Ravi Gurumurthy, Director of Strategy. “At DECC we’ve developed an open-source, peer-reviewed online tool, the 2050 Calculator, to help us understand the uncertainties, to expose the trade offs and to make sure our policies today are not regretted decades hence. The calculator now includes costs and takes a whole-economy approach to assessing the varying plausible scenarios for keeping the lights on and meeting our statutory target of cutting emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. No one scenario is assured but, by way of illustration, our most cost-effective scenario (the so-called Markal pathway) foresees a future that is marginally cheaper than doing nothing. Crucially, Markal would result in a balanced electricity generation mix in 2050 with 33GW of nuclear, 45GW of renewables and 29GW of fossil fuels with CCS. / Contrast this to AF Consult’s new report Powerful targets: Exploring the relative cost of meeting decarbonisation and renewables targets in the British power sector, reported in the Sunday Times this weekend. This claims renewables are a costly addition to our future energy mix. / But the report’s conclusions are undermined by its assumptions, which skirt over four crucially important factors.”
Solarcentury
The company I founded in 1998 to design and supply solar energy solutions for the built environment. Solarcentury
Solar Aid
The charity I founded in 2006, with a 5% contribution of Solarcentury profits, to help deliver solar lighting to Africa. Solar Aid
Archive for the ‘Clean Energy’ Category
DECC: Consumers won’t thank us for choosing “bargain basement” energy policy.
March 5, 2012 Clean Energy, Gas, NuclearGerman solar industry association calls subsidy cuts a “solar phase out”.
March 2, 2012 Clean EnergyDavid Wedepohl, spokesman for the German Solar Industry Association, representing 800 solar companies: ”This plan amounts to nothing less than a solar phase-out law. Under these circumstances there’s no way that the transition of the energy industry can be successful. It’s also putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk, and it’s tough both on investors and on citizens who want to be part of the energy transformation. …We’re taking a part of the market away for large electricity suppliers, but as a country we made a decision after Fukishima to phase out nuclear energy, so we need a lot of power.” German capacity is 25 GW . Solar provides from 3.2% to – on sunny days at midday– up to 25% of Germany’s energy. Guardian: ”renewable energy sector representatives have expressed their suspicions that the cuts are an attempt to appease the major energy companies who are losing out greatly to renewables, particularly since the decision last year to phase out nuclear power following the Fukishima disaster in Japan.”
Why so much coverage for one exploding Scottish wind turbine?
March 1, 2012 Clean Energy, Commentaries, Gas, NuclearMy latest Sublime column, on Big Energy PR blowback against renewables. “What to do about this? Most of us do what we can to support renewables within our circles of influence, be they vocational or domestic. That might boil down just to switching supplier from EDF and otherBig Six companies to Ecotricity or Good Energy. But someone reading this might actually work in a Big Energy PR department, or in one of its hired-gun agencies. You could always leak us the plan for myth-sowing about renewables.”
Intense lobbying by EDF and British Gas leads to “wildly one sided” UK energy policies.
February 28, 2012 Clean Energy, Gas, NuclearCatherine Mitchell on “intense lobbying by energy companies and government misinformation: it is creating genuine uncertainty about who has overall control. ….EDF set out as early as 2006 what was needed for new nuclear power to be built in Britain and this has now been put in place via the electricity market reform (EMR) process. This is despite a tidal wave of criticism, not least because the number of secondees in Decc from EDF and British Gas/Centrica – a fellow member of EDF’s nuclear consortium – far outweigh any other company. / The other main lobby is that which argues that the cheapest way to decarbonise our energy system is to move to gas, rather than the low carbon generation of nuclear and renewable energy. This is a short-term economic view, supported by the Treasury, which conveniently leaves others to deliver and pay for the long term, more difficult solution to climate change. / In practice, this means that Decc does all it can to support nuclear power while the Treasury attempts to support gas as best it can by moving as much risk of investment away from UK PLC to the nuclear companies. At the same time, both lobbies relentlessly undermine renewable energy thereby making sure their deployment is as limited as possible so that nuclear power or gas can step in. / This is not only confusing but it has led to wildly one-sided policies from the government. For example, a letter in 2010 from National Grid set out its decision to not require new nuclear power plants to pay for the additional costs they will impose on the electricity network. The letter ended saying this was because, at £160m per plant per year, it would make nuclear power uneconomical. Renewable energy, on the other hand, has to pay the costs of connections. / Or take the EU Renewable Energy directive, intended to help renewable electricity by ensuring that it is “taken” before generation from other sources of electricity, thereby reducing investment risk. The UK has mostly sidestepped the spirit by letter of law actions. However, recently even the letter of the law has been broken with National Grid favouring nuclear over wind in its management of energy at peak times of demand. …. Meanwhile, our nuclear liabilities are £6.93bn annually, or around £350 per year for each household.”
China responds to solar glut by upping production targets.
February 27, 2012 Clean EnergyBusiness Green: “According to reports, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology posted a new five-year plan on its website last week detailing how “leading” polysilicon and solar cell manufacturers will be required to increase production capacity.”
