Powering a Green Planet: Sustainable Energy, Made Interactive

An article in Scientific American sets a radical plan to achieve 100% clean energy in 20 years (2030).

Goals for 2020 according to the SET plan

According to the Strategic Energy Technology Plan the contribution in 2020 in electricity and energy should be:
1. Electricity
- Wind: 20%
- Solar : PV 12%
- Solar: Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): 3% -- 10% in 2030
- Nuclear: currently responsible for 30% of EU electricity.

2. Energy
- Bioenergy: 14% bioenergy in the EU energy mix by 2020, and at the same time to guarantee greenhouse gas(GHG) emission savings of 60% for bio-fuels and bio-liquids under the sustainability criteria of the new RES Directive.

Electricity grid: enable the transmission and distribution of up to 35% of electricity from dispersed and concentrated renewable sources by 2020 and a completely decarbonised electricity production by 2050.

Carbon capture and storage commercially feasible by 2020.

Energy efficiency: 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable use and production of energy in 2020.

European Commission defines 6 sectors in clean energy

From Reuters:

Strategic Energy Technology Plan
WIND ENERGY
The windpower industry needs 6 billion euros for research over the next decade. It must reduce costs faster and build more wind farms offshore where the wind is more reliable.
This will require up to 10 new testing facilities for turbine components, up to 10 demonstration projects of next generation turbines and at least 5 prototypes of offshore substructures.
The goal is fully competitive wind power capable of contributing up to 20 percent of EU electricity by 2020 and a third by 2030. Over 250,000 jobs could be created.
SOLAR POWER
The overall solar sector needs 16 billion euros for research over the next decade.
The photovoltaic sector must reduce costs and speed up manufacturing. This will require up to 5 pilot plants for automated mass production and several demonstration projects for both decentralized and centralized power production.
The concentrated solar power sector must reduce costs, improve system efficiency and develop storage systems. Up to 10 large "first of a kind" power plants must be built.
The programme envisages that up to 15 percent of EU electricity could be generated by solar power in 2020. Over 200,000 skilled jobs could be created.
POWER GRID
Electricity networks need 2 billion euros of research funds over the next decade.
The focus will be on building "smart grids" that can balance the fluctuating supply of electricity from renewable energy sources with fluctuating consumption by EU citizens. Up to 20 real-life scale demonstration projects will be needed.
The goal is that by 2020, half of networks in Europe would allow the seamless integration of renewable energy.
SMART CITIES
Smart cities will glean renewable energy from the sun and wind and from their own waste, feeding it into the electricity network and to trams and cars.
Between 25 and 30 pioneer cities will transform their buildings, energy networks and transport systems. The initiative will need 11 billion euros over the next decade.
BIOENERGY
The sector needs 9 billion euros for research over the next decade and must demonstrate technology at greater scale.
Up to 30 such plants will be needed across Europe in differing geographical and climate conditions.
By 2020, the contribution to the EU energy mix from cost-competitive, sustainable bioenergy could be at least 14 percent. More than 200,000 jobs could be created.
CLEAN COAL
The European Union has laid out plans to have 12 Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) pilot plants up and running by 2015.
The CCS sector needs to spend 13 billion euros on research over the next decade. The target is to reduce the cost of CCS to 30-50 euros per tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured by 2020, making it cost-effective within a carbon pricing environment.
NUCLEAR
The industry will have to move toward a new generation of reactor type -- the so-called Generation-IV nuclear reactor, which will not be commercially delayed until 2040.
Solutions for nuclear waste must be identified. Around 7 billion euros must be spent on research over the next decade.

My comments on this are:
1. Where is energy efficiency?
2. What bioenergy is the EC talking about?
3. Various european state members are thinking of decommissioning old nuclear power plants and abandon nuclear power. How does nuclear contributes to the energy plan?

Green Week

Go to the Green Week website to view presentations.

World's climate could cool first, warm later

NewScientist published a report on the conclusions of the UN's World Climate Conference held in Geneva.

According to some experts we could be about to enter one or even two decades during which temperatures cool.

The short-term predictions are more uncertain that everyone expected, even IPCC.

Portuguese readers go to Mitos Climáticos.

Key Enablers of a Shift to Clean Energy

"1. Energy Efficiency. It has been frequently said that the cheapest source of energy is the energy never used. There are enormous opportunities for improving the efficiency of the world’s energy infrastructure, both on the supply side and the demand side – and many of them could even produce returns above the cost of capital of major businesses. In a recent report, the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that there are US$ 170 billion of energy efficient investment opportunities that would produce an IRR of 17% or more.

2. Smart Grid. The world’s electricity grids were designed to distribute power cheaply and reliably from large, centralized, predictable power stations. The grid
of the future will have to cope with decentralized, fluctuating supply. It will also be expected to deliver a far more sophisticated range of services to help with
demand-side energy management. Only a new and fully digitally-enabled grid architecture will be able to meet these needs, and the investment requirement is
estimated by New Energy Finance at US$ 8.6 trillion (including US$ 6.8 trillion to repair and replace the existing transmission and distribution network).

3. Energy Storage. The need for energy storage is increasing – whether to power hybrid electric vehicles, to smooth out fluctuations in supply and demand, or to
extend appliance functionality. The cost of storing 1MWh of electricity ranges from US$ 50 to US$ 180, depending on the technology used. As power storage prices come down, it can increasingly be used to smooth the supply of power or to bridge the gap
between peak and night-time electricity rates.
Improved power storage is also required by ever more advanced mobile appliances and ubiquitous communications.

4.Carbon Capture and Sequestration. No discussion of the future energy infrastructure can be complete without considering Carbon Capture and Storage
(CCS). Although there are no installations at scale yet, there are almost 200 projects at varying degrees of completion around the globe. With so many countries
– including China and the US – overwhelmingly dependent on coal for their electricity, CCS needs to form part of the solution if we are to restrict CO2e
concentrations to 450ppm."

Source: Green Investing - Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure

Assessing the costs of adaptation to climate change

The International Institute for Environment and Development (UK) and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London (UK) have released a report to assess the costs of adaptation to climate change compared with estimates from different studies, particularly UNFCCC estimates.

