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SFCE Aug 10
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China Ramps Up Air, Soil, Water Pollution Monitoring
Aug 10, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China's environmental authorities assessed 236 million yuan ($38 million) in daily accumulating penalties in 292 separate cases in the first half of 2015, the Ministry of Environmental Protection reported Aug. 7. -
COP21 and decoding the economics of climate change
Aug 6, 2015 | GreenBiz
By Lauren Hepler
With just four months to go until international delegates descend upon Paris for the much-discussed United Nations climate conference, COP21, the stakes for shifting to a low-carbon economy are starting to come into focus. Businesses are looking to balance dire long-term climate risks, like resource scarcity and market instability... -
Germany hits record-high 78% renewable power share on July 25
Aug 10, 2015 | SeeNews Renewables
By Tsvetomira Tsanova
On July 25 renewable energy sources generated 78% of Germany’s power, beating the country’s previous green power record of 73% from May 2014, the Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) said. Hermann Falk, head of BEE, explained that storms in the north resulted in high wind power output... -
Puffs of Hope
Aug 1, 2015 | The Economist
On the afternoon of July 25th renewable generators fulfilled about 78% of Germany’s domestic demand. Such a remarkable figure, combined with news of booming wind industries in America (see article) and China (article), might lead you to think that the renewables revolution is more or less victorious, with the world moving forward... -
USDA invests $63 million to support 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
Aug 9, 2015 | American Journal of Transpotration
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $63 million in loans and grants for 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide that USDA is supporting through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). “This funding will have far-reaching economic and environmental impacts nationwide, particularly in rural... -
Canada’s energy sector should be a world leader
Aug 7, 2015 | The Globe and Mail
By Gaétan Caron
Canada is at an energy crossroads. Despite the fact that oil and gas prices have fallen – likely temporary – Canada holds vast amounts of renewable and non-renewable energy, representing vast potential wealth. So, will Canada actually join the ranks of the world’s energy leaders? If policy makers at the federal, territorial...
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China Ramps Up Air, Soil, Water Pollution Monitoring
Aug 10, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China's environmental authorities assessed 236 million yuan ($38 million) in daily accumulating penalties in 292 separate cases in the first half of 2015, the Ministry of Environmental Protection reported Aug. 7.
The penalties are part of the new policies in China's amended Environmental Protection Law, which took effect Jan. 1 (52 DEN A-7, 3/18/15).
In addition to the fines, environmental authorities at the central government level closed down facilities or confiscated property in 1,814 pollution violation cases; restricted or suspended production at facilities in 1,092 other instances; ordered administrative detentions of company officials in 782 cases; and found 740 violations where suspects were investigated for criminal action because of violating environmental protection laws, according to the ministry.
China's environmental authorities also are working to further strengthen environmental policy in the forthcoming 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020), Ministry of Environmental Protection Vice Minister Wu Xiaoqing said at an Aug. 6 meeting of the Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences in Shenzhen. The country faces an “increasingly complex” situation, however, in improving the overall quality of the environment, he added.
Stepped Up Monitoring Systems
The ministry has said it is working on a plan that should be released by the end of the year for expanded monitoring of air, water and soil pollution with an increased reliance on satellites, drones and land-based sensors, with a countrywide system fully established by 2020.
Currently, there are more than 1,400 air pollution monitoring devices in 338 cities throughout China and 109 provincial water quality monitoring points, and additional expansions are expected, according to the ministry.
Soil pollution monitoring is now being piloted in 10 provinces, including Liaoning, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the state-level municipality of Beijing ahead of the implementation of the Soil Pollution Action Plan, which is expected to be released shortly.
Local Law Enforcement
Local-level environmental protection bureaus across China also stepped up enforcement efforts and ordered 15,839 businesses to halt production until rectifying violations; shut down 9,325 of those violators; and issued fines in 23,227 cases during the first half of the year, the ministry said.
The ministry said it also met with top officials in 10 cities to discuss recurring pollution problems and issued warnings or reprimands or suspended 57 officials because of pollution violations under their watch.
During the past two years, Chinese authorities have been appearing more often on state-run television with those suspected of criminal or illegal activity in a range of cases as a shaming tactic, often before such cases are even brought to court.
