QUICK NEWS, 4-26: WHAT? WORRY ABOUT WARMING?; WIND & FEDS IN ECO PACT; SUN-MAKING EQPMT IS HOT; TEXAS PICKS WIND OVER NUKES

WHAT? WORRY ABOUT WARMING?
Fewer Americans, Europeans View Global Warming as a Threat; Worldwide, 42% see serious risk, similar to 2007-2008
Anita Pugliese and Julie Ray, April 20, 2011 (Gallup)

"Gallup surveys in 111 countries in 2010 find Americans and Europeans feeling substantially less threatened by climate change than they did a few years ago, while more Latin Americans and sub-Saharan Africans see themselves at risk…42% of adults worldwide…see global warming as a threat…[That has not changed] in the last few years, but increases and declines…in some regions reflect the divisions on climate change between the developed and developing world.

"Majorities in developed countries that are key participants in the global climate debate continue to view global warming as a serious threat, but their concern is more subdued than it was in 2007-2008. In the U.S., a slim majority (53%) currently see it as a serious personal threat, down from 63% in previous years…"

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"…[Concern] has also declined across western, southern, and eastern Europe…even more precipitously than in the U.S. In France, for example, the percentage saying global warming is a serious threat fell from 75% in 2007-2008 to 59% in 2010. In the United Kingdom, ground zero for the climate data-fixing scandal known as Climategate in 2009, the percentage dropped from 69% to 57% …

"…Latin Americans, who already were among the most aware of climate change and the most likely to view global warming as a personal threat, became even more aware and more concerned in 2010. Seventy-seven percent of Latin Americans claim to know at least something about climate change, and nearly as many see it as a personal threat (73%)…[perhaps because of] bad rainy seasons and flooding that leaders in the region…"

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"In sub-Saharan Africa, where populations are likely to be vulnerable to the effects of climate change, awareness is still among the lowest in the world, but was up in 2010. Nearly half of the adult population in the region (46%) say they are aware of climate change, up from 38% in 2007-2008…[T]he percentage who perceive climate change as a serious threat [also] increased slightly…

"The feuding between rich and poor nations at climate talks in Bangkok in April demonstrates the obstacles that remain before the world…[F]ewer Americans and Europeans, whose nations are central players in these talks, feel threatened by global warming today than they did in recent years. However, majorities in many of these countries still see climate change as a serious threat, which means the issue remains personally important…"


WIND & FEDS IN ECO PACT
FWS, Wind Industry Collaborate To Promote Endangered Species Conservation
20 April 2011 (North American Windpower)

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and wind energy companies have signed a memorandum of understanding, pledging to work together to develop a wind energy habitat conservation plan (HCP) for the FWS' Midwest region…[to] conserve threatened and endangered species that may be affected by wind energy facilities in eight Midwestern states.

"A multi-species, regional HCP approved by the FWS would include measures for long-term conservation of federally endangered Indiana bats and members of other protected species that may be incidentally harmed or killed by wind turbines or other activities associated with the construction and operation of wind energy facilities…[in] Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan."

The endangered Indiana bat. The wind industry is moving to protect it. (from Wikipedia - click to enlarge)

[John Anderson, director of siting policy, AWEA:] "It is the industry's expectation that development of the regional HCP will streamline the permitting process, allowing effective conservation of wildlife and easing the [FWS'] administrative burden, while also allowing for more wind energy to be deployed nationally…"

"Under the HCP, wind developers will acquire an incidental take permit, which will exempt otherwise lawful activities (i.e., construction and operation of a wind energy facility) from the prohibition of take [i.e., harming, harassing, or killing endangered or threatened species] under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)…"

The Indiana bat ranges over the states participating in the new HCP. (from Wikipedia - click to enlarge)

"The FWS has awarded [the] states…an ESA grant of approximately $3.3 million to develop a broadly constructed HCP designed to address the potential impacts of wind energy. The wind industry…[will] provide the required 10% matching funding…

"The Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit, will lead the strategic conservation work…[W]ind industry applicants…work with the FWS and states to develop the HCP."


SUN-MAKING EQPMT IS HOT
The Road Ahead: PV Manufacturing Expansion And Equipment Purchases
21 April 2011 (Solar Industry)

"Following a year of favorable market demand growth (139%), PV cell manufacturers have embarked upon aggressive expansion plans in support of ambitious shipment guidance for this year. Consequently, the scale of expansions announced is creating a $15.2 billion revenue opportunity for PV equipment suppliers this year - an increase of 41% year over year (Y/Y), according to a new report from Solarbuzz.