The timing couldn't be better: UNFCCC is preparing a pos-Kyoto agreement in December, in Copenhagen and Ban Ki-Moon has stated that tackling climate change should be a worldwide commitment.

How expensive it is to adapt to climate change? Is it cheaper to start mitigating climate change now when consequences are not yet fully known and felt? What are the cost uncertanties?

Several studies have estimated the cost of adaptation to climate change (Figure 1. and Figure 2.)
Figure 1. Costs in developing countries, for 2010-2015
Figure 2. UNFCCC estimates of addtional annual investment needed by 2030

This study concludes that UNFCCC may be underestimating, because of assumptions. For example for Human Health...

"Human health
The UNFCCC estimates of costs of adaptation are the costs of the intervention set to prevent the additional burden of disease due to climate change for three health outcomes in low- and middleincome countries: diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and malnutrition. The estimates are in the range of $4–12 billion per year in 2030.
These three outcomes are not the total projected burden on human health from climate change.
That total has yet to be assessed accurately, but authors of the WHO study of the global disease burden estimate that these outcomes amount to 30–50% of the probable future total burden in 2030 in low- and middle-income countries (McMichael and Bertollini, 2009, personal communication).
A potential source of under-estimation is that the UNFCCC considers a narrow range of
development futures. It takes a single median population projection in which population numbers increase and cases of diarrhoea/malaria/malnutrition remain constant, i.e. there is steep relative decline in incidence. The present study considers this to be an optimistic assumption."

Climate change is our top priority - Ban Ki-Moon

This month, Ban Ki-Moon called for urgent action on climate change

"Unless we fight climate change, unless we stop this trend, we'll have devastating consequences for humanity."

In March 2007, in a UN conference in New York he said that climate change was a top priority to the United Nations...

"Climate change poses at least as big a threat to the world as war."

"Today, war continues to threaten countless men, women and children across the globe. It is the source of untold suffering and loss. And the majority of the UN's work still focuses on preventing and ending conflict.
But, the danger posed by war to all of humanity - and to our planet - is at least matched by the climate crisis and global warming," he said. "I believe that the world has reached a critical stage in its efforts to exercise responsible environmental stewardship.
The world needs a more coherent system of international environmental governance. We need to invest more in green technologies and smarter policies. And we need to do far more to adapt to global warming and its effects.
But, our efforts should focus particularly on the needs of the poor, who already suffer disproportionately from pollution, disasters and the degradation of resources and land."

Energy efficient project in the Instituto Politécnico of Castelo Branco

6 buildings of the Instituto Politécnico of Castelo Branco will have solar pannels, air conditioning running with natural gas and structural changes in order to save energy consumption.

This investment is financed partly by the government through Iniciativa para o Investimento e Emprego (Jobs and investment initiative). This initiative aims to promote renewable energy consumption, energy efficient projects and more efficient energy nets.

Emissions of air pollutants in EU-27

The European Community's air pollutant emission inventory report released by the European Environment Agency finds that in 2007, sulphur oxides (SOx) emissions were down by 72 % from 1990 levels. The downward emission trend of three main pollutants which cause ground-level ozone continued in 2007: carbon monoxide (CO) fell by 57 %, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) were down by 47 % and nitrogen oxides (NOx) have dropped 36 %. EU-27 emissions of all four pollutants were lower in 2007 than in 2006.

Source: EEA

Promoting Development, Saving the Planet

Promoting Development, Saving the Planet is a new report from the United Nations that alerts to the inevitability of economic growth of developing countries with measures to tackle climate change.
According to the study it will be necessary 500 thousand million dolares, about 1% of the world GDP to tackle climate change in a world in which the energy demand has been increasing. Proposed measures include a clean energy fund, electricity production from renewables, research and development and specially transferring knowledge from developed to developing countries.

Solar electric car

Ecologist magazine presents a short video about a solar electric car that explains how it works and the main challenges in construction and operation.

Most of car manufacturers have a solar prototype. For example, Fiat has Phylla , Venturi has the AstroLab car.

Will this be a possibility in the future?

World Climate Conference in Switzerland starts today

From today to 4th September there will be held Geneva, Switzerland the World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3).

WCC-3 will establish an international framework to guide the development of climate services which will link science-based climate predictions and information with climate-risk management and adaptation to climate variability and change throughout the world.

"The overarching theme of the Conference is "Climate prediction and information for decision-making: focusing on scientific advances in seasonal to inter-annual time-scales, taking into account multi-decadal prediction". It includes the application of climate prediction and information to societal problems enabling adaptation to climate variability and change in various sectors such as agriculture and food security, forestry, energy, water, health, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure, tourism, wildlife, trade and transport that contribute to sustainable socio-economic development.

Better climate information for a better future
There will be four sub-themes in parallel sessions on:

Advancing climate prediction and information science
Climate risk management strategies and information needs
Climate impacts and adaptive strategies
Mainstreaming climate predictions and information services.
As the focus of the conference is on the integration of climate prediction and information in decision-making in relation to user needs, there will be parallel sessions for sectors that contribute to sustainable socio-economic development such as agriculture and food security, energy, water, health, tourism, disaster management and transport."

Psychology and Global Climate Change

The American Psychology Association published a study in which it identifies the causes for people doing so little to tackle climate change:

- Uncertainty – Research has shown that uncertainty over climate change reduces the frequency of “green” behaviour.

- Mistrust – Evidence shows that most people don’t believe the risk messages of scientists or government officials.

- Social comparison - People routinely compare their actions with those of others and derive subjective and descriptive norms from their observations about what is the “proper” course of action. i.e. Al Gore’s large residence has been used as a justification for inaction.

- Undervaluing risks – A study of more than 3,000 people in 18 countries showed that many people believe environmental conditions will worsen in 25 years. While this may be true, this thinking could lead people to believe that changes can be made later.

- Lack of Control – People believe their actions would be too small to make a difference and choose to do nothing.

- Perceived behavioural control - Because climate change is a global problem, many individuals understandably believe that they can do nothing about it. This is the well-known collective action problem.

