RENEWABLE ENERGY IS GROWING! Solar in Southern California, Wind Energy in America & Natural Gas in the East!

The biggest news to come out of the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) report for August is that utility solar’s production of electricity is up 93.6% over last year. This is the principal reason that the renewable contribution is up 9.6%, and only half of the story. The EIA does not record production from rooftop solar (which means solar’s overall contribution is significantly higher) and production figures are down in every fossil fuel sector. This trend is also seen in the latest figures from Germany, where solar production is up 7.7%, wind 8%, and biomass 11% over last year. The latest data contradicts myths about renewable energy. Renewable energy does not replace fossil fuels, but rather ensures their use will be perpetuated. The REPORT shows German electrical production for the first nine months of 2014. Note that the only increases are in the solar, wind, and biomass sectors. Brown coal usage is down 4.9%, hard coal down 14.8%, and gas down 19.8% over last year. Germany’s renewables have produced 31% of that nation’s electricity, far more than in the US, but the trends are similar. The REPORT is drawn up from the EIA data from August 2014. As was the case in Germany, the only sectors “in the black” are wind, solar, and biomass. Coal (39%) and natural gas (31.5%) are still the principal sources of US electricity. The renewable sector only contributed about 10% and about half of that was from non-hydroelectric sectors like wind, solar, and biomass. The good news is this is changing, the renewable sector is growing! A German company called Younicos wants to see battery storage plants replace 25 of of that nation’s fossil fuel burning plants. Their 5 MW plant at Schwerin has already proven that battery packs are faster ramping up and more efficient. Though batteries do not provide a total solution — they get expensive when used for long periods of time — they are ideal where there is a need for fast ramping up or down. Phillip Hiersemenzel of Younicos said battery storage plants could carry 60% of the load in Germany. There is a lot of solar in Southern California, wind energy in the middle of America, and natural gas in the East. This is the same trend being reported by the EIA and Frauenhofer. The Latest Data Contradicts Myths About Renewable Energy by Roy L Hales Examining the latest data from EIA and Fraunehofer ISE. Originally published in the ECOreport. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/26/myths-about-renewable-energy/

RENEWABLE ENERGY: KENYA: GreenMax Capital Advisors secures financing for large geothermal project

US Overseas Private Investment Corporation grants $950,000 for 40MW geothermal energy project. GreenMax Capital Advisors, a leading global clean energy transaction advisor, has secured a $950,000 grant from the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Africa Clean Energy Facility (ACEF), one of the Power Africa programs sponsored by the US Government, for Akiira One, Ltd., a Kenyan renewable energy project development firm. The grant will support the final stages of project preparation for a 40MW geothermal energy project in Kenya. The grant will also pay for a highly qualified set of international and Kenyan consultants to perform the final technical and legal work necessary to commence drilling for the geothermal resource early next year. The planned project will be constructed on land concessioned to Akiira One, Ltd adjacent to the Olkaria geothermal fields, less than 100km outside of Nairobi. A first phase of 40MW will be followed by additional generation capacity totaling 140MW. Read More: http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/40389/greenmax-capital-advisors-secures-financing-for-large-geothermal-project-in-kenya/

GLOBAL WARMING: Peru's Glacial Melt-Off Reaches 40 Percent in Four Decades

Glaciers near the southern South American country of Peru have shrunk by 40 percent in the past four decades, which has created a number of high-altitude lakes, Reuters reported. Climate change is the cause for the melt-off, which has spawned nearly 1,000 new high-altitude lakes since 1980, the Peruvian government said Wednesday. The glaciers in Peru are small compared to those found in the north and south poles, and are at a greater risk of disappearing. In addition, 70 percent of the world's tropical glaciers are found in Peru, and they are extremely sensitive to the warming temperatures associated with climate change. Read more: http://www.latinpost.com/articles/23782/20141016/global-warming-and-climate-change-stats-update-perus-glacial-melt-off-reaches-40-percent-in-four-decades.htm#ixzz3Grfy0AIF

WELLNESS FOR PEACE: ANTARCTICA: Ocean Health Index, a collaborative effort to assess regional and global threats to ocean health, becomes an invaluable tool

Greg Stone, Chief Scientist for Oceans, Conservation International says: "The Index posits that "a healthy ocean sustainability delivers a range of benefits to people now and in the future." In the Antarctic, it evaluated how well the region is delivering the maximum sustainable amounts of desired benefits. The Antarctic region scored 72 out of 100, based on how well it provided food, natural products, tourism, livelihoods and economies, clean waters, coastal protection, biodiversity and sense of place. Dr. Catherine Longo, project scientist at the University of California at Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, led the Antarctica assessment. She saw a mix of good and bad news. On the positive side, the distance from human population centers, industries and agriculture protects Antarctica's clean waters. Protected whales and fur seals are also recovering from over-exploitation. On the other hand, 38 of the assessed species are decreasing. Those include some iconic species such as southern bluefin tuna, basking sharks, porbeagle sharks, gentoo penguins and five species of albatrosses, one of which is critically endangered and two others that are endangered. Dr. Longo was concerned that the population trends are unknown for 40% of the species that have been assessed. Two other issues were particularly worrisome for us: illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU) and climate change. Both are difficult to control, and both can wreak havoc on species populations and conservation efforts." Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-stone/despite-its-remoteness-an_b_5906602.html

WELLNESS FOR PEACE: ASIA: Singapore with Most-Efficient Health-Care System & Medical Services Supports Aging Population

The Southeast Asian nation was rated first among 51 countries, according to an annual ranking compiled by Bloomberg that tracks factors including life expectancy, the cost of health care as a percentage of gross domestic product and total medical expenditure for each person. Hong Kong dropped to second place and Italy was ranked third, while the U.S. was 44th and Russia last. Singapore has increased health-care spending in recent years as the workforce ages and the government faces political pressure to ease the burden of the country’s poor. The city-state subsidizes some medical expenses and patients are required to take on more of the costs if they choose premium services, with citizens using mandatory savings set aside for health-care needs.

