Renewable Energies [Group 6: Marie, Luca, Patricia]
Brazil:
Overview
The majority of energy generated and utilized in Brazil comes from renewable resources.
- Hydropower: ¾ of the country electricity comes from hydroelectricity, however rainfall shortages are pushing authorities to diversify away from water power and invest wind power and biomass.
Hydropower: Itaipu video
MegaStructures – Itaipu Dam [1/4]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeXnMZDaH08
Current Energy Matrix Consumption
- Biomass: energy represents 27% of Brazil’s energetic source and generates 21.354 TWh. Common sources of biomass in Brazil are found out of agriculture residues from soya, corn, rice, sugar cane, wood.
http://www.aneel.gov.br/aplicacoes/capacidadebrasil/OperacaoCapacidadeBrasil.asp
- Biofuels: Brazil is the world’s second largest ethanol fuel producer. After the 70´s oil crisis, the Brazilian government initiated the Pró-Álcool (National Alcohol Program).The program successfully developed alternative sources of energy, mainly sugarcane ethanol, to gasoline. An evidence of this program success can be demonstrated by the presence of the large amount of vehicles that runs on ethanol and flexible-fuel vehicles in the country.
- Wind Power: in 2009 the installed capacity of wind power was 602 MW, generated by 36 windparks and windfarms, enough to power a city about 300 thousand residences. But Brazil has technical potential for wind energy due to the country’s 4,600-mile of coastline.
- Solar power: is currently the renewable energy resource with the lowest investment in the country, the total installed photovoltaic power capacity in Brazil is estimated to be between 12 and 15 MW.
Source:
Production of Wind Power in Brazil http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Ciencia/0,,MUL1415078-5603,00-BRASIL+CONCLUI+PRIMEIRO+LEILAO+DE+ENERGIA+EOLICA.html Brazil Ministry of Energy http://www.mme.gov.br/mme/menu/todas_publicacoes.html Brazil National Energy Plan www.mme.gov.br/mme/menu/todas_publicacoes.html
Regulations Overview:
Brazil has general regulations and incentives for the inclusion of renewable energy as part of its national energy matrix base.
- The Brazilian Renewable Energy Incentive Program (PROINFA) within the Ministry of Mines and Energy, established the inclusion of solar and wind power plants into the national energy grid with a long-term objective of obtaining at least 10 percent of electricity from these sources.(Law No. 10.438of 2002).
- Small hydropower plants with install capacity between 1 to 30 MW/h and micro hydropower plants with capacity equal or less than 1 MW/h are also eligible to receive incentives.
- The energy generator companies are obliged to apply annually at least 1% of its revenue into energy technology research and development. On the other hand Brazil´s government offers tariff discount on their use of transmission and distribution system.
- The government also offers contract simplification on energy connection; simplifies the measuring system for energy commercialization and establishes specific tariff rules.
Source: ANEEL – Brazil´s National Agency of Electric Energy http://www.aneel.gov.br
Specific Regulation and Incentives by Renewable Energy Sector
Biomass
Federal laws regulating the bioenergy market
In the country there are number of important federal laws that frames bioenergy production and consumption, most notably Law No. 9.478 on the National Energy Policy, which sets out the increase of biofuel contribution to the national energy matrix based on economic, social and environmental considerations.
Attention is given to the seasonal nature of sugarcane production coupled with annual demand for bioenergy which requires as consequence planning and oversight at nationally the maintenance of stocks that stabilizes prices and avoids scarcities between harvests.
Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1285e/i1285e03.pdf
Wind Power
The Brazil´s National Agency of Electric Energy (ANEEL) has already approved 92 new wind power plants, with the capacity to generate 6.243 MW, in its vast majority located in the Northeastern region of Brazil.
But wind energy can only be well established in the Brazilian Market if is produced at competitive cost. For this reason in other to gain higher price competitiveness and to correct market imperfections the Brazilian authorities has started a series of auctions in this sector and has sent tender invitations at national and international level.
Nonetheless, Brazil needs to define a longer term program with projections of how much it can rely on wind power in the future and at what price. At moment wind power price and legislation are also undefined.
Brazil’s wind map
Source: http://www.aneel.gov.br/aplicacoes/atlas/pdf/06-Energia_Eolica(3).pdf http://www.workoutenergy.com.br/abar/cbr/Trab1108.pdf
Solar Power
In Brazil Concentrate Solar Power (CSP) are found in the southern areas, whereas photovoltaic (PV) are found in the northern areas of the country, this is due Brazil´s climate conditions and availability of more water in the southern areas, in this region energy derived from CSP is designated for residential consumption.
At moment there are many projects on planning and operation stages towards the utilization of solar power in the country, particularly on expanding and investing in photovoltaic systems with the objective to serve isolated and poorer communities.
Besides technical, scientific and financial support received by many Brazilian organizations and institutions, solar power projects have also been receiving international from international entities such as: the German agency of Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and from the American National Renewable Energy Laboratory – (NREL/DOE)
But why solar power is the renewable energy receiving the lowest Investment in Brazil?
