South Korea president says to nurture solar, wind, nuclear power

S.Korea president says to nurture solar, wind, nuclear power - Reuters

SEOUL Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korea, heavily dependent on energy imports, will strengthen its new and renewable energy sectors, President Lee Myung-bak said on Monday.

Asia's fourth-largest economy expects its new and renewable energy sectors to achieve exports of $40 billion in 2015, compared with $4.6 billion in 2009, with the government to set up four or five test beds for solar and wind power generation in 2011 with an investment of 20 billion won ($17.7 million).

"In the future, the solar power industry will be nurtured as the semiconductor industry was, and the wind power industry as shipbuilding was," Lee said in a New Year speech.

"By taking the opportunity to export to the United Arab Emirates, the government will actively nurture nuclear power as an export industry to cope with the era of climate change," he said, referring to an up to $40 billion nuclear deal awarded to a South Korean consortium in late 2009.

One of the world's fastest-growing carbon polluters, South Korea is seeking to shift from its dependence on fossil fuels, expanding investment in green resources.

In October last year, the government said it would spend 40 trillion won by 2015 in a combined push by the public and private sectors to boost renewable energy resources. (Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Chris Lewis)

Is Natural Gas A Viable Partner In the Low-Carbon Future?

Is Natural Gas A Viable Partner In the Low-Carbon Future? - Domestic Fuel

Posted by Joanna Schroeder

Is, and should, natural gas be a viable partner in the movement to a low-carbon future? This was the question asked and answered in a new report published by the Worldwatch Institute and authored by Worldwatch Sustainable Energy Fellow Saya Kitasei. “Powering the Low-Carbon Economy: The Once and Future Roles of Renewable Energy and Natural Gas,” concludes that natural gas and renewable energy such as wind and solar, could form a powerful partnership to move the world toward low carbon energies.

The report notes that “natural gas offers a cleaner alternative to coal” and sets up the stage for natural gas to play a starring role in the future of energy for its “flexibility, scalability, and cost-competitiveness to complement the variable distributed nature of wind and solar power generation.”

“If the world is to truly move away from coal as its primary means of electricity production, then natural gas must realize its full potential as a partner to the renewable energy industry,” said Kitasei. “Natural gas is undergoing a renaissance. Our research indicates that the environmental community should pay attention to the opportunities that this resource brings. When deployed as part of an integrated approach, renewable energy and natural gas can reduce coal dependence, deliver emissions reductions, and catalyze the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

According to the report, there are four key mechanisms that can enable the combination of renewable energy and natural gas to displace coal and provide needed reductions in power-sector emissions:

• • First, air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and mercury must be tightly regulated.
• • Second, a cost must be attached to emitting carbon dioxide.
• • Third, electricity system operators should allow wind and solar plants to balance their own output with on-site resources.
• • Fourth, the markets on which system operators purchase electricity must be highly responsive, allowing them to react to fluctuations in electricity supply and demand as rapidly as possible.

The report is part of a larger look that the Worldwatch Institute is taking into the role of natural gas in the future global economy.

In Germany, New Power Generation in 2009 Came Mostly From Solar, Wind

In Germany, New Power Generation in 2009 Came Mostly From Solar, Wind - The Solar Home & Business Journal

PHOTO CREDIT: ERIN MILNES / SOLAR
HOME & BUSINESS JOURNAL
A sign denotes a German exhibit at a solar
industry conference in San Francisco.

About 80 percent of total growth in electrical generating capacity in 2009 in Germany’s electricity market was based on an increase in solar and wind power systems, according to the Monitoring Report 2009 issued by the Bundesnetzagentur, the country’s electricity regulatory agency.

"This rapid growth provided solar power operators in 2009 with total earnings almost comparable with those for wind energy operators, although feed-in from wind power systems was almost six times that of solar power feed-in,” said Matthias Kurth, president of the agency. “And we can expect this rapid growth in solar generating capacity to continue, with the attendant consequences for the renewables surcharge and the electricity networks.”

The renewables surcharge will rise in 2011 to 3.53 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, 1.5 euro cents more than the 2010 surcharge, the Bundesnetzagentur reported. But Mr. Kurth said higher returns for electricity network operators are not justified.

