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Author Topic: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth  (Read 46210 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #255 on: May 03, 2017, 04:49:31 pm »
California legislative leaders call for 100 percent renewable energy   
 

Greg Alvarez 
May 3, 2017
 
Yesterday, the leader of the California Senate, Kevin de Leon, proposed a bill that would transition California to 100 percent renewable retail electricity.

That would improve upon the state’s existing renewable energy standard, which calls for 50 percent renewables by 2030. Under the new legislation the state would hit that target five years early, and would achieve its 100 percent renewable goal by 2045.

I realized that the investor-owned utilities are going to hit 50 percent by the early-to-mid 2020s without breaking a sweat ,” de Leon said. “So, we should accelerate this process and demonstrate to the entire world that we can actually generate 100 percent of our electricity with clean energy and put people to work.” 

Danielle Osborn Mills, Director of AWEA’s California Caucus, praised the move:

“The wind industry stands ready to create jobs and provide affordable, reliable, clean energy to Californians. Wind energy is already a no-regrets alternative to fossil fuels, and it is a key component of a diverse, balanced, low-carbon grid. Accelerating our renewable energy targets to get to 50% renewables by 2026 can help Californians capture significant savings from the declining federal tax incentives for renewable energy, and will promote significant additional direct investment in California.

“This bill isn’t just about a long-term vision, it is about near-term action.  We cannot afford to delay.  SB 100 will ensure continued economic growth, improved environmental quality for all, and resilience in the face of uncertainty.” 

http://www.aweablog.org/california-legislative-leaders-call-100-percent-renewable-energy/

Agelbert NOTE: Trump and his fossil fuel based wrecking crew will, of course, try to sabotage these CommonFuckingSense efforts in California. My advice to them and all their buddies from the Kochtopus is to bring a sandwich.
We California Kitties understand the Fossil Fuel Industry MO in general and that of the Koch Brothers in particular. They've been at it for many years (see 2011 videos below). But NOW, at least in OUR state, it's OVER for them and their hired liars and crooks!

The Koch Brothers & Their Amazing Climate Change Denial Machine


Uploaded on Jun 13, 2011
A short animation detailing the effort of billionaires oil barons Charles & David Koch to undermine belief in climate change and prevent legislation that threatens their profits. By pouring money into bogus scientific studies and funding third parties such as Think Tanks and Front Groups (posing as everything from Seniors groups to Women's groups) the public is led to believe a genuine scientific debate is raging. In truth, as one climate denier candidly admits, those doubting the science are just a small, if brilliantly coordinated, minority.

The piece was made by Australian filmmaker Taki Oldham and incorporates footage from his 55 min. documentary The Billionaires' Tea Party (2011).
Attack of the Kochtopus! (Original)
Published on Mar 2, 2011
See more at http://www.zinasaunders.com






He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #256 on: May 09, 2017, 11:19:10 pm »


Top Five Reasons Fossil Fuel Companies Should Diversify into Renewables Now
 
And why one expert believes they need to step up the pace. 

May 8, 2017

By Jennifer Runyon 
Chief Editor

SNIPPET:

2. The transition to renewables is happening faster than expected.

Lovins pointed out the dramatic fall in renewable energy prices for electricity. Dong energy’s recent bid for offshore wind at the market price for electricity is just one of many examples he gave.

“The EU wind power price in 8-9 months last year fell by 43 percent,” he said.

Just as the transition from horse and buggies to automobiles took just over a decade (In only 13 years, the Easter Day parade in New York City went from one dominated by horses and buggies to one in which there we no horses of any kind to be seen), the transition to renewable energy could be much swifter than companies realize.  Lovins predicted that there will be more EVs on the road than internal combustion engines in 10 years.
 



http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/top-five-reasons-fossil-fuel-companies-should-diversify-into-renewables-now.html
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #257 on: May 19, 2017, 03:20:13 pm »
Renewable Energy Is Unstoppable, Declares Financial Times  :o  ;D

May 19th, 2017 by Steve Hanley

SNIPPET:

With more then 2.2 million readers a day, the Financial Times is the newspaper of record for economists, business leaders, and government policy makers worldwide. Think Progress claims FT, as it is known to its readers, is the “most important business read” and “the most credible publication in reporting financial and economic issues” for global professional investors, business leaders, and policy makers according to surveys.

