Overview of Renewable Energies in Colombia, Costa Rica, Italy and Malawi

Group:

Francesco Mazzeo

Tabithah Dorcus

Natalia Diaz

Laura Rubio

Colombia

·     Renewables in Colombia provide 28,1 MW. It consist of 19,5 MW of wind, 2,6 MW small hydroelectric, and 6 MW photovoltaic. This represents 0.2% of installed capacity in the country.

·     Hydropower is nearly 70% of the country’s energy generation. The potential is 96 GW, while small (20 MW) hydropower projects could generate 25,000 MW.

·     Colombia has a great biomass potential from banana, coffee pulp, and animal residues. The existing potential is of 8.46 million.

·     It has been estimated that Colombia has a wind power potential of 21,000 MW, which would be enough to generate enough power to meet the Colombian power demand twice.

·     Its daily solar average potential is 4,5 kWh/m2. The 6 MW of solar power that has been installed in Colombia comes from 78,000 solar panels.

·     Governmental goals establish that the renewable energies should increase to 20% of the total energy production by 2015 and to 30% by 2020.

Wind Map – Colombia

Power Generation in Colombia

Renewable Energy Generation in Colombia

Source: UPME

HYDROPOWER

• Hydropower is nearly 70% of the country’s energy generation. The total potential of big projects is 96 GW, while small (20 MW) hydropower projects could generate 25,000 MW.
• By law, small hydro is only considered renewable energy if it is under 10 MW, therefore only169 MW coming from small hydropower plants is considered renewable.
• Although ocean energy potential is calculated in 30 GW, no projects have been implemented.
• Colombia is planning to increase hydroelectric capacity 32% by 2018.

BIOMASS

• Colombia has great biomass potential that comes from banana, coffee pulp, and animal residues.
• It is estimated that 268 MW will be generated by 2011.
• Self-generation projects provide 800 MW, representing a minimum amount of the estimated installed capacity, which is 13,456 MW.
• Energy from sugar cane, which actually produces 31,5 MW, presents the biggest potential given the immense amount of available baggasse (6 m. tonnes/year).

EOLIC

• It has been estimated that Colombia has a wind power potential of 21,000 MW, which would be enough to generate power to meet the Colombian power demand twice.
• Its daily solar average solar potential is 4,5 kWh/m2.
• The 6 MW of solar power that has been installed in Colombia come from 78,000 solar panels used basically in rural applications and road signalling.
• An additional 7.5 MW wind project o will open in 2012.

GEOTHERMAL

• Due to the recent volcanic activity, Colombia has a great geothermal potential, but it has not been exploited until now.
• Geothermal energy has a potential of 1,000 MW.

SOLAR

• Only 6 MW of photovoltaic energy.
• Colombia´s daily energy potential is 4,5KWhm2.

Solar Energy map – Colombia

OPPORTUNITIES

• Colombia has 11 non-connected zones that lack any electric power and account for as much 68% of the total country. 1,191,538 inhabitants that are not connected to the grid.
• Governmental goals establish that the renewable energies should increase to 3,5% of the total energy production by 2015 and to 6,5% by 2020.
• Colombia has 38 Clean Development Mechanism  (CDM) energy projects with potential annual reductions of 3.3 m. tonnes of CO2 emissions. It is estimated that if all projects were implemented, the country could count on an additional installed capacity of 865MW from hydroelectric, eolic, thermal and biomass plants.

LEGISLATION AND INCENTIVES

• Until now, legislation doesn´t involve significant financial subsidies or tax incentives from the national government.
• Few incentives have been introduced:
  • Implementation goals, tax exemptions, research grants, and reliability charge exemptions for small (< 20MW) hydroelectric projects.
  • Equipment and machinery to be used in projects, activities or programs intended to reduce energy consumption or use clean energy technology qualify for VAT exemption or income tax exemption when their uses are part of programs or plans developed by the Ministries of Environment and Energy.
  • Electricity sales made by generation companies are exempted from income taxes for 15 years if generated only by wind, biomass and agricultural waste.
  • Law 697 provides certain incentives for research and development in this field.
  • Subprograms to promote renewable energy and the efficient use of energy (culture, research, energy losses control, fuel substitution, incentives to technologies, among others).

