UPDATE: Australia urged to focus on post-2020 carbon emissions

Australia should reduce net emissions by 40 per cent by 2025 and decarbonise the economy by 2050, a climate body report says. The report, which compares Australia's targets with international efforts, comes days before the world's most powerful leaders gather in Brisbane for the G20 Summit. However, despite pressure to include climate change in the talks, the issue is not on the agenda. Australia has committed to a 5 per cent reduction on 2000 level emissions by 2020 - a figure the Australian Greens and other environment groups say is pitiful. The government has also agreed, along with almost 200 other nations, to work together to avoid a potential two degree rise in global temperature. The Climate Institute report, released on Monday, found that to fairly contribute, Australia must set a 2025 target of 40 per cent reduction on 2000 emission levels and a 2035 target of 65 to 75 per cent. A long-term goal of decarbonising the economy between 2040 and 2050 must also be in place. The government is yet to set a post-2020 emissions target but the European Union has recently agreed to an initial target of at least 40 per cent reduction on 1990 emissions levels by 2030. Countries are expected to put their post-2020 emissions reductions targets on the table next year before the United Nations climate change meeting in Paris. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/australia-urged-to-focus-on-post2020-carbon-emissions-20141110-11jid7.html#ixzz3IkOnqOG9

UPDATE: Norway proves oil-rich nations can be both green and prosperous

Norway’s experience suggests this is a false choice.Through a combination of steep carbon taxes, careful management of its oil wealth and strategic investments in innovation, oil-rich Norway has found a comfortable balance between the environment and growth.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/european-business/norway-proves-oil-rich-nations-can-be-both-green-and-prosperous/article21514455/?cmpid=rss1

Ocean Electric, Inc. Presents Renewable Energy Technology and Project Plans at Oregon Wave Energy Trust Conference

Carson City, Nevada-based Ocean Electric, Inc. (OTCBB: OCEL) is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative renewable energy technology. The company was invited to introduce its technology and explore plans for a wave-driven electricity generation project in Oregon's coastal waters at the ninth annual Renewable Energy Conference. Organized by the Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET), the conference was held on September 24-25, 2014 in Portland, Oregon. The OWET conference focused on technological developments in renewable energy. Presenters, panel discussion participants and audience members included NMREC, Portland University, the US Department of Energy and several other leading public and private organizations. On being invited to present to this august group, Ocean Electric's CEO Ricard Prats said, "Presenting Ocean Electric's progress was a pleasure and a valuable experience. Learning of the developments, industrialization plans and evolution of several companies confirmed that marine renewable energy is taking important steps toward efficient and cost-effective technologies that will make a real difference in providing energy in the near future." During the presentation of the wave energy project for non-grid connected consumption, the company also announced its goal of establishing a main office in Portland, Oregon. Prat said, "We made important contacts with customers and suppliers who will be keys to establishing a near-port site on the coast and achieving our goal of supplying energy to the Pacific Northwest from Oregon's waters. Ocean Electric's technology remains at the forefront of marine renewable energy projects." To view the presentation, please click on the link below: http://oregonwave.org/oceanic/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Oregon-Incubator-Ricard-Prats.pdf About Ocean Electric, Inc. Ocean Electric designs, develops and manufactures ingenious wave and wind electric power generating plants for both off shore and deep water locations. Oriented towards an international market, Ocean Electric provides the clean energy needed to achieve sustainable development in a modern society. Our products range from energy solutions in remote, isolated spots to major production plants linked to the electric distribution grid. To lean more, visit http://www.ocel.com. CONTACT: Ocean Electric Inc., admin@ocel.com, 7754340409 SOURCE Ocean Electric, Inc.http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/LA60843.htm

UPDATE: Wind Power as Alternative Source of Energy is Growing!

In 2013, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Illinois were the top wind energy producing states according to the EIA. but it has been growing quite fast in almost every state. Wind power is actually now the cheapest option for new electricity in many if not most markets around the world, so there’s clearly an avenue open for growth there. An article on Planetsave.com points out: “the head of the IEA, Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, notes that solar and wind power can’t be add-on solutions. Our entire electricity systems need to transform.” The chart above shows the beginning of that transformation wonderfully, but we still need much more. Another great social media share we recently received comes from Sami Koreibi, who highlighted via a tweet that the power that individual wind turbines can generate has increased 100x over in the past 30 years..........http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/09/wind-power-growth-gif-wind-generating-100x-electricity-30-years-ago-chart/

SOLAR ENERGY: White Solar PV Modules Open New Windows Of Possibilities In Building-Integrated Solar Power Market

The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) recently announced that it has created white solar PV modules which would be apt for use in buildings and may offer applications in several other consumer-centered sectors. Conventional solar PV modules are blue or black in colour, which may adversely impact the aesthetics of a building. The dark colour of the modules comes from the cells and electrical connections within the module. The dark colour also helps in greater absorption of solar radiation. The technology developed by CSEM uses a scattering filter to produce white light while allowing the infrared radiation to pass through to the solar cells. This technology can be used to modify any crystalline solar PV module to produce white or coloured modules. Additionally, the scattering filter can be applied to already installed modules or integrated into the modules during the manufacturing phase. Integration of this technique into the assembly line would help module manufacturers widen their product portfolio. Coloured solar modules can be used in laptops, mobiles, tablet computers, cars, and several other consumer products. Rumours of an iPhone equipped with solar cells have been prevalent for years now; this technology may finally help mobile manufacturers achieve this goal without compromising on the looks of the device. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/09/white-solar-pv-modules-open-new-windows-possibilities-building-integrated-solar-power-market/

UPDATE: India Eyes $100 Billion Investment In Renewable Energy

The new Indian government is taking serious initiatives to boost the power sector, which is in dire need of financial and structural reforms. A large number of these reforms will be implemented in the renewable energy sector. India’s minister for coal, power, and renewable energy last week announced that his government would push for an unprecedented $100 billion investment in the renewable energy sector over the next few years. With this plan, he also announced seemingly impossible solar energy capacity addition targets for the next five years. Piyush Goyal announced that the government has increased the solar power capacity addition target to 100 GW by 2019 compared to the previous 22 GW installed capacity target by 2022. Prime Minister Modi has promised to enhance the solar energy target under the National Solar Mission during his election campaign but this new target is extremely ambitious, and seems virtually impossible to achieve. Goyal also announced the target to double install wind power capacity to 40 GW by 2019. The target would be part of the National Wind Energy Mission expected to be launched soon. Wind energy companies across the country are upbeat, as two important financial incentives are now available to project developers. The government is planning to open up the offshore wind energy capacity to companies and also promote states with relatively lower wind energy resources as new markets. The Indian government is hoping to get significant foreign investment into the renewable energy sector, and the power sector as a whole. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will organise India’s first global renewable energy investors summit in February next year. The government hopes to secure investment worth billions of dollars from international companies during the summit. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/09/india-eyes-100-billion-investment-renewable-energy/

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/