A Green Degree Blog: New Angles On Sustainability

August 20th 2012

My First Flavour Of The Corporate Energy World - Inspiring

I have just come back from my very first taste of what the real world is like, the main reason my blog has been pretty devoid of content for a while now, completing a period of work experience within one of the world’s largest companies, and undoubtedly its largest and most successful energy company, GE, specifically their Energy department; it was eye-opening to say the least.

Obtained and organised through a friend of my partners family, I was taken under the wing of a commercial leader forming part of the UK and Northern Europe wind energy team at their HQ in Bracknell, where I was introduced to all aspects of the corporate energy world, from selling to policy, and I was blown away by the some of the things I came away with.

As a commercial leader, my ‘boss’ so to speak, was responsible for the entire bidding process involved with procuring a wind-farm development by beating away the competition and getting the customer the best deal possible, whilst generating some revenue for the company on the side. Therefore, I effectively dived in at the deep end and through myself upon the various projects lined up for me, including getting to grips with how GE Energy functioned on a global and GW scale, researching information for the sales teams on new turbine designs and experiencing precisely how the company deals with customers and developers amidst a rapidly changing energy market; it was fascinating to say the least.

Before going into this, I admittedly had rather little knowledge of GE and its workings worldwide, despite it being responsible for the power plants providing 25% of global needs and being around since the invention of the lightbulb, and in actual fact, being founded by the very inventor himself, Thomas Edison. Therefore I was relatively relieved when my boss told me that GE’s brand presence in Europe is small to say it politely, and in all likelihood, mentioning that you work at ‘General Electric’ in the UK could easily inspire a puzzled and disinterested reaction unless followed up by further information. This is certainly something I found to be true talking to my friends, but did not realise how common this issue was.

Even though GE has been instrumental in powering a large majority of the world’s planes with their jet engines, transporting freight goods via their massive train industry, lighting up millions of American homes with bulbs and generating the technology necessary to power our hungry society (and this isn’t everything either), nobody over here really takes much notice of them. Anyway, I digress.

Posted at 10:00am and tagged with: GE, general electric, carbon, energy, market, business, corporate, money, experience, internship, work, university, student, wind, solar, nuclear, gas, natural gas, oil, coal, advice, policy, turbine, CCGT, electricity, renewable, green, job, future,.

August 11th 2012

Peak Oil? Don’t Place Your Bets Just Yet, There’s More Where That Came From

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Peak oil. It sure is a well-worn term these days isn’t it. For how long now have all manner of ‘ists’, from economists, scientists, geologists to cultists been dreading the fateful day when global oil production slips past it’s highest point of generation and begins the disastrously slow tumble into the abyss. Has it come yet?

For many environmentalists and clean energy advocates, the coming of the peak age was something to be heralded, a point in time when big oil conglomerates and lobbies would finally get what was due, a humongous kick up the ass and warning bells so loud they would have no choice but to change their ways. Of course, and I must admit I fell prey somewhat to this foolish dream, this was never, ever going to actually happen, especially knowing what we know about these rich black gold-diggers and planet-wide market forces. When peak oil eventually strikes, they will simply dig even deeper and ravage even further to continue selling what they love best - oil and gas. Well folks, looks like we may have reached the next level of ignorance.

Based on a report by famed energy expert Leonardo Maugeri, published with the Harvard J.F.K. School of Government, the world is far from it’s final days of generous oil extraction, oh far far from it. According to his worryingly optimistic and frankly laid-back assessment, the current daily generation of 93 million barrels will exceed 110 million by 2020, the largest increase in per-day extraction in a decade since the 1980s. How, you may ask, is this even possible? I thought the world was drying up and oil was on its deathbed, ready to be succeeded by its ‘cleaner’ bastard son natural gas. Let’s look to America and Canada for the answer - fracking and the release of so-called ‘unconventional’ oils.

By now we should all know roughly what fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is all about. The bottom-line is that it really is not good for the environment, in so so many ways it would be silly to list them here. However fracking, and the jointly terrible extraction of both shale oil and oil shale (look it up, surprisingly they are two different things, both bad news) are completely rewriting the peak oil history books. With this new technology, the once scared and struggling oil companies, fearful of their future without reserves, can begin to restock and resupply on a scale practically unheard of until now. It’s estimated that a particular shale formation underlying North Dakota could hold as much untapped oil as a small Persian Gulf nation, without all the political risk and instability. How absolutely perfect for the Americans.

