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Adaptation Fund observes Earth Day 2023, fosters nature-based solutions

May 4, 2023 jrobinson

AS THE Adaptation Fund (AF) commemorated Earth Day on April 22, its policies has continued to uphold strong environmental principles while promoting biodiversity and nature-based solutions on the ground within the context of helping vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.

For example, in the small island developing state (SIDS) of Seychelles – a project funded by the AF and implemented by United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment – is building resilience to the effects of rising sea levels, cyclones and erratic rainfall, such as floods and water scarcity through ecosystem-based adaptation.

These ecosystem-based approaches are securing water supplies, cleaning wetlands, and providing protections against flooding and drought by applying nature-based solutions such as reforestation that enhances upland wetlands and water catchment areas as well as endemic and native plant species, while reducing erosion.

Rehabilitation activities have covered about 3,000 hectares on Mahe and Praslin Islands, which are Seychelles’ largest. The project also includes pilot restoration activities in a Bougainvillea wetland in southern Mahe that has provided a natural engineering gabion weir for water storage.

The ecosystem-based solutions in Seychelles have included livelihood training, while improving climate resilience and restoring natural protections, healthy ecosystems and biodiversity along the way.

Another AF-funded project in Armenia carried out by the Direct Access national implementing entity Environmental Project Implementation Unit is making a difference by strengthening land-based adaptation practices in vulnerable areas next to protected forests such as Khosrov Forest State Reserve and Dilijan National Park.

It is fostering community-based, climate-smart agricultural practices in degraded areas to reduce climate risks on rural livelihoods while sustaining protected areas and improving value chains and accessibility of climate-smart practices and technologies.

“As we celebrate Earth Day, the Seychelles and Armenia projects are great examples of the Adaptation Fund’s concrete adaptation actions on the ground that benefit the most vulnerable groups and the environment at the same time. We see this positive and inter-related dual impact reflected often throughout the fund’s work,” said Mikko Ollikainen, head of the Fund.

Projects like those in Armenia and the Seychelles can be seen across the Fund’s portfolio. More than 20 per cent of the Fund’s portfolio is committed to increase ecosystem resilience in response to climate change, and a majority of AF projects across a range of adaptation sectors contain a complementary NBS component.

Many projects are also creating greener, more sustainable livelihoods in the process. About 610,000 ha of natural habitat have further been restored or preserved, and another 165,000 metres of coastlines protected throughout the portfolio.

Adaptation Fund

Gleaner

Alternative Energy Climate Environment News Renewable Energy Solar Energy

Conservation coalition confirms wind and solar transition is best route for the environment

April 21, 2023 jrobinson

The rapid transition to renewable energy offers opportunities to reset the broken relationship between energy production and nature, according to a new report by the Coalition Linking Energy And Nature for action (CLEANaction).

In its first major report, CLEANaction confirms that even when the full range of environmental impacts — from sourcing raw materials to final operation — is considered, generating and storing energy from renewables is far less environmentally damaging than using fossil fuels. The report argues that a transition focused on wind and solar can result in significantly reduced environmental impacts compared to other renewable energy types, although other renewables can be the most appropriate solution depending upon the local circumstances.

To limit global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels and avoid the worst risks of climate change, renewable energy will need to account for more than 90% of electricity generation by 2050 according to International Energy Agency projections. The report explains how, in a vital decade for action, the potential for negative impacts from the energy transition can be carefully managed to ensure that renewable energy technologies causing the least damage to nature are prioritized.

CLEANaction is a coalition of NGOs, leading businesses, government bodies and financial institutions established in recognition of the urgent need for a global and just transition to a low-impact and nature-sensitive renewable energy system. The founding members are WWF, IRENA, ICLEI, The Nature Conservancy, Birdlife International and the Alliance for Rural Electrification.

“Climate change is causing havoc across the globe and, together with habitat loss and overexploitation, is a leading cause of reduced biodiversity worldwide,” said Dean Cooper, WWF global energy lead. “This loss of biodiversity, and of the natural carbon uptake and storage enabled by healthy ecosystems, exacerbates the climate crisis and threatens the health and wellbeing of humankind around the world. We all must urgently shift to 100% renewable energy, but we must take care to protect and enhance nature at the same time.”