The ministry said it expects to issue a comprehensive policy document on monitoring pollution at the central government level in the second half of the year.
Link (subscription needed): http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=73877497&vname=dennotallissues&fn=73877497&jd=73877497
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COP21 and decoding the economics of climate change
Aug 6, 2015 | GreenBiz
By Lauren Hepler
With just four months to go until international delegates descend upon Paris for the much-discussed United Nations climate conference, COP21, the stakes for shifting to a low-carbon economy are starting to come into focus.
Businesses are looking to balance dire long-term climate risks, like resource scarcity and market instability, against the potential financial impact of new environmental regulation. Governments, meanwhile, are setting their own climate targets at the national and local levels in a bid to shore up their economies and prevent unrest down the road.
"It poses risks to our business, from disruptions to our operations to the availability of cotton to potential impacts to water," said Stephanie Kotin, senior manager of stakeholder engagement and public policy for denim company Levi Strauss & Co, during a GreenBiz webcast held Wednesday on the role of business at COP21. "Mitigating climate change is vital to the long-term success of our business."
Though calls for across-the-board carbon emissions cuts are starting to reverberate from the White House to the Vatican to Silicon Valley and Wall Street, pro-fossil fuel lobbying, disagreement about how carbon cuts should happen and uncertainty about costs resulting from new regulation remain crucial economic sticking points.
COP21 is first and foremost "designed to produce a strong, ambitious, binding agreement on climate," but the event will also be heavily symbolic in testing the veracity of government and business commitments, said Aron Cramer, president and CEO of the sustainable business-focused nonprofit BSR.
The meeting in Paris will also be heavily symbolic — a litmus test for whether or not governments and relevant parties are, "prepared to act decisively," Cramer added.
While the role of business in a heavily procedural meeting of international government negotiators is far from crystal clear, COP21 does provide an obvious policy leadership opportunity for those so inclined. But that would require truly aligning feel-good green marketing with the higher stakes of environmental policy advocacy.
"Companies will say 'X' in their sustainability reports and 'Y' in their engagement with governments," Cramer said, adding that businesses should, "make sure those voices are aligned."
The benefit of doing so, climate advocates say, is better strategic positioning down the road.
"Businesses really need the Paris agreement to give them certainty to make long-term investments, provide clarity around long-term risks and also provide confidence in long-term growth opportunities," said Cynthia Cummis, deputy director of the World Resources Institute's GreenHouse Gas Protocol. Now or never?
COP21 is already being hailed as "the last chance" for a deal to avert the 2 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures that scientists say will result in "irreversible" fallout.
Recent weeks have also been punctuated with increasingly dire warnings from climate scientists, along with new recognition of historic anomalies in weather patterns and animal behavior.
In other words, the status quo isn't looking good, which adds an even greater sense of urgency to questions about where to go from here.
NASA climatologist-turned-climate-activist James Hansen crystallized the bigger picture in late July, when he announced that previous sea-level rise projections may be off by as much as a factor of 10, with oceans poised to rise up to 10 feet by 2065. He doesn't mince words about the implications — economic and otherwise — of failure to address drastic change threatening heavily populated areas.
"It is not difficult to imagine that conflicts arising from forced migrations and economic collapse might make the planet ungovernable, threatening the fabric of civilization," wrote Hansen and his co-authors.
Against that stark backdrop, businesses are being asked to contribute to the Paris climate talks more than in past years. Advocates propose that companies first commit to more ambitious internal goals.
"Most of these targets are really just incentivizing incremental change," Cummis said. "Science-based targets enable a company to have an understanding of what their fair share of emissions reductions are to align with a 2-degree scenario."
Such action often entails synchronizing not only internal sustainability departments, but also C Suite executives, marketing officials, investor relations teams, board members and government affairs teams, among others.
While Kotin emphasized that COP21 could prove an important rallying point for corporate climate commitments, she also stressed the long game when it comes to climate change.
“We really see it as that road through Paris. It’s a longer term game," Kotin said. "It’s important to be there… to show that there’s strong business support. But you know, certainly it’s not about the day. It’s really about the momentum." The new carbon calculus
Though carbon reductions are a central, widely agreed-upon recourse for combating climate change, discord remains when it comes to how exactly to achieve that objective.
