With annual returns of 10% coupled with low risk, wind farm cooperatives are drawing growing numbers of investors in England, good news for Europe's hopes to lead the world in renewable energy. Along with being a safe investment during turbulent economic times, the cooperatives are drawing interest from those concerned not just with global warming and climate change , but also with energy security.
"It's not only a climate issue, but it's also a problem with energy supplies," Clive Burke, a shareholder in the Westmill cooperative near Swindon, southwest England, told AFP. We are exceeding the ability of our planet to support our energy needs."
The European Union (EU) leaders last week agreed a landmark package to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020, make 20% energy savings and bring renewable energy sources up to 20% of total energy use.
The EU accord gave a boost to efforts to agree an historic new climate treaty in Copenhagen next December, to succeed the Kyoto Protocol's provisions when they run out in 2012.
Those lofty ambitions begin on the ground: Burke, who works as an electrical engineer at a nearby power station, is one of 2,500 people who invested between 250 and 20,000 pounds, the legal maximum, in Westmill. The cooperative, which began production in March, is the first wind farm to be wholly owned by individuals in Britain, which with gales sweeping in from the Atlantic has the best wind resources in Europe.
"We have produced energy every day since then," Adam Twine, a farmer who started the project 15 years ago on his plot of land by installing five wind turbines 160 feet in height.
Overall, the project cost $11.9 million, nearly 60% of which came from individual shareholders, with the remainder being funded by a bank loan that is to be repaid over the next 8 to 10 years. CO2 emissions resulting from the production, installation and the lifetime of the turbine, which stretches 25 years, will be offset in just six months. The turbines, which were installed by industrial giant Siemens and are maintained and operated remotely from Germany, produce sufficient power for 2,500 homes.
It's there, through the sale of electricity, that the cooperative has been making back its investment. When they first began appearing in Britain, wind farm cooperatives returned an average of 6% annually, but recent increases in the price of energy have spiked that up to 10%, 12.5% at Westmill, and that's the average return over 25 years, factoring in loan repayments but excluding tax incentives.
"And it's not finished," Burke noted, adding that cooperatives like Westmill have the added advantage of not tapping into already-strained government finances.
That opinion is backed by the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), with spokesman Nick Medic noting: "The investment is not only financial, it's also emotional."
He added: "Community funded projects play an important role because they take a bit of the burden off the government, offer a financial return higher than most savings accounts and give communities a sense of ownership which is psychologically important."
Many wind farms ensure they are driven by local communities, with cooperatives encouraging local investment, more than half of Westmill's investors, for example, live within a 20-mile perimeter.
"It's not a big company that planted a wind farm in the middle of our community," Burke said. "It's actually ours, we own it".
Large companies have, in recent months, tried to encourage local community involvement in their projects, Falck Renewables, a subsidiary of Italian group Falck, gave locals an opportunity to invest in its wind farms in Scotland.
They decided to form cooperatives, one of which raised five times as much as was initially requested. The first cooperative wind farm was set up in Britain in 1997. Currently there are seven wind farm cooperatives in Britain with a total of 5,500 investors. In 2007, five percent of the total energy consumed in Britain was produced through renewable sources. Last year, wind farms contributed around two percent of Britain's total energy production, eight gigawatts, leapfrogging hydropower for the first time.
Britain also overtook Denmark last year to become Europe's premier producer of offshore wind energy. According to the BWEA, British wind farms by themselves could produce 30 gigawatts of energy by 2020, with wind farms currently in development representing a potential additional supply of 20 gigawatts, sufficient to power 11 million homes.
"Wind is a relatively solid place to put your money. Demand (in energy) is going up, supplies are looking increasingly uncertain. We have an unlimited supply of wind."
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A New Green Deal for the World
Germany's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is calling for the world to work more closely together on the environment to create a "New Green Deal" after Barack Obama United States election victory.
"Climate change is one of the challenges which we can either solve together or fail on together," the foreign minister said at an environment conference in Freiburg, southern Germany. "The world needs a New Green Deal!"
Steinmeier is due to challenger Angela Merkel for the chancellorship in elections in September 2009. Also at the two-day conference was Rajendra K. Pachauri, chair of the UN's Nobel Prize-winning body on climate change, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
"Climate change is one of the challenges which we can either solve together or fail on together," the foreign minister said at an environment conference in Freiburg, southern Germany. "The world needs a New Green Deal!"
