China to head green energy boom with 60% of new projects in next six years

 

A 25MW solar hybrid photovoltaic power generation project in Duntou town, Jiangsu province, China. Aquaculture and fish farming occurs under the panels. Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

 

Solar panels are seen at a solar power plant in Pingdingshan, Henan province, China June 7, 2018. Picture taken June 7, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo 

 

The first Panda Solar Station started operating in Datong in August 2017 Credit: Getty Images

  China is expected to account for almost 60% of all renewable energy capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

The IEA’s highly influential renewable energy report found that over the next six years renewable energy projects will roll out at three times the pace of the previous six years, led by the clean energy programmes of China and India.

It found that the world’s renewable energy capacity is on course to outpace the 2030 goals set by governments to roughly equal the power systems in China, the EU, India and the US combined.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said: “If I could sum this [trend] up in two words they would be: China, solar.”

 

China will have over half of the world’s renewables by the end of the decade. The solar power surge is thought to have slowed China’s coal power pipeline, which grew by 100 GW of new power plant permits in 2022 and 2023. In the first half of 2024 China issued permits for only 12 new projects totaling 9.1 GW, according to Global Energy Monitor.

The growth in solar capacity to 2030 will account for 80% of all new renewable power added globally by the end of this decade, according to the IEA. It expects the rollout to accelerate due to declining costs and policy support which will enable homes and businesses to invest in solar panels to reduce their electricity bills.

Wind power is also showing signs of recovering from the steep hike in interest rates and supply chain costs which has hampered the industry, particularly for capital-intensive offshore windfarms.

The IEA expects that the rate of global wind power growth will double between 2024 and 2030 compared with the previous six years. In the UK, the government has set a target of quadrupling Britain’s offshore wind power by 2030 while spurring the development of floating wind turbines.

Floating windfarms are expected to be a small share of the offshore wind industry by 2030 but a new report by Renewable UK, published on Wednesday, has found that by 2050, floating turbines could provide one-third of the UK’s offshore wind capacity and contribute £47bn to the economy, particularly Scottish and Welsh port communities.

Birol said: “Renewables are moving faster than national governments can set targets for. This is mainly driven not just by efforts to lower emissions or boost energy security – it’s increasingly because renewables today offer the cheapest option to add new power plants in almost all countries around the world.”

The green energy boom means renewables are on track to grow by 2.7 times by 2030, exceeding the goals set out by governments by nearly 25%, the report found. But this growth still falls narrowly short of the commitment made by world leaders to triple renewables by the end of the decade to cut the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.

About 120 world leaders pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity before 2030 in a bold attempt to slash the global consumption of fossil fuels at the UN’s Cop28 climate talks in Dubai last year.

 

Birol said it was “entirely possible” to meet the target, and added that there were three steps that global governments could take to speed up the rate at which renewable energy becomes operational.

First, global leaders need to recognise the “critical importance of building power grids” to speed up the connection of new renewable energy projects, he said. The IEA found that at least 1,650 gigawatts of renewable capacity were now in advanced stages of development and waiting for a grid connection, 150GW higher than at this point last year.

Birol added that countries needed to reduce the time it took for renewable energy developers to get permission for new projects. It can take seven years for windfarms, he said, and five years for a solar farm.

Finally, the IEA urged international financial institutions needed to do more to back renewable energy in emerging and developing economies which continued to lag behind developed countries.

“One of the biggest ‘energy inequalities’ I see is in sub-Saharan Africa where one in two people don’t have access to reliable electricity. It has enormous solar power potential and yet across the whole region there is the same solar capacity as in Belgium. It is frustrating,” he said.

 

 

UK homes install ‘record number’ of solar panels and heat pumps

TheGuardian - Head of industry standards body says more people are turning to renewable technology as energy costs grow

 Solar panels on a narrowboat in Henley-on-Thames. An average of 20,000 households installed solar panels every month this year. Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock

 

British households are making more green energy upgrades than ever before after installing a record number of solar panels and heat pumps in the first half of the year, according to the industry’s official standards body.