The overarching specter of a carbon tax has loomed large in the run up to cop, especially as the European Union and several large individual companies experiment with carbon pricing schemes. Cap-and-trade systems, like the one active in California, represent another approach, along with other forms of carbon offsets and renewable energy credits.
Further afield, but still represented among a parallel set of UN Sustainable Development Goals, are alternative approaches to agriculture and economic development that prioritize carbon reduction.
Heading into COP21, Cummis of the World Resources Institute doubts the feasibility of an overarching carbon tax, inclined instead to expect an emphasis on coordinating disparate carbon pricing systems.
“There really isn’t an expectation that there will be an international system set up," Cummis said. "There is potential for having some type of agreement set up for how the international carbon trading systems will be linked together.”
Kotin of Levi Strauss also demurred on the question of the importance of a carbon tax.
“We’ve taken a broad approach in terms of saying, 'You know, we need to regulate carbon emissions," she said. "There are a variety of ways to do that."
In the United States in particular, companies are also faced with a more immediate decision of whether to publicly support President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan to curb industrial emissions.
Though fossil fuel companies have lobbied aggressively to combat the new energy rules, corporate support of the plan could help strengthen the prospects for an international climate accord in Paris.
That prospect would also be bolstered with greater international cooperation among fast-growing economies, like the U.S. and Brazil or India.
“I want to see that kind of coalition come together," Cramer said. "If we see that happen, anything is possible."
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Germany hits record-high 78% renewable power share on July 25
Aug 10, 2015 | SeeNews Renewables
By Tsvetomira Tsanova
On July 25 renewable energy sources generated 78% of Germany’s power, beating the country’s previous green power record of 73% from May 2014, the Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) said.
Hermann Falk, head of BEE, explained that storms in the north resulted in high wind power output, while the bright sunshine in the south meant good solar system performance. The constant generation from biomass, geothermal and hydropower plants also helped reach the record high renewables share.
In July as a whole, wind and solar parks in Germany produced 11.7 TWh, the highest they have ever reached together. BEE pointed out that the record renewables share in July shows the country’s network is well prepared for the transition to clean energy.
Overall, renewable power plants generated 32.5% of Germany’s electricity and accounted for a bit over 14% of its final energy consumption in the first half of 2015, according to earlier data by BEE.
Link: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/germany-hits-record-high-78-renewable-power-share-on-july-25-487684
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Aug 1, 2015 | The Economist
On the afternoon of July 25th renewable generators fulfilled about 78% of Germany’s domestic demand. Such a remarkable figure, combined with news of booming wind industries in America (see article) and China (article), might lead you to think that the renewables revolution is more or less victorious, with the world moving forward into the broad, sunlit—and windy—uplands of copious clean energy. Alas, this is not the case.
In some places wind turbines and solar cells are now a cheaper way of generating electricity than fossil fuels are. And in a lot of others subsidies and regulatory requirements encourage their use regardless. But despite this progress, bought at great expense, renewables other than hydropower still provide less than 3% of the world’s energy. The impressive growth of wind power lags behind the rate that the International Energy Agency (IEA), a Paris-based intergovernmental think-tank, suggests is necessary for the world to have a good chance of limiting global warming to less than 2°C. That two-degree scenario requires the world to generate 11 times more wind power by 2050, and 36 times more solar power. And it requires a big helping of new nuclear power, too. If, like German Greens and many others, you would rather do without that helping hand, the requirement for further renewables becomes yet more far-fetched.
The most equitable and straightforward way to move towards more low-carbon energy would be a global system of steadily escalating carbon taxes. In the absence of such an enlightened policy, though, there are other ways to encourage the spread of renewables.
Removing subsidies around the world on fossil fuels is one of them. Another is increasing public investment in low-carbon energy research. Research into renewable energy, storage systems and energy transmission accounts for only about 1% of government R&D spending in rich countries. This has meant that the renewables boom of the past decade, especially in the case of wind, has been mostly a come-as-you-are affair: big subsidies for the deployment of today’s technology but very little spent on tomorrow’s.
