Monthly Archives: August 2018

California opts for Renewables

Kevin de Leon

Kevin de Leon, California Senate Leader and proposer of the 100% RE legislation

Yesterday California passed legislation to achieve 100% low carbon electricity by 2045, with 60% by 2030. This is a policy academics such as Mark Z Jacobson and many environmentalists have long advocated. The legislation was introduced by the Democratic Senate Leader Kevin de Leon and was passed with the support of climate conscious republicans such as Chad Mayes and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Meanwhile a few weeks ago Donald Trump scrapped Obama’s clean power plan and is attempting to promote greater use of coal. If successful this would of course be a disaster for public health and for the climate. However industry analysts think his legislation will have only marginal effects on keeping a few coal plants operating a bit longer, in a few States.

A huge division is opening up in America as a growing number of States, led by California, Hawaii and Vermont are pursuing 100% renewable electricity. Environmental considerations rightly play a part in their thinking, but so too does the falling costs of wind and solar power. Also renewables create many more jobs than coal, gas or nuclear. Trump makes much of trying to protect jobs in the coal industry, but his real motivation seems to be more about protecting the share price of his backers in the coal industry, and I think also his personal hatred of anything that smacks of care for the planet.

California has abundant renewable resources. By developing these resources intelligently it could create many social, economic and environmental benefits. It might well find it has got to 100% renewable electricity well before the 2045 deadline it has set itself.

Big Solar in Egypt & Dubai

Dubai solar

Concentrating Solar Power Tower, one of several types of solar being built in Dubai

One of the themes I write about most often on this blog is the shift from fossil fuels to renewables. Today I will write about two very big solar projects that are currently being built, one in Egypt and the other in Dubai.

The Benban Solar Park is a huge development in southern Egypt, where they are building a 1,650 MW power station entirely with photovoltaic panels. Interestingly the project is made up of 41 varying sized units, each being built by different companies from all around the World. The first unit started feeding electricity into the grid in March 2018, and the others will rapidly follow over the next couple of years. There are 10,000 people currently working on the site, and for many of these people it is the first period of continuous work they have ever had, having previously been day labourers. This helps lift them out of poverty and also get more skills and training. (Also see IFC on Benban)

One of the interesting aspects of Benban is that, as far as I can see, it has no on-site energy storage. However it is not very far from the Aswan Dam. The two projects could be used in tandem, with water held back in the day time while Benban is producing solar electricity, then the hydro turbines could be opened to full in the evenings to match demand. In the longer term, as Egypt develops lots more solar energy the Aswan Dam could also be converted into a pumped storage hydro facility.

In Dubai the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is currently being built in phases, the first of which came on stream in 2013, a small first step with just 13 MW of solar photovoltaics. Subsequent stages are each much bigger, and by 2030 they anticipate the whole planned 5,000MW plant will be operational. The fourth phase contracts have just been signed for 700MW of concentrating solar thermal power, made up of three 200 MW parabolic troughs and a 100MW central power tower. The whole system will have up to 15 hours of thermal energy storage, probably in the form of molten salt. This will mean that this solar park will be able to supply reliable electricity night and day to Dubai. Each successive phase of this solar project has seen the price of power come down as the technology continues to improve.

Many countries are now rapidly ramping up their use of solar power. The global transition from ‘The Fossil Fuel Age’ to ‘The Solar Age’ is underway. Whether humanity makes this transition fast enough to escape the worst ravages of climate change will be one of the prime determinants of our collective future as a species. Bring on ‘The Solar Age’!

 

Ethiopia & Spain

Eritrean crowd

The war is over: Eritrean crowds welcome Ethiopian leader Abiy to Asmara

As democracy is under threat from a resurgent neo-fascism in UK, USA and elsewhere, in other places well functioning democracy is making significant progress. Ethiopia and Spain each have new governments, and both seem to be getting off to spectacularly good starts, each in difficult circumstances.

Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister of Ethiopia on 2nd April 2018. In his first four months in office he has done many good things. Ethiopia’s war with Eritrea had dragged on for many years, yet in just a few months, peace has been declared, ambassadors exchanged, direct flights resumed and economic ties look like being rapidly expanded. Hopefully peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea will help de-escalate other conflicts across the Horn of Africa as both sides previously backed rival proxies in the region. Abiy has released many political prisoners, relaxed censorship and is seeking to bring Ethiopia’s many factions into a more engaged and solution focused political dialogue. Abiy has four university degrees, including an MA in Transformational Leadership and Change, and published post doctrinal research on de-escalation strategies as a way of countering violent extremism, both useful training for his current job!

Pedro Sanchez became Prime Minister of Spain on 2nd June 2018, and he too has got off to a very promising start. He has appointed a female dominated cabinet that looks strongly progressive, pro-European and has drawn in people from outside politics. I’ve blogged before about how Spanish leadership in solar power and cleantech was undermined by the dreadful policies of the conservative Prime Minister Rajoy. Sanchez has merged the ministries of Energy and of Environment into a new Ministry for Ecological Transition, to be headed by the well respected Teresa Ribera. One of her first acts was to abolish Rajoy’s tax on solar power. There are many promising signs that Spain will rapidly expand its renewable energy while phasing out coal.

Both Spain and Ethiopia have many problems but they do both seem to have recently taken a turn for the better, towards reconciling differences and trying to heal economic woes. I’d love to see Spain and Ethiopia do some pioneering solar cooperation. Spain has much expertise in developing renewable energy, especially solar power, and Ethiopia has a vast and very little developed solar potential. It could help give both countries the economic and employment boost they both need.