- Habit – Ingrained behaviours are extremely resistant to permanent change while others change slowly.

Read more: The Ecologist has a more detailed article on this issue.

Is Portugal committed to Kyoto goals?

Cumprir Quioto is a website that shows if Portugal is fulfilling the Kyoto goals.
Portugal could increase its greenhouse gas emissions by 27% comparing to 1990 in the period of 2008-2012.
Currently, Portugal has an increased of 5% more greenhouse emissions.

A danish family experiences living in a House with solar energy production

A danish family of 4 is trying a house with solar energy production. The goal is to demonstrate that microgeneration is a sustainable method.
This house has been developed by Velux and Velfac.

Check the "Home for Life" house and watch the video.

Original article in Portuguese:

"Dinamarca: Uma casa sem factura de energia
13.08.2009
Lusa

Durante um ano, a família Simonsen vai experimentar viver numa casa diferente, em Lystrup, Dinamarca. A energia é fornecida por colectores solares e células fotovoltaicas.

À primeira vista, pouco distingue esta casa situada num subúrbio dinamarquês das moradias vizinhas. Mas logo à entrada, um painel digital revela aos visitantes o que existe de diferente.

"Neste lado, vemos o consumo de electricidade; aqui está a produção fotovoltaica e isto significa a produção de aquecimento solar", explica o engenheiro químico Sverre Simonsen, que se mudou há um mês e meio para esta casa, em Lystrup, enquanto aponta os símbolos mostrados no painel.

A família Simonsen (um casal e duas crianças com seis e nove anos) vai testar a casa durante um ano, tomando nota das vantagens, mas também dos aspectos que podem ser melhorados.

O conceito é simples: demonstrar como é possível contribuir para o desenvolvimento sustentável, obtendo um equilíbrio entre o uso e a produção de energia.

A "Casa para a Vida" é uma das oito "casas activas" de demonstração que as empresas Velux e Velfac estão a desenvolver em vários países europeus, incluindo Portugal.

A arquitectura é moderna, os espaços são amplos e luminosos, graças às janelas rasgadas nas fachadas e às clarabóias abertas nos quartos do primeiro andar.

A energia é fornecida por colectores solares, que aquecem as águas e células fotovoltaicas que fornecem electricidade. "Um dia esperamos ter um carro eléctrico na garagem que possa usar a electricidade a mais que produzimos", explica Rykke Lildholdt, da Velfac.

A habitação recorre também a bombas de calor que fornecem o aquecimento quando não há sol e "gasta menos electricidade do que o normal"

Oito meses por ano, a casa produz mais energia do que gasta, estimando-se que o excedente anual de electricidade se situe nos 9,4 quilowatts/hora por metro quadrado. Como não é possível vender a energia excedentária, os Simonsen cedem-na à rede eléctrica, sabendo que vão recuperá-la quando for necessário.

"Não compramos, nem vendemos. Damos e vamos buscar quando precisamos". Esta é uma família que não recebe factura de aquecimento ou electricidade no final do mês.

Nesta casa, a área envidraçada é bastante superior ao normal (40 por cento de janelas face à área de construção), garantindo uma entrada optimizada da luz solar.

Mas o custo (quatro a cinco mil milhões de coroas dinamarquesas - 540 a 670 milhões de euros - por 190 metros quadrados) e o medo da tecnologia pode afastar potenciais interessados. "As pessoas têm medo que a casa seja demasiado complicada para viver", admite Rykke Lildholdt, enquanto Sverre Simonsen garante que a família se habituou rapidamente e que a "automação proporciona um ambiente sempre agradável". "É quase tudo controlado por controlo remoto e é muito fácil de operar. Claro que às vezes as luzes desligam-se automaticamente quando nós não queríamos, mas julgo que isso é um incómodo menor".

Sverre assume também que as janelas da sala, às quais faltam cortinas, podem ser desconfortáveis à noite "quando toda a gente que passa espreita para dentro". Mas a luz é um dos aspectos mais notáveis, acrescenta o morador. "Temos uma bela vista e essa experiência é muito agradável. Trazemos o exterior para o interior", relata Sverre que já decidiu abrir mais uma janela em casa quando regressar ao seu antigo lar.

"Esta experiência está a tornar-nos mais conscientes e acho que isso é uma coisa que vamos usar no futuro", resumiu."

Portugal will be producing 40 minutes per hour of electricity from renewable sources

The Portuguese Association of Renewable Energies (APREN) predicts that
by 2020 Portugal will be producing 40 minutes per hour of electricity
from renewable sources - 16 minutes wind power production and 24
minutes hydro power production.

Original portuguese article from Público:

"País a caminho de ter 40 minutos de energia renovável por cada hora de
electricidade consumida
11.08.2009
Lurdes Ferreira

Em 2020, quase 40 minutos por cada hora de consumo de electricidade
serão de fonte renovável. E destes 40 minutos, 24 serão de origem
hídrica e os restantes 16 de eólica. Actualmente, oito minutos por
cada hora de consumo eléctrico vêm do vento.

As previsões são de António Sá da Costa, presidente da Associação
Portuguesa da Energias Renováveis (APREN), que defende metas mais
optimistas do que as do Governo uma redução da dependência energética
do país em 20 pontos dentro de 11 anos, reduzindo de 85 para 65 por
cento.

Convidado da sessão de apresentação do programa eleitoral do PS para a
área da energia, Sá da Costa sustenta que o país tem condições para
ficar acima da meta dos 60 por cento de electricidade de fonte
renovável em 2020. “Vamos ter mais. É possível que se situe entre 64 e
65 por cento se, de facto, forem construídas todas as grandes centrais
hídricas” e for aproveitada ao máximo a ligação entre a produção de
energia eólica e as barragens reversíveis, “armazenando energia para
os períodos de consumo”.

A redução para 65 por cento da dependência energética do país, segundo
Sá da Costa, não conta com o impacto do carro eléctrico."

