Steady but modest progress on renewable energy adoption found

The world has "steady but modest progress" in improving global access to electricity and safe cooking fuels, energy efficiency and the world energy renewable sources add mix energy-unit industry Manager at the World Bank-sustainable energy Department at a recent press conference in London, Vivien Foster said.

Were representatives of the three agencies (the World Bank, the World Energy Council and UK based charity start time gap) behind the sustainable energy for all (SE4ALL) global tracking report, last week published Precis on the one hand, clarify and answer questions from journalists. The report describes the baseline of the sponsored programme towards their goals for 2030 works.

The three 'pillars' (access to electricity, energy efficiency and more renewable energies) of the SE4ALL program are "a very complex story," according to foster renewable energy. She praised the renewable energy revolution in the past 20 years, with its dramatic expansion of wind and solar energy. But the problem, they said, is, that renewable energy from a very small base line amount are grown worldwide demand for energy considerably has increased share of renewable energy so the total final energy consumption which is small world consumption (TFEC); the revolution has produced only a jump from 2 percent in global equities, she said.

The energy mix of the world, the report says, make 18 percent renewable energy and renewable energy sources are about half of the new energy projects. However, foster pointed out that more than half of that amount is traditional biomass used for cooking in developing countries, while another quarter modern bioenergy. "So overall three quarters which we call renewable bio-energy, is" said they and the sustainability of most of this is not well understood. "An upper limit so the 18 percent really, because an unknown part is not sustainable," she said. The medium-term agenda for the SE4ALL team to improve, for example by tracking deforestation includes the definition of "renewable", she said.

As traditional biomass explained most of the global renewable energy foster is the continent of least developed have the largest share of renewable energy now (two-thirds of the global renewable energy used today in Africa and Asia), and this percentage is declining, since these continents modernize and update, for example, on liquid fuels, which tend to cook fossil fuels. The opposite trend features in the developed world: for example Europe has doubled its share of renewable energies since 1990. The net effect of these countervailing trends in the course of time you said, is not known.

Since biomass supply is limited and that hardly increasing global use of traditional biomass, i.e. other renewable energies "must quadruple" 2030 compensate foster initiatives such as SE4ALL try to solve people, said. Has been enormous progress in the past 20 years, said you, "but the world is moving very fast and it is hard to keep. Progress is only slightly before the huge increase in population and energy consumption. Do we move forward,"warned"We must run even faster."

Another problem is that the three '' pillars '' of the program SE4ALL are connected to each other, the team said. For the necessary scale-up, which is possible to renewable energies, energy efficiency must be achieved so that less energy is consumed. Access to electricity is the UN priority, but it must be implemented with energy efficiency and renewable sources, which built. Foster - said there is "a small amount of tension" between the objectives of access and increase of renewable energies, in particular with the aim, solid biomass for cooking, to replace because it tends to replace liquid fossil fuels.

The SE4ALLs said foster renewable energy goals, significant financing scale ups are needed. Currently, all projections (such as the International Energy Agency-new policy scenario, in which nations meet only their existing commitments) fall far short of the goal, double the amount in the global mix up to the year 2030.

Going forward, the report team plans to also associate investment plans and marketing within the finance community and to involve the industry in promoting technology and know transfers all over the world. "Business must be part of the solution," said Christophe free, World Energy Council Secretary General, and political risk must be reframed. Governments must "take risks not to understand these goals, and that translate into policy," he said.

"We need to work very seriously on the political environment," said foster. Currently, the project partners discuss countries "enable environments" for renewable energies introduction. All sectors of renewable energies a sustainability Protocol over the medium term need to foster, as the international hydro power Association-new sustainability said Protocol. And fossil fuels subsidies must be reduced, said free. He said these subsidies "there is to fight poverty, but they are not really doing." We can confirm only on the whole, today, that we are not the best way to structure of subsidies." The more discussion needs, he said.

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Limited Global Progress on Renewable Energy: IEA Report

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on April 25 released an annual progress report highlighting the rapid progress made in some renewable energy technologies. The report, Tracking Clean Energy Progress, noted the gains are due to solar photovoltaic (PV) panels being easily installed by households and businesses as well as gains in onshore wind technologies. IEA said that onshore wind has seen 27% average annual growth over the past decade, and solar PV has grown at 42%, albeit from a small base. Even more impressive is the 75% reduction in system costs for solar PV in as little as three years in some countries.

Photovoltaic and onshore wind were leaders among global renewable energy technologies, according to a new IEA report.
Credit: LBNL

According to the IEA, estimated energy use and carbon dioxide emissions would increase by a third by 2020 and almost double by 2050. The report notes that many technologies with great potential for energy and emissions savings are making halting progress at best. Vehicle fuel-efficiency improvement is slow, and significant untapped energy-efficiency potential remains in the building and industry sectors. The IEA is an autonomous organization that works to ensure reliable, affordable, and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond. See the IEA press release and the complete report.

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BLM progress Arizona renewable energy development project

Department of the Interior Bureau of land management (BLM) released the US on 16 February on the draft of the plan for the restoration design energy project. The initiative tries lands in Arizona for wind and solar energy projects, with a focus on areas which previously disturbed or small natural and cultural resource contention is best suited. The project to "renewable energy development areas" on the lands, the former landfills, contaminated sites, mines, BLM land and isolated channel carried, the part of the central Arizona project are included.

The design of an environmental impact study (EIS) beats placed a baseline for environmental protection measures for investment in these areas. She could be used for wind or solar projects, both utility-scale projects with more than 20 megawatts of capacity and smaller distributed-scale development. The preferred alternative draft called EIS for the determination of land within five miles utility corridors and existing transmission lines or close to a point identifies the power demand, such as a city or industrial sector. And the design of the EIS to avoid addresses in the water sector through the introduction of design features, negative impact on the watersheds, ground water supply and quality of water. The BLM manages approximately 237.100 acres in Arizona, that meet these criteria. Public comments will be accepted until 17 may 2012. See the press release of the Interior Department and the restoration design energy project website.

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