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Hybrid Power plants: Renewable Energy’s Newest Trend

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Image Courtesy of: SolarPraxis

by John Brian Shannon

One option for renewable energy producers that has been open to utility companies but rarely utilized, is the installation of both wind and solar power plants together at the same location, which results in a doubling in the amount of electricity produced.

Prior to a study done by Reiner Lemoine Institut and Solarpraxis AG, it was (incorrectly) thought that the huge towers upon which the wind turbines are mounted would cast long shadows over the photovoltaic solar panel array, thereby reducing their efficiency by a significant factor.

It turns out that when solar and wind power generation are combined on the same site, such hybrid power plants complement each other better, than had been imagined. Approximately twice the power generation is available from any such hybrid power plant site, when compared to wind only, or solar only.

Click here to read the Solarpraxis AG, news release.

The landmark study took into account the amount of sunlight loss (shading) which would occur in a carefully designed hybrid power plant. Energy losses were less than 2 percent of total output. This is a lower energy loss percentage, than compared to conventional power plant energy, such as coal — where up to 10 percent of the coal can be lost during transport from North America-to-China, or from Australia-to-China, and later storage, for example.

 A major benefit of such hybrid power plants is that due to the relative intermittency of both wind power and solar power is they tend to cancel out the others weaknesses. Grid expansion, is therefore not required for hybrid power plants. Wind power peaks at night, during cool days, and in the colder seasons of the year — while solar produces power during the daylight hours, the warmer parts of the day and most especially during the warmer seasons, when the Sun is high in the sky, directly over the solar panel array.

“Until now, it was thought that the shadows cast on solar plants by wind turbines led to high yield losses. The study shows, however, that these shading losses are much lower than expected, provided the hybrid power plant is well designed. Initial requests to create yield reports as well as technical and economic system planning have given us cause to hope that the more efficient utilization of space and infrastructure created by hybrid power plants has excellent prospects for the future.” — Alexander Woitas, Head of the Engineering Department at Solarpraxis AG

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Image Courtesy of: SolarPraxis

Many utility companies are already operating solar and wind hybrid power plants, or are planning for such installations over the next few years.

The U.S. state of Massachusetts has easily surpassed its previous goal of 250 megawatts (MW) of solar energy by 2017 and is planning to increase that goal to 1,600 MW (1.6 GW) of solar energy by 2017. View an interactive wind power map for the U.S. state of Massachusetts (103 MW as of 2012).

Boulder City, Nevada, is likewise adding wind turbines to their huge and ongoing solar power plant installations — so they can sell solar electricity to nearby cities and towns during the day, while adding the ability to sell wind electricity during the night. Find out about another U.S. state of Nevada wind energy project (151.8 MW as of 2013).

Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES) in Washington, D.C., buys wind power from a nearby producer and solar power from another nearby producer, and sells that electricity to residents, businesses, industry and the government throughout the northeast United States, including D.C.

I recently interviewed Mr. Harry Warren, the President of WGES, and speaking on the intermittency of wind power (and similar applies to solar power) that it is quite normal for different power producers to add their particular kind of power at different times of the day.

“The power grid operates with a variety of power plants constantly coming on line, going off line, and ramping production up and down to meet the varying demand for electricity over the course of the day and over the course of the year. There are always power plants idle and ready to generate more as part of the overall plan to assure reliable power.

So, nothing special is needed to back up wind power. Load merely shifts to other power plants when the wind isn’t blowing.

When the wind is blowing, other power plants, many of which burn fossil fuels like coal, ramp their operation down.” – WGES President, Harry Warren

Click here to read Part I, Part II and Part III of my interview with Harry Warren, WGES President.

Wind and solar power combined in hybrid power plants can add power 24/7/365 to any electrical grid, lower emission levels and help to levelize the cost of electricity for consumers.

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Bicycle-Sharing Systems: Pedal your way to Better Health

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by John Brian Shannon

Honk your horn, if you want better health!

OK, we all want to feel healthier, and many people these days ‘want to do their part’ to lower their personal carbon footprint. One way to accomplish both at the same time is to ride a bike anytime you can. It is so obviously, a good thing to do.

But when you are traveling, it can be difficult to lug your bike around just so that you can take a daily, hour-long ride in Naples, Barcelona, Miami Beach, or other warm and sunny place.