“The Bundesnetzagentur is supporting the network operators in upgrading and expanding their infrastructure, for instance by approving their investment budgets. Yet in the consumers' interest, we must resist new calls for higher returns. Current data do not justify these. On the contrary, the current yield established by the Bundesbank, an important determinant of the return on equity, has even fallen," Mr. Kurth said.

Average electricity prices for domestic customers rose by around 3 percent, the agency reported. The reasons include a large increase in the renewables surcharge at the beginning of 2010 and the prevalent long-term procurement strategies of the energy suppliers.

"Consumers themselves can cut their bills considerably by changing to different pricing plans. Standard, or default, supply continues to be the most expensive form of electricity supply. It is cheaper if consumers change pricing plan with their default supplier, or change their supplier. So far, however, not more than half of all domestic customers have done so, although they have a choice of some 120 suppliers on average and can save up to 160 euros a year," Mr. Kurth said.

The Bundesnetzagentur report said electricity networks proved highly reliable in 2009 for suppliers and for domestic, business and industrial customers.

“Although the integration of renewables is a huge technical challenge for the network operators, the electricity infrastructure itself is reliable and stable,” the news release said. According to the current report from the agency on supply interruptions in 2009, the average interruption in the Federal Republic of Germany was 14.6 minutes per final consumer. This figure, called the System Average Interruption Duration Index, has fallen for the third consecutive year and represents a top performance internationally, the agency reported.

“Guaranteeing a high degree of grid reliability is a tremendous challenge in light of the rapid growth of renewables, and one that can only be met if there is huge investment at all network levels,” the Bundesnetzagentur said. Germany’s Power Grid Expansion Act, or EnLAG, promotes realization of the necessary expansion measures, and names 24 projects for priority treatment. Some of the projects have been delayed, however, and planned start dates may be several years late in some cases.

The reports from the transmission system operators on grid extension planning likewise show delays in 37 of the 139 projects, the agency said. The investment data in the Bundesnetzagentur's Monitoring Report document a considerable time lag in the construction and expansion projects for the transmission networks.

The issue is one not unknown in the United States.

"The real problems," Mr. Kurth said, "lie not in companies' lack of willingness to invest. Most people, when asked, are definitely in favor of sustainable generation for the future. But when it comes to a mast being set up near their homes, their agreement is often retracted. The desire for an open landscape for themselves often outweighs theoretical support for global protection of the environment. Much work will have to be done here to persuade people otherwise. The Bundesnetzagentur is aware of its responsibility in helping to win acceptance. Cross-sectoral approaches might be one way of going forward. If a high-voltage mast can bring high-speed Internet to the countryside, resistance may be averted."

The agency said the European internal market for electricity is growing “bit by bit.”

“A market coupling initiative was launched on 9 November 2010 between Germany, France and the Benelux countries,” the agency said in its news release. “On the very same day, this coupling was linked with the Nordic region market coupling, which also includes Germany. The Bundesnetzagentur played a crucial role in creating the coordination mechanisms for this ‘super integration’ to come about. For electricity trading, it means a market that now spans half of Europe.”

The report also discussed electricity trading in 2009 on spot energy exchanges. A clear increase in volumes traded on the exchanges could be observed in the first half of 2010, along with a moderate rise in price levels, it said, mentioning the “growing significance of exchange trading for the integration of renewables.”

Japan warming up to solar power exports

Japan warming up to solar power exports - Asahi Shimbun

A scorching desert in Tunisia provides a site that symbolizes the end of the "cold shoulder" treatment the Japanese government has given to Japan's solar thermal power industry.

Japanese companies next month will start surveying the area in the North African desert for a project to jointly build a solar thermal power generation plant with the Tunisian government.

But it was the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that obtained the order for the project.

After three decades of not supporting Japan's solar thermal power generation industry, the Japanese government is pushing sales of the country's solar thermal power technology to other nations.

Tadahiro Matsushita, senior vice minister of economy, trade and industry, visited an experiment plant for solar thermal power generation in the United Arab Emirates in January.