Sources:
Renewable Energy Opportunities in Colombia. UK Trade and Investment. http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export/countries/americas/southamerica/colombia/sectorbriefing/125424.html

Forero, Nelson L. Presente y Futuro de las Energías Renovables en Colombia. http://www.anes.org/anes/formularios/SemanaNacional/memorias/Cumbre/Cumbre_Colombia_Nelson_L_Forero_Ch.pdf

Sustainable Energy and Biofuel Strategies for Colombia. Mitsubishi Research Institute. November 2010. http://www.minminas.gov.co/minminas/downloads/archivosEventos/6776.pdf

Costa Rica

– 90% of the country’s energy comes from  sources such as hydroelectric plants solar panels, geothermal, eolic and biomass plants.

– Around 12% of all energy produced in Costa Rica, is with biomass. Now there are 4 main biomass plants manged by the private sector.

–  The other 10% of the energy comes from fossil fuels due to the reduce of water in the plants during the  dry season.

– The first hydroelectric plant was built in 1958. Now this country has more than 12 hydroelectric plants and 4 main geothermal projects.

– The production of big projects of hydroelectric and geothermal energy are managed  by the Costarrican Institute of Electricity (ICE),  however there are several concessions that are giving to  private companies. This concessions are usually obtain by public beats.

– Wind Map of Costa Rica and the Caribean:

ITALY

Italy as most of the countries is considerably dependent of fossil fuels to generate energy, with an increasing portion occupied by Natural Gas, mostly imported. Italy doesn’t generate nuclear power. Concerning the renewable energies, they accounted for 10,7% of the primary production in 2009, principally Geothermal, Biomass, and Hydropower. Regarding wind and solar energy, trends recently show an increase thanks to subsidies and increasing investments (+124%, 2010). In 2010 Italy added 16,7 GW of power installed from solar and wind energy. Also the electricity generation from renewable is increasing, counting from around 18% in 2008 to over 20% in 2010. This is emphasized by the fact that due to the economic crisis, total production and consumption of electric generation has decreased.

Italy (and west Europe) wind map

Italian electricity production from  Biomass over time

Italy Heat flow

Geothermal energy in Italy

Italy is pioneer in the energy transformation of underground heat, as the first plant in the world has been built in Tuscany at the beginning of last century. This area is actually the most indicate as shown in the map to produce such a energy and nowadays the industry delivers more than 5 GWh of electricity per year, accounting for 31 plants all over the national territory. The total capacity installed sums 810 MW, making Italy one of the world leader into the electricity production from geothermal processes.

Ocean Energy

This new technology is still in a development phase in Italy, currently tests are conducted in pilot projects. Nonetheless the topic raises great interest to ENEA (governmental agency for economic development and energy technologies): a great spot has been identified in Messina currents in Strait have the potential to produce 15.000 MW, according to a university research in south Italy.

Wave power potential around EU and Italy Coast

Support mechanisms

In Italy we mostly refer to direct regulatory price-driven strategies to promote renewables, which makes the process investment focused. In 2010, 24% of the total subsidies (3400 million Euro) has been allocated into photovoltaic thanks to a specific program, turning the technology into the more relieved as the more expensive. The related major problem is that the cost of the subsidy in beard by consumers who experience increases in energy bills to sustain the transition.

Other mechanisms of sustainment  are the Tradeable Green Certificate (TCG) which creates an emission market to transfer the cost of polluting to the conventional forms and a Quota obligation, an obligation for electricity generators to feed a given proportion of RES-e into the power system which binds them to deliver an increasing percentage of energy from renewables (due to EU directive 96/92/CE).

Malawi

●      Malawi heavily depends on Biomas ( charcoal, firewood and Agricultural/ Industrial wastes), 93% of the total energy.

●      No oil and gas sources available, generally imported.

●      Coal mainly constitutes 2.5% of the energy in the country.

●      Hydro energy constitutes 94% of the electricity and thermal (6%), has six hydro power plants with total output of 282.5 MW.

●      Hydropower has been hit by dropping water levels due to drought and environmental degradation.

●      Signed a contract with the Millenium Challenge Corporation to improve the power system.

●      Energy regulating body was established in 2007, called Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority

●      The country also has wind sources and its believed that the country could meet all the electricity demand by wind energy only by 2030. Currently no wind farms available, doing research to have a first wind farm in chilunguzi, mwasinga village, Dedza District.

