SustainableBusiness.com News
Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), a developer of tidal, river and deep-water ocean current energy technology and projects, announced Wednesday that its Beta Power System has successfully generated grid-compatible power from tidal currents at its Cobscook Bay site in Eastport, Maine.
ORPC says the device is the largest ocean energy “power plant” ever installed in U.S. waters.
The system’s core component, the proprietary Turbine Generator Unit, or TGU, is deployed below ORPC’s research and testing vessel and has a maximum design capacity of 60 kilowatts. Performance test results show that the TGU’s electrical output meets or exceeds expectations for the full range of current velocities encountered.
ORPC will use the data obtained from the Beta Power System to fine tune the design of its commercial TidGen™ Power System, planned for installation in Eastport in late 2011. The TidGen™ Power System will be connected to the New England grid through the Bangor Hydro Electric Company system, and will generate enough electricity to power 50 to 75 homes.
“Proving the efficacy of the Beta Power System and its ability to generate grid-compatible power day in and day out is a huge milestone for America’s ocean energy industry,” said Chris Sauer, president and CEO of ORPC. “It reaffirms the limitless opportunities to advance the nation’s renewable energy agenda and ensure a more sustainable future.”
Tidal energy has the potential to be a billion dollar industry in Maine within the next seven to ten years, creating hundreds of jobs. The bodies of water around Eastport have some of the most robust tidal currents in the world.
ORPC’s Beta Power System incorporates several technological innovations. These include the TGU’s proprietary advanced design cross-flow turbines, engineered with 100% composite materials, its permanent magnet generator, a substantially composite support frame, and a power electronics system that converts the generator’s variable output to grid-compatible power.
Through its three-year partnership with the University of Maine, ORPC also is conducting monitoring of the marine environment around the Beta Power System. UMaine researchers, led by Gayle Zydlewski, Ph.D., are supervising the program, which incorporates state-of-the-art visual and acoustic monitoring technology. Data collected will allow UMaine and ORPC to better understand and help minimize any potential interaction between ORPC’s technology and marine life.
“Development of alternative energy sources must consider the natural environment. We take this very seriously, and we are working closely with ORPC to understand the dynamics of the marine life where tidal power will be generated,” said Dr. Zydlewski.
Over the next two months, ORPC will also be demonstrating how tidal energy can be delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard for use at its Eastport station through a battery electrical supply system that is charged aboard the Energy Tide 2. This is the first application of tidal energy by a federal agency.
ORPC holds FERC preliminary permits and is in the process of obtaining FERC pilot project licenses for tidal energy sites in Maine and Alaska, which have been designated world-class tidal resources by the World Energy Congress. ORPC’s work is funded in part by Maine Technology Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Listen to an in-depth interview with ORPC's CEO Chris Sauer.
Website: www.oceanrenewablepower.com
Friday, 20 August 2010
Solar Winners & Losers: Suntech Power
By Eric Rosenbaum 08/18/10 - 04:58 PM EDT
More on STP
Suntech Power Holdings - Upgrades & Downgrades3 Chinese Solar Stocks That Are Heating UpSolar M&A Rumor Mill: Suntech, RecurrentMarket Activity
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.| STP DOWNMEMC Electronic Materials| WFR DOWNNEW YORK (TheStreet) - Suntech Power(STP) reported earnings that were expected on Wednesday morning -- after all, the Chinese module maker had pre-reported the bad news two weeks ago -- but Suntech still managed to take the Street by surprise in saying it wants to get into the solar wafering business.
Suntech has long-term wafering contracts with several Asia-based solar wafer markers, and its largest wafering contract by dollar value is with MEMC Electronic Materials(WFR), valued at $5 billion to $6 billion.
Analyst reaction to the vague commentary from Suntech about moving upstream into wafering was cautious, suggesting that Suntech's already strained balance sheet does not necessarily need a big commitment to solar wafer manufacturing.