The plant was built by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co.

"We want to spread these Japanese technologies more," Matsushita said, as he watched experiments being conducted at the site.

A UAE government organization and Japan's Cosmo Oil Co. paid 1 billion yen ($12 million) needed for the experiments.

"We had repeatedly asked the Japanese government for support, but the government gave us the cold shoulder," said Yutaka Tamaura, a Tokyo Institute of Technology professor involved in the joint experiments.

In the 1980s, the Japanese government and the private sector joined hands under a "sunshine plan" and developed solar thermal power generation technology.

However, the government's support in this area stopped for about 30 years due to a lack of efficiency in power generation and expectations that the technology would not spread due to a lack of enough sunshine in Japan.

The situation changed when the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan decided that exporting infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants, high-speed railways and water supply and sewerage systems, would be a pillar in its growth strategy.

Solar thermal power generation plants re-entered the equation.

Demand for solar thermal power generation has rapidly increased in deserts, but promising markets in the Middle East and North Africa are already dominated by European businesses, which are closer to those areas. Japan has been desperately trying to catch up.

After senior trade ministry officials toured Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia in efforts to sell Japanese solar thermal power technology, Tokyo reached an agreement with the Tunisian government in July to start the joint solar thermal power generation project.

The Japanese government will pay up to 3 billion yen to Japanese companies building the plant.

"The government made a complete about-face in its stance," Kazuaki Ezawa, a Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding official said.

Ezawa welcomed the policy shift as a major advantage for Japanese companies seeking future orders for building plants.

But Japan is not the only government stepping up efforts to help the private sector win contracts abroad.

Japan upgraded its efforts after the UAE late last year awarded a contract to build nuclear power plants to South Korean companies that had received direct help from President Lee Myung-bak and the government-run Korea Electric Power Corp.

Several major Japanese companies teamed up with Innovation Network Corp. of Japan to establish International Nuclear Energy Development of Japan Co. The arrangement created an "all-Japan" team trying to win an order to build two nuclear power plants in Vietnam.

A number of Cabinet ministers also cooperated, and Japan won the order for the 1-trillion-yen project.

But concerns have arisen that if the government becomes too deeply involved in private-sector business, the conditions of the deals could become unclear.

To win the contract in Vietnam, the Japanese government pledged additional yen loans worth 79 billion yen. Depending on future negotiations with Vietnam, the government or the Japanese companies may have to cover additional costs.

"The government's assistance is very powerful for making an initial breakthrough," said Hideaki Omiya, president of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. "However, we are being asked to climb a mountain together without being able to really see the whole mountain yet."

Omiya said if competition among governments escalates, it could go beyond a scope of what can be considered proper private-sector activities.

Energy Risk: Renewables Challenge Utility Interconnections

When wind farm developers lined up at a grid operator's or utility's door a few years ago, plans to add a new project didn't cause undue concern. After all, 10 megawatts here, 50 megawatts there, weren't going to significantly change the scheduling. Now that wind projects are measuring in the hundreds of megawatts in recent years, they are not only creating interconnection issues on their own, but are also occupying a more prominent place in the overall resource mix in large or multi-state regions. And while utilities are still adding smaller projects, they present their own challenges as many are even smaller than the original wind projects, like solar PV installations on a warehouse roof or hundreds of individual homes. While wind can't be expected to provide on-demand or base-load power, a larger share of generation is being counted on in the states and by an expected federal mandate for renewal energy over the coming decade. However, with many states mandating increased use of renewable energy, wind generation is often given priority when it is available and traditional forms of power sources have to be backed off to accommodate it.

