[Graeme]

Bangladesh aims to be world’s 'first solar nation'

Residents of Islampur, a remote village in the northern Bangladeshi district of Naogaon, were stunned one night last summer when the darkness was suddenly illuminated by electric lights coming from a village home.

Why the surprise? The community has no connection to the country’s power grid.

The owner of the house, Rafiqul Islam, is one of around 15 million Bangladeshis whose homes are now powered by solar home systems, or SHS, under a government scheme to provide clean power to communities with no access to grid electricity.

The Bangladeshi government aims to provide electricity to all of the country’s households by 2021. With financial assistance from the World Bank and other development partners, it plans to generate 220 megawatts of electricity for around 6 million households by 2017 through the solar home system programme.

Each solar home system uses a solar panel installed on the roof of an individual home. A 250 watt panel can produce up to 1 kilowatt of power a day.

Following Islam’s example, many villagers in Islampur have installed solar home systems, whether to light their homes or to run irrigation pumps.

reuters

[Graeme]

7 Interesting Global Renewable Energy Trends From NREL (Charts Galore!)

Accurately assessing renewable energy growth, especially compared to fossil fuels, is one of the biggest challenges facing our clean energy transition. After all, how can you measure progress without adequate benchmarks?

Industry tallies and analyst updates provide the quickest summaries, but they’re either piecemeal or criticized for being slanted. Government data is more reputable and comprehensive, but often lags behind – case in point the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) 2013 Renewable Energy Data Book.

Most of the trends highlighted in NREL’s data are already known, but still this is among the most comprehensive resources available and many of the charts within are incredible reference points. The full report is definitely worth reading, but since most people don’t have time to read through 135 pages, I’ve pulled a few of the most impressive statistics and charts for you.

American Renewable Energy Grows, But Unevenly

NREL reports renewable energy represented 61% of all new U.S. electricity capacity installations in 2013 to reach 14.8% of total electric capacity and 13.1% of actual power generation. Good stuff, considering renewables were just 9.5% of total generation in 2004, but that growth may slip a bit as renewables only represented 41% of new capacity additions across the first three quarters of 2014.

cleantechnica

Frost & Sullivan releases global renewable energy forecast

Following are few highlights from the report:

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is expected to account for 33.4 per cent of total renewable energy capacity additions over the 2012-2025 period. Wind follows closely at 32.7 per cent, ahead of hydro power at 25.3 per cent. Other renewable technologies will represent the remaining 8.6 per cent of capacity additions. However, economic difficulties in many parts of the world are affecting the outlook for renewable energy. In much of the Western world, the weak economic climate has impacted support schemes, which will continue to be the lifeline for many renewable energy installations until grid parity is achieved.

The decline in the cost of renewable energy due to technological innovation and scale economies achieved through mass deployment have enabled developing countries to adopt these technologies. In fact, global solar power capacity is due to increase from 93.7 GW in 2012 to 668.4 GW in 2025. However, while solar PV is undergoing a veritable boom, massive price falls in this technology have greatly weakened the growth prospects of the concentrated solar power (CSP) market.

The global capacity of hydro power will rise from 1,085 GW in 2012 to 1,498 GW in 2025, with China, Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam, India and Russia contributing strongly to market growth. In the wind power market, offshore wind will witness lower-than-expected growth, as political support wanes in Europe. With small-scale wind turbines opening up new applications, global wind capacity will reach 814 GW in 2025 from its 2012 level of 279 GW.

renewableenergyfocus

[Graeme]

7.7 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE ARE EMPLOYED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY: NEW IRENA REPORT

According to a report being released today by IRENA, more than 7.7 million people worldwide are now employed by the renewable energy industry. This is an 18 per cent increase from last year’s figure of 6.5 million. IRENA will present the findings of its new report at the second annual UN Sustainable Energy for All Forum, during the plenary session on 19 May.

The report, Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2015, also provides a first-ever global estimate of the number of jobs supported by large hydropower, with a conservative estimate of an additional 1.5 million direct jobs worldwide. As in previous years, renewable energy employment is shaped by regional shifts, industry realignments, growing competition and advances in technologies and manufacturing processes. Jobs in the renewable energy sector are increasingly being created in Asia.

irenanewsroom

Insane Solar Jobs Boom About To Get $32 Million More Insane

The slumping US oil and gas industry has been reduced to a rolling employment disaster, and evidently the Obama Administration hopes to pick up some of the slack by accelerating growth in the solar jobs sector. Earlier this week, the US Energy Department announced a whopping $32 million solar funding opportunity that addresses multiple aspects of the solar industry, including white collar and R&D employment.

