MORE NEWS, 11-2: MEAT AND CLIMATE CHANGE; WIND THIS YEAR; FIRST U.S. SMARTGRID LAW; BREAKTHROUGH ROOF SUN CONCENTRATOR

MEAT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Study claims meat creates half of all greenhouse gases; Livestock causes far more climate damage than first thought, says a new report
Martin Hickman, 1 November 2009 (UK Independent)

"Climate change emissions from meat production are far higher than currently estimated, according to a controversial new study that will fuel the debate on whether people should eat fewer animal products to help the environment.

"In a paper published by a respected US thinktank, the Worldwatch Institute, two World Bank environmental advisers claim that instead of 18 per cent of global emissions being caused by meat, the true figure is 51 per cent."

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"They claim that United Nation's figures have severely underestimated the greenhouse gases caused by tens of billions of cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry and other animals in three main areas: methane, land use and respiration…Their findings – which are likely to prompt fierce debate among academics – come amid increasing calls from climate change experts for people to eat less meat.

"In [Livestock and Climate Change; What if the key actors in climate change are cows, pigs, and chickens?], Robert Goodland, a former lead environmental adviser to the World Bank, and Jeff Anhang, a current adviser, suggest that domesticated animals cause 32 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), more than the combined impact of industry and energy. The accepted figure is 18 per cent, taken from a landmark UN report in 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow…

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"Their call to move to meat substitutes accords with the views of the chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who has described eating less meat as "the most attractive opportunity" for making immediate changes to climate change…Lord Stern of Brentford, author of the 2006 review into the economic consequences of global warming, added his name to the call last week…Scientists are concerned about livestock's exhalation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Cows and other ruminants emit 37 per cent of the world's methane. A [recent] study by [NASA] scientists…found that methane has significantly more effect on climate change than previously thought: 33 times more than carbon dioxide…

"Goodland and Anhang…argue that the gas's impact should be calculated over 20 years, in line with its rapid effect – and the latest recommendation from the UN – rather than the 100 years [previously used]..Eating meat rather than plants also requires extra refrigeration and cooking and "expensive" treatment of human diseases arising from livestock such as swine flu, they say…[Environmentalists welcomed the report while experts said animals provide many non-food products that would have to be produced by equally or more emissions-intensive means]…"


WIND THIS YEAR
US Wind Growth Flat, Project Spillover Carries 2009
Matthew Kaplan, 23 October 2009 (Emerging Energy Research)

"…Confirmed project activity has revealed that US wind project developers do not expect a major drop in 2009 megawatts added, despite the economic crisis: 6.3 GW have already been added in 2009, while more than 2 GW are under construction and scheduled for activation by year’s end.

"In the first quarter of this year, most market participants expected a significant drop in 2009 activations to well less than 6 GW based on frozen financial markets. However, a combination of projects planned for 2008 spilling over into 2009 and construction activity by developers eager to qualify for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 (ARRA) provisions, points to US market growth of approximately 8 GW in 2009…"

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"…2009 will likely finish with the second-highest figure on record of megawatts activated annually in the US. This higher-than-expected build rate underscores 2008 as a frenetic year for wind additions, since as much as half of 2009 projects were initially planned for 2008. This implies that, under improved supply and financing conditions, the US may have yielded closer to 10 GW of installed wind in 2008.

"The 4 GW of projects moving from 2008 into 2009 reflects the impact of the financial crisis on project development timelines. Approximately 1.5 GW of wind turbines were delivered by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in 2008, but were not energized at project sites."

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"…[T]otal wind installations in 2009 will approach or even surpass 8 GW. The promise of backing from the ARRA—including the US Treasury grant and newly released Department of Energy loan guarantees— is driving project construction…[N]early US$1 billion of grant money has been awarded to wind projects, most of which began construction in 2008…Mixed signals point towards flat 2010. The real economy is now experiencing the impact of the financial crisis…Both offtaking utilities and wind power generators are reluctant to close deals with falling demand, unprofitable merchant wind prices, and declining fixed power purchase agreement prices. Although project financing is beginning to flow again, unattractive offtake options continue to vex wind developers.