Existing global-scale mapping of sites for wind and solar indicate there is enough energy available in areas that have low conflict with biodiversity to achieve projections from the International Energy Agency for a power system consistent with holding global temperature rise to below 1.5ºC. This Paris Agreement goal is a crucial threshold to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change on people and nature.

Significant changes are also needed in how we source and trace materials, such as rare earth elements, for developing our energy infrastructure. A new, circular economic model is essential to reduce environmental impacts, according to the report.

A circular economic and energy efficient model should prioritize the reduction of primary materials, as well as reuse and recycle to minimize further extraction and impacts related to the disposal of end-of-life equipment. When mining occurs, rigorous environmental and social safeguards must be in place to avoid the degradation of natural habitat and other harms, according to the report.

To achieve a clean energy future that takes full account of the impact on nature, CLEANaction is urging governments to:

Undertake strategic-level energy planning at national or regional scales to identify potential energy savings, suitable renewable energy sources and sites for energy expansion in areas of low biodiversity sensitivity.
Consider the impact on nature at the earliest stage of integrated clean energy planning, taking account of the full value chain (from sourcing material to disposal).
Develop national regulatory schemes that require energy developers to contribute to national conservation targets.
Invest in timely nature-sensitivity mapping to help direct technology siting through proper data and require industry to avoid protected areas, Key Biodiversity Areas and other areas of particular sensitivity and value.
Apply stringent environmental impact assessment processes and required standards to all new developments according to best practice.
Adopt a circular economy approach with optimized energy efficiency, to maximize reuse of energy materials, and minimize demand for natural resources.

CLEANaction is calling on renewable energy investors and developers to:

Integrate biodiversity, social and environmental risks early into renewable energy planning and investment decisions.
Apply effective biodiversity safeguards and environmental impact assessment procedures to avoid and minimize impacts, and offset any residual impacts to achieve net-positive outcomes.
Ensure there is traceability of raw materials and account for supply chain impacts within corporate commitments to nature.
Apply a circular approach to minimise the use of primary materials and maximise the reuse and recycling of materials.
Strengthen corporate disclosure and reporting on biodiversity, environmental and social impacts.

Solar Power World

Alternative Energy Climate Climate Change Environment News

CLIMATE LITERACY IS THE KEY TO REVERSING CLIMATE CHANGE

April 21, 2023 jrobinson

Climate education and environmental literacy are the most underestimated and underfunded solutions for adopting eco-friendly practices to end the climate crisis. Investing in education better prepares the next generation to face climate change as it establishes foundational values and solutions for environmental safety. Preparatory courses have the potential to raise awareness about harmful actions and develop a sense of circular and sustainable communities from a young age.

The Education International Manifesto on Quality Climate Change Education for All defines five pillars to help ensure such transformation is possible: (1) include governmental oversight on quality climate change education to guarantee students become climate-literate, (2) coursework based on science, (3) addressing the ethical, cultural, political, social and economic dimensions of climate change, (4) well-trained teachers, and (5) transformed school and learning environments to support climate literacy.

Even though effective methods of climate literacy implementation are widely available to governments, only a few countries have incorporated climate education into their school curriculum. According to the Climate Change Education Ambition Report Card, every country failed this commitment based on their submissions to the UNFCCC. The progressive countries on climate education with the highest real score include Cambodia (58%), Dominican Republic (51%), Colombia (50%), and Vanuatu (50%).

While the Paris Agreement emphasized the role of education and training to empower the public to make ethically informed decisions, countries who are committed to the treaty — including the US and China — have yet to implement an extensive and systemic reform on climate education. UNESCO exposes the tragic truth as reports show Africa and Oceania have considerably more climate change content, whereas Central and Southern Asia have the least. Countries most vulnerable to climate change are more likely to include climate literacy in their national curriculum frameworks than those primarily responsible for the emissions causing climate change.

The total negligence of climate literacy has disastrous implications for the countries as it not only jeopardizes the well-being of citizens and the safety of the environment, but also misses the chance to reverse climate change impact with proper education and professional development. For instance, well-trained architects and engineers can get the upper hand in the fight against climate change as they apply engineering principles that reduce the impact of major industrial activities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics already projects that the number of jobs for environmental scientists and specialists will increase by 8% between 2020 and 2030, signifying the priority for climate literacy inclusion in the school curriculum.

