Global Wind Power Capacity Increased 19 Percent in 2012

By James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
17 de Abril de 2013 | Post Your Comment

Global wind installations should slow down in 2013, gathering strength for a push through 2017, says GWEC

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New Hampshire, USA -- Wind power surged to a new record in 2012 with nearly 45 gigawatts (GW) of new installations, a 10 percent increase from 2011, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)'s Annual Market Update. Global installed capacity increased roughly 19 percent to 282.6 GW, which is slightly below the 22 percent average annual growth rate over the last 10 years.

The report, released earlier today, tracks about 79 countries, 24 of which have more than 1 GW installed (16 in Europe).


Thanks to the expiring production tax credit (PTC), the US connected over 13.1 GW of new wind power capacity in 2012, exceeding 50 GW of total wind power capacity, nearly a 30 percent increase from 2011. Canada added 935 MW of new wind capacity, a slowdown from 1.2 GW in 2011, but still its second-best year, while 2013 is expected to see a surge to 1.5 GW of new capacity. Mexico more than doubled its installed capacity in 2012 to exceed 1.3 GW.

China added nearly 13 GW of new wind capacity in 2012, a significant drop over the past three years. Nonetheless, China's electricity generated by wind energy surpassed 100 million MWh, making up 2 percent of the country's total electricity output (up from 1.5 percent in 2011). China's total cumulative installed wind power capacity is now more than 75 GW, nearly tripling over the past three years.
India is another key market for wind, but also saw a bit of a slowdown in 2012. New wind energy installations exceeded 2.3 GW, with 18.4 GW in cumulative total. Wind power accounted for about 69 percent of total renewable energy capacity of 26.9 GW in India. Japan, meanwhile, continues its slow transition to a diversified energy mix with more renewable energy options. The country added 88 MW of new installations in 2012 for a cumulative capacity of 2.6 GW, translating to roughly 0.5 percent of total power supply.

Wind energy's intermittency is surpassed only by the swell and ebb of policies (and politicians) that support it. GWEC projects annual wind installations worldwide will decline 11 percent in 2013 to just shy of 40 GW, "a much more significant drop in the market than we foresaw a year ago," due to the expected dropoff in the U.S., slow recovery in the Chinese and Indian markets, and a bit of a slowdown in Europe. For 2014 GWEC predicts a sharp recovery that will bring global installations slightly back above 2012 results, putting 2013-2017 average annual growth at nearly seven percent (just over 11 percent subtracting 2013's dip). By 2017 GWEC projects an annual global wind market of 61 GW, and cumulative installed capacity of roughly 536 GW.


 

Public Lands Ripe for Renewable Energy Development, Report Says

Published: May 26th, 2011 in Energy, Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Landscapes, States of Change, United States, West
Public Lands Ripe for Renewable Energy Development, Report Says

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/public-lands-ripe-for-renewable-energy-development-report-says/


.By Dave Levitan

On 3,500 acres of public land in San Bernardino County, California, there will soon sit 392 megawatts worth of solar thermal electricity generation, enough to power 140,000 homes. This will present an example of compromise between the often conflicting goals of protecting the country’s vast federal lands and developing the massive energy potential they hold. And with a surge of energy projects being proposed for public lands across the country, this compromise could signal a promising path ahead.

Brightsource Energy’s Solar Energy Development Center in the Mojave Desert. Credit: Brightsource.

The Ivanpah solar project, currently under construction by Brightsource Energy, occupies land in the Mojave Desert that is prime habitat for the threatened desert tortoise and other species. The Center for Biological Diversity, a non-profit group that encourages renewable energy development but often opposes specific projects because of potential environmental harm, wants to save that tortoise. This is the type of conflict that would ordinarily sink a large energy project, but the two sides agreed last October that Brightsource would acquire or "enhance" thousands of acres of the Mojave to benefit the tortoise, at least modestly offsetting any damage to the habitat done by the solar project.

Though recent developments have put two of the project’s three parts on hold — there are, apparently, more tortoises at the construction site than the company thought — Brightsource still says it will be finished in 2013.

Bahamas Waste gets $50K carbon financing

Published On:Monday, May 30, 2011
By ALISON LOWE
Business Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net
A renewable energy consulting firm believes the Bahamas is well-positioned to benefit from offsetting carbon emissions, with BISX-listed Bahamas Waste receiving $50,000 in "carbon financing" so far for its "green" efforts.