WELLNESS FOR PEACE: EUROPE: Improving health system performance has been on the political agenda in all member states over the past couple of years

Well-performing health systems make Europe 'politically stable'. This is crucial, because health systems are at the heart of the EU's social model, the Commission says. At the European Health Forum Gastein on Thursday (2 October) Martin Seychell, deputy director general at the Commission's DG Sanco, stated that efficiency is important for the European health systems these days, as healthcare expenditure has been growing steadily in most countries. The drivers behind the expenditure have also increased, and therefore it's appropriate to strive for higher efficiency levels. "Efficiency is an economic concept, but in the health arena we should also talk more about performance. Performance goes beyond the pure concept of the economic efficiency. A good healthcare system must also address a number of other dimensions," he said. Seychell pointed out that a healthcare system is not an end in itself. It's a tool and an instrument to pursue a political, public policy goal. Whatever decisionmakers decide to do with the health systems, the systems must be effective in improving the health status of our population. "A good health system also includes good equity. If we don't, as policymakers, respond to patients' expectations, the response will be negative. People will not feel satisfied and it will lead to a political issue," the Commission representative stressed. Health systems play a vital role in societies, Seychell noted. They are part of social protection, as they guard citizens against unexpected shocks, which also have a beneficial effect on the economy and social security.

UPDATE: Global Warming: The deeper half of the ocean did not get measurably warmer in the last decade, but surface layers have been warming faster than we thought

Sea level change from Year 2005 to Year 2013: The overall rise, on average, was 2.78mm per year. The estimated contribution of melting land ice was 2mm per year. The contribution from warming and expanding shallow layers (above 2km) was approximately 0.9mm per year. This leaves -0.13mm per year for depths beneath 2km (corresponding to a slight cooling of the deep water. However, the error associated with that "residual" is 0.72mm per year - meaning the results are too blurred by uncertainty to indicate significant warming or cooling at depth. The deeper half of the ocean did not get measurably warmer in the last decade, but surface layers have been warming faster than we thought since the 1970s, two new studies suggest. Because the sea absorbs 90% of the heat caused by human activity, its warmth is a central concern in climate science. The new work suggests that shallow layers bear the brunt of ocean warming. Scientists compared temperature data, satellite measurements of sea level, and results from climate models. Both the papers appear in the journal Nature Climate Change. Source: Nature Climate Change

UPDATE: Australia’s First Community-Owned Retailer of Renewable Energy

Northern Rivers Energy, a company being formed by a consortium of “forward thinking citizens” in the area has won a $54,000 grant to develop a business plan and conduct a feasibility study. The plan includes creating a company with both retailing and generation, and an asset management arm that could invest in generation, help finance rooftop solar and distributed generation for poorer households and, maybe some time down the track, even help buy back the grid. Community owned retailers are common in Europe and the US, particularly in Germany where it is common for retailers and local network operators to be owned by local councils. In recent years, many of the network management contracts have returned to community ownership out of frustration with the actions – or lack of them – of major utilities. A similar theme is running through Australia, with renewable energy popular with the community, solar penetration running at the highest in the world, and growing frustration with energy retailers. Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/04/australias-1st-community-owned-energy-retailer-way/

UPDATE: Chile becomes the first South American country to tax carbon

(Reuters) - President Michelle Bachelet of Chile enacted new environmental tax legislation - making the country the first in South America to tax carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Part of a broad tax reform, Chile's carbon tax will target the power sector, particularly generators operating thermal plants with installed capacity equal or larger than 50 megawatts (MW). These installations will be charged $5 per tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) released. Thermal plants fueled by biomass and smaller installations will be exempt. The new tax is meant to force power producers to gradually move to cleaner sources to help reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions and meet its voluntary target of cutting these gases 20 percent from 2007 levels by 2020. Earlier this year, Mexico imposed a tax on the sale of several fossil fuels, based on their carbon content, averaging $3 per tonne of CO2. In Mexico, companies are able to use carbon credits to reduce their tax bills, a provision not considered in Chile. Central-American country Costa Rica also has an environmental tax, but it targets gasoline sales. Around 80 percent of Chile's energy is based on fossil fuels, mostly imported oil and coal. Chile's government will start measuring carbon dioxide emissions from thermal power plants in 2017 and the new tax would be charged from 2018. Four companies are expected to pay the bulk of the new tax: Endesa, AES Gener, Colbún and E.CL. The companies have said that the tax will raise the price of electricity. They have also complained that other industrial sectors were not targeted. The government said it expects to collect about $160 million from the carbon tax, a relatively small share of the forecast $8.3 billion in additional revenue the broader tax reform will bring in. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira. Editing by Andre Grenon)