Saturday, September 24, 2011
Electric Supercar - 600k's between charges & 800kw of Power
Monday, September 19, 2011
Zero footprint family for one year - the reality
What does it take to reduce your carbon footprint to zero? And is that kind of lifestyle sustainable? Marj Lefroy talks to New York's original No Impact Man to find out.
When New York's No Impact Man, Colin Beavan, took his family off the grid for the whole of 2007, he didn't expect it to have such a positive impact on his quality of life.
"Our economy is predicated on the idea that the more 'stuff' people have, the happier they will be. So we all work hard to get more stuff and, especially in the US, forget about the importance of our social relationships.
"That does not make us happy."
Beavan says that a renewal of those relationships was one of the unexpected outcomes of his family's year of living green, during which they reduced their net environmental impact to nothing. Together, he and wife Michelle, daughter Isabella and dog Frankie shrank their carbon footprint by reducing their waste and pollution output as much as possible. The residual ecological burden was neutralised by volunteering for environmental causes such as cleaning rubbish off the beach.
Instead of watching television, they talked to each other, played games or spent time with friends. During New York's sweltering summers, rather than isolating themselves in their apartment with air conditioning, they took Isabella to play in the fountain in Manhattan's Washington Square Park and found themselves connecting with their local community.
"So much of what we did 'for the planet' turned out to be better for us. We ate local food and our skin cleared up. We rode bikes and we lost our guts ... we stopped spending our time being consumers and ended up spending more time being friends and neighbours.
"This is true for the culture too. What's good for the planet is good for the people."
Beavan says the transition was both "harder and better" for Michelle, the family shopper.
"She says that she was addicted to shopping and convenience. But when we broke our bad habits and found that we spent more time together as a family, ate better and got more exercise, it was she who had the biggest benefit and learning.
"She hasn't returned to shopping and TV."
The No Impact experience spawned a book and Sundance-selected documentary, and Beavan was named one of MSN's ten most influential men of 2007.
Four years later, the family is still trying to live a relatively low-carbon life.
"It makes sense to eat food with no unpronounceable poison chemicals in it, so we still prefer food from our trustworthy, local farmer. Rather than take a taxi to the gym so that we can then run in place on the treadmill, it makes sense to get our exercise as part of our day by biking and walking. It makes sense to save money so we've cut our power consumption."
Beavan now runs the non-profit No Impact Project in an effort to engage "average folks" to undertake a week-long carbon cleanse and find out how much money, time and stress they can save. Beavan says participants "marvel" when they discover what they're capable of.
"They become creative about how to re-use clothes and other items and how to entertain themselves and their friends. They cook more. They transport themselves using bikes or their own feet and take control of their actions.
"The experience is very empowering."
Beavan says that local initiatives like Buy Nothing New Month in October, which encourages Australians to avoid spending money on things they don't need, are part of a worldwide movement towards a way of life that's "good for all of us" – including business.
"Business is supposed to provide what people need.
"There is plenty of opportunity for excellent business innovation and lots of money to be made ... [including] in the secondhand marketplace, by the way."
Read more here: http://noimpactproject.org/experiment/
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Solar costs now lower than coal
THE cost of solar power in parts of NSW has for the first time crept below that of coal-fired electricity - seen as a key tipping point for the expansion of renewable energy.
New data shows solar power is edging towards ''grid parity'', after which it becomes cheaper than fossil fuel-generated energy such as coal and gas, even taking into account the upfront cost of buying rooftop solar panels.
But it was one of the few bright spots for an industry suffering from a 93 per cent drop in rooftop panel installations since the boom late last year at the peak of the NSW bonus scheme.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Workers at Australia's only commercial solar cell maker, the Silex plant at Homebush in Sydney, were told yesterday that cell production would be outsourced to China.
Nevertheless, the flow-on effects of the subsidies have helped achieve grid parity across wide areas of rural NSW. For the first time, the amount paid to households feeding power to the electricity grid passed 28¢ a kilowatt hour, which is the equivalent of buying coal-fired power from a utilities company
Andrew Blakers, the director of the centre for sustainable energy systems at the Australian National University, said: ''If you look at the prices being paid today, we have already reached grid parity in a lot of places except Melbourne and Hobart.''
In Sydney, the price paid for solar power fed back to the grid depends on the agreement between the household and the provider, and whether a household agreed to the state government's feed-in tariff in time to take advantage of high rates of payback.
The Australian Photovoltaic Association said that while some areas had reached grid parity, it could be several years before solar electricity was worth more than coal-fired electricity in most of NSW, and that depended on state and federal policy.
''A 1.5 kilowatt system in Sydney is probably going to be cost effective next year or the year after, depending on whether we get a carbon price,'' said Muriel Watt, the chairwoman of the association and a senior lecturer in renewable energy engineering at the University of NSW.
The amount of solar energy generated in NSW has surged above the cap imposed by the previous state government.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal said thousands of households were still waiting for their panels to be installed under the $1.9 billion solar bonus scheme, which would drive up the overall cost to the taxpayer. As of this week, up to 71 megawatts worth of solar systems had yet to be fully installed, taking the total amount of power generated under the scheme to 371 megawatts.
When the former government halted new applications last October, it received 38,000 applications on the final day, the tribunal said.
This year, the government was forced to abandon moves to cut retrospectively the tariff applied under the bonus scheme, to limit profiteering.
As a result, the state government is seeking the tribunal's assistance in setting tariffs for household systems.
Yesterday the solar industry called on the government to introduce interim measures to pay households at market rates for the power they produced until the tribunal's review of subsidies is completed next year.
The Australian Solar Energy Society said 416 jobs had been lost since the industry spiked in November, and a quarter of the state's solar installation businesses had closed.
At the Silex plant yesterday, about 30 people were told they would be made redundant and others would be redeployed because the company could no longer afford to compete with cheaper, imported solar cells. The panels will still be made at the plant.
The chief executive, Michael Goldsworthy, said: "This type of silicon flat panel technology was actually invented here in Sydney at the University of NSW … that's the sad thing. Now it's all gone offshore."
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said many of the workers had previously worked in the same plant with BP Solar, and were being made redundant for the second time.
SMH
New data shows solar power is edging towards ''grid parity'', after which it becomes cheaper than fossil fuel-generated energy such as coal and gas, even taking into account the upfront cost of buying rooftop solar panels.
But it was one of the few bright spots for an industry suffering from a 93 per cent drop in rooftop panel installations since the boom late last year at the peak of the NSW bonus scheme.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Workers at Australia's only commercial solar cell maker, the Silex plant at Homebush in Sydney, were told yesterday that cell production would be outsourced to China.