Add to the mix the unimaginably oil and natural gas reserves resting under most of the northern parts of Canada and Alaska, of which more becomes available as the Arctic ice caps melt and recede, and we’ve got enough oil to last us a goddamn lifetime of frivolity and combustion. Given Canada’s recent stance on global climate debates, notably the Kyoto Protocol, it would not surprise me in the least to see them capitalise on this newfound glory to its fullest extent, draining the land beneath them and flooding the market with sweet oil. Even though this ‘unconventional’ stuff is terribly hard to reach and even more difficult, costly and damaging to refine, the big companies will do it anyway, as it’s just what they know best.

Posted at 9:59am and tagged with: peak oil, oil, gas, climate, science, politics, economics, technology, extraction, news, smart, stupid, ignorant, lobby, maugeri, shale, fracking, barrel, market, money, fossil fuel, renewable, wind, sun, solar, coal, jobs, america, canada, alaska,.

July 5th 2012

The ‘Polluter Pays’ Principle V.2: Time For An Upgrade

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With Rio+20 long gone, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me that most of the global populace has quickly and without bother discarded any knowledge of the convention, as well as the few and flimsy results that come of it, as though the whole thing was one pointless affair.

You could easily be fooled into thinking this is the case, considering so little of any worth, useful to effectively nobody matured from the talks, of which a large majority of the human race were crossing their fingers in the hope of a final resolution on all our woes and sufferings. Yes, there were a few pieces here and there, and the aptly-named ‘Future We Want’ paper was signed, but you only have to look a little further to see that anything with possible leanings towards a solid commitment and legal bindings within text was literally wiped away, replaced by ‘ifs’ and ‘taking steps towards’.

So coming from this, I felt it prudent to look back on one of the key agreements signed and ratified under the ancestor of this failed attempt at global democracy, the Rio 1992 Declaration, which actually managed to achieve what practically all other conventions that have come our way have failed to reproduce since - something worthwhile to the global community, which has stuck to this day and actually made an impact on ALL of our lives.

The ‘polluter pays’ principle is at its most basic, a very simple law pertaining to pollution from industry, whereby those who pollute must pay for the damage and degradation they bring upon the surrounding environment, whether it be through monetary forms (hard cash), incentives or compensation, effectively ‘making up’ for their shortsightedness.

This principle had one major point when it was conceived and globally upheld, namely that the inclusion of ‘pollution’ meant such things as fertilisers or insecticides, but has been rapidly adapted since to include greenhouse gases which pollute the atmosphere, for instance methane or CFCs. Due to this principle, and many others working in tandem, values of damaging pollutants in the environment has dropped significantly, and we have been able to see a tangible change in our way of life involving these materials.

June 19th 2012

Japan Sets A Risky New Bar In Solar Tariffs: Too Risky?

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Ater what seemed like a potentially tumultuous time for Japan once the final nuclear reactor was shutdown just months ago, it seems the fledgling nuclear industry may once again be getting a restart, after conformation from the Japanese government to go ahead with the reopening of two reactors in the near future. Considering the fallout from Fukushima and intense protestation from the Japanese citizens towards any sign of rekindling the nuclear fire this is an important step forward in the debate.

It couldn’t come at a better time, as current supplies of fossil fuel based energy has been ramped up to over 90% from 60% before the shutdown to deal with the increased strain on the country, which of course leads to higher emissions and a greater risk to society as a whole, a reaction I figured would be the case from the moment of hearing about the nationwide closures. Coming into the hot Japanese summer was no doubt a primary factor in determining the restart of both plants, as an overuse of A/C and the need for cooling would have likely overloaded the grid periodically - not something a leading 1st world nation wants to be fronting during such critical times.

What is even more reassuring however is the news of a brand new feed in tariff directed towards Japanese renewable energy, with solar in particular, a sector which is booming globally, and set to really explode in Japan if given the right treatment, ala Germany or the UK. Whilst these FiTs are common ground to those who follow the solar debate, the Japanese have taken what is in my view an extremely risky and brash angle, which could bring them closer towards a solar dominated grid with popularity through the roof, or complete economic slump and a positive drive away from renewables as it stands.

They’ve done this choosing to set their price per KWh at a staggering $0.53, which is triple that of China’s and double the current UK rate, which is set to fall over the coming months. Through this astounding figure, which translates to how much money a consumer will be paid per unit of solar energy they produce, Japan hopes to blow all other solar markets out of the water, installing up to 20GW of solar alone by 2016.