Steinmeier is due to challenger Angela Merkel for the chancellorship in elections in September 2009. Also at the two-day conference was Rajendra K. Pachauri, chair of the UN's Nobel Prize-winning body on climate change, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Democrats Float New Offshore Drilling Plan
House Democrats offered a broader drilling proposal Wednesday that would allow offshore energy development beyond 50 miles from the coast if a state gives the go-ahead and opens all federal waters 100 miles from land. The drilling measure is part of a broader energy package expected to come up for a vote next week that also would roll back tax breaks for the largest oil companies and require them to pay additional royalties with the money to be used to spur renewable energy programs and conservation.
Federal waters within 50 miles of shore would continue to be protected from drilling. Waters off Florida's Gulf coast also would remain protected at least until 2022 under the plan. But the proposal, announced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, would essentially end the longstanding federal ban on oil and gas drilling that has barred oil companies from more than 80% of Outer Continental Shelf waters from New England to Washington state.
Congressional Republicans for weeks have demanded a vote on allowing access to more of the country's offshore oil and gas resources, an issue that also has become the core of GOP presidential nominee John McCain's response to high gasoline prices. But Republicans have strongly opposed new taxes on the oil companies as well as another of the Democrats' demands: that utilities nationwide be required to use at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
Both provisions are key to the Democrats' energy legislation. House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the Democrats' drilling proposal would still leave vast areas of federal coastal waters, believed to have 18 billion barrels of oil and large natural gas resources, off-limits.
"They're trying to pull a hoax on the American people," Boehner told reporters Wednesday. He said the Democrats' plan didn't appear to include any sharing of royalties with states and with no financial incentives states would likely not participate, resulting "in little or no new American energy production."
The Senate, meanwhile, is expected next week to take up several drilling proposals including one that would open waters off the Atlantic from Virginia to Georgia and the eastern Gulf off Florida to drilling but keep the bans in place elsewhere. That plan also would allow for a 50-mile coastal buffer.
Federal waters within 50 miles of shore would continue to be protected from drilling. Waters off Florida's Gulf coast also would remain protected at least until 2022 under the plan. But the proposal, announced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, would essentially end the longstanding federal ban on oil and gas drilling that has barred oil companies from more than 80% of Outer Continental Shelf waters from New England to Washington state.
Congressional Republicans for weeks have demanded a vote on allowing access to more of the country's offshore oil and gas resources, an issue that also has become the core of GOP presidential nominee John McCain's response to high gasoline prices. But Republicans have strongly opposed new taxes on the oil companies as well as another of the Democrats' demands: that utilities nationwide be required to use at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
Both provisions are key to the Democrats' energy legislation. House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the Democrats' drilling proposal would still leave vast areas of federal coastal waters, believed to have 18 billion barrels of oil and large natural gas resources, off-limits.
"They're trying to pull a hoax on the American people," Boehner told reporters Wednesday. He said the Democrats' plan didn't appear to include any sharing of royalties with states and with no financial incentives states would likely not participate, resulting "in little or no new American energy production."
The Senate, meanwhile, is expected next week to take up several drilling proposals including one that would open waters off the Atlantic from Virginia to Georgia and the eastern Gulf off Florida to drilling but keep the bans in place elsewhere. That plan also would allow for a 50-mile coastal buffer.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Did You Know? Gel Based Shaving Creams
Did You Know?
Just how bad are gel shave creams? First off the obvious is that we have to dispose of the containers when empty and they go to a landfill. However, the propellant is petroleum based in each can. If just 10% of US households stopped using gel based shaving creams we could save enough oil to power 250,000 homes!
Just how bad are gel shave creams? First off the obvious is that we have to dispose of the containers when empty and they go to a landfill. However, the propellant is petroleum based in each can. If just 10% of US households stopped using gel based shaving creams we could save enough oil to power 250,000 homes!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
American Oil Demand Dives
American oil demand during the first half of the year fell by an average 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the same period a year ago, the biggest volume decline in 26 years, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday. In its latest monthly energy forecast , the EIA said the huge drop in demand was due to slower US economic growth and the impact of high petroleum prices. The drop in U.S. oil demand helped offset a 1.3 million bpd increase in petroleum consumption in nonindustrial countries during the first half of the year.