Nevertheless, the flow-on effects of the subsidies have helped achieve grid parity across wide areas of rural NSW. For the first time, the amount paid to households feeding power to the electricity grid passed 28¢ a kilowatt hour, which is the equivalent of buying coal-fired power from a utilities company
Andrew Blakers, the director of the centre for sustainable energy systems at the Australian National University, said: ''If you look at the prices being paid today, we have already reached grid parity in a lot of places except Melbourne and Hobart.''
In Sydney, the price paid for solar power fed back to the grid depends on the agreement between the household and the provider, and whether a household agreed to the state government's feed-in tariff in time to take advantage of high rates of payback.
The Australian Photovoltaic Association said that while some areas had reached grid parity, it could be several years before solar electricity was worth more than coal-fired electricity in most of NSW, and that depended on state and federal policy.
''A 1.5 kilowatt system in Sydney is probably going to be cost effective next year or the year after, depending on whether we get a carbon price,'' said Muriel Watt, the chairwoman of the association and a senior lecturer in renewable energy engineering at the University of NSW.
The amount of solar energy generated in NSW has surged above the cap imposed by the previous state government.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal said thousands of households were still waiting for their panels to be installed under the $1.9 billion solar bonus scheme, which would drive up the overall cost to the taxpayer. As of this week, up to 71 megawatts worth of solar systems had yet to be fully installed, taking the total amount of power generated under the scheme to 371 megawatts.
When the former government halted new applications last October, it received 38,000 applications on the final day, the tribunal said.
This year, the government was forced to abandon moves to cut retrospectively the tariff applied under the bonus scheme, to limit profiteering.
As a result, the state government is seeking the tribunal's assistance in setting tariffs for household systems.
Yesterday the solar industry called on the government to introduce interim measures to pay households at market rates for the power they produced until the tribunal's review of subsidies is completed next year.
The Australian Solar Energy Society said 416 jobs had been lost since the industry spiked in November, and a quarter of the state's solar installation businesses had closed.
At the Silex plant yesterday, about 30 people were told they would be made redundant and others would be redeployed because the company could no longer afford to compete with cheaper, imported solar cells. The panels will still be made at the plant.
The chief executive, Michael Goldsworthy, said: "This type of silicon flat panel technology was actually invented here in Sydney at the University of NSW … that's the sad thing. Now it's all gone offshore."
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said many of the workers had previously worked in the same plant with BP Solar, and were being made redundant for the second time.
SMH
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Most Australians would buy an electric car if the price of petrol doubled
Most Australians would buy an electric car if the price of petrol doubled, but only if it didn’t cost them any more, survey finds.
Up to three-quarters of Australian car buyers would consider switching to an electric vehicle if the price of petrol doubled, a Deloitte study has found.
However, two-thirds also expect an EV to cost the same or less than an equivalent petrol- or diesel-engined car, and almost half thought an EV should cost no more than $20,000.
And more than half of the 500 Australians polled for the Deloitte report said their interest in EVs would significantly diminish if they could buy a car with fuel use of 4.7 litres per 100km or better.
Advertisement: Story continues below
The responses highlight the gap between what consumers want and what car makers are currently able to deliver, with dedicated EVs trickling onto the market in limited numbers and costing up to double the price of equivalent cars powered by conventional internal combustion engines.
Only a handful of vehicles in Australia — mostly diesel-powered city-sized cars — are capable of real-world average fuel use under 5.0L/100km.
However, EV makers can take heart from the survey’s finding that more than 90 per cent of the 500 Australians polled travelled fewer than 120km each weekday.
Mitsubishi spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher says her company's experience indicated green sentiment was more important than the price of petrol in driving buyers towards an EV.
"I think people will be taking [petrol prices] into account, but I don't know that it has a huge impact at this point," she says. "I don't know about you, but I like to shop where I understand that I'm not making a major impact on the environment."
Fletcher agrees pricing is a key motivator for buyers, but says Mitsubishi is aiming to eventually bring the $48,800 price tag on the tiny i-MiEV down to a more affordable level.
"The ultimate goal is to have the electric vehicle as a common part of our range, at comparable pricing," she says. "The price of the i-MiEV has come down by 23 per cent in the last 12 months. Name me one other car that has done that."
In other key findings:
* More than half of those surveyed — 59 per cent— identified themselves as either ‘‘potential first movers’’ or ‘‘might be willing to consider’’ when it comes to EVs; more than the US (54 per cent) and Japan (48 per cent) but fewer than Europe (69 per cent) and China (93 per cent).
* More than half (58 per cent) believed an EV battery should be able to be charged in two hours — the current industry standard is between eight and 12 hours.
Deloitte motoring industry services partner Danny Rezek says the results should prove instructive to car companies and their dealers.
‘‘While the study indicated that the mass adoption of EVs in Australia is likely to be some way off, it strongly reiterates consumers’ continued move towards more fuel-efficient vehicles,’’ he says.
SMH
Up to three-quarters of Australian car buyers would consider switching to an electric vehicle if the price of petrol doubled, a Deloitte study has found.
However, two-thirds also expect an EV to cost the same or less than an equivalent petrol- or diesel-engined car, and almost half thought an EV should cost no more than $20,000.
And more than half of the 500 Australians polled for the Deloitte report said their interest in EVs would significantly diminish if they could buy a car with fuel use of 4.7 litres per 100km or better.
Advertisement: Story continues below
The responses highlight the gap between what consumers want and what car makers are currently able to deliver, with dedicated EVs trickling onto the market in limited numbers and costing up to double the price of equivalent cars powered by conventional internal combustion engines.
Only a handful of vehicles in Australia — mostly diesel-powered city-sized cars — are capable of real-world average fuel use under 5.0L/100km.
However, EV makers can take heart from the survey’s finding that more than 90 per cent of the 500 Australians polled travelled fewer than 120km each weekday.
Mitsubishi spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher says her company's experience indicated green sentiment was more important than the price of petrol in driving buyers towards an EV.
"I think people will be taking [petrol prices] into account, but I don't know that it has a huge impact at this point," she says. "I don't know about you, but I like to shop where I understand that I'm not making a major impact on the environment."
Fletcher agrees pricing is a key motivator for buyers, but says Mitsubishi is aiming to eventually bring the $48,800 price tag on the tiny i-MiEV down to a more affordable level.