"ARRA grants and longer-term policy drivers, including RPS incentives, help counter these short-term economic inhibitors. 5 GW of wind projects are currently under construction—many of which will be activated in 2010. While project construction is picking up to obtain grant funding, delays due to the financial crisis indicate 2010 wind activations are more likely to remain stagnant compared with 2009. However, because projects must begin 5% construction by year-end 2010 in order to qualify for the grant option, construction activity could surge."


FIRST U.S. SMARTGRID LAW
California enacts nation's first statewide smart grid law; PUC required to submit statewide plan by July 1
October 27, 2009 (Smart Grid Today)

"…[California’s SB 17] appears to be the first US state law requiring utility regulators plus every major utility in the state to develop a smart grid deployment plan…[It] requires California's [Public Utilities Commission, PUC] to create a statewide smart grid deployment plan by July 1…[and] work with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the state's ISO “and other key stakeholders” to create that plan…

"The law requires every electric utility in the state with over 100,000 customers to develop its own a smart grid deployment plan by July 1, 2011. It allows, but does not require, other organizations to submit such plans…Every utility's plan has to conform to the plan created by the PUC [as overseen by the California Energy Commission]…The new law requires that the smart grid “improve overall efficiency, reliability and cost-effectiveness of electrical system operations, planning and maintenance.” It requires the PUC to report annually, starting Jan 1, 2011, to the governor and the legislature…"

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"Some finer points…[1] Authorizing smart grid technologies to be implemented incrementally to maximize benefit to power customers…[2] Letting the PUC adjust the law's requirements for “electrical corporations” (power companies) serving fewer than 100,000 customers…[3] It requires the PUC -- in consultation with the Energy Commission, the ISO and the power companies -- to evaluate the effects of deployments…[4] It requires smart grid technology to be implemented in a way that does not compromise [safety or reliability]… [5] It requires the PUC's rulemaking to adopt standards and protocols for functionality and interoperability developed by NIST, Gridwise Architectural Council, IEEE and NERC…

"The law's passage went virtually unnoticed by the local and national media…The smart grid law may simply have been eclipsed by a California law pertaining to renewable resources that was passed at about the same time, garnering press attention -- and because the California capital press corps has been decimated by closures and layoffs…"

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"…[M]ajor California utilities [Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and Sacramento Municipal Utility District] expressed not having concerns about complying with the new law…[and do not expect to] have a problem meeting the requirements to be issued by the PUC July 1 or in submitting the deployment plan due by July 1, 2011…The law does not require or even let the PUC delay action on applications…

"The law acknowledges what is happening at the federal level -- inside NIST, for example…Action on the federal level includes NIST's smart grid interoperability roadmap work; FERC's ruling that smart grid tech investments made ahead of the adoption of standards are recoverable; FERC's DR action plan…and the Obama administration's devotion of stimulus money to smart grid product demonstration and deployment…"


BREAKTHROUGH ROOF SUN CONCENTRATOR
Sopogy brings Concentrating Solar Power to the rooftop; Sopogy, Inc. has just introduced SopoFlare the newest MicroCSP™ product in the world of Concentrating Solar Power solutions…
27 October 2009 (CSP Today)

"SopoFlare is the first commercially available Concentrating Solar Power technology designed specifically for rooftop installations with a unique, easy mounting and fastening system. The technology is more robust than PV or CPV as SopoFlare is used to create steam, solar thermal air conditioning, drying, dehumidification, desalination [and] hot water."

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"…SopoFlare utilizes Sopogy’s proprietary integrated tracker and storage solutions and is priced at 30% cheaper than competing rooftop solar technologies. The system easily retrofits into existing [facilities] reducing Natural Gas consumption [and] giving users an estimated 3 year payback on installation.

"SopoFlare combines the revolutionary features and applications of Sopogy’s award winning SopoNova™ 4.0 concentrating solar thermal collector, in a smaller, lightweight, environmentally rugged collector. SopoFlare’s compact design at 8 feet long by 2.5 feet wide is perfect for quick and easy installation by local HVAC and Plumbing professionals."

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"Sopogy has incorporated our unique frame, ready-to-assemble manufacturing and automated controls into a new compact product designed for rooftop installation. This brings concentrating solar power to the commercial and industrial facility in a cost effective, space efficient and contractor friendly solution….[providing] the fastest paybacks available in solar…"