South Korea considers reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020

From 1990 to 2005, South Korean greenhouse gas emission doubled (from 298 million tons to 594.4 million tons), which can be attributed to increasing energy consumption. In spite not signing the Kyoto Protocol, South Korea has been pressured to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The government of South Korea has one of three options for 2020: establish a maximum increase of 8 percent, maintaining 2005 levels, reducing 4 percent. The baseline year is 2005.
This is estimated to cost between 0.3 and 0.5 of South Korea's GDP.
The strategy includes promoting hybrid cars, renewable energies, nuclear energy and energy efficiency.

California's Climate change adaptation strategy

The state of California presented recently its Climate Adaptation Strategy.

"A first-of-its-kind multi-sector strategy to help guide California's efforts in adapting to climate change impacts is now available for public comment. In cooperation and partnership with multiple state agencies, the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy Discussion Draft summarizes the best known science on climate change impacts in seven specific sectors and provides recommendations on how to manage against those threats. The release of the draft document sets in motion a 45-day public comment period."

California Temperatures 1961-2099
These changes in California temperatures is expected to increase energy demands in summer and decrease them in winter.
For the energy sector, the study presents the impacts of changes in precipitation and in rising sea levels and proposes near and long term strategies such as increasing energy efficiency in climate vulnerable areas, new energy facilities specially renewable energy facilities, assessment of hydropower variability from climate change.
This is a draft opened to public comments.

Klima 2009 / Climate 2009

Klima 209 / Climate 2009 is an online scientific conference taking place from 2 to 6 November 2009.
"The Social, Economic and Political Aspects of Climate Change" is going to be discussed by scientists, experts and the general public. Everyone can participate after a free online registration.

"Enter this platform on 2-6 November 2009 and read about new projects and innovative initiatives being undertaken in both industrialised and developing countries by universities and scientific institutions, government bodies, NGOs and other stakeholders."

Investment in Renewable Energy

Investment in Renewable Energy is increasing despite the economic crisis.
UNEP Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative report estimates a total of 55 billion dollars invested in 2008. Wind and solar represented the largest sector of the investment.
However renewable energy still represents only approximately 6% of the world's energy mix.

What is happening in Copenhagen in December?

The Conference of the Parties that signed Kyoto Protocol (COP15) to discuss the period after 2012.
The Kyoto Protocol only goes from 2008 to 2012.
The European Union is strongly committed in emissions reductions. The goal is to cut 20% by 2020 and all 27 Member States will be included.
According to EEA signals, 2009,

"The EU's 2020 target is almost equivalent to removing emissions from all transport across Europe."

Greenhouse gas emissions have increased four times faster since 2000.

EU-15 targets to meet Kyoto Protocol

This figure shows the gap between Kyoto targets for EU-15 and 2010 projections of Greenhouse Gas Emissions with existing measures and including additional measure.

EU can meet its targets, but for that additional measures are required.

Source: EEA, signals 2009

EPER - European Pollutant Emission Register

EPER registers european industrial emissions to air and water.
It is a little outdated (2001), but it now has a search using Google Earth with all industrial installations covered.
All you have to do is to download the file EPER KML file and open it with Google Earth.

About the approval of the climate bill (in Portuguese)

Soromenho-Marques: aprovação da Lei do Clima traz dinâmica política inédita aos EUA
Viriato Soromenho Marques, a portuguese Professor of Philosophy and Environment, says that this approval is not so much about reducing greenhouse gases, but more about the politics that were involved and the future possibilities it opens.

"O resultado mais positivo da aprovação da Lei americana do Clima, pela Câmara dos Representantes, não é a redução de emissões mas sim uma dinâmica política inédita e o que esta permitirá fazer no futuro, comentou hoje Viriato Soromenho-Marques, coordenador do Programa Gulbenkian Ambiente."

House of Representatives passes Climate change bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the country's first climate change legislation.
House Passes Bill to Address Threat of Climate Change
This bill goes to the Senate for approval.

Historic day for Energy and Climate in the US?

Today the United States of America will be discussing the proposal for energy and climate, Barack Obama's priority.
The goal is to reduce 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 2005, through a trading scheme.
If this proposal is approved, the US can participate in the Copenhagen Conference and a post Kyoto agreement would be more plausible with the US.

Solar impulse

Solar impulse is an airplane driven by solar energy. It has about 12 thousand photovoltaic cells and it has an autonomy of about 36 hours. During the day, it uses solar energy. At night it uses energy accumulated in lituim batteries. It has been developed by a team coordinated by Bertrand Piccard.
The final goal of the project is a flight around the world with no stops.

Climate Action

Climate Action is a European gateway to the EU climate change policy.
EU targets are displayed in the figure.

It also promotes environmental awareness advising European citizens on action to take to tackle climate change.

Green Week

EU is promoting the Green Week from 23rd to 26th June.
This is an annual conference about Europe's environment policy.
Key issues are:

"What are the prospects for reaching a new global deal to control climate change at the crucial Copenhagen conference in December?
How can we best 'climate-proof' our economies against the impacts of present and future climate change?
How can we create a carbon-free society by 2050?
How can we ensure action to address climate change best serves conservation of the ecosystems that support life on Earth?"

Energy Efficiency Guide (in spanish)

Centro de Eficiencia Energética, Union Fenosa, has published the Energy Efficiency Guide. It is in spanish.

"La eficiencia energética se sitúa en el centro de los tres ejes de la política energética mundial:
• La garantía de suministro, particularmente relevante en España [e Portugal], que importa casi el 80% de su energía primaria.
• La competitividad, que recobra mayor importancia en el escenario económico y financiero actual.
• La sostenibilidad, con sus implicaciones sobre el cambio climático.
Según la Agencia Internacional de la Energía, en el escenario tendencial el consumo energético se incrementaría un 50% en los próximos 25 años, lo que provocaría un mayor aumento de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. De acuerdo al cuarto informe del Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático (IPCC), publicado a finales del 2007, este escenario tendencial nos llevaría a un incremento de las temperaturas de más de 6 ºC a finales de este siglo."

Gadgets and Gigawatts, new publication by IEA

"The IEA expects that residential energy use by information and communication technologies (mobile phones, PCs etc.) and electronic devices (TVs, DVs, MP3 players, etc.) will double by 2022 and increase threefold by 2030, equivalent to the current combined total residential electricity consumption of the US and Japan."