In doing so, it has become the first Bahamian company to be recognised for its carbon offsetting measures, and to receive so-called carbon financing in return. The first tranche of the money helped the company set up its $1 million biodiesel facility, and another $50,000 award is expected once Bahamas Waste has achieved a certain amount of biodiesel production.

With assistance from Cape Eleuthera Systems, the consulting arm of the Cape Eleuthera Foundation and the Island School in Eleuthera, Bahamas Waste, was recognised by Pioneer Carbon Trading for its efforts to create biodiesel from waste cooking oil that would otherwise have ended up in the public landfill.

The financial support it receives for its carbon offsetting is higher than might be otherwise, as the biodiesel project meets the criteria that enables resulting credits to be sold as 'gold standard'. This is a 'premium quality' and higher value credit attached to those whose carbon offsetting not only produces environmental benefits in terms of carbon reduction, but other economic and social benefits.

Cape Eleuthera's director of facilities, and its consultant to Bahamas Waste on the carbon market and renewables, Geoff Walton, said: "They are creating jobs that weren't there, and because they are using the waste cooking oil that would otherwise go into the landfill, they are creating another benefit in that regard too."

A carbon credit for one ton of 'gold standard' offset carbon can sell on the open market for around $9, whereas other 'regular' carbon credits would fetch a lower $4 or $5 price.

Bahamas Waste entered into a contract with Pioneer Carbon Trading (PCT) in 2007. Essentially a global broker for carbon credits and offsets, PCI transfers funds to Bahamas Waste in return for being able to sell carbon credits in the international voluntary carbon market, based on Bahamas Waste's offsetting.

The concept underpinning the market is that credits are sold to individuals, companies or governments wishing to mitigate their own greenhouse emissions from transportation, electricity use and other sources.

Transfer
International companies, seeking to enhance their own 'green' credentials, transfer money to other companies that are taking steps to reduce emissions and make the environment cleaner. Individuals may also wish to purchase carbon credits, thereby causing money to be transferred to "environmentally-friendly" projects, if they wish to offset the emissions from personal air travel

Carbon trading is seen as introducing financial incentives and market-based innovation into the fight for carbon-reduction and climate change mitigation.

Mr Walton said: "Since this agreement was signed between Bahamas Waste and Pioneer Carbon Trading, Bahamas Waste cannot sell their CO2 offsets to anyone else, and Pioneer Carbon is obligated to pay $100,000 to Bahamas Waste for the first 20,000 tons of carbon offset, even if the price PCT are selling the credits for on the market ends up going lower than that. They also have first right of refusal on a new agreement after the contract for the first 20,000 tons of offsets expires."

The renewable energy proponent said the Bahamas has "a lot of potential" to benefit from the implementation of other projects which, like Bahamas Waste's biodiesel manufacturing, would address waste and carbon emissions.

"There's a lot of waste here, a lot of CO2 is being produced. The Bahamas not required to meet any of the emissions standards that they have in the US, for example. The open landfill is a huge example of where offsetting could take place. So much methane is being produced there, and methane produces a lot of CO2.

"If someone were to come in and try to find a way to capture the CO2 in the landfill, they could create a new offset, create jobs and get carbon financing. Nobody has caught on to that yet. Anytime CO2 is being produced, there's a way to clean it up and you can get credit for that," said Mr Walton.

State of Green Business 2011 Green Biz.com

Numero de patentes registradas relacionadas à energias limpas duplicou nos ultimos 6 anos e tende a crescer mais ainda.
Leia este entre outros estudos no State of Green Business.
Disponível  (ainda em lingua inglesa) para download.


Não deixe de se atualizar sobre temas que lhe são tão importantes e melhor ainda : Gratuitos.

Six countries dominate clean energy patents, UN-backed study finds

UN News Centre
30 September 2010 – Innovations in clean energy technologies are concentrated in six countries – Japan, the United States, Germany, the Republic of Korea (ROK), France and the United Kingdom – according to a new United Nations-backed study.
The study, jointly produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), found that the six nations, led by Japan, hold nearly 80 per cent of all patents in the field of clean energy.

British Gas launches solar panels scheme with '£1k a year profit' claim

Energy company says 12 million homeowners could save £1,000 a year, as it looks to take advantage of government scheme

Mark King

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 August 2010 07.00

Photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of Broadway House in Woking. Photograph: Dan Chung for the Guardian More than 12 million homeowners would be in line to save up to £1,000 a year, should they install solar panels, says British Gas.

The utility firm is the latest in a host of companies offering to install electricity-generating systems on homes to take advantage of a government scheme that pays the owners of solar panels for the 'renewable' electricity they generate.