IEA Urges Increased Renewable Energy Investment

 

According to a new report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the longer the delay on real action on carbon emissions, the more the costs of transforming the energy sector will increase. 
 
The IEA states that every year of delay adds approximately $500 billion to the global incremental investment cost of $10.5 trillion needed for the period 2010-2030. 
 
Continuing delays of just a few years would likely render that goal completely out of reach.
 
The IEA's World Energy Outlook 2009 (WEO-2009) details the energy challenge facing humanity and what is needed to overcome it.
 
The IEA says that in late 2008 and early 2009, investment in renewable energy fell proportionately more than that in other types of generating capacity and for 2009 as a whole, it could drop by close to one-fifth. 
 
A  prolonged downturn in investment threatens capacity growth in the medium term, particularly for long lead-time projects, eventually risking a shortfall in supply.
 
The capital required to meet projected energy demand through to 2030 globally, amounts in cumulative terms to US $26 trillion in year-2008 dollars. Continuing  with the current approach to energy would see a rapidly increasing dependence on fossil fuels, with alarming consequences for climate change and energy security.
 
While parts of Southeast Asia have relatively abundant sources of renewable energy, various physical and economic factors have left much of it untapped says the IEA. A total of $1.1 trillion needs to be invested in energy infrastructure in the ASEAN region in 2008-2030 in the IEA's Reference Scenario, more than half in the power sector. In the organisation's 450 Scenario, total investment needs are $390 billion higher.
 
IEA's Reference Scenario provides a baseline picture of how global energy markets would evolve if governments make no changes to their existing policies. The 450 Scenario envisions a world in which  action is taken to limit the long-term concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to 450 parts per million of CO2-equivalent. However, even this goal is said by many experts to doom the planet to catastrophic and irreversible climate change.
 

Utah's Largest Wind Farm Operational

 

First Wind has celebrated the completion of the first phase of its Milford Wind Corridor project. Located in Utah, the first phase of the project will generate 203.5 MW of clean energy, making it not only the largest wind farm in the state, but also the largest renewable energy facility in Utah. 
 
The first phase of the project has the capacity to generate clean, wind energy to power about 45,000 homes per year. 
 
The wind farm consists of 97 wind turbine generators - 58 Clipper Liberty 2.5 MW wind turbines and 39 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines
 
A 140 kilometre transmission line connecting the farm to the Intermountain Power Agency has been constructed, along with 13 meteorological towers, a facility collector substation and a 34.5-kV power underground collection system linking each turbine to the next and to the facility substation.
 
The project generated over 250 jobs and First Wind says it spent directly spent about $30 million with Utah-based businesses developing and building the first phase of the project and another $56 million in indirect spending such as wages and taxes
  
Calculations based on data from the U.S. EPA’s Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database (E-GRID), traditional generation sources producing an equivalent annual amount of electricity as the Milford wind farm would generate more than 210,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the equivalent of more than 37,000 cars.
  
Additionally, equivalent energy production from traditional sources would generate 295 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) - a component of acid rain.
 

News for Wednesday 11 November, 2009

 

• NSW Solar Bonus Scheme Applauded
  


• Westpac Offers Interest Free Green Loans
  

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