The Street doesn't seem to doubt the long-term argument for bringing more wafer production in-house, as part of vertical integration of the Suntech model. The expectation is not that Suntech wants to take over the world of selling wafers to third-parties, but buffer its gross margins, which are expected to decline from a peak, by bringing more cost efficiencies in-house for its own module production. However, it's the immediate balance sheet issue, as well as the timing and scope of the wafer plans that has the jury out.
"We support vertical integration, but how is Suntech going to fund this move?" asked Jefferies analyst Jesse Pichel. The Jefferies analyst estimated the Suntech plan $500 million to $750 million for ingot/wafer capacity and extend an already leveraged balance sheet.
Indeed, the Suntech solar wafer ambitions raises the question: Is a Chinese solar company whose stock has lost half its value this year prepared to dilute shares further with a secondary offering? Suntech received no earnings rally on Wednesday to raise its share price ahead of a potentially diluting secondary deal. Suntech shares began the day trading up, but by the end of trading were down more than 2.5% on twice its average daily trading volume, and that seemed about right for a Chinese solar company that failed to answer some critical questions, while adding another big question about funding its solar wafer plans.
"I think Suntech will do a secondary or draw down on the loan provided this year by the China Development Bank, and considering their capacity, the plans have to be considered significant," said Gordon Johnson, analyst at Axiom Capital.
The Chinese solar wafer kings, like LDK Solar(LDK) and ReneSola(SOL), have been saying that wafer pricing can't be expected to remain at the current levels buoyed by the high industry demand. "The entry into the wafer market adds a layer of risk. How can Suntech beat the existing Chinese players at their own game?" Jefferies' Pichel asked.
More on STP
Suntech Power Holdings - Upgrades & Downgrades3 Chinese Solar Stocks That Are Heating UpSolar M&A Rumor Mill: Suntech, RecurrentMarket Activity
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.| STP DOWNMEMC Electronic Materials| WFR DOWNChristine Hersey, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that Suntech's discussion of the wafering raised a red flag, especially as the Chinese module maker noted that wafer pricing had gone up recently. No one expects that trend to remain in place long-term, and therefore, by the time Suntech would be up and running with wafer manufacturing, it might not achieve the gross margin improvement from the move upstream it anticipates.
"It seems odd to make a decision to go upstream at this point in time," Hersey said, though she added that Suntech's discussion of wafering was so vague that it was hard to take a definitive stance. Suntech did not provide details on how it would enter the wafering market -- a joint venture, for example, or whether the move would be related to buying assets from financially strapped Shunda, in which Suntech's big investment led to a big write-off this quarter. Nor did Suntech provide any guidance on how much solar wafer capacity it was interested in producing or on what time line.
Edwin Mok, analyst at Needham & Co., wrote in a Suntech earnings wrap that despite improvements in processing costs ($0.52/W in 2Q vs. $0.56/W in 1Q), near-term tightness in wafer supply will continue to disadvantage Suntech from a cost perspective. This supports the long-term decision to add wafering capacity, enabling STP to reduce costs to remain competitive. However, the cost benefit of vertical integration will take time and is unlikely to change its margin profile in the near-term, the Needham analyst argues.
The Chinese module maker continued to leave some other big questions open after its most recent earnings, notably related to its Pluto modules and its accounting related to affiliated company GSF.
However, Suntech upped capacity for the year from 1.5 gigawatts to 1.8 gigawatts, on a morning when Barclays upgraded the entire solar sector on a more bullish 2011 growth scenario. The outlook from a company that has dropped 50% this year could be the reason for the small move up in Suntech, even as the Street remains troubled by the Chinese module maker's overall cost equation and premium.
Its next generation Pluto modules still seem more or less spinning their wheels, with Suntech stating in the earnings that production reached 6 megawatts in the quarter. That's 6 MW of what Suntech has previously said is a Pluto capacity of 450 MW, so the Street didn't get the answer it was looking for on the Suntech call about why Pluto still seems like a distant planet.
"We still don't know if Pluto is scalable," said Jefferies analyst Pichel, noting that Pluto module production costs are greater than the average sales price of Chinese modules on the market today.
