UK primary energy production fell by a record 14 per cent in 2011 to 136.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent, following sharp falls in output from the UK Continental Shelf as a result of maintenance activity and slowdowns. On an annual basis, petroleum was down by 17 per cent, with gas production down by 20 per cent.

Low carbon energy production grew – nuclear output was up 11 per cent, due to increased availability following a number of outages in 2010; wind output from major power producers was up by 59 per cent on additional capacity and higher wind speeds; with hydro up by 70 per cent following strong rainfall in Northern Scotland.

Gas accounted for 41 per cent of electricity supplied in 2011, with coal accounting for 32 per cent and nuclear 20 per cent. The share of generation by gas has fallen from 48% in 2010, with increases in the shares of generation for all other fuel sources.

Wind’s share of generation by major power producers has grown from 2.4 per cent to 4.0 per cent in 2011; with hydro’s share up from 0.8 to 1.5 per cent. Low carbon sources accounted for over 25 per cent of major power producers generation in 2011, up 5 percentage points on 2010 levels.

Renewable energy should make a major contribution to decarbonising the UK economy over the next decades, according to the Committee on Climate Change The conclusions are set out in the Committee’s Renewable Energy Review which was requested under the Coalition Agreement.

The review concludes that a renewable energy share of around 30% by 2030 would be appropriate, with scope for a higher share (eg up to 45%) depending on the extent to which renewable technology costs fall and possible constraints on deployment of low-carbon alternatives.

It highlights a range of promising renewable energy technologies which could in future become competitive, including electricity generation from wind and marine, air and ground source heat pumps and the use of bioenergy for heat generation.

“Our analysis shows that renewable energy technologies are very promising, and have an important role to play in helping to meet the UK’s carbon budgets and 2050 target, alongside other low-carbon technologies such as nuclear and CCS,” comments Lord Adair Turner, chair of the Committee on Climate Change. “The focus now should be creating a stable investment climate for renewables, making longer-term commitments to support less mature technologies, and putting in place incentives to deliver significantly increased investment in renewable power and heat generation required over the next decade.”

Researchers from over 70 institutions funded by ten European energy research funding institutions will come together at the first annual congress of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), to be held in Brussels on 11-12 April during European Union Sustainable Energy Week. EERA was founded by the EC as part of the Strategic Technology Energy Plan–SET-Plan (set up by the European Commission to reach the energy and climate targets for 2020).

EEERA has already launched seven joint programmes in the fields of smart grids, geothermal, photovoltaic, wind, carbon capture and storage, and materials for nuclear and bioenergy. Additional programmes in concentrated solar power, marine energy, smart cities, advanced materials and processes for energy applications and energy storage are planned.

EERA’s co-operative, strategic energy programmes are intended to enable European researchers to move to a position of leadership globally in a number of these technologies. They provide opportunities for co-operation that will accelerate the development of new technologies and will optimise conditions for individual research groups across Europe giving them enhanced access to knowledge and facilities. All the programmes are open to new participants in order to create a real and active European research area in the field of energy.

To underline the importance of collaborative energy research, the first EERA annual congress will conclude with a high level political session at the European Parliament.

In 2010, the European Investment Bank (EIB) increased financing for climate action projects to Eur19 billion, representing an impressive 30% of its lending in the European Union. Significantly up from Eur16 billion the year before, this is a new landmark in supporting sustainable growth and building a low-carbon future in Europe.

In 2010, total EIB lending reached Eur72 billion – Eur63 billion in the EU and Eur9 billion outside the EU – supporting over 460 large-scale projects. This marks a gradual return to pre-crisis levels as the bank adapts its activity to the economic environment.

The focus of EIB support for climate action projects remains energy (renewable energy and energy efficiency) and sustainable transport.

The Bank made a successful effort to increase the share of renewable energy and energy efficiency in its portfolio. More than Eur6 billion of financing supported renewable energy and over Eur2 billion energy efficiency projects in 2010. National renewable action plans have proved to be an important enabler of investment in these areas and all three emerging technologies, wind, solar and biomass, were supported. In the transport sector, the EIB is playing a leading role in supporting the development of electric vehicles.

