Energy is at heart of matter and it is all that matters. Where it comes from and how we use it. No longer must we draw on the dirty fossil fuels that have damaged our planet, most likely beyond repair.  Extreme weather events are causing untold damage to people, property and the environment. It has been on the cards. It will get worse before it gets better.

We start our campaign – Energy 2020 Asia – because we genuinely feel not enough has been done by multi-national agencies like the UN and the Asian Development Bank  – with their Energy for All campaigns – to highlight the necessity of a clean energy fix for Asia. The imperative is to turn quickly away from fossil fuels. So we urge Asia – just as Europe has led before – to set a target for 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in the same time frame. And to add to the collective effort, head for 20% improvement in energy efficiency. Every country, city and business in Asia could do it. Let’s commit to collaborate, communicate and co-operate – starting in the Year of the Horse – to achieve what is not a pipe dream but a glaringly-obvious necessity.

Get in the saddle and ride – not into the sunset but into the sunrise. A clean energy, low carbon future. It is the only way to go.  Bring on the horses!  Read more

Horse Power

Energy is at heart of matter and it is all that matters. Where is comes from and how we use it. No longer must we draw on the dirty fossil fuels that have damaged our planet, most likely beyond repair.

The world knows what has brought about the situation we have now – more CO2 in the atmosphere than in living memory. Higher temperatures – and lower temperatures – than we can tolerate. Extreme weather events causing untold damage to people, property and the environment. It has been on the cards. It will get worse before it gets better.

There are many scientists who can say “I told you so”. Yet there are many people – leaders, governments, businesses -  who still want to extract and burn more of the dangerous stuff. Shale gas is there so let’s get it out – says the US and the UK – so we can be more “energy secure”, even if the fracking process itself is inherently harmful.

I watched a BBC Horizon programme which focussed on carbon capture and storage. Technically feasible to bury the CO2, but it is such a complicated and expensive process. Far better –it doesn’t take a brain scientist to work out – to leave the stuff in the ground. We have unlimited energy sources that are freely available to tap. Sun, wind, tide, wave, bio-mass, waste.

Sane scientists, reliable researchers and enlightened engineers all say that solar will be the predominant energy resource for planet earth before the end of this century. Why not make it happen sooner than that?

We start our campaign – Energy 2020 Asia – because we genuinely feel not enough has been done by multi-national agencies like the UN and the Asian Development Bank – with their Energy for All campaigns – to highlight the necessity of renewables.

The imperative is to turn quickly away from fossil fuels. So we urge Asia – just as Europe has led before – to fix a target for 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in the same time frame. And to add to the collective effort, head for 20% improvement in energy efficiency.

Every country, city, and business in Asia could do it. Where there’s a will there’s a way.  Will it be enough to get the world where it needs to be? It’s a lot better than what’s happening now and once a city, for example, makes a start, it will come to realise it can save money – even make money – by going even beyond 20%.

Look at Denmark. It has a target of generating 50% of its electricity from wind power by 2020. It is past the 23% mark already.  Germany and Spain produce more than 20% of energy from renewables. The Europeans have committed to expand their target to a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030 and a 27% target for renewables by then. More work is being done on energy efficiency targets.

Let’s commit to collaborate, communicate and co-operate – starting in the Year of the Horse – to achieve what is not a pipe dream but a glaringly obvious necessity.  Get in the saddle and ride – not into the sunset but into the sunrise. A clean energy, low carbon future. It is the only way to go.  Bring on the horses! – Ken Hickson

China is boldly going where the sun shines the brightest. A massive 1000 megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant will be developed by Trina Solar, China’s second-largest maker of solar PV panels, in the remote western region of Turpan Prefecture. This will give a boost to the solar panel manufacturing industry, as well as contributing to China’s goal of achieving 35 gigawatts of installed solar power generating capacity by the year 2015. Read more

China’s new flirt with mega-solar

Climate Solar energy

By Emily Aitken in   Climate Progress (9 January 2014):

China’s second-largest maker of solar photovoltaic panels will develop a huge 1000 megawatt ground-mounted solar power plant complex in a remote Chinese desert, which the company announced last week – a move that some say is a sign of big things to come for the global solar industry in 2014.

The complex will be built by Trina Solar in the western region of Turpan Prefecture, a “harsh, drastic, cold desert” in the western Xinjiang province. Plants are scheduled to begin construction over a four-year time frame starting in early 2014, the company said, with installed capacity of 300 MW scheduled to be completed and connected to the grid by the end of this year. The project is subject to Chinese regulatory approval, but if completed, it would be the largest solar power plant project in Xinjiang.

“Xinjiang’s abundant land and solar resources make Turpan an ideal location for this project,” Trina Solar chief executive Jifan Gao said in a statement. “We look forward to working in close collaboration with the local authorities to satisfy the conditions needed for phase one.”

The announcement is welcome news for China, a country with world-famous pollution that has recently been found to be largely caused by too-abundant fossil fuel production. That production is led by more than 2300 coal-fired power plants, though emissions from other types of fossil fuel combustion also contribute to the smog. However, Trina’s new solar project will only supply power for the areas in which the project surrounds – Turpan Prefecture itself has a population of just 570,000 – dashing the chances that it might alleviate pollution in the smog-centers of Beijing or Shanghai.

Still, Todd Woody at Quartz writes that Trina’s new project “marks a significant shift in the global solar market”, revived by the Chinese government’s projected solar goals for 2020. By that year, China is aiming to have a total of 700,000 MW of renewable energy online, including 50,000 MW of solar.

“The new policy came as China’s photovoltaic panel makers faced falling revenues and multibillion-dollar deficits after embarking on a manufacturing boom that allowed them to corner the global solar market but sent prices plummeting,” Woody writes. “Projects such as the power plant in Turpan Prefecture … help soak up China’s excess manufacturing capacity while creating jobs for local workers.”