More on STP
Suntech Power Holdings - Upgrades & Downgrades3 Chinese Solar Stocks That Are Heating UpSolar M&A Rumor Mill: Suntech, RecurrentMarket Activity
MEMC Electronic Materials| WFR DOWNSuntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.| STP DOWNRelated to the ongoing issue of the revenue recognized by Suntech -- but not collected on -- from sales to GSF, Wedbush analyst Hersey said it was more of the same from SunPower. "Suntech said the same thing as last quarter about expecting to collect, and we've been waiting every quarter to hear something different," the analyst said.
Another question raised after the Suntech earnings call by Gordon Johnson of Axiom Capital related to the sold out conditions in solar. If Suntech is completely sold out, as it claims to be, why is it selling modules into a venture like GSF that has yet to sell projects? If pricing is so strong on the open market for Suntech, why does the Chinese solar module maker continue to sell into an affiliate of which it is the majority owner?
Another thing that didn't change with the latest Suntech earnings is the Street consensus that it has one of the worst cost models in the industry, more or less a Chinese equivalent to SunPower(SPWRA). Yet, Suntech continues to trade at a premium to Chinese module peers.
Suntech's discussion about Pluto and GSF might stay the same, but that premium seems harder and harder to justify, even with a more bullish outlook on 2011.
-- Written by Eric Rosenbaum from New York.
More on STP
Suntech Power Holdings - Upgrades & Downgrades3 Chinese Solar Stocks That Are Heating UpSolar M&A Rumor Mill: Suntech, RecurrentMarket Activity
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.| STP DOWNMEMC Electronic Materials| WFR DOWNNEW YORK (TheStreet) - Suntech Power(STP) reported earnings that were expected on Wednesday morning -- after all, the Chinese module maker had pre-reported the bad news two weeks ago -- but Suntech still managed to take the Street by surprise in saying it wants to get into the solar wafering business.
Suntech has long-term wafering contracts with several Asia-based solar wafer markers, and its largest wafering contract by dollar value is with MEMC Electronic Materials(WFR), valued at $5 billion to $6 billion.
Analyst reaction to the vague commentary from Suntech about moving upstream into wafering was cautious, suggesting that Suntech's already strained balance sheet does not necessarily need a big commitment to solar wafer manufacturing.
The Street doesn't seem to doubt the long-term argument for bringing more wafer production in-house, as part of vertical integration of the Suntech model. The expectation is not that Suntech wants to take over the world of selling wafers to third-parties, but buffer its gross margins, which are expected to decline from a peak, by bringing more cost efficiencies in-house for its own module production. However, it's the immediate balance sheet issue, as well as the timing and scope of the wafer plans that has the jury out.
"We support vertical integration, but how is Suntech going to fund this move?" asked Jefferies analyst Jesse Pichel. The Jefferies analyst estimated the Suntech plan $500 million to $750 million for ingot/wafer capacity and extend an already leveraged balance sheet.
Indeed, the Suntech solar wafer ambitions raises the question: Is a Chinese solar company whose stock has lost half its value this year prepared to dilute shares further with a secondary offering? Suntech received no earnings rally on Wednesday to raise its share price ahead of a potentially diluting secondary deal. Suntech shares began the day trading up, but by the end of trading were down more than 2.5% on twice its average daily trading volume, and that seemed about right for a Chinese solar company that failed to answer some critical questions, while adding another big question about funding its solar wafer plans.
"I think Suntech will do a secondary or draw down on the loan provided this year by the China Development Bank, and considering their capacity, the plans have to be considered significant," said Gordon Johnson, analyst at Axiom Capital.
The Chinese solar wafer kings, like LDK Solar(LDK) and ReneSola(SOL), have been saying that wafer pricing can't be expected to remain at the current levels buoyed by the high industry demand. "The entry into the wafer market adds a layer of risk. How can Suntech beat the existing Chinese players at their own game?" Jefferies' Pichel asked.
