Friday, October 30, 2009

RE: REFIT phase II

The REFIT phase II tariffs have been announced!

CSP trough without storage = R3,14/kWh.

CSP tower with storage (6 hours) = R2,31/kWh.
Solid biomass = R1,18/kWh.

Biogas = R0,96/kWh.
Large grid connected PV = R3,94/kWh.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/nersa-makes-refit-phase-two-decision-ppa-expected-in-nov-2009-10-30

But, as many of us know, the hurdles now lie with the so called “beauty parade” tendering process and the caps on Renewables in the NIRP.

Frank

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Traditional Economics goes against the laws of Physics

This is a great article about why “Neoclassical economics is inconsistent with the laws of thermodynamics”, and introduces the new “biophysical economics”. Frank

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/10/23/23greenwire-new-school-of-thought-brings-energy-to-the-dis-63367.html?pagewanted=2

Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use

In this US, the cost of using fossil fuels to produce electricity is estimated to to increase the healthcare bill by USD120 billion, which works out to an externalised cost of 3.2 US cents per kWh, or about 23 SA cents per kWh. Makes you wonder what the real cost to the South African economy the use of fossil fuels for electricity may be...

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/energy-and-health-the-120b-hidden-cost

Frank

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

RE: ISES Calls for Feed-in Tariffs Worldwide

Here is the resolution from the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) congress that I was at last week. Department of Energy, take note... 100% Renewables by 2050. Frank

http://public.ises.org/news/SWCResolution.pdf

ISES Solar World Congress 2009

Johannesburg, South Africa, 11-14 October 2009

Resolution

The ISES Solar World Congress 2009 hosted by the Sustainable Energy

Society of Southern Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, attended by

participants from all over the world resolves as follows:

The global target of 100 % renewable energies is both attainable and

necessary by the middle of the current century. This is motivated on

grounds of ecological, economic and social sustainability.

The unacceptable backlog in energy supply in the third world countries

can only be covered cost effectively and in time by the use of renewable

energies. Especially the industrialised countries have to increase their

efforts in transitioning to renewable energies.

The world's governments are called upon to implement without further

delay policies that have been proven internationally to be the most

effective and efficient in the rapid transition to a renewable energy

world, giving priority to renewable energy and refraining from any kind

of caps that may slow down renewable energy deployment.

As a guiding principle, local and rural communities and people should be

actively involved and benefit directly from renewable energies.

Governments should especially encourage and support community power

projects and distributed generation as well as investment in renewable

energy manufacturing facilities in order to foster the local creation of

jobs.

The Congress applauds the first steps taken by the South African

Government in introducing the renewable energy feed-in tariff. The

Congress requests government to urgently address concerns expressed by

the public and by potential investors about aspects of REFIT policy.

These include transparency, certainty, removal of contradictions between

legislation and regulations governing the REFIT and providing a roadmap

with clear commitments and timelines to its implementation.

The introduction of a Green Energy Act is strongly recommended as

crucial to providing an overarching and comprehensive framework for

renewable energy uptake so that in the near future the necessary steps

will be taken to attract local as well as international investors.

The Congress strongly recommends the world's governments to establish an

obligation to use renewable energy for water heating as well as space

heating and cooling in residential, industrial, commercial and public

sector buildings.

On the international level, the introduction of a global feed-in tariff

system is recommended as a primary instrument to foster international

technology transfer and finance scaling up of renewables, especially in

the third world. Such a global feed-in tariff has the unique potential

of overcoming the blockage in the current climate change negotiations.

For offgrid and non-electrical systems, further intelligent financing

mechanisms such as large-scaled microcredit and soft loan programmes

should be applied. All aspects of capacity building for renewable

energy, including resource assessment, have to be given priority in

education as well as in research and development. This is ineluctable in

order to create awareness and knowledge of the true and full potential

and vast variety of renewable energies as well as the true threats of

fossil and nuclear energies.

The Congress welcomes and endorses the strong support and the

cooperation of all the renewable energy technologies through the

International Renewable Energy Alliance.

The Congress is delighted by the recent establishment of the

International Renewable Energy Agency Irena and urges all renewable

energy proponents worldwide as well as the world's governments to give

full support to the establishment process in order to make sure that

IRENA can realise its leadership role on our way to a renewable energy

world.

Johannesburg, 14 October 2009

Monday, October 19, 2009

Who do they think they're fooling!

This is a brilliant article on how ESKOM misleads the public about power from IPPs and from Renewables:

http://www.eepublishers.co.za/view.php?sid=19111

Frank

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

ESKOM - Money & mis-information

So I was wrong. I have been saying that I thought the electricity price would be going up around 40% per year. But ESKOM has asked for 45% for the next 3 years.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/eskom-to-face-funding-gaps-despite-tariff-increase-2009-10-13

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_&fArticleId=5201562

The truth is, due to poor planning on government’s part and ESKOM’s profit focussed madness of the last few years, the truth is that electricity does indeed need to go up this much in order to fund ESKOM’s new build programme, and there is little doubt that conventional energy (coal and nuclear) will continue to become more expensive. Is there another way?

Those of us in the know would say a resounding YES! This is the way:

1) Energy Efficiency – the CHEAPEST way to create extra capacity and save business money. But this needs to be driven by someone other than ESKOM, as ESKOM does NOT WANT to their customers to reduce their consumption, whatever they might say. Consumption = profit. In ESKOM’s so called low-carbon model, Energy Efficiency plays the smallest of roles, where it should be creating an extra 40% of capacity, negating the need for new power stations

2) Renewable Energy – by the time a new nuclear plant is built in South Africa, there is a good chance solar technologies will be CHEAPER. Renewables are becoming cheaper all the time. They work with distributed multiple technology generation models, that increase energy security, using local resources. They create jobs. They can move revenue for energy from large corporations to communities or small local businesses. They can be introduced FAST.

Both the above also MASSIVELY reduced carbon emissions.

But ESKOM does not want you to know this, and they are doing everything in their power to distribute misinformation about the best way forward. I used to think that ESKOM was an elephant, blustering about doing their own thing. They are not. They are a HERD of elephants – one bull leading them forward, but many blustering about behind, leaving destruction in their path, all for their own benefit.

Even at the International Solar Energy Congress that I am attending in JHB, which ESKOM ironically is the main sponsor, the few times I have heard ESKOM speak they pretend to be keen on Renewables, but quietly introduce “problems” for their adoption – they are too expensive, the grid is not ready for large Renewables, they can’t do baseload. All not true.

But, whether in the short term, or the long term, Renewables will prevail in South Africa – but t what cost, economic, social and environmental, will be imposed on our country, before it does?

Frank

Sunday, October 11, 2009

ISES Congress Kicks Off

So, the International Solar Energy Society Congress for 2009 has just kicked off. Of course, the Platinum Sponsor is ESKOM, which is a great irony considering ESKOM’s negativity towards Renewables! SHARP is also a sponsor, being one of the world leaders in PV in the world, and also taking a very proactive view to the South African market, sponsoring policy development here, and even looking at local manufacturing.

G-Tech is proud to be a distributor of SHARP PV, and to be represented here at the ISES Congress – I hope to get an opportunity to stick my foot in it, to advocate for the use of Renewables in South Africa, and raise awareness of the energy security and climate change issues facing our current Energy Policy.

Watch this space for more ISES updates – if you would like to be on this mailing list and aren’t already, please let me know.

Frank