This tariff also applies to wind, geothermal, biomass and more, all of which Japan is seemingly rushing into as the global markets pick up pace and fossil fuel support falls all around. Even wind FiTs beat German prices, currently some of the best in the world, and many of these tariffs guarantee set prices for 20 years, a much more ambitious projection than all other renewable European nations.

Personally I believe this is wonderful news to the highest degree, and to see a country which only recently shut its entire nuclear capacity down, an energy source to the tune of 30% of nationwide production, to then rapidly put in place such radical policies to promote renewables is signs of good things ahead. When many other countries are blaming a lack of solar, wind and biomass on a lack of space, unfavourable conditions and poor public support, Japan is flying in the face of such issues; the nation is comparably small, highly mountainous, densely populated and a world leader in technology and economics, and they plough on like never before. Many nations should take note and learn, as Japan could be the next big green player.

However, before I get too excited and jump the gun, I would like to point out some potential problems, some of which could really derail this phenomenal move. Both of the big leaders in solar FiTs, Germany and the UK have both experienced the results of highly attractive and lucrative tariffs, set too high for the nations coffers to fund once installations shot up dramatically. Due to this, both have been forced to slash prices and guarantees in the face of public protest, in attempts to be able to continue paying the consumers who so gleefully latched onto the policy.

Now we see Japan setting prices at double the market rate, with 20 year warranties; is this not setting itself up for a huge fall if they calculated wrong and cannot continue funding the explosive growth as many analysts expect? Germany and the UK thought they had it sorted, and even though their sectors are still growing, solar installations have taken a wounding blow, one which will continue to bleed for a whole longer before the market reasserts itself.

If Japan doesn’t manage to control these tariffs, we could see problems in the solar market which could deliver a potentially fatal blow to FiT schemes around the world. When you’re dealing with such a fickle public as ourselves, the knowledge that two or three schemes failed to deliver their original promises could mean the end for something which is only just finding its feet.

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/23798

Posted at 10:20am and tagged with: Solar, Japan, Uk, Germany, Feed in tariff, FiT, Economy, Technology, Nuclear, Fukishima, Public, Politics, Policy, Market, China, Wind, Energy, Renewable, Green, Biomass, Fossil fuel, Climate, Carbon,.

June 1st 2012

Department Of Commerce Takes A Hit At Chinese Wind Power Next

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It would seem that the Department of Commerce has chosen its next target to slap some hefty trade tariffs on, that certainly didn’t take too long eh? This time they’ve stayed in China, but gone for another of the potential renewable winners of the world, wind energy, quoting the same old story as last.

Last December, the DoC received complaints from multiple American wind companies complaining that China was yet again unfairly subsidising and trading its domestic wind towers, reducing costs and outcompeting other manufacturers, namely in the US. By reducing their trading costs out of China, in an uncannily similar vein to the recent solar trade war, the US market is being flooded by cheap-as-chips wind towers designed for large-scale generation of 100KW and over.

Of course, the US they again doesn’t agree with this whatsoever, and has chosen to file preliminary reports to determine what value to set the counter-tariffs at, with both China and Vietnam under scrutiny, who has also been seen to be ‘unfairly’ trading its wind capacity. As many of you who have followed the solar mess that is the anti-dumping case, it has not only brought anger and protest from both US and Chinese sides, but has been suggested to be threatening the entire solar industry as a whole, and no doubt this will have the same effect on the wind industry.

What differs between both cases however is the size of each respective nation’s wind industry size. The US has been steadily throwing up wind towers in recent years in bigger and bigger quantities, and now has a formidable wind-generation capacity, whereas China’s influence in the market is much smaller, with solar their chosen renewable path.

So, my question is this…why start yet another trade dispute between China and themselves, when the DoC knows, 1) how much consumers/manufacturers/sellers rallied against the solar tariffs, and 2) when wind energy is in the best interest of everybody to continue growing worldwide, especially in the dirtier Asian countries yet to move on from coal; China’s industry is only small and this response could severely cripple it.

Posted at 9:46am and tagged with: wind energy, electricity, china, us, department of commerce, tariff, trade, market, manufacturing, science, solar, america, anti-dumping,.

May 19th 2012

Is The US Handling A Double-Edged Sword With Their Hefty Import Tariffs On Chinese Solar?