On May 18, its lead story was entitled: The Big Green Bang: How Renewable Energy Became Unstoppable. It begins with a question, one that should leave fossil fuel industry leaders feeling glum — “Is the 21st century the last one for fossil fuels?” Before we start rejoicing, keep in mind there are still 83 years left to go in this century and the fossil fuel industry intends to extract and sell every molecule of fossil fuels it can find before the end times for oil, natural gas, and coal arrive. By the time 2101 gets here, the earth may have been unalterably changed to the point where human existence as we know it is no longer possible.

Bill McKibben, in his insightful book, Oil And Honey, makes the case clearly. The environment can withstand perhaps another 565 gigatons of carbon emissions before the environment tips over into unsustainability. After that, most of the species presently alive will simply disappear, the oceans will rise by an average of 12 feet, and global temperatures will increase to the point where traditional agriculture becomes impossible. Our children’s children may not roast to death but they very well might die of starvation.

McKibben then drops the other shoe. The world’s fossil fuel companies have reserves which, if consumed, will release 2,795 gigatons of carbon emissions into the world’s already overloaded ecosystem — five times more than the environment can possibly absorb. If the fossil fuel companies dropped nuclear bombs on society, they would be vilified as monsters. But 2,795 gigatons worth of carbon may be worse than a nuclear attack. Radiation begins to abate after a few hundred years. It may be a million years of more the earth is able to recover from the fossil fuel bomb the Koch Brothers and their ilk have in mind.



https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/19/renewable-energy-unstoppable-declares-financial-times/


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #258 on: May 23, 2017, 08:29:08 pm »


22 May 2017 | Sören Amelang, Benjamin Wehrmann, Julian Wettengel   

Germany & China appeal to US on climate / Swiss vote for Energiewende


Germany, China call on US to remain in Paris Agreement

Germany and China reiterated their calls on the US administration to commit to international climate protection efforts and stay in the Paris Agreement at a climate conference in Berlin. Germany is currently trying “on all levels” to persuade the US administration to stay in the agreement, said environment minister Barbara Hendricks at a press conference ahead of the 8th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, held 22 – 23 May in Berlin. China's Special Representative on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua said that “no country, no people” could stop the global trend towards climate protection.
The Petersberg Climate Dialogue gives countries the opportunity to informally exchange experiences on international climate policy.

Follow the public segments of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue via livestream here and find the programme in English here.


G20 must promote climate protection

G20 countries must promote climate protection and the implementation of the Paris Agreement, said the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Germanwatch and Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) in a joint press release ahead of the 8th Petersberg Climate Dialogue. The meeting in Berlin today and tomorrow should provide the necessary tailwind for the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, they said. BDI deputy managing director Holger Lösch called on G20 governments to lay the groundwork for a CO₂ price at the Hamburg summit.

Swiss give green light for renewables and nuclear phase-out

A clear majority of voters in Switzerland have opted for a new energy law that aims to promote renewable energy, bans construction of new nuclear plants and fosters greater energy efficiency, Urs Geiser writes on swissinfo.ch. About 58 percent of Swiss voters in a referendum on Sunday backed the government’s Energy Strategy 2050 programme, which had been debated for six years, Geiser writes. Swiss energy Minister Doris Leuthard said the vote opened “a new chapter in Switzerland’s energy policy,” but there was “still a lot of work to do.”

Read the article in English here.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #259 on: May 25, 2017, 06:35:05 pm »
Joshua D. Rhodes, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in The Webber Energy Group and the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. His current research is in the area of smart grid and the bulk electricity system, including spatial system-level applications and impacts of energy efficiency, resource planning, distributed generation, and storage. He is also interested in policy.

Are Solar and Wind Really Killing Coal, Nuclear and Grid Reliability? 

SNIPPET:


May 25, 2017

By Joshua D. Rhodes, Michael E. Webber, Thomas Deetjen and Todd Davidson

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in April requested a study to assess the effect of renewable energy policies on nuclear and coal-fired power plants.

Some energy analysts responded with confusion, as the subject has been extensively studied by grid operators and the Department of Energy’s own national labs. Others were more critical, saying the intent of the review is to favor the use of nuclear and coal over renewable sources.