Llearning about environmentally conscious practices encourages changes in young people’s attitudes and behavior and helps them to adapt to climate change-related trends. Further progress intensely relies on our commitment to provide quality education in schools to prepare the younger generation for immediate climate change consequences and expose them to environmentally safe practices.

EARTHDAY.ORG’s Climate and Environmental Literacy Campaign is committed to ensuring that students worldwide have access to high-quality climate change education to support upcoming generations’ conscious and informed decisions. To successfully execute this commitment, demand global leaders at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change commit to compulsory, assessed climate and environmental education with a robust civic engagement component at COP28 this November.

Earth Today

Alternative Energy Environment News Renewable Energy

Electric Vehicles and the Case for Resilience

March 30, 2023 jrobinson

Resilience is something you usually don’t know you need – until you do.

When Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast in late October 2012, floods and high winds caused huge damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure, including the power grid. Two weeks after the storm passed, 5% of New York residents were still without power.¹ Other major storms, such as hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, and Ike, also led to weeks-long outages.² It took more than a year for some households in Puerto Rico to have power restored after Hurricane Maria decimated that island’s grid in 2017.

The effects of such long outages on everyday life make a long list – particularly for lower income individuals and households who can’t afford to be off work or to move temporarily to other areas. Without power, food rots quickly, essential medicines degrade, heat and air conditioning fail, businesses and jobs close, and communications become difficult. The impacts on human health can be severe. In Texas, the extended blackouts that followed the winter storms of February 2021 claimed 246 lives. Winter blackouts could be repeated in coming years in that state, leaving residents who rely on electric heat again at grave risk.³

Severe heat waves and cold spells can also cause transient problems by boosting power demand beyond what the grid can supply and by making the grid more vulnerable to individual failures of generators and transmission lines. Parts of the West, Midwest, and South are at growing risk of rolling blackouts and brownouts (drops in voltage and frequency) caused by huge demand for air conditioning during heat waves as well as a drop in available hydropower during extended droughts.⁴ While not as dangerous as extended blackouts, such transient events can have a significant impact on daily life and can cause health problems as vulnerable residents are forced to cut back their use of air conditioning or heat.

How Bidirectional Charging Can Enhance Resilience

EVs can help mitigate the risks of severe weather events. Equipped with appropriate bidirectional (two-way) charging equipment, they can provide a backup source of power to keep disaster shelters, community centers, medical offices, emergency services, and other services in operation. Being mobile, EVs can drive to areas where there is no outage or there is a source of resilient local generation, such as an EV charging station powered by solar, to be recharged, and then return to the community and resume delivering power. They need no special shipments of generators or fuel. Their very mobility is one of their biggest advantages. They can even be deployed to neighborhoods to serve as mobile charging hubs for cell phones and medical devices. Widespread use of EVs could also help avoid blackouts and brownouts by shifting power supply from low-demand to high-demand periods. This is why many electric utilities are actively supporting early-stage vehicle-to-grid programs.

While the technology of bidirectional (two-way) charging is not yet widely adopted, EVs with the capability of sending power to the grid are already on the road (Table 1). Nissan was one of the first car companies to equip its EV, the Leaf, with bidirectional chargers, and others are following suit. Ford has made the F-150 Lightning’s ability to keep the lights on when the grid goes dark a key message of the truck’s marketing campaign: “What if the next time your power went out, your pickup truck could electrify your home.”⁵

Bluebird, a leading electric school bus manufacturer in the US, likewise offers two-way charging in its electric buses. This bus – like the F-150 – contains a relatively large battery pack (roughly twice the size of that on most electric cars) which can provide power for up to several days depending on the size of the load. Other electric bus manufacturers offer the same capability.