According to IEA, by 2010 there will be over 3.5 billion mobile phones subscribers, 2billion TVs in use around the world and 1 billion personal computers. Electronic devices can count between 20 and 30 separate items in our homes.
What are the impacts for the environment in terms of energy consumption?

International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation

EU proposed to create an international partnership for energy efficiency between the G8, which will be hosted by IEA.
The main goal is to explore, together with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally.

"The Partnership will add value to existing structures and agreements that tackle energy efficiency, its purpose being to facilitate those actions that yield high energy efficiency gains and improvements, and where the participating countries see an added value for themselves and therefore choose to take action in the areas of their interest on a voluntary basis."

Source:
European Energy Forum

White certificates

White certificates are energy efficiency certificates that confirm the energy savings claims of market actors as a consequence of energy efficiency improvement measures (Directive 2006/32/EC). This is a market-oriented approach in which white certificates can be traded or used for compliance purposes.
Measuring and verifying compliance requires the calculation of savings through comparative measurements of energy use and/or demand before (baseline energy use) and after the implementation. However, baseline conditions can change after the saving measure has been installed. To overcome these challenges in a cost-effective way, pre-defined saving factors can be used.

Energy efficiency certificates (EEC)

According to the European Commission Science for Environment Policy newsletter some EU Member States are considering using Energy Efficiency Certificates schemes.
These EEC schemes impose obligations on a target group, usually energy suppliers, to achieve a certain quantity of 'energy savings' through improvements in efficiency. Projects are awarded certificates for the amount of energy saved and trading may occur between projects and suppliers.
However, a study that examined the effectiveness of these schemes concluded that this is difficult to measure. This study compared different policy measures and, for EEC , if business-as-usual energy use and GHG emissions are higher than expected, the EEC scheme could not reduce emissions to the originally intended level without continual revision of targets.

For more information: Passey, R. and MacGill, I. (2009). Energy sales targets: An alternative to White Certificate schemes. Energy Policy. 37: 2310-2317.

CHP: advantages

How CHP works
Source: The advantages of CHP presentation, 2004

Efficiency comparison

I found this figure in the Energy and Environment Report, 2008 from EEA and I think it is very interesting because it compares average efficiency in EU-27 with the minimum efficiency for CHP power plants. Is it feasible to install only CHP power plants in EU?

Energy and air pollution

Production and use of energy has also impacts in air quality, mainly due to the release of particulate matter (PM10 - particulate that have size inferior to 10 micrometers and that can be easily inhaled), acidifying substances (such as sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides and ammonia) and ozone precursors (VOC - volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, methane, nitrous oxides).
The following figures show emissions of air pollutants in 2005 for EU-27.
Ozone precursors
Acidifying substances
PM10
Energy related activities (including transport) have the highest share. They are responsible for approximately 55% of EU-27 emissions of acidifying substances, 76% of emissions of tropospheric ozone precursors and about 67% of PM10.
The good news is that between 1990-2005 these emissions have decreased respectively by 59%, 45% and 53%, due to strict legislation (introduction of low NOx burners, and integrated control of pollution, that introduced the best available techniques concept (BAT)), improvements in efficiency and fuel switching (from coal and oil to natural gas). Some old plants have also been closed.

Source of the data: Energy and Environment Report 2008, EEA

Energy and environmental impacts

So far I have not referred to the environmental impacts of energy production and its use.
This and some following posts will be dedicated to energy and environment.
The most notorious environmental impact of energy production is greenhouse gas emissions.
According to EEA Energy and Environment Report 2008 energy related greenhouse gas emissions account for about 80% of total emissions. By sectors electricity and heat production have the highest share, followed by transport.
Total greenhouse gas emissions by sector, EU 27
Note that this includes carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, SF6, HFC e PFC.
The figure below shows the CO2 emissions per capita in 2005.
CO2 emissions per capita by country in 2005
Energy related emissions have the highest share per country. Luxembourg emits more than 25 t CO2 per capita. Portugal emits about 10 t CO2 per capita.

EPBD Buildings

"The EPBD Buildings Platform is a European Commission initiative in the framework of the Intelligent Energy - Europe (2003-2006) programme, which provides information services for practitioners and consultants, experts in energy agencies, interest groups and national policy makers in the European Member States for helping the implementation of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)."

EU target for energy efficiency: 20 % in 2020

In 2007, the EU approved an Energy Policy for Europe that has the following goals:
- 20% energy saving
- 20% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- 20% share of renewables in overall EU energy consumption
- 10% renewable energy component in transport fuel

Improving energy efficiency for the consumer means lower energy bills and creation of jobs.
For governments it means less greenhouse gas emissions and less dependency on gas and oil.
Energy efficiency in buildings can reduce 30% energy use, a reduction of 11% of the EU's final energy.

Electrical and electronic equipment labeling

Electrical appliances such as refrigerators, freezer, dishwashers and microwaves display a label with their energy efficiency. This has been implemented in EU since 1992 (Council Directive 92/75/EEC of 22 September 1992).
Electrical equipment labeling
This label is highly visible to the consumer to increase its awareness on the real energy use of household appliances.
Manufactures are also compelled to improve the product design to lower the energy consumption at their use and to have minimal energy consumption requirements.
Although A appliances are more expensive than D and E appliances, their energy savings will pay off in a couple of years.

For electronic equipment there is the Energy Star symbol.
Energy Star symbol
This is a voluntary labeling scheme that helps consumers choose more energy-efficient equipments.

EU legislation: Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 regulates energy performances of buildings. Member States must implement a method of calculating a building's energy performance that will take into account insulation levels, lighting, efficiency and performance of heating and air conditioning systems and the outdoor climate. Buildings must have an energy performance certificate, so that owners, tenants and users can assess its running costs and energy consumption. The Directive also introduces minimum standards for energy performance, which are calculated and set by Member States and applied to new buildings, as well as existing large properties as to and when they are considerably refurbished.

"This Directive introduces a holistic approach for energy efficient buildings, which is complemented by other pieces of legislation introduced by the EU, such as on the energy performance of boilers and on construction products."