"The ultimate goal is to have the electric vehicle as a common part of our range, at comparable pricing," she says. "The price of the i-MiEV has come down by 23 per cent in the last 12 months. Name me one other car that has done that."
In other key findings:
* More than half of those surveyed — 59 per cent— identified themselves as either ‘‘potential first movers’’ or ‘‘might be willing to consider’’ when it comes to EVs; more than the US (54 per cent) and Japan (48 per cent) but fewer than Europe (69 per cent) and China (93 per cent).
* More than half (58 per cent) believed an EV battery should be able to be charged in two hours — the current industry standard is between eight and 12 hours.
Deloitte motoring industry services partner Danny Rezek says the results should prove instructive to car companies and their dealers.
‘‘While the study indicated that the mass adoption of EVs in Australia is likely to be some way off, it strongly reiterates consumers’ continued move towards more fuel-efficient vehicles,’’ he says.
SMH
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Now the Prius can power your home...
Japan’s earthquake disaster has inspired Toyota to offer its Prius hybrid with a power outlet that can run household electrical appliances for two days.
Japanese car maker Toyota is set to offer an optional AC power-point in its Prius hybrid car that will allow owners to run their electrical goods from the car’s battery pack.
Industry journal Automotive News reports the idea was spawned following the devastating earthquake that struck the country on March 11.
Victims were apparently using Toyota’s hybrid-powered Estima (Tarago) van – the only Toyota model which already has an AC plug-hole – to power household appliances in the aftermath of the disaster.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Following a demonstration showing a Prius hatchback powering household electrical items such as a refrigerator, hotpot, fan and desk lamp, Toyota – which ironically is jokingly referred to as the “whitegoods” car maker within the industry, said it would offer a power-point as an option on Prius models from 2012.
The modified Toyota Prius was fitted with an onboard inverter to change the current of the batteries (DC) to that used for appliances (AC).
While there are accessories that can be powered by your car such using a similar inverter (such as low wattage portable fridges and DVD units that plug into the cigarette lighter), the Toyota-developed system has a maximum output of 1500 watts which allows it to power larger appliances like fridges and microwaves.
The whitegoods are powered by the car’s battery pack, with the petrol engine cranking over automatically to recharge the battery when the power level starts to dip. Toyota claims a full tank of fuel will power appliances at maximum output for about two days.
The technology will initially only be available in Japan because of different voltage requirements and regulations, but bloggers around the globe are already singing the praises of the idea.
“That would be a huge selling point down here on the Gulf Coast, where it can take days for power to be restored after a hurricane,” cwallace wrote on The Truth About Cars blog.
“I went for 15 days without juice after Hurricane Ike, and it took 15 more to finally get the smell of gasoline out of my nose after searching for it, hauling it, and pouring it into a generator for two weeks straight.”
SMH
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Electric Rolls Royce
Drive takes the wheel of the quietest Rolls yet – the electric-powered 102EX.
A marriage made in heaven, or an odd couple bound for divorce? Not even Rolls-Royce knows if the arranged nuptials of its ageless flagship, the Phantom, and the alternative fuel technology du jour, a plug-in electric drivetrain, will make it beyond the honeymoon phase.
Still, though, what a honeymoon it will be. The 102EX Experimental Electric - as the $3 million, emission-free, one-off concept is known - will spend the next year touring most of the company's major markets (but not Australia) to gauge the reactions of customers, media and influential decision makers to the union of a couple of unlikely bedfellows.
Even though Rolls-Royce firmly vows "we won't" when asked if it will put this model into production, it's clear from the time, money and effort expended that it would dearly love to get some sort of commitment from its notoriously fickle clientele.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Or, at the very least, a mandate for another direction that will hedge the company and its thirsty V12 engines against the planet's dwindling oil supplies.
The 102EX's very first stop is Singapore, and it's here that Drive is among the first in the world to get behind the wheel of the electric Roller. In total, only 500 people - mostly current customers - will be asked to drive the car during the year-long tour; only a select handful of media will be granted access to the Frankenstein-like creation.
On a grey, typically sticky day in the Asian hub city, our first glimpse of the 102EX comes outside a makeshift gallery that Rolls-Royce has set up directly adjacent to the city's bustling seaport.
Piles of shipping containers and a noisy fleet of forklifts and cranes form a drab backdrop as the object of our curiosity hoves silently and elegantly into view, resplendent in a unique silver-green paintwork that took 18 coats to apply and whose "ceramic nano particles" that lend the car its metallic sheen are said to be 8000 times smaller than the thickness of a hair.
It's our first lesson in the attention paid to detail by the UK-based super-luxury manufacturer, which set out to create a car that is more than simply a test bed for an experimental drivetrain.
There's also some startlingly modern detail inside the cabin, with the traditional wooden panelling replaced by aluminised foil, while seats made of "corinova" leather intentionally show more character flaws than traditional models. The leather look extends to the floor with thick plates of the stuff replacing luxurious woollen carpets.
Outside, the famed "Spirit of Ecstasy" bonnet emblem is bathed in a funky blue glow, while a beautifully designed power plug replaces the fuel filler cap and can glow different colours to denote modes of recharging.
But that's all a sideshow to the main act, which is the replacement of the Phantom's stock 6.75-litre V12 engine with a bank of 96 batteries under the bonnet, while two electric motors inhabit the space where the petrol tank used to be.
The result is a combined 290kW of power and a handy 800Nm of torque, the latter all available from the moment you press firmly on the accelerator (one never "mashes" the pedal in a Roller).
The 2.7-tonne, 5.8-metre long behemoth surges forward with an even more ridiculous ease than its V12-motivated Phantom brother, surfing a fat wave of torque all the way up to the signposted 70km/h speed limit on one of Singapore's industrial artery roads.
Sure, it's not as quick on paper as the Phantom - 0 to 100km/h in 8.0 seconds versus 5.7 - but it does feel more responsive to both standing and rolling accelerative requests.
The unique Rolls-Royce "power reserve" meter shows that under brisk acceleration we're not even tapping half the engine's potential, and you fancy the electric car's governed 160km/h limit is selling it a long way short of its true capability.
Absent from all of this is the expected snarl of a big-block engine, and the rhythmic rise and fall of a convential auto transmission. This is a Rolls-Royce, after all, but even for owners accustomed to the serenity of their own cars this almost-total aural deprivation will be something quite new.
The twin electric motors are silent save for a barely perceptible whine, and the single gear builds momentum in a satisfyingly - if slightly disconcerting - linear fashion.