So, it may surprise you to know just how many bikes are available for rent at low cost, or are completely free to use, from the so-called Bicycle Sharing Systems (BSS) in many of the world’s cities. The total number of bikes available from the various BSS’s  around the world at the end of 2011, was 236,000 bicycles. That’s right, from 5 European-only operations with less than 100 bicycles ten years ago — to over 375 BSS’s worldwide, with 236,000 bikes in almost every country as of Dec 31st, 2011, BSS is a textbook definition of high growth!

Launched in 2008, the Hangzhou Public Bicycle programme in China is the largest bicycle sharing system in the world, with around 61,000 bicycles and over 2,400 stations; the Vélib’ in Paris, which encompasses 20,000 bicycles and 1,450 bicycle stations is the largest outside of China.[2] Other countries with systems are Spain (100+), Italy (80), and Germany (50). – Wikipedia

Please note, the following map does not cover free-to-use bikes which are provided by some cities or towns — nor does it cover bikes you rent from a real human being at a bike rental shop, or other bikes which may be rented in various ways. This Bike-sharing World Map shows only 2nd generation (coin deposit) and 3rd generation (high-tech) bike-sharing services, and the information is provided in conjunction with The Bike-sharing Blog by MetroBike, LLC. Here is the BikesharingMap Twitter account: @BikesharingMap

Accompanying the Google map is a comprehensive list of cities with bike-sharing, rental information and the number of bikes available within each city.

According to the Bike-sharing World Map info — just the cities and towns beginning with the letter “A” boast some 5000 bikes which are available only by coin deposit and high-tech (pre-paid passcard or credit card) but the numbers may be even higher, as accurate record-keeping is difficult to maintain with high rates of growth. (Again, on this map, the number of bikes available does not include bikes that are available at 1st generation bike-sharing, or bike-rental services — nor does it include free-to-use bike services.)

There are many compelling reasons to have a bike-sharing operation in your city or town. If you drive part-way to work in the city, many cities have convenient and low cost parking areas for your car which is where you pick up a bike. Done with your bike? Just pull out your smartphone, it will display a drop-off point close to you.

Does your city have a bike-sharing program or low cost bike-rentals? If it doesn’t, ask why not.

Solar powered bike-docking stations are popping up across New York City in preparation for the launch of the United States’ largest bike-sharing program, CitiBike. The initial roll-out of the program will include 300 stations and 5,500 bikes. A few years ago, the city’s department of transportation (otherwise known as NYC Dot) started replacing single-space parking meters with bike parking. Now, many more parking spaces will be converted into CitiBike hubs. – Meribeth Deen, EnergyBoom.com

Cities like Washington, D.C., can’t install bike stations fast enough to keep up with the demand — even with their time-weighted pricing schedule. The D.C. program has been called a victim of it’s own success.

  • From a government perspective, having healthier citizens will help to lower total health infrastructure expenditures and overall health care costs, while cleaner air and less traffic congestion in downtown or tourist areas can improve access, lower infrastructure costs and improve the visitor experience — meaning visitors might stay longer and spend more money.
  • For daily commuters or for tourists from outside the immediate area, adding the option of affordable bikes, means lower gasoline and parking costs. It adds convenience, health and enjoyment to their visit.

So, the next time you are planning to run errands downtown in the car (and trying to find parking spots) or if you are enjoying a weekend at the beach, ask yourself; Would my life be more enjoyable and would I spend less money on parking fees and gasoline, if I simply rented a bike?

Of course it would. Enjoy getting that extra sunshine! It will do you a world of good.

(Check the rates in your city.)

(Here is a handy carbon footprint calculator from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

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A Match made in Heaven: Solar power and Water desalination

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by John Brian Shannon

The nations of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf are blessed to have access to unfathomable amounts of sunlight and salt water. With growing populations and scarce water reserves, governments, public or privately-held power companies and water utilities can capitalize on these national assets — when the economics work.

Even when the economics don’t work, human beings still need water! Growing cities need water for domestic use and industry needs water to produce the goods that we buy, or that they export.

In previous decades, the power-hungry desalination plants widely-used throughout the Middle East were powered by electricity created from burning vast amounts of fossil fuel. The economics barely worked when the oil prices were low – but now, with oil once more approaching $100. per barrel, they are costing a king’s ransom to operate. Even oil-rich kingdoms are feeling the pinch nowadays.

A cogent case can be made for adopting alternative energy to power existing and future desalination plants – thereby allowing that oil and gas to be sold at export instead of being burned up. Why burn your money?

The question for Oman is; How much of Oman’s oil and gas is burning up at desal plants — instead of being exported to add to Oman’s GDP?

