| Ontario Solar Subsidy is “Perverse”: Environment Commissioner |
| 2013-06-14 (canadian association for renewable energies) The microFIT program in Ontario has created “a perverse incentive that represents a key barrier to reducing GHGs from buildings” because it provides financial incentives for solar photovoltaic electricity generation “to the exclusion of solar thermal systems” for heating water. The province should amend its PV tariff so it does not compete with the "financial and GHG reduction benefits" of solar thermal installations, explains Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller in his annual report to the Legislature. Most buildings use natural gas to heat water and the opportunity to reduce these emissions is being lost, he explains in his report, ‘Failing our Future: 2013 Review of the Ontario Government's Climate Change Action Plan.’ Buildings emit 31.7 Mt of GHG per year and represent the third largest source after transportation and industry; well ahead of the 14.8 Mt of emissions from electricity generation. Growth in emissions is easing but will still increase to 190 Mt by 2030 due in part to an increased reliance on natural gas-fired generation. Miller wants the province to assess the ability of pricing signals, demand response, energy storage, and combined heat and power systems to shift electricity usage away from carbon-intensive peaking generation, but commends the decarbonization of the power sector which represents “an excellent source of low-carbon electricity to reduce emissions in other sectors such as transportation.” In 2002, the canadian association for renewable energies formed the Green Heat Partnership to promote the use of renewable energy technologies for space conditioning, noting that these green technologies could reduce more GHG emissions than all coal-fired generation in the country. Solar is a cost-effective technology for heating water or space, while geothermal and biomass are dispatchable sources of heating, and earth energy pumps provide 100% of cooling load in residential and commercial buildings. |
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| BC Solar Firm Purchases Another Project in India |
| 2013-06-14 (canadian association for renewable energies) P2 Solar has acquired its second renewable energy development project in India, a 500 kW mini-hydro facility downstream from its previously-announced Rajgarh project in Punjab on the Sidhwan irrigation canal. Project Tibba was acquired through P2’s wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, Jagat Energy Private Limited, and the company is looking for other hybrid mini-hydro/solar PV projects and rooftop projects in India. Both projects will generate annual revenue of $800,000; Tibba’s capital budget is $1.6 million but low operating cost means its EBITDA will be 95%, say officials. P2 Solar (formerly Natco International) did not disclose the purchase price. |
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| Windfarm Moves Ahead near Orangeville |
| 2013-06-14 (canadian association for renewable energies) The Ontario Ministry of Environment has issued a renewable energy approval for a 99 MW windfarm in Melancthon. Dufferin Wind Power still requires permission from the Ontario Energy Board to build a 230- kilovolt power line from the site and the REA could face a review by the Environmental Review Tribunal if there opposition is filed during the 15-day appeal period. The Class 4 facility will have 49 GE turbines and will be operational by January under a 20-year feed-in tariff from the Ontario Power Authority at 13.5 cents/kWh. |
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| Canada Fails to Make Top-Ten in Green Power Consumption |
| 2013-06-13 (canadian association for renewable energies) Canada consumed 19 TWh of electricity from renewable energy sources in 2012, an increase of 10.5% over 2011 and representing 1.8% of global consumption as it scored #11 on the list in the 62nd annual ‘BP Statistical Review of World Energy’. The US scored in top place at 224 TWh, up 12.3% over 2011, while China increased 25.1% to 141 TWh. Third-place Germany increased consumption by 8%; Spain 18%; Brazil by 24%; Italy 29%; India 18%; UK 28%; Japan 8% and tenth-place France increased by 23%.
The world average consumption increased 15.2% to 1,049 TWh. In solar electric, Canada’s consumption jumped 64.5% over 2011 to 0.7 TWh, while global consumption rose to 93 TWh. In wind, Canada’s consumption rose 15.3% to 11.7 TWh while the global increase of 18% went to 521 TWh. The data track the largest annual increase in US production of oil and natural gas ever recorded, and the largest annual decline in nuclear output. The Review shows a drop in the growth of overall global energy consumption to 1.8% in 2012, down from 2.4% in 2011, partly due to the economic slowdown but also due to increased energy efficiency. Coal remains the fastest-growing fossil fuel and biofuels output fell for the first time since 2000, while global carbon dioxide emissions from energy use continued to grow but at a slower rate than in 2011. |
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| Scientists Propose New Way to Store Green Power |
| 2013-06-13 (canadian association for renewable energies) Scientists from the University of Calgary have developed a technique to convert electricity into chemical energy which will facilitate the capture of solar and wind power. The concept involves a electrolyzer which uses catalysts to start a chemical reaction to convert electricity into chemical energy by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, which then can be stored and re-converted into electricity. The technology will be commercialized through a start-up called FireWater Fuel which expects to have a commercial large-scale prototype by 2015 for testing in a home. |
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| CanWEA Holds Second Annual Power of Wind Blog Contest |
