The Solar Intelligence Blog
http://blog.copperwire.org/
The need for a master plan
Gaining public acceptance for climate change mitigation efforts
We presently do not have a proven tool that quantifies the environmental impact of various electricity generation systems. And without it, we cannot take well-founded decisions concerning our energy future. That is one of the...
Finding good sites for wind turbines is not so easy
Wind farms in England and Wales are failing to generate the predicted amount of electricity
A study by the Renewable Energy Foundation shows that England and Wales are not windy enough to generate electricity at the rates projected for them. Government targets are based on wind farms running at 30%...
Fatih Birol (IEA) on the World Energy Outlook 2006
At the Strategic Forum on Energy Supply in the 21st century
If we want to secure the world?s energy supply and mitigate climate change, there is no time to waste. That was the strong message of Fatih Birol?s presentation to the Strategic Forum on Energy Supply in the 21st century (Brussels, 19...
HAPPY NEW (and sustainable) YEAR!
A historic turn?
The only way to detect historic events in your own life-time is to live to be well beyond 100. We may not be that fortunate (from an academic point of view), but it seems reasonable to assume that the publication of the Stern-Review late 2006 was a significant milestone on the road...
The Year 2006 in Energy
The year 2006 has been a spectacular year for energy. Hereby Leonardo ENERGY's list of 10 highlights.- Energy Efficiency becomes top priority in Europe (and beyond). See Hans Nilsson's analysis on the energy efficiency action plan.
- Many world records broken on renewable energy technologies, among...
Is Electricity a Commodity
A post by PowerEncounter, asking the question whether there is really such a think as a standard 'kWh of electricity'.White, green and black certificates: three interacting sustainable energy instruments
This paper presents three different types of certificates ('white' for energy savings, 'green' for renewable electricity, and 'black' for greenhouse gas reductions in the European Emission Trading Scheme). The current limited experiences with these instruments already allow to define some of the...'Factor 4' Solution: from diesel to electric trains
Diesel trains consume 460 kJ/tonne.km and emit 35 g/tonne.km. For electric trains, these figures become 230 and 9.3 respectively. The use of electric trains improves CO2 emissions by a factor 4, and energy consumption by a factor 2. Another illustration of the booster effect on carbon saving...
The transition of the electricity grid
Nobody can predict the future but one thing is for sure: "the power system is changing" and its rate of change increases. This change is driven by regulatory frameworks, policies to increase the amount of renewables and the availability of small-scale technologies combined with advanced information...Climate protection and energy supply in Germany 1990-2020
A report by DPG reviews15 years of climate policy in Germany (1990-2005) and looks 15 years ahead (2005-2020). Germany's emissions are only 3-4% of global emissions, and hence Germany's climate policy only makes sense in a context of setting a leadership example on the international scene, ...
Post-2012 Climate Policy - the Pew report
In a 47th vision on Kyoto Post-2012 (after the '45 visions' review by University of Amsterdam and the recent 3E report), the Pew Center on Global Climate Change argues for a flexible, multilateral framework that engages major actors. It calls for an aspirational long-term goal, with...
'Factor 6' Solution: the condensing boilers
The average efficiency of non-condensing gas boilers running in the EU is about 70% where condensing boilers can achieve 95% efficiency (based on higher heating value). Taking the view that the heat output from the boiler is an energy service provided to the building, the energy...
Post-2012 Climate Policy - Assessing the Options
A new report by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, ECN and Wageningen University contributes a review of 45 publications on climate policy post-2012, and provides an excellent framework to interpret and understand such proposals.Uncertainty reigns
The report defines 4 broad policy objectives that climate...White book on electric heating
GIFAM, a French association of 60 manufacturers of home appliances has issued a white book on electric heating applications in the home, outlining some of the advantages of modern electric heating systems:- no emissions at the point of use (in addition - for France - low emissions in production)
- 100%...
How precious is a kWh?
A kWh of electricity means:
- 1200 electric shaves (> 3 years)
- Slice 100 breads
- Drying your hair 15 times
- 4 TV evenings
- Listening to 15 CD's
- Using a (small) refrigerator for 24 hours
- 20 microwave meals
- Drill 250 holes
- 4 evenings of light with 60 W incandescent lamps
- 20...
How precious is a cubic meter of gas?
A cubic meter of gas means:
- Heating a home for 1 hour on a cold day
- Wash your hands 50 times
- Clean the dishes 6 times
- 3 showers
- 6 hot meals
- 1 bath
[Source: Milieuzorg op School, nr 5, Mei 2005]
Does a liberalised market produce clean electricity?
In this discussion paper by CE Delft, the current and expect impact of liberalising the electricity market is described, based on input from an expert group. The themes are clean electricity, reliability of the system and its cost. The paper concludes:
- Environmental performance: the...
Refresh course - harmonics
LPQI is pleased to offer a webcourse on harmonics in 3 sessions.
Session 1 - basics
Harmonic currents arise from the use of non-linear loads, comprising in the first place electronic devices which did not exist until some 20 years ago. These load the power systems of buildings in a ...
Towards a post-2012 climate change regime
A report commissioned by DG Environment proposes a post-2012 regime that includes developing countries as well as major annex I emitters that have currently not ratified Kyoto. It proposes a 3-stage approach:
- Countries with emissions larger than 9 tCO2e/capita, i.e. 2/3 of current annex I,...
Hot & Cool: heat pumps in Sweden
Over the past 3 years, the number of heat pumps sold in Sweden has almost doubled. Outside district heating areas, heat pumps have become the standard solution for private homes. Every second heat pump in Europe - not including air-to-air systems, is installed in Sweden. In 2004, almost 70,000...
31 Years after the first Energy Crisis - the relation between energy policy and technology
The country imagines who its future competitors are most likely to be. And looming large on that horizon is China. China is short on energy . . .Russia only has energy . . .
Most countries don't have energy strategies. There is plenty of energy policies, plenty of energy regulations. There are even...
'Factor 3' Solution: the heat pump
Electrically-driven heat pumps for heating buildings typically supply 100 kWh of heat with just 20-40 kWh of electricity. Heating buildings causes 30% of global CO2 emissions. More wide-scale use of heat pumps could save 1200 million tonne of CO2 emissions annually, i.e. about 6% of global...'Factor 4' Solution: from air to rail travel
CO2 emissions per passenger.km for air travel are 186 g to travel from Hamburg to Munich (source - p41). Making the journey by rail reduces this to 43 g CO2 per passenger.km. Replacing air travel by high speed rail over medium distances reduces CO2 emissions by a factor 4. Energy ...
'Factor 5' Solutions: Super-refrigerators
In Factor Four - Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use, one of the solutions mentioned are super-refrigerators. In the 70's, the average refrigerator consumed 3.36 kWh/yr per liter volume, but refrigerators nowadays achieve much better performance (for example, see Certified Environmental...
Web event - Power Quality labelling
Is your power quality class A, or 3-star? In this web event, on Dec 6 at 16h00 Europe Standard Time, KEMA with Continuon and TU Eindhoven and EPRI Solutions will present 2 approaches towards PQ labelling:
1) Labelling for Power Quality regulation (KEMA, Continuon, Tu Eindhoven)
The...
The...