At $96.80/barrel for oil (April 2/13) and the natural gas price passing $4.08/MMBtu (April 2/13) the annual fuel cost to produce electricity with fossil fuel is unimaginably high. Really, you don’t want to know.

Fossil fuel exports power the economies of rapidly growing Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nations. Each barrel of oil burned for local desal operations, is one less barrel contributing to the national GDP. A similar situation is at play with regards to natural gas in Oman and the other GCC nations.

Modern solar power plants, such as Masdar’s Shams 1 solar power plant can produce 100 megawatts of clean power for 30-years or more, powered only by sunshine. These modern electrical energy power plants are powerful enough to run; (1) a desalination plant, with enough energy surplus to run (2) a nearby town, or (3) a rural area – or, perhaps all three!

There are two basic types of solar power;

  • Photovoltaic solar, properly called ‘PV-solar’ or ‘PV-solar modules’. The solar panels only produce power when the Sun is shining. Which is fine, because the highest electrical demand occurs during daylight hours.
  • Thermal solar, known as ‘Concentrated Solar Power’ or ‘CSP’ produce power 24 hours a day, by storing excess daytime heat in liquids such as molten salt or oil, to run a steam turbine/electricity generator.

PV-solar (panels) have increased efficiency from their 1980’s-era, 11% efficiency rating — to today’s +33% efficiency rating units. Panels with much higher efficiency ratings (perhaps as high as 100%) will hit the market within 20-years. And through all this, PV-solar panel prices have been falling dramatically, to the point that PV-solar utility-scale power plants are now price-competitive with other kinds of power – assuming similar subsidy levels are in place.

Solar Bonus

As PV-efficiency continues to increase through the next few years, just as it has been doing thus far, PV-solar ‘scaling up’ will be very easy. For example, solar panels are size-standardized, so simply unbolting the ‘old’ 11% efficiency panels and replacing them with the ‘new’ 22% efficiency panels, effectively doubles the power output of the solar power plant — practically overnight! (e.g.; 100 MW to 200 MW)

A few years later, when PV-efficiency increases, those (by then) ‘old’ 22% panels can be replaced with ‘new’ 45% efficiency panels – thereby doubling (again!) the total output of the solar power plant. The ‘old’ solar panels will still work fine, and they can be sold to developing nations, or traded-in against the cost of the new panels, just the same way you would trade your old car for a new one.

In fact, PV-solar power now costs less than comparable coal-fired power — and that’s not factoring in the costly ‘externalities’ of coal-fired electrical power generation, which range from huge amounts of water usage by coal-fired power plants, to toxic airborne emissions, to adverse health effects on citizens – which prematurely killed 1.2 million people in 2010, in China alone!

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PV-solar power now costs less than comparable coal-fired power

CSP solar technology has advanced remarkably and several different designs have proven themselves viable in Spain, the United States and the UAE, although CSP costs are still high when compared to PV-solar and conventional power. This is changing as CSP production ramps up around the world. The one great advantage of CSP solar, is that these power plants produce power 24-hours per day, 365-days per year – and, no harmful emissions.

Holding nearly half of the world’s renewable energy potential, the Middle East and North Africa are poised for unprecedented growth in renewable energy. — Masdar

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Masdar’s Shams 1 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) 100 megawatt power plant near Abu Dhabi. image courtesy: Masdar

“The inauguration of Shams 1 is a breakthrough for renewable energy development in the Middle East. With the demand for energy rising exponentially, the region is undergoing a major transformation in how it generates electricity. In fact, the Middle East is poised for major investments in renewables, and Shams 1 proves the economic and environmental advantage of deploying large-scale solar projects.” — His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar. (Read Masdar Shams 1 Press Release here)

It’s safe to say that MENA nations should be planning a long-term switch to solar energy, starting with PV-solar now, and CSP solar starting within the next ten years.

Financing these new, pollution-free power plants could be assisted by GCC government investment (sovereign wealth funds) financed through increased oil and gas exports – as oil and gas will be ‘freed-up’ for sale to international buyers.

It must be said that in areas of the country that make the switch from fossil fuel to solar, the cost of externalities will fall and residents will notice better health and enhanced ‘quality of life’ due to lower airborne emission levels and governments will notice lower health care costs. Not to mention plenty of clean, low-cost water for citizens and industry.

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Wind power surpasses Nuclear in China

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The Chinese government has committed itself to producing 16% of its primary (electrical) energy from renewable sources by 2020 — UNEP | Photo credit: Barton Merle-Smith, Wind Currents

 

Wind power surpassed nuclear power to become China’s third-largest energy source.