The project itself will eventually represent 12.5 per cent of Trina’s annual manufacturing capacity, according to the Quartz report, which says business in China will also account for as much as 30 per cent of Trina’s revenue in 2013 – up from 13 per cent in 2012.

Doug Young at Renewable Energy World, however, has his doubts.

“I certainly don’t want to throw too much cold water on this nascent rebound for China’s solar panel makers, who along with their global peers have suffered through a prolonged downturn dating back to early 2011 due to massive overcapacity,” Young writes. “But amid the bright news, potential downside lurks in the risk that payments for some of these mega-orders could be slow to come, as many solar plant operators are big state-owned entities that may lack the funds and skills to pay for and operate all of their ambitious new projects.”

In other words, the scope of the project is aggressive – maybe too aggressive, which may translate to difficultly obtaining financing, causing delays. But if China, which has set a goal of having 35 gigawatts of installed solar power generating capacity by 2015, are to reach those goals, aggressiveness may be their only choice.

“Achieving such a grand target will be tough,” Young writes, “but big state-run companies are showing they will embark on a major new building spree to help Beijing reach the goal.”

Source: www.businessspectator.com.au

The warning rang out loud and clear from Davos. For the World Economic Forum’s influential annual meeting of top decision-makers and opinion-leaders, climate change and the urgent need to address it was high on the agenda. The leading lights of climate science and sustainable development led discussions on “Decoding climate signals” and “The impact of a warmer world”. It also saw the launch of the New Climate Economy where economic benefits match climate goals: jobs created through the deployment of new green energy sources; savings from designing more energy-efficient cities; and first-mover advantages for countries leapfrogging to more sustainable technologies. Read More

By Warren Fernandez, Straits Times Editor, In Davos (27 January 2014):

FOUR million people remain homeless today in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines last November.

A year earlier, Superstorm Sandy shut down much of the southern parts of the city of New York, and left US$60 billion (S$76.7 billion) of coastal damage.

Both were devastating extreme weather events – and signs of things to come.

This was the warning that rang out last week from Davos, a ski resort in Switzerland that hosts the World Economic Forum’s influential annual meeting of top decision-makers and opinion-leaders. Amid the plethora of issues discussed, climate change and the urgent need to address it was high on the agenda of the four-day meeting that ended on Saturday.

The leading lights of climate science and sustainable development were present at a string of discussions with titles like “Decoding climate signals” and “The impact of a warmer world”.

Former United States vice-president turned climate activist Al Gore featured prominently among them. Sounding like a man on a mission to tackle what he calls the “climate crisis”, he cited a Nasa study published in August 2012 which said that extreme weather events, such as heat waves that have triggered wildfires and droughts around the globe, “almost certainly would not have occurred” without global warming.

NASA climate scientist James Hansen, former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, had sparked a controversy when he asserted in an opinion article in the Washington Post in August 2012: “The climate dice are now loaded… and a new category of extreme climate events is occurring with increasing frequency.

“Our analysis shows that it is no longer enough to say that global warming will increase the likelihood of extreme weather and to repeat the caveat that no individual weather event can be directly linked to climate change.

“To the contrary, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change.

This marked a significant shift, as climate scientists have long been reluctant to link an extreme weather event to climate change, as such events can also occur naturally. Asserting, let alone proving, a causal connection has been difficult and highly controversial.

The Hansen study, however, made clear it believed that extreme weather events were not random ones, like the rolling of a six on a die. Rather, the dice have now been loaded, through greenhouse gas emissions, making extreme events more likely to happen with greater frequency and intensity.

In other words, recent events of extreme weather conditions were signs to be decoded. The world has been warned.

Price of inaction

CLIMATE experts have said that freaky, extreme weather events are likely to become more commonplace.

For countries such as the Philippines, which has suffered several bad typhoons and floods in recent years, this means having to prepare for such conditions better.

Unfortunately, the price of climate change is now hidden and therefore largely unaccounted for in more ways than one, argued Mr Gore in Davos.

First, there is no price for polluting the air with carbon dioxide. As most countries have shied away from adopting carbon pricing, businesses and communities have tended to treat the atmosphere “like an open sewer”, pumping greenhouse gases into it with impunity.

No price is also ascribed to the risk of extreme weather hitting any community since it is hard to know when or where such conditions may occur.

In the same vein, there is no price for inaction, since the effects of climate change are usually assumed to be felt “somewhere else, by somebody else”.

Politically, there is no cost to be paid for doing nothing, compared to the electoral risk of voter backlash against green measures and initiatives, which might raise their cost of living or constrain their choices.

“There ought to be a price for denial,” charged Mr Gore, referring to those who reject the growing scientific consensus that human activities have contributed to global warming.

He hit out at the “IBGYBG” – “I’ll be gone, you’ll be gone” – attitude towards climate change, even as recent events and the latest scientific evidence show clearly that human activities are giving rise to dangerous climate change. Many people assume the effects will be felt only in the long run and, as economists are wont to say, “in the long run we are all dead”.

He warned: “The effects of the climate crisis will be felt in our lifetimes and that of our children.

“Have no doubts about it, we will prevail in this argument, we will win this debate. But the longer we delay, more will suffer from the impact of climate change.”

Not everyone will agree with these assertions, of course, and there are still sceptics who may dispute that the scientific evidence is as definitive as Mr Gore suggests. Even if they did accept his assumptions, there are many who would point to other pressing concerns that are in need of global attention and solutions.

Mismatch in time frames

BUT in Davos at least, there was a palpable consensus among panellists and participants that climate change, which has been on the back burner in recent years as the world turned its attention to more immediate concerns like the financial crisis or terrorism, is in need of urgent attention.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, lamented the mismatch in time frames between experts who study climate change and those who make policy on it. Disruptive changes to the climate could be felt in the next few decades – a “blink of an eye” in geological terms.