Various Scenarios

Various scenarios have been created by wind energy advocates and the U.S. Department of Energy under which up to 20 percent of U.S. electric generation could be supplied by wind by 2030, so this is no longer just an academic exercise. Texas is the national leader in wind nameplate capacity, by far, with more than 7,000 megawatts, with another 52,000 megawatts under review. The grid operator for most of the state, the ERCOT or Electric Reliability Corporation of Texas, manages the flow of electricity from the sparsely populated West Texas wind region to the populated load centers of Dallas and other eastern cities. The state has recently adopted a transmission development plan with a funding mechanism, competitive renewable energy zones, with a $5 billion price tag that will accommodate up to 18,000 megawatts of wind when it is completed. A similar plan to create National Renewable Energy Zones was introduced into Congress last year. Bonneville Power Administration in the Pacific Northwest states also has an exploding growth curve, with 1,600 megawatts of wind currently it its territory, with the potential for 10,000 megawatts by 2016, counting projects under development or in the transmission interconnection queue. Never was the need for plans for integrating large quantities of wind more evident than on Feb. 26, 2008, when dying wind caused a sudden drop-off in generation and forced ERCOT to use its plans for interruptible customers to balance the system during the event. The grid operator blamed inaccurate wind forecasts and a fast ramp-up in demand for the shortage.

Confronting Issues

What the event did was expedite work already started by ERCOT to more smoothly integrate large quantities of wind generation, said Dottie Roark, ERCOT's communication manager.

"There is a stakeholders' committee with ERCOT reviewing protocol changes that would involve all the participants."

These initiatives include developing more forecasting tools with a wind assessment company, improving control room operator awareness through automated tools and developing a risk based management program. The BPA has different issues to confront, with Oregon and Washington State among the national leaders in wind capacity. While seemingly blessed with copious amounts of hydropower that can supplement wind, nuclear and fossil fuel generation sources when needed, there are limitations. While true, the process isn't always as simple as ramping up hydro assets as soon as wind speeds appear to be declining.

"An example is when we need generation it's not just a matter of spilling runoff because there are fish management issues, especially during spawning season."

Solar power presents its own set of challenges, not only by its smaller scale than most commercial operations, but because of the more gradual appearance and retreat it makes on the power grid. But the challenges solar power presents no less daunting, as many commercial sites may generate one to two megawatts at peak, while home systems are measured in a few kilowatts.

"When you're thinking about a landfill topped with a solar array, that's quite a different scenario from a homeowner's roof. There's a whole different loading considerations, instrumentation, and there's a different sort of marketing issues."

The state is now expanding eligibility for net metering that allows such users to sell back into the grid. Dan Zaweski, assistant vice president for energy efficiency and distributed generation at the LIPA or Long Island Power Authority, said the home- and business-based generation systems do not yet create operational challenges for the public utility that serves Long Island, N.Y. There are about 1,600 residential solar systems out of a customer base of about 990,000, and 83 commercial customers out of a base of 1.1 million. For a utility that operates with megawatts as its crucial unit measure, smaller generating stations present new issues. Its operations strategy is running one to two megawatts on a distribution feeder.

"An average homeowner with a solar PV system might generate six kilowatts at peak, so there has to be 333 of them operating before you really see any grid impact."

Business operations are also impacted on Long Island, as elsewhere, when smaller renewable energy systems are added. Utility systems are geared toward the amount of revenue gathered from retail sales, but savings from reduced demand don't create income for the utility. Billing is the most obvious area affected both in terms of the potential impact on the utility's bottom line, but also the upfront costs of meters and any other operational expenses and customer care processes needed to accommodate these energy sources.

No New Coal And Nuclear Plants Are Needed!

Energy Regulatory Chief Says New Coal, Nuclear Plants May Be Unnecessary

No new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the United States, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said today.

"We may not need any, ever."

The FERC chairman's comments go beyond those of other Obama administration officials, who have strongly endorsed greater efficiency and renewables deployment but also say nuclear and fossil energies will continue playing a major role.

Bloomberg News

Jon Wellinghoff, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said renewables like wind and solar will provide enough energy.

Wellinghoff's view also goes beyond the consensus outlook in the electric power industry about future sources of electricity. The industry has assumed that more baseload generation would provide part of an increasing demand for power, along with a rapid deployment of renewable generation, smart grid technologies and demand reduction strategies. Jay Apt, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Electricity Industry Center, expressed skepticism about the feasibility of relying so heavily on renewable energy.

"I don't think we're where Chairman Wellinghoff would like us to be. You need firm power to fill in when the wind doesn't blow. There is just no getting around that."