12 comentarios / 07 Nov 2011 por Francesco Mazzeo
IMSD /

Energy Review in Spain, Hungary, Perú and USA

Group:

Ildiko Heim – Hungary

Carlos Cerdan- Spain

Lauren Musiello- USA

Iana Malaga Newton- Perú

Hungary

Energy consumed 2010:

• Oil: 34%
• Natural gas: 31%
• Nuclear: 15%
• Coal: 12%
• Renewable Energy: 6,5 %
• • Biomass 3,4 %

• • Wind 2,0 %

• • Hydro 0,7 %

• • Biogas 0,4 %

RES-E 2010 target was achieved in 2006 (5%), with the main contribution being from biomass.

Share of renewable sources remains below the EU-27 average

Hungarian target (given by EU): 13% by 2020

Hungary’s energy dependency: 62,5%, import mainly from Russia

Geographical conditions in Hungary are favorable for RES development, especially biomass. Whilst environmental conditions are the main barriers to further hydro power development, other RES such as solar, geothermal and wind energy are hampered by administrative constraints (eg the permit process). The lack or delaying (since 2006) of the regulations and permission can frighten investors which can put in danger to reach the targets given by EU.

Wind map:

Biomass

In Hungary, there are 3 big biomass production plants (  Borsodi Hoeromu=30MW, Pannonpower=50MW, Ajkai Eromu=20MW) and some more small ones. There 5 to 10 more plants in plan. The maximum capacity -because of feedstock – is 400MW. Some coal plants want to go over to biomass, but there is lack of feedstock.

In Hungary the solar and geothermical energy (0,28% of all energy) is not used in the extent as it could/should be used. Although the natural conditions are given, because of lack of laws and regulations and supporting credit or financial constructions it does not make use of it. There is no electric power producing from these sources, only household usage for heating.

The Hybrid energy makes a growing part (10%) of the renewable energies in Hungary (capacity 55MW, 0,7% of all energy).
There are several hybrid plants installed on Hungarian rivers (40 plants in use and at least 10 more in plan, incl one huge one). The biggest are: Tiszalök, Kisköre, Tiszaujvaros . all on the river Tisza. The big hydro plant is planned to be built on the river Danube, but there is a lot of dicussion and demonstration from the environmentalists and public.

Spain

So far, regarding to the production, in 2011 the energy breakdown has been:

• wind 17%,
• hydro 19%,
• cogeneration 11%,
• coal 9 %,
• photovoltaics 2 %
• and fuel gas 1%.

It is important to emphasize the enormous growth of the wind power in Spain and the reduction of consumption of some non-renewable technologies such as those of coal, fuel and gas.

Concerning to consumption, the distribution is broken down in oil 48.8%, natural gas 23.8%, nuclear 10.5%, coal 7.9%, biomass 3.9%, wind 2.4 % and 1.7% hydraulics.

As regards to future prospects, in 2020, the power generation of the renovable energies will be about 55% – 65%; breaking down in biomass and biogas: 2% – 6%, wind: 30% – 35%, geothermal energy: 0.05% – 0, 3% hydro: 11% – 15%, marine energy: 0.05% – 0.3%, waste and sludge: 0.3% – 1% solar: 10% – 15%. These initial indications allow us to appreciate that renewable technologies will have more importance in the future.

Biomas plants in Spain

Installed power.

Source: IDAE

Most important biomass plants.

Source: Proiner Energías Renovables

Wind map of Spain

Distribution of the wind speed at 80 m.

Source: Instituto para la Diversificación y Ahorro de la Energía. Report: Análisis del recurso. Atlas eólico de España. 2011- 2020.

Solar Thermal electric

• To date, Spain has the second largest solar thermal electric capacity in the world.
• Three quarters (232 MW) of the 307 MW of solar thermal electric capacity installed in the last decade around the world is in Spain, and more than 1,346 MW is under construction
• This will result in an installed capacity of more than 2,400 MW in Spain by 2013.

Solar PV

• Spain has the second largest installed capacity in European and is world leader in terms of capacity per habitant,with 75.2 watts per capita.
• This technology truly took off in Spain in 2008. In that year, 2,715 MW of capacity was installed, representing an increase of 500% from that installedin 2007.
• Photovoltaic technology costs are dropping rapidly, which could enable this technology to play an important role in the Spanish electricity sector, whether it develops as a distributed or as centralised generation system.