| 2013-06-13 (canadian association for renewable energies) The Canadian Wind Energy Association has launched the second ‘Power of Wind Blog Contest’ to mark the 5th Annual Global Wind Day on June 15. Students can submit a 300-word blog on the subject of clean energy and how they can become part of a renewable energy future. Last year’s contest attracted hundreds of entries; first prize is a $2,000 bursary for post-secondary studies with $500 and $250 for second and third prizes. Deadline for entries is September 15. “Wind energy projects are right now injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into local communities and providing high quality jobs for college graduates across the country,” says Robert Hornung of CanWEA. Global Wind Day will also feature open house events at ENERCON's manufacturing facilities in Beamsville and Matane. Canada has 166 windfarms with 3,768 turbines and installed capacity of 6,578 MW. The European Wind Energy Association and Global Wind Energy Council coordinate Global Wind Day through a network of partners such as CanWEA. |
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| Good News - Bad News for Global Renewables |
| 2013-06-12 (canadian association for renewable energies) Investments in renewable energy in 2012 totaled $244 billion, but it was the second time since 2006 that global investments failed to top the prior year. Weak US and EU markets caused investments to decline 12%, and developing countries received $112 bn of total investments compared with $132 bn by developed countries, a dramatic change from 2007 when the latter invested 2.5 times more in renewables (excluding large hydro) than developing countries. The United Nations Environment Programme / Bloomberg New Energy Finance 'Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2013' and REN21's `Renewables 2013 Global Status Report' say global investments since 2006 now total $1.3 trillion with green power capacity of 1,470 GW in 2012, up 8.5% from 2011. Wind accounts for 39% of power capacity, with hydro and solar PV accounting for 26% each. US investment declined 34% to $36 billion, while Canada slipped 17% to 23%. |
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| Wind Centre Receives $3m Funding from Ottawa |
| 2013-06-12 (canadian association for renewable energies) The Wind Energy TechnoCentre in Quebec will receive $3 million in non-repayable financing from Canada Economic Development's Quebec Economic Development Program. The TechnoCentre specializes in the study of wind power in northern climates and is a major asset for Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine by attracting new investment to the region. Founded in 2000, it works with universities and CEGEPs to recruit and train researchers. “The wind energy sector is growing rapidly and will become increasingly important in terms of job creation,” says Denis Lebel, responsible for the Economic Development Agency in Quebec. The three-year funding agreement will allow the centre to further the development in Quebec of a wind energy industry that is competitive on both a North American and global scale. |
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| Calgary Firms Buys 54 MW of PV Projects from Solar Company |
| 2013-06-12 (canadian association for renewable energies) Canadian Solar subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions, will sell four utility-scale solar plants to a subsidary of BluEarth Renewables For $225 million. The 54 MW of capacity (38.5 MW of AC) are located in Kawartha Lakes, Belleville, Beaverton and Napanee, with construction on all four projects to start this year and commercial operation in 2014. Canadian Solar will provide turnkey engineering, procurement and construction services for all four sites, which will include 186,000 Canadian Solar modules. Canadian Solar has 29 projects in Ontario with 400 MW capacity, which the company values at $1.5 billion once all systems are built, connected to the grid and sold to investors. |
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| More Renewables Needed, says IEA |
| 2013-06-11 (canadian association for renewable energies) Net revenues for existing renewable energy plants and nuclear reactors would increase by $1.8 trillion to 2035 if the world tries to limit temperature rise to 2oC. Climate change is slipping down the policy agenda
even as scientific evidence continues to accumulate, warns the International Energy Agency in its report, World Energy Outlook Special Report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map. The energy sector accounts for two-thirds of GHG emissions, and renewable energies are on the rise but investment slowed last year. The report details the four energy policies that can meet the need to limit global warming without jeopardizing economic growth, including limits to the use of low-efficiency coal-fired power plants. The share of power generation from renewables increases (from 20% today to 27% in 2020) and governments have a role to encourage prudent adaptation (in addition to mitigation). |
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| Agreement Signed for 130 MW Solar Plant |
| 2013-06-11 (canadian association for renewable energies) Construction will start in Q3 on a 130 MW utility-scale solar power plant will cost $310 million. Canadian Solar Solutions, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, signed the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) agreement with Grand Renewable Solar, part of Samsung Renewable Energy. The plant will generate 165,000 MWh of green power per year and displace 162,000 metric tons of carbon emissions over the 20-year period. The installation will include 440,000 Canadian Solar CS6X modules, and will create several hundred jobs during development, construction and operation. “This transaction represents the largest EPC contract in our history and underlies the progress we have made in the transformation of our business from a module supplier into a leading total solutions provider with a global footprint and bankable brand,” says Shawn Qu of Canadian Solar. |
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| CSA Expands PV Testing In China |
| 2013-06-11 (canadian association for renewable energies) CSA Group has increased its product testing capabilities for Energy Star testing with a new photovoltaic laboratory in Kunshan, China. The new solar lab will increase capacity for testing and certification of PV modules, grid-connected inverters and components to North American and IEC standards. It will be equipped to test 100 kW PV grid-connected inverters and will complete IEEE 1547 and IEEE 1547.1 testing. “CSA Group has specialized knowledge and expertise in the area of testing and certifying PV products,” explains regional vice president Hans Pan. |
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| Major Retailer Buys Green Power Offsets |
