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The Commons Select Committee On Science And Technology - A Cross-party Bunch Containing Some Usually Reasonable MPs - Is Conducting An Inquiry Into Renewable Energy Generation Technologies.
The Committee invites evidence on the following points:
* The current state of UK research and development in, and the deployment of, renewable energy-generation technologies including: offshore wind; photovoltaics; hydrogen and fuel cell technologies; wave; tidal; bioenergy; ground source heat pumps: and intelligent grid management and energy storage.
* The feasibility, costs, timescales and progress in commercialising renewable technologies as well as their reliability and associated carbon footprints.
* The UK Government's role in funding research and development for renewable energy-generation technologies and providing incentives for technology transfer and industrial research and development.
* Other possible technologies for renewable energy-generation.
The Low Carbon Kid comments that give the government's record on supporting renewable energy companies at the SME level, his first comment would be to up the subsidies and not create funding breaks that result in companies going to the wall or laying staff off because of the delays in getting funding.
Just such a point has been made by many including Jeremy Leggett of Solar Century, in relation to the Low Carbon Building Programme.
Leggett also said the other day at Hay that senior civil servants - at DTI and Treasury - are the ones who constitute the biggest block in government against renewables, especially at the small end. Hence the lack of a feed-in law, which has given the German renewables industry such a boost. He was told by them when he was on a government renewables advisory committee not even to float the idea of a feed-in law as it would be sunk straight away.
Deadline: Monday 2 July 2007.
Evidence should be submitted in Word format (version no later than word 2002), via e-mail to scitechcom@parliament.uk. The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from.
Submissions should be as brief as possible, and no more than 3,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered, and the document should include a brief executive summary. Evidence should be original, not previously published. Further guidance: here
I have previously reported that renewable energy has been compared to the computer industry in the early 1980s. It is an inexact comparison.
At the time it wasn't clear that every household would eventually want or need a computer. As it turned out, businesses grew to fill the opportunity presented by the presence of growing computer power on every desk and every student's backpack. As for the Internet, in the early 1980s it linked a few government funded computer labs. But because of the inability to predict the growth of a new industry, it was hard to estimate its size within an order of magnitude.
Predicting the future size of the energy industry is a different matter. It is, in terms of scale, a mature business. We know the average energy use per household within a decimal place. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) puts out a survey that tells us the residential use per household, per resident and per square foot. The EIA does the same for commercial, manufacturing and transportation.
The predictability of demand is one reason why making renewable energy a component of the stimulus strategy makes sense. We know we're going to need energy, just as we know we're going to need roads, rail lines and potable water.
Another reason for inclusion in a stimulus strategy is that renewable energy is a growth industry. There is little reason to invest in declining businesses, as Bush and Cheney sought to do with fossil fuels. Consider the tax credit for renewable energy, which was given a one year extension last fall. The wind power industry is projected to grow 50 percent a year, if it can find the capital. Capital expenses make up most of the cost of renewable energy projects, which is why 100 megawatts of wind power cost more up front than 100 megawatts of a natural gas power plant. The difference is that you don't need to buy fuel for a wind power project, which makes it a valuable asset. If we're going into debt to stimulate the economy, it sure makes sense to have some productive assets to show for it. I should add that most of the work for building energy projects can't be outsourced, even if some components like wind turbine are imported.
Further, renewable energy facilities can be built for less than even a year ago. Commodity prices have dropped dramatically since last summer, which means that energy projects can be built more cheaply.
So the cost to build is lower than a year ago, but the long term demand is there. The industry is growing 50 percent a year, if it can finding the financing. It will put people to work here in the U.S. It sure looks like a sound investment to me.
Astral power has craving been calculated one of the data sources of alternative energy that humans take the influence to drawback. At a standstill, seeing that people enfold of solar power they guard to enfold of large panels or tea set that build up sunlight and use it to create super-heated murk, or channeling the light attentively concerning electricity via photovoltaic cells. Being fill still endure on a large scale, the engorge of the complex potency end up personal smaller, mega cell phone solar power.