Hydroelectric energy

• Hydroelectric energy plays an important role in energy supply in Spain.
• The sector has grown in recent decades, although its contribution to total electricity output has gradually fallen.
• In 2009, Spain had 13,521 MW of hydropower in plants of over 50 MW, a further 3,077 MW of capacity was installed in plants ranging from 10 to 50 MW, while 1,920 MW was installed in small hydroelectric plants with a capacity of less than 10 MW.
• The hydroelectric sector has achieved a high level of technological efficiency as a result of 150 years of development.
• New advances are being made in turbine design to generate power from small heads, control systems, etc.
• In the future, efforts will focus on new installations that use existing hydraulic infrastructures, and on developing a fleet of pure and mixed pumping stations that help in the management of the Spanish electricity system.

Marine

• Spain has considerable marine energy potential. Several prototypes are being developed in Spain to capture wave energy and a number of test centres are being built.
• More than 26 projects in Marine energy.The most outstanding Spanish projects under way are: the project in Santoña (Cantabria) involving a 40 kW prototype buoy: the first phase of a larger project involving the installation of 10 buoys with a total capacity of 1.4 MW; Project “Calma” in Asturias: an innovative and unique project using home-grown technology to install a 50-MW electricity generation; Project “Pasajes” (Asturias) to commission a highly efficient and cost competitive wave energy device with 500 kW of power; the new seawall in the port of Mutriku (Guipuzcoa)…

Geothermal

• In order to conduct high temperature projects (over 150ºC); information available in Spain needs to be improved.
• Certain suitable locations have been detected, but a considerable effort is needed to assess their geothermal potential for these applications.
• The new 2011-2020 Renewable Energies Plan will include a specific section on geothermal energy.

USA

Us renewable energy use is dismal and pathetic I think

USA energy break down is:

• 83% fossil fuels
  9% nuclear
  8%  renewable

Wind is the fastest growing source in America but still only contributes .7% of total energy used. It is projected by 2030 to reach 14%.

The remainder of the renewable energy breakdown is:

• 34%hydroelectric
• 5% geothermal
• 50% biomass
• 1% solar

There are projections for all sectors to grow in the coming years however is still laughable compared to other developed countries especially considering the consumption rate is the highest. Incentives, grants and credits are encouraging the public and private sectors to convert. However, large corporation that exceed their emission and consumption allotment are opt to purchase renewable energy certificates that allow them to “offset,” usage but really just allow for them to pay out of their pollution. Overall, America is lagging and should be doing a lot more to further their renewable energy use.

Wind map:

Perú

Although the country is on an early stage, it has a great potential for investing in renewable energies. According to the Fondo Nacional del Ambiente (Fonam), renewable sources that can be exploited in different zones of Peru are: solar energy, photovoltaic, thermal, wind power, hydropower, biomass energy and geothermal energy. However there is no data that

We must take into account that Peru has geographic and demographic zones that are very different from each other. This create many opportunities to development renewable energies that do not require a connection to the national network (such as thermal solar energy or wind turbines), and open the option to reach thousands of Peruvians and to promote investment with a strong development component.

The Peruvian Energy Policy should ensure the supply of energy for all Peruvians and establish measures for mitigation of CO2 emissions from energy activities It is expected that by the year 2040, Peru will reach 50% of its energy use base on renewables energies, such as hydro, wind, solar, biomass. This conversion must prioritize the construction of hydroelectricplants as the basis for efficient national electricity generation and with minimal environmental impact and low carbon emissions. It is also contemplated to further develop the natural gas industry for its use in home activities, transport, trade and industry.

It is also necessary to provide temporary subsidies targeted at low-income population segments and involve local communities in formulating rural energy programs, such as heating systems (Trombe Walls) in the high Andes in order to reduce infant mortality and improve the quality of life for low-income regions.

Wind Map

Peru’s new wind map was developed to determine the potential of different regions in the country. The government expects the map will be a valuable tool for new projects in the private sector. The map was developed by Empresa Telematica and Consorcio Meteosim Truewind, Latin Bridge Business.

According to the data, the country has a generation potential of 22 GW, and even though the total capacity could be assumed to be close to 77.4 GW, the real figure is obtained after excluding areas of high-altitude (over 3,000 meters above sea level), high population density and those protected, near rivers, canyons or lakes.