In 2007, due to the political leadership of then-President Hu Jintao and then-Premier Wen Jaiboa of China, renewable energy began a dramatic surge which continues to this day — one that by all accounts is expected to continue in that rapidly growing, and energy-ravenous country. A fortuitous convergence of German wind turbine technology, combined with the ability to manufacture them in China, ushered-in sudden lower prices for wind energy projects in the country. The resultant boom in wind turbine installations continues to this day.

Wind power [in China] exhibited an annual growth rate of more than 100 per cent from 2005 to 2009. With new installations of 13.8 GW coming on line in 2009, China led the world in added capacity, and is second in terms of installed capacity, after the U.S.  – UNEP Green Economy Success Stories Renewable Energy in China

Although wind installations in the country slowed in 2012 due to market forces, (compared to their breakneck 2011 pace) the rate of wind turbine installations are again expected to increase to record levels.

He Dexin, Chairman of the China Wind Energy Association said; [The] country’s development of wind power has slowed down, with 14 gigawatts of newly installed capacity from wind turbines in 2012, down from 20.66 gigawatts in 2011. — People’s Daily Online

But based on current projects under construction, China will be operating more than 100,000 megawatts (100 GW) of grid-connected wind capacity by 2015. The Chinese Renewable Energy Industry Association (CREIA) says China will be operating 200,000 megawatts (200 GW) of wind power by 2020.

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Image courtesy: IAEA (republished by Earth Policy Institute)

 

China has astronomical wind power potential, with total wind energy resources far outstripping electrical consumption in the country.

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Image courtesy: EIA (republished by Earth Policy Institute)

Exponential growth for wind power is in China’s energy future as they ramp-up wind capacity from 2% of the total electrical energy mix in 2012, towards the Chinese government’s goal of supplying 16% of the country’s electrical energy requirements with renewable sources of all kinds, by 2020. Wind will form a large part of China’s renewable energy portfolio — as it is the natural choice for the country due to the steady onshore and offshore winds in thousands of suitable locations.

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Wind Power: Healthy and Growing!

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by John Brian Shannon

Wind power around the world is growing at an exponential rate. For example, China has now installed more wind turbines than any other country. China began 2011 with 41.5 gigawatts of installed wind power capacity and is adding more wind turbines to their grid almost daily. And by 2015 (one year ahead of schedule) China’s citizens will enjoy 100 gigawatts of clean, wind powered electricity. Wind power surpassed nuclear energy in 2012, to become China’s 3rd largest source of electrical power. By 2020, they plan to have 200 gigawatts of wind power, which will displace many billions of tons of airborne emissions from coal-fired power plants.

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The United States is second with 47 gigawatts of wind power capacity (at the end of 2011) and must add 305 gigawatts of wind power by 2030 to reach the goals set out in the U.S. Department of Energy 2008 report 20% Wind Energy by 2030 (downloadable PDF) which predicted that wind power could meet 20% of all U.S. electricity demand by 2020.

The use of wind power in the United States has expanded quickly over the last several years. Construction of new wind power generation capacity in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled 8,380 megawatts (MW) bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 60,007 MW.[1] This capacity is exceeded only by China.[2] For the 12 months from November 2011 to October 2012, the electricity produced from wind power in the United States amounted to 137 terawatt-hours, or 3.4% of all generated electrical energy.[3] The United States produced enough electricity from wind in the 12 months [prior to] November 2012 to power over 11 million US households annually[4] or meet the total energy demands of Poland.

The U.S. wind industry generates tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity.[9] Wind projects boost local tax bases, and revitalize the economy of rural communities by providing a steady income-stream to farmers with wind turbines on their land. – Wikipedia

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Wind energy has grown exponentially in the last decade, with an average increase of 29.7%/year. At an exponential growth of 29.7%, the U.S. would obtain 20% from wind by 2020. — Image courtesy of Wikipedia

If you think that only large countries can use the wind to create clean and fuel-free electrical energy, read: Denmark Sets Goal of 100% Renewable Energy by 2050. Denmark has proven to the world that when citizens back government efforts towards sustainable energy — the transition to 100% green energy is possible. The Danes are making it look easy.

It is time to harness that wind and produce clean electricity from it, create jobs and make profit by it, while enjoying the benefits of clean air as more wind farms displace fossil-fuel power plants!