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So the other day I posted a blog surrounding this whole mess we’re calling the ‘solar trade war’, of which the US and China are the key players, and of which I finished by saying would benefit nobody and, if anything, seriously hurt the solar industry at a crucial (this can’t be understated) moment in its growth.

At this point in time, solar as a form of energy, a very nice one at that, is rapidly approaching grid parity with fossil fuels, and in many instances is able to compete on par for energy prices to both consumer and producer, with the big coal and oil lobbies. That is one impressive feat considering relatively little government subsidies have been involved (that’s relative to fossil fuels) and massive growth has occurred in just 5-10 years, not decades.

However, this lack of comparative funding and phenomenal growth clearly doesn’t sit very well with the US and the Department of Commerce, who severely oppose the Chinese solar market and it’s doings, which have undeniably been a key driving force in this event.

Very briefly, the Chinese government has been found ‘illegally’ subsidising their solar industry and key companies, such as SunTech, by selling them for below-market prices, effectively flooding the global solar market with cheap panels. The US has branded this anticompetitive and blamed it for the crash in US-solar sales and Solyndra’s collapse, responding by slapping a small, but nonetheless important 2-4% trade import tariff on Chinese solar. That was then.

Now it seems they’ve upped the ante, with the Department of Commerce raising tariffs to 31% for the major Chinese solar companies, and as high as 250% (!!) on smaller firms, effectively forcing the Chinese to raise their prices to meet ‘market’ levels, i.e. the US’, despite their ability to produce at such cheap and effective prices. I find this to be sheer madness (some may say blatant protectionism) by the Department, who could easily be accused of crippling the solar industry at a time when just one more nudge in the right way could lead to an explosion in sunlight-derived energy.

It may be true that the Chinese have been unfairly aiding their solar markets, but the fact of the matter is this; the US is doing exactly the same, and as I say in my earlier post, SolarWorld reaps rewards far beyond those of SunTech, and yet we leave them alone entirely. Not only this, but why should cheap solar panels, in abundance around the world, which are no doubt forcing prices down hugely and cleaning up the atmosphere, be subject to these crazy tariffs just because the US feels its own domestic manufacturers are at risk?

Posted at 12:07pm and tagged with: solar, china, trade war, US, america, energy, technology, tariffs, suntech, solarworld, fossil fuels, solar panels, market, economy, canada, mexico, commerce,.

May 17th 2012

Chinese Solar Tariffs Hide Some Unfortunate Truths

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First of all, I just want to say a quick apology for the distinct lack of posts in the past 3 days, a detour from my usual every other day/daily posts. Basically, university work is to blame for it; dissertation has finally been handed in but two more exams sit lurking in front of me, so I’ll likely be taking a bit of a downtime between each post, but do not worry (if you even read this blog, I love you if you do), I’ll be back on form and free in two weeks time.

Now that that’s out of the way, onto the subject of todays post - those pesky Chinese and the apparent trade war between their solar capacity and the US. I wrote a blog on this relatively recently detailing why the Chinese were being scorned for their solar trade practice, and why even back then I felt it was a bad idea for everyone involved.

I’ll quickly recap just to jog my own and any reader’s memories.

The US found out that the Chinese government had been quite heavily subsidising their solar industry, namely SunTech, in a move to make their solar panels cheaper to make, easier to ship and to effectively flood the global market. As the US doesn’t like competition they see as unfair, they set about placing tariffs on the Chinese market to the tune of as much as 4.3%, to alleviate the apparently anti-trade practices.

When I initially blogged about this, I, and I’m sure many others thought that the whole thing was a mess, and entirely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Chinese solar is good, and theres nothing we can do about it. If they can manage to flood the market with quality solar panels at cheap prices and in abundant amounts, why should the US stifle this growth in place of its more expensive types? Surely as long as the world is getting solar, from multiple other countries aside from the US and China, everyone is a winner? Well that was my thinking at the time at least.

Now it has been revealed that, the night before the tariff decision was made on Monday, the American organisation, the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE), has called for all seven members of the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) to release their own books on the subsidies, tax breaks and government help they have received in their time. This is a truly inspired move, with the president of CASE, Jigar Shah, highlighting how the original Chinese-US tariff war demanded clarity on Chinese solar, and yet there was no clarity with US-owned companies. By ordering the release of such information, the true story unravelled quickly.

Posted at 10:12am and tagged with: China, solar, US, trade, war, tariff, energy, industry, manufacturing, truth, SunTech, market, economy, subsidies, government, dumb, stupid,.