This Directive is currently under revision. It aims to clarify and simplify Directive 2002/91/EC, strengthen some of its provisions so that their impact is more effective, and to provide for the leading role of the public sector.

Electricity and buildings

A 2007 study by the Institute for Environment and Sustainability states that electricity consumption in EU-27 Member States has continued to grow. From 1999 to 2004 the increased was of 10.8 percent, almost the same rate as the economy.

The study identifies four major factors for this trend:
1. More penetration of appliances such as dishwashers, driers, air conditioners, computers, and introduction of consumer electronics and information and communication technology with standby losses
2. Increased used of equipments: more hours of TV watching, more hours in front of the computer
3. Increased number of double or triple appliances
4. More single family houses, each with some basic appliances, and larger houses and apartments.

The largest electricity use is heating (26%), followed by refrigerators and freezers (15%) and lighting (12%). The Figure is for EU-15.


Comparing this figure with the Electricity consumption in portuguese households from Ecocasa project the percentages are of the same order of magnitude.

Energy and buildings

Energy use in residential, commercial and public buildings accounts for 35 percent of total global energy consumption.
According to IEA heating is the main end-use of energy in buildings.

The World's Ten Largest Renewable Energy Projects

Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park, Spain


Scientific American presents a slide show with the World's ten largest renewable energy projects. They are:

1. Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center - onshore wind farm in Texas with 421 wind turbines producing 735 megawatts of peak power
2. Lynn and Inner Dowsing Wind Farm - offshore wind farm in Lincolnshire, England producing 194 megawatts of electricity at peak
3. Rance Tidal Barrage - producing electricity from tides in Bretagne, France. Differences between low and high tides is 8 meters
4. SeaGen Turbine - transforms tides or deep ocean currents into electricity in Strangford Lough, Ireland
5. Solar Energy Generating Systems -nine separate solar thermal power plants spread across the Mojave Desert in Southern California, which collectively can produce 354 megawatts of power
6. Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park - 162,000 flat solar photovoltaic panels in Spain that deliver 60 megawatts of electricity on a sunny day
7. The Geysers - the most productive geothermal park in the world in Sonoma and Lake Counties, Northern California. Its peak production is about 1000 megawatts, providing nearly 60 percent of the electricity used in California's North Coast region
8. Oy Alholmens Kraft - dry biomass plant in Pietarsaari, Finland. it produces a peak output of 240 megawatts of electricity and also generates 160 megawatts of steam used by nearby industry and for district heating. Fuels are peat, wood by-products and wood are harvested in a sustainable way
9. Aguçadoura Wave Farm - wave power plant near Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. It resembles a wide floating snake, half-submerged on the sea surface. Currently there are three units installed perpendicular to the beach, having each 0.75 megawatt of electricity capacity
10. Three Gorges Dam - this dam in China has an electricity capacity of 14.1 gigawatts. By 2011, it will produce 18 gigawatts of electricity, or as much as 18 large nuclear power plants.

For those of you that do not consider large dams renewable projects, there is the Puente Hills landfill gas recuperation power plant in California. This power plant uses gas released from landfills (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide) to produce electricity. It accepts solid waste from Los Angeles county and is currently active and still growing. The peak capacity is about 50 megawatts.

Home

A documentary released today everywhere in the world.

Home, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

"We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate."

World Environment Day 2009

Today is the World Environment Day (WED).

"WED, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action."

Follow UNEP on twitter!

"Plant a tree! Help achieve UNEP’s Billion Tree Campaign target of planting seven billion trees – one for every person on the planet – by the end of this year! Three billion are planted. Five billion are pledged. On every continent in the world trees can be planted in June, so start your efforts on WED."

Electricity consumption in households

This picture is from Ecocasa Program, a study developed in Portugal by the environmental organization Quercus that analyzed consumption in 225 portuguese homes and proposed measures for savings.

Electricity consumption in portuguese households

About 24% corresponds to electric appliances destined to preserve food: refrigerator and the freezer. Washing machines (clothes and dishes) accounts for 16%. Illumination for 8% and air conditioning (hot or cold) the air for 9%. Technological appliances and entertainment are responsible for 13%. The rest (30%) is from electrical equipment for water heating and small household appliances.

Electricity consumption per sector

Electricity consumption per sector, Eurostat (data from 2007)

Electricity consumption (GWh): evolution per year, Eurostat (data from 2007)

Households and services are major consumers of electricity in Portugal and this trend is increasing.
According to Eurostat (Panorama of Energy 2009 Edition) installed electricity capacity nearly doubled between 1991 and 2006 mostly supported by natural gas, wind and hydro.

Electricity generation evolution by source, Eurostat

Households and services sectors

We spend on average about 90% of our time indoors. Closed environments are most of the time consuming energy.
What is the share of households and services sectors in energy consumption?
It's about 30% of final energy consumption.
Final energy consumption by households and services per year in Portugal (1000 toe), Eurostat 2009
The picture shows that final energy consumption in households and services has been increasing.
Electricity consumption in Portuguese households and services per year has also been increasing.
Electricity consumption by households and services per year in Portugal (1000 toe), Eurostat 2009

National Geographic Channel Efficient House

If you live in Portugal and if you are interested in knowing a little more about reducing your Ecological Footprint in your everyday life, you should go to Pavilhão do Conhecimento, Parque das Nações.
National Geographic Channel and EDP have installed there an efficient house. It is a 100 square meter T2 house with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom and a small garden. It advises people on good practices and it has also some technical stuff about materials used in construction and solutions for water heating.
The house can be visited until the 5th July. Entrance is free.