The only real noise, then, comes from the tyres - not entirely unexpected given a 2.7-tonne car riding on massive 21-inch rims on coarse chip surfaces around the Singapore docks precinct.
It's nigh on impossible to separate the Phantom - which we drove directly before the 102EX on the same roads - and the 102EX on ride quality, because the Rolls-Royce suspension system that uses airbags instead of springs is superbly calibrated to both cars to produce the trademark "waftability" that the marque's owners demand.
The 102EX also maintains an extremely similar weight balance to the Phantom, with a 640kg battery pack replacing the engine block at the front of the car, and motors replacing the fuel tank at the rear.
Set a fairly direct out-and-back course and with a lead car governing our pace - and a nervous team of engineers in the back seat - there was little opportunity to find out how the 102EX fares in corners. But given the air suspension and a tall, boxy body, it's probably not going to cause Ferrari's engineers any sleepless nights.
Range anxiety was not an issue during our short time with the car, although with others scheduled to drive the car later in the day we were politely requested not to run the airconditioner above its lowest setting - somewhat of a problem as the temperature outside hit 31.5 degrees and the humidity hovered around 80 per cent.
Notwithstanding that the maximum range of 200km will probably only be achievable by turning off some creature comforts that some owners won't be happy to forgo, the 102EX is the most resolved electric car I have experienced, because it ticks almost every box its customers are likely to demand.
Rolls-Royce even has a dignified solution to recharging, eschewing unsightly cables in favour of an induction pad that sits under the car and received a wireless transfer of electricity from a loop embedded in the customer's garage floor.
The marque already has a head-start on other electric vehicle suppliers who are hampered by the inflated costs of building the technology on a relatively small scale, forcing prices out of the reach of most ordinary customers.
Rolls-Royce customers care little of cost; if the car performs to their high standards, and has a a tinge of green credibility about it, it could well prompt enough of them to pledge "I will" for this marriage of convenience to finally be consumated.
ROLLS-ROYCE 102EX EXPERIMENTAL ELECTRIC
Fast facts
Engine: Two electric motors mounted on the rear sub-frame
Power: 290kW (2x145kW)
Torque: 800Nm
Transmission: One-speed auto with integrated differential 0-100KM/h: 8.0 seconds approx
Top speed: Limited to 160km/h
Emissions and CO2: Nil
Weight: 2720kg
Range: 200km
Battery: 96-cell nickel cobalt manganese battery located beneath the bonnet; 71kWh capacity
Recharging: 20 hours (single phase); or 8 hours (three phase)
How much? $3 million approx
SMH
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
New Range Rover less emissions than a Yaris or Swift
Two-wheel-drive version of new Range Rover Evoque costs less than $50,000 and emits less CO2 than a Toyota Yaris.
A Range Rover for under $50,000? Until now, a five-year-old Range Rover Sport was your only option. From next March, though, the spanking new five-door Evoque fitted with two-wheel-drive can be yours from $49,995.
Although that price excludes on-road costs, it's a starting point that will fire a shot across the bow of the likes of more expensive luxury soft-roaders such as the Volvo XC60, BMW X3 and Audi Q5.
The Evoque eD4 Pure will be equipped with a 110kW 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine that Land Rover says will achieve just 129 grams of CO2 per kilometre — less than a Toyota Yaris or Suzuki Swift city car.
The price-busting eD4 model comes standard with the baseline ''Pure'' specification, which includes 17-inch alloy wheels, LED fog lamps, part-leather seats, climate control aircondition, push-button start, Bluetooth phone and audio, a 5-inch colour display screen and colour TFT — or computerised — instrumentation. A leather-wrapped steering wheel includes audio, cruise and phone controls.
The Evoque's family-friendly five-door variant is less expensive than the three-door ''coupe'' version, which will carry a premium as the sportier variant.
Buyers can step up to two higher trim levels: Dynamic (adds $13,500) and Prestige (a further $2000).
Range Rover also offers a more expensive and more powerful 140kW turbo diesel engine (SD4), plus a 177kW petrol engine (Si4).
The Evoque that drives its front wheels only won't hit Australian shores until March next year, while the rest of the 4WD range is due to hit showrooms in November 2012.
(SMH)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Great new Bamboo Kitchenware Products
Green Demon Eco Store now has a great range of Bamboo Household products in store, at the markets and online.Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Bolivia is set to pass the Law of Mother Earth, which will grant nature the same rights and protections as humans
With the cooperation of politicians and grassroots organizations, Bolivia is set to pass the Law of Mother Earth, which will grant nature the same rights and protections as humans. The piece of legislation, called la Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra, is intended to encourage a radical shift in conservation attitudes and actions, to enforce new control measures on industry, and to reduce environmental destruction.
The law redefines natural resources as blessings and confers the same rights to nature as to human beings, including: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered. Perhaps the most controversial point is the right "to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities".
In late 2005 Bolivia elected its first indigenous president, Evo Morales. Morales is an outspoken champion for environmental protection, petitioning for substantive change within his country and at the United Nations. Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries, has long had to contend with the consequences of destructive industrial practices and climate change, but despite the best efforts of Morales and members of his administration, their concerns have largely been ignored at the UN.
Just last year, in 2010, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca expressed his distress "about the inadequacy of the greenhouse gas reduction commitments made by developed countries in the Copenhagen Accord." His remarks were punctuated by the claim that some experts forecasted a temperature increase "as high as four degrees above pre-industrial levels." "The situation is serious," Choquehuanca asserted. "An increase of temperature of more than one degree above pre-industrial levels would result in the disappearance of our glaciers in the Andes, and the flooding of various islands and coastal zones."
In 2009, directly following the resolution of the General Assembly to designate April 22 "International Mother Earth Day", Morales addressed the press, stating “If we want to safeguard mankind, then we need to safeguard the planet. That is the next major task of the United Nations”. A change to Bolivia's constitution in the same year resulted in an overhaul of the legal system - a shift from which this new law has sprung.
The Law of Mother Earth has as its foundation several of the tenets of indigenous belief, including that human are equal to all other entities. "Our grandparents taught us that we belong to a big family of plants and animals. We believe that everything in the planet forms part of a big family," Choquehuanca said. "We indigenous people can contribute to solving the energy, climate, food and financial crises with our values." The legislation will give the government new legal powers to monitor and control industry in the country.
"Existing laws are not strong enough," said Undarico Pinto, leader of the 3.5m-strong Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (a group that helped draft the law). "It will make industry more transparent. It will allow people to regulate industry at national, regional and local levels."