More on STP
Suntech Power Holdings - Upgrades & Downgrades3 Chinese Solar Stocks That Are Heating UpSolar M&A Rumor Mill: Suntech, RecurrentMarket Activity
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.| STP DOWNMEMC Electronic Materials| WFR DOWNChristine Hersey, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that Suntech's discussion of the wafering raised a red flag, especially as the Chinese module maker noted that wafer pricing had gone up recently. No one expects that trend to remain in place long-term, and therefore, by the time Suntech would be up and running with wafer manufacturing, it might not achieve the gross margin improvement from the move upstream it anticipates.
"It seems odd to make a decision to go upstream at this point in time," Hersey said, though she added that Suntech's discussion of wafering was so vague that it was hard to take a definitive stance. Suntech did not provide details on how it would enter the wafering market -- a joint venture, for example, or whether the move would be related to buying assets from financially strapped Shunda, in which Suntech's big investment led to a big write-off this quarter. Nor did Suntech provide any guidance on how much solar wafer capacity it was interested in producing or on what time line.
Edwin Mok, analyst at Needham & Co., wrote in a Suntech earnings wrap that despite improvements in processing costs ($0.52/W in 2Q vs. $0.56/W in 1Q), near-term tightness in wafer supply will continue to disadvantage Suntech from a cost perspective. This supports the long-term decision to add wafering capacity, enabling STP to reduce costs to remain competitive. However, the cost benefit of vertical integration will take time and is unlikely to change its margin profile in the near-term, the Needham analyst argues.
The Chinese module maker continued to leave some other big questions open after its most recent earnings, notably related to its Pluto modules and its accounting related to affiliated company GSF.
However, Suntech upped capacity for the year from 1.5 gigawatts to 1.8 gigawatts, on a morning when Barclays upgraded the entire solar sector on a more bullish 2011 growth scenario. The outlook from a company that has dropped 50% this year could be the reason for the small move up in Suntech, even as the Street remains troubled by the Chinese module maker's overall cost equation and premium.
Its next generation Pluto modules still seem more or less spinning their wheels, with Suntech stating in the earnings that production reached 6 megawatts in the quarter. That's 6 MW of what Suntech has previously said is a Pluto capacity of 450 MW, so the Street didn't get the answer it was looking for on the Suntech call about why Pluto still seems like a distant planet.
"We still don't know if Pluto is scalable," said Jefferies analyst Pichel, noting that Pluto module production costs are greater than the average sales price of Chinese modules on the market today.
More on STP
Suntech Power Holdings - Upgrades & Downgrades3 Chinese Solar Stocks That Are Heating UpSolar M&A Rumor Mill: Suntech, RecurrentMarket Activity
MEMC Electronic Materials| WFR DOWNSuntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.| STP DOWNRelated to the ongoing issue of the revenue recognized by Suntech -- but not collected on -- from sales to GSF, Wedbush analyst Hersey said it was more of the same from SunPower. "Suntech said the same thing as last quarter about expecting to collect, and we've been waiting every quarter to hear something different," the analyst said.
Another question raised after the Suntech earnings call by Gordon Johnson of Axiom Capital related to the sold out conditions in solar. If Suntech is completely sold out, as it claims to be, why is it selling modules into a venture like GSF that has yet to sell projects? If pricing is so strong on the open market for Suntech, why does the Chinese solar module maker continue to sell into an affiliate of which it is the majority owner?
Another thing that didn't change with the latest Suntech earnings is the Street consensus that it has one of the worst cost models in the industry, more or less a Chinese equivalent to SunPower(SPWRA). Yet, Suntech continues to trade at a premium to Chinese module peers.
Suntech's discussion about Pluto and GSF might stay the same, but that premium seems harder and harder to justify, even with a more bullish outlook on 2011.
-- Written by Eric Rosenbaum from New York.
10 of Cargill’s Next-Gen Biofuel Bets
By Katie Fehrenbacher Aug. 19, 2010, 10:00am PDT
Global agriculture and food gorilla Cargill made $2.6 billion in profit in 2010: The over-a-century-old company, which is one of the largest private companies in the U.S, doesn’t necessarily need biofuels for its bottom line. However, Cargill is one of the larger producers of ethanol and biodiesel in the U.S. and has corn ethanol production plants in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri, as well as biofuel assets in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, among other places.
