Can our electricity grid cope with all the new wind power? - article in the Ecologist

Can our electricity grid cope with all the new wind power? discusses the solutions that have been investigated to deal with the intermitency of renewable energy.

"For a country so determined to grow its wind capacity, it is ironic that Spain has discovered one of the most important factors is the ability to shut wind farms down, or at least reduce their output from time to time."

Is Europe's transport getting greener? Partly - a new study by EEA

Towards a resource-efficient transport system — TERM 2009 is a new report from EEA that presents transportation indicators and the impact of transports on the environment.

"While technological advances produce cleaner vehicles, more and more passengers and goods are travelling further distances, thereby offsetting efficiency gains. Based on analysis of long-term trends, a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report calls for a clear vision defining Europe's transport system by 2050 and consistent policies to achieve it."

"Trends and findings
- Freight transport tends to grow slightly faster than the economy, with road and air freight recording the largest increases in the EU-27 (43 % and 35 %, respectively, between 1997 and 2007). The share of rail and inland waterways in the total freight volumes declined during that period.
- The current economic slowdown has reduced transport volumes but transport is expected to resume its growth as soon as the economy starts to grow again.
- Passenger transport continued to grow but at a slower rate than the economy. Air travel within the EU remained the fastest growth area, increasing 48 % between 1997 and 2007. Car journeys remained the dominant mode of transport, accounting for 72 % of all passenger kilometres in the EU-27.
- In EEA countries, greenhouse gas emissions from transport (excluding international aviation and maritime transport) grew by 28 % between 1990 and 2007, and now account for around 19 % of total emissions.
- Despite recent reductions in air pollutant emissions, road transport was the largest emitter of nitrogen oxides and the second largest contributor of pollutants forming particulate matter in 2007.
- Road traffic remains by far the largest source of exposure to transport noise. The number of people exposed to damaging noise levels, especially at night, is expected to increase unless effective noise policies are developed and implemented in full."

More information: Is Europe's transport getting greener? Partly

Negawatt

If we see energy efficiency as just another energy source, we can define a new unit: the Negawatt (negative-Watt), the energy waste avoided.

Energy efficiency: what does this mean?

A report published by the Authority of the House of Lords in London gives three possible definitions to the term Energy Efficiency:

- The amount of energy consumed in relation to particular outputs or quantities: for instance, terms such as energy intensity and energy ratio are used, though not always consistently, to describe total energy consumption per unit of GDP, or energy consumption per head of population, or per household.
- Impact on absolute energy demand, measured either in terms of delivered energy (the energy provided to end-users) or primary energy (the energy resources feeding into the economy and converted into convenient forms such as electricity).
-Impact upon carbon equivalent emissions, often used as a proxy for changes in energy efficiency. This impact may be measured either in absolute terms, or in terms of carbon intensity—that is, carbon equivalent emissions per unit of GDP.

Traditionally, energy efficiency is regarded as the rate at which delivered energy is converted into useful outputs, concentration on delivered energy alone. But this may be misleading because it can risk overlooking the effects of economic or demographic changes, not to mention the impact of fuel switching (e.g. from coal to gas in electricity generation), which has a profound impact upon primary energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.

Commission to outline new energy action plan

In May the European Commission will present an Energy Action Plan for 2010-2014 to take effect in the beginning of 2011.
On January, the Spanish Presidency published a report with key issues to address: security of supply, sustainability (low carbon economy, energy efficiency) and competitiveness.

ENERGY POLICY-MAKERS have reached a turning point. The significant progress achieved to date should not make us forget the long road to the challenging task of guarantying access to clean and safe energy for EU citizens, companies and other social partners, in the best of conditions, and at the right prices for their welfare and progress.

In our future-oriented project, we should continue to develop an energy policy based on three cornerstones: sustainability,
competitiveness and security, to which I would also add the external dimension. These aspects should have a substantial bearing on our long term strategy as well as on our short and medium term decisions. To this regard, both the Lisbon Treaty that has recently entered into force and the steps that will follow the Copenhagen Climate Conference, among other instruments, should enlighten the road ahead.

Finally, special attention must be drawn to technological development in the field of energy, a matter that the EU must inexcusably keep in mind if we want to deliver on our commitments to the planet, develop its industry and offer a reliable international cooperation framework for all countries.

Miguel Sebastián Gascón



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