Bolivia will be establishing a Ministry of Mother Earth, but beyond that there are few details about how the legislation will be implemented. What is clear is that Bolivia will have to balance these environmental imperatives against industries - like mining - that contribute to the country's GDP.
Bolivia's successes or failures with implementation may well inform the policies of countries around the world. "It's going to have huge resonance around the world," said Canadian activist Maude Barlow. "It's going to start first with these southern countries trying to protect their land and their people from exploitation, but I think it will be grabbed onto by communities in our countries, for example, fighting the tarsands in Alberta."
Ecuador has enshrined similar aims in its Constitution, and is among the countries that have already shown support for the Bolivian initiative. Other include Nicaragua, Venezuela, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda.
National opposition to the law is not anticipated, as Morales' party - the Movement Towards Socialism - holds a majority in both houses of parliament. On April 20, two days before this year's "International Mother Earth Day", Morales will table a draft treaty with the UN, kicking off the debate with the international community.
The law redefines natural resources as blessings and confers the same rights to nature as to human beings, including: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered. Perhaps the most controversial point is the right "to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities".
In late 2005 Bolivia elected its first indigenous president, Evo Morales. Morales is an outspoken champion for environmental protection, petitioning for substantive change within his country and at the United Nations. Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries, has long had to contend with the consequences of destructive industrial practices and climate change, but despite the best efforts of Morales and members of his administration, their concerns have largely been ignored at the UN.
Just last year, in 2010, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca expressed his distress "about the inadequacy of the greenhouse gas reduction commitments made by developed countries in the Copenhagen Accord." His remarks were punctuated by the claim that some experts forecasted a temperature increase "as high as four degrees above pre-industrial levels." "The situation is serious," Choquehuanca asserted. "An increase of temperature of more than one degree above pre-industrial levels would result in the disappearance of our glaciers in the Andes, and the flooding of various islands and coastal zones."
In 2009, directly following the resolution of the General Assembly to designate April 22 "International Mother Earth Day", Morales addressed the press, stating “If we want to safeguard mankind, then we need to safeguard the planet. That is the next major task of the United Nations”. A change to Bolivia's constitution in the same year resulted in an overhaul of the legal system - a shift from which this new law has sprung.
The Law of Mother Earth has as its foundation several of the tenets of indigenous belief, including that human are equal to all other entities. "Our grandparents taught us that we belong to a big family of plants and animals. We believe that everything in the planet forms part of a big family," Choquehuanca said. "We indigenous people can contribute to solving the energy, climate, food and financial crises with our values." The legislation will give the government new legal powers to monitor and control industry in the country.
"Existing laws are not strong enough," said Undarico Pinto, leader of the 3.5m-strong Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (a group that helped draft the law). "It will make industry more transparent. It will allow people to regulate industry at national, regional and local levels."
Bolivia will be establishing a Ministry of Mother Earth, but beyond that there are few details about how the legislation will be implemented. What is clear is that Bolivia will have to balance these environmental imperatives against industries - like mining - that contribute to the country's GDP.
Bolivia's successes or failures with implementation may well inform the policies of countries around the world. "It's going to have huge resonance around the world," said Canadian activist Maude Barlow. "It's going to start first with these southern countries trying to protect their land and their people from exploitation, but I think it will be grabbed onto by communities in our countries, for example, fighting the tarsands in Alberta."
Ecuador has enshrined similar aims in its Constitution, and is among the countries that have already shown support for the Bolivian initiative. Other include Nicaragua, Venezuela, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda.
National opposition to the law is not anticipated, as Morales' party - the Movement Towards Socialism - holds a majority in both houses of parliament. On April 20, two days before this year's "International Mother Earth Day", Morales will table a draft treaty with the UN, kicking off the debate with the international community.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Europe may ban plastic bags...
With each European using 500 plastic bags per year, and tonnes of plastic littering the Mediterranean, the European Commission may ban them from stores or tax them to combat pollution.
Europe produced 3.4 million tonnes of plastic carrier bags in 2008 - the equivalent in weight of 2 million cars, according to the European Union's executive arm.
The bags often end up in the sea, taking hundreds of years to decompose, it said.
About 250 billion plastic particles weighing a total 500 tonnes litter the Mediterranean, threatening sea life, which can suffocate eating them.
In some EU states, plastic bags are banned from stores or consumers must pay for them in supermarket lines, but there is no EU-wide regulation.
The EU Commission on Wednesday launched a public consultation which will run until August to decide the best course of action to reduce the use of plastic bags.
"Fifty years ago, the single-use plastic bag was almost unheard of - now we use them for a few minutes and they pollute our environment for decades," said European environment commissioner Janez Potocnik.
"But social attitudes are evolving and there is a widespread desire for change. That's why we are looking at all the options, including a Europe-wide ban on plastic carrier bags," Potocnik said.
The EU executive said it also wants to gather opinions on increasing the visibility of biodegradable packaging products and boosting the biodegradability requirements for packaging.
Europe produced 3.4 million tonnes of plastic carrier bags in 2008 - the equivalent in weight of 2 million cars, according to the European Union's executive arm.
The bags often end up in the sea, taking hundreds of years to decompose, it said.
About 250 billion plastic particles weighing a total 500 tonnes litter the Mediterranean, threatening sea life, which can suffocate eating them.
In some EU states, plastic bags are banned from stores or consumers must pay for them in supermarket lines, but there is no EU-wide regulation.
The EU Commission on Wednesday launched a public consultation which will run until August to decide the best course of action to reduce the use of plastic bags.
"Fifty years ago, the single-use plastic bag was almost unheard of - now we use them for a few minutes and they pollute our environment for decades," said European environment commissioner Janez Potocnik.
"But social attitudes are evolving and there is a widespread desire for change. That's why we are looking at all the options, including a Europe-wide ban on plastic carrier bags," Potocnik said.
The EU executive said it also wants to gather opinions on increasing the visibility of biodegradable packaging products and boosting the biodegradability requirements for packaging.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
mini-turbine battery chargers for New Jag hybrid Supercar
Stunning C-X75 hybrid supercar concept confirmed for production. 322km/h. 0-100km/h in 3 seconds. Emissions below 100g/km.
Jaguar will build one of the fastest cars in the world after announcing its stunning C-X75 hybrid supercar concept will become a new halo model for the brand.
The British brand will make the star of the 2010 Paris motor show an exclusive proposition with just 250 C-X75s to be produced between 2013 and 2015, with a price tag for Australian buyers set to be as high as $2 million.