Countries outside the EU received Eur2 billion in climate action financing in 2010. In the coming three years, the bank will substantially strengthen its support for sustainable energy projects in these countries.

Looking ahead, the EIB will help to implement the Europe 2020 strategy, the EU’s climate action targets and its external policy objectives.

Three new pan-European energy research infrastructure projects have been announced by the EU. A wind research facility is planned in Denmark, a concentrated solar power installation in Spain and a nuclear research reactor in Belgium. The overall investment is about Eur1.2 billion.

They will be part of the Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). Energy research infrastructures play an important part in realising the European Strategic Energy Technology (SET)-Plan.

In its updated Roadmap 2010, ESFRI has identified 50 new research infrastructures or major upgrades of existing ones, in order to stay at the forefront of research over the next 10–20 years. Their total construction cost amounts to some Eur20 billion and their operational cost would be around Eur2 billion per year.

One of the objectives of the Innovation Union is to launch by 2015 the construction of 60% of these priority European research infrastructures, primarily financed by EU Member States, but with the support of European Programmes.

In Denmark, the WindScanner project has the capacity to produce detailed maps of wind conditions at a wind farm covering several square kilometres. This knowledge will lead to more efficient, stronger and lighter wind turbines. The facility will be in operation from 2013 and costs will be between Eur45 and Eur60 million. WindScanner will be operated by the Risø DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy near Roskilde, leading a consortium with six other partners, from Germany, Greece, Spain, The Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.

The solar research infrastructure EU-SOLARIS at the Advanced Technological Centre for Renewable Energy in Tabernas, Almeria (Spain) focuses on developing new technologies for concentrated solar power and has a construction cost of about Eur80 million. Other complementary sites at several leading European laboratories – representing European countries with the most solar potential (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Turkey) and Germany (technological provider) – will be part of the new research infrastructure.

The Belgian nuclear fission research infrastructure MYRRHA, in Mol, has research capacity on the reduction of radioactive nuclear waste. The detailed engineering design of the facility is scheduled to be completed in 2014. The total construction cost is budgeted at approximately Eur960 million (2010-2023). MYRRHA will be the first large facility in the world for research on radioactive spent nuclear fuel and its reduction via partitioning and transmutation. The infrastructure can also be used to test the feasibility of a new generation of nuclear power plants – the Lead Fast Reactor technology. MYRRHA is a complementary infrastructure to the Jules Horowitz Reactor (thermal spectrum reactor), under construction in Cadarache, France.

At the recent High Level Meeting of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) in Vienna, EU Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs and EU Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger launched the Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme (RECP) together with the African Union and announced a planned contribution of Eur5 million to start the programme.

This programme of cooperation is due to contribute to the African renewable energy targets for 2020. It aims at bringing relevant renewable energy technologies to the market in Africa.

EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs.

“Today 1.6 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Poor energy systems undermine growth potential in these countries from 1 to 2%. We need a reliable source of electricity to fuel development,” comments EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs. “Africa has a vast untapped renewable energy potential, ranging from hydro, to solar, wind, geothermal and biomass which could be used to ensure millions of people access to electricity.”

The Road Map for the Implementation of the EU-Africa Energy Partnership includes three priority areas and the following targets:

Energy access: Africa and the EU will take joint action to bring access to modern and sustainable energy services to at least an additional 100 million Africans by 2020. This will be a contribution to the African objective of giving access to modern and sustainable energy to an additional 250 million people.

Energy security: Africa and the EU will take joint action to improve energy security by doubling the capacity of cross-border electricity interconnections and by doubling the use of natural gas in Africa, as well as doubling African gas exports to Europe.

Renewable energy and energy efficiency: Africa and the EU will take joint action such as:

* building 10,000 MW of new hydropower facilities;

* building at least 5,000 MW of wind power;

* building 500 MW of solar energy and tripling the capacity of other renewables;

* raising energy efficiency in Africa in all sectors.

The Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme is established for a ten years period. The proposed contribution of Eur5 million will support a three year start up phase of the programme. It will come from the EC fast-start funding for climate action under the Environment Thematic Programme of the Development Cooperation Instrument.