As a result, preliminary data shows that global oil consumption rose by 500,000 bpd in the six month period, the EIA said. The Energy Department's analytical arm sees continued falling oil demand, and for the first time is predicting that U.S. petroleum consumption in 2009 will be lower than this year, which would mark a drop in annual demand for three years straight.
"Total US petroleum and other liquids consumption is projected to shrink by almost 500,000 (bpd) in 2008 based on prospects for a weak economy and continuing high crude oil and product prices extending into 2009," the EIA said.
US daily oil use fell by a slight 7,000 barrels last year and is forecast to decline by 480,000 barrels this year and then by another 120,000 barrels next year. The EIA is now forecasting that US oil demand in 2009 will average 20.08 million bpd, the lowest level since 2003. High gasoline prices have cut into American demand, but the EIA expects lower pump costs through December than previously forecast, with gasoline averaging $3.81 a gallon in the fourth quarter compared with the record $4.11 reached in July.
However, US consumers will be hit with much higher heating fuel costs this winter, the agency warned. The average residential price for heating oil during the upcoming heating season, which runs from October through March, is forecast to be $4.34 a gallon, up 31% from last winter. Households that use natural gas as their heating fuel will pay an average $15.58 per thousand cubic feet of gas, about 22% more than last winter, the EIA said.
As a result, preliminary data shows that global oil consumption rose by 500,000 bpd in the six month period, the EIA said. The Energy Department's analytical arm sees continued falling oil demand, and for the first time is predicting that U.S. petroleum consumption in 2009 will be lower than this year, which would mark a drop in annual demand for three years straight.
"Total US petroleum and other liquids consumption is projected to shrink by almost 500,000 (bpd) in 2008 based on prospects for a weak economy and continuing high crude oil and product prices extending into 2009," the EIA said.
US daily oil use fell by a slight 7,000 barrels last year and is forecast to decline by 480,000 barrels this year and then by another 120,000 barrels next year. The EIA is now forecasting that US oil demand in 2009 will average 20.08 million bpd, the lowest level since 2003. High gasoline prices have cut into American demand, but the EIA expects lower pump costs through December than previously forecast, with gasoline averaging $3.81 a gallon in the fourth quarter compared with the record $4.11 reached in July.
However, US consumers will be hit with much higher heating fuel costs this winter, the agency warned. The average residential price for heating oil during the upcoming heating season, which runs from October through March, is forecast to be $4.34 a gallon, up 31% from last winter. Households that use natural gas as their heating fuel will pay an average $15.58 per thousand cubic feet of gas, about 22% more than last winter, the EIA said.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Ethanol not going anywhere says EPA
Amid a growing backlash to federal requirements that ethanol be blended into gasoline, the Environmental Protection Agency denied a request by Texas to waive the mandate. The decision, while expected, deals a blow to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who asked for the waiver after corn prices climbed sharply this spring. He said that the requirements on the amount of corn-based ethanol that has to be blended into gasoline was severely harming the state's economy (in particular its livestock sector).
In denying Texas's request, the EPA estimated that waiving the national mandate, which requires that the United States produce 9 billion gallons of ethanol fuel this year and 36 billion gallons by 2022, would reduce corn prices only slightly (by only seven cents a bushel). The EPA's move, however, certainly won't be the last word about biofuels. The action now moves to Congress and even the presidential candidates.
Since May, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, has been pushing to "freeze" ethanol blending at last year's levels, when 4.7 billion gallons of domestic ethanol were produced. Hutchison's bill has been cosponsored by 11 other Republican senators, including Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.
McCain, in fact, is a longtime ethanol critic, and his views contrast sharply with those of his Democratic presidential rival, Barack Obama, who has strongly supported biofuel incentives in the Senate. (His home state, Illinois, is one of the country's top agricultural producers, and his victory in corn-centric Iowa's primaries helped launch his candidacy.) Even as corn-based ethanol has come under attack from some quarters, Obama has defended it as a good "transitional" fuel.
