes and other animals.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Sinervo said. “It heralds that we have entered a new age, the age of climate-forced extinctions. Extinctions are not in the future. They are happening now.”
In Mexico’s Yucatan region, scientists found that the time lizards could be out foraging had disappeared. “They would barely have been able to emerge to bask before having to retreat,” Sinervo said.
Jack Sites, a biology professor at Brigham Young University, said high temperatures during the reproductive cycle prevent the animals from eating enough to have the energy to support a clutch of eggs or embryos.
“The heat doesn’t kill them. They just don’t reproduce,” he said. “It doesn’t take too much of that and the population starts to crash.”
According to Sinervo, the extinctions are concentrated in what biologists call hot spots of biodiversity, where there are lots of species.
This includes locations in Mexico, where a large number of species have evolved in the different volcanic mountain ranges. He said there also are massive extinctions occurring in the Amazonian Basin and equatorial Africa, though researchers don’t know the magnitude because not all the species have been described from these areas.
In Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island off the southeastern coast of Africa, the estimate is that one-fifth of all the local lizard populations are now extinct, Sinervo said. “This will surely have driven some endemic species to the brink of extinction, if not over the precipice,” he said in an interview via e-mail.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100513/ap_on_sc/us_sci_lizards_threatened;_ylt=AuXLmphpmuqLOUCrMAVqXCWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFlbGFrMDVtBHBvcwMxMTYEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9zY2llbmNlBHNsawNyaXNpbmdnbG9iYWw-
Yes John (#1 above) I agree, it is pretty depressing. If you are waiting for that number to decline you will only compound your frustration. We, the nations of the world, have done very little to reduce CO2 emissions so I would not expect to see a reduction in atmospheric concentrations any time soon. I believe a slight slow down in the rate of increase can be seen for 2009 due to the recession. No policy currently in place will reduce the concentration; we only hope to slow it down a little. Eventually, we would like to stop adding more CO2 to the atmosphere but we are nowhere even close to being able to do that.
392.39ppm
April 2010 392.39
April 2009 389.46
April 2008 387.18
Atmospheric CO2 for April 2010
Preliminary data released May 10, 2010 (NOAA-ESRL MLO)
Atmospheric CO2 is accelerating upward from decade to decade. In the past ten years, the average annual rate of increase was 1.91 parts per million (ppm). This rate of increase is more than double what it was during the first ten years of CO2 instrument measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory. See the details in the table below.
Decade Annual Rate of Increase (Atmospheric CO2)
2000 – 2009 1.92 ppm
1990 – 1999 1.52 ppm
1980 – 1989 1.61 ppm
1970 – 1979 1.22 ppm
1960 – 1969 0.86 ppm
http://co2now.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172&Itemid=32
“2.93″ increase to last year. When it was 2008-2009 “2.28″.
Comparsion emission growth is “0.65″ increase.
That is almost what it took during 1969 and 1989 : 0.86 ppm / 1.61 ppm “0.75″. Then from 1989 till today the decade rate has been just increased by 0.31 ppm – 1989 : 1.61 ppm / 2009 : 1.92 ppm
Takeing into account the rate has still evolved – accelerates and given the current situation on climate and affords to throttle down emissions already and with positive feedbacks getting more pronounced, we can assume that the rate will further speed up.
Further checking the data and what science tells us means we hitting soon a point of no return.
Criticism of Secret Oil Dispersant in Gulf Grows Louder in U.S.
Concern that contaminants will be insidious and persistent in ecosystems
Scientists and ocean advocates stepped up warnings this week of potential dangers from chemical dispersants, as oil giant BP released unprecedented amounts of a classified and toxic chemical to thin the Gulf of Mexico oil slick before it reaches shore.
http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100513/criticism-secret-oil-dispersant-gulf-grows-louder-u-s
Explosive Growth for LED Lights in Next Decade, Report Says
Next-generation bulbs to capture nearly 50% of lighting market by 2020
A new report finds that the market for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is set to explode in the next ten years, surpassing even compact fluorescent lightbulbs as the ultimate energy-efficient lighting option.
By 2020, LEDs will cover 46 percent of the $4.4 billion U.S. market for lamps in the commercial, industrial and outdoor stationary sectors, driven by the overall push toward energy efficiency, according to a study released this week by Pike Research, a Boulder, Colo. cleantech market-research firm. That’s a big jump, considering that LEDs now capture only two percent of the lighting market, according to estimates.
http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100513/explosive-growth-led-lights-next-decade-report-says
Mysterious Oarfish Found in Sweden
Earlier this week, though, a hiker on a Swedish beach not far from the border with Norway came upon the 10-foot-long cadaver of a giant oarfish, also known as the king of herrings. It was the first time such a fish had been seen in Swedish waters in 130 years.
‘I Still Can’t Believe It’
The fish found in Sweden was taken to the maritime museum in Lysekil. “It is unbelievable, I still can’t believe it,” a museum employee told the Swedish media.
Despite the rarity of giant oarfish sightings, the Swedish specimen is not the first to have ventured into the North Sea. In February 2009, two of them washed up on English beaches within weeks of each other.
“Very little is known about the life cycle of these magnificent creatures and it’s a mystery why two of them should have washed up on our coastlines so close together,” Zahra d’Aronville, a curator at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth, where one of the fish was found, told the online publication Journal Live.