“But decades is far too long for politicians to care about. That’s not the case for my scientist friends, many of whom are saying to me, Jeff, our studies are showing that things are really worse than we thought.”

Time is also running out for governments to get their acts together before the deadline for a new climate agreement to be reached in Paris next year to bring greenhouse gases under control, and set the world on a safer course for dealing with the worst effects of climate change, he said.

To give things a push, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki Moon told delegates in Davos that he was convening a special summit on climate change this September, and challenged government leaders to come prepared with ambitious plans to help tackle the problem.

He invited business leaders to get on board, adding a call to non-government groups to “make your voice heard” if they felt their leaders were not doing enough.

Most political leaders, however, are loath to take the lead on this issue, remarked Prof Sachs. They fear the electoral consequences, not only from voters, but also from strong business lobby groups which finance their campaigns, he charged.

He had this parting shot for his audience: Given the urgency of agreeing to new climate initiatives, “Tell the politicians – do your jobs, just this once!”

This outburst drew warm applause, as a common view among those who spoke at the forum sessions was that while scientists have made the case for climate change action with growing certainty, this has not been matched by a greater political will to act in many countries.

Former Mexican president Felipe Calderon hopes to change that. He now chairs the recently established Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, an initiative sponsored by seven countries, including Britain, Indonesia and South Korea, to study the economic benefits and costs of acting to address climate change. He was in Davos to launch the commission’s latest initiative, dubbed the New Climate Economy. Working with several leading think-tanks around the world, the commission hopes to publish a major report in September, ahead of the UN summit on climate change.

“Our aim is to show that it is possible, feasible and necessary to combine economic growth with efforts to address climate change,” said the retired president, who now teaches at Harvard University. Benefits from taking action could include jobs created through the deployment of new green energy sources; savings from designing more energy-efficient cities; and first-mover advantages for countries leapfrogging to more sustainable technologies.

He also plans to draw on his experience in government, such as the difficulties he encountered when he pushed through reforms to cut fuel subsidies in his country.

That was “politically costly” for him and his party, even though it was acknowledged by most experts that it was the sensible thing to do, he said in an interview with The Straits Times.

Many countries, he noted, are grappling with a similar challenge, and case studies on how some governments have managed to wean consumers off expensive subsidies, while supporting those most in need, might be helpful, he argued.

The New Climate Economy project, he said, will seek to produce a “disruptive” report, one which stirs up a debate, and makes plain that climate change initiatives are imperative, and not just the concern of green do-gooders.

“We need pragmatic arguments, we need to make the economic case, to show that this delivers economic benefits, it creates jobs, brings growth and better lives for people. We have to make this a vote winner.”

To be sure, that would help, but it would take a massive sea-change in political attitudes across the globe.

Beyond the circle of affluent and high-minded participants in Davos, many voters and their leaders remain lukewarm about the need, or urgency, for action, given the long list of other pressing concerns.

What the climate change experts are asserting though is simply this: We have been warned, and hopefully it will not take more of the tragic devastation wrought by superstorms like Haiyan and Sandy to focus minds on the challenge at hand.

Source: www.stasiareport.com

Australians have now installed more than two million small-scale renewable energy systems, mainly comprised of roof-top solar photovoltaic. Aiming for a Renewable Energy Target of 20% and making renewable energy more affordable for Australians, the installed systems produce approximately 6882 GWh of electricity annually, enough to power more than one million Australian homes. Meanwhile, the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) has embarked on an ambitious solar power project spanning three countries, to test the power generation of solar panels in Singapore’s tropical climate, in a temperate zone in Japan and under Australian desert conditions. Read more

Australia hits 2 million solar

By a staff reporter in Climate Spectator (9 January 2014):

Australians have now installed more than two million small-scale renewable energy systems, the Clean Energy Regulator has confirmed. This was composed of 1,161,245 solar photovoltaic systems, 669,281 solar hot water units and 173,101 heat pump water heaters as well as a small number of micro hydro and small wind turbines.

The regulator said that small-scale systems, assisted by falling system costs and coupled with financial incentives derived from the Renewable Energy Target, had become “more and more affordable” for everyday Australians

“This comes only eight months after reaching one million rooftop solar photovoltaic installations, providing a strong indication that investment in small-scale renewable energy continues to flourish in Australia,” the regulator said.

The regulator estimates the two million small-scale installations have a capacity to generate or displace approximately 6882 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, with 4182 gigawatt hours generated from small-scale solar, wind and hydro installations and a further 2700 gigawatt hours displaced by solar hot water systems and air source heat pumps.

This equates to the amount of electricity required to power approximately 1.04 million Australian homes for a year, the CER said, enough to power all Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra households combined.

Source: www.businessspectator.com.au

S’pore part of 3-nation solar panel project; Power generation study may lead to systems suited for varying climates

Feng Zengkun, Environment Correspondent, Straits Times (29 December 2013):

SINGAPORE has embarked on an ambitious solar power project spanning three countries.

The aim is to test the power generation of solar panels in Singapore’s tropical climate, in a temperate zone in Japan and under Australian desert conditions.

Led by the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (Seris) at the National University of Singapore, the project, which will take place in each of the countries simultaneously, will last until 2016 at least.

The findings will help researchers develop better models to predict the output of solar panels in different conditions such as varying temperatures and amount of sunlight.

Developers can then optimise solar power systems for different climate zones to enhance their performance over the systems’ lifespan, said Seris deputy chief executive Thomas Reindl. This will also reduce the price that the electricity generated has to be sold at to recoup costs, he explained.

In the past, solar panels had been mostly installed in moderate climates. That meant that standards to measure output and quality were also developed in those climates.