In announcing the decision today, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson said the agency, after consulting with economists and reviewing 15,000 public comments, concluded that the alternative fuel standards are "strengthening the nation's energy security and supporting American farming communities."
Many Democrats in Congress agree, so it seems unlikely that Hutchison's bill will get very far. Says Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, "Renewable biofuels are one of the most important tools we have to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."
In denying Texas's request, the EPA estimated that waiving the national mandate, which requires that the United States produce 9 billion gallons of ethanol fuel this year and 36 billion gallons by 2022, would reduce corn prices only slightly (by only seven cents a bushel). The EPA's move, however, certainly won't be the last word about biofuels. The action now moves to Congress and even the presidential candidates.
Since May, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, has been pushing to "freeze" ethanol blending at last year's levels, when 4.7 billion gallons of domestic ethanol were produced. Hutchison's bill has been cosponsored by 11 other Republican senators, including Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.
McCain, in fact, is a longtime ethanol critic, and his views contrast sharply with those of his Democratic presidential rival, Barack Obama, who has strongly supported biofuel incentives in the Senate. (His home state, Illinois, is one of the country's top agricultural producers, and his victory in corn-centric Iowa's primaries helped launch his candidacy.) Even as corn-based ethanol has come under attack from some quarters, Obama has defended it as a good "transitional" fuel.
In announcing the decision today, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson said the agency, after consulting with economists and reviewing 15,000 public comments, concluded that the alternative fuel standards are "strengthening the nation's energy security and supporting American farming communities."
Many Democrats in Congress agree, so it seems unlikely that Hutchison's bill will get very far. Says Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, "Renewable biofuels are one of the most important tools we have to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."
Friday, July 18, 2008
Eight Signs the Animal World is out of Balance
A polar bear clinging to a melting iceberg may the poster child for global warming, but rising temperatures, pollution and other human activity are also affecting the animal kingdom in far subtler ways. Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, the natural world could be giving us other signs that human intervention has knocked it way off kilter.
Some recent examples:
1. Earlier Migration: Several bird species are making their annual northward jaunt slightly ahead of schedule in recent springs, as the East Coast of the United States heats up, according to a study detailed in the June issue of the journal Global Change Biology. The report confirms similar studies dating back to 2006. Early birds may not sound like a huge deal, but scientists warn that long-distance migrators who start out in South America, and therefore lack cues about the timing of spring in Northern Hemisphere destinations, will be less able to keep pace with the changing climate. "Trees and shrubs are further along in their development, and different groups of insects are out," said lead author Abraham Miller-Rushing of Boston University. "Spring is coming earlier for most other plants and animals, but not for the long-distance migratory birds. Thus, these long-distance migrant birds may need to learn to eat different sources of food or face other challenges because of the changes in timing."
2: Jellyfish Rule: An outbreak of jellyfish in oceans across the planet has resulted from the stinging creatures hitching rides on ships that circumnavigate the globe. In fact, studies suggest that almost a quarter of all marine species in international harbors are alien transplants, thanks to human-assisted dispersal.
3: Food Web Contaminated. Scientists said last month that they found toxic pollutants in nine deep-sea species of cephalopods, a class of mollusks that includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautiluses. Among the contaminants were at least two banned in the United States in the 1970s: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Scientists say it's further evidence that contaminants make their way deep into the marine food web.
4. Heading for the Hills: Thirty species of reptiles and amphibians have fled uphill to cooler climes as global warming has caused the mercury to rise. We could see a rash of extinctions occurring between 2050 and 2100, scientists say, because higher ground will eventually run out.
5. Penguins in Peril: A rapid population decline among penguins because, in addition to a warming planet, they face the triple whammy of oil pollution, depletion of fisheries and aggressive coastline development. "Penguins are among those species that show us that we are making fundamental changes to our world," said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington biology professor who has studied the flightless birds for more than 25 years. "The fate of all species is to go extinct, but there are some species that go extinct before their time and we are facing that possibility with some penguins.
6. Sea-Life Shift: Scientists see a notable shift in the composition of coastal marine animal communities, caused in part by changing ocean temperatures, from vertebrates (fish) to invertebrates (lobsters, squid, and crabs), as well as from bottom-feeders to species that feed higher in the water column. Meanwhile, warm-water species have superseded larger, cool-water species in population size.
