Tag Archives: energy
UK Statistics Show Bioenergy Production Increased In Q2
By Erin Voegele | November 07, 2013 The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has released updated energy trend statistics, showing that the share of renewable electricity generated in the U.K. increased from 9.7 percent during the second quarter of 2012 to 15.5 percent in the second quarter of 2013. While the share of renewables increased in the second quarter of this year, total electricity generated fell by 2.7 percent when compared to the same period of 2012. The quarterly data shows that 1.55 million metric tons of oil equivalent fuel was used by the bioenergy sector to produce electricity during the second quarter of 2013, up from 1.38 million metric tons of oil equivalent in the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2012 and 2011, a respective 1.14 million metric tons of oil equivalent and 1.07 million metric tons of oil equivalent was used by the bioenergy sector to produce electricity. During the quarter, the bioenergy producers generated 5.2 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity, up from 4.3 TWh in the first quarter of the year. Bioenergy producers generated a respective 3.29 TWh and 3.02 TWh of electricity during the second quarters of 2012 and 2011. U.K generating companies produced 82.98 TWh of electricity during the second quarter. In addition to the 5.2 TWh from bioenergy sources, U.K. power producers generated 29.05 TWh from coal, 0.65 TWh from oil, 23.63 from gas, 15.47 TWh from nuclear, 0.97 TWh from natural flow hydro, 6.65 TWh from wind and solar (of which 2.47 TWh was offshore), 0.69 TWh from pumped storage and 0.66 TWh from other fuels. Continue reading
Inter-American Development Bank Study Points At Latin America As The Future Of Renewable Energy
By Patricia Rey Mallén on October 17 2013 Renewable energy has been the subject of never-ending debate: Is it profitable? Is it better? Where is it headed. There may be no answers yet for those questions, but a report by the Inter-American Development Bank points out where the future of the energy may be: in Latin America. The region concentrated 6 percent in 2012 of the world’s investment in green energy, or $16 billion out of a total of $268 billion. Analysts from the IADB point at Latin America and the Caribbean as the “new frontier” for investment. “The lowering of prices and the better climate for investment makes Latin America an interesting and affordable market,” said Greg Watson, project specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank. According to the report, the political climate is also improving, as 110 green energy policies are identified, including tax incentives, feed-in tariffs, and other policies. “Policy frameworks are expanding and strengthening in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Nancy Lee, general manager of the bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund. “The rapidly falling costs of clean technologies such as solar and wind power combined with an improved investment climate means that clean energy generation in the region is now truly affordable.” The favorable political climate has helped production capacity grow enormously. In 2007, the region had 1.5 gigawatts of renewable capacity, which has grown 296 percent since, reaching 26.6GW in 2012. Most of the investment went to Brazil, which received around $9.2 billion, although the percentage is lower than in previous years: It used to get close to 80 percent of the investment, and in 2012 that rate dropped to 55 percent. The reasons, as pointed out by the study, are that Brazil reduced its budget for clean energy 36 percent. Chile, on the other hand, multiplied its green energy budget by four, from $500 million in 2011 to $2.1 billion in 2012, making it the most-invested country in the region. Other countries that increased their investment in green energy are the Dominican Republic, which raised the investment from $47 million in 2011 to $248 million in 2012, and Uruguay, which raised it from $28 million to $118 million in the same time. The study singles out a geopolitical factor that explains the region’s interest in developing renewable energies. “Many Latin American countries want to stop importing oil, coal and natural gas, so they do not depend as much on other countries,” said Ethan Zindler, head of policy analysis at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a provider of data, research and news on the clean and low-carbon energy sector. “That makes them want to invest more in energies they can produce themselves.” Continue reading
Cool Planet Announces Launch of Cool Terra™ Biochar Soil Amendment
Reduces Atmospheric CO2 and Increases Crop Yields Field trial opportunities available through the Cool Planet biochar team October 15, 2013 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Co. & AMHERST, Mass.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–Cool Planet Energy Systems, a developer of small-scale bio refineries for the conversion of non-food biomass into biofuels and soil enhancing biochar, announced today the launch of their biochar soil amendment product “Cool Terra™” for commercial agricultural trials. Rick Wilson, Vice President of the Cool Planet Biochar Group, made the announcement at the 2013 US Biochar conference. Cool Planet has assembled one of the top biochar research teams in the world to develop and produce high-performance biochar soil amendments designed for specific applications. The company plans to continue expanding application opportunities with selected partners in the agricultural community leading to commercial product release in 2014. “We are excited about the opportunity to combine science with the real life practical experience of our agriculture industry partners to progress the use of biochar. This work will allow our Carbon Negative fuel technology to improve crop production while delivering environmental benefits” . “We are excited about the opportunity to combine science with the real life practical experience of our agriculture industry partners to progress the use of biochar. This work will allow our Carbon Negative fuel technology to improve crop production while delivering environmental benefits,” said Cool Planet CEO Howard Janzen. Cool Planet, a sponsor of the 2013 North American Biochar Symposium, will discuss the potential impact of the market-driven application of biochar in decarbonizing the atmosphere at the conference being held in Amherst, MA Oct 13 – 16. Cool Planet has shown yield improvements consistently averaging 60% and input reductions of 40%, combined with accelerated growth rates, in commercial field trials in California, enabling cost-effective farming in regions with structured drought such as California and Arizona. “We are already in commercial trials with our proprietary Cool Terra™ biochar soil amendment, and with this launch we plan to add new partners that will lead to large-scale commercialization,” said Rick Wilson of Cool Planet. “We are also making experimental quantities of our activated biochar available through our website.” About Cool Planet Cool Planet is deploying disruptive technology through capital efficient, small scale biorefineries, to economically convert non-food biomass into high-octane, drop-in biofuels. The process also generates value through biochar production, which can be returned to the soil, with the “Cool Terra™ product enabling fertilizer and water retention for increased crop productivity, and more robust plant health. The process can be carbon negative, removing over 100 percent of the carbon footprint for every gallon used, reversing the consequences of fossil fuels. Cool Planet’s technology has a broad portfolio of pending and granted patents. Global investors include BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy), and the Constellation division of Exelon. Connect with Cool Planet on Facebook at facebook.com/CoolPlanetEnergySystems, on Twitter at twitter.com/CoolPlanetFuels and at www.coolplanet.com. Contacts Cool Planet Energy Systems Mike Rocke, +1-940-584-0490 mr@coolplanet.com or Commercial Biochar Sales +1-888-564-9332 biochar@coolplanet.com Continue reading