"Although Y/Y growth for crystalline silicon (c-Si) equipment spending (including the ingot, wafer, cell and module manufacturing stages) for this year would amount to 31%, thin-film spending would grow by an incredible 71%. Underpinning this thin-film growth is a resurgence of investments in amorphous silicon and copper indium gallium diselenide technologies, which account for 78% of planned thin-film capacity expansions."

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"Tier-one expansions remain dominated by aggressive schedules announced by publicly listed Chinese c-Si producers, followed by cell producers in Taiwan and thin-film leader First Solar. Companies with revised year-end nameplate capacity targets include JA Solar (expanded to 3 GW), Trina Solar (1.9 GW), Neo Solar Power (1.8 GW) and Jinko Solar (1.5 GW).

"In the past 12 months, manufacturers in China and Taiwan accounted for 82% of the $3.6 billion revenues allocated to new c-Si cell equipment worldwide…"

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"Adding to the c-Si expansion activity, thin-film manufacturing capacity is scheduled to grow by 70% between the first quarter of this year (Q1'11) and the first quarter of 2012 (Q1'12) as the second thin-film investment cycle draws to a conclusion. Within this period, 65 thin-film expansion phases are projected to be implemented, with a combined nameplate capacity of 4.8 GW…

"Capacity expansions are consistent with leading cell manufacturers' guiding 2011 shipment growth rates of 55%. However, market demand is forecast to increase by only 12% this year, as incentive tariff cuts are implemented across major European markets…This imbalance is expected to have a profound impact on the equipment supply chain, starting with a reset of capacity growth plans during the second half of the year (2H'11)…With tool lead times typically three to six months, the full impact of these changes will be felt hardest during 2012, Solarbuzz predicts…"


TEXAS PICKS WIND OVER NUKES
Wind Power Beats Nuclear Power in Texas
April 21, 2011 (Clean Technica)

"Texas has more wind power than it can use, and…NRG Energy, Inc. has backed out of a plan to build two new nuclear reactors in the state…[tho] the stated motivation for the decision was the [Fukushima] nuclear disaster…[I]t’s also clear that rapid growth in the alternative energy field is rapidly chipping away at nuclear power, helped along by new grid and energy storage technologies. This triple threat is undermining the…[idea that nuclear power provides] the most abundant and reliable energy bang for the buck…

"…On a global scale, energy capacity from renewable sources passed up nuclear for the first time last year [before the Fukushima nuclear incident]…[T]he fossil fuel [industries ship] coal and petroleum around the world. For renewable energy, massive transmission projects…are at hand…[and incipient] advanced energy storage technologies [will] enable renewable energy to be shipped in [reusable or recyclable] battery-type devices…"

California, too, found wind a vastly more affordable source of electricity than nuclear, even before Fukushima. (click to enlarge)

"The wind surplus in Texas could have a ripple effect on energy investments in other states…Pattern Energy…has proposed building a 400-mile line connecting wind power from Texas to existing transmission lines that serve Alabama and several other southern states. Unlike the decades-long process involved in siting and building new nuclear facilities, the company anticipates a permitting and construction process of about five years. Also slated for Texas is a gigantic new wind power storage facility, which other states are already eyeballing for the Pacific Northwest renewables…

"…The primary reason [for NRG’s decision reportedly] is a months-long safety review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission following the tsunami in Japan, which could jack up the cost of the project due to design changes and other factors…[There is also] uncertainty over financing, which was supposed to come from Fukushima’s owner Tokyo Electric Power…[Also,] there is no [Texas] regulatory structure that would basically guarantee NRG a captive [market]…The two new reactors would have to compete on price along with every other form of available power…"

Texas, which is suffering a terrible drought, might also note that nuclear is water intensive and wind needs no water. (click to enlarge)

""For all its advantages, nuclear energy is a high risk endeavor. Those risks are becoming increasingly untenable – and incredibly expensive – as existing plants get older. New York’s aging Indian Point nuclear facility has started to raise alarm bells…[and New York’s] Shoreham nuclear power plant, had to be decommissioned before it ever went online, partly because planners failed to account for population growth in nearby suburbs. Ratepayers were stuck with the tab and the facility still sits there, sucking up valuable real estate…"

"…NRG’s partner Toshiba is still intending to move ahead with the permitting process. Toshiba signed onto the project just two years ago in 2009, which is pretty much a blip on the screen in nuclear construction terms, so it’s no surprise that the company hasn’t thrown in the towel yet. However, given that wind power is set to take off not only in western U.S. states but all up and down the East Coast as well, the prospects for nuclear look pretty dim."