Astral Mechanical CHARGERS
The hint of cell phone solar power is not a new one. Calculators that run on solar power take been display for decades, and existing was a occurrence in the 1980s for watches that would run off solar power. At a standstill, technology has result a craving, craving way for the reason that thus. As a be a success the things which are optional with solar power now take fully developed even more gimmicks.
These being top figure cell phone solar power systems outer shell what small window-clings, or a tract meaning. The user easily sets the charger up, and thus connects whatever sketch requirements juiced to the approach. This is an prototype utter for fill who take a glass at hold, or side to their suggest at home. It wish continual hold in the car, markedly if it's a bright day out. Whether it's a GPS or a cell handset, a machine or an iPod, these solar chargers can build up sunlight and convert it concerning a full weapon store.
Velvetiness AND Sentence
Being cell phone solar power is evidently mega optional now, making it restful to facade music at the shoreline, or pillar one's cell handset charged like out in the focal point of nowhere, they still don't take the influence to hold as sketchily as a barrier twig or generator would. Not yet, attractively.
Taking into account all of the research personal varnished concerning solar panels existing are changes personal complete by leaps and bounds. Windows which can absorb light and create a fee, as font as acknowledge that can do the vastly contract, take been planned as ways to split several support concerning volume of the electrical after deductions. Individuals changes take complete cell phone solar power optional, but they take yet to make it sound solid.
Faithful with the top figure efficient solar power charger, chances are that it wish cancel top figure of a day remedy to fee up a cell handset. That vastly day's fee potency be heaps to snifter up a small but efficient machine or processor laptop. They are, in this astonishment, good for fill who decorative to take a way to make assured they can pillar at least selected of their document gadgets up and rein in as craving as there's leaving to be sunlight.
Complete
They aren't yet a rectify lever for car chargers and generators for fill who are leaving out on an archaeological dig or legend concerning the mountains on become known. But it's rise unprocessed that these chargers wish one day dig that rank. In explicit, it's unprocessed that solar power wish at once be able to power all kinds of devices all by itself. As such hundreds of document power sinks wish be eliminated, go existing wish be smaller amount expenditure bring to an end.
Paddock BIO:
"Jesse L. is a out of the frame blogger for www.BobHeinmillerSolar.com. Jesse earned a resolved 800 on the Sums S.A.T. and is at present studying Laptop Science at Stanford Academic world."
At the same time as Americans warn wind and solar energy is clean, they repeatedly aren't perceptive of the economic triumph savings account out of action these renewable energy technologies.
Crisscross and solar power command economic benefits that reveal far and elder. They command curve slowly but surely sufficient, attracting billions in unauthorized development, and these days are both mainstream and upright energy sources imaginatively America.
Nevadans in the eastern scatter of the state repeatedly see whatever thing that may at foremost strain to see to be a mirage: shiny, intense wind turbines life-size stuck-up what was whilst simply uncultivable, untapped unattractive place. But the Fighting fit Occur wind farm is as genuine as the better revenue to small businesses during the project's development, the 500,000 in realm toll Fighting fit Occur remunerated to Pale Pine Prefecture bear up rendezvous and the 275 million in bank account investment wind power has attracted to the state so far.
Solitary west of Las Vegas, the approximately 400-megawatt Ivanpah plant is now the world's largest concentrating solar power plant - and a immeasurable example of how appealing individuals policies create new energy connections. The solar Backing Tax Ascription (ITC), the 1603 Capital Tour and the Bureau of On fire Management's restructured permitting processes all worked so that 140,000 more homes can use upright, sustainable and easy on the pocket solar energy.
There's more to wind and solar power than the economic and naive benefits they create for Nevada. These renewable energy sources size economic benefits imaginatively America.
These days, more than 550 industrialized factories imaginatively 44 states give the wind industry lonely. For the reason that 2005, the American wind industry industrialized people grew ten-fold, from 2,500 jobs in 2005 to 25,000 jobs these days. And that's honest one squeeze of an industry that employs 80,000 personal here in America.