Passivhaus

Passivhaus refers to energy efficient residential buildings.
This term was created by Professors Bo Adamson, a sweden enginneer, and Wolfgang Feist, a german engineer, and the first passivhaus was built in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1990. Dr Feist founded the Passivhaus Institute a few years later, in 1996.
What makes a passivhaus so different than an ordinary house?
The thermal comfort of the passivhaus is guaranteed solely by re-heating (or re-cooling) the fresh air that is required for satisfactory air quality. This means that there is no heating system, except for heat recovery through the ventilation unit.
Houses are built accordingly to five key principles:
1. Wall insulation - thick layers of insulation (around 40 centimeters expanded plastic) to prevent heat losses.
2. Windows - small percentage of the surface area occupied by glass windows. Large windows should be to the south to maximise incoming light and heat from the sun in Winter. 40 per cent of the total winter heating should come from the sun.
3. Bridges that conduct cold into the houses are avoided by using special prefabricated materials.
4. Airtightness - refers to the loss of air through cracks, airbricks, poor door seals, windows. Passivhaus must loose less than 60 % of the volume of air in the house per hour. This can be achieved in pre-fabricated houses with factory made components that fit together very tightly.
5. Ventilation system - mandatory for air renovation. In the winter, cold air that enters passes over ducts containing warm and humid air leaving the building.

Passivhaus diagram

Energy requirements comparison

The diagram was downloaded from 100k House

Electricity consumption in Portugal

Today I received a message from EDP, the only portuguese electricity company.
It's about electricity labeling, that is, knowing where the electricity offered by EDP comes from.
In 2008, electricity that was generated in Portugal came from conventional thermoelectric stations fed by coal, natural gass, fuel-oil and biomass, and hydroelectric plants and wind. The rest of it was imported from Spain.
The following figure (in portuguese) shows the electricity offered by EDP per technology.


Nuclear power is responsible for 5.3%, all of it imported from Spain. There are no nuclear power plants in Portugal and yet we consume electricity from that source.

Fossil fuel still represents the higher share in electricity production with 61.1%. Renewables represent 33.7%.

Monthly share of electricity consumption per technology (2008 data)

The figure shows the irregularity of hydroelectricity production. Fuel-oil reaches almost 10 % in December, but has lower shares throughout the year.

Air emissions in 2008

Air emissions are a consequence of that electricity mix.

Ten technologies to save the planet: carbon sequestration

Chris Goodall also talks about carbon sequestration.
Greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, can be trapped instead of released to the atmosphere in the conventional electricity generation processes.
There are several way to capture it, but most of them need extra energy.
What I found particularly interesting was the possibility of capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air. Global Research Technologies formulated a plastic that attracts and holds carbon dioxide molecules. When the strips of the plastic are fully loaded, they are placed in a humid atmosphere. The plastic also attracts water molecules, which push the carbon dioxide directly away from the strips so that it can be captured.
GRT states that its air-capture system is about one thousand times more efficient than a tree of equal size. The extra energy needed is due to the recovery of the sorbent that has higher economic value.
Here is a picture of the air-capture system on a massive use scale.

There is a very interesting article in The Economist about this subject. It explains in a more detailed way how is carbon dioxide captured from the air and it also mentions the possibility of producing synthetic hydrocarbons from the captured CO2 and hydrogen. Of course this would not solve Mankind's dependency on fossil fuels, but it can be an alternative before turning into renewable energy production.

Ten technologies to save the planet: renewable energy

In the renewable energy dedicated chapters, the author writes about the unpredictability of renewable energy in the short-term, particularly wind electricity generation.
He refers to the disconnection of turbines in Spain in March and April 2008, because they were generating up to 40 per cent of the countries electricity requirement and small percentage changes in wind output could overwhelm the ability to import instantaneously electricity from France or switch on backup power stations.
The solution to this problem lies in three different approaches:
1. Importing Remote power - good electricity connections to their neighbours (currently Spain can only import a maximum of 5 % of demand). Major investments in power distribution networks are required, i. e., increasing the number and size of electricity transmission links between different countries and between regions inside countries.

2. Storing electricity to meet short-term needs - through pumped storage (movement of large quantities of water uphill into a storage reservoir), batteries and hydrogen production, which is a vector of electricity. It can be interesting coupling wind electricity generation and mini-dams.

3. Managing demand to meet supply - load shredding, which consists of disconnecting industries for a short period of time from the electricity grid. The industries that agree to this have lower electricity bills.

Book review: Ten technologies to save the planet

I've been reading the book Ten technologies to save the planet by Chris Goodall

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Technologies-Save-Planet-Chris-Goodall/dp/184668868X)

It is a very interesting book. The only negative aspects I found were that the author does not present referrences and that he has a almost exclusively climate change oriented vision.

The book is roughly about renewable electricity production (wind, solar and wave and tidal energy), energy efficiency (industrial and in houses), alternatives to fossil fuels in transportation (electricity and biofuels), carbon capture (industrially and through soil and forests). The last chapter puts it all together.

Electric Cars

I found an interesting article on the BBC news about the UK plan to boost electric cars.
This article identifies some negative aspects of the electric and hybrid vehicles. They include the autonomy of the battery, the charging battery time and the size of the car (two seats).
The figure shows a comparison of autonomies and battery charge time.


The article also points out that investment in public transportation and places to recharge the vehicles is also needed, as well as guaranteeing that electricity is produced with the least environmental impacts possible (high share of renewable energy).

The article is available here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8001254.stm

US-IEA Energy Outlook 2009

Today was released the US-IEA Energy Outlook 2009.

"World marketed energy consumption is projected to grow by 44 percent between 2006 and 2030, driven by strong long-term economic growth in the developing nations of the world."

Economic recovery that is expected to begin within the next 12/24 months is the main responsible for this trend.

US-IEA also predicts higher world oil prices that will continue to raise in the short term until at least 2030. The good news about increasing oil prices is that other alternatives which can be environmentally friendly become more attractive together with research and development of alternatives to oil.

So, it is not a surprise when the report states that

"unconventional alternatives (including biofuels, oil sands, extra-heavy oil, coal-to-liquids, and gas-to-liquids) are expected to become increasingly competitive in the reference case [increasing oil prices]."

Renewable energy is also expected to grow until 2030 by an average of 2.9% per year, with electricity production representing 21% in 2030 (it represented 19% in 2006). Wind and hydropower will be major players in this increase.

This figure shows world electricity generation by fuel:


This figure shows the share of renewables in electricity generation:


An increase in energy consumption in a world where fossil fuels still have the higher share will have several environmental impacts. One that is of most concern in the times we live in is climate change. The following figure shows greenhouse gas emissions projections.