52 of 54 Japanese nuclear plants offline, and a Forbes contributor says solar is the way to go.
February 27, 2012 Clean Energy, NuclearAll 54 will be offline by the spring, and many are too old to be brought back on. Solar can be put up in days.
Solar stocks slump on bigger-than expected German feed-in tariff cut.
February 23, 2012 Clean EnergyBloomberg: “Germany, the world’s biggest solar market, will cut federal aid to the panel industry by as much as 29 percent from March 9 and further scale back subsidies each month beginning in May, Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said yesterday. The cuts are deeper than the 15 percent reduction ordered Jan. 1 and may hurt manufacturers in Germany and China, where the world’s three largest panel makers are based.”
UK solar PV installations pass 1 GW.
February 23, 2012 Clean EnergySo figures seen by the Guardian show. Before the April 2010 start of the feed-in tariff, 26 MW were installed. The UK is now c 1% of the global total of c. 100 GW, 50 GW of which are in one country, Germany.
Africa could alleviate poverty through renewable energy, UN report says.
February 22, 2012 Change for Good, Clean EnergyThe UN report was produced by UNEP to mark the African launch of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. Africa needs to install an estimated 7 GW of new generation capacity each year, the report says. PVTech: positive developments include “Groups like Eight19 and SunnyMoney – a division of SolarAid – have launched a “KickStart Sustainable Energy Fund” that aims to provide affordable solar lighting to rural off-grid communities in East Africa.”
Comment on HMG’s decision to take their illegal FiT plan to the Supreme Court.
February 21, 2012 Clean Energy, CommentariesJeremy Leggett: “We have been expecting this but we hoped that Ed Davey would see sense and not take the appeal. If we are lucky this is just a cynical exercise to limit the market to 3rd March and they will withdraw in a few weeks. If not, and they really are serious about a Supreme Court appeal, then the implications for the renewables industry are deeply worrying. Two weeks ago, Ministers reassured the industry that they wanted to see 4 million solar homes in the UK by 2020. This appeal completely undermines that claim. They need to stop rewriting the scheme, end the constant stop-start and provide long-term stability and meaningful returns for investors and customers and give certainty to the 30,000+ employees of this successful industry – one of the few that is actively creating jobs in this country. If the appeal is successful it will allow Government to change feed-in tariffs whenever it chooses, even for projects that are already installed and supposedly guaranteed the feed-in tariff. At a stroke, this would undermine investment in all UK renewables, not just PV, and show investors that the UK government simply cannot be trusted. Fortunately their arguments are weak. They are the same ones unanimously rejected by the Court of Appeal so I wouldn’t give them much chance of success. Sadly, this appeal has the whiff of farce about it. First they try to woo private capital into infrastructure; then they mismanage it; now they go to the Supreme Court to argue for sovereign default to cover their tracks. I just hope the new Secretary of State actually understands what his lawyers are doing.”
Average crystalline solar PV module prices fall below $1 for the first time.
February 21, 2012 Clean EnergyRE World: “Prices for crystalline-silicon (c-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules fell below the $1/W mark in January 2012, and in some cases well below even that, marking the first time that global average prices have fallen below this milestone, according to IMS Research. ….Annualized price declines slowed to 22 percent in January, ignoring seasonality, after exceeding 50 percent declines in December, thanks to reductions in incentives across several major solar PV markets at the end of 2011.”
Poll hows huge majority in favour of windfall tax on Big 6.
February 18, 2012 Clean Energy, Coal, Gas, NuclearIndependent: “Nine out of 10 people support The Independent’s calls for an independent public inquiry into the Big Six energy companies. Meanwhile, seven out of 10 think a levy on excessive energy profits is a good idea. The overwhelming public support for our campaign for fair energy prices is revealed in a survey published today by YouGov on behalf of Friends of the Earth and Compass. It follows yesterday’s news that energy watchdog Ofgem is considering price controls on the Big Six and an inquiry into their business practices, supporting two of the key points in The Independent’s Fair Prices campaign….The brand consultancy Siegel+Gale named Npower as having the worst customer service out of 122 UK companies surveyed. This put the company slightly behind competitor EDF. British Gas and E.on were also in the worst 10.”
Eon threatens to stop offshore wind power investments in Germany.
February 14, 2012 Clean EnergyDer Spiegel: “The company said it will put two large projects on hold unless the grid operators speed up the construction of power lines. … The German government plans to increase the share of green power to 35 percent of power consumption by 2020 from 20 percent at present. A decisive part of that increase is to come from offshore wind farms. …There has been growing criticism of delays in building wind farms in the North Sea and Baltic. In January, the German Transport Ministry provided figures which outline the scale of the task Germany faces. The plan is to have 10,000 wind turbines in operation off Germany’s coasts by 2030. It currently only has 27. The aim is for the windfarms to produce 25,000 megawatts of power — so far, it’s just 135 megawatts. Energy company RWE has also complained about delays in power line construction.”
