Top Stories
California electricity operator creates
demand-response option to integrate renewables into grid.—reliability
high.
"Taking effect today, the ISO [, which operates California's wholesale
transmission grid,] will accept registrations for proxy demand
resources, enabling demand-response electricity providers to bid
electricity reduction capabilities and provide capacity in the energy
reserves market. ... Proxy demand resources enable all load types such
as those from small local renewable energy sources to participate in
the electricity market, including residential and industrial loads.
Demand response providers can now bid electricity reduction
capabilities into the ISO day-ahead and real-time markets as well as
provide capacity in the ISO ancillary services market." See NewNet.
[The ISO's function
is to match electricity supply with demand in California. Traditionally
this has been done by buying more electricity when demand increases.
This new policy allows it to pay electricity users to reduce demand, on
the same basis ($/kW·h) as it would have paid for additional supply.
This can make demand reduction more economically attractive. Since the
power purchased at times of peak demand costs the most, demand
reductions can earn the most at those times. See Wikipedia article
about demand
response. Also, since solar and wind energy production can be more
variable than traditional fossil, nuclear and hydro sources, being able
to manage demand more precisely makes it easier to incorporate more
solar and wind into the overall energy supply portfolio.]
Supermarket giant rolls out greener
alternatives to plastic milk bottles.—reliability high.
"Supermarket giant Sainsbury's is to roll out 'eco-friendly' milk bags
and jugs across its entire product range in a multi-million pound move
to reduce the carbon footprint of milk consumption. In partnership with
supplier Dairy Crest, Sainsbury's is putting its full marketing weight
behind the product, confident that reluctant consumers now understand
how to use it after a series of technical modifications and an
education programme. The push comes despite the failure of a similar
product by rival supermarket Waitrose, which launched in 2007 and was
quietly shelved this April." Includes picture of product. "Tesco
revealed today that it is to launch trials of Dairy Crest Country Life
milk bags in 10 stores." From The
Guardian. [Not
really so revolutionary, as most Canadian consumers buy milk in bags
(as this YouTube
video demonstrates). But it is hard to change consumer behavior on
a large scale. Maybe the lower price (6p less per quart) will help.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Indian energy giant targets 10GW of
hydropower by 2013.—reliability high.
"India's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) will install
over 4.5GW of new hydroelectric power in the country by 2013, the
firm's chairman said in an interview yesterday with the Hindustan
Times. ... Development has been rapid in India partially thanks to the
ability of hydroelectric schemes to earn offset credits under the UN's
Clean Development Mechanism. ... However, domestic expansion may be
slowed after Indian ministers this week promised to look more closely
at the ecological impacts of large hydro schemes." From BusinessGreen.
Deutsche Bank spurns U.S. for climate
investment.—reliability high.
"Alternative energy investment prospects have shriveled in the United
States after the U.S. Senate was unable to break a deadlock over
tackling global warming, a Deutsche Bank official said. 'You just throw
your hands up and say ... we're going to take our money elsewhere,'
said Kevin Parker in an interview with Reuters. ... Amid so much
political uncertainty in the United States, Parker said Deutsche Bank
will focus its "green" investment dollars more and more on
opportunities in China and Western Europe, where it sees governments
providing a more positive environment." Story at Reuters.
Government and
Regulation
Norway has set Europe an eco example.—reliability
medium.
Commentary piece looks at Norway's carbon policies. "To achieve its
goal of becoming CO2 neutral by 2030, Norway bets on sustainable
development and environmental laws (the last one being that buildings
over 500m2 must cover 60% of their using renewable sources).
Revenues generated by the carbon tax ($50 per ton) can finance some
innovative technologies". More on Norway's environmental policies. From
The
Guardian. [Just
don't ask them about whaling.]
Science and
Economics
Greenland ice sheet faces 'tipping point in
10 years'.—reliability high.
"The entire ice mass of Greenland will disappear from the world map if
temperatures rise by as little as 2C, with severe consequences for the
rest of the world, a panel of scientists told Congress today. ...
'Sometime in the next decade we may pass that tipping point which would
put us warmer than temperatures that Greenland can survive,' Alley told
a briefing in Congress, adding that a rise in the range of 2C to 7C
would mean the obliteration of Greenland's ice sheet. The fall-out
would be felt thousands of miles away from the Arctic, unleashing a
global sea level rise of 23ft (7 metres), Alley warned. Low-lying
cities such as New Orleans would vanish. ... Robert Bindschadler, a
research scientist at the University of Maryland, told the briefing:
'While we don't believe it is possible to lose an ice sheet within a
decade, we do believe it is possible to reach a tipping point in a few
decades in which we would lose the ice sheet in a century.'" Story at The
Guardian.