The funding comes under the agency’s SunShot Initiative, which aims to bring the cost of solar energy down to parity with fossil fuels, so let’s pick apart that white collar/R&D thing and see how that could push the SunShot goal along.

cleantechnica

[Graeme]

What Drives Long-Run Economic Growth?

There are three main factors that drive economic growth:

Accumulation of capital stock
Increases in labor inputs, such as workers or hours worked
Technological advancement

Growth accounting measures the contribution of each of these three factors to the economy. Thus, a country’s growth can be broken down by accounting for what percentage of economic growth comes from capital, labor and technology.

It has been shown, both theoretically and empirically, that technological progress is the main driver of long-run growth. The explanation is actually quite straightforward. Holding other input factors constant, the additional output obtained when adding one extra unit input of capital or labor will eventually decline, according to the law of diminishing returns. As a result, a country cannot maintain its long-run growth by simply accumulating more capital or labor. Therefore, the driver of long-run growth has to be technological progress.

stlouisfed

[Graeme]

Solar, wind and electric cars see countries grow richer and cleaner

The exciting and increasingly affordable combination of solar power, wind energy and electric vehicles is transforming the energy sector, says a leading researcher ahead of 2015’s largest meeting of climate scientists.

“The reduction in [clean energy] costs and therefore availability is a fundamental game changer…emerging economies have a real chance to follow a different developmental path than western economies,” said Michael Grubb, Professor of International Energy and Climate Policy at University College London and keynote speaker at the Our Common Future Under Climate Change conference, which aims to profile the latest climate science innovations ahead of December’s landmark UN climate conference in Paris.

“When you look at the aggregate global trends of energy and emissions, it looks very depressing. However when you look at specific contexts, you find lots of interesting opportunities for countries to get richer and cleaner at the same time – and plenty of growing examples.”

Many believe that ever since the industrial revolution, industrial development and economic growth means using more energy, said Grubb who is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Climate Policy.

“What we have found is that this is not really true once a certain level of development and wealth is reached. Many industrialised counties have been able to grow their economies without increasing the amount of emissions per person from the level 25 years ago.”

Countries should focus on transforming their energy sectors through policies that focus on ‘efficiency, pricing, and innovation’, including investing in other sustainable alternatives such as wind and solar.

trust

[Outcast_Searcher]

Bangladesh aims to be world’s 'first solar nation'

Each solar home system uses a solar panel installed on the roof of an individual home. A 250 watt panel can produce up to 1 kilowatt of power a day.

So they could run a light bulb up to ten hours a day. Does this qualify as being a "solar nation"?

[Graeme]

Yes. They plan to provide electricity to all the country's households by 2021 (see above). It will be a phenomenal effect if they can achieve it.

[ralfy]

"Richer" eventually counters "cleaner."

[Outcast_Searcher]

Yes. They plan to provide electricity to all the country's households by 2021 (see above). It will be a phenomenal effect if they can achieve it.

Perhaps you're missing my point. I did read, and reviewed the first post. Though 1 KW a day to a "solar powered house" is more than zero, and being able to, for example, have kids do homework by a lightbulb after it gets dark is nice.

However, that's a FAR different thing than having the 6 million homes being completely run by solar (cooking, heating, cooling, etc) in anything remotely approaching a middle class lifestyle.

I'm NOT saying it's bad. I'm saying the title sounds like far too many green titles -- overzealous to the point of being misleading.

[Graeme]

In addition to the SHS scheme, the government has constructed a 100 kilowatt solar power plant in Sandwip Island, in the Bay of Bengal, which began operating in 2010. There are plans to create 50 more so-called mini solar grids around the country by 2017, with the combined capacity to run more than 1,500 irrigation pumps.

Embracing ‘Exponential Growth Of Solutions’ For 100% Renewable Energy

Last month I had the chance to meet Dennis Meadows, who has been co-authoring eye-opening books about the limits to growth since 1972. Forty years later, his alarming predictions of resource depletion, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation as a consequence of human behavior have come true. But instead of being frustrated he is actually very positive about recent developments. Prof. Meadows is convinced that along with an ‘exponential growth of the problems’ there is an exponential growth of solutions, too. And that’s where the good news begins.