“In harsher climate zones such as the tropics with constant high temperatures and high humidity, the existing standard tests may not be sufficient,” the National Climate Change Secretariat and National Research Foundation (NRF) said in 2011.

Seris is partnering the Australian National University, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan, solar module manufacturers, certifying bodies and other organisations for its project, called TruePower Alliance.

The first outdoor tests are expected to start early next year.

The research also involves monitoring the solar panel systems’ long-term performance, including the impact of dust accumulation and sand.

Solar panel systems are expected to last 25 to 30 years with next to no degradation.

The project is funded by the Energy Innovation Research Programme. The researchers were among five teams that won $12 million in grants in total from the Government earlier this year in a grant call for energy innovations.

Source: www.power-eng.com/news/

Renewable energy can come from the most unexpected of sources, from the greatest heights to the lowest depths. While sources such as solar and wind have established themselves well over the decades, sources such as the tides are beginning to muscle their way into the renewable energy mix. Singapore-based Atlantis Resources aims to raise up to £20m from its listing on London’s Aim market to fund its flagship MeyGen tidal project on the northern tip of Scotland, with the generating capacity of 86MW – enough to power 42,000 Scottish homes a year. Read more

Atlantis joins latest wave to list on Aim

By Pilita Clark Financial Times (5 January 2014):

A Singapore company that plants large underwater windmills in the seabed to generate electricity is heading to the London Stock Exchange to raise money in the latest sign of activity in the tidal energy industry.

Atlantis Resources hopes to garner up to £20m from an initial public offering on London’s Aim market, around half of which would fund its flagship MeyGen tidal project on the northern tip of Scotland, one of Europe’s biggest proposed tidal power schemes.

The company initially plans to install four 1.5 megawatt turbines by the second half of 2015, each around 25m in height, to generate power from the rise and fall of the tides between the Scottish mainland and the nearby island of Stroma.

It has approval to put in a total of 86MW of generating capacity in the first phase of the scheme, enough to power 42,000 Scottish homes each year, but hopes to eventually install far more.

The tidal energy industry is still immature compared with the wind and solar power sectors that have boomed in the past decade as countries have started subsidising renewable energy to cut the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change.

However, a number of big engineering companies, including Siemens of Germany and France’s Alstom, have started snapping up smaller tidal groups over the past two years, amid forecasts that tidal energy will eventually become a far more popular form of renewable power.

Tides can be accurately predicted years in advance, unlike wind and sunshine, and commercial tidal energy schemes are expected to grow from a handful of small projects today to about 170MW of generating capacity by 2020, mostly in Europe, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance research group.

This is likely to depend on how fast the tidal power industry can reduce its costs, which are far higher than many other forms of low-carbon power.

Atlantis is working on tidal power projects in several countries, including Canada, France and China, but its chief executive, Tim Cornelius, said the financial support offered by the British government had put the UK at the forefront of the industry.

“The UK has led the way and now you see Canada, France and these sorts of places effectively taking all the good bits out of the UK’s policies and applying them in their own domestic environments,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

Tidal power companies will get a “strike price” of £305 per megawatt hour under the UK’s latest renewable energy financial support scheme, nearly double the £155 MWh for offshore wind farms and triple the £95 MWh for onshore wind projects.

Source: www.fit.com

The descent of the polar vortex over North America brought record low temperatures and freezing residents, increasing home heating demand.  To limit the impact of energy consumption on household bills, regardless of the weather, homeowners should take steps to increase energy efficiency of their houses by sealing leaks around openings, and replacing appliances with more efficient ones. A promising development is the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs with more efficient CFL and LED bulbs in the US under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Read more

Energy Efficiency Can Reduce Home Heating Costs

SurfKY News (7 January 2014):

With a blast of Arctic air covering the state, the Kentucky Public Service Commission says consumers can limit the impact on their home heating bills by taking steps to reduce energy consumption.

“As temperatures plummet, energy usage and home heating bills inevitably rise,” PSC Chairman David Armstrong said. “But a few simple steps can help limit the effect.”

Since weather – not price – is the dominant factor in determining energy usage, the best weapon consumers have to manage their energy costs is to take steps to reduce consumption, he said. Those measures can be as simple as turning down the thermostat a few degrees, Armstrong said.

“It’s also never too late to seal leaks around windows, door and other openings, to cover windows with plastic sheeting, and to take other low-cost steps to keep cold air out and warm air in,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong also emphasized that programs are available to help consumers who may be struggling to pay their heating bill. Heating assistance is available from local community action agencies and from utility companies, but funds are limited and sometimes run out during the heating season, he said.

“Do not allow a difficulty in paying a utility bill to become a crisis,” Armstrong said. “Now is the time to take the necessary steps if you think that you may need assistance in paying your heating bill this winter.”

The PSC is an independent agency attached for administrative purposes to the Energy and Environment Cabinet. It regulates more than 1,500 gas, water, sewer, electric and telecommunication utilities operating in Kentucky and has approximately 90 employees.

Information provided by Kentucky Public Service Commission

Source: www.surfky.com

Top 10 Markets for Energy-Efficient Lighting

The incandescent bulb is starting to fade.

By Katherine Tweed in Greentech efficiency  (6 January 2014):

Between the snow storms and the recovery from New Year’s Eve, it was easy to miss the final phase-out of the inefficient lighting technology we’ve known for so long: the incandescent bulb.

Technically, incandescents weren’t banned in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Rather, the Act required that general-purpose light bulbs that produce 310 to 2600 lumens must be 30 percent more energy-efficient than current incandescent bulbs in 2012 to 2014. Other technologies, such as compact fluorescents and light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, can meet the requirements that incandescents cannot. Specialty bulbs are exempt.