Some combination of more gas- or coal-fired generation, or nuclear power, will be needed, he said.

"Demand response can provide a significant buffering of the power fluctuations coming from wind. Interacting widely scattered wind farms cannot provide smooth power."

Wellinghoff said renewables like wind, solar and biomass will provide enough energy to meet baseload capacity and future energy demands. Nuclear and coal plants are too expensive, he added.

"I think baseload capacity is going to become an anachronism. Baseload capacity really used to only mean in an economic dispatch, which you dispatch first, what would be the cheapest thing to do. Well, ultimately wind's going to be the cheapest thing to do, so you'll dispatch that first. People talk about, 'Oh, we need baseload.' It's like people saying we need more computing power, we need mainframes. We don't need mainframes, we have distributed computing."

The technology for renewable energies has come far enough to allow his vision to move forward, he said. For instance, there are systems now available for concentrated solar plants that can provide 15 hours of storage.

"What you have to do, is you have to be able to shape it. And if you can shape wind and you can effectively get capacity available for you for all your loads. So if you can shape your renewables, you don't need fossil fuel or nuclear plants to run all the time. And, in fact, most plants running all the time in your system are an impediment because they're very inflexible. You can't ramp up and ramp down a nuclear plant. And if you have instead the ability to ramp up and ramp down loads in ways that can shape the entire system, then the old concept of baseload becomes an anachronism."

'A lot that is still not understood'

Asked whether his ideas need detailed studies, given the complexity of the grid, Wellinghoff said the technology is already moving that way.

"I think it's being settled by the digital grid moving forward. We are going to have to go to a smart grid to get to this point I'm talking about. But if we don't go to that digital grid, we're not going to be able to move these renewables, anyway. So it's all going to be an integral part of operating that grid efficiently."

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. reported last week on challenges in integrating a twentyfold expansion of renewable power into the nation's electricity networks but did not specifically address whether additional baseload generation would be needed. A spokesperson for NERC did not have an immediate response to Wellinghoff's comments today. Revis James, who directs energy technology assessment for the Electric Power Research Institute, said recently that it is not clear how fast renewable energy can be added without creating reliability issues.

"No one knows what the magic number is. Are we moving too fast? On the policymakers' side, there's a lot that is not still understood about the implications of a large share of renewables."

Impact on nuclear power

Wellinghoff's statement, if it reflects Obama administration policy, would be a huge blow to the U.S. nuclear power industry, which has been hoping for a nuclear "renaissance" based on the capacity of nuclear reactors to generate power without greenhouse gas emissions. Congress created significant financial incentives to encourage the construction of perhaps a half-dozen nuclear plants with innovative designs, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu has promised Congress to accelerate awards of federal loan guarantees for some of these proposals. But a major expansion in U.S. nuclear energy would require a high effective tax on carbon emissions from coal plants, or an extended loan guarantee and tax incentive policy, according to the Congressional Research Service and outside consultants. The leading energy bills before Congress do not provide more loan guarantees.

"If expansion of nuclear plants is the nation's policy, then Congress has to recognize that the U.S. energy companies cannot afford to do this alone."

"The president needs to show his cards on nuclear energy. He cannot keep this industry, which must make investments with a 50-year or longer horizon, in limbo for much longer."

"I think [new nuclear expansion] is kind of a theoretical question, because I don't see anybody building these things, I don't see anybody having one under construction."

Building nuclear plants is cost-prohibitive, he said, adding that the last price he saw was more than $7,000 a kilowatt, more expensive than solar energy.

"Until costs get to some reasonable cost, I don't think anybody's going to [talk] that seriously. Coal plants are sort of in the same boat, they're not quite as expensive."

Can renewables meet demand

There's enough renewable energy to meet energy demand, Wellinghoff said.

"There's 500 to 700 gigawatts of developable wind throughout the Midwest, all the way to Texas. There's probably another 200 to 300 gigawatts in Montana and Wyoming that can go West."

He also cited tremendous solar power in the Southwest and hydrokinetic and biomass energy, and said the United States can reduce energy usage by 50 percent.