But Cargill has a longer-term strategy to move from the low-margin business of trading and processing commodities to the higher margin businesses of conducting research and development and creating new chemical and bio-based intellectual property. Cargill had revenues of $107.9 billion in 2010 to get that $2.6 billion profit. Next-gen biofuels is just one area that Cargill is looking to develop new IP, and it’s been partnering with promising startups to help deliver innovative biofuel technology.
Cargill is a dream-come-true partner for a small biofuel startup. It has a food and ag distribution chain that would make Walmart jealous; it sells a good chunk of the grain and food in the U.S., so it has feedstocks at its fingertips; and its traditional biofuel business is ripe for remaking. At the same time, Cargill gets a lot of flack for some of the environmental and food-safety mistakes it’s made, and it’s been accused of causing deforestation in South America, selling contaminated beef, and dumping chemicals from biofuel production. Here are 10 next-gen biofuel bets that Cargill is making:
Virent Energy: Shell and Cargill announced back in June that they’d invested $46.4 million into startup Virent Energy, a company that’s created a thermochemical process which catalyzes sugars into hydrocarbons, creating molecules similar to those produced in oil refineries.
Gevo: Isobutanol producer Gevo, which recently filed for an IPO, says it’s been working with Cargill to develop a future-generation yeast biocatalyst specifically designed to produce isobutanol from cellulosic feedstocks.
Elevance Renewable Sciences: Elevance Renewable Sciences is a biochemical venture created in 2004 to commercialize the work of Cargill and catalyst maker Materia. The company has been backed with $40 million in funding from TPG Growth and TPG Biotechnology Partners, and focuses on using soy, canola and corn as feedstocks to produce a variety of chemicals and materials.
Argentinian Biodiesel: While not exactly “next-gen,” Cargill has some serious investments into biodiesel in Argentina made from soybeans. Earlier this week Cargill announced that would invest $112 million into building both an 18 MW energy co-generation facility and a soybean biodiesel plant that can produce 240,000 tons per year. The plants will be built in Villa Gobernador Gálvez, which along with Cargill’s current assets in the region, will make up “Cargill’s largest soybean processing complex in the world.”
Brazilian Ethanol: Given Brazil’s world-leading sugar ethanol industry, it’s no surprise that Cargill has investments there. Also not necessarily next-gen, Cargill has an ethanol dehydration facility in El Salvador, and an ethanol terminal and two sugar cane mills in Santos, Brazil. Cargill has been criticized by environmentalists (Greenpeace article here) for adding to the deforestation in Brazil for biofuel production.
U.S. Cellulosic Ethanol: Cargill has received DOE funding to work on cellulosic ethanol at its corn ethanol plants in the U.S.
Verenium Now BP: Back in 2005, when Verenium was still called Diversa, Cargill had an enzyme collaboration with the biofuel maker. Verenium’s cellulosic ethanol assets have since been sold to BP.
UK’s Greenergy Biofuels: In 2006 Cargill took a 25 percent stake in Greenenergy Biofuels, which turns rapeseed into oil for biodiesel production.
Cargill Ventures: Cargill’s original investment in Virent Energy was made through its VC arm Cargill Venture, but that fund has been folded into its investment firm Black River Asset Management.
Jet Fuel from Animal Waste: Last year, the U.S. Air Force ordered bio jet fuel made from rendered animals fats from Cargill, which was converted using Honeywell’s UOP processing technology.
Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):
Cleantech Financing Trends: 2010 and Beyond
Global agriculture and food gorilla Cargill made $2.6 billion in profit in 2010: The over-a-century-old company, which is one of the largest private companies in the U.S, doesn’t necessarily need biofuels for its bottom line. However, Cargill is one of the larger producers of ethanol and biodiesel in the U.S. and has corn ethanol production plants in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri, as well as biofuel assets in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, among other places.