The industry figures show there were more green energy installations in June alone than in any six-month period in previous years.

On average, more than 20,000 households installed solar panels every month this year, while the number of homes installing heat pumps reached 3,000 a month for the first time, according to the data.

Each month of 2023 was a record month for battery technologies, as installation figures consistently surpassed the month before, bringing the total number of batteries installed in homes and businesses across the UK to more than 1,000 in 2023 so far.

The industry’s accreditation body, MCS, said the green energy boom has put households on track to install more renewable energy than the last record set in 2012, when many raced to install solar panels before government subsidies were reduced.

Ian Rippin, the chief executive of MCS, said: “As the cost of energy continues to grow, we are seeing more people turn to renewable technology to generate their own energy and heat at home.”

Small-scale renewable energy installations at homes and businesses across the UK now have a total capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW), greater than the nuclear power plant under construction at Hinkley Point and almost double the capacity of Europe’s biggest gas power plant near Pembroke in Wales.

“We need to continue to push this expansion to meet our shared national ambitions to reach net zero by 2050. More consumers have the confidence to invest in small-scale renewables now than ever, but we have to make that transition even easier,” Rippin said.

The UK government has set targets to reach 70GW of solar capacity by 2035 and to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. But the uptake of heat pumps has fallen far short of the government’s aim, despite £5,000 grants to reduce the cost of replacing an old gas boiler.

In total there were 17,920 heat pump installations in the first six months of 2023, according to MCS data, meaning that if the same pace continued over the second half of the year, heat pump installations would reach just 6% of the government’s target.

Bean Beanland, the director of external affairs at the Heat Pump Federation, said there was “a tremendous job of work to do” to ensure that heat pump technology becomes mainstream over the remainder of this decade.

The accreditation body believes that one of the biggest barriers to the government’s heat pump ambitions is the need to recruit enough qualified, skilled installers to meet the demand for trustworthy advice and installations.

There are 1,500 heat pump installation companies certified in the UK, but an estimated 50,000 workers will be needed to meet government targets. So far this year, more than 850 new contractors have become MCS certified, more than the number who signed up during the whole of 2022.

Beanland added: “It is essential that the lowest-carbon heat becomes the lowest-cost heat, so that homeowners and landlords can justify the transition away from polluting fossil fuels. If this is coupled to a genuine affordability and future funding package, then households will be able to contribute to climate change mitigation with confidence and at a cost that is fair to all.”

 

Nytimes link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/12/climate/wind-solar-clean-energy.html

 

 

56% das indústrias querem migrar para o mercado livre de energia.

 Pesquisa da CNI afirma que economia seria de 15% a 20% na conta de luz; migração é permitida a partir de janeiro de 2024.

 LAIS CARREGOSA 3.fev.2023 (sexta-feira) - 0h02

 

 Mais da metade das indústrias desejam migrar para o mercado livre de energia a partir de janeiro de 2024, segundo pesquisa da CNI (Confederação Nacional da Indústria) divulgada nesta 6ª feira (3.fev.2023).

 São 56% das empresas que estão hoje no mercado cativo em alta tensão. Em setembro de 2022, o governo publicou uma portaria que abriu o mercado para os consumidores do grupo A, em tensão maior que 2,3 KV (quilovolts). 

 Já era possível comprar energia no mercado livre desde 1996, mas somente para quem consumia carga acima de 1.000 kW (quilowatts) .

A portaria abriu o mercado para todas as indústrias em alta tensão, independentemente da carga consumida, a partir de 1º de janeiro de 2024.

 A pesquisa da CNI com 2.016 empresas de pequeno, médio e grande porte mostra que 59% das empresas de grande porte compram energia diretamente do produtor ou comercializador, no mercado livre. Entre as empresas de médio porte, 25% estão no mercado livre. O percentual cai para 6% entre as de pequeno porte. 

 Já as empresas que usam o mercado cativo –ou seja, que compram da distribuidora local de energia—são 57% das de médio porte e 70% das de pequeno. 