Table 1. List of electric cars and light trucks equipped with bidirectional charging/discharging as of 2022. The list may not be complete. Source: EV Connect

There are three main ways EVs can be used to feed power to other systems and networks: Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), in which the vehicle connects directly to the power grid, just like a small power plant; Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) or Vehicle-to-Building (V2B), in which the vehicle connects to the power distribution within a home or business, behind the utility meter; and Vehicle-to-Load (V2L), in which the vehicle connects directly to a set of devices such as lighting and appliances. The simplest of these is V2L: it suffices to plug the appliance directly into the charger that’s connected to the vehicle. V2H/B and V2G require additional equipment and software to manage the power flows and interactions with the grid.

Numerous demonstration projects have been or are being performed to show that bidirectional technology in its various forms works. For instance, Electric Frog Company is providing free use of a Nissan Leaf to the Burrillville Wastewater Treatment Facility in Rhode Island. When not in use by Burrillville employees, the EV will be plugged into a bidirectional charger, with the ability to feed power back to the grid to help meet peak loads. ⁶ Among other programs, the California Energy Commission recently approved three “vehicle-to-grid integration (VGI)” pilots focused on residential, commercial, and microgrid applications in the PG&E utility area;⁷ the charging company EV Connect is partnering with Indiana’s Battery Innovation Center and Energy Systems Network to demonstrate bidirectional technology for school buses and heavy-duty truck fleets;⁸ and even the Department of Defense is getting in on the act with an initiative to test between 100 and 500 EVs in bidirectional applications at military bases.⁹

How to Implement Bidirectional EV Charging

Making use of bidirectional EVs to offset peak loads or keep the lights on in a blackout requires not only an appropriately equipped vehicle, but a charging point that can receive power from it and deliver the power to where it is needed. Even if your home or business is equipped with a standard charging station, you cannot use it to run your lights and appliances when the grid is out. It just won’t work.

One reason is that batteries use direct current (DC), rather than the alternating current (AC) used in homes and businesses. This means they cannot directly power most services such as refrigerators, lights, and televisions. Batteries need an inverter to convert between DC and AC, which can be either on the vehicle or in the charging station. For bidirectional charging, the inverter must be able to operate in both directions. These components are often part of what are called “smart” charging systems because they use computers and sensors to decide when and how much power to deliver in either direction.

Figure 2: Bidirectional Electric Vehicle and Charging Framework. Source: Argonne National Lab

There are several different bidirectional charging systems on the market, with more in development. Unfortunately, they are not all compatible with one another. Tesla and Ford maintain their own charging networks with their own standards. This can result in confusion, so it is best to consult the vehicle manufacturer to make sure a particular vehicle’s charging system works safely with the receiving station.

Over time, as the technology matures, the industry should coalesce around a standard that makes most bidirectional EVs and EV chargers mutually compatible.

What Services Can Bidirectional EVs Support – and How Long?

With the right charging equipment, an EV can provide 110-volt or 220-volt AC power that can support most services – such as lighting, A/C, refrigeration, and computers – for as long as its battery lasts. But how long is that? That depends mainly on three things: the size of the battery, the size of the load (the total amount of power required), and whether there is additional on-site power, such as from a solar array, to satisfy part of the load and replenish the EV battery.

Let’s start with a single-family household. Energy use for any specific household can vary a lot depending on its size, type of construction, location, climate, heating and cooling systems, and other factors. The average American home consumes about 11,000 kWh per year, at an average power draw of 1.25 kW.¹⁰ A typical electric car battery stores up to about 50-75 kWh, implying that it could supply such a home at its regular usage rate for about 2 days. A larger vehicle like the F-150 Lightning, on the other hand, with its 134-kWh battery, could power the same home for around 4.5 days. That’s without any solar on the house.

In an emergency, power demand could be reduced, thereby extending the time it takes to discharge the battery. If the same household used full power only for water heating, lighting, and refrigeration, cut power use in half for air conditioning and heat, and shut off all other uses, a typical electric car could power the home for around 3.5 days, and a vehicle like the F-150 for just over a week. This is enough to get through most blackouts.

On a larger scale, fleets of electric cars, vans, and buses could power many essential community services almost indefinitely, thanks to their mobility. To take an example: A police station in Washington, DC, consumes an average of about 125 kW to keep its services running around the clock.¹¹ A single electric passenger bus with 200-300 kWh storage could power full operations of one such station for around two hours. A fleet of, say, four buses taking turns and driving to be recharged in another city or at an emergency generator station could keep it in operation almost indefinitely (depending on distance to the recharging point).