Jaguar is partnering with Formula One team Williams to create the supercar, which it says will be capable of speeds in excess of 320km/h and acceleration from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds.
Advertisement: Story continues below
A hybrid drivetrain will allow the C-X75 to be driven 50km on electric power alone with average emissions expected to be 99 grams per 100km, the company says.
The production model will initially not feature the helicopter-inspired micro-turbines that powered the concept’s batteries, though Jaguar says it is continuing to develop the technology and later examples of the C-X75 could employ the jet-powered propulsion system.
The C-X75 will instead be powered by a small-capacity “highly boosted” petrol engine combined with “powerful” electric motors on each axle that make the supercar all-wheel drive.
Jaguar says Williams’ expertise in aerodynamics, carbon composite construction and hybrid technology – the latter through the use of the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) used in F1 racing - will be key to the C-X75’s success.
The C-X75 will be made of carbon-fibre to ensure the supercar is both incredibly light and rigid.
“People expect Jaguar to be innovators - that is when Jaguar is at its best," says Jaguar brand director Adrian Hallmark. “The C-X75 received an incredible reception as a concept car.
“We've been building on that momentum and there is a clear business case for this exclusive halo model. No other vehicle will better signify Jaguar's renewed confidence and excellence in technological innovation than this.”
The styling of the production C-X75 is not expected to stray far from the radical shape of the concept car.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Jaguar to build £700,000 hybrid supercar with Williams
Jaguar to build £700,000 hybrid supercar with Williams
Jaguar has unveiled plans to build a £700,000 ($1.15m) petrol-electric hybrid supercar in the UK.
It will build 250 cars in partnership with Formula 1 team Williams F1.
The C-X75's ultra-light chassis and two electric motors will help it accelerate from nought to 60mph in three seconds.
It will have an all-electric range of 50km and its overall emissions of less than 100g CO2 per kilometre will be one of the lowest in the industry.
The car will have a top speed of more than 200mph, while the hybrid engine will extend the car's range well beyond 50km.
The move is part of a £5bn investment plan, announced by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in March at the Geneva motor show, to launch 40 "significant new products" over the next five years.
Production of the C-X75 will create more than 100 highly-skilled jobs in the UK. These will be split between Jaguar and Williams, which is based in Grove in Oxfordshire.
The model will be built from 2013 until 2015, although it has not yet been decided where production will take place.
Jaguars are currently manufactured at Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham, although JLR's headquarters are in Warwickshire.
'Clear business case'The car offers proof that if they are well-engineered, efficient cars with low CO2 emissions can also deliver high performance.
The partnership is part of Williams F1's plan to extend the number of business areas it operates in
This points to "a sustainable future, but not a boring future", Mr Forster said.
As such, it marks a shift from the past when manufacturers would build high-performance flagship models to show off their capabilities to buyers of frugal, ordinary versions of the same cars.
The logic that anyone who can build a high-performance car should also be able to build good cars with small engines no longer holds, as there is a growing realisation that it is much more difficult to build a car that combines speed and handling with low fuel consumption.
"There is a clear business case for this exclusive halo model," Jaguar brand director Adrian Hallmark said.
Capabilities and skillsThe car is central to the Indian-owned luxury car company JLR's plan to establish itself as a technology-inspired carmaker.
The C-X75 was first displayed in Paris in October with an experimental gas-powered jet engine "It is a showcase of our capabilities and of the hi-tech engineering skills that exist within Jaguar and Williams F1," said Carl-Peter Forster, chief executive of JLR's parent company Tata Motors.
"This is a showcase of what can be done in this country if we all pull together."
The partnership between JLR and Williams F1 is part of the Formula 1 team's plan to extend the number of business areas from which it earns revenue, following hot on the heels of rival McLaren's expansion into, among other things, road car production and GT3 racing.
"In recent years, hybrid technology has been an area of acute development in Formula 1," said Williams F1 chairman Adam Parr, insisting it is only one example of F1 technology that could prove useful in other industries.
Williams F1 is in the process of creating subsidiaries that will sell its technology to companies elsewhere in the motor industry, or even in other industries such as energy, aerospace or health.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
SEA levels will rise higher and faster than the United Nations predicted just four years ago
SEA levels will rise higher and faster than the United Nations predicted just four years ago, a major international study has found.
The new data suggests that, on average, the seas will rise by up to 1.6 metres by the year 2100 - a finding that has serious implications for Australian governments grappling with coastal planning.
The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, based in Norway, found that the Greenland ice sheet is melting four times as fast as it was a decade ago.
Advertisement: Story continues below
''The past six years have been the warmest period ever recorded in the Arctic,'' the authors of the report said in a statement. ''In the future, global sea level is projected to rise by 0.9 metres to 1.6 metres by 2100 and the loss of ice from Arctic glaciers, ice caps and the Greenland ice sheet will make a substantial contribution.''
Each centimetre of sea-level rise roughly translates to one metre of beach erosion, meaning that the coastline can be expected to move 160 metres further inland.
The most recent assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released in 2007, put the projected rise at 59 centimetres by 2100. It acknowledged the views of many researchers that this figure was conservative.
In the past few years, sea levels have risen an average of about 3 millimetres a year, with 40 per cent of this attributed to melting Arctic glaciers, ice caps and the Greenland ice sheet.
The rate is expected to accelerate as the world warms this century and the process will be compounded as more ice cover is lost. White ice fields reflect sunlight away from the Earth's surface, whereas the darker oceans absorb more of the sun's heat, amplifying global warming.
Australia's Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency said its 2009 report into the effects had taken into account the possibility of high sea-level rises.
"There is growing consensus in the science community that sea-level rise at the upper end of the IPCC estimates is plausible by the end of this century, and that a rise of more than 1.0 metre and as high as 1.5 metres cannot be ruled out," its report said.
The report found that as many as 247,000 residential buildings with a value of $63 billion may be at risk of inundation from a sea-level rise scenario of 1.1 metres by 2100.
The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage said it would monitor scientific developments and provide new advice to coastal councils in 2014, when the UN is expected to finalise its next assessment.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/sea-levels-rising-higher-and-faster-20110504-1e8j7.html#ixzz1LQEneLLK
Monday, May 2, 2011
You want to buy Green - but you don't. Why?
Eco conscious consumers are not putting their money where their mouths are, according to new research which has found a ‘weak link’ between the intention of purchasing eco friendly electronic appliances and actually doing so.