So, are wind and solar killing coal and nuclear? Yes   ;D , but not by themselves and not for the reasons most people think. Are wind and solar killing grid reliability? No, not where the grid’s technology and regulations have been modernized. In those places, overall grid operation has improved, not worsened.

To understand why, we need to trace the path of electrons from the wall socket back to power generators and the markets and policies that dictate that flow. As energy scholars based in Texas — the national leader in wind — we’ve seen these dynamics play out over the past decade, including when Perry was governor.

Wrong Question 


There has been a lot of ink spilled on why coal is in trouble. A quick recap: Natural gas is plentiful and cheap. Our coal fleet is old and depreciated. Energy use in the U.S. has flatlined, so there’s less financial incentive to build big new power plants.

Part of Perry’s review  ;) is aimed at establishing how wind and solar, which are variable sources of power, are affecting so-called baseload sources — the power plants that provide the steady flow of electricity needed to meet the minimum demand.

Posing the question whether wind and solar are killing baseload generators, including coal plants, reveals an antiquated mindset about power markets that hasn’t been relevant in many places for at least a decade. It would be similar to asking in the late 1990s whether email was killing fax machines and snail mail. The answer would have been an unequivocal “yes” followed by cheers of “hallelujah” and “it’s about time” because both had bumped into the limits of their utility. How quickly 1990s consumers leaped to something faster, less impactful and cheaper than the older approach was a sign that they were ready for it.

Something similar is happening in today’s power markets, as customers again choose faster, less impactful, cheaper options — namely wind, solar and natural gas plants that quickly boost or cut their output — as opposed to clinging to the outdated, lumbering options developed decades before. Even the Department of Energy’s own analysis states that “many of the old paradigms that govern the (electricity) sector are also evolving.”

Wind and solar are making older generators less viable because their low, stable prices and emissions-free operation are desirable. And they aren’t hurting grid reliability the way critics had assumed because other innovations have happened simultaneously.


Texas Pioneer

Let’s use the case study of Texas to illustrate. Since Texas has its own grid, known as the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT, and has installed more wind capacity than the next three wind-leading states combined, the Texas experience shows what variable renewables like wind power do to the grid.

In competitive markets like ERCOT, companies that run power plants place bids into an auction to provide electricity at a certain time for a certain price. A bid stack is jargon for “a stack of bids” — or the collection of all these bids lined up in order by price — in auction-based markets (such as Texas).

Markets use bid stacks to make sure that the lowest-cost power plants are dispatched first and the most expensive power plants are dispatched last. This market-based system is designed to deliver the lowest-cost electricity to consumers while also keeping power plant owners from operating at a loss. Throughout the day, the market price for electricity (in $/MWh) changes as demand changes.

Full EYE OPENING article (though Palloy's eyes will continue to be tightly shut  :P) with irrefutable animated charts and hard data proving that Renewables make the Grid MORE RELIABLE , not less:

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/are-solar-and-wind-really-killing-coal-nuclear-and-grid-reliability.html


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #260 on: May 25, 2017, 10:43:46 pm »
Is the Fossil Fuel Industry Actually Dying?


May 23, 2017

Thom talks about a piece speculating on the imminent death of the fossil fuel industry. It could happen sooner than we think! 
 
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AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #261 on: May 26, 2017, 02:37:38 pm »
New Solar Projects In India Are Cheaper Than 92% Of All Thermal Power Plants In The Country  ;D

May 25th, 2017 by Saurabh Mahapatra

SNIPPET:

According to the data for 2014-15, there are 248 thermal power plants in India based on a variety of fuels including coal, lignite, imported coal, diesel and different forms of petroleum-based fuels. The new low of solar power tariffs — Rs 2.44/kWh — is less than the tariff of 227 of the 248 thermal power plants.

Most of the cheaper 21 thermal power plants are based on domestic coal while a few are based on lignite and one uses imported coal. Another thermal power plant that is not listed among the 248 is India’s largest thermal power plant, Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant which has an installed capacity of 3,960 megawatts. This is also among the cheapest thermal power plants in India.

