A Green Degree Blog: New Angles On Sustainability

May 11th 2012

A Pan-European/Continental Electricity Grid Could Monetise Surplus Renewable Energy

This is simply a great idea, I just want to start by saying that. I love and am in awe of the vision and prospects this plan could bring to fruition, and it seems so ingenious to boot.

A future in which continent-spanning electricity grids feed the many hungry nations of Europe, Iceland and N. Africa has recently been plotted out by multiple energy ventures and renewable project giants such as DESERTEC and the EU. As you can see in the map above, the grid would stretch from the Saharan Desert, through all of Europe, up into Scandinavia and across the ocean to Iceland, connecting the entire region into one ‘energy-continent’.

This plan was initially suggested when people began noticing that energy projects in the UK, Europe and Iceland, as well as those in the deserts of Africa, were actually doing things thought irrational, uneconomic and plain stupid (think DESERTEC). Once this realisation set in, the idea of a pan-European/Saharan grid quickly formed.

With lines already laid connecting Ireland to the UK, France, the Netherlands, and now a record-breaking 950 mile long cable between Iceland and the UK, with plenty more in the works, this initially crazy daydream is rapidly becoming reality.

What is the real beauty of this project however is the renewable side of things; the whole grid will be supplied by low-carbon tech alone, none of that fossil fuel nonsense. As each country associated with the super-grid generates their renewable energy through different means, such as geothermal in Iceland, wind in the UK, or hydro in the Scandinavians, it plays to each and every country’s specialities. Rather than laying new lines and sticking wind turbines somewhere that ain’t windy, the grid will transport wind energy to the required regions from those nations which can easily provide.

With peak times being met by green energy flying in from abroad, for the states that have proven their worth in one or two particular renewable energy sources and produce surpluses at a consistent level, the monetary rewards are tantalising to say the least. Think of a scenario thus - France fears it can’t supply the energy needed to run its nation at full pelt, so it calls on the super-grid to supply some wind energy from us Brits, supplemented by some Swiss hydroelectric. Meanwhile, the Sahara (pumping out silly amounts of solar energy) is sending sunlight to Norway and Spain, and receiving a tasty return on their energy investment. It’s a complete win-win situation.

Iceland Is 100% Renewable - That Was Kept On The Lowdown?

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Well here’s a little fact I didn’t know, and how I didn’t know of this is almost shaming on my part, but I simply have to share it. That little ice-bound island sitting astride the mid-Atlantic ridge, which occasionally spews out a handful of ash big enough to shutdown our air-space, is touting a fully green energy mix; that’s right, Iceland is 100% renewable, and has been for a fair amount of time.

At this moment, Iceland generates its entire electricity needs via hydro and geothermal sources, with not a fossil fuel powered plant to speak of or point angrily at. Not only this, but their electricity prices are amongst the most competitive in Europe, with many of their price guarantees and policies locking in enticing costs for both the customer and the provider. It’s practically the perfect environment for judging how well an entirely renewable mix can work.

Not only that, it gets better and better. Iceland’s freezing climate may put many off from visiting the eclectic nation, but for power hungry energy companies, it’s the golden setting. With cold winds and temperatures abundant all year round, huge hosting and data centres can be efficiently cooled purely through the action of wall vents and the odd open window. Because of this, electricity slurping climate controls don’t need to be employed, enticing big names such as Verne Global to the little country.

Now many of the reasons for renewables dominating the Icelandic mix are down to its Goldilocks geographical location, and relatively small population of just 320,000. With abundant volcano-fuelled thermal energy year-round, with glacial meltwater streams, rivers and lakes, they simply don’t need anything else; combine this with a small population and you’re onto a winner.

The only real issue to us wannabe green-nations, is that it still doesn’t really offer us a viable look into the renewable world available that we want. Geothermal is relatively limited worldwide, especially to Europe and Asia, and a large majority of the current hydro energy is already tapped, with a strong social stigma attached to further damming. Our focus is on solar, wind and marine energies, of which Iceland employs none of, so in that respect, we can’t begin basing our own future policies on the Icelandics; but that’s a minor niggle, they’re sorted.

In coming years, Iceland desperately hopes that their intense slant towards green energy and smart low-carbon techniques will draw in an ever-growing number of multi-national companies and professionals craving renewable energies to power up it’s economy and quell the 6% unemployment rate hanging over their heads.

It looks like it’s already began, so from now on I will most certainly be keeping an eye on this silently forward-looking island of the Atlantic.

http://www.ecomagination.com/iceland-attracts-new-business-with-clean-energy

Posted at 12:02pm and tagged with: Iceland, Renewable, Energy, Hydroelectric, Geothermal, Economy, Jobs, Europe, Asia, Electricity, Unemployment,.

April 15th 2012

Reblogged from climate-changing|5 notes |#

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Japan: Renewable Energy Power Consumption To Grow to 21% by 2030

Japan has been a laggard in the renewable energy market in recent years. The once world renown pioneer of innovative technology, is not in the top 10 list in terms of annual renewable installations and power generating capacity. Japan wishes to change that. Recent ministry estimates show that Japan has the capacity, if properly implemented, to generate as much as 150 gigawatts via solar power, 1880 gigawatts via wind power and 14 gigawatts via geothermal power. A giant obstacle it will have to overcome is minimizing the cost, the cost being $401 per mega watt and $172 per mega watt for solar and wind, nearly twice the international average.

So much potential in Japan.

Posted at 1:27pm and tagged with: japan, renewable, wind, solar, geothermal, gigawatt, energy,.

April 14th 2012

Japan To Burn Tsunami Debris For Energy And More

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Japan is set to make some big steps into the renewable industry from July onwards, with it’s ventures into multiple sources of clean energy production and low-carbon technology. This is a key development after the closure of every single nuclear reactor come May, once providing roughly 1/4 of the country’s energy needs.

First on the table is a brand new solar FiT (feed-in-tariff), which will hope to incentivise and fund companies and customers desperate for a bit of sunlight-energy in their lives, and will aim to work in much the same way the German and UK FiTs functioned, until the cuts obviously. A major difference however, is that this tariff will force utility companies to purchase electricity from clean sources at predetermined prices, and this will have to be passed down to the customer, in the form of a slightly fatter bill through the letterbox.

This is one of the primary hurdles which must be jumped in order to put this tariff into place, as many ministers and analysts will struggle to pin down an appropriate price which can be nationally distributed without anger and reprisal from the public. On the other hand, the Japanese are known for their obedience and rational thinking in situations like this, and so I feel that once a price is set, both utilities and customers will work together to make the FiT work efficiently.

Various projects are in the planning and finance stages, ranging from a whopping 340MW plant in Hokkaido, to a 70MW construction which will stretch out across part of Kagoshima Bay and all it’s shiny glory. Many other smaller projects round the proposed sum up at almost 0.5GW of solar energy.