Although Brazil possess good irradiation conditions and opportunities to utilize Solar power alongside conventional energy sources it also has big barriers that pushes further investment and implementations of this renewable energy technology away. Some of these barriers are:
- Presence and competition of alternative renewable energies like hydropower, biomass and wind power in the country.
- High production costs.
- Lack of finance mechanism.
- Lack of national police that permits the development of solar power market.
- Lack of regulations that allows the inclusion and connection of solar power into electric power grids.
- Need to establish stronger national fiscal incentives for solar power.
- Need to promote the development of a national solar power industry including businesses inside its production chain.
- Need to promote a national technological and scientific program in this field.
Germany:
In the first half year of 2011 renewable energies jumped for the first time above 20 percent of the total share of electricity in Germany. They provided 57.3 billion KWh (first half year 2010: 50.4) which covered 20.8 percent of the German electricity supply.
Interesting is the third place: due to new capacities and sunny early months of the year photovoltaic solar could almost double its share and provides 3.5 (2.0) percent. Thus it overtook hydro power for the first time which produced only 3.3 (3.6) percent due to weather conditions. The reasons for the boost in new photovoltaic installations are the relatively low prices for the equipment which have decreased by 50 percent since 2006 and the decision of the government against the planned cut in subsidies for private solar-power generation.
Biomassplants in Germany
The dots represent the locations of the biomass power plants in Germany. The size of the circle symbolizes the power of the power plants:
– small < 5 MWe (megawatt electric)
– medium = 5-19 MWe
– large = > 20 MWe
For circles without outline the performance is unknown.
http://www.stepmap.de/karte/a-biomassekraftwerke-in-deutschland-136281
The geothermal power generation in Germany is still in its infancy. There are efforts made to improve its competitiveness. Until now there are four plants which produce electricity out of geothermal power. Even though the regulations are strict and plants have to be licensed in any case by the authority many more projects are planned and it is expected to increase the share of geothermal generated electricity next year. However the direct use of geothermal is already relatively widespread. Currently there are about 334 000 heat pumps installed in Germany. There is expected to be an enormous increase of new heat pumps for the direct use of geothermal.
The potential for marine energy is relatively low in Germany. Main reason for this is the geographic framework. Nonetheless Germany contributes know-how to the development of the needed technologies.
Outlook
The main potential lies in photovoltaic and wind power. The people in Germany can install many more solar panels and the advanced technology increases the level of efficiency. The potential in wind power lies mainly in repowering the existing farms and in offshore wind farms. An increase in photovoltaic and wind power makes the supply of the energy unpredictable and it is necessary to invent possibilities to save the energy and supply it if the demand is higher than the actual supply.
Map of mean annual wind speed in Germany at a height of 80 m above ground.
Link for the windmap:
http://www.dwd.de/bvbw/generator/DWDWWW/Content/Oeffentlichkeit/KU/KU1/KU12/Klimagutachten/Windenergie/Download__Karte__D__80m,templateId=raw,property=publicationFile.pdf/Download_Karte_D_80m.pdf
Germany is planning to phase out nuclear power completely by 2022. Until then the goal is to provide 35 percent of production from renewable energies.
There are different scenarios if it is technologically possible for Germany to provide 100 % of the energy demand from renewable sources. Here are the arguments against it (German) (http://www.science-skeptical.de/blog/warum-regenerative-energien-in-deutschland-keine-zukunft-haben/002119/). The main problem lies in the possibility to save the produced energy an in the security of the supply.
The study which states that Germany can meet its demand with 100 % renewable energies (German) (http://www.umweltdaten.de/publikationen/fpdf-l/3997.pdf) calculates the potential and the demand in 2050 and predicts that this is possible. If Germany continues with building insulation, savings in electricity consumption and a decline in birthrate the target is achievable. In 2050 the government wants to provide at least 50 % of the primary energy consumption from renewable energies.