Sidebar information is courtesy of Wikipedia, click to read here:

Complementary power

Solar power tends to be complementary to wind. On daily to weekly timescales, high pressure areas tend to bring clear skies and low surface winds, whereas low pressure areas tend to be windier and cloudier. On seasonal timescales, solar energy peaks in summer, whereas in many areas wind energy is lower in summer and higher in winter.[nb 3][95] Thus the intermittencies of wind and solar power tend to cancel each other somewhat. In 2007 the Institute for Solar Energy Supply Technology of the University of Kassel pilot-tested a combined power plant linking solar, wind, biogas and hydrostorage to provide load-following power around the clock and throughout the year, entirely from renewable sources.[96] 

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity or other forms of grid energy storage can store energy developed by high-wind periods and release it when needed.[103]

Cost trends

Wind power has low ongoing costs, but a moderate capital cost. The marginal cost of wind energy once a plant is constructed is usually less than 1-cent per kW·h.[113] This cost has reduced as wind turbine technology improved.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory projects that the levelized cost of wind power in the U.S. will decline about 25% from 2012 to 2030.[112]

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China’s Dream Team — MY COMMENT

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by John Brian Shannon

While some might think that the sky is falling now that a new President of China and a new Chinese Premier will be installed in March 2013 – Stephen S. Roach with his years of professional experience working with many of the individuals involved, tells us in his latest Project Syndicate article China’s Dream Team we should feel hopeful this time around.

Not that we didn’t feel hopeful when President of China Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jaibao came to power. In fact, I would like to take the opportunity to compliment the team of Hu Jintao and Wen Jaibao for their many successes — including the massively successful XXIX Olympiad held in Beijing.

Both men attended Harvard in younger years, both had plenty of exposure to Western ideas and neither seemed to ‘have it in’ for the West.

Historically speaking, communist leaders have generally displayed hostility or skepticism to the West and have been critical of Western thought and actions, even when some Western policies were of little concern to communist nations.

During the tenure of Hu Jintao and Wen Jaibao, China has advanced in many areas and has remained a peaceful partner of the West. In particular, both leaders ushered in powerful policies and regulations to help mitigate the environmental catastrophe which has resulted from such rapid industrialization.

China presently burns more than 3 billion tons of coal each year resulting in the production of 7.2 billion tons of CO2, plus other gaseous pollutants and particulates. These numbers are expected to double by 2020 based on already planned and funded (but not yet built) coal power plants adding to the output from existing coal-fired power plants there.

The successful Chinese program directed by these two great men to dramatically limit nitrous oxides at coal-fired power plants comes to mind. This is important because, according to Wikipedia; “Nitrous Oxide is a major greenhouse gas and air pollutant. Considered over a 100-year period, it has 298 times more impact ‘per unit weight’ (Global warming potential) than carbon dioxide.[2]“

For an overview of the Chinese environmental situation and their response to it (current as of May 2012), please see my UNDP article here:

Or go directly to the downloadable PDF.

Over 382 billion dollars worth of conservation and sustainable energy projects have been announced since May 2012. And, another 56 billion was announced today, December 5, 2012 read the Reuters article here.

By 2020, when China will pump 15 billion tons of CO2 into the air just from its coal plants, any positive conservation and mitigation efforts made now will have enormous consequences then.

Let us hope that the new leadership team is as enlightened about the environment as the previous team. Let’s hope the calm and reasonable approach to international affairs and the wise economic choices of former President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jaibao will continue.

Above all, let’s not spoil the atmosphere with fearful or angry rhetoric. Minor irritants must remain minor! China needs us, we need them. Full stop.

Only second in importance to ending the Cold War (which was successfully ended by dialogue, goodwill and cooperation between the various players) is the need for China and the West to find ways to work together everyday for the betterment of the largest number of citizens in China and the West.

If the same degree of dedication, goodwill and cooperation is employed to find ways for China and the West to work together as was done to end the Cold War, everyone on the planet will reap those benefits for decades to come!

I welcome incoming Chinese leader President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to their new official positions and hope that Western leaders will reach out with sincere invitations to promote a grander and better vision of our world than was ever thought possible just 30-years ago.

Note: Xi Jinping became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the CCP’s Central Military Commission, giving him supreme authority over China’s armed forces. Next March, he will become President of China as well. Read more here.

ABOUT JOHN BRIAN SHANNON

I write about green energy, sustainable development and economics. My blogs appear in the Arabian Gazette, EcoPoint, EnergyBoom, Huffington Post, United Nations Development Programme, WACSI — and other quality publications.