7. Migrating Parasite: The parasite Angiostronglyus vasorum, commonly known as "French heartworm," is migrating northward because of rising temperatures. Normally found in southwestern England, the parasite has been detected in dogs admitted to animal hospitals in Scotland. Climbing temperatures in the country have also resulted in a sudden proliferation of slugs and snails.
8. Food Shortages: Plant-loving animals in extremely seasonal environments such as the Arctic struggle to feed themselves because global warming causes their food supply to peak in availability before they can reach breeding grounds. "Think of it like this," said Eric Post, a biologist at Penn State. "You've been out on the town with friends, and on the way home you want to stop off for a bite to eat, but the restaurant you've always gone to has closed early. So you try for one around the corner that's always open a little longer. But when you get to that one, it too is closed. For herbivores, the fact that there are several 'restaurants' - their food patches - dispersed across the landscape isn't useful if they all begin closing at the same time in addition to closing earlier in the season."
Some recent examples:
1. Earlier Migration: Several bird species are making their annual northward jaunt slightly ahead of schedule in recent springs, as the East Coast of the United States heats up, according to a study detailed in the June issue of the journal Global Change Biology. The report confirms similar studies dating back to 2006. Early birds may not sound like a huge deal, but scientists warn that long-distance migrators who start out in South America, and therefore lack cues about the timing of spring in Northern Hemisphere destinations, will be less able to keep pace with the changing climate. "Trees and shrubs are further along in their development, and different groups of insects are out," said lead author Abraham Miller-Rushing of Boston University. "Spring is coming earlier for most other plants and animals, but not for the long-distance migratory birds. Thus, these long-distance migrant birds may need to learn to eat different sources of food or face other challenges because of the changes in timing."
2: Jellyfish Rule: An outbreak of jellyfish in oceans across the planet has resulted from the stinging creatures hitching rides on ships that circumnavigate the globe. In fact, studies suggest that almost a quarter of all marine species in international harbors are alien transplants, thanks to human-assisted dispersal.
3: Food Web Contaminated. Scientists said last month that they found toxic pollutants in nine deep-sea species of cephalopods, a class of mollusks that includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautiluses. Among the contaminants were at least two banned in the United States in the 1970s: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Scientists say it's further evidence that contaminants make their way deep into the marine food web.
4. Heading for the Hills: Thirty species of reptiles and amphibians have fled uphill to cooler climes as global warming has caused the mercury to rise. We could see a rash of extinctions occurring between 2050 and 2100, scientists say, because higher ground will eventually run out.
5. Penguins in Peril: A rapid population decline among penguins because, in addition to a warming planet, they face the triple whammy of oil pollution, depletion of fisheries and aggressive coastline development. "Penguins are among those species that show us that we are making fundamental changes to our world," said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington biology professor who has studied the flightless birds for more than 25 years. "The fate of all species is to go extinct, but there are some species that go extinct before their time and we are facing that possibility with some penguins.
6. Sea-Life Shift: Scientists see a notable shift in the composition of coastal marine animal communities, caused in part by changing ocean temperatures, from vertebrates (fish) to invertebrates (lobsters, squid, and crabs), as well as from bottom-feeders to species that feed higher in the water column. Meanwhile, warm-water species have superseded larger, cool-water species in population size.
7. Migrating Parasite: The parasite Angiostronglyus vasorum, commonly known as "French heartworm," is migrating northward because of rising temperatures. Normally found in southwestern England, the parasite has been detected in dogs admitted to animal hospitals in Scotland. Climbing temperatures in the country have also resulted in a sudden proliferation of slugs and snails.
8. Food Shortages: Plant-loving animals in extremely seasonal environments such as the Arctic struggle to feed themselves because global warming causes their food supply to peak in availability before they can reach breeding grounds. "Think of it like this," said Eric Post, a biologist at Penn State. "You've been out on the town with friends, and on the way home you want to stop off for a bite to eat, but the restaurant you've always gone to has closed early. So you try for one around the corner that's always open a little longer. But when you get to that one, it too is closed. For herbivores, the fact that there are several 'restaurants' - their food patches - dispersed across the landscape isn't useful if they all begin closing at the same time in addition to closing earlier in the season."
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