Resources (German): 20 % out of renewable energy (English): http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,783314,00.html 20 % out of renewable energy: http://www.bdew.de/internet.nsf/id/DE_20110829-PI-Erneuerbare-liefern-mehr-als-20-Prozent-des-Stroms Geotheral, increase: http://www.erdwaerme-zeitung.de/meldungen/waermepumpen—absatzboom–888787866543.php Geothermal, legal situation: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermie#.28Rechtliche.29_Situation_in_Deutschland Marine energy: http://www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/de/wasserkraft/detailansicht/article/160/potenziale-der-meeresenergie.html Wind power: http://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/news/alternative-energien-so-viele-windraeder-stehen-in-deutschland-1749942.html
Italy:
Italy
- 3rd country in EU for Wind power capacity production (2010)
- 3rd in EU for Photovoltaic (2005)
- 4th for Solar (2009)
- 8th for Biofuels consumption
- In 2010 Italy saw a growth of 124% investment in clean energy, recording one of the highest increase among the G-20 countries, about 62% of investments in renewable energy was allocated to photovoltaic
- By December 2011, the solar should increase to nearly 9 TWh (from 0.7 in 2009), exceeding by far the wind which now produces 8.4 TWh, which is not expected to grow much, saw cutting incentives in place and announced the change of regime of public support expected in September 2011
- Budget Law 2007 introduced a quota of 250,000 tons of biodiesel with a reduced tax excise, in the measure of 20% of the corresponding excise for diesel fuel. The quota is split among accredited producers; the program is valid until the end of 2014 with quota and excise reduction redefined each year, to avoid overcompensation
- Installed PV in 2011 reached the capacity of 4000 MW and the present growth is expected to lead to some 6000 MW installed by end 2011. It is significant, that while the growth trend for geothermal and biomass is slowly decreasing, wind and especially solar are rising sharply after a period of low growth. Considering the installed power and the number of plants in the period, it appears that the growth rate is negligible for hydropower and geothermal. PV shows a different trend: the introduction of the feed-in tariff in 2005 led to the sharp increase in the number of plants and installed power, a trend that could continue if stable conditions are created in 2011
- Most important Renewable Energy Source (RES) in Italy is hydropower, contributing to 16.6% of total gross electricity production of the country
- Italy has also large geothermal resources, both high and low temperature: it is the most important producer of geothermal electricity in Europe. Despite strong growth in sectors such as onshore wind, biogas and biodiesel, Italy is far from the targets
- There is a large element of uncertainty due to political changes and ambiguities in current policy design
- There are administrative constraints such as complex authorization procedures at local level. Thirdly, there are financial barriers such as high grid connection costs
Policy
- At the end of 2007 the Italian government has introduced some new provisions for renewable power generators. Small generators (up to 1MW, with exception of wind plants, whose limit is 200kW) will have the choice between selling their green certificates on the market and receiving a feed-in tariff. The renewable energy obligation for Italian suppliers will increase annually by 0.75% to 2012 (instead of the former 0.35%), starting from the 2007 share of 3.05%. After 2012, a new annual increase percentage will be established by the Italian government
RES TARGETS Mandatory targets set by the Directive on the Promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
- 17% share of RES on the final consumption of energy in 2020.
- At least 10% share of renewable energy in final consumption of energy in transport by 2020.
Progress towards the Targets
- The Share of RES-e in the total electricity consumption was of about 15,7% in 2007, 16.6.% in 2006, in 2005 13.93%, so smoothly Italy is moving towards it s 25% target by 2010 but still is far from reaching it. Italy aims for a RES-e share of 25% of gross electricity consumption by 2010. But then the Italian Government declared that a more probable target would be 22%.
- For biofuels, Italy’s Decree 128/2005 set a reference value of 1% by 2005, which is lower than the 2% reference value in the EU Directive.
Main supporting policies
In order to promote RES-E, Italy has adopted the following schemes:
- Priority access to the grid system is granted to electricity from RES and CHP plants.
- An obligation for electricity generators to feed a given proportion of RES-E into the
power system. In 2006, the target percentage was 3.05%. In case of non-compliance,
sanctions are foreseen, but enforcement in practice is considered difficult because of
ambiguities in the legislation.
- Tradable Green Certificates (which are tradable commodities proving that certain
electricity is generated using renewable energy sources) are used to fulfil the RES-E
obligation. The price of such a certificate stood at 109 EUR/MWh in 2005.
- A feed-in tariff for PV exists. This is a fixed tariff, guaranteed for 20 years and
adjusted annually for inflation.
National legislation is being developed, both for RES-H and for biofuels. Subsidies are
already in place for bioethanol production and tax exemptions for biodiesel production.
As yet, no national policy framework exists that supports RES-H. In the meantime, certain
regional and local governments have introduced some measures to promote RES. These
have taken the form of incentives for solar thermal heating and compulsory installation of
solar panels in new or renovated buildings.
Sources: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/doc/factsheets/renewables/renewables_it_en.pdf http://www.erec.org/fileadmin/erec_docs/Projcet_Documents/RES2020/ITALY_RES_Policy_Review_09_Final.pdf http://www.planbleu.org/publications/atelier_energie/IT_National_Study_Final.pdf http://www.terna.it/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=zuvz3fV0FiQ%3d&tabid=649, last accessed 01.11.2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_Italy, last accessed 01.11.2011
http://www.reshaping-res-policy.eu/downloads/RE-SHAPING%20Renewable%20Energy%20Policy%20Country%20profiles%202009.pdf, last accessed 03.11.2011
Map of Italy’s biomass plants
The dots represent the locations of the biomass power plants in Italy: Black dots: operating plants, Red dots: plants under constructions, Yellow dots: plants in the process of approval.
http://truccobiomasse.altervista.org/impianti.html
Italy’s wind map
http://www.windatlas.dk/Europe/Index.htm
Comments Off on Renewable Energies [Group 6: Marie, Luca, Patricia] /
07 Nov 2011
por
Luca Palma
IMSD /
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