But Cargill has a longer-term strategy to move from the low-margin business of trading and processing commodities to the higher margin businesses of conducting research and development and creating new chemical and bio-based intellectual property. Cargill had revenues of $107.9 billion in 2010 to get that $2.6 billion profit. Next-gen biofuels is just one area that Cargill is looking to develop new IP, and it’s been partnering with promising startups to help deliver innovative biofuel technology.
Cargill is a dream-come-true partner for a small biofuel startup. It has a food and ag distribution chain that would make Walmart jealous; it sells a good chunk of the grain and food in the U.S., so it has feedstocks at its fingertips; and its traditional biofuel business is ripe for remaking. At the same time, Cargill gets a lot of flack for some of the environmental and food-safety mistakes it’s made, and it’s been accused of causing deforestation in South America, selling contaminated beef, and dumping chemicals from biofuel production. Here are 10 next-gen biofuel bets that Cargill is making:
Virent Energy: Shell and Cargill announced back in June that they’d invested $46.4 million into startup Virent Energy, a company that’s created a thermochemical process which catalyzes sugars into hydrocarbons, creating molecules similar to those produced in oil refineries.
Gevo: Isobutanol producer Gevo, which recently filed for an IPO, says it’s been working with Cargill to develop a future-generation yeast biocatalyst specifically designed to produce isobutanol from cellulosic feedstocks.
Elevance Renewable Sciences: Elevance Renewable Sciences is a biochemical venture created in 2004 to commercialize the work of Cargill and catalyst maker Materia. The company has been backed with $40 million in funding from TPG Growth and TPG Biotechnology Partners, and focuses on using soy, canola and corn as feedstocks to produce a variety of chemicals and materials.
Argentinian Biodiesel: While not exactly “next-gen,” Cargill has some serious investments into biodiesel in Argentina made from soybeans. Earlier this week Cargill announced that would invest $112 million into building both an 18 MW energy co-generation facility and a soybean biodiesel plant that can produce 240,000 tons per year. The plants will be built in Villa Gobernador Gálvez, which along with Cargill’s current assets in the region, will make up “Cargill’s largest soybean processing complex in the world.”
Brazilian Ethanol: Given Brazil’s world-leading sugar ethanol industry, it’s no surprise that Cargill has investments there. Also not necessarily next-gen, Cargill has an ethanol dehydration facility in El Salvador, and an ethanol terminal and two sugar cane mills in Santos, Brazil. Cargill has been criticized by environmentalists (Greenpeace article here) for adding to the deforestation in Brazil for biofuel production.
U.S. Cellulosic Ethanol: Cargill has received DOE funding to work on cellulosic ethanol at its corn ethanol plants in the U.S.
Verenium Now BP: Back in 2005, when Verenium was still called Diversa, Cargill had an enzyme collaboration with the biofuel maker. Verenium’s cellulosic ethanol assets have since been sold to BP.
UK’s Greenergy Biofuels: In 2006 Cargill took a 25 percent stake in Greenenergy Biofuels, which turns rapeseed into oil for biodiesel production.
Cargill Ventures: Cargill’s original investment in Virent Energy was made through its VC arm Cargill Venture, but that fund has been folded into its investment firm Black River Asset Management.
Jet Fuel from Animal Waste: Last year, the U.S. Air Force ordered bio jet fuel made from rendered animals fats from Cargill, which was converted using Honeywell’s UOP processing technology.
Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):
Cleantech Financing Trends: 2010 and Beyond
Rising temperatures reducing ability of plants to absorb carbon, study warns
Research shows warming over past decade caused droughts that reduced number of plants available to soak up carbon dioxide
Alok Jha guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 August 2010 19.19 BST
Rising temperatures in the past decade have reduced the ability of the world's plants to soak up carbon from the atmosphere, scientists said today.
Large-scale droughts have wiped out plants that would have otherwise absorbed an amount of carbon equivalent to Britain's annual man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists measure the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide absorbed by plants and turned into biomass as a quantity known as the net primary production. NPP increased from 1982 to 1999 as temperatures rose and there was more solar radiation.
