Britain has built more offshore windfarms than any country in the world, says the European Wind Energy Association
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 July 2011 10.45 BST
The UK has sailed ahead in offshore wind power generation in the past six months, building more offshore windfarms than any other country in the world, and accounting for almost all of the turbines erected in European waters this year.
Of only 108 offshore turbines built around Europe's coastline from January to June, a whopping 101 were built around the UK, with only six built in Germany, and a single one in Norway, according to estimates published on Wednesday by the trade body European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
Chris Huhne, energy and climate change secretary, told the Guardian the figures showed how fast the UK was moving in renewable power. "The UK is the undisputed home of offshore wind energy. Our natural resource and competitive advantage mean we have the biggest market in the world. We're blowing away the competition," he said. "It's part of the low-carbon revolution that's under way in the UK, bringing jobs and growth in new industries and building us a future less exposed to volatile global energy prices."
Wind energy is now one of the most important construction sectors in Europe, as most of the rest of the construction industry suffered badly during the recession. Offshore wind is seen as particularly important as the turbines can be bigger and wind speeds tend to be higher so energy can be generated more efficiently, and because in many countries the best onshore wind spots have already been taken or wind developers face opposition in erecting turbines.
However, there is still a time lag between the construction of offshore turbines and their connection to the electricity grid, as over the first six months of the year only about two thirds of the number of turbines built in the UK were actually connected to the grid. In the UK, 68 turbines were connected over the period compared with the 32 turbines, the vast majority of them built before the beginning of this year, that were connected to the German grid over the same period.
Owing to the difference between the number of turbines built and the number connected, the UK showed less progress than it should have in adding new generating capacity to the grid: 245 megawatts (MW) added so far this year, against 103MW for Germany because of the number of previously stranded turbines now wired up.
But the scale of the UK's ambitions is also apparent from EWEA's research: the turbines built this year represent only a fraction of the numbers planned for windfarms that have already begun, and the UK's plans far outstrip those of other countries. When the windfarms begun or added to this year are completed, they will be able to provide about 2,240MW of generating capacity in the UK. By contrast, when the German farms are complete their capacity will be only about one-fifth of the size as much, at 450MW.
These numbers also do not capture windfarms that are planned but are still not under construction, of which there are many more in the UK. Across Europe, as of 30 June 2011, there were 1,247 offshore wind turbines fully grid connected with a total capacity of 3,294 MW in 49 windfarms spread over nine countries. Although seven more turbines were erected in the first six months of 2010 than in the same period this year, the turbines tended to be bigger and more powerful, so the amount of generating capacity installed was greater this year.
Christian Kjaer, chief executive of EWEA, said progress had been made on offshore wind in the first half of the year but warned about the financial problems still facing the sector. "While we see several positive trends for the European offshore wind power sector we are not home and dry yet," he said. "We are coming out of the financial crisis but are still facing a potential worsening of the general economic crisis. The number of banks lending for offshore windfarms is steadily growing, although there is a continued need for attracting an increasing number of large institutional investors to offshore wind projects - presently the largest construction undertakings going on in Europe."
EWEA found that more banks were now interested in financing offshore windfarms - more than 20 are now involved - and said it was "positive" that the European Investment Bank continues to provide funds, and that the UK government is to make offshore wind a priority for the planned "green investment bank", to be set up next year with about £3bn.
Offshore wind technology is also progressing - the single turbine erected in Norway was a prototype floating turbine, that if successful could allow turbines to be placed in deeper water than is possible at present, opening up new areas for exploitation, and allowing turbines to be moved around if necessary.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Tequila gives new biofuel crops a shot
Study finds ethanol derived from agave plants could provide a substitute for petrol and be grown without displacing food crops
Damian Carrington
The Guardian, Thursday 28 July 2011
The desert plants used to distil tequila could cut emissions from transport by providing an important new biofuel crop, according to new research.
"Agave has a huge advantage, as it can grow in marginal or desert land, not on arable land," and therefore would not displace food crops, said Oliver Inderwildi, at the University of Oxford.
Much of the ethanol used as a substitute for petrol is currently produced from corn, especially in the US, and has been criticised for driving up grain prices to record levels. A recent inquiry found that laws mandating the addition of biofuels to petrol and diesel had backfired badly and were unethical because biofuel production often violated human rights and damaged the environment.
But the new study found that agave-derived ethanol could produce good yields on hot, dry land and with relatively little environmental impact. The agave plant, large rosettes of fleshy leaves, produces high levels of sugar and the scientists modeled a hypothetical facility in the tequila state of Jalisco in Mexico which converts the sugars to alcohol for use as a fuel.
Inderwildi said the research, published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, is the first comprehensive life-cycle analysis of the energy and greenhouse gas balance for agave-derived ethanol. The team found the production of agave-ethanol led to the net emission of 35g of carbon dioxide for each megajoule of energy, far lower than the 85g/MJ estimated for corn ethanol. In comparison, burning petrol emits about 100g/MJ and some estimates of corn ethanol suggest it is worse than petrol.