This spring, 10 specimens either washed up on Japanese beaches or were caught in Japanese fishing nets, prompting concerns that the archipelago was soon to be hit by an earthquake. Traditional lore in the country holds that the rarely sighted fish rise to the surface to warn of impending temblors.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,694654,00.html
Part of CO2 concentration increase is due to deforestation. Has that been increasing?
From wiki
Disregard or ignorance of intrinsic value, lack of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental law are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation is an ongoing issue that is causing extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of indigenous people.
Among countries with a per capita GDP of at least US$4,600, net deforestation rates have ceased to increase.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_by_region
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertification
Positive feedbacks contributing to the acceleration of greenhouse gas emissions. As the numbers indicate – prove amplifying uptake.
Stunner: Nature review of 20 years of field studies finds soils emitting more CO2 as planet warms
Biogeochemist: “… perhaps most likely explanation is that increasing temperatures have increased rates of decomposition of soil organic matter, which has increased the flow of CO2. If true, this is an important finding: that a positive feedback to climate change is already occurring at a detectable level in soils.”
One of the single greatest concerns of climate scientists is that human-caused warming will cause amplifying feedbacks in the carbon-cycle. Such positive feedbacks, whereby an initial warming releases carbon into the air that causes more warming, would increase both the speed and scale of climate change, greatly complicating both mitigation and adaptation.
“There’s a big pulse of carbon dioxide coming off of the surface of the soil everywhere in the world,” said ecologist Ben Bond-Lamberty of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “We weren’t sure if we’d be able to measure it going into this analysis, but we did find a response to temperature.”
The increase in carbon dioxide given off by soils — about 0.1 petagram (100 million metric tons) per year since 1989 — won’t contribute to the greenhouse effect unless it comes from carbon that had been locked away out of the system for a long time, such as in Arctic tundra. This analysis could not distinguish whether the carbon was coming from old stores or from vegetation growing faster due to a warmer climate. But other lines of evidence suggest warming is unlocking old carbon, said Bond-Lamberty, so it will be important to determine the sources of extra carbon.
Indeed the study itself concludes:
The available data are, however, consistent with an acceleration of the terrestrial carbon cycle in response to global climate change.
The most worrisome amplifying feedback is the defrosting of the tundra (see “Science stunner: Vast East Siberian Arctic Shelf methane stores destabilizing and venting). Another major, related feedback now appears to be soil respiration, whereby plants and microbes in the soil give off more carbon dioxide as the planet warms.
http://climateprogress.org/2010/03/04/science-nsf-tundra-permafrost-methane-east-siberian-arctic-shelf-venting/
http://climateprogress.org/2010/03/25/nature-soils-carbon-dioxided-feedback-global-warming/
Vague link to CC…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/13/pakistani-lake-villagers-landslide
Lieutenant General Shahid Niaz said 25,000 people had already left by boat after the lake covered roads leading out of from the Upper Hunza valley following the landslide on 4 January.
Up close Gulf Oil photos…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26712235@N04/sets/72157623921782751/show/
Hi,
In looking at the photos of the oil rig burning wouldn’t some sort of
wick need be added to keep the fire burning once the rig sank.
Seems that much won’t survive the incident.
GM crop use makes minor pests major problem
Growing cotton that has been genetically modified to poison its main pest can lead to a boom in the numbers of other insects, a ten-year study in northern China has found.
In 1997, the Chinese government approved the commercial cultivation of cotton plants genetically modified to produce a toxin from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that is deadly to the bollworm Helicoverpa armigera. Outbreaks of larvae of the cotton bollworm moth in the early 1990s had hit crop yields and profits, and the pesticides used to control the bollworm damaged the environment and caused thousands of deaths from poisoning each year.
Pesticide use rising as Chinese farmers fight insects thriving on transgenic crop.
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100513/full/news.2010.242.html
Venezuelan natural gas platform sinks in Caribbean
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8679981.stm
CBC
China in another oilsands deal
Sovereign wealth fund paying a total of $1.25B
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/05/13/china-penn-west.html#ixzz0nupBQ9rp
re: “U.S. lags China on climate change — Europe climate chief”
“The United States’ future as a global economic power depends on what it does to fight global warming and it is lagging behind other countries like China . . . Beijing was making great strides against global warming.”
1. China’s buy-in to hybrid human-electric transit is much lower especially since there are already 430 million cyclists and 120 million people using electric bicycles and these systems would be considered a significant step up. China just has to come to its senses and stop copying our dopey transportation technology choices.
2. It has appropriated $100 billion for high-speed rail which is likely to require ongoing subsidies. Hybrid human-electric transit would be a much less costly and a much more practical high-mobility solution.
3. Rapidly accelerating emissions caused by large increases in heavy industries including steel and car industries will further accelerate the local Chinese environmental crisis with little option but to seek out and embrace much more sensible environmentally low-footprint technologies.
4. Should Chinese transportation systems flip over to those based on hybrid human-electric systems it would likely create significant systemic efficiencies enhancing productivity sufficient to greatly amplify China’s economic advantages over the United States.
I know Joe is a proponent of solar thermal power. I have been having a debate in the comment section of an article over at Grist. I posted some info about the benefits of solar thermal, and Gene Preston posted a few comments that claim solar thermal is too expensive, and that energy secretary Chu has given up on it because its four times too expensive. I don’t know where he’s getting that information. Anyone care to put their two cents in? Here’s the link.
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05-08-obamas-failure-on-climate-change/N30#