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/05/25/new-solar-projects-india-cheaper-92-thermal-power-plants-country/
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AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #262 on: June 06, 2017, 10:45:40 pm »



Top 10 States Leading the Renewable Energy Revolution


05 June, 2017 By Ralph Cavanagh

SNIPPET:

California continues to lead the way on clean energy, but energy efficiency and renewables are gaining major ground across the country, a new ranking of states and cities shows. Six states now get at least a fifth of their power from non-hydro renewable sources such as wind and solar—further confirmation that regardless of the Trump administration's efforts to promote fossil-fuel interests, clean energy is making undeniable inroads.

The Golden State and Massachusetts lead the eighth annual U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index from the research firm Clean Edge for a fifth year in a row, the latter bolstered by its strong record of energy efficiency and private investment in clean tech. Vermont, Oregon and New York round out the top five.

The ranking scores each state on the policies, capital (both financial and human), and technology each has deployed to scale up clean energy. California, of course, has long been a leader in all three areas, with more solar energy generation than any other state, 1.2 million electric and hybrid cars on the road and $9.5 billion in clean-tech venture capital funding over the past three years.



San Francisco, San Jose, Washington, DC, San Diego and Portland, Oregon, top the cities ranking, based on criteria including green buildings and transportation. "There are no weak spots in the City by the Bay's performance," the report said, highlighting San Francisco's strong adoption of clean vehicles and an increased commitment to measuring, reporting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Washington rose two spots in the ranking this year in part on the strength of its building stock and public transit ridership.

The adoption of clean energy across the U.S. is a trend that supersedes politics. The top 10 list for renewable electricity generation as a share of the total is split evenly between red states and blue states, with Iowa showing large gains in wind since 2009 and Nevada adding geothermal power.

Overall, wind and solar accounted for 61 percent of the new electric capacity added in 2016, the report said. And while the clean energy sector helps the nation cut planet-warming carbon emissions and clear the air, it is also creating jobs, an indicator that Clean Edge added to its analysis this year for the first time.

In Vermont, which fell to third in the rankings overall, clean energy jobs accounted for the largest share of total jobs (four percent) compared to other states.

Full article with encouraging graphics:

https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-state-index-2428109809.html
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AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #263 on: June 20, 2017, 03:02:13 pm »
 

Renewables Transition: Just How Much?

 The US electric grid can reliably handle up to 80% renewable energy by 2030, according to new research that pushes back against claims from the Trump administration that renewables are a threat to the grid’s reliability. The study from over 20 researchers published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences also functions as a rebuttal to a 2015 paper claiming the US can reach a 100 percent renewable grid by 2055. Both studies argue for an aggressive increase in US energy use. Lead author of the PNAS study Chris Clack told the Washington Post that “a peer reviewed piece to highlight some of the mistakes [of the 2015 study]” was necessary to “have a broader discussion about what we really need to fight climate change.” Lead author of the 2015 paper, Stanford professor Mark Jacobsen, has pushed back aggressively against the new paper on Twitter and in the press. 

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19062017/100-percent-renewable-energy-climate-change-targets
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AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #264 on: June 20, 2017, 04:46:42 pm »
Experts Conclude Shifting US Power Mix Does Not Endanger System Reliability  

June 20th, 2017 by Joshua S Hill

SNIPPET:

Back in April, Energy Secretary Rick Perry penned a memo (PDF), directing his Chief of Staff to “initiate a study to explore critical issues central to protecting the long-term reliability of the electric grid” and using the full resources of the Energy Department. Secretary Perry ordered the report to be completed 60 days from April 19, which means we’re now right on top of expecting the report to drop.

A month later, four national business groups representing US renewable energy interests submitted materials to the Energy Secretary in an attempt to inform him of the importance and value of renewable energy sources and their contribution to protecting electricity reliability in the United States.

The four groups — Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) — each penned a separate report and expressed their regret that the Department of Energy had ignored calls for “an open and transparent process for the review of reliability and electricity markets.”

In the cover letter penned by the four groups, they write,

Quote
“It is in the spirit of common purpose that we express our disappointment that the Department has apparently chosen not to make this review — which as outlined in your memo has the potential to upend energy markets around the country — public and open to input from industry, grid operators, state regulators, and other key stakeholders.”


