MORE SUNDAY WORLD, 7-12 (HESITATION AT THE G8 SUMMIT; NORWAY WANTS OFFSHORE WIND; GERMAN UTILITY BUYS FRENCH SUN)

HESITATION AT THE G8 SUMMIT
G8 makes scant progress to Copenhagen climate pact
Alister Doyle (w/Janet McBride), July 9, 2009 (Reuters)

"A G8 summit made scant progress toward a new U.N. climate treaty due to be agreed in December with some nations back-pedalling on promises of new action even before the end of a meeting in Italy…

"Among disappointments, the G8 failed to persuade China and India and other developing nations to sign up for a goal of halving world emissions by 2050…Among progress, rich and poor nations acknowledged that temperature rises should be limited to 2 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) -- a goal that would force deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions if followed through. And G8 nations set a new goal of cutting their overall emissions by 80 percent by 2050…"

How many reasons do they need to set aside their differences and get busy? (click to enlarge)

"But the focus of talks on a new U.N. deal is on 2020 cuts in emissions by developed nations and ways to raise tens of billions of dollars in new funds to help poor nations combat droughts, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels…[Top UN climate official Yvo] De Boer said he understood a refusal by developing nations to sign up for the G8 goal to halve world emissions by 2050…before the rich came up with funding plans and set goals for their own 2020 emissions…

"…[C]racks appeared even in the G8 deal to seek cuts of 80 percent by developed nations by 2050…A Russian official said the 80 percent goal was unachievable for Russia. And Canada's Environment Minister Jim Prentice said the goal was aspirational and fit Canada's target of cutting emissions by 60 to 70 percent below 2006 levels by 2080…"

There's not much of it left that isn't red. (click to enlarge)

"The arrival of President Barack Obama at the White House, promising more action than President George W. Bush, has helped the atmosphere…[But] Obama's push for quick action by Congress on climate change legislation suffered a setback… when the U.S. Senate committee leading the drive delayed work on the bill until September…

"The [next big international] events planned are two summits in September -- one at U.N. headquarters in New York and a G20 summit in Pittsburgh. Obama said that finance ministers would look into climate financing and report back to Pittsburgh…[A]part from summits, there are three rounds of U.N. negotiations among senior officials before Copenhagen -- in Bonn in August, Bangkok in late September and Barcelona in November."


NORWAY WANTS OFFSHORE WIND
Norway Looks to Offshore Wind for Industrial Power Base
July 7, 2009 (Oil & Gas Eurasia)

"Offshore wind power can become Norway’s new energy and industrial future, the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy said when presenting a new bill on alternative energy generation at sea…

"The new proposed bill will help open up for major investments in offshore wind power generation and turn Norway into one of the leading countries in the field, Minister Terje Riis-Johansen said when presenting the proposition…"

Among the things Norwegians do well is work the North Sea. (click to enlarge)

"A significant part of the new offshore wind parks could be placed off northern Norway in areas where Arctic winds rule the seas. The focus on wind power in the area comes at the same time as Statnett, Norway’s state-owned power grid operator, plans major grid capacity extensions in the region…[T]he extended capacity will open up for a number of new industrial initiatives in the region."

click to enlarge

"Experiences from offshore oil and gas development are to help Norway become a frontrunner in the field of offshore wind parks. After the parliament’s adoption of the bill, the areas most suitable for wind power development will be selected…Several of the projected offshore windmills are up to 100 meter high and have a generation capacity of more than 20 GWh per year."


GERMAN UTILITY BUYS FRENCH SUN
E.ON Agrees To Acquire French Photovoltaic Company
July 7, 2009 (Dow Jones Newswire via Wall street Journal)

"German utility E.ON AG… has agreed to acquire French photovoltaic company Conilhac Energies S.A.S…

"With this acquisition E.ON continues the rapid development of its solar activities in one of Europe's most important markets for solar energy. Recently E.ON opened the company's first solar farm near the southern French town of Le Lauzet. The farm occupies an area of more than 20 hectares, has an installed capacity of 1 megawatt (MW), and could be expanded to 5 MW subject to the availability of a similarly sized grid connection."

France needs to bring up its grade. (click to enlarge)

"Conilhac already worked successfully as developer of photovoltaic projects in southern France and assembled a significant pipeline of photovoltaic projects at various stages of maturity. The acquisition will enhance E.ON’s capabilities to develop and implement photovoltaic projects in an industrialized fashion. Between 2003 and 2008 the global photovoltaic market grew from an annual installation rate of 600 MW to around 5,600 MW, a compounded annual growth rate of no less than 55 per cent. Today photovoltaic is still one of the most expensive renewable technologies, but based on the current rate of technology development and price reduction, wind parity is expected to be achieved in many countries between 2015 and 2020."

Germany, #1 in WWF's scorecards, can help. (click to enlarge)

"On this basis, E.ON anticipates that solar energy will follow a growth path over the coming decade similar to the one that wind energy experienced in the last decade. For that reason, E.ON is developing today the capabilities required to add solar energy to its generation mix. From 2007 to 2011 alone, E.ON will be investing eight billion euros in the expansion of renewable energy sources. The aim is to have approximately 10 gigawatts of generation capacity based on renewables by 2015. By 2030 E.ON wants to produce 35 per cent of its power from renewable sources, 25 per cent of which will mostly come from wind, solar, biomass and biomethane. Hydropower will account for some 10 per cent. Together with nuclear, E.ON will then be generating half of its electricity from carbon-free sources. The other half will come from efficient coal and gas-fired power plants."