“It is important to assist all levels of government and the business community to find sustainable ways forward for industry and consumers.”

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That’s Not the Goal I’m Working For

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by John Brian Shannon

It was fascinating to read the Project Syndicate article by Former US Secretary of Defense Harold Brown on America’s trouble with China discussing some of the history and modern-day challenges to Sino-American relations.

Although I have the greatest respect for former Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, I respectfully disagree with his proposed solution to the present challenges. Starting a new Cold War to secure America’s future is a step backward — not a step forward.

Rather, as both Western and Chinese interests converge at so many levels in the modern paradigm, it is in our best interests to work on solutions together.

Instead of the “Win – Lose” thinking of the past, it is incumbent upon us to find ways to “Win – Win” as so much is at stake.

We survived the last Cold War, but that is no guarantee we would survive another one. It’s simply too big a risk to take — especially when there are better options available. And, there are.

The former Secretary of Defense states that; “China’s export-led economic model has reached its limits…” and I believe this is a most profound point.

IF China has reached it’s export-led model as he asserts, it has only done so because there are presently a lack of purchasers to purchase Chinese goods.

For years, China has manufactured products to sell around the world and as long as there has been plenty of disposable income in the West, there has been plenty of sales.

As the Western economies fell backwards — so did Chinese exports.

Funny how that works.

In case policy-makers haven’t yet reached the same conclusions I have, let me say the situation I describe above is easily verifiable and directly correlates with the economic events of the early 21st century.

Whether political leaders in the U.S. or China like it or not, the relationship has been, is, and must continue to be, a symbiotic one.

China NEEDS a healthy, stable and frankly, a wealthy Western world to sell it’s wares to — and the West needs a source of low priced goods to assist growth to continue at lower cost than otherwise would be the case.

The U.S. needs a large export market for its billions of tons of coal and millions of barrels of petroleum that it must sell every year to support those industries here.

By 2017 the U.S. will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s #1 oil exporter — according to the IEA — but in actuality, this may occur in 2015.

http://arabiangazette.com/us-top-oil-producer-2017/

Not only that, so many products are manufactured by American corporations in China at lower cost than they could be here — therefore personal happiness is enhanced on a massive scale by products Western consumers can afford. Thanks China!

And without a healthy China (and Japan) who will continue to buy all those T-Bills to float the American economy? Along with all of the other China-driven (and increasing yearly) investment and purchasing of American goods and services.

For the next few decades, the only politics that make over-arching sense will be the politics of economics. For now, more than ever, the politics of self-interest will be the politics of economics and the politics of economics will be the politics of self-interest.

The stronger the Chinese economy, the better the effect on Western economies and Western governments. The stronger the American and other Western economies, the better for Chinese exports.

Any other model will be a lesser model and will bring it’s own problems with it.

As for the long-range bomber advocated for by former Secretary Harold Brown. I too, want a strong, secure and freedom-loving North America — but let us hope the days of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) are over.

Instead of sabre-rattling and an ever-present nuclear threat, let us hope that our thinking as a species has moved on.

A Pentagon report laid it out in stark terms a couple of decades back, “it is not a case of if, but of when” a nuclear exchange would take place under the then-MAD paradigm.

If we can’t co-exist, if we can’t form and retain viable and symbiotic relationships with other nations — every one of us will be dead — eventually. And then, none of this will matter.

That’s not the goal I’m working for.

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ABOUT JOHN BRIAN SHANNON

I write about green energy, sustainable development and economics. My blogs appear in the Arabian Gazette, EcoPoint, EnergyBoom, Huffington Post, United Nations Development Programme, WACSI — and other quality publications.

“It is important to assist all levels of government and the business community to find sustainable ways forward for industry and consumers.”

Read more at: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/from-competition-to-confrontation-for-the-us-and-china-by-harold-brown#yD3qLMzsctZhgiyR.99

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To Be… or not to Be… Green!

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Graphic courtesy of: Perez & Perez 2009a

Comparing finite and renewable planetary energy reserves.

Total reserves are shown for the finite resources.

Yearly potential is shown for renewable resources.

by John Brian Shannon

What energy shall we use between now and 2050? That’s the real question, isn’t it? Our choices are laid out before us just like at the shoe store – all we have to do is choose! So, lets see what’s available.

It turns out that there are two kinds of energy. Non-renewable and renewable.