The results of the survey suggests consumers don't think green products are inferior, but also reveals that while consumers are thinking green only 20 per cent are actually buying green, which Professor Tim Flannery, Panasonic Chair in Environmental Sustainability, Macquarie University, said needs to change.
“Awareness of environmental issues is extremely high and our next challenge is to turn that into everyday action,” Flannery said. “People are going to continue to purchase and use products such as consumer electronics and need to make sure they’re making the best possible decisions.”
Steve Rust, managing director, Panasonic Australia, said the results were disappointing considering the investment into developing environmentally friendly products.
“The message just isn’t translating into action. Consumers are making all of the right noises but at the end of the day they just aren’t buying green – at least with consumer electronics,” Rust said in a statement.
“The single best thing we can do to encourage more businesses to adopt better environmental behaviour is to make it more commercially attractive. We simply have to work out what is stopping consumers from buying green and overcome it.
Otherwise it is back to business as usual. Cheap bad quality products made overseas that affect us all.
From Current.com.au
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Apple biggest user of coal and nuclear power
'Dirty data' centres put Apple last on green list:
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple has come bottom of the most comprehensive green league table of technology companies because of its heavy reliance on ''dirty data'' centres.
The list, compiled by Greenpeace and released in San Francisco on Thursday, shows the company relies heavily on highly polluting coal power at the sites that house its servers.
Greenpeace's report, How Dirty Is Your Data?, reveals the company's investment in a new North Carolina plant will triple its electricity consumption, equivalent to the electricity demand of 80,000 US homes.
Advertisement: Story continues below The power will be a mix of 62 per cent coal and 32 per cent nuclear.
The lead author of the report, Greenpeace's IT policy analyst, Gary Cook, said: ''Consumers want to know that when they upload a video or change their Facebook status they are not contributing to global warming or future Fukushimas.''
The report estimated dependence on coal for Apple's data centres at 54.5 per cent, followed by Facebook at 53.2 per cent, IBM at 51.6 per cent, Hewlett-Packard at 49.4 per cent, and Twitter at 42.5 per cent. Top marks in another table, Greenpeace's clean energy index, went to Yahoo, followed by Google and Amazon.
Greenpeace is also campaigning for Facebook to ''unfriend coal'' and use cleaner energy to power its servers.
Mr Cook said: ''Many companies treat their energy consumption a bit like the Coca-Cola secret formula, because they don't want competitors knowing how much they spend on energy … they don't really want this story to be told.''
Data centre energy demand already accounts for 1.5 to 2 per cent of world electricity consumption and is set to quadruple over 10 years.
But Jonathan Koomey, a project scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose work was cited in the study, said the IT industry wrongly attracted criticism: ''The use of IT often reduces environmental impacts. When we compared greenhouse gas emissions for downloading music to buying it on a CD … downloads reduced emissions by 40 to 80 per cent.''
Guardian News & Media
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple has come bottom of the most comprehensive green league table of technology companies because of its heavy reliance on ''dirty data'' centres.
The list, compiled by Greenpeace and released in San Francisco on Thursday, shows the company relies heavily on highly polluting coal power at the sites that house its servers.
Greenpeace's report, How Dirty Is Your Data?, reveals the company's investment in a new North Carolina plant will triple its electricity consumption, equivalent to the electricity demand of 80,000 US homes.
Advertisement: Story continues below The power will be a mix of 62 per cent coal and 32 per cent nuclear.
The lead author of the report, Greenpeace's IT policy analyst, Gary Cook, said: ''Consumers want to know that when they upload a video or change their Facebook status they are not contributing to global warming or future Fukushimas.''
The report estimated dependence on coal for Apple's data centres at 54.5 per cent, followed by Facebook at 53.2 per cent, IBM at 51.6 per cent, Hewlett-Packard at 49.4 per cent, and Twitter at 42.5 per cent. Top marks in another table, Greenpeace's clean energy index, went to Yahoo, followed by Google and Amazon.
Greenpeace is also campaigning for Facebook to ''unfriend coal'' and use cleaner energy to power its servers.
Mr Cook said: ''Many companies treat their energy consumption a bit like the Coca-Cola secret formula, because they don't want competitors knowing how much they spend on energy … they don't really want this story to be told.''
Data centre energy demand already accounts for 1.5 to 2 per cent of world electricity consumption and is set to quadruple over 10 years.
But Jonathan Koomey, a project scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose work was cited in the study, said the IT industry wrongly attracted criticism: ''The use of IT often reduces environmental impacts. When we compared greenhouse gas emissions for downloading music to buying it on a CD … downloads reduced emissions by 40 to 80 per cent.''
Guardian News & Media
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Power bills going up AGAIN
Huge Rise In Your Bills Coming Again...
Household electricity bills in NSW are set to rise by up to 18.1 per cent, or $316 a year following price rises outlined today by the pricing regulator.
A year ago, IPART approved rises of up to 13 per cent to be implemented from the middle of this year, with another round of rises of up to 11 per cent approved from the middle of next year.
At that time, it anticipated the average power bill for residents in rural NSW would reach $1900 a year, compared with between $1500 and $1600 for those living in Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Electricity prices are being forced higher as electricity companies boost their networks to avoid further blackouts, and are set to rise much faster if the federal government succeeds in introducing a carbon tax, which will force up prices.
When reviewing electricity prices in the middle of last year, IPART allowed rises of up to 36 per cent over the three years to 2012, warning prices would rise by as much as 60 per cent if the earlier planned carbon tax under consideration by former prime minister Kevin Rudd was introduced.
The likely impact of the carbon tax being considered by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on power prices is not yet clear, since no decision has been taken on the likely carbon price.
The state government said earlier the electricity companies would not pass on the blow-out in the cost of the government's solar panel scheme to households, instead raiding money from the Climate Change Fund to pay for the impact of these costs.
Under the latest changes, residential customers of EnergyAustralia will face rises of 17.9 per cent from July 1 (or $1513 over a year), Integral Energy 16.4 per cent ( $1619 over a year) and Country Energy 18.1per cent ($2063 over a year).
What can you do? Well, nothing about the rises, but you CAN start reducing your power usage by using some simple devices that can really reduce your bills. Click on this link to find out more:
http://www.greendemon.com.au/electricalenergysavingenergysavingdevices-c-12_53.html
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Porsche Hybrid goes on sale....
918 Spyder hybrid sports car will be cheap to run but not cheap to buy.
Porsche has opened the order books for its most fuel-efficient car - and it will cost Australians at least $1.5 million.