Most community emergency shelters, such as school gymnasiums and churches, require less power than a police station, and so could be powered longer by a single vehicle. Actual power usage varies widely, of course, depending on the building size, local climate, and types of services delivered. Any community considering using bidirectional charging should carefully study the requirements to incorporate it into their emergency planning. Organizations like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can provide useful guidance.¹²

Pilot Projects

As we saw in the last blog, electric school buses are the “point of the spear” in expanding the use of community EVs. Initiatives like that of the Stockton Union School District (SUSD) in Stockton, California, envision eventually using their school buses and other municipal electric vehicles to support the power grid and earn revenue during peak load periods and to provide backup power during outages caused by events such as wildfires. However, it will require further work and investment to provide essential infrastructure, such as schools and emergency services, with the equipment to receive power from the buses.

One of the main lessons learned from these initiatives is the importance of optimizing charging strategies to minimize the number and capacity (in kW) of chargers required, avoid overtaxing the power grid, and take advantage of off-peak electricity rates. The Mobility House, a private consulting firm based in Germany, advised the SUSD on its charging strategy, and claims to have reduced the peak capacity requirement for the current fleet of 11 electric buses from 317 kW to 79 kW and the annual charging cost by $25,700 per year, compared to an unmanaged strategy.

Several pilot projects demonstrate the potential to use electric school buses to feed power into the grid in the Northeast. In one located in Beverly, Massachusetts, a Thomas Built Buses electric school bus helped the local utility, National Grid, meet peak loads over the course of 30 events in the summer of 2021.¹³ In another, located in White Plains, New York, five electric school buses built by Lion Electric Company of Quebec have demonstrated the ability to feed power to the ConEdison grid in a pilot program that started in 2018.¹⁴

In both cases, the goal is to demonstrate how electric buses can help utilities meet peak loads and so reduce the need for costly peaking power. In fact, the main instigator of such initiatives has not been school districts or town governments, it has been the utility companies who face high costs and a growing risk of outages due to rising peak loads. Nonetheless, the towns stand to receive an economic benefit, as well, as they can be reimbursed for the power provided to the grid at a much higher rate than they pay for charging the buses at night and, in some cases, generate revenue through participation in utility demand response programs that are beginning to explore EV participation.

By supplying power during periods of peak demand, EVs such as buses can be an important part of an overall strategy to replace peaking power plants with clean energy solutions, which has important environmental justice benefits. According to analysis by Clean Energy Group, a disproportionate number of peaking power plants are in lower income communities and communities of color. These plants also tend to emit harmful pollutants at higher rates, severely impacting the health of surrounding communities. Clean Energy Group’s Phase Out Peakers initiative seeks to call attention to the pollution and cost impacts of fossil peaking units and accelerate the transition to clean alternatives, including EVs providing demand response.¹⁵

At the same time, the pilot programs provide confidence that bidirectional charging would work in the event of a grid outage. However, that application requires additional investments in “smart grid” equipment, which after sensing a grid failure can isolate the buildings or services from the grid and deliver electricity from the buses to power essential services.¹⁶

Other organizations are seeking to incorporate EVs into complete resilient power solutions for their communities. The Glad Tidings International church, for example, is planning to build a “clean energy hub” that includes 668 kW of solar, ten Level 2 and four Level 3 (fast) bidirectional charging points, and a combination of stationary batteries and EVs able to supply power for the Glad Tidings campus for 3 days without sun, and indefinitely with sun. Bidirectional EVs (2 Nissan Leafs and a Kia EV6) are a critical part of their plan and provide the bulk of the storage capacity.

Clean Energy Group

Alternative Energy Climate Electricity Government News Solar Energy

Indian solar company wants to do more for Jamaica

March 30, 2023 jrobinson

International Solar Alliance's (ISA) Chief of Operations Joshua Wycliffe (right) speaking recently at the organisation's office in Dehli, India. At left is ISA's Chief of the Project Implementation Unit Remesh Kumar Kuruppath. — International Solar Alliance’s (ISA) Chief of Operations Joshua Wycliffe (right) speaking recently at the organisation’s office in Dehli, India. At left is ISA’s Chief of the Project Implementation Unit Remesh Kumar Kuruppath.