Iberdrola backs subsidies freeze on Spanish renewables, and wants British nuclear
February 12, 2012 Clean Energy, NuclearSpain’s biggest power utility by market value says it is a sensible move for a country that has been paying too much for electricity it does not need. “What we were doing was irrational,” says Ignacio Galán, chairman. “It makes no sense. Spain is installing the most expensive technologies in Europe instead of looking for those which are cheapest.” One analyst says they fear retrospective cuts in tariffs from government. Another says a nuclear windfall tax is what they should worry about. As for plans in Britain, Galan says: ”The area that has the most uncertainty is the area of nuclear. We still don’t know how it’s going to be properly paid – what the return will be. The decision to go ahead (in a consortium with GDF Suez) is not going to be taken until the moment the framework is clear and predictable enough, with enough remuneration for those investments.”
“End the Big 6 Energy Fix” public campaign launches.
February 10, 2012 Clean Energy, Coal, Gas, Nuclear, OilCaroline Lucas speaking for 100 public figures: “First, we are calling on the Government to impose a similar levy to the one it has imposed on North Sea oil companies and the big banks. Over time, such a levy could raise billions, revenues that could be ring-fenced and used to ensure that every home is insulated and highly energy-efficient – starting with the homes of the fuel-poor. This would form part of a Green New Deal and would help to create thousands of new skilled jobs. Second, to prevent energy companies from passing the cost of any levy on to customers, we want the Government to give Ofgem the power to cap prices. This could be linked to the wholesale price to make energy prices fairer. Third, we want the Government to launch a public inquiry into the Big Six energy companies.”
Climate change should mean a 100% renewables by 2030 target.
February 10, 2012 Clean Energy, Climate, CommentariesInterview at the Oxford Climate Forum, in Oxford university student magazine, Cherwell: “There are people who are worried about peak oil who aren’t worried about climate change. And vice versa. I’m worried about both. With both of them, at a minimum it’s about wrecking the global economy. A lot more in the case of climate change. These are high stakes issues. And both are high risk. In fact, climate change isn’t just high risk. It’s odds on certainty.” More.
BBC partially retracts its anti-wind Panorama programme.
February 7, 2012 Clean EnergyBBC website: “Panorama wishes to clarify the following information regarding What’s Fuelling Your Energy Bill?, first broadcast on 7 November 2011: While the film focussed on government energy policy going forward – and the associated costs – we feel it worth repeating that the rise in current energy bills is predominantly linked to the increase in winter gas prices. In Ofgem’s Why Are Energy Prices Rising? report from 14 October 2011, it states that winter gas prices were 40% higher for 2011/12 than the previous winter. In its Energy and Gas Supply Market Report published the same day, Ofgem found that wholesale electricity and gas costs were the biggest factor in the rise in bills, accounting for 45% of current fuel bills. We accept that it would have been helpful to our audience had this point been made more clear in the film and the website materials that accompanied it.”
KPMG refuses to release controversial green energy report.
February 7, 2012 Clean EnergyBusiness Green: “KMPG is refusing to publish the full findings of a controversial study examining the cost of the government’s green energy policies, which was originally used as a basis for a series of media reports attacking the cost of renewable energy. The preliminary findings of the report, dubbed Thinking about the Affordable, were made public last November. They claimed Britain could meet its 2020 carbon reduction targets more cost effectively by building nuclear and gas-fired power stations instead of wind farms. The report was seized on by critics of the government’s green agenda and also formed the basis of a number of media reports, including a BBCPanorama special that attacked the cost of renewable energy subsidies.”
German power exports to France, including solar, increasing.
February 6, 2012 Clean Energy, NuclearExports from Germany to France reached 4 to 5 gigawatts in the cold snap last Friday morning according to German journalist Bernward Janzing. It was not exactly a time of low consumption in Germany either at 70 gigawatts around noon on Friday. On the contrary, he reports that a spokesperson for transit grid operator Amprion told him that “photovoltaics in southern Germany is currently helping us a lot.” Solar power production has been peaking at around 10 gigawatts at noon in the dcold spell. Germany currently has around 25 gigawatts of PV installed, i.e. this capacity is peaking at around 40 percent in early February.
Grass roots projects are “the way to low carbon UK, says coalition of 12 m.
February 1, 2012 Change for Good, Clean Energy, FinanceThe civil society groups advocating more locally owned wind and solar farms include some of the leading UK NGOs, including the Co-operative, the National Trust, the Church of England and the National Federation of Women’s Institutes. Patrick Begg, director of rural enterprise at the National Trust: “Many other European countries are way ahead of the UK, as we found out when visiting German communities last year. Germany produces over 20% of its electricity from renewable sources, with communities generating about a quarter of this. In the UK, less than 1% is generated by our communities.”
Wrexham installs 30,000 locally made solar panels on 3,000 low-income homes.
March 5, 2012 Clean Energy, CommentariesGuardian: “Jeremy Leggett, chair of Solarcentury, said the solar would not be crushed. “The government does not want anything to impinge on the prospect of centralised power from the big six electricity companies. But well before 2020 solar will be cheaper than nuclear or gas. It’s not the end of the industry but of our opportunity in Britain to grow a domestic industry that could compete with those in Germany and elsewhere. It will explode again, but it will not be British.”
Tags: Solar PV, UK