The slow roll toward more efficient lighting already has most Americans examining their options. When the 100- and 75-watt incandescent was phased out in 2012, most Americans were looking at CFLs as alternatives. Now that the 60- and 40-watt are on the chopping block, the market has broadened as LED prices have fallen.

A market survey from Sylvania last year estimated that nearly one-third of homes have already kissed incandescents goodbye. In the past year alone, multiple sub-$10 LED replacements have come on the market.

Home Depot, the world’s largest seller of light bulbs, is tracking its sales and comparing the uptake across the U.S. The big-box store brought together census data and CFL and LED bulb sales from October 2012 to October 2013 for cities larger than 100,000 people.

Here are the top 10 markets for per-capita energy-efficient bulb consumption at Home Depots across the U.S. (in alphabetical order):

Atlanta

Boston

Hartford

Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/West Palm Beach

Orlando

Pittsburg

Sacramento

San Francisco

Seattle

Washington, D.C.

What most of the top markets have in common is not necessarily a public enamored with more efficient lighting, but rather the presence of compelling rebates. Eight of the top ten markets offer some form of rebates for LEDs or CFLs, with four of the markets offering rebates for both, according to Home Depot. The two Florida markets were the only ones that had no rebates.

For some lighting companies, rebates are crucial to their ability to offer lower prices. Earlier this year, Philips partnered with Home Depot and utilities to bring the price of its 60-watt LED equivalent to $9.97 after utility rebate. In regions without a utility rebate available, the company’s 10.5-watt A19 will be offered for $10.97. And it’s not just the residential market that is benefiting from rebates — the commercial market is seeing a boom in utility rebates that is expected to help drive the market in coming years.

Although the most active markets are clustered on the West Coast and in the eastern half of the U.S., Home Depot reported that many smaller cities, such as McAllen, TX, Buffalo, NY and Fayetteville, AR also made the list.

To capture not just the big markets, but also to catch the interest of every American shopping for light bulbs, bulb manufacturers are taking different approaches beyond simply dropping prices. Philips recently unveiled a flattened “SlimStyle” LED bulb that is meant to rival the color offered by Cree’s soft white LED bulbs. Other retailers, such as Wal-Mart, are focusing on package design to make LEDs a more clear-cut choice for consumers.

More price reductions and marketing ploys are likely to hit the market in 2014 as retailers jockey for the top spot as the incandescent fades away.

Source: www.greentechmedia.com/

Sustainability takes centre stage as i Light Marina Bay 2014 promises a spectacular showcase of light and colour along the Marina Bay waterfront. March 7-30 March in your calendar. The unique Festival will be powered by energy savings from the ‘Switch Off, Turn Up’ campaign that runs in tandem with the three-week Festival. It ends with a collaborative effort to coincide with WWF’s Earthhour on Saturday 29 March. SASA is the sustainability consultant for the event and campaign.  Read More

Note: Also see the January issue of CEI magazine – free e-magazine on www.cei.asia  – for articles and information on Sustainability for events including comments from industry leaders, including Ken Hickson. Also see the book “Race for Sustainability” for case studies and information on sustainable events, along with a host of other useful articles. For a case study on I Light Marina Bay 2012 go to www.sustain-ability-showcase.com

SUSTAINABILITY TO POWER A DAZZLING FESTIVAL OF LIGHT AND ART

AT SINGAPORE’S MARINA BAY WATERFRONT

The third edition of i Light Marina Bay is set to return in March 2014 with art and activities for all, taking the biennial sustainable light art Festival to a new level

Singapore, 22 January 2014 – A light art Festival powered by an energy-saving campaign, i Light Marina Bay 2014 promises a spectacular showcase of light and colour along the Marina Bay waterfront as sustainability takes centre stage. Running from 7 to 30 March 2014, the biennial Festival will feature innovative and sustainable light art installations from Singapore and around the world, along with this year’s chosen theme, ‘Light+HeART’.

The unique Festival will be powered by energy savings from the ‘Switch Off, Turn Up’ campaign that runs in tandem with the three-week Festival. The campaign was introduced since the first edition of the Festival in 2010 to encourage stakeholders around Marina Bay to switch off non-essential lighting and turn up air conditioning temperatures during office hours. This year’s campaign will coincide with Earth Hour Singapore’s ‘lights-off’ activities, taking place on 29 March 2014.

Mr Jason Chen, Director for Place Management, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), said, “i Light Marina Bay transforms one of our city’s most iconic public spaces in a magical and memorable way, while delivering the important message of sustainability. This year, we wish to inspire more buildings to come on board to generate greater energy savings for the ‘Switch Off, Turn Up’ campaign, and hope that the Festival can continue to grow and encourage more sustainable practices.”

A good mix of artworks from the region and afar

i Light Marina Bay 2014 will showcase a mix of art and light installations from the region and afar, including creative collaborations between local and international artists. Festival-goers can expect over 25 stunning large-scale outdoor installations by artists from 11 countries such as Singapore, China, Philippines, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the USA.

This year’s curatorial team is helmed by the award-winning design team from ONG&ONG Pte Ltd. Mr Tai Lee Siang, Group Managing Director, ONG&ONG said, “We handpicked artworks of the best quality that challenge perceptions and carry strong messages of sustainability and conservation, which are key to i Light Marina Bay. Visitors will be able to interact with many displays, and even create and literally become a part of the artworks.”

One such interactive installation is LiveLight by Oz Collective, a partnership between Alexandre Pachiaudi from Paris and Quck Zhong Yi from Singapore – both graduates of the prestigious architecture school in Paris, Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture. Their large interactive installation invites the public to use light from their mobile devices to paint and draw on a projected canvas, creating mesmerising displays.

The Guardian Angels, an installation by French artists Maro Avrabou and Dimitri Xenakis, pays tribute to gardens, plants, and the protection of the environment with a beautiful set of watering-lanterns. The two art pieces were presented to the media today at the ArtScience Museum. More information on these artists and artworks can be found in Annex A.