 “O momento é de preparação por parte dessas empresas para a migração. 2023 será́ um ano para estudar o mercado, planejar e fazer contas sobre a viabilidade de ingressar no mercado livre. A estimativa é de que 45.000 indústrias têm condições de migrar a partir de 2024”, afirmou o especialista em energia da CNI, Roberto Wagner Pereira. 

 A CNI estima uma redução potencial de 15% a 20% na conta de luz das empresas com o ingresso no mercado livre. A eletricidade é o principal insumo energético da indústria.

 Segundo a confederação, 78% das empresas usam eletricidade, seguida de óleo diesel (4%), gás natural (4%); lenha (3%) e bagaço de cana (2%). Mais de 70% das empresas afirmaram sentir o impacto da alta nas tarifas de energia em 2022. 

 De acordo com a pesquisa, as despesas com energia significaram aumento de 13% no custo total de produção nos últimos 12 meses. O aumento varia de 12%, para as grandes empresas, a 14% e 15% para médias e pequenas, nessa ordem. As indústrias também sentiram o impacto do aumento de outros insumos energéticos, que representaram aumento médio de 22% no custo de produção. A mais afetada foi a indústria extrativista, que viu o preço do diesel aumentar os custos com frete.

There are more jobs in renewable energy than in oil, gas, and coal combined.

By Grist.

A word to the burly coal miners who complained that cutting coal out of our energy mix would take away their jobs when the Climate Action Plan was up for debate. Jobs in solar energy now outnumber jobs in coal mining and the oil and gas industry added together, says a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Solar may be taking away old jobs, but it’s offering new ones. That’s especially true for women. IRENA found that the renewable energy sector employs more women than oil, gas, and coal. In fact, the percentage of women working in solar is rising — up from 19 percent in 2013 to 24 percent of the estimated 209,000 solar jobs in the United States. That’s not yet great — women hold 47 percent of the jobs in our economy. But it’s still a higher percentage than in the bro-topia that is the conventional energy industry.

Worldwide, employment in green energy grew 5 percent in 2015, to 8.1 million jobs, while the slump in oil prices that began in the fall of 2015 eliminated an estimated 350,000 oil jobs across the planet.

IRENA

Around the world, the solar industry was the largest renewable energy employer — jobs increased 11 percent between 2014 and 2015, to 2.8 million jobs. Most of those jobs — 1.7 million — are in China, because that’s where most solar panels are manufactured. In the European Union, a decline in manufacturing means that the region lost jobs, but high rates of solar installation in the United States kept solar employment high.

One of the most interesting markets for solar is in countries with unstable electrical grids, such as Bangladesh, India, and Kenya. It’s possible that those countries will be at the forefront of adopting small, independent solar systems, in much the same way that Egypt and other countries without widespread telephone access were early cellphone adopters. In North Korea, small, personal solar panels are on the rise, bought by people who need to charge cellphones when the grid goes down.

Both the United States and the European Union have accused China of selling solar panels at below-market value in order to drive solar manufacturing in other countries out of business, and have put hefty import tariffs on Chinese solar panels. In response, Chinese manufacturers have globalized their solar operations, setting up solar panel factories in other countries like Malaysia, Thailand, India, Brazil, and the United States.

So, good news. IRENA estimates that if nations follow through on the climate pledges made in Paris last year, this upswing is only going to continue. Their estimate? Jobs in renewable energy will triple to 24 million by 2030.

Energia eólica já abastece mais de 30% do Nordeste do Brasil.

Energia eólica: hoje, os parques em operação na região são responsáveis pelo abastecimento de boa parte da população local de 56 milhões de pessoas.

O vento forte que não para de soprar fez da pequena Icaraí de Amontada, na costa oeste do Ceará, uma ilha de usinas eólicas. Elas geram energia elétricausando a força dos ventos.