The design of electricity markets matters, too. The best way to finance renewable energy is by creating predictable demand, which attracts institutional investors. That usually means long-term fixed-price contracts, allocated by auction. These schemes are working well, particularly in emerging markets, where all extra power is welcome. In mature ones renewables need to displace existing capacity, which is trickier.
Grids in
There are further problems to overcome. Germany’s record-breaking afternoon was a windy one in the north of the country, where most of the turbines are, and a sunny one in the solar-cell-covered south. Such happy coincidences have obverses—dark, windless winter evenings—that need to be planned for. This requires a balance of storage capacity, backup power and interconnections between electric grids.
In places like Scandinavia and Brazil hydroelectric and wind power work well together. Gas-fired power stations, cheap to build and comparatively low in their emissions, are also good. But it is hard to get people to build gas-fired power stations that will not be used very much—which in markets with a lot of renewables is their inevitable fate. In Germany the renewables boom has paradoxically seen gas edged out by cheaper but much dirtier lignite.
Provision for backup capacity has to be part of any policy that gives renewables a large role. So do technology and pricing regimes that make it easy for people and industry to use less power when the grid is running on fossil fuels and more when the wind is up and the sun shining. And those grids themselves need attention; renewables benefit from big grids that can bring electricity from distant sunny and windy places.
A policy of expanding and interconnecting grids typically works against the interests of some producers, by eroding the ability of incumbents to extract rents. It also gives politicians less scope to interfere with their national and local energy systems. But it is vital if renewables are to flourish.
Link: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21660124-wind-and-solar-energy-are-increasingly-competitive-lot-has-change-they-can-make
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USDA invests $63 million to support 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
Aug 9, 2015 | American Journal of Transpotration
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $63 million in loans and grants for 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide that USDA is supporting through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
“This funding will have far-reaching economic and environmental impacts nationwide, particularly in rural communities,” Vilsack said. “Investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects supports home-grown energy sources, creates jobs, reduces greenhouse gas pollution and helps usher in a more secure energy future for the nation.”
These REAP projects are expected to generate and/or save 207.8 million kilowatt hours (KWh) of energy – enough to power more than 13,600 homes for a year.
For example, Bradley Phillips, owner of A.B. Phillips & Sons Fruit Farm, is receiving an $18,000 grant to install a photovoltaic solar system on his farm in the village of Berlin Heights, Ohio. The system will generate nearly 13,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Phillips grows apples, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, cherries and grapes on a farm that has been in his family for more than a century.
Blue Sky Poultry, Inc., of Bainbridge, Ga., has been selected for a $16,094 grant to install a solar array on the roof of the poultry houses. The array is expected to generate 36,300 kWh of electricity per year.
Stokes Farms, LLP, of Chatfield, Minn., is receiving a $19,750 grant to install a 10 kW wind turbine. When operational, the project is expected to generate 30,000 kWh of electricity per year.
Lakeview Biodiesel, LLC will use a $3.3 million loan guarantee to help acquire a Missouri biodiesel plant and make improvements to bring it online to produce enough biodiesel to run approximately 16,500 vehicles annually.
In North Carolina, South Winston Farm, LLC is receiving a $4 million loan guarantee to finance a 7 megawatt solar array system that is expected to generate enough energy to power 994 households per year.
Funding for the projects announced today is contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of the grant or loan agreement.
Here are two examples of how REAP has helped rural businesses:
In 2014, Mt. Abram, a ski area in western Maine, finished installing an 803-panel solar photovoltaic system that was financed with a $235,000 REAP grant. Mt. Abram is the first solar-powered ski area in the state and the second-largest solar-powered ski area in the country. The solar array will generate 280,000 kWh in energy each year and meet about 70 percent of the resort’s power needs.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Progress Solar in North Carolina in September 2014 to highlight a $3.4 million REAP loan guarantee the company received to install a solar array. Today, the 46-acre farm produces enough solar energy to power 540 average-sized homes each year.
Eligible agricultural producers and rural small businesses may use REAP funds to make energy efficiency improvements or install renewable energy systems, including solar, wind, renewable biomass (including anaerobic digesters), small hydroelectric, ocean energy, hydrogen, and geothermal.