"You combine all those things together ... I think we have great resources in this country, and we just need to start using them,"

Problems with unsteady power generation from wind will be overcome, he said.

"That's exactly what all the load response will do, the load response will provide that leveling ability, number one. Number two, if you have wide interconnections across the entire interconnect, you're going to have a lot of diversity with that wind. Not all the wind is going to stop at once. You'll have some of it stop, some of it start, and all of that diversity is going to help you, as well."

Push for grid modifications

But planning for modifying the grid to integrate renewables must take place in the next three to five years, he said.

"If we don't do that, then we miss the boat. That planning has to take place so you don't strand a lot of assets, a lot of supply assets."

Unlike coal and nuclear, natural gas will continue to play a role in generating electricity, he said.

"Natural gas is going to be there for a while, because it's going to be there to get us through this transition that's going to take 30 or more years."

Chu reiterated before the House Energy and Commerce Committee today that he supports loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants and is working with the White House on the issue.

"I believe nuclear power has to be part of the energy mix in this century."

Chu also noted today that nuclear technology, along with renewables, is an area where the United States has lost its lead.

"We are trying to start the American nuclear industry again."

Coal currently provides half of U.S. power, while nuclear energy accounts for about 20 percent.
Senior reporter Ben Geman contributed.

For more news on energy and the environment, visit www.greenwire.com.

The funny thing in this article, I think, is that nobody mentions the most important energy source of the future, geothermal energy! Thanks to geothermal power, no new coal and nuclear plants will ever be needed again, I'm convinced!

Arizona may become a center for solar development

5 solar projects get $4 million in grants

Five new projects granted $4 million in seed money could help make Arizona a center for solar development, backers said Friday. Science Foundation Arizona announced the projects, and the formation of its new Solar Technology Institute, at lunch events in Tucson and Phoenix.

RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson Citizen

Brian Myer (left), a doctoral student in optics at the University of Arizona, talks about ways to store solar energy with Nate Allen (middle right) of Biosphere 2 and John Madocks at Global Solar Energy, 8500 S. Rita Road.

The Tucson event, attended by about 100 industry, government and university officials, was held just outside a 310,000- square-foot solar array that provides power at Global Solar Energy, 8500 S. Rita Road.

"The goal is developing disruptive technology breakthroughs that will bring the cost of solar energy down to the level of fossil fuels. We want to make Arizona a leader in the drive to change to solar."

"Germany, Spain and even New Jersey lead Arizona in the development of solar energy. We've got to change that."

The $4 million will provide startup funding for the projects, Powell said. Half of the funding comes from Science Foundation Arizona and half from the private sector.

The funding is in hand and not affected by state budget cuts for the organization, Powell said.

The projects cover the full solar spectrum, from collecting the sun's energy to distributing electricity to consumers, said Leslie Tolbert, vice president for research, graduate studies and economic development at the University of Arizona.

"The goal here is not just to meet our energy needs but to become a net exporter."

The projects are collaborations that include UA, Arizona State University and a variety of industry partners, she said. Solar panels don't work at night, and energy storage is a challenge that one funded project is addressing, Powell said.

Plans call for generating excess solar power during the day that will be used to compress air that will be stored, he said. When darkness curtails energy production, the stored compressed air can be used to drive turbines to generate electricity, he said.

Another project is using nanotechnology to improve the efficiency of thin-film solar devices while driving the price down, said Ray Kostuk, UA professor of electrical and computer engineering. Ultra-thin coatings will cause sunlight to spend more time exciting the elements in thin-film devices so they produce more electricity, Kostuk said.

Other projects are:

• Concentrator photovoltaics to develop the next generation of low-cost solar reflectors that concentrate the sun's energy on high-efficiency photovoltaic cells.
• Quickly testing and certifying solar products to determine the performance of new and improved technologies.
• An improved system of "smart" electric grid management and command and control software to help select future power generation sites, storage sites and distribution and transmission pathways throughout the state.

Science Foundation Arizona is a nonprofit public-private partnership that invests areas of strategic importance to the state, including renewable energy and biomedicine.