From the 25 regions in the country, 9 were identified as having wind potential: Ica (9.14 GW), Piura (7.55 GW), Cajamarca (3.45 GW), Arequipa (1.16 GW) and Lambayeque (564 MW). Peru has yet to exploit wind energy, however the government expects that by 2010 the country will be generating close to 300 MW.

The wind map was created with the idea of figuring out which regions offer the greatest potential for the generation of electricity from wind energy. Based on this, Peru expects to promote new wind projects.

The wind atlas will be accessible through the website FONER (Fondo Nacional de Electrificación Rural), so domestic and international users could search for information regarding Peru’s wind potential.

The complete map can be seen at:

http://dger.minem.gob.pe/AtlasEolico/AtlasEolicoLibro.asp

Comments Off on Energy Review in Spain, Hungary, Perú and USA / 07 Nov 2011 por Carlos Cerdan Infantes
IMSD /

DP: The Face of Development

It’s already November, which means that 2012 is just around the corner. How time flies! In the past few weeks, I have been busy attending classes at EOI and working on group projects and presentations as well as other assignments. But no matter how arduous our schedule gets, I am enjoying the process of learning and developing my knowledge on important global issues that I believe affects us all.

Last week, we learned about the theories of development and took a deep look into what development means to each and every one of us. From students to experts to pioneers of development, there seems to be many perspectives on what it is and how it should look like. We realise that the idea of development is subjective, in the sense that it differs depending on where one comes from, one’s ethnic and cultural background, economic and social status, religion and ideology, and even gender. It also varies based on one’s life encounters and interactions with the rest of the world.

So what does the “face” of development look like?

Is it displayed through the erection of tall, skyscrapers? Is it having the freedom of suffrage? It is internet access through high-speed fibre optic broadband?

Is it seen in food and water? Is it biodiversity and the survival of plant and animal species? Or maybe is it apparent in the number of women representatives in parliament?

What I think we can agree upon is that development occurs in stages. I believe that it is an evolutionary process that requires time and an amount of nurturing, and that it is ever-changing, according to the visions of the society that may shift from time to time.

In my lifetime, I have witnessed both positive and negative consequences of development around the globe. It has made some people rich, while others remain below the poverty line, it has given way to modern infrastructure and transportation that make our lives more convenient, while also contributing to air and water pollution that are the essentials of our survival.

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, they say, but I believe that whatever the “face” of development may look like to each of us, we will ultimately see ourselves in its complexion and while we strive for it, we should keep in mind on whether it is truly expressing what we want and expect ourselves to be in the future.

Comments Off on DP: The Face of Development / 06 Nov 2011 por Syafrina Sharif
IMSD /

Development Perspective 1: Is it real or imaginary the world where the “luckiest” are living?

Now that we have started the course, and we have been able to study what is the development, and which has been its history, I have decided to post my first blog. I want to start with a question that I ask myself, “Are we living in the real world or it is only a small part in the real world?

Comments Off on Development Perspective 1: Is it real or imaginary the world where the “luckiest” are living? / 06 Nov 2011 por Carlos Cerdan Infantes
IMSD /

Energy Review in Poland, Malaysia and Spain

Energy Overview 

Proven Oil Reserves (January 1, 2010E)	4 billion barrels
Oil Production (2009E)	693,000 bbl/d, of which 83% was crude oil
Oil Consumption (2009E)	536,000 bbl/d
Crude Oil Distillation Capacity (January 1, 2010E)	514,832 bbl/d
Proven Natural Gas Reserves (January 1, 2010E)	83 trillion cubic feet
Natural Gas Production (2009E)	2.1 trillion cubic feet
Natural Gas Consumption (2009E)	1.0 trillion cubic feet
Recoverable Coal Reserves (2008E)	4.4 million short tons
Coal Production (2009E)	1.5 million short tons
Coal Consumption (2009E)	7.3 million short tons
Electricity Installed Capacity (2008E)	23 gigawatts
Electricity Production (2008E)	91.9 billion kilowatt hours
Electricity Consumption (2008E)	88.7 billion kilowatt hours
Total Energy Consumption (2008E)	2.45 quadrillion Btu*, of which Natural Gas (48%), Oil (44%), Coal (5%), Hydroelectricity (3%)
Total Per Capita Energy Consumption (Million Btu) (2008E)	97.0 million Btu per person
Energy Intensity (2008E)	6,786 Btu per $2005-PPP**
Environmental Overview
Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions (2008E)	162.4 million Metric tons, of which Oil (44%), Natural Gas (33%), Coal (23%)
Per-Capita, Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions ((Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide) (2008E)	6.4 Metric tons
Carbon Dioxide Intensity (2008E)	0.45 Metric tons per thousand $2005-PPP**