A Festival with something for everyone

Besides the light art installations, a full array of complementary programmes and activities will enliven the entire Marina Bay waterfront, creating a dazzling, diverse and more engaging experience for Festival-goers this year. The public can look forward to free guided tours, bazaars, and educational talks and workshops, taking place over the three-week Festival.

Visitors can also expect tantalising offerings such as acclaimed food festival, Savour, and an urban night obstacle race, where teams will pit their wits against one another. Families will have a rare opportunity to take part in an outdoor camping experience in the heart of the city, or delight in the fine selection of fresh organic produce available for sale from PasarBella, Singapore’s largest community of traders and merchants. More information on these programmes can be found on the website.

i Light Marina Bay will open nightly from 7 to 30 March 2014, 7.30pm to 11pm, around the Marina Bay waterfront. Admission is free.

Source: www.ilightmarinabay.sg

The last three years will be remembered for deadly climate-related disasters:  great floods in Thailand, Hurricane Sandy in the United States and Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The message for 2014 is clear: we must do much more to prepare for disasters before they strike and not only react after the fact. The Asian Development Bank says we need to rebuild better in anticipation, but such preparedness lags because these disasters still tend to be viewed as one-off acts of nature rather than systematic recurrences. Countries also need to help mitigate climate change, most importantly by shifting to a low-carbon economy. Investment in renewable energy is one answer, as the Philippines is starting to show. Read More

Bangkok Post (10 January 2014):

By Vinod Thomas is Director-General of Independent Evaluation at the Asian Development Bank..

The last three years will be remembered for deadly climate-related disasters, among them the great floods in Thailand in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in the United States in 2012 and Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013. The message for 2014 is clear: we must do much more to prepare for disasters before they strike and not only react after the fact.

The immediate priority after a disaster occurs is relief and recovery for the affected. At the same time, a crucial lesson is to recover with care and to rebuild better in anticipation of future events. But such preparedness lags because these disasters still tend to be viewed as one-off acts of nature rather than systematic recurrences.

Three factors make for more frequent repeats of these events globally: people’s exposure, their vulnerability and the intensity of the hazards. Rising populations have meant that more people are living in harm’s way, for example, in low-lying coastal areas.

Environmental degradation, for instance, deforestation, has left communities vulnerable. And global warming is amplifying the power of hazards everywhere.

Just as governments try to cushion financial shocks, so too should they invest in cutting disaster risk, as its consequences are just as grave. Thailand’s floods cost the economy an estimated $46.5 billion (1.5 trillion baht) in damages and production losses, showing how disasters can affect regional and global supply chains after flooding stopped production in computer and car factories. The estimated damage caused by Hurricane Sandy totalled $68 billion.

Yet dealing with natural disasters is still largely considered a cost to be borne after calamity strikes, rather than an investment to confront a growing threat. Disaster risk reduction accounts for just 40 cents of every $100 in total international development aid. For governments, one recommended level of spending in this respect is 1% to 2% of national budgets. More important than the exact percentages is promoting their effective use.

Among the most important investments is to make resilient the infrastructure for water, hospitals and evacuation centres. From Asia to Latin America, breaks in these lifelines are a major cause of the desperation that often follows weather disasters and earthquakes. The seismic retrofitting of hospitals in Sendai, Japan, enabled them to continue functioning after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Disaster-proofing hospitals by one measure adds less than a tenth to the cost of new hospitals, while rebuilding a destroyed hospital virtually doubles its initial cost.

Building and rebuilding activities need to consider better standards for disaster resilience. At risk are coastal cities in the path of typhoons, such as Tacloban in the central Philippines, devastated by Typhoon Haiyan’s storm surge, and flood-prone cities such as Mumbai, where record breaking rains in 2005 took several hundred lives in monsoon floods.

Countries also need to help mitigate climate change, most importantly by shifting to a low-carbon economy. Gains would accrue to economies at all stages of development, as all are under threat from climate change. For instance, Bangkok and Manila as well as Los Angeles and Tokyo are in the top-ten lists of cities at risk from different natural disasters.

Not one country typifies good practices, but there are examples to build on. Bangladesh spent $10 billion in the past four decades on cyclone readiness, including early warning, disaster resilient shelters, and embankment protection. So while over 300,000 people were killed in Cyclone Bhola in 1970, the death toll from an even stronger cyclone in 2007 was around 4,000. Capacity to respond is extremely vital as shown by the experience of Malaysia and Singapore with search and rescue. Thailand, in the wake of the 2011 floods, promoted catastrophe insurance for small businesses, while in Turkey earthquake insurance is compulsory. Investments to reduce risks have risen in Indonesia and the Philippines, where a high-level inter-ministerial council manages disaster risk reduction.

It is no longer far-fetched to think that Southeast Asia could see two events like the Thai floods in one monsoon season, or the 2009 Typhoon Ketsana which dumped more water on Manila in hours than normal in a month. Preparing for such scenarios means spending more and better ahead of disasters, combining preparation and prevention with relief and recovery.

Source: www.bangkokpost.com

DOE to add more renewable energy in grid by 2014

by  Pia Ranada (12 December 2013):

MANILA, Philippines – In 2014, enough renewable energy to power 126,700 households will feed into the National Power Grid, a first step for the Philippines in its pursuit of energy self-sufficiency and green energy.

During a December 3 press conference, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced it just approved various renewable energy developers to generate 633.5 megawatts (MW) of electricity which will make its way to the country’s power mix sometime in 2014.

Most of the approved projects are wind (339.5 MW) and solar (80 MW), types of renewable energy which do not exist or are negligible in the country’s current power supply. To date, only the Bangui Bay Wind Power Project in Ilocos Norte (33 MW) and the CEPALCO Solar Power Plant in Cagayan de Oro (1 MW) supply wind and solar energy to the grid.