Shares of Total US Net Generation by Fuel: 2005 vs. 2016



https://cleantechnica.com/2017/06/20/experts-conclude-shifting-us-power-mix-not-endanger-system-reliability/
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AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #265 on: June 22, 2017, 10:13:03 pm »
Renewables to Grab $7 Trillion of Global Power Investment, Says BNEF

June 15, 2017

By Kelvin Ross 
         
Renewables will account for almost three quarters of global investment in power generation between now and 2040, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

In its New Energy Outlook 2017, Bloomberg estimates that $10.2 trillion will be spent on power generation technology in the next 22 years, with clean energy grabbing $7.4 trillion.

“This year’s report suggests that the greening of the world’s electricity system is unstoppable, thanks to rapidly falling costs for solar and wind power, and a growing role for batteries, including those in electric vehicles, in balancing supply and demand,” said Seb Henbest, lead author of the report.

Of the $7.4 trillion Bloomberg expects to be invested in new renewable energy plants by 2040, solar will account for $2.8 trillion, which will provide a 14-fold jump in capacity, while wind gets $3.3 trillion and sees a fourfold increase in capacity.

As a result, wind and solar will make up 48 percent of the world’s installed capacity and 34 percent of electricity generation by 2040, compared with just 12 and 5 percent now,” said Henbest.

The report states that the levelized cost of electricity from solar PV, which is now almost a quarter of what it was in 2009, is set to drop another 66 percent by 2040. “By then a dollar will buy 2.3 times as much solar energy than it does today. Solar is already at least as cheap as coal in Germany, Australia, the U.S., Spain and Italy,” said Henbest. “By 2021, it will be cheaper than coal in China, India, Mexico, the U.K. and Brazil as well.”

Meanwhile the report forecasts that offshore wind levelized costs will “slide a whopping 71 percent by 2040, helped by development experience, competition and reduced risk, and economies of scale resulting from larger projects and bigger turbines.” It predicts the cost of onshore wind will fall 47 percent in the same period, on top of the 30 percent drop of the past eight years, thanks to cheaper, more efficient turbines and streamlined operating and maintenance procedures.

In terms of countries leading the way in investment, China and India dominate, accounting for what Bloomberg calls “a $4 trillion opportunity for the energy sector.” The report states China will account for 28 percent and India 11 percent of all investment in power generation by 2040. Indeed, the Asia Pacific region sees almost as much investment in generation as the rest of the world combined. Of this, just under a third goes to wind and solar each, 18 percent to nuclear and 10 percent to coal and gas.

The report finds that the reach of renewables will be boosted by the rise of battery technology. “We expect the lithium-ion battery market for energy storage to be worth at least $239 billion between now and 2040,” said Henbest. “Utility-scale batteries increasingly compete with natural gas to provide system flexibility at times of peak demand. Small-scale batteries installed by households and businesses alongside PV systems will account for 57 percent of storage worldwide by 2040. We anticipate renewable energy reaching 74 percent penetration in Germany by 2040, 38 percent in the U.S., 55 percent in China and 49 percent in India.”

Electric vehicles are also predicted to play a role in bolstering electricity use and balancing the grid. In Europe and the U.S., Bloomberg estimates that EVs will account for 13 and 12 percent, respectively, of electricity generation by 2040. “Charging EVs flexibly, when renewables are generating and wholesale prices are low, will help the system adapt to intermittent solar and wind. The growth of EVs pushes the cost of lithium-ion batteries down 73 percent by 2030,” explained Henbest.

The sharp rise in renewables investment is of course predicted to impact on fossil fuel generation. “Coal-fired power collapses in Europe and the U.S.,  ;D” says the report. “Sluggish demand, cheap renewables and coal-to-gas fuel switching will slash coal use by 87 percent in Europe by 2040. In the US, coal use in power drops 45 percent as old plants are not replaced and others start burning cheaper gas. Coal generation in China grows by a fifth over the next decade but reaches a peak in 2026. Globally, we expect 369 GW of planned new coal plants to be cancelled, a third of which are in India, and for global demand for thermal coal in power to decline by 15 percent over 2016-40.”

And Bloomberg stresses that gas will be a transition fuel, “but not in the way most people think.”

