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Will renewable energy stand out in Copenhagen?
Monday, 07 December 2009 09:23
by Oliver M. Bayani (Take from http://ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/Renewable-Energy/Hydrogen)
Energy generation accounts for roughly 66 percent of today’s greenhouse gas emissions.
A harsh reality the world faces is that economies have an insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. Peak oil experts agree this demand will exceed supply within the next 15 years and will drastically change the industrialized world. And that’s the least of the world’s concern because the cost for this addiction is climate change.
Energy generation accounts for roughly 66 percent of today’s greenhouse gas emissions. The International Energy Agency believes this is at the heart of the problem, but is also part of the solution.
The world is torn between securing supply and keeping production of heat-trapping greenhouse gases down, and global leaders will seek ways to address these problems at the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen which opened on Monday.
Rising global temperatures and oil prices coupled with increasing government support are said to be driving the soaring rates of investment in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, according to United Nations Environment Programme.
The role of renewables
Renewable sources such as wind, solar, and, geothermal only accounted for 17 percent of the world’s energy needs in 2007. If greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced substantially, renewable energy technologies should obtain a greater share of the global energy supply.
Nevertheless, investment in the sustainable energy market has in some ways defied the global recession, growing by around 5 percent from $148 billion in 2007 to around $155 billion in 2008.
The dynamics of finding new sources of energy and economies striving to be green have also created a new commodity poised to create the largest market of its kind by 2015 said Marcelo Labre, global head of analytics and methods for Standard Bank.
Through a market-based tool called carbon trading, also known as “the carbon market,” carbon dioxide or any greenhouse gas offset by green technologies termed as carbon credits could be given a monetary value. An integral part of carbon markets is the Clean Development Mechanism (C.D.M.) where companies can invest in emission reduction projects to generate the credits needed to offset their own emissions.
While many different green technologies could be registered as C.D.M. projects, renewable energy generation in particular is seen as a key solution as it decarbonizes the power sector while sustainably supplying the planet’s energy demands, according to a study by Tobias Schmidt from the Group for Sustainability and Technology.
Valued at $10 billion in 2005, the market has grown to about $120 billion in 2009 and is eyed to surge $1 trillion to $2 trillion by 2015, said Mr. Labre. As for C.D.M. projects, 1,783 out of 1,938 registered or pending this year came from energy industries. China has the lion’s share of the total C.DM. projects at 34.9 percent, while India placed second with 24.4 percent.
But even if renewables do get a larger share and generate a huge market through trading carbon credits, this only takes care of the climate problem. To become commonplace, they also need to satisfy the demand for security of supply.
Renewables reinvented
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, said there are several proposals on the table on how to improve and upscale market-based mechanisms beyond 2012. Along with these plans are new innovations driven by increasing use of alternative energy sources.
From solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower, scientists, engineers and even the public have either reinvented these traditional energy sources or made completely new concepts inspired by them. It may sound something straight out of science fiction, but Japan plans to spend $21 billion for a solar farm in space that can generate1 gigawatt of electricity to power 294,000 homes without the use of cables.
Some say wind power had a tech-makeover as far back as 1,000 years ago during the Persian civilization. The MagLev wind turbines from China’s Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology use permanent neodymium magnets to levitate vertically oriented blades which the company claims to be 1,000 times more efficient compared with conventional designs.
Utah-based Raser Technologies also have steamy ideas for geothermal energy to boost energy production in sites with lower temperatures. Typical geothermal power plants require high-temperature wells that are above 100°C .Through Raser’s new technology, heated water from low-temperature wells is used to vaporize a second “working fluid” that can be used to drive a turbine. This technology holds exciting prospects. In the United States alone, over 120,000 megawatts of untapped low temperature geothermal resources have been identified by the United States Geological Survey.
From traditional dams, hydropower has ridden the green wave. By harnessing the rhythmic kinetic energy from waves generated by bodies of water, the world’s waters through wave and tidal energy could generate between 1 terawatt to 10 terawatts of electricity. Inspired by designs of wind turbines, Cardiff-based Tidal Energy Limited made propellers that work in reverse of a ship's propulsion system to generate electricity. A 1-MW tidal turbine installed off the Pembrokeshire coast in Britain is big enough to supply around 1,000 homes.
For Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, one thing is certain, “We need a wide-ranging portfolio of technologies and strategies.”
There is no silver bullet solution to climate change because it is a problem that requires multiple solutions. Indeed it is not the only answer, but anyone who would suggest that it is not an essential part of the solution is not seeing clearly.
There is a lot at stake if world temperature heats up 2°C beyond pre-industrial levels. Mr. De Boer said any conclusion from the Copenhagen will be crippled without strong commitments from developed countries. The New York Times reported that a challenge more formidable than getting big polluters like the United States and China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is the cost of climate agreement estimated at $100 billion a year by 2020. Some economists even put the price tag closer to $1 trillion.
For the only home humanity will ever have, it is price well worth every penny.
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