The approval of these RE projects is to fulfill the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 which mandates that the government develop the country’s renewable energy resources to promote a shift to more sustainable, reliable and affordable energy.

The announcement comes a month after clean energy advocates criticized the DOE for its slow implementation of the Renewable Energy Act and approval of 17 additional coal-fired plants.

The approved renewable energy developers are now aggressively pursuing the construction of their projects to benefit from the feed-in-tariff (FiT) rates put in place by the DOE.

FiT rates are guaranteed fixed prices for RE energy applicable for 20 years that assure the RE developers they will earn and recover their expenses.

The DOE also activated other fiscal incentives to attract more RE developers to the Philippines, said Mario Marasigan, director of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau of the DOE.

“All RE developers are enjoying income tax holidays for 7 years and then when that’s finished, they pay an income tax rate of only 10%. If they procure your technologies from abroad, they get duty-free importation for 10 years. If before, 60% of the net income goes to the government, the RE law changes that to 1% of the gross income.”

RE is unlimited, clean and free compared to depletable, dirty and expensive fossil fuel energy.

The country’s dependence on fossil fuel energy has made the price of electricity in the Philippines among the highest in Asia. This is because we get our energy from imported coal and natural gas which exposes prices consumers pay to volatile international oil prices.

Prices for coal have more than doubled since 2010 and are expected to rise, according to the International Energy Agency. Around 67% of power in the Philippines is sourced from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, which, aside from being expensive, are also depletable resources. One day, the world will run out of them.

Coal also has many costs which don’t figure in the electricity bill but are paid by society in other ways.

Fossil fuel energy is the world’s leading carbon emitting technology spewing toxic gases in the air. Air pollution costs the Philippine economy around P65.6 billion annually. Around 5,000 premature deaths may be due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases from Manila air pollution alone, according to a study by Greenpeace.

RE has huge potential to create more jobs in the Philippines. It has already created more than 5 million jobs all over the world. A single 10MW solar plant hires 1,000 people for construction and 100 full-time employees while one geothermal plant alone hires 2,582 employees, according to a 2012 Greenpeace study. Seven biomass projects can generate around 78,000 jobs.

Source: www.rappler.com

Travel green with the latest environmentally friendly cars unveiled at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. Solar powered cars used to be the domain of engineering students’ projects; that is, until the launch of Ford’s latest hybrid C-Max Solar Energi Concept, which can draw up to 75% of its energy from the sun, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by four metric tonnes. Another car launched at the show is the Toyota hydrogen-powered fuel-cell car, set to hit the market next year, which emits only water vapour from its tailpipes. Read more

By Medilyn Manibo in Eco-business.com (7 January 2014):

Ford launches solar car that could hit mass market

The US car manufacturer reveals its latest hybrid C-Max Solar Energi Concept, which can tap on the sun to power up to 75 per cent of all trips made by an average driver

Solar-powered cars could move from the confines of college engineering experiments into the mass market if Ford’s latest hybrid C-Max Solar Energi Concept takes off.

The United States car manufacturer is set to unveil its latest concept at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, which will not only be welcomed by motorists looking for a greener drive, but is also likely to boost the solar industry, which has seen its fair share of booms and busts in the last few years.

“The sun could power up to 75 per cent of all trips made by an average driver in a solar hybrid vehicle. This could be especially important in places where the electric grid is underdeveloped, unreliable and expensive to use.

“Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept shines a new light on electric transportation and renewable energy,” said Mike Tinskey, Ford global director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure. “As an innovation leader, we want to further the public dialog about the art of the possible in moving the world toward a cleaner future.”

The off-the-grid concept could reduce a typical owner’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by four metric tonnes, according to Ford’s estimates.

Created in partnership with SunPower Corp and Georgia Institute of Technology, the C-MAX Solar Energi uses a special Fresnel lens in order to direct sunlight to the solar cells, drawing enough power each day equal to a four-hour battery charge. The patent-pending technology follows the concept similar to a magnifying glass.

Ford said its plug-in brand C-Max Energi, which runs to a range of 620 miles in full charge is its plug-in sales leader, outselling competitor brands in the last months of 2013, and brought in more than a total of 6,300 units sold. But there is no telling whether consumers are ready to rally behind the new idea and rely on sunshine.

However, the car is also not totally off-the-grid as Ford has installed a charge port so owners have the option to plug it into a charging station and power up via the grid.

“The sun could power up to 75 per cent of all trips made by an average driver in a solar hybrid vehicle. This could be especially important in places where the electric grid is underdeveloped, unreliable and expensive to use,” a Ford statement said.

Source: http://www.eco-business.com/

Toyota Reveals Hydrogen-Powered, Zero-Emissions, Fuel-Cell Car For 2015

By John Johnston in The 9 Billion (7 January 2014):

Toyota hydrogen fuel-cell car

At the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Toyota has announced the launch of a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell car. The new hydrogen car, which emits only water vapor from the tailpipe, will be on sale to customers next year.

Toyota has indicated that it will be a global launch, which is certainly showing commitment, considering that currently there is distinct lack of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure worldwide. Unsurprisingly, even though it’s a global launch, Toyota has said it will release the hydrogen car in California first. California has approved around $200 million for the development of a statewide network of hydrogen refuelling stations, starting with 20 stations in 2015.

The new hydrogen car hasn’t been given a name yet, but it looks a bit like a cross between a Corolla and a Prius, both of which are very popular lines for Toyota. Although most details about the car are not yet available, Toyota has been road-testing the hydrogen car and it has apparently achieved 300 miles (483 kilometers) on a single tank of hydrogen, and takes only 5 minutes to refill with high-pressure hydrogen.