Oil and Gas Industry

Organization	Malaysia’s state-owned Petroleam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) dominates all aspects of the country’s oil and natural gas sector.
Major Oil/Gas Ports	Kertih, Johor, Sepangar Bay, Bintulu, Kuching, Melaka, Penang, Port Dickson, Kelang, Kota Kinabalu, Kemaman
Foreign Company Involvement	BHP Billiton, ConocoPhillips, Shell, ExxonMobil, Hess, Lundin Petroleum, Mitsubishi, Murphy Oil, Newfield Exploration, Nippon Oil, Talisman Energy
Major Oil Fields	Bekok, Bokor, Erb West, Bunga Kekwa, Guntong, Kepong, Kinabalu, Samarang, Seligi, Semangkok, Tapis, Temana, Tiong
Major Natural Gas Fields	Bedong, Bintang, Damar, Jerneh, Laho, Lawit, Noring, Pilong, Resak, Telok, Tujoh
Major Refineries (capacity, bbl/d) (January 1, 2010E)	Shell: Port Dickson (125,000), Lutong (45,000); Petronas: Melaka I (92,832), Melaka II

* The total energy consumption statistic includes petroleum, dry natural gas, coal, net hydro, nuclear, geothermal, solar, wind, wood and waste electric power.
**GDP figures from Global Insight estimates based on purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates.

 

Wind Energy

• While Malaysia only has an average wind speed of 2m/s, there are areas that more than meet the 7m/s minimum criterion. For example, wind along the Malaysian-Thai border is believed to be at nearly 15m/s.

Biomass Plants in Malaysia

Source: Wikipedia 

Solar Power

• Has been utilizing solar on small scale, but has no solar power plant.
• At the moment, Malaysia plans to build its first solar power plant in Putrajaya.
• The plant’s generating capacity may be too small but it marks a major step forward in the country’s drive to harness renewable energy sources.
• The main concern is the need for large tracts of land.
• While Malaysia has a rich supply of sunlight and should be aggressively tapping solar power, one concern is that unlike some Western nations, Malaysia does not have unproductive land. Thus, there will be an economic trade-off as its soil is fertile.
• Nonetheless, Malaysia intends to build the power plant to gain more knowledge on its process and to also educate and encourage the people on the use of green technology.

Hydro Power

• Tenaga Nasional Berhad operates three hydroelectric schemes in the peninsular with an installed generating capacity of 1,911 megawatts (MW).
• They are the Sungai Perak (1249 MW), Terengganu (400 MW) and Cameron Highlands (262 MW) hydroelectric schemes with 21 dams in operation.
• A number of Independent Power Producers also own and operate several small hydro plants.
• At present, hydro power is the only renewable energy source in Malaysia that is considered to be economically viable on a large scale.

Geothermal

• Four potential geothermal power generation sites that could collectively generate more than 2MW of electricity in Peninsular Malaysia have been identified.
• The company that is proposing to run the project hopes to secure a 60% confidence level by 2012 and 90% by 2013.
• Once the 90% confidence level is achieved, the company would begin exploratory drilling in those four sites. The projects are expected to be fully implemented by 2016.
• Currently, the company faces challenges with state governments & private land owners.
• There are also more than 40 thermal springs in Peninsular Malaysia and most of these springs are good potential sites to generate geothermal power as part of the nation’s plan to enhance its renewable energy potential.
• Malaysia is in the first phase of a feasibility study on the prospects of generating geothermal power in the four undisclosed locations in the peninsula.
• The country still faces challenges in promoting renewable energy technology, which include the reliability of the technology, difficulty in integrating renewable energy into the main power grid as well as the high capital costs.

SPAIN

Renewable energy in Spain represented 12.5% of total energy generation in 2009.
Spain´s objective is generating 20% of its energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Altogether, clean energy in Spain met 42.2% of electricity demand though this was down from 48.5 percent against March 2010.