The report states that gas-fired power will see $804 billion in new investment and 16 percent more capacity by 2040. “Gas plants will increasingly act as one of the flexible technologies needed to help meet peaks and provide system stability in an age of rising renewable generation, rather than as a replacement for baseload coal,” said Henbest. “In the Americas, however, where gas is plentiful and cheap, it plays a more central role, especially in the near term.”

Despite a pro-coal stance taken by U.S. President Donald Trump, the report indicates that “the economic realities over the next two decades will not favor U.S. coal-fired power, which is forecast to see a 51 percent reduction in generation by 2040. In its place, gas-fired electricity will rise 22 percent and renewables 169 percent.”

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/06/renewables-to-grab-7-trillion-of-global-power-investment-says-bnef.html


Kelvin Ross is Editor of Power Engineering International magazine and its associated publications – Middle East Energy and the Global Power Review. Previously, Kelvin was News Editor at UK online news site Energy Live News, Production Editor and Head of Design on daily international shipping newspaper Lloyd’s List, Deputy Editor for a group of weekly London newspapers and has worked as a freelance sub-editor on UK national newspapers.
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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #266 on: July 11, 2017, 10:15:35 pm »
JULY 11, 2017 / 3:07 AM

Electricity investment overtakes oil, gas for first time ever in 2016: IEA 


PARIS (Reuters) - Investments in electricity surpassed those in oil and gas for the first time ever in 2016 on a spending splurge on renewable energy and power grids as the fall in crude prices led to deep cuts, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.

Total energy investment fell for the second straight year by 12 percent to $1.7 trillion compared with 2015, the IEA said. Oil and gas investments plunged 26 percent to $650 billion, down by over a quarter in 2016, and electricity generation slipped 5 percent.

"This decline (in energy investment) is attributed to two reasons," IEA chief economist Laszlo Varro told journalists.

"The reaction of the oil and gas industry to the prolonged period of low oil prices which was a period of harsh investment cuts; and technological progress which is reducing investment costs in both renewable power and in oil and gas," he said.

Oil and gas investment is expected to rebound modestly by 3 percent in 2017, driven by a 53 percent upswing in U.S. shale, and spending in Russia and the Middle East, the IEA said in a report.

"The rapid ramp up of U.S. shale activities has triggered an increase of U.S. shale costs of 16 percent in 2017 after having almost halved from 2014-16," the report said.

The global electricity sector, however, was the largest recipient of energy investment in 2016 for the first time ever, overtaking oil, gas and coal combined, the report said.

"Robust investments in renewable energy and increased spending in electricity networks, made electricity the biggest area of capital investments," Varro said.

Electricity investment worldwide was $718 billion, lifted by higher spending in power grids which offset the fall in power generation investments.

"Investment in new renewables-based power capacity, at $297 billion, remained the largest area of electricity spending, despite falling back by 3 percent," the report said.

Although renewables investments was 3 percent lower than five years ago, capacity additions were 50 percent higher and expected output from this capacity about 35 percent higher, thanks to the fall in unit costs and technology improvements in solar PV and wind generation, the IEA said.

Investments in coal-fired electricity plants fell sharply. Sanctioning of new coal power plants fell to the lowest level in nearly 15 years, reflecting concerns about local air pollution, and emergence of overcapacity and competition from renewables, notably in China. Coal investments, however, grew in India.

"Coal investment is coming to an end. At the very least, it is coming to a pause," Varro said.

The IEA report said energy efficiency investments continued to expand in 2016, reaching $231 billion, with most of it going to the building sector globally.

Electric vehicles sales rose 38 percent in 2016 to 750,000 vehicles at $6 billion, and represented 10 percent of all transport efficiency spending. Some $6 billion was spent globally on electronic vehicle charging stations, the IEA said.

Spending on electricity networks and storage continued the steady rise of the past five years, reaching an all-time high of $277 billion in 2016, with 30 percent of the expansion driven by China’s spending in its distribution system, the report said.

China led the world in energy investments with 21 percent of global total share, the report said, driven by low-carbon electricity supply and networks projects.

Although oil and gas investments fell in the United States in 2016, its total energy investments rose 16 percent on the back of spending in renewables projects, the IEA report said.