Ali, para qualquer lado que se olhe, modernas e gigantescas torres de quase 150 metros de altura - do tamanho de um prédio de 42 andares - destoam do cenário rústico da antiga vila de pescadores, com suas dunas, praias e lagoas. Reduto de atletas estrangeiros praticantes de kitesurf e windsurf, a comunidade, de 2,4 mil habitantes, entrou para a lista dos melhores ventos do Brasil e ajudou a elevar a participação da energia eólica para mais de 30% do consumo do Nordeste.

Os parques instalados na região de Amontada estão entre os mais eficientes do planeta. Enquanto no mundo, as usinas eólicas produzem, em média, 25% da capacidade anual, no Complexo de Icaraí esse porcentual é mais que o dobro.

As 31 torres que compõem o parque produzem 56% da capacidade anual. Para ter ideia do que isso significa, nos Estados Unidos, esse indicador é de 32,1%; e na Alemanha, uma das maiores potências eólicas do mundo, de 18,5%. "O vento noNordeste é muito diferenciado", afirma Luciano Freire, diretor de engenharia da Queiroz Galvão Energia, dona do complexo eólico de Icaraí.

É por causa da qualidade desse vento - forte e constante - que o Nordeste despontou como uma das maiores fronteiras eólica do mundo. Hoje, os parques em operação na região são responsáveis pelo abastecimento de boa parte da população local de 56 milhões de pessoas.

Não é difícil entender a rápida expansão das eólicas no Brasil. Em 2008, com a crise internacional, o consumo mundial de energia despencou, paralisou uma série de projetos e deixou as fábricas ociosas. Em busca de demanda, elas desembarcaram no Brasil - onde o uso da energia crescia a taxas de dois dígitos - e derrubou o preço das eólicas, até então caras por aqui. A partir de 2009, com leilões dedicados à essa fonte de energia, os investimentos decolaram. De lá pra cá, o setor recebeu R$ 67 bilhões, segundo dados da Associação Brasileira de Energia Eólica (Abeeólica).

Esse montante colocou o País na 10ª posição entre as nações com maior capacidade instalada do mundo. Foi um grande avanço. Até 2008, a potência do parque eólico brasileiro era de 27 megawatts (MW). No mês passado, alcançou a marca de 9,7 mil MW, volume suficiente para abastecer mais de 45 milhões de habitantes. No total, são 5.141 turbinas instaladas Brasil afora. Cerca de 82% delas estão no Nordeste.

Conta

Os moradores de Icaraí de Amontada ainda se fazem algumas perguntas. Questionam o impacto que as usinas podem causar à região no decorrer dos anos e não entendem por que continuam pagando uma conta de luz tão alta se os parques eólicos estão praticamente no seu quintal. "Deveríamos ter energia elétrica de graça", afirma Raimunda Alves dos Santos, que paga R$ 180 por mês de luz.

Entre os moradores, essa é uma reclamação recorrente. É difícil compreender por que uma energia produzida com o vento - que é de graça - pode ser tão cara. Se eles fizessem essa pergunta às empresas geradoras, teriam como resposta uma explicação complexa, que envolve toda a estrutura do setor. "O Brasil funciona como um sistema único, a precificação é nacional e não regional", diz a presidente da Associação Brasileira de Energia Eólica (Abeeólica), Elbia Gannoum.

Em outras palavras, significa dizer que todos os custos do setor são divididos entre todos os consumidores do País. Para a eólica começar a fazer diferença na conta de luz dos nordestinos, é necessário que ela ganhe participação não só na região, mas em todo o País.

Com alguns raros projetos de Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas (PCH) em desenvolvimento no Estado de Pernambuco e sem potencial para grandes hidrelétricas, a vocação do Nordeste tem se inclinado cada vez mais para a energia eólica. Segundo Elbia Gannoum, até 2020, a participação da energia do vento na matriz elétrica brasileira vai saltar dos atuais 6% para 20% da capacidade instalada. No Nordeste, essa participação será ainda maior, de 30%. Em termos de consumo, a fonte será capaz de atender cerca de 70% da carga da região em alguns momentos do dia.