The increase is mainly due to non-OECD countries that have been increasing while economic growing.

For more information, please go to:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/05/ieo2009-20090527.html#more
The US-IEA Energy Outlook report 2009 is available here:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/pdf/0484(2009).pdf

Efficiency of conventional energy generation in EU

According to EEA (European Environment Agency) the efficiency of conventional energy generation (electricity and heat) has been increasing since 1990.

Source: EEA, EN19 Efficiency of conventional thermal electricity production, 2005
The above figure shows efficiency from 1990 to 2004 for electricity production and combined heat and electricity production. Projections for 2010 to 2030 are also present. You can see that efficiency has been improving but are still below 50%, which is mainly due to efficiency in combined electricity and heat production.
The improvement in energy efficiency can be explained by a variety of factors. First it can be attributed to the closure of old plants, with old and inefficient technology. Then the implementation of more efficient technologies, such as the combined cycle gas-turbines, which refers to the usage of waste heat to make steam and generate additional electricity. Also an important improvement is switching from coal to natural gas, which is due to environmental regulation and also to the lower cost of electricity production. The last can change in the future due to the relative price of gas compared to coal.
Projections from 2010 to 2030 point to increasing efficiencies. This will be explored later.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Combined heat and power is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat from a single fuel source.
Electricity produced in a conventional way (fossil fuel burning) has an efficiency of about 40%. This is due to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that, in the Lord Kelvin formulation,

"It is impossible to convert heat completely into work in a cyclic process."

This means that there are no processes with an efficiency of 100% because losses in the form of heat are always occurring and heat cannot be completely converted into work.
So, to try to use the energy we produce in a more efficient way, why not use the heat instead of letting it slip to the atmosphere?
In order to do so, there are some changes required in the production process, for example, installing a heat recovery unit or using a steam turbine. Steam turbines normally generate electricity as a byproduct of heat (steam) generation.
Currently, CHP processes are used for example in district energy systems (district heating).
Advantages and disadvantages will be discussed later.

Energy intensity

It is the energy per GDP.
It is a measure of the economy of a country's efficiency.
A high value indicates a high price of converting energy into GDP. The country is highly materialised and economic growth is dependent of energy consumption.
The goal of economies today is to have a low energy intensity, which indicates a dematerialization of the economy and that you can produce the same with less.
The following figure shows energy intensity per year and per country. 1995 is considered the baseline to which years are compared to (1995=100).

We can conclude that Portugal is not decoupling energy consumption from economic growth. Compared with EU-25 it has the opposite tendency.

This figure shows how Portugal contributes to energy intensity in EU-25.

This figure displays the trendline of the energy intensity per year. It nothing is done, in 2009 energy intensity could be 10% above the 1995 baseline.
Source: EEA, CSI 028 March 2007

2005 and 2006 data contradict the trendline, but this may have occurred due to a decrease in GDP and not exactly in energy consumption. Consulting IEA data, there was a slightly decrease in energy consumption
(go to: http://www.iea.org/textbase/stats/pdf_graphs/PTTFC.pdf).

World electricity generation

Source: IEA, 2008 (data from 2006)
Coal and gas represent the highest share in electricity production. Renewable energy represents about 18%, with hydro electricity having the highest share.
In spite the renewable energy effort of developed countries, particularly EU, the share of renewables is expected to decrease a little more mainly due to paradigm changing in developing countries (biomass is being replaced by coal).

Share of total primary energy supply (IEA, 2006)

Fossil fuels account for more than 80% of total primary energy supply.
Hydro is separated from other renewable energy because it is considered a conventional energy producer.

By sector:

Other sectors include residential, commercial, agriculture and fishing.

Hydro electricity

Major producers of hydro electricity are China, Canada and Brasil.

Percentage of hydro in total domestic electricity generation:

Source: IEA, Key energy statistics 2008

World share: 16.4%

Nuclear production

Major producer: EUA, followed by France and Japan.

Percentage of nuclear in total domestic electricity generation:

Source: IEA, Key World Energy Statistics 2008

Total share in the world: 14.8%

European countries are major players in nuclear production, but they were practically unmentioned in fossil fuel Q&A.

Q&A

Crude oil

Question: What is the major crude oil producer?
Answer: Russia. It represents about 12.4% of the total. The second is Saudi Arabia with a share of 12.3%. United States, Iran, China, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates follow.

Question: What is the total production of crude oil?
Answer: 3937 Mt.

Question: What is the major crude oil exporter?
Answer: It is Saudi Arabia followed by Russia.

Question: What is the major crude oil importer?
Answer: United States (produces but apparently not enough), followed by Japan and China.

Natural Gas

Question: What is the major natural gas producer?
Answer: Russia (with 21.5%) followed by the United States (18%).

Question: What is the major natural gas exporter?
Answer: Russia, followed by Canada and Norway.

Question: What is the major natural gas importer?
Answer: United States, followed by Japan and Germany.

Coal:

Question: What is the major coal producer?
Answer: It's China, followed by the United States and India.

Question: What is the major coal exporter?
Answer: Australia, followed by Indonesia and Russia.

Question: What is the major coal importer?
Answer: Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei.

Source: IEA, 2008 (Key World Energy Statistics)

Conclusions:
1. Japan is one of the major importers of fossil fuels.
2. The United States is one of the major crude oil producers and also importer.
3. Russia is a major crude oil and natural gas producer and also exporter.
4. China is present mainly in fossil fuel production and importation.

Motivation to write this book

I have two different motivations to write this book about energy efficiency and related energy issues:
1. If energy efficiency is so advantageous as I think, because you will be producing the same with less, why is it a recent concept? Or is it that recent?

2. Learn about these issues so I can apply to jobs related to that. Writing a book as a project can be a great way to research the state of the art and to learn by myself.

Concepts to have in mind - toe

toe - tonne of oil equivalent

The toe is the energy released in the combustion of one tonne of crude oil.
It is approximately 11 630 kWh.

Electricity production in Portugal

This figure shows the percentage that renewable energy represents in total electricity production. Hydro is separated because it is considered a conventional electricity source.
The share of wind power is about 5% of the total.

Source: IEA, 2006