Rose: renewable

Showing posts with label renewable. Show all posts

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Sweden on target to run entirely on renewable energy by 2040

Last year 57 per cent of Sweden's power came from renewables

Sweden is on target to run entirely on renewable energy within the next 25 years, a regulatory official has said.

Last year, 57 per cent of Sweden's power came from renewables such as hydropower and wind sources, with the remainder coming from nuclear power.

The country now plans to tap into its "large potential" for onshore wind power, in order to make the country completely fossil-free by 2040 - a goal set by Sweden's prime minister at the UN General Assembley last year.

"We are not densely populated, we have a lot of good places to put land-based large-scale wind and there is large potential for that in Sweden," Anne Vadasz Nilsson, Director General of the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate told Reuters on Monday.

Sweden has steadily increased its output of wind power and as it becomes more cost efficent, wind energy is set to replace nuclear energy in the country's power system.

"Nuclear is quite an expensive energy source due to safety regulations and funding for long-term nuclear waste management among other things," said Ms Vadasz Nilsson.

"Renewables, meaning large-scale wind in Sweden, on the other hand, are cheaper and cheaper to commission and to run. This together with low wholesale prices will make it less likely that new nuclear power plants will replace the remaining ones when they are phased out due to old age."

Four of the country’s 10 nuclear reactors are currently being phased out, she said, adding that the sparodic nature of wind power could be managed by teaming it with a combination of hydropower as well as interconnection with other countries.

"The base load from our [current] hydropower plants and the high degree of interconnection with neighbouring countries [...] This together with a more developed market for demand-side response will safeguard capacity even on cold winter days when the wind is not blowing," said Ms Vadasz Nilsson.

The Nordic countries already lead the world in renewable energy. Denmark produced 140 per cent of its electricity needs through wind power alone in 2015, exporting the rest of the energy to its neighbours, Germany, Sweden and Norway.

While, almost 100 per cent of Iceland's electricity comes from renewable sources, due to its investment in hydropower and geothermal energy production.

In the latest bi-annual EY Renewable energy country attractiveness index (RECAI), released on Wednesday, European countries saw their positions improve, with France, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Norway and Finland all climbing the ranking.

The United Kingdom, however, bucked the trend of European improvement, falling to an all-time index low in 14th position. It is understood that the Brexit vote, the dismantling of the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) and approval of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station all contributed to a loss of appeal in the eyes of investors.

**This was originally featured on independent.co.uk

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Germany Just Produced So Much Renewable Energy That It Had To Pay People To Use It

Electricity bills are often ludicrously high thanks to our energy-intensive modern world, but every now and then, thanks to the forces of nature, a metaphorical miracle takes place. As reported by Quartz, Germany just experienced such a phenomenon when a particularly bright and sunny day supercharged their solar and wind power sectors.

Around 1 p.m. on May 8, the nation’s renewable energy generating facilities were supplying around 55 gigawatts of the 63 gigawatts being consumed – about 87 percent of the total electricity consumption. With the addition of the country’s conventional power plants, the output actually exceeded the national demand. This energy surplus meant that, for a brief time, energy prices were actually negative, meaning consumers were effectively being paid to consume electricity.

A similar feat occurred in Denmark last year, when a terrifically windy day boosted their wind power sector so much that these turbines alone generated 140 percent of the nation’s electricity demand, with the excess energy being exported to Germany, Norway, and Sweden.

According to a United Nations report, Germany intends to be one of the frontrunners when it comes to renewable energy; it has pledged to be powered entirely by renewable energy sources by 2050, an ambitious feat to say the least. Days like May 8 serve to give this ambition genuine credibility.

A recent study suggested that all the pieces are in place for an energy revolution. Fossil fuels would be rejected, and renewable and nuclear energy would take over. A recent declaration by the International Energy Agency, that over a quarter of the world will be powered by renewable energy by 2020, seems to imply that this may be the case – as does the Paris climate change agreement, which can only be successfully implemented if fossil fuels are ditched in favor of renewables.

Countries all over the world are stepping up to the plate, including Germany. Sweden has initiated legislative and infrastructural changes to put it on track to becoming the world’s first fossil fuel-free nation; Morocco will soon have a 24/7 concentrated solar power plant that will be able to constantly supply the entire region; the U.S., Canada, and China have allagreed to cooperate to end their reliance on fossil fuels.

As always, though, it’s complicated. Many nations increasing their renewable energy generation capabilities are also scaling back on their nuclear power plants, particularly Germany. If they hope to be fossil fuel-free in the near-future, removing their nuclear power plants – which have a near-zero carbon footprint – will greatly hinder them on their quest, along with slowing down their efforts to mitigate man-made climate change.