Nos próximos três anos, diz Elbia, o volume de investimentos em novos parques será de R$ 40,8 bilhões. Ela destaca que cada megawatt de eólica instalado cria 15 postos de trabalho em toda cadeia produtiva, desde o canteiro de obras até a fabricação de pás, aerogeradores e torres. Seguindo o cálculo da Abeeólica e considerando que entre 2017 e 2019 estão previstos mais 6,8 mil MW de potência, o setor pode gerar 102 mil postos de trabalho.

As informações são do jornal O Estado de S. Paulo.

Dubai Is Building the World's Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant

by George Dvorsky gizmodo

They like to do things big in Dubai, including a newly-approved concentrated solar power project that will generate 1,000 megawatts of power by 2020—and a whopping 5,000 megawatts by 2030.

The Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) has announced the launch of the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) project. Located on a single site within the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the plant will consist of five facilities. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed either in late 2020 or 2021, at which time it’s expected to generate 1,000 MW of power. By 2030, this plant could be churning out five times that amount—enough to raise the emirate’s total power output by 25 percent.

By comparison the Ivanpah CSP in California (which is currently the world’s largest) generates about 392 MW of power. Morocco’s Ouarzazate solar power plant will provide about 580 MW of power once it’s complete in 2020.

Concentrated solar power plants, unlike solar energy drawn from photovoltaic cells, use a large array of mirrors (called heliostats) to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a small area, typically on top of a tower. Electricity is generated when the concentrated light gets converted to heat, which drives a steam turbine connected to an electrical power generator. An advantage of CSP is that thermal heat can be stored easily, making it possible to produce electricity after sunset.

The Dubai plant will have several thousand heliostats located around a tower. The resulting heat-transfer fluid will power a steam turbine to generate electricity. Incredibly, the new plant will deliver power at less than 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, down from the typical 15 kilowatt-hour rate. Once complete, the solar park is expected to reduce 6.5 million tons of carbon emissions each year. A typical coal plant produces around 3.5 million tons of CO2 per year.

The new plant is part of Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which will see the emirate generate seven percent of its total power from clean energy by 2020, followed by 25 percent in 2030, and 75 percent by 2050.

Analysis: Solar beats coal over a whole month in UK for first time

By CarbonBrief.

The UK’s solar panels generated more electricity than coal in May 2016, the first-ever calendar month to pass the milestone, Carbon Brief analysis shows.

Solar generated an estimated 1,336 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity in May, 50% more than the 893GWh output from coal. The finding follows on from Carbon Brief’searlier analysis showing solar beating coal for the first full day on 9 April 2016, and for the first week from 3 May 2016.

While these milestones are largely symbolic, they do highlight the major changes going on in the UK electricity system. For further context, analysis and data details see the previous coverage from Carbon Brief.

UK monthly electricity from solar and coal

The chart below shows that solar generated 50% more electricity than coal during May 2016. This was due to a combination of low coal output and the impact of longer days as summer approaches.

Total electricity generation from UK solar and coal during the calendar months April and May 2016, gigawatt hours (GWh). Sources: Sheffield Solar and Gridwatch. Chart by Carbon Brief.

Solar and coal shares of UK total

Solar generated nearly 6% of the UK’s electricity needs during May, against less than 4% for coal (see note below for details of this calculations). In January, the figures were just 1% for solar and 17% for coal.

There has been a huge reduction in coal-fired power generation in the UK since the start of 2016, as the chart below shows. Nearly a quarter of electricity generation in 2015 was from coal but since the, power market economics have shifted in favour of gas and several coal plants have opted to close.

Shares of total UK electricity generation met by solar and coal during January to May 2016 (%). Sources: Sheffield Solar andGridwatch. Chart by Carbon Brief.

UK weekly electricity from solar and coal

Solar has generated more electricity than coal in each of the past five weeks. Note that coal generation increased around the start of June as a result of low wind power output.

Total electricity generation from UK solar and coal during each week between 1 April 2016 and 2 June 2016, gigawatt hours (GWh). Sources: Sheffield Solar and Gridwatch. Chart by Carbon Brief.