WIND POWER

·            Spain is the world’s fourth biggest producer of wind power with an installed capacity of 19,959 MW at the end of 2010.

·            Wind turbines generated nearly 43 TWh in 2010 for 16.4% of supply, slightly more than hydroelectricity.

·            The Spanish Wind Energy Association AEE lists several reasons for the country’s leading position in the European wind energy market,among them: mother nature, have experienced a year of high winds in 2010 and the sector’s use of more advanced turbines,

·            Spain’s region Castilla-La Mancha is working to install 6,000 MW of wind parks by 2015 in hopes to take the lead in the country’s booming wind-power market

SOLAR ENERGY

·Spain is one of the most advanced countries in the development of solar energy technology,considering its excellent sun irradiation and PV potential

·Spain generated 3% of its Electricity from Solar in 2010.

·Solar power in Spain was 4 GW by the end of 2010 and solar energy produced 6.9 TW·h,

·Spain is the fourth largest manufacturer in the world of solar power technology and exports 80 % of this output to Germany.

·Spanish solar industry has seen investment plunge in the past two years with only 100 MW of generating capacity having been installed in 2009 and 2010 – compared to 2,700 MW in 2008.

· La Florida plant in the northern state of Navarra is the world’s largest solar plant.

BIOMASS
Spain is particularly known for using biomass from forest waste,
especially woody biomass, for heating. It is European leader in so-called
“mountain forests”, the principal use of which is to produce wood for

energy.

• Biomass is obtained from a wide variety of plentiful sources (forest waste, olive stones, nutshells, etc.), which guarantees an uninterrupted and abundant supply anywhere in our country.

• In 2009, the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Reserves (MARM) finalised the “Spanish Strategy for Promoting the Use of Forest Waste Biomass for Energy” under the guidance of the National Forest Committee

• Ence Group, with a total capacity of 180 MW, is the leading company in Spain in utilization of biomass. In 2009 the Group launched the largest forest biomass plant in the country with an installed capacity of 37 MW and an annual consumption of 380,000 tons of forest biomass. Today the company is building an even larger plant in the province of Huelva, with an installed capacity of 50 MW, equivalent to the electricity supply around 600,000 households.

HYDROPOWER

• Technically usable hydroelectric capacity in Spain has been fixed at 65,600 GWh/ year. Approximately half of this capacity is being used.

• The hydroelectric sector has achieved a high level  of technological efficiency as a result of 150 years of development.

• Very notable has been the break with the past dry years since 2004. The abundant rainfall registered in 2010 have placed the hydraulic production in 36,568 GWh, the highest since 1997. This value is 30% higher than the average historical value and 65% higher than in 2009.

• The reserves of the entire peninsular reservoirs were at the end of the year 2010 about 65% of its total capacity.

• As for the balance of production, the most significant has been the remarkable growth of 59% over the previous year of hydro generation, which has helped to cover 14% of demand, compared with the 9% in the 2009.

• Spain has the third largest installed small hydro capacity in Europe after Italy and France, and is fourth in terms of plants with a capacity of over 10 MW.

MARINE ENERGY

• Spain has considerable marine energy potential. Thanks to the characteristics of our coast, the most promising technology is wave energy. The technologies to harness energy from the oceans are already 26 in Spain.

• Highly significant potential particularly along the Atlantic coast. Indeed, the regions with the most promising wave systems are Galicia and Cantabria, both placed in the north-west of the country.

• In Galicia an average capacity of 40-45 kW/metre was registered, with peaks in winter reaching 75 kW. The average capacity in the seas of Cantabria was 30 kW/metre, and winter peaks reached 50 kW. As for the Canary Islands, they follow with an average of 20 kW, while the whole Mediterranean coast has a capacity slightly below 10 kW.

• In the Canary Islands, unique scientific-technological infrastructure is also being developed to facilitate access to the deep ocean and houses a laboratory for testing marine energy devices (offshore wind, wave energy, ocean currents, etc.)

• Milestone: The 2011-2020 Renewable Energies Plan will include marine energies as another renewable source for the first.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

• This resource has gradually gained ground in our country, thanks especially to one of its applications: Climatisation (heating and cooling) of houses and other buildings.