Editing by Susan Thomas

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-service-idUSKBN19W1GS
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #267 on: July 22, 2017, 05:21:27 pm »

China Achieves 7.2-GW New Solar Capacity Milestone in 1Q17

July 20, 2017

By Liu Yuanyuan  Director of Operations solar
         
China has installed 7.21 GW of new solar capacity in the first quarter of 2017, achieving another renewable energy milestone with growth maintaining the same pace as during 1Q16. Of that total, 4.78 GW came from utility-scale solar, with the remaining 2.43 GW originating from distributed solar PV, bringing the country’s cumulative solar PV capacity up to almost 85 GW. The country generated 21.4 billion kWh of electricity during the quarter, up 80 percent over the same period of a year earlier, according to statistics from China’s National Energy Administration (NEA).

The lion’s share of new solar PV capacity was located in the central and eastern regions of the country, accounting for 6.39 GW or 89 percent of the total new capacity added. China’s key PV market is gradually transitioning from the country’s western and northern interior to the center and along the eastern coast, with the 2.43 GW of new distributed solar PV overwhelmingly located in just four provinces: Zhejiang, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu.

However, curtailment issues continued to plague various regions during the quarter. While abandonment figures for Ningxia and Gansu dropped by 10 percent and 19 percent respectively, Qinghai, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia all saw time outs due to a curtailment increase of 9 percent, 11 percent, and 8 percent respectively, with the amount of time that Xinjiang’s wind plants sat idle remaining at an astronomically high 39 percent.  :(

Following an in-depth analysis of the industry and the leading industry players, the China National Renewable Energy Centre predicted the country’s newly-added installed solar capacity for the first half of the year would reach 24 GW, including roughly 17 GW from utility-scale solar.

The remaining 7 GW came from distributed solar PV, nearly three times what was added during the same period in 2016. During the second half of the year, the distributed solar PV sector is expected to maintain rapid growth, with anticipated newly added installed capacity reaching more than 7 GW, driven by the country’s favorable policies to drive development of the sector. For the full year of 2017, the country’s total newly added installed solar capacity has a good chance of exceeding 40 GW, the center predicted.

But ambitious targets do not necessarily translate into results. To achieve those goals, China would need to overcome chronic problems in its energy sector. The sector remained hobbled by severe overcapacity. Slowing demand for electricity due to the economic downturn and the slashing of energy intensive industries has caused widespread under-utilization of existing power generation capacities which are seeing their lowest utilization hours since 1978. :o 

Yet, consolidation and restructuring across China’s solar PV sector is expected to lead to stability in terms of the sector’s further development.   

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/07/china-achieves-7-2-mw-new-solar-capacity-milestone-in-1q17.html
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #268 on: July 29, 2017, 12:40:13 pm »

“Drawdown” — The Definitive Guide To Combating Climate Change

July 29th, 2017 by Steve Hanley

SNIPPET:

Drawdown Surprises  :o

We here at CleanTechnica, we focus heavily on the electrification of the transportation sector. That is critically important, of course, but would you care to guess what the one area is that we as a people have total control over and that has the potential to keep more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere than making every car and truck on the planet run on electricity?

#1 is something we have touched on here only briefly — refrigerant management. Read more about it on page 164. The authors estimate that this one area could keep nearly 90 gigatons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Electric cars? About 4 gigatons.  :P

Here are the other 9 items on the Top 10 list and their carbon reduction potential:

Wind Turbines (Onshore) — 84.60 gigatons
Reduced Food Waste — 70.53 gigatons
Plant-rich diet — 66.11 gigatons
Tropical Forests — 61.23 gigatons
Educating Girls    — 59.60 gigatons
Family Planning — 59.60 gigatons
Solar Farms — 36.90 gigatons
Silvopasture — 31.19 gigatons
Rooftop Solar — 24.60 gigatons


There are 80 items on the list. Total cost if all were fully implemented? $27.4 trillion. That’s a lot of cash, right?

However will we pay for all that?
   ??? 
With savings, people — or deferred costs. The authors estimated total economic savings at just under $74 trillion.



Deferred Gratification 

The trick, of course, is that the costs come up front. The savings often come later. Human beings seem genetically incapable of making hard choices today that will have extraordinary benefits later. Deferred gratification could be the death knell for the capitalist model prevalent in most countries today.