The ethanol made from sugar cane in Brazil scores even better than agave, at just 20g/MJ, but Inderwildi said its success is difficult to replicate outside Brazil because of the nation's unique combination of water, fertile soil, space and low-carbon hydroelectricity for drying the crops.
The study considered every part of the production cycle, from fertiliser use, drying and even machinery lubricants, as well as the electricity generated by burning the crop residue.
Andrew Smith, a plant scientist at the University of Oxford and a member of the research team, added: "The characteristics of the agave suit it well to bioenergy production, but also reveal its potential as a crop that is adaptable to future climate change. In a world where arable land and water resources are increasingly scarce, these are key attributes in the food versus fuel argument, which is likely to intensify given the expected large-scale growth in biofuel production."
Agave biofuel trials are already taking place, in Australia for example. But some experts experts think abandoned agave plantations in Mexico and Africa could be reclaimed for biofuel. These agave plantations were used to produce the fibre sisal, used in rope and dartboards, but fell into disuse as it was replaced by plastics.
But Inderwildi, head of low-carbon motility at Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, warns that while biofuels can play a crucial role in cutting emissions from vehicles, more action will be needed to tackle global warming. "Biofuels will not be enough without changes on the demand side too, as we don't have enough land for both fuels and food," he said, suggesting more fuel efficient engines and electric cars would both be key. "We are not going to fuel the entire US car fleet, for example, on biofuels."
He thinks biofuel from grasses and agricultural waste - cellulosic sources - can also play a role, but that reductions in the energy used to break down the tough cellulose are needed.
"The only game changer I see is algae, as you can get a lot of fuel in a desert environment," he said, noting Exxon Mobil's large investment in algal biofuels and biology pioneer Craig Venter's aim to bioengineer more productive algae. "It will be at least a decade before it will be at large scale, but with all that brain power working with that amount of money, I am pretty optimistic."
Damian Carrington
The Guardian, Thursday 28 July 2011
The desert plants used to distil tequila could cut emissions from transport by providing an important new biofuel crop, according to new research.
"Agave has a huge advantage, as it can grow in marginal or desert land, not on arable land," and therefore would not displace food crops, said Oliver Inderwildi, at the University of Oxford.
Much of the ethanol used as a substitute for petrol is currently produced from corn, especially in the US, and has been criticised for driving up grain prices to record levels. A recent inquiry found that laws mandating the addition of biofuels to petrol and diesel had backfired badly and were unethical because biofuel production often violated human rights and damaged the environment.
But the new study found that agave-derived ethanol could produce good yields on hot, dry land and with relatively little environmental impact. The agave plant, large rosettes of fleshy leaves, produces high levels of sugar and the scientists modeled a hypothetical facility in the tequila state of Jalisco in Mexico which converts the sugars to alcohol for use as a fuel.
Inderwildi said the research, published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, is the first comprehensive life-cycle analysis of the energy and greenhouse gas balance for agave-derived ethanol. The team found the production of agave-ethanol led to the net emission of 35g of carbon dioxide for each megajoule of energy, far lower than the 85g/MJ estimated for corn ethanol. In comparison, burning petrol emits about 100g/MJ and some estimates of corn ethanol suggest it is worse than petrol.
The ethanol made from sugar cane in Brazil scores even better than agave, at just 20g/MJ, but Inderwildi said its success is difficult to replicate outside Brazil because of the nation's unique combination of water, fertile soil, space and low-carbon hydroelectricity for drying the crops.
The study considered every part of the production cycle, from fertiliser use, drying and even machinery lubricants, as well as the electricity generated by burning the crop residue.
Andrew Smith, a plant scientist at the University of Oxford and a member of the research team, added: "The characteristics of the agave suit it well to bioenergy production, but also reveal its potential as a crop that is adaptable to future climate change. In a world where arable land and water resources are increasingly scarce, these are key attributes in the food versus fuel argument, which is likely to intensify given the expected large-scale growth in biofuel production."
Agave biofuel trials are already taking place, in Australia for example. But some experts experts think abandoned agave plantations in Mexico and Africa could be reclaimed for biofuel. These agave plantations were used to produce the fibre sisal, used in rope and dartboards, but fell into disuse as it was replaced by plastics.
But Inderwildi, head of low-carbon motility at Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, warns that while biofuels can play a crucial role in cutting emissions from vehicles, more action will be needed to tackle global warming. "Biofuels will not be enough without changes on the demand side too, as we don't have enough land for both fuels and food," he said, suggesting more fuel efficient engines and electric cars would both be key. "We are not going to fuel the entire US car fleet, for example, on biofuels."
He thinks biofuel from grasses and agricultural waste - cellulosic sources - can also play a role, but that reductions in the energy used to break down the tough cellulose are needed.
"The only game changer I see is algae, as you can get a lot of fuel in a desert environment," he said, noting Exxon Mobil's large investment in algal biofuels and biology pioneer Craig Venter's aim to bioengineer more productive algae. "It will be at least a decade before it will be at large scale, but with all that brain power working with that amount of money, I am pretty optimistic."
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