Non-renewable energy:

Our worldwide 2009 energy consumption including all forms of transportation, was 16 Terawatt-years. We can see from the Perez & Perez graphic that the finite,  non-renewable energy sources are estimated to total 1445 – 1655 Terawatts. The total energy available from those sources is equal to 90.3 – 103.44 years of energy usage at 2009 consumption.

Once consumed, this kind of energy will be gone forever.

Renewable energy:

Keeping in mind the 2009 energy consumption total of 16 Terawatts per year, we see that renewable energy sources total 23,034.2 – 23095.7 Terawatts per year. That’s 1439 – 1443 times more energy than we required in 2009 – including all forms of transportation.

This kind of energy will be available every year until the sun burns out, the ocean’s freeze and the wind stops blowing.

What’s the difference some might ask, why worry? Even in the worst-case scenario we’re covered for 90 years of fossil fuel use if we keep our energy consumption at 2009 levels.

One, the difference in the actual cost per energy unit. Costs for renewable energy have been falling dramatically and it looks set to continue. Some kinds of renewable energy are already reaching price parity with coal and nuclear power.

Two, sustainable energy per-kilowatt-hour cost savings are becoming apparent when compared to conventional energy, because of something called “Merit Order” ranking, which is a program designed to help utility companies choose from the different kinds of energy available at different times of the day.

Three, the costs associated with certain kinds of energy use must be factored in as China’s leaders (for just one example) are now realizing that  410,000 people per year die from pollution of the air, water, soil and locally-grown food in that country.

Energy usage will continue to increase in developed nations with their 1-billion citizens. In developing nations, energy requirements will continue to increase exponentially along with their 6-billion citizens. Almost 3-billion more developing world citizens are expected by 2050.

To be… or not to be… Green? Isn’t the answer obvious?

Please see: “A FUNDAMENTAL LOOK AT ENERGY RESERVES FOR THE PLANET” — by Richard Perez and Marc Perez

 

ABOUT JOHN BRIAN SHANNON

I write about green energy, sustainable development and economics. My blogs appear in the Arabian Gazette, EcoPoint, EnergyBoom, Huffington Post, United Nations Development Programme, WACSI — and other quality publications.

“It is important to assist all levels of government and the business community to find sustainable ways forward for industry and consumers.”

Green Energy blog: http://johnbrianshannon.com
Economics blog: http://jbsnews.wordpress.com
Twitter: @JBSCanada

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Clean Energy: How To Get There From Here!

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by John Brian Shannon

Everyone knows more electricity is needed in developed nations and electrical needs in developing nations are skyrocketing. No problem there — everyone deserves to live a good lifestyle and enjoy our modern technology to the fullest.

The problem occurs in the means used to generate that electricity. Some kinds of electrical power generation cause huge billowing clouds of pollution 24-hours per day, every day of the year.

All of this adds up to astronomically high costs for electrical power producers and users, which can be measured in several different ways.

For instance, new conventional nuclear  power plants can cost up to $20 billion dollars each. Added to that cost, is the cost incurred to store thousands of tons of (so-called) spent nuclear fuel. Some spent fuels must be stored in air-conditioned bunkers for up to 20,000 years, with never more than 36 hours of A/C interruption. The costs of that are so high, they can’t even be calculated.

New coal plants cost about $250 million dollars/per hundred megawatts. A hundred megawatts isn’t much, by the way – enough to power 16,000 power-hungry A/C homes in the U.S. or about 29,000 homes in China. Some coal-fired power plants cost upwards of $1 billion dollars. The cost of the coal must be added to the equation from day one – the price of which rises and falls typically between $80.00 and $160.00 per ton, plus the significant transportation costs. It may interest you to know that China burned 3 billion tons of coal last year, emitting 7.2 billion tons of CO2 and other toxic gasses. Approximately 410,000 Chinese people die every year as a result of pollution-related deaths.

Natural gas power plants are clean, they cost a little more than comparable coal plants and the only real drawback is they emit huge volumes of CO2. Unlike coal, they emit little in the way of other toxic gasses or soot. Again, a costly and continuous and supply of natural gas must be available every day of the year.

No matter which choice is made, the construction of electrical generation power plants incurs high costs to nations — and the cheapest options come with the highest fuel and health-care costs.

In the United States, nuclear power receives significant subsidies on the order of $3.50 billion per year on average and oil and gas receive $4.86 billion subsidy dollars per year on average.

fossil-fuel-subsidies-490x407

We can see from the chart above that in the United States most forms of electrical power generation are heavily subsidized. Who could afford electricity otherwise?