But the period from 2000 to 2009 reverses that trend – surprising some scientists. Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of Montana estimate that there has been a global reduction in NPP of 0.55 gigatonnes (Gt). In comparison, the UK's contribution to annual worldwide carbon dioxide emissions was 0.56Gt in 2007, while global aviation industry made up around 0.88Gt (3%) of the world total of 29.3Gt that year, according to UN data.
The researchers used data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (Modis) on board Nasa's Terra satellite, combined with global climate data to measure the change in global NPP over the past decade.
"The past decade has been the warmest since instrumental measurements began, which could imply continued increases in NPP," wrote Zhao and Running in the journal Science.
But instead of helping plants grow, these rising temperatures instead caused droughts and water stresses, particularly in the southern hemisphere and in rainforests, which contain most of the world's plant biomass. The growth there has been curtailed by lack of water and increased respiration, which returns carbon to the atmosphere. These problems counteracted any increases in NPP seen at the high latitudes and elevations in the northern hemisphere.
Reduced plant matter not only reduces the world's natural ability to manage carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but could also lead to problems with growing more crops to feed rising populations or make sustainable biofuels.
"Under a changing climate, severe regional droughts have become more frequent, a trend expected to continue for the foreseeable future," said the researchers. "The warming-associated heat and drought not only decrease NPP, but also may trigger many more ecosystem disturbances, releasing carbon to the atmosphere. Reduced NPP potentially threatens global food security and future biofuel production and weakens the terrestrial carbon sink."
The researchers conclude that further monitoring will be needed to confirm whether the decrease in NPP they have observed in the past decade is an anomaly or whether it signals a turning point to a future decline in the world's ability to sequester carbon dioxide.
• This article was amended on 20 August 2010. The original referred to carbon dioxide as CO2 and CO². This has been corrected.
Alok Jha guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 August 2010 19.19 BST
Rising temperatures in the past decade have reduced the ability of the world's plants to soak up carbon from the atmosphere, scientists said today.
Large-scale droughts have wiped out plants that would have otherwise absorbed an amount of carbon equivalent to Britain's annual man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists measure the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide absorbed by plants and turned into biomass as a quantity known as the net primary production. NPP increased from 1982 to 1999 as temperatures rose and there was more solar radiation.
But the period from 2000 to 2009 reverses that trend – surprising some scientists. Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of Montana estimate that there has been a global reduction in NPP of 0.55 gigatonnes (Gt). In comparison, the UK's contribution to annual worldwide carbon dioxide emissions was 0.56Gt in 2007, while global aviation industry made up around 0.88Gt (3%) of the world total of 29.3Gt that year, according to UN data.
The researchers used data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (Modis) on board Nasa's Terra satellite, combined with global climate data to measure the change in global NPP over the past decade.
"The past decade has been the warmest since instrumental measurements began, which could imply continued increases in NPP," wrote Zhao and Running in the journal Science.
But instead of helping plants grow, these rising temperatures instead caused droughts and water stresses, particularly in the southern hemisphere and in rainforests, which contain most of the world's plant biomass. The growth there has been curtailed by lack of water and increased respiration, which returns carbon to the atmosphere. These problems counteracted any increases in NPP seen at the high latitudes and elevations in the northern hemisphere.
Reduced plant matter not only reduces the world's natural ability to manage carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but could also lead to problems with growing more crops to feed rising populations or make sustainable biofuels.
"Under a changing climate, severe regional droughts have become more frequent, a trend expected to continue for the foreseeable future," said the researchers. "The warming-associated heat and drought not only decrease NPP, but also may trigger many more ecosystem disturbances, releasing carbon to the atmosphere. Reduced NPP potentially threatens global food security and future biofuel production and weakens the terrestrial carbon sink."
The researchers conclude that further monitoring will be needed to confirm whether the decrease in NPP they have observed in the past decade is an anomaly or whether it signals a turning point to a future decline in the world's ability to sequester carbon dioxide.
• This article was amended on 20 August 2010. The original referred to carbon dioxide as CO2 and CO². This has been corrected.
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