| 2013-06-11 (canadian association for renewable energies) Staples Canada will purchase 10,000 MWh of green electricity from Bullfrog Power for two office buildings and eleven of its 330 stores across Canada. The power will be generated at wind and hydro facilities certified as low impact under Environment Canada’s EcoLogo program. |
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| Wind-Solar-Tidal Generate 1.6% of Canada’s Electricity |
| 2013-06-10 (canadian association for renewable energies) Wind, solar and tidal facilities generated 1.6% of total power in the first three months of this year, according to Statistics Canada. Wind was the largest source at 2,667,905 MWh, although its 711,794 MWh output in March was lower than 1,105,247 MWh in January. Solar generated 34,072 MWh (16,421 MWh in March vs 7,842 MWh in January). Tidal is the third renewable technology tracked, with a total of 7,053 MWh over the three months. Total generation in Canada over that period was 168,053,056 MWh. During the same period in 2008, wind output was 473,179 MWh and 6,805 MWh from solar, which was 0.3% of total generation of 170,036,764 MWh. |
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| TransAlta Increases Use of Renewables |
| 2013-06-10 (canadian association for renewable energies) TransAtla says it is generating more electricity with less emissions and lower overall environmental impact, with 25% renewable energy capacity in its portfolio. The utility is the largest Canadian producer of wind energy Canada's largest publicly traded generator and marketer of renewable power. Its green power capacity grew to 4.8 million MWh, it notes in its ‘2012 Annual Report on Sustainability,’ with 68 MW of new wind pushing wind to 13% of its net ownership capacity. “To be successful in the energy business, sustainability must be second-nature,” says president Dawn Farrell. TransAlta is also involved in geothermal and small hydro. |
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| Wind Conference in QC Examines 800 MW of Procurement |
| 2013-06-10 (canadian association for renewable energies) Québec’s 7th Wind Energy Conference will focus on the province’s recent announcement on 800 MW of wind power development. “It is clear that the wind energy industry in Québec is playing a more active role than ever before to ensure its own development,” says Frédéric Côté of TechnoCentre éolien. |
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| Study Estimates 21 GW of Wind Potential in Canada’s North by 2017 |
| 2013-06-07 (canadian association for renewable energies) Wind energy capacity is growing rapidly in cold climates around the world, and Canada’s northern regions could add another 21 GW of turbine capacity, according to a study from Finland. “This is a huge opportunity,” says Tomas Wallenius of VTT Technical Research Centre. “There has been a lot of talk about the potential of offshore wind power, but the market for cold climate wind energy is more than ten times greater.” VTT conducted the first study into the feasibility of building turbines in areas where cold climate and icy conditions place special demands on wind technology, including Canada and Scandinavia as well as parts of central Europe, the US and China. Cold climates hold high potential for wind installations because of their sparse population and favourable wind conditions but, although cold areas experience higher winds in winter, turbine blades are highly susceptible to icing which reduces output by 3% to 10%. Around the world, 45 to 50 GW of wind energy will be built in cold climates by 2017, which represents an increase of 72% since the end of 2012 and investments of EUR 75 billion. |
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| Canada Develops Wind Atlas for Cuba |
| 2013-06-07 (canadian association for renewable energies) Environment Canada's weather division co-developed a wind energy atlas for Cuba, which has been released at the 12th World Wind Energy Conference in Havana. “One of the reasons Cuba was selected to host this event is because it had this map of wind potential,” media reports quote a conference organizer. The other partner on the project was the Center for Atmospheric Physics of the Cuban Meteorology Institute, and the interactive atlas shows wind speed at any location in Cuba at heights of 10, 30, 50 or 100 m. |
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| US Survey Shows Strong Support for Renewables |
| 2013-06-07 (canadian association for renewable energies) More than half of Americans want electric utilities to generate at least 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources, even if it costs the average household an extra $100 a year. The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University have conducted an annual survey since 2008, and the ‘Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in April 2013' shows that 71% want tax rebates for people who purchase solar panels and 70% want funding for more research into renewable energy sources. Support for some policies has fallen since 2008, including a 21% drop in support for funding renewable energy research and a 15% drop in support for tax rebates for people who purchase solar panels. |
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| Canada Ranks #5 for Near-Term Investments in Renewables |
| 2013-06-06 (canadian association for renewable energies) Canada scores in the top five countries for mergers and acquisitions over the next 18 months, with interest from 20% of global investors. The US is most attractive to 44%, Germany and China by 21% each, while Canada and the UK are tied as 20%, according to ‘Green Energy 2013: Renewable Energy M&A Activity in the Americas’ published by Clean Energy Pipeline and the CohnReznick tax firm. The report focuses on M&A activity in the renewable energy sector based on a survey of 800 senior executives in the renewable energy industry worldwide. Last year, the UK and Canada were selected by 12% of survey respondents. Wind and solar are the most active sectors, accounting for a combined 78% of the total value of all transactions, with solar as the most attractive sector for North American respondents at 63%, ahead of biomass (45%), onshore wind (41%) or biofuels (39%). In 2012, M&A activity for renewables in Canada was $2.9 billion in 21 acquisitions, up from 19 acquisitions totalling $424 million in 2011. |
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