DEHLI, India — International Solar Alliance (ISA), based in this populous Asian city, has expressed interest in furthering its work with the Jamaica Government after providing funding of US$50,000 to complete the Little Park Solar Pump Station in St Elizabeth last year.

According to ISA’s chief of the Project Implementation Unit Remesh Kumar Kuruppath, Jamaica is the first country to benefit from this type of developmental solarisation project from the organisation.

“Jamaica is our first project in the solarisation of an agricultural pumping system. It is a water pumping system that has been solarised, and this was commissioned sometime in September last year. This is the first demonstration project we have done with the country to solarise a water pumping system there, and we have a very close interaction with the Jamaica Government and team there, and they want us to do more,” Kuruppath told journalists from the Caribbean and Latin America now in India on a familiarisation tour organised by the Indian Government.

This addition to the Little Park Pump Station saw the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) obtaining a 30-kilowatt solar retrofit to the Little Park-F3 Solar Pump Station through which over 390 farmers in the rural parish were already benefiting from increased and reliable access to water.

The organisation’s Chief of Operations Joshua Wycliffe told the Jamaica Observer that ISA believes Jamaica’s next step is to solarise other key sectors.

“It has been an absolute delight working and partnering with Jamaica. One of the areas that we are now looking at is how we have solarised our hospital rooftops. We would love to do that to health-care [and] educational facilities in Jamaica. These are two demonstration projects that can be replicated across Jamaica next,” Wycliffe said.

Pointing to the negative implications on the global job market and economy, Wycliffe went on to note that the project commissioned at the Little Park Pump Station in St Elizabeth by NIC supports the push for a more sustainable agricultural sector. Furthermore, the chief of operations told the Sunday Observer that the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic saw an undeniable increase in agriculture due to the loss of jobs, and that ISA played its part in providing solarisation.

“Now Jamaica, like most island states, would also have a lot to do with fishing and marine exports, so coastal ridges are areas that we can support in terms of solarising that industrial segment. Recently there were countries, and I suspect Jamaica would be no exception, where hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost during the pandemic so people went back to farming — and we were able to provide solarisation to sustain that,” Wycliffe explained.

He continued, “This saw that a new channel for exporting was created so what we have looked at is being able to provide sustainable agriculture through solarised power. So, remote villages and communities where they don’t have power grid support to run the irrigation pumps, solarised pumps are an answer. They provide support for people living below the poverty line, so these are two broad areas where we can support Jamaica in being able to further solarise and transition.”

In the meantime, Wycliffe told the Sunday Observer that the ISA is hoping to meet with delegates from Jamaica at its upcoming regional committee meeting in the summer.

“We have had a great working relationship with the Jamaican Government, and that has certainly helped us in putting in small demonstration projects. We are looking forward, eagerly, to the regional committee meeting that is coming up; we would like to further work with them,” he said.

ISA is an international organisation with 110 member and signatory countries. It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide, and promotes solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.

To support those projects the organisation partners with multilateral development banks, development financial institutions, private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least -eveloped countries and the small-island developing states.

Jamaica Observer

Electricity Government JPS

Opposition voices concern that some JPS customers paying more

March 19, 2023 jrobinson

Vaz

Opposition spokesman on science, energy and technology, Phillip Paulwell has raised concerns that some customers of the Jamaica Power Service Company (JPS) have been bearing the burden of cost as other customers leave the grid to utilise alternate facilities.

“A significant number of large customers are utilising natural gas to generate their own electricity. There is one supplier of natural gas so far in Jamaica and it is my understanding that when that supplier and infrastructure was being created, the JPSCo customers are currently paying for that,” Paulwell said in a Joint Select Committee meeting on the Electricity Act on Wednesday, March 15.

But chief technical director of energy in the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology, Brian Richardson, clarified that the fixed capital cost of LNG also included the infrastructure referred to by Paulwell. He told the meeting that the fixed cost is what pays for the electricity and that the infrastructure was built into the cost of the generation plant. He further outlined that the infrastructure is paid