An increasing demand for reduced emissions and energy independence has fueled the need for new technology and the use of alternative fuels in agriculture. One of the most promising developments, the New Holland NH hydrogen-powered tractor, has just made its North American debut. More than just an idea, the NH tractor is a 106 hp working prototype able to perform all the tasks of a tractor while operating virtually silent and emitting zero pollutants.

New Holland’s experimental hydrogen-powered tractor is a key element in a project that hopes to free farmers from the cost of purchased fossil-fuel and allow them to achieve fuel autonomy while meeting increasingly stringent emissions standards. Farmers are in a unique position to benefit from hydrogen technology.

Unlike many people, they have the space to install alternative electricity generation systems, such as solar, wind, biomass or waste, and then store that power as hydrogen. Apart from the environmental benefits, such a system would allow customers to become energy independent and improve their financial stability.

Based on the popular New Holland T6000 Series tractor, the experimental NH tractor replaces the traditional combustion engine with hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity. Compressed hydrogen drawn from a tank on the tractor reacts in the fuel cell with oxygen, drawn from the air, to produce water and electrons. The electrons are harnessed in the form of an electric current, which drives electric motors to power the tractor’s drivetrain and auxiliary systems.

The NH’s fuel cell generates 106 hp and emits only heat, vapor and water. The tractor has zero emissions because it does not produce polluting nitrogen oxides, soot particles or carbon dioxide. And because the NH is virtually silent, there is also no noise pollution.

New Holland Agriculture is a division of CNH Global, a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is warning that plans to hand back powers to ministers to approve major infrastructure projects could lead to further delays in building vital energy schemes in the UK.
The UK’s leading business group says the Government’s decision to replace the independent Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) with a Major Infrastructure Unit is making investors nervous about committing to large-scale building projects.

The CBI is particularly concerned about whether ministers will be able to deliver timely planning decisions under the revised system, and highlighted applications for 37 power plants, inherited from the previous government, that are still awaiting ministerial approval under Section 36 of the 1989 Electricity Act.

The delayed applications predate the formation of IPC and are equivalent to 17.5 gigawatts, around a fifth of the UK’s current electricity generation capacity. They include gas- and coal fired power stations, on- and off-shore wind farms, biomass, wave and tidal projects. Some of the projects have been awaiting a decision for three years.

The CBI wants the Government to clear the delayed applications in six months in order to give investors confidence that its revised planning system will be able to deliver timely decisions.

“The Government must get a grip on planning. We need to build new low-carbon energy sources, including wind, biomass, gas, nuclear and clean coal plants. These are essential for securing our energy supplies and meeting emissions targets,” explains Dr Neil Bentley, CBI director of business environment. “In the next six months, the Government must clear the backlog of delayed planning applications. This will send a strong signal to investors that it is serious about fixing the planning system. The new planning regime must be streamlined, with ministers able to make timely decisions on infrastructure projects in the national interest. We need a planning system that encourages, not deters investment.”

The CBI recently set out actions the Government must deliver within six months to unlock the £150 billion of private investment needed to renew the energy system. Among the measures outlined in the report ‘No time to lose: Deciding Britain’s energy future’ are: tackling delays in the planning system, speeding up the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, and providing more detail on electricity market reform, its renewable energy policy, and the implications of the Emissions Performance Standard.

Ireland has more than three times its total energy requirements available from readily accessible renewable energy sources on its own doorstep. Yet despite access to such vast and plentiful clean energy resources, Ireland is still heavily dependent on volatile foreign fossil fuel, importing almost 90% of its energy needs.

As conventional energy sources run out Ireland has therefore an extraordinary opportunity to use its own natural resources, in a cost competitive way, to achieve energy independence and become a world leader in the use of clean energy. That was the key message delivered earlier today at NovaUCD, University College Dublin’s Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, by author John Travers at the launch of his new book entitled ‘Green & Gold – Ireland a Clean Energy World Leader?’

Conclusions outlined in the book include that 20% of total Irish energy needs can be met by renewable energy within the next ten years and 80% by 2050 and that 20% of Irish GDP can be derived from clean energy exports.