• Spain has substantial geothermal resources in its subsoil. As part of the work to draw up the 2011-2020 Renewable Energies Plan, additional studies are being conducted to complete this.

• Geothermal systems are therefore being installed in hotels, offices, retail outlets, universities, etc., and even underground stations such as Pacífico (Madrid).

• Galicia is a “pioneer” in Spain to regulate the use of geothermal energy from very low temperatures associated with heating systems for heating, cooling and hot water in buildings

1 comentario / 03 Nov 2011 por Piotr Adam Lubiewa-Wielezynski
IMSD /

Development Perspective Part 1: the idea of Limitation

Our first approach with the subject has been a great brainstorming session on the key words and concepts: we expressed our meaning of development and we went through the historical evolution of the concept, which into society has been too often unified (or better confused) with the concept of economic growth.

We came to distinguish between indicators dealing with consumption and production of material things (i.e. economic growth expressed by increasing GDP), which don’t reflect the real wellbeing of global society, and community values, which are essentials to the physical and emotional human wellbeing and ecological health. Ideas as gender equality, international cooperation, and life progress emerged.

Today I would like to introduce another concept, which in my opinion is central on the analysis of development issues: the idea of limitation.

Society looks like obsessed with the necessity to grow, to move on, to progress toward some further state. Yet when we want to go somewhere, I assume the destination should be quite clear, while in our current reality, actions seem to conduct to blind alleys, even steps back on the path of development.

Which state was the most common assumption of success in our socio-economic system?

Leaders, politicians, managers and finally people believed that our successful society to which we had to progress was the one where continuous increase in economic conditions will help satisfy the necessity of more and more portions of the world population; they assumed that intensive production and consumption of goods exploiting earth’s resources as much as possible will solve hunger and unemployment; in the case of our economy resulting impoverished, thanks to free markets we can go somewhere else, to find new resources and new customers; people will be happy because globalization has brought them the life style and goods enjoyable by others richer;

Unfortunately such vision of society success didn’t take into account the beauty of different cultures and the health of its children; it didn’t take into account the earth’s capacity of absorption of activities and the value of sharing.

Maybe it is necessary to rebuild the idea of progress involving the idea of limit, as the following examples describe:

• Quality of Life doesn’t mean high consumption of goods, but an united family and a friend who always support and encourage you;
• Helping society satisfy its basic needs doesn’t mean producing more and more, means providing long lasting and quality goods with as few resources as possible.
• Prosperity doesn’t means financial growth, means conservation of natural common goods.

If we aspire to achieve a Sustainable society maybe the first step is not forward but backward; moving back instead of moving on: we should recognize the structural errors in the system and redesign processes in a more visionary and strategic way.

Comments Off on Development Perspective Part 1: the idea of Limitation / 03 Nov 2011 por Francesco Mazzeo
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Renewable Energies [Group 6: Marie – Luca – Patricia]

Comments Off on Renewable Energies [Group 6: Marie – Luca – Patricia] / 03 Nov 2011 por Luca Palma
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renewable energies- USA breakdown

Us renewable energy use is dismal and pathetic I think

USA energy break down is:

• 83% fossil fuels
  9% nuclear
  8%  renewable

Wind is the fastest growing source in America but still only contributes .7% of total energy used. It is projected by 2030 to reach 14%.

The remainder of the renewable energy breakdown is:

• 34%hydroelectric
• 5% geothermal
• 50% biomass
• 1% solar

There are projections for all sectors to grow in the coming years however is still laughable compared to other developed countries especially considering the consumption rate is the highest. Incentives, grants and credits are encouraging the public and private sectors to convert. However, large corporation that exceed their emission and consumption allotment are opt to purchase renewable energy certificates that allow them to “offset,” usage but really just allow for them to pay out of their pollution. Overall, America is lagging and should be doing a lot more to further their renewable energy use.

Comments Off on renewable energies- USA breakdown / 03 Nov 2011 por Lauren Musiello
IMSD /

Wind Speed in the USA

Comments Off on Wind Speed in the USA / 03 Nov 2011 por Lauren Musiello
IMSD /

DP: Breathing Earth

very interesting world map showing population and co2 emissions data

http://www.breathingearth.net/

Comments Off on DP: Breathing Earth / 02 Nov 2011 por Fabio Pinto Almeida
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