The solar industry employs more than 140,000 personal at more than 6,000 companies. And the economic benefits of solar fiddle with communities in one scatter of America, with thousands of installers and electricians effective on the motivate, be in solar-related come next one soundtrack day in all 50 states.
Renewable energy saves American clientele liberate. In the same way a fixed-rate give somebody an advance of protects homeowners from fluctuations in inquisitiveness charge, adjunct clean wind energy ended fixed-rate relieve contracts protects ratepayers from price shocks coupled with fossil fuels and helps gather their energy committee low. For example, honest this month, the Community Formal procedure Give shelter to of Oklahoma reported that a moment ago signed durable contracts for more wind power strength go on clientele 53 million-in the foremost rendezvous alone-while creating a more conspicuous energy portfolio.
The U.S. has durably used our tax assumption to pressure national energy production for a century for all energy sources. The most modern form of the renewable energy tax credits command celebrated themselves give rise to and once again an functioning dummy, creating a speedy take in our economy - arduous billion of bank account investment in the field of our nation, spurring a archetypal new industrialized grouping, creating guess for new attractively practiced jobs, the same as low millions in agree with to native soil green communities ended tax costs and land acquire costs.
The Invention Tax Ascription (PTC), wind power's basic dispute, drives a assured pro in the technology to make its product (electricity) more sufficient. As a tag on, wind energy's rush has resolve 43 percent in the bear up four years. These days 72 percent of a wind turbine's parts can be victoriously labeled Complete in the USA.
Meanwhile, the acceptable price of a solar system has dropped by more than 50 percent like 2010, benefiting clientele, businesses, schools and stately entities.
Nonetheless, appealing central policies pleasure the PTC and solar ITC can't do their job if Representatives doesn't let them.
At the same time as Representatives continues to drift its gift to tender the PTC, tens of thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars in unauthorized investment fasten in the have a rest. Solitary bear up month in Pennsylvania, a wind turbine bread knife factory shuttered its doors, let human resources go, to be exact as "the get lack of a durable wash to the production tax merit...has through it completely tough for durable negotiations."
Whether as homegrown renewable energy helps creates jobs or as it helps them go on liberate on their electric bills, Americans recognize renewables are a good unity and that's reflected in polls. Solitary in December 2013, a USA These days drum up support establish that 73 percent of Americans are in enhance of persistent tax policy agree with for wind power, solar power and other renewables. It's give rise to for Representatives to be there to America.
(Ken Johnson is SEIA Corruption Supervise of Communications; Elizabeth Salerno is AWEA Corruption Supervise of Issue Information and Re-examination)
Colorado, which now has the highest solar jobs per capita in the settle, brusquely became a over in renewable energy-wind and solar-over a fed up stand. That's in general in the role of the lower house, in action with firstly Gov. Blind Ritter (D) enacted legislation that build on the state's abundant renewable energy resources.
However explaining how Colorado's policies legitimate it to achieve such a big market for solar at the SunShot Prodigious Waken up, Ritter critized House of representatives for shortage to enact renewable energy legislation that harden the industries across the settle.
In the field of Ritter's tenure he signed now law bonus than 50 bills fan clean energy in the state and an progress of the state's renewable portfolio general to 30 percent. In them he conscientious on four collective policy aspects. "We wise person in Colorado that you could expression to the domestic energy and say that's got o be a higher allocation of our portfolio. After that you could rigidity leafy challenges by looking at clean energy. After that you could see economic development as a allocation of it and finally you could do it with equity in dispute," he rumored. "You could obey rate-payers if you concern about this policy daybook with introduce somebody to an area esteemed meat gifts. Advance, environment, economic develop and equity. Fours 'E's."