UK daily electricity from solar and coal

Although solar has cumulatively outpaced coal in each week since the end of April, coal has topped solar on some days in May, as the chart below shows.

The UK passed a historic milestone in mid-May as coal output hit zero on seven periods across the week commencing Monday 9 May. Total daily coal output was near zero during 12-14 May. The zero-coal periods were reported by the Financial Times, thePress Association, the Telegraph and others, citing Carbon Brief analysis.

Total electricity generation from UK solar and coal on each day between 1 April 2016 and 6 June 2016, gigawatt hours (GWh). Sources: Sheffield Solar and Gridwatch. Chart by Carbon Brief.

Notes: The figures for shares of total UK electricity generation are estimates. They only include solar generation and other forms of generation that are connected to the transmission grid network. Embedded generation from wind or other sources is not centrally metered and data is not available. However, this missing data will not alter the relative positions of solar and coal generation.

Figures for solar output in the UK are estimates produced by Sheffield Solar. The project recently updated its estimates of installed UK solar capacity.

Main image: The solar panel of a parkmeter reflects the sky in a street of Durham, England. Credit: marcoventuriniautieri/Getty Images.

Chile produz tanta energia solar, que agora é de graça.

Os preços à vista da energia solar chegaram a zero em algumas regiões do Chile durante 113 dias até abril - Mariana Greif / Bloomberg

SANTIAGO — A indústra solar do Chile se expandiu tão rapidamente que está gerando eletricidade gratuitamente. Os preços à vista chegaram a zero em algumas regiões do país durante 113 dias até abril, número que está a caminho de superar o total do ano passado, de 192 dias, segundo a operadora da rede central do país. Embora isto possa ser bom para os consumidores, é uma má notícia para as usinas de energia, em dificuldades para gerar receita, e para as empresas que buscam financiar novos parques.

A pior situação acontece na região norte do país, no deserto do Atacama. A crescente demanda por eletricidade do Chile, impulsionada pela expansão da produção das minas e pelo crescimento econômico, ajudou a estimular o desenvolvimento de 29 parques solares. Outros 15 estão nos planos da rede central. Agora, o Chile enfrenta a queda da demanda por energia devido à desaceleração da produção de cobre em meio a um excedente global, o que provoca um excesso de energia gerada em uma região que não possui linhas de transmissão para distribuir a eletricidade a outras partes.

“Os investidores estão perdendo dinheiro”, disse Rafael Mateo, CEO da unidade de energia da Acciona, que está investindo US$ 343 milhões (mais de R$ 1,2 bilhão) em um projeto de 247 megawatts na região e que será um dos maiores da América Latina. “O crescimento foi desordenado. Não se pode ter tantas empresas no mesmo lugar”.

Um dos principais problemas é que o Chile possui duas redes de energia principais, a central e a do norte, sem conexão entre si. Existem também áreas dentro das redes que não possuem uma capacidade de transmissão adequada.

Com isso, uma região pode ter muita energia, o que derruba os preços, porque o excedente não pode ser entregue a outras partes do país, segundo Carlos Barría, ex-chefe da divisão de energia renovável do governo e professor da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Chile, em Santiago.

INFRAESTRUTURA INADEQUADA

O governo está trabalhando para corrigir este problema, com planos de construir uma linha de transmissão de 3 mil quilômetros para ligar as duas redes até 2017. Além disso, está desenvolvendo uma linha de 753 quilômetros para resolver o congestionamento nas partes norte da rede central, a região na qual os excedentes de energia estão levando os preços a zero.

“O Chile tem pelo menos sete ou oito pontos nas linhas de transmissão que estão em colapso e bloqueados e tem o enorme desafio de driblar os pontos de estrangulamento”, disse o ministro de Energia, Máximo Pacheco, em entrevista, em Santiago. “Quando você embarca em um caminho de crescimento e desenvolvimento como o que temos tido, obviamente surgem problemas”.

Leia mais sobre esse assunto em http://oglobo.globo.com/economia/chile-produz-tanta-energia-solar-que-agora-de-graca-19439822#ixzz4Ai7laARi
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