QUICK NEWS, December 3: MORE NEW ENERGY IN CHINA; THREE TIMES THE WIND BY 2020; WHAT THE PIPELINE DECISION COULD MEAN

MORE NEW ENERGY IN CHINA China’s Clean-Energy Power Output Rises 48% in October

November 22, 2012 (Bloomberg News)

“Electricity generated from clean energy in China rose 48 percent to 92.7 billion kilowatt hours in October from a year ago as installations grew…In the year to October, electricity generated from clean- energy sources, including from hydro and nuclear plants, increased 26 percent to 810.2 billion kilowatt hours, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said…”

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“That amounts to 20.4 percent of on-grid electricity, 3.6 percent higher from a year ago…Power from wind farms surged 40 percent last month compared with the same period a year earlier, SERC said. The nation added 7.2 gigawatts of wind-power generation capacity in the first 10 months, raising the total to about 56 gigawatts.”

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THREE TIMES THE WIND BY 2020 Global Wind Energy Outlook 2012: Global Wind Power Market Could Triple by 2020

14 November 2012 (Global Wind Energy Council)

“…[The fourth Greenpeace International and the Global Wind Energy Council] bi-annual report on the future of the wind industry…shows that wind power could supply up to 12% of global electricity by 2020, creating 1.4 million new jobs and reducing CO2 emissions by more than 1.5 billion tons per year, more than 5 times today’s level. By 2030, wind power could provide more than 20% of global electricity supply.”

The Global Wind Energy Outlook paints a picture of three…scenarios out to 2020, 2030, and eventually to 2050; and then measures these scenarios against two different projections for the development of electricity demand: the first based on the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, and another, more energy efficient future developed by the ECOFYS consultancy and researchers at the University of Utrecht…”

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“…[W]ind energy also uses no fresh water to generate electricity, a unique attribute (along with solar PV) which makes it an attractive option in an increasingly water-constrained world. Wind power is by definition an indigenous energy source, which is particularly useful to countries burdened with large fossil fuel import bills; and wind power is now competitive in an increasing number of markets, even when competing against heavily subsidised ‘conventional’ energy sources, with little or no financial compensation for its environmental and social benefits: zero CO2 emissions, zero water use, and no air or water pollution…”

“Wind energy installations totalled 240 GW globally by the end of 2011, and the industry is set to grow by at least another 40 GW in 2012. By 2020, the IEA’s New Policies Scenario suggests that total capacity would reach 587 GW, supplying about 6% of global electricity; but the GWEO Moderate scenario suggests that this could reach 759 GW, supplying 7.7-8.3% of global electricity supply. The Advanced scenario suggests that with the right policy support wind power could reach more than 1,100 GW by 2020, supplying between 11.7-12.6% of global electricity…”

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WHAT THE PIPELINE DECISION COULD MEAN Obama pipeline decision may preview energy policy

Josh Lederman, December 1, 2012 (AP via San Jose Mercury-News)

“…[President Barack Obama’s] next move on a proposed oil pipeline between the U.S. and Canada may signal how he will deal with climate and energy issues…[He] is facing increasing pressure to determine the fate of the $7 billion Keystone XL project, with environmental activists and oil producers each holding out hope that the president, freed from the political constraints of re-election, will side with them…

“On its surface, it's a choice between the promise of jobs and economic growth and environmental concerns. But it's also become a proxy for a broader fight over U.S. energy consumption and climate change…[Once content with delays,] opponents of Keystone XL have launched protests in recent weeks at the White House and in Texas urging Obama to kill the project outright. On Capitol Hill, support for the pipeline appears to be gaining…Obama has shown little urgency about the pipeline, which would carry crude oil about 1,700 miles from western Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries…”

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“…The pipeline requires State Department approval because it crosses an international boundary…[It was put] on hold while a plan was worked out to avoid routing it through Nebraska's environmentally sensitive Sandhills region…TransCanada, the company applying to build it, revised the route, but that caused the lengthy environmental review process to start over. In the meantime, the company split the project into two parts, which didn't require Obama's signoff, but he gave part of it his blessing in March anyway, irking environmental activists who see the pipeline as a slap to efforts to reduce oil consumption and fend off climate change.

“…[I]n an otherwise highly polarized political climate, access to affordable energy has become a rare issue with bipartisan appeal…Many Democrats from states whose economies depend on oil support the pipeline. So do some trade unions, whose workers stand to gain thousands of new construction jobs…[Republicans] generally support the project…[but] in Texas, a deep-red state that normally embraces the oil industry, the project has drawn intense opposition from landowners who argue their property along the pipeline's route is being unfairly condemned. Their complaints have fostered an unlikely alliance with environmentalists.”

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