16 Jan 2012
Renewable energies reach 65% of generation in Central America … But beware excessive consumption of natural resources in region … And Brazil’s development bank quadruples financing for wind in 2011.
ECLAC: Study says Renewable Energies Reach Record 65% of Electricity in Central America
65% of electricity produced in six countries in Central America in 2010 came from renewable energies (hydropower, geothermal, sugar cane, wind), which is a record for the subregion, according to a recent study from ECLAC.
In 2010 Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama produced a total of 40,668.2GWh, while the...
08 May 2012
Singapore sets best practice standard in EV pilot … while India claims Asia’s biggest solar field … and rural Indian microgrids makes top technologies list … as Japan announces renewable FITs!
IDC Energy Insights: Singapore EV Pilot Industry Best Practice
IDC Energy Insights released the Best Practices: e-Mobility – Challenges and Opportunities: A case study from Singapore Report. The report studied Singapore’s EV test pilot program and found the emerging EV market looked increasingly viable as a profitable business model. ...
08 May 2012
Electricity comes in waves to western Australia … Greening technology will alter Aussie city future … Aussie in danger of overshoot on clean energy target!
Perth Now: Support swells for Perth Wave Project
Amy Wilson-Chapman writes that Carnegie Wave Energy has secured a US$31.9m cash grant for its Perth Wave Energy Project. The project is the first of its kind in Australia that will use wave technology to produce up to 5MW of electricity.
The first phase of the western Australian based project is expected to pump 2MW into the region’s grid by the end of 2013. Carnegie’s Managing Director said “The company has a number of...
23 Nov 2011
France has the second largest energy sector in the EU. It is also the EU’s largest net exporter of electricity. Overall, France’s per capita CO2 emission rate is one of the lowest in Europe, due to its strong dependence of nuclear power. Nuclear energy also keeps the electricity production costs down.
Nuclear Energy
The country’s nuclear power industry has been labelled a “success” in terms of providing cheap, CO2-free energy. However, France's nuclear reactors are commonly used in load-following mode. Some reactors are closed over the weekend as there is no market for the generated electricity. 11 of the 15 inland plants have cooling towers, which use evaporative cooling. Others use lake or river water directly. As a result, generation output is limited during hot...
01 May 2012
Smart grid investors remain bearish in 2012 … China & Iceland’s geothermal deal … South East Asia from energy minus to energy plus … Japan not taking risks on energy efficiency!
Economic Times of India: Global venture capital funding in smart grids fall
Debjoy Sengupta of Economic Times India says although utilities in India are making plans for smart grid expansion in their distribution areas, the global outlook for funding in this sector looks dull.
According to a report by Mercom Capital Group, the slowdown in the VC investment trend started in 2011 and continued into 2012. In Q1 2012, ten smart grid deals attracted US$62m, down from US$66m in Q4 2011. Mercom said...
31 Oct 2011
Indonesia generates 86% of its electricity from conventional fossil fuel sources (coal, gas, and oil). It was also the third-largest generator of geothermal power in 2009. The country had 27.8GW installed generating capacity and generated 122BKWh of electricity, during 2008. 86% of which came from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), 8%...
State-owned electric utility PT PLN (Perusahaan Listrik Negara) is the main actor in the electric power sector. PLN owns and operates 86% of the country’s generating capacity through its subsidiaries. It still maintains a virtual monopoly over distribution. The 2009 Electricity Law ends PLN’s distribution monopoly, but sufficient implementing regulations have yet to come into effect.
Before the Asian financial crisis, Indonesia planned to increase its power supply. PLN opened the...
15 Mar 2012
Japan faces limited energy choices ... while Tepco’s water battles continue … China takes energy lesson from West … and Suntech retains top solar PV spot … even as Indonesia talks renewables!
Engerati: Japan without nuclear – Can it be done?
Leslie Pietersen of Engerati reported on former IEA Chief Tanaka thoughts about the state of nuclear in Japan. Tanaka, said it would be a mistake for Japan to abandon nuclear power as a source of power. He contends that because Japan has ‘limited alternatives;’ failure to resume its nuclear plants poses a ‘security risk’.
As a result of the public outcry, since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, all...
30 Apr 2012
Iceland’s Landsvirkjun to lower EU data centers’ carbon footprint and power bill.
What happened
Iceland’s energy utility, Landsvirkjun, is offering European data centers the most competitive power rates to benefit from the IT industry’s escalating energy demands, reports Renewable Energy Magazine. The utility’s recent public quotes offer 12 year contracts with fixed real rates of US$43/MWh, whereas European average real market rates for short term contracts start from US$65/MWh (2011.)The state-owned utility’s goal is to secure 1% of Europe...
28 Mar 2012
South Korea embraces smart meters … as Bihar goes from zero to surplus … Japan rebuilds Fukushima with geothermal plants... while Russia stays power subsidy … and two more Asian countries get in on solar.
Smart Planet: South Korea rolls out smart meters for half of the nation
Charlie Osborne, at SmartPlanet.com, says South Korea plans to install smart meters in half of the country’s households by 2016. The move would cut electricity consumption equivalent to the projected cost of a nuclear plant.
Despite opposition from citizens and other interest groups, installation of the smart meters will go ahead. The South Korean government has pledged US$1.3bn to support the scheme. If the 2016...
18 Nov 2011
Fossil fuels generate around 40% of Chile’s electricity. As the country has poor local fossil fuel reserves, Chile imports over 80% of its fossil fuels. The country intends to invest more than US$28.5bn in power projects by 2014. Most of the projects will involve power generation but it plans to construct substations and transmission lines, in...
Chile’s Greenhouse emissions increased by 166% between 1984 and 2008. The Chilean National Energy Commission expects emissions to double again, between 2008 and 2025.
Poor infrastructure was the major cause of the September 2011 power outage, which affected 10 million Chileans and several mines. Critics blame Chilean President, Sebastian Pinera, for under-investing in the country’s infrastructure.
Fossil Fuel Use
Coal
Chile is looking to double its current installed electricity...
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