The German car maker has put a European price tag of 645,000 Euros on its new 918 Spyder that won't go into production until late 2013.
Porsche will build only 918 units of the Spyder, which will be constructed around an expensive but lightweight carbonfibre-reinforced plastic monocoque but will be left-hand drive only.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Porsche Australia says wealthy customers here can still order the 918 Spyder for use on a race track, though it has criticised the government for still applying the luxury car tax to a car that cannot be registered for the road locally.
"We have genuinely interested buyers [for the 918], even though they know it's left-hand-drive only," says company spokesman Paul Ellis. "It's absurd that the luxury car tax should be applied to a car that cannot be registered for road use in Australia."
The luxury car tax adds 210,000 Euros to the price, and with GST and other charges means the 918 Spyder is a $1.5 million proposition for buyers.
Porsche says Australians are being denied the company's most fuel efficient model yet, which is expected to use less than half the fuel of the average small car.
The two-seater 918, which will stay faithful to the 2010 concept car of the same name, is a plug-in hybrid estimated to use just three litres of fuel per 100km, with CO2 emissions of 70 grams per km.
It teams a 368kW mid-mounted V8 with two electric motors - one on each axle - that will produce a minimum combined output of 160kW.
The front electric motor effectively makes the 918 an all-wheel-drive car, with the V8's power sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.
The 918's lithium-ion battery will provide a 25km driving range in pure electric mode, with a top speed of 150km/h. Porsche says the battery can be charged from a conventional power socket in up to three hours.
Porsche's 918 concept didn't feature a roof but the production version will include roof panels that can be removed by hand and stowed in the car's front luggage compartment.
Customers ordering a 918 will also be given the option to purchase a limited edition 911 Turbo to ease their minimum two-and-a-half-year wait for the supercar.
Both the 911 Turbo S 'Edition 918 Spyder' coupe and convertible feature different leather seats, instrument dials, extra carbonfibre touches and decals to regular Turbo S models.
In Europe, the 'Edition 918 Spyder' 911 coupe and convertible cost €173,241 ($244,000) and €184,546 ($259,000) respectively
Monday, March 14, 2011
Green Vs Green on Solar in the U.S.
Well, we wanted solar power, and now it's arriving in large scale projects, lots of former supporters in the U.S. are attempting to block construction of large-scale solar plants.
The problem seems to be the clearing of desert spaces and damaging or loosing wildlife habitats in the process. These are not a few solar panels, they are acres of panels that cover large areas of desert, so the argument is valid. The solution is for the ecologists and solar engineers to work together to find a balance - but this being America, the solution is lawsuits of course. More money for the lawyers, less for both sides to use for solutions.
These solar plants can actually provide enough power to run San Diego, we're not talking pipe-dream here, it's reality, and the planet needs this type of renewable energy desperately.
Just weeks after regulators approved the last of nine multibillion-dollar solar thermal power plants to be built in the Southern California desert, a storm of lawsuits and the resurgence of an older solar technology are clouding the future of the nascent industry.
The litigation, which seeks to block construction of five of the solar thermal projects, underscores the growing risks of building large-scale renewable energy plants in environmentally delicate areas. On Jan. 25, for instance, Solar Millennium withdrew its 16-month-old license application for a 250-megawatt solar station called Ridgecrest, citing regulators’ concerns over the project’s impact on the Mohave ground squirrel.
At peak output, the five licensed solar thermal projects being challenged would power more than two million homes, create thousands of construction jobs and help the state meet aggressive renewable energy mandates. The projects are backed by California’s biggest utilities, top state officials and the Obama administration.
But conservation, labor and American Indian groups are challenging the projects on environmental grounds. The lawsuits, coupled with a broad plunge in prices for energy from competing power sources, threaten the ability of developers to secure expiring federal loan guarantees and private financing to establish the projects. Only one developer so far,BrightSource Energy, has obtained a loan guarantee and begun construction.
Like so many of this state’s troubles, the industry’s problems are rooted in real estate.
After President George W. Bush ordered public lands to be opened to renewable energy development and California passed a law in 2006 to reduce carbon emissions, scores of developers staked lease claims on nearly a million acres of Mojave Desert land. The government-owned land offered affordable, wide-open spaces and the abundant sunshine needed by solar thermal plants, which use huge arrays of mirrors to heat liquids to create steam that drives electricity-generating turbines.
But many of the areas planned for solar development — including the five projects being challenged — are in fragile landscapes and are home to desert tortoises, bighorn sheep and other protected flora and fauna. The government sped through some of the required environmental reviews, and opponents are challenging those reviews as inadequate.
“There’s no good reason to go into these pristine wilderness areas and build huge solar farms, and less reason for the taxpayers to be subsidizing it,” said Cory J. Briggs, a lawyer representing an American Indian group that has sued the United States Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management to stop five of the solar thermal plants. “The impacts to Native American culture and the environment are extraordinary.”
The risk that the suits will succeed in blocking construction could make it more difficult for the builders to get federal loan guarantees or attract private financing.
Officials with the Loan Programs Office of the United States Energy Department did not respond to requests for comment. However, department guidelines classify litigation risk as a significant factor to be considered when qualifying renewable energy projects for a loan guarantee.
Brett Prior, a solar analyst with the GTM Research firm, said commercial lenders also viewed the suits as a negative. “In general, there are more projects chasing project finance than there are funds available, so the investment banks can be selective when deciding which projects to support,” he said. “Projects with lawsuits pending will likely move to the back of the queue.”
The conflict over the California projects has already accelerated a shakeout among competing solar technologies.
Tessera Solar announced last week that it had sold its 709-megawatt Imperial Valley solar dish project, which had become the target of two lawsuits. The buyer, AES Solar, develops power plants using photovoltaic panels like those found on residential rooftops. The move follows Tessera’s sale of its 663.5-megawatt Calico solar dish power plant in late December, a week after the company lost its longstanding contract with a utility. Calico is the subject of three lawsuits, and the project’s new owner, a New York firm called K Road Power, said it planned to abandon most of the Tessera solar dishes and instead use photovoltaic panels.
Solar panels convert sunlight directly into electricity. They are based on an older, less efficient technology, but because of intense competition from Chinese panel makers, prices are plunging. Photovoltaic projects are also not subject to extensive environmental review by state regulators, but are instead approved by local officials.
As a result, photovoltaic projects are now more attractive to utilities. For instance, since January, Southern California Edison has signed contracts with developers to build eight photovoltaic farms that will generate 1,081 megawatts of electricity. Tellingly, seven of those projects will be built on private land
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