In this new book, published by The Collins Press, John Travers discuses the role energy plays in the Irish economy and lifestyle, the country’s consequent thirst for imported oil and how an energy crisis that could ravage the nation may be avoided.

He then assesses in clear terms, practical energy alternatives using renewable sources such as wind, solar, wave and biomass, which would allow Ireland to meet all of its energy needs and achieve energy independence. This would provide an opportunity for Ireland to become a global beacon in the use of clean energy.

Pictured at NovaUCD is John Travers, author and chief executive of Alternative Energy Resources, at the launch of his new book Green & Gold - Ireland a Clean Energy World Leader?

“Clean energy can help rescue Ireland from its current economic and energy challenges. In achieving energy independence, Ireland can become an outstanding world leader and a global beacon for the use of clean energy. Ireland is endowed with winds that are among the strongest in the world and the waves that crash against our western seaboard are some of the most powerful on the planet. Harnessing these and other clean energy sources such as solar and biomass offers Ireland a golden opportunity to overcome the energy challenge it face,” says John Travers. “There is the potential to create almost 100,000 jobs from harnessing renewable energy and applying energy efficiency activities.”

According to John Travers, the cost to achieve the first practical step of a 20% renewable energy contribution and implement basic energy efficiency measures in Ireland is estimated to be Eur15 billion invested over 10 years. The primary return on this investment would be achieved from national and export sales of renewable energy. Additional annual returns in the order of Eur1.2 billion (eg from reduction in cost of importing oil, reduction in costs associated with carbon dioxide emissions, trading of carbon credits, energy efficiencies and additional tax receipts) would also be achieved.

Furthermore, he points out that the wealth of Ireland’s accessible renewable energy is similar in scale to production from the massive nation-shaping oil and gas fields of the North Sea or the Middle East, but instead of polluting and dwindling, it is clean and perpetual.

John Travers is an international energy expert. He is an engineering graduate of University College Dublin and a MBA graduate of Harvard University. He has previously worked for Shell International and McKinsey & Company. He is currently chief executive of Alternative Energy Resources, a leading Irish alternative energy company, headquartered in NovaUCD the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at UCD. He is also the author of ‘Driving the Tiger, Irish Enterprise Spirit’.

The newly opened Renewable Energy Centre – imecofarm – now offers a comprehensive set of introductory courses, renewable energy talks as well as hands-on workshops at its premises near Clarecastle in County Clare. The centre is equipped with displays of step-by-step guides and full-scale working models of wind, solar and water power.

“Our courses will be run in specially equipped rooms and workshops at imecofarm with plenty of expert tools, displays and detailed drawings,” explains Eddie Connors (pictured), owner and renewable energy expert at imecofarm.

The introductory one and half day courses run most Saturdays throughout the autumn. There are general overviews including a course that will answer the question – ‘Wind, water, solar – which solution is right for me?’ – as well as more in-depth days tackling one topic at a time.

The centre has a family-friendly offer running along-side these introductory courses. One person attending a Saturday morning course can bring the whole family, who will be able to enjoy the eco crafts, forest and river trails and animals and play areas and relax at the cafe and shop. The offer costs Eur25 for the course plus only €10 extra for the family admission to imecofarm.

Full courses brochures as well as details on each of the courses are available on
www.imecofarm.com.

Having called for an energy technology revolution to tackle climate change and enhance energy security and economic development, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is seeing the first signs of this happening across the globe. However, it cautions that more needs to be done to achieve the necessary long-term cuts in CO2.

The new IEA study ‘Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) 2010’ shows that global investment in renewable electricity generation, led by wind and solar, reached an all-time high of $112b in 2008 and remained broadly stable in 2009 despite the economic downturn.

Many major car companies are adding hybrid and all-electric vehicles to their fleets. Expanded production of such vehicles combined with the purchase incentives available in many countries, could put more than 5 million such vehicles on the road in the next ten years.

In OECD countries, the rate of energy efficiency improvement has increased to almost 2% per year, more than double the rate seen in the 1990s. Funding for low-carbon energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) has increased by one-third between 2005 and 2008, helping to reverse a declining trend that started in the early 1980s; with IEA countries and many other major economies aiming to double such investments by 2015.

Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the International Energy Agency.

ETP 2010 demonstrates that all these efforts are vital if climate change is to be successfully limited; but current developments are still fragmented and fragile, and the rate of progress is still far too low to prevent dangerous increases in global temperatures. “What we need is rapid, large-scale deployment of a portfolio of low-carbon technologies; we need a massive decarbonisation of the energy system, breaking the historical link between CO2 emissions and economic output, and leading to a new age of electrification,” says Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the International Energy Agency. Noting that 1.5 billion people still lack access to electricity, he adds: “This adds tremendous urgency to electrification efforts worldwide.”

Transition to a Low-carbon Economy

The ETP2010 Baseline scenario shows, that without new policies, fossil fuels will continue to provide most of the world’s energy needs, with energy-related CO2 emissions almost doubling to 57 Gigatonnes (Gt) by 2050. In contrast, the ETP2010 BLUE Map scenario charts a least-cost path for halving global energy-related CO2 emissions by 2050 (compared to 2005 levels), consistent with a long-term temperature rise of 2 to 3 C. It also shows how the transition to a low-carbon economy will enhance energy security and support economic development.

Under this scenario, the global demand for oil, for gas and for coal in 2050 would all be lower than today, with world oil demand alone being 27% less than in 2007. For instance, oil demand in the United States and OECD Europe would drop by more than 60% and 50% respectively; in China oil demand would only increase to half the level seen in the Baseline scenario. Also, in the BLUE Map scenario, global oil demand would plateau around 2030-2035. This would mean less pressure on prices and reduced import dependency for many countries. However, even with this low-carbon revolution, fossil fuels would still account for 46% of primary energy demand in 2050, meaning that we still will need significant investment in these fields.

Top Priorities for the Near Future

Increased energy efficiency will become the most important ‘fuel’ of the future. Low-cost options for reducing actual consumption – many of which are already available – offer the greatest potential for cutting CO2 emissions over the period to 2050. This will require that current rates of energy efficiency seen in OECD countries are replicated across the world and maintained over the next 40 years.

Decarbonising the electricity sector, the second-largest source of emissions reductions, must involve dramatically increasing the shares of renewables and nuclear power, and adding carbon capture and storage (CCS) to plants that consume fossil fuels. By 2050, renewable electricity generation would need to represent almost half of electricity generation up from 18% today. More than 30 new nuclear power stations and 35 coal-fired plants fitted with CCS would be needed on average every year to 2050.

A decarbonised electricity supply, combined with smarter grids, would then offer substantial opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions in end-use sectors through increased electrification (for example, through the introduction of electric vehicles and efficient electric heat pumps). Under BLUE Map, by 2050, more than 50% of all light duty vehicle sales worldwide are either plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicles.

Huge Investment Required

The cost of achieving the ‘50% by 2050’ goal of the BLUE Map scenario will be $46 trillion more than the Baseline scenario over the period to 2050. Most of this reflects additional spending by consumers on more efficient and low-carbon end-use equipment, particularly for vehicles. Yet importantly, ETP 2010 demonstrates that over the same period, very positive returns on investment could be achieved with fuel savings alone of $112 trillion, along with other economic, social and environmental benefits.

“Reducing CO2 emissions will require a global effort; while OECD countries should take the lead, all major economies need to be involved,” stresses Nobuo Tanaka. ETP2010 shows that to achieve CO2 emissions reductions at least-cost, OECD countries must reduce their emissions by 70-80% from today’s levels, non-OECD countries must also collectively make CO2 reductions of around 30%. Accelerating the spread of low-carbon technologies across the world is therefore a critical challenge, particularly in the largest, fast-growing economies such as Brazil, China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa.

ETP 2010 shows that several emerging economies, led by China, are becoming major technology developers, manufacturers and exporters. “This shift is vital to ensuring a truly global energy technology revolution – a revolution that is crucial to economic development, energy security and environmental protection,” he concludes. “By providing concrete guidance, ETP 2010 aims to prompt broader engagement of all players and sectors, and achieve the necessary step-change in the rate of progress.”