The next application deadline for REAP grants is November 2, 2015. USDA will issue a notice of available funding with more details on how to apply in the coming weeks. REAP was created by the 2008 Farm Bill and was reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
Since the start of the Obama Administration, USDA has supported more than 9,600 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide through REAP. During this period, the Department has provided more than $291 million in grants and $327 million in loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural small business owners.
President Obama’s plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. Under the President’s leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities.
Link: http://www.ajot.com/news/usda-invests-63-million-to-support-264-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficien
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Canada’s energy sector should be a world leader
Aug 7, 2015 | The Globe and Mail
By Gaétan Caron
Canada is at an energy crossroads. Despite the fact that oil and gas prices have fallen – likely temporary – Canada holds vast amounts of renewable and non-renewable energy, representing vast potential wealth. So, will Canada actually join the ranks of the world’s energy leaders? If policy makers at the federal, territorial and provincial levels understand and grasp the challenges, the future looks promising.
Premiers recently endorsed a Canadian energy strategy. This is an unprecedented and positive step toward concerted action to manage our energy systems and tackle their environmental effects. Concrete action must follow if we are to see, in the words of the premiers, “continued economic growth and prosperity for all Canadians.” Why? Because facing the other challenges that an energy-producing economy presents requires unified action, or at least clear lines of demarcation. Canada will simply not be taken seriously by our trading partners if we cannot get basic agreement among jurisdictions on matters as simple as the development and transportation of the energy we need and that we can export.
On the climate front, Canada cannot bury its head in the sand. The world is preparing for the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December. Canada must present concrete environmental goals and actions. We need to earn the respect of the international community if we hope to make the world our trading destination. Europe has threatened energy imports from Canada before, and could again. Anti-Canadian angst could spread globally.
There are hopeful signs that Canada is, in fact, preparing well for Paris. We have a new Quebec-Ontario-California coalition on carbon pricing. Alberta has had a carbon policy for years that is about to be updated. News reports indicate that Canada, the United States and Mexico are discussing a joint action plan on carbon. Small steps, but important global signals.
Domestically, we will simply not be able to realize a sustainable future for our nation without fully integrating the goals and aspirations of Canada’s aboriginal peoples. We have the opportunity for a full reset of the relationship between Canada and aboriginal peoples on energy, and all the determinants of a promising future for all Canadians. We do need to rethink how we engage aboriginal peoples. The status quo is not working. And, again, the world is watching.
As for energy prices, they consistently surprise us. In the past 12 months, the price of North American oil has gone from $98 (U.S.) a barrel to a low of $43. The Canadian economy has responded with a “mild contraction.” People who have seen many oil price cycles know all too well that when everybody says the same thing about future oil prices, something else will happen. Expect to see a reversal soon in this short-term collapse of energy prices. The world’s demand for energy in all its forms, renewable and non-renewable, is on the rise, inexorably. In its 450 Scenario, the International Energy Agency provides a forecast of energy supply and demand that seeks to limit the rise in earth’s temperature by 2 degrees Celsius. Under that scenario, total world demand for fossil fuels remains significant until 2040 and beyond. Even assuming, perhaps optimistically, that the world becomes united in action on climate change, that carbon pricing is in place, and that all sectors of the economy, including transportation and end-use are subject to carbon taxes, the world in 2040 would still require vast amounts of fossil fuels.
Canada should be well placed to be a leader in satisfying the world’s demand for renewable and non-renewable energies. We have a solid track record on innovation, environmental performance, human rights and transparency, especially when compared to some of the rogue states vying for a significant part of the economic rent derived from energy production, and the use some of these states make of it, for instance in radicalism, militarism, terrorism and abuses of human rights.
Based on recent policy and political developments, Canada’s ducks are finally getting into a row. But the challenge for the all levels of government will be to provide leadership to align themselves, be much more aggressive in international action on climate change and related environmental issues, and to push the reset button with Canada’s aboriginal peoples. Despite the oil price shock, global circumstances are such that Canada could benefit extraordinarily now and into the foreseeable future from our energy sector. Let’s reach now to grasp that prize.
Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/canadas-energy-sector-should-be-a-world-leader/article25894557/
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