Across the world today we are observing a movement among local governments, nations, islands, businesses, communities and citizens towards 100% renewable energy (RE). In fact, the City of Vancouver has just joined this movement, proving again that political will can catalyze change. At a hugely inspiring Forum last week in Vancouver the mayor himself showed strong commitment to reach this target.

Worldwide since 2013, newly added capacity of renewable energy has outpaced that of oil, coal and gas combined. This is an important milestone for the global transformation towards an energy sector fully powered by renewable energy. Renewable energy has become extremely efficient – and, above all, they have become cheap. The question, therefore, is no longer ‘Willthe world one day be entirely supplied with renewable energy?’ but rather ‘When?’ In fact, an increasing number of cities and regions have already embarked on that journey by setting the goal of 100% renewable energy; some have even reached the target already. The key to successful implementation is to share the benefits of decentralized and modern power generation throughout society by including citizens and communities in the process.

It would be an illusion to believe that simply fueling the same system with different resources will lead us in the right direction and keep the planet habitable for current and future generations. Instead, our societies and economies themselves must be transformed to ensure sustainable, secure and affordable access to energy for all. Vancouver has a proud history of being at the forefront of sustainability and is now yet again a pioneer: it is one of the first cities that joined the new 100% Renewable Energy network for local governments that was established by partners of the Global 100% RE Alliance, including ICLEI, World Future Council, deENet, World Wind Energy Association, Fraunhofer ISE and others. This initiative aims to strengthen understanding within local governments on what 100% RE means and how to reach it.

Copenhagen, San Francisco, Sydney, Frankfurt and many more places have already proven that the necessary technologies and knowledge exist. Frankfurt for example is well on track to shifting to 100% renewable electricity by 2015. The city has reduced emissions by 15% while its economy grew by 50%. Furthermore, with energy efficiency measures, Frankfurt has saved over €100 million in energy costs, a number that’s projected to rise. In Germany, 80 out of 140 communities and municipalities from a network of100% RE regions have already reached their target.

cleantechnica

[Graeme]

We were talking about rural Bangladesh earlier. Here is a plan for rural India.

Solar Microgrids: A Solution for Rural India

India and Microgrids

Many believe that solar microgrid technologies hold the key that will enable India to satiate its expanding appetite for energy. These microgrids are sustainable energy production centers, which are capable of providing power to the rural districts where the need is greatest.

Estimates are that microgrids currently provide around 125,000 rural Indian households with power. Most of these solar-powered microgrid networks are located in remote communities where connecting to India’s central power grid is difficult, expensive or impractical. This number may only be a drop in the ocean, but it is at least a step in the right direction, not only for India but also for rural areas throughout the world.

However, solar microgrids do pose a conundrum; just how can this technology be scaled-up to meet the needs of millions of Indians and reduce the country’s energy shortfall?

Companies like Simpa Networks may have the answer. Simpa focuses on providing affordable distributed solar generation systems to rural Indian communities. To overcome the bad debt risk associated with traditional solar financing programs, Simpa designed a financing plan reflective of how Indians are accustomed to paying for energy.

Rural Indians are used to purchasing purchase kerosene, batteries, and phone charging on a pay-as-you-go basis. The payments are typically small and irregular as dictated by available funds. Simpa replicates that purchasing behavior by remotely unlocking the solar system for delivery of a specified amount of kilowatt-hours. The system then locks and remains disabled until the consumer makes additional payments. The system permanently unlocks upon full recovery of the equipment cost.

theenergycollective

[Graeme]

Climate Change -- Do We Really Mean Business?

Over the past decade, in the US, the cost of extreme weather including Hurricane Sandy and the droughts in California and Texas, has topped $300 billion. In Sao Paulo, which produces a third of Brazil's GDP and relies on hydropower for 80% of its electricity, has seen the worst drought for 80 years. The UN estimates that losses from natural disasters since 2000, increasingly linked to planetary warming, have been $2.5 trillion. We estimate Unilever alone is incurring costs linked to the effects of climate change of around €300m a year.

The good news is, with this change comes opportunity. It represents a chance to transform business, save costs, reduce risks and fuel innovation.

The report, Better Growth, Better Climate published last year by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate shows that economic growth and action on climate change do not have to be in conflict; quite the reverse. The growth of cities combined with the rapid adoption of clean energy represents a multi-trillion dollar business opportunity.