If solar, wind and geothermal energy were subsidized at the same per kilowatt rate as Oil & Gas, Coal, or Nuclear — total U.S. emission levels would drop dramatically and Americans would be breathing much cleaner air.

National health-care costs would drop, acid rain damage would decrease to near zero, crop damage from power plants would become a thing of the past and meeting international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol would become boringly simple.

To have the enjoyment of breathing clean air and the other benefits listed above, all governments should calculate the highest subsidy they pay per kilowatt hour and then begin paying ALL electricity providers that same per kilowatt hour subsidy.

Solar power, wind power and geothermal would then become ultra-competitive with coal, N-power and Oil & Gas. Every large rooftop area, such as big box retail outlets like IKEA stores for one good example, could assist national power production and air-quality goals by lowering demand on the grid and potentially adding power to it, while helping to enhance the health of citizens.

One nation has already begun such a program and is right on schedule. Denmark has decided that all energy, including transportation energy(!) will come from renewable sources by 2050 and they have made substantial progress in only a few short years.

Even with the patchwork and grossly unlevel subsidy regimes in place in the United States, this transition is already occurring. Organizations from the U.S. Navy, to IKEA and WalMart, some cities and towns, the Big Three auto manufacturers and many more businesses and organizations, are converting their unused rooftop spaces and vacant land into clean power stations — thereby tapering the need for behemoth, pollution-spewing power plants.

If governments standardized the subsidies they already pay for Oil & Gas, Coal and Nuclear power (instead of paying billions of dollars to some power providers — whilst paying pennies to others) we would all breathe a lot easier.

We need oil & gas, coal, natural gas and conventional nuclear power to feed our grids, what I’m  advocating for is directly comparable subsidies for all electricity providers, including green energy — and there are no real reasons why such subsidy levelization couldn’t soon happen in every country.

ABOUT JOHN BRIAN SHANNON

I write about green energy, sustainable development and economics. My blogs appear in the Arabian Gazette, EcoPoint, EnergyBoom, Huffington Post, United Nations Development Programme, WACSI — and other quality publications.

“It is important to assist all levels of government and the business community to find sustainable ways forward for industry and consumers.”

Green Energy blog: http://johnbrianshannon.com
Economics blog: http://jbsnews.wordpress.com
Twitter: @JBSCanada

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Cited in a United Nations Development Programme Report

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Screen-shot-2012-10-02-at-16.23.08

by John Brian Shannon

United Nations

In July of this year, the UN asked me to contribute an article to the United Nations Development Programme — and it is now published in a 60-page report.

I’m in the credits on page 2 and my article is published in full starting on page 26. The full report is downloadable as a PDF. Click here to download — you may need to click again when a new window opens.

GREEN ECONOMY IN ACTION: Articles and Excerpts that Illustrate Green Economy and Sustainable Development Efforts
August 2012

I would like to thank Hussein Abaza, who is the former Chief of the Economics and Trade Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and a person who has contributed unstintingly in the service of our civilization in several UN organizations for over 30 years.

I would be remiss if I did not express my appreciation to Veerle Vandeweerd, Director, Environment and Energy Group Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme.

Grateful thanks also to Marjolaine Côté, Special Assistant to the Director Environment and Energy Group Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme.

Thanks due to Serena Bedwal, Environment and Energy Group Bureau for Development Policy United Nations Development Programme

Many thanks to Danielle Crittenden my Managing Editor at Huffington Post Canada who was the first editor to approve and publish the first version of this article which was titled As China Goes Green What Is Canada Waiting For?

I also owe thanks to Emma Ellwood-Russell, my editor at EcoPoint™ who published a later version of this article titled China Goes Green and to EnergyBoom.com which also published the last variant of this article China Motivated to Adopt Sustainable Energy Solutions.

The UNDP elected to generously provide a link to the EcoPoint™ website in the United Nations Development Programme report.

Please take a few moments to look over this 60 page report. I would be very interested to hear your comments about any part of it. Thank you.

John Brian Shannon

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ABOUT JOHN BRIAN SHANNON

I write about green energy, sustainable development and economics. My blogs appear in the Arabian Gazette, EcoPoint, EnergyBoom, Huffington Post, United Nations Development Programme, WACSI — and other quality publications.

“It is important to assist all levels of government and the business community to find sustainable ways forward for industry and consumers.”

Green Energy blog: http://johnbrianshannon.com
Economics blog: http://jbsnews.wordpress.com
Twitter: @JBSCanada

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