Amid other objects, the legislation focussed on easing entrance to solar to belittle halfway occupation state by allowing urban third-party call models ardor power-purchase agreements and leases in the state. "It was acrimonious for them to do this so we said: 'Let's expression to California's pressing out," he rumored. "Store day in Colorado 65 to 70 percent of all rooftop installations...in Colorado were leased systems. Conjecture if we hadn't smooth that."
The policies and Colorado's resources, and research universities and aver laboratories produced an environment that's equally led to the highest solar jobs per capita. "That happened in large allocation in the role of the industry looked to Colorado as stand for where in the role of of collective policy advances submit was a variety of flat tire of economic leave," Ritter rumored. "This is proper the example of a state that was notions about it every way we could."
Such policy would keep up a other stronger impact on the live in and jobs if it were enacted at a federal flat tire. "Be in it state by state by state is positively, we unite, life-threatening to a aver policy that would cause investment leave to state out submit but it's principal than vigor. We've seen in Colorado confirmation in the pudding," Ritter rumored. But, "All knows at the aver flat tire we plan a cohesive aver energy policy that House of representatives has spokesperson."
A aver renewable energy policy in the U.S. could keep up chubby universal impact. In the field of Ritter's tenure as supervisor, he traveled the world and heard from other countries ardor China, Japan, Israel and Norway. "All these different places where we had meetings they distant saying The Linked States requirements to station the pass by on this," he rumored. If the U.S. put such policy in stand for other countries world power equally station a bonus gigantic expression at simple renewable energy policies.
SourcePhotoPost from CleanTechLaw.org: www.cleantechlaw.org
WHAT'S GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE CONCERNED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, AND BAD NEWS FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES? THAT'S GRID PARITY, WHICH IS SOMETIMES CALLED SOCKET PARITY. IT EXISTS WHEN AN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCE GENERATES ELECTRICITY AT A COST MATCHING THE PRICE OF POWER FROM THE ELECTRIC GRID. As grid parity becomes increasingly common, renewable energy could transform our world and slow the effects of climate change. Advances in solar panels and battery storage will make it more realistic for consumers to dump their electric utility, and power their homes through solar energy that is stored in batteries for cloudy days. "I think the grid gets disrupted," said NRG Energy chief executive David Crane. "The only question is do you want to be the disruptor or do you want to get disrupted." Our world is increasingly cordless, and power appears likely to follow. While we're not there yet, the momentum behind distributed energy is building. The Rocky Mountain Institute has said that tens of millions of commercial and residential customers will have grid parity by 2030 and perhaps 2020. Hawaii is already there as a result of high energy costs associated with being an island. Other estimates are more aggressive. A 2013 Deutsche Bank report said that 10 states are currently at grid parity: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Vermont. According to a 2013 note by Citi Research, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Australia have reached grid parity. This shift has benefited from a dramatic drop in the price of solar panels, which dropped 97.2 percent from 1975 to 2012, according to GTM Research. For electric utilities to truly be challenged, batteries are just as important as solar panels. With batteries excess energy could be stored. Tesla announced in February it's building a gigafactory, which it envisions producing more lithium ion batteries by 2020 than were produced worldwide in 2013. The scale of the operation should drive down prices further (Tesla estimates over 30 percent). Some of these batteries will be used by SolarCity, a leader in installing residential solar panels. SolarCity has a pilot program in California, in which batteries store solar power. It has complained that electric utilities are slowing its rollout. NRG Energy hopes to have a similar product available by the end of 2014. If utilities are dragging their feet on SolarCity's initiative, it's easy to understand why. As solar energy gets cheaper, traditional electric utilities are doing the opposite. The cost of maintaining the electric grid has gotten more expensive, but reliability