We are finding similar opportunities in our own business. Reducing our environmental impacts has helped us avoid factory costs of over €400 million since 2008. We see our brands with a sustainable purpose accounting for half the company's growth in 2014 and growing at twice the rate of our other brands - consumers are voting with their wallets.

huffingtonpost

[Graeme]

100GW by 2022: Behind India’s big solar numbers

Just over a year into Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister of India, huge growth targets for the solar sector continue to attract publicity, but the sheer scale of ambition may not be enough to convince the doubters. India’s budget in February confirmed the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) target of deploying 100GW of solar energy by 2022, a five-fold increase from the previous government’s target of just 20GW. As the Indian government prepares to finalise details of how the target will be met, PV Tech examines some of the huge numbers being proposed and what it will take to realise them.

In the midst of all the big claims and headlines, it is easy to forget that India has suffered from major energy shortfalls for years so there is genuine need for solar capacity to come online. The imminent announcement will also come in the wake of a deadly heat wave, which has killed scores of people in the country, highlighting the need for widespread air-conditioning and managing all the pitfalls of energy spikes from such systems.

There has been a string of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) relating to solar projects, but they fail to give real confidence to investors. Joint secretary of the MNRE Tarun Kapoor told PV Tech that government approval and finalisation of the 100GW plan is pending for mid-June, which should give more certainty.

To understand the sheer scale of India’s ambition, it should be noted that current installed capacity in the country stands at just 3.8GW, with around 7.3GW under development, according to the latest quarterly update from Mercom Capital Group. Meanwhile, according to Jasmeet Khurana, senior consulting manager at analyst firm, Bridge to India, if the country reached its 100GW solar target within less than seven years, solar power would account for 10.5% of all energy consumed within the India, which is clearly an enormous proportion within a country holding more than one billion people.

Under the latest announcements, the 100GW would be made up of:

40GW of utility-scale solar (between central and state governments)
40GW of rooftop solar
20GW under the ‘entrepreneur’ scheme (20,000 projects of 1MW)

pv-tech

[Graeme]

Bloomberg Bombshell: ‘Climate Change Deniers Will Be Giant Money Losers’

A major new global financial report finds that investors who remain ignorant of or deny climate science will be big money losers compared to those who are climate-savvy.

The Mercer Research report, “Investing in a Time of Climate Change,” details the prospects — and the pitfalls — of various climate scenarios. For the report, “Mercer collaborated with 16 investment partners, collectively responsible for more than US$1.5 trillion, to produce the report,” including Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and “the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.”

A Bloomberg column by investment guru Barry Ritholtz summed up the report: “In the real world, climate-change deniers are and will be giant money losers.”
The report has several key findings. Clearly, “climate change will give rise to investment winners and losers.” Some industries, like coal, will likely see average annual returns over the next decade “eroding between 26% and 138%,” depending on how aggressively the world attempts to fight climate change. Other industries, like renewables, could see average annual returns increase by up to 97 percent over the 10-year period — if the world does seriously move toward a 2°C pathway coming out of the Paris climate talks this December.

thinkprogress

[ralfy]

The catch is that in order to allow investments to grow there will have to be more material resource and energy use, and thus more fossil fuel use.

[Graeme]

We don't need fossil fuels at all beyond a certain point (about 10% RE). We've discussed this before. This sounds like a typical plea to maintain status quo. It's nonsense.

[Revi]

It's time to start the transition to more renewables. It can produce economic growth and can lift people out of abject poverty. Those people who got those 1KW systems were happy about it. After all remember Rockefeller's original goal to light all the lamps in China. We might just be able to get "Solar for the lamps of India"!

[Graeme]

Is Solar Energy Sustainable? 4 Problems to Solve Before the Solar Revolution

But if we look at the future of larger scale solar infrastructure, MIT just released a study that found it possible to achieve terawatt-scale deployment of solar power by 2050. That’s enough to power 41.7 billion households at the average American electricity consumption rate.

Maybe widespread solar adoption before we run out of fossil fuels might be possible after all.

Good News: The Future Looks Bright

If you’ve gotten this far and are still skeptical about the future of solar technology, I wouldn’t blame you. It’s been touted as a game-changer for decades and all of these recent developments may seem like more smoke being blown around.

Well, the truth is that alternative energy can work.

makeuseof

[ralfy]

We don't need fossil fuels at all beyond a certain point (about 10% RE). We've discussed this before. This sounds like a typical plea to maintain status quo. It's nonsense.

Actually, we do, especially given the fact that oil is used for mining, manufacturing, and transport of RE components, not to mention anything else connected to it, from grid systems to consumer goods and infrastructure.

And that's not some "plea to maintain status quo" but a description of how the global economy works.