Source: http://www.the9billion.com/

It was an exciting and inspiring year in many regards. And we’re not just talking the arrival of Prince George or the fact that the new Pope rides an electric bicycle. In 2013, there were many remarkable clean energy developments that are helping to bring us closer to a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future. This report from the Rocky Mountain Institute. Read More

Laurie Guevara-Stone, Rocky Mountain Institute (8 January 2014):

Top 10 Clean Energy Developments of 2013

2013 was an exciting and inspiring year in many regards. And we’re not just talking the arrival of Prince George or the fact that the new Pope rides an electric bicycle. There were many remarkable clean energy developments that are helping to bring us closer to a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future. Here we list our top ten:

1. Renewables become cheapest option for many utilities

Multiple U.S. utilities added renewable energy to their mix in 2013, because it’s the cheapest option, with no state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirement calculated in. For example, Georgia Power joined Alabama power in buying wind energy from Oklahoma, and Xcel of Colorado filed a petition to the public utility commission stating that utility-scale solar is its cheapest peaking option. Xcel now plans to triple the amount of utility-scale solar it generates. (At the beginning of this year, a Minnesota judge likewise ruled that solar power offers Xcel ratepayers a better deal than natural gas.)

2. Utilities look toward new business models

One of Europe’s largest utilities, RWE, announced it is shedding its old business model and transforming itself into a renewable energy service provider. Their so-called “prosumer” business strategy states, “Based on funds sourced largely from third parties, we will position ourselves as a project enabler, operator and system integrator of renewables.” Other utilities are also taking distributed renewables and business model transformation seriously as indicated by the oft-referenced Disruptive Challenges paper by Peter Kind of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).

3. Storage goes mainstream

California passed an energy storage mandate (AB 2514), a first-of-its-kind legislation that will give a significant push to the non-EV storage market in the U.S. Maryland also joined the storage craze by installing its first commercial, islandable solar-PV-and-battery microgrid. And solar PV companies are adding storage to their offerings. STEM, Green Charge Networks, and Solar Grid Storage all came into the spotlight with solutions that offer distributed battery energy storage to commercial customers, while SolarCity (with Tesla) and NRG’s offerings incorporate batteries for residential systems.

4. Electric vehicles have banner year

Worldwide EV car sales were up 300 percent from 2012, while in Norway electric cars were the top-selling cars two months in a row. Tesla stocks surged as the Tesla Model S received a rare near-perfect score from Consumer Reports, and Motor Trend named it Car of the Year—a first for an electric car. And EVs became more affordable as automakers slashed prices for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles such as the plug-in Prius, Chevy Volt, and Ford Focus.

5. Transportation apps are on the rise

2013 saw an explosion of transportation-related apps. From real-time bus tracking to apps like Ridescout that display all your options to get from point A to point B, these apps are helping us reduce the amount of miles we drive. Further decreasing our time spent in cars was the huge increase in bike-share programs around the world.

6. Cities get serious about building efficiency

Chicago, Boston, and Minneapolis joined six other cities and two states in enacting laws and policies requiring benchmarking and disclosure for energy use for large buildings. Benchmarking—measuring a building’s energy use and comparing it to the average for similar buildings—is often the crucial first step toward improving a building’s efficiency. The cities and states requiring benchmarking represent almost 5 billion square feet of floor space in major real estate markets.

7. Deep energy retrofits are the new black

Deep energy retrofits—a whole-building analysis and construction process that achieves much larger energy cost savings than those of simpler energy retrofits—became a hot topic in 2013. The General Services Administration (GSA), the nation’s largest public real estate organization managing more than 7,000 properties that provide workspace for some 1.2 million federal employees, performed deep energy retrofits on 30 buildings in 2013, more than it has executed in the last ten years combined. RMI also worked with AT&T, the Department of Defense’s Exchange, Arizona State University, Wal-Mart, Kaiser Permanente, Kroger, and others on deep energy retrofits.

8. China tackles air pollution

Following another year of show-stopping peak pollution events, China has redoubled its efforts to focus on environmental issues stemming from breakneck growth and development. In 2013 China unveiled a new plan to combat air pollution, including prohibiting the approval of new coal-fired power plants in three key industrial areas, implementing coal reduction and substitution projects, and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy. Nissan also announced it will open a LEAF factory in China through the Nissan-Dongfeng joint venture, reducing the EV’s price in China drastically. And Beijing announced plans to ensure 40 percent of all new cars on the city’s roads are “new energy” vehicles—EVs and PHEVs—in order to alleviate the crippling pollution in the city.

9. Companies put a price on carbon

Some of the biggest public companies in the U.S., including most of the large oil companies, are setting an internal price on their carbon pollution, with prices ranging from $6 to $60 per metric ton. From Walt Disney Company to Delta Air Lines to ConAgra Foods, companies are preparing for the possibility that someday they may face carbon taxes or regulations. A recent report by CDP lists 27 companies and two foreign businesses that have put a price on carbon.

10. Industry gets efficient

The Better Buildings, Better Plants Program, a national initiative that challenges industry to meet ambitious energy-savings targets, now has 123 partner companies representing 1,750 plants. These companies have agreed to reduce the energy intensity of their industrial operations by 25 percent or more within 10 years. Companies involved include GE, 3M, Ford Motor Company, and Johnson Controls.

Bonus: TV-watching gets efficient

Companies in the pay-TV industry, partnering with energy efficiency advocacy groups, announced they will slash electricity use of set-top boxes by 10 to 45 percent. This will save consumers a predicted $1 billion dollars, save three power plants worth of electricity, and keep 5 million metric tons of carbon pollution out of the air each year. Further, the 90 million pay-TV subscribers in the U.S. will be able to easily find out how much electricity their set-top box uses and will have a wide range of more efficient models to choose from.

Source: www.blog.rmi.org