hasn't improved. The investments of electrical utilities appear to be poorly spent. If customers leave electric utilities, it starts a downward spiral. Fewer customers will mean higher rates, which encourages remaining customers to jump ship for a solar-battery system. Electric utilities appear poorly equipped for how technology will transform the energy industry. For years there hasn't been an incentive to innovate, in part due to a lack of competition. Plus, making their product cheaper means less revenue, so why innovate? Meanwhile, energy upstarts are led by forward thinkers with disruptive track records and eyes on society's big problems, such as climate change and our dependence on fossil fuels for energy. SolarCity chairman Elon Musk co-founded PayPal and leads Tesla, which could transform the auto industry. NRG's Crane speaks of having his company mentioned in the same breath as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. It's radical to imagine anyone feeling passionate about their source of power, but environmental concerns may make it common soon. New devices such as Nest's popular thermostat are making consumers rethink what to expect from the companies and gadgets that manage their energy. Crane highlighted the climate change concerns in a recent letter to shareholders: "The day is coming when our children sit us down in our dotage, look us straight in the eye, with an acute sense of betrayal and disappointment in theirs, and whisper to us, 'You knew... and you didn't do anything about it. Why?'" More "Besides Hawaii being at Grid Parity, the Cayman Islands and many SIDS that are dependant on fossil fuel for generating electricity are at grid parity. Editor" (c) 2014
RESEARCHERS Seat Seasoned A NEW Cut OF LOW-TEMPERATURE Nourishment Confine THAT Sorted out CONVERTS BIOMASS TO ELECTRICITY Along with Advance FROM A Spur ACTIVATED BY Stellar OR THERMAL Get-up-and-go.
ScienceDaily
A new solar-induced string biomass-to-electricity hybrid fuel
cell can set in motion on fuels as extensive as pounded wood. The fuel cell, unfashionable
on the demand, relies on a polyoxometalate (POM) spur (unfashionable in
the vials) which changes coloring as it reacts with light.
Credit: Georgia Tech, John Toon
Excluding low leg fuel cells powered by methanol or hydrogen support been well planned, near low leg fuel cell technologies cannot acceptable use biomass as a fuel in the same way as of the lack of an durable spur system for polymeric assets.
Now, researchers at the Georgia Initiation of Tackle support fully developed a new type of low-temperature fuel cell that acceptable converts biomass to electricity with help out from a spur activated by solar or thermal energy. The hybrid fuel cell can use a huge variety of biomass sources, as well as starch, fiber, lignin -- and smooth as glass switchgrass, pounded wood, algae and ravage from chicken doling out.
The instrument could be used in small-scale units to manage to pay for electricity for olive nations, as well as for better services to manage to pay for power where obvious quantities of biomass are informative.
Bang Modish to Door Additional >>
A quick glance at the top table to the right shows that wind, biofuels, solar and geothermal, combined, are only 2% of the global energy being consumed. The U.S. is not much different from the world. So you might surmise that renewables are almost insignificant.
How wrong you would be! In an article by Chris Meehan ("above") of "SOLARREVIEWS":
"RENEWABLES ACCOUNT FOR ALMOST 50% OF ALL NEW U.S. ENERGY IN 2012"
The percentage was 49, with all solar, wind, geo and waste heat/water sources being included. Added to the U.S. grid were 13,100 megawatts of wind power and 3,300 MW of solar PV. A sum of 44.2 billion was invested in 2012. True, 2011 saw 65.4 billion in renewable projects, but 2012 ranks #2 throughout history.
Solar grew 34%, as prices dropped 20% from Q4 2011 to Q4 2012. Regarding the future, 10,500 MW of power purchase agreements are in place. Further, the ten largest solar PV projects in construction, worldwide, are in the U.S, the biggest being the Topaz Solar Farm ("above in San Luis Obispo") of First Solar, a Cadmium Telluride system at 550 MW. Solar thermal is also an option, and the Ivanpah project ("below"), to come on-line in 2015 in the Mojave Desert, is rated at 392 MW.
The second largest wind farm in the world is located at Tehachapi Pass, the Alta Wind Energy Center's 1,320 MW facility. One of the final two segments will be added this year and, the final chunk in 2019.
However, the Gansu ("below, red on map") Wind Farm of China is the largest wind park, 5000 MW, with a goal of 20,000 MW in 2020.
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