Pie-in-the-sky projections about future savings are discounted.    Either they are treated as irrelevant or derided as #FakeNews. 

The world operates on what I like to call the Wimpy Theory. Wimpy was a character in Popeye cartoons (some of you may be old enough to remember watching cartoons on television on Saturday mornings). Wimpy had one line that he used all the time. It went like this: “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheeseburger today.” It’s the “kick the can down the road” theory of global management and it will kill us all if we don’t stop — all except the lucky few who can escape to Mars aboard Elon Musk’s magic carpet.  ::)


Full article:

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/29/drawdown-definitive-guide-combating-climate-change/

Agelbert NOTE: I have a couple of things to say.

First of all, the contents of this article should be required reading for everyone that can read, not just students.

The issue of Deferred Gratification is not new. t is called Common Sense and every religion out there advocates it. Only the SCAM called "greed is good" Capitalism actually labels deferred gratifcation as a "weakness". That explains why Capitalism has been so morally destructive to human society and environmentally disastrous to the biosphere.

Theresa Morris wrote an excellent Essay that fleshes out what we must do. The article here deals with nuts and bolts economic realities. Theresa goes further and explains specifically WHY we should opt for deferred gratification as a matter of ethics, not just survival. I added graphics to underline the importance of her essay and some comments at the end. But the work is hers and it deserves to be broadcast far and wide, just like the article here.

I am posting here two of the graphics I included in my comments on Theresa's Essay in order to explain to readers how TPTB, who are well aware of the dangers inherent in climate change (though they won't admit it), plan to make all the rest of us pay for what those actually DOING over 90%  (about ONE percent of the world population) of the damage are liable for (i.e. environmental damage through government policies subsidizing polluters actively and passively through mendacious happy talk propaganda born of corporate corruption).

IOW, those responsible for the damage plan to spread the cost to further enrich the oligarchic polluters that got us into this mess in the first place. The operative phrase is "Fragmentation of Agency". 

The "Agency" definition here is the responsibility for harm and the consequent responsibility to pay for mitigating said harm. 

"Fragmentation" refers to what percentage of all those with Agency in doing the harm are responsible to pay to mitigate and eventually repair said harm.

Since, according to the U.N., the richest 20% of the world's population uses 80% of the resources, the 'Fragmentation of Agency' pie chart for the damage done to the biosphere should look like this:


The fossil fuel industry, and almost half of the world’s 100 largest companies, want that 'Fragmentation of Agency' pie chart to look like is as follows:

The above graphic is how TPTB polluters will try to pass most of the buck away from themselves and onto we-the-people.

We either take to heart what this Cleantechnica article makes very clear and also adopt the common sense ethical recommendations of visionaries like Theresa Morris, or we are toast.

« Last Edit: July 29, 2017, 02:16:28 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth
« Reply #269 on: July 31, 2017, 06:38:04 pm »
On One Fine Day in May, 87% of Italy’s Electricity Came From Renewables

Posted on Jul 30, 2017

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment

SNIPPET:


* On one day in May, Italy met 87% of its electricity production needs from renewables. This statistic was a fluke, since ordinarily renewables supply less than a fifth of Italy’s electricity.  Still, that on especially bright and windy days renewables can perform at this level is a harbinger for the future.  There were no disruptions of the power lines.  With enough investment, Italy could get most of its electricity from renewables

Italy is attractive as a market for solar energy, in part because it is a sunny country and solar is a much cheaper alternative to oil, gas and coal.  Italy has high electricity rates, impelling a rush to renewables.  Solar energy production was up 22% in 2016, and installations continue.
Renewables like wind and solar are up to 17% of Italian electricity production.  (They only account for 10% of US electricity production).

An Italian firm also won the right to install solar panels in Bushehr, Iran.  Iran generates some electricity with petroleum, which is a loss since it could be sold on the world market.  It thus is interested in renewables.  Each kilowatt hour brought to Iran by solar equates with more money that can be made by selling the oil abroad instead of wasting it domestically.

If you want to see the future, you don’t look at existing power generation mixes, you look at source of new power. In 2016, 90% of new power generation in Europe was renewables.

Read more:   

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/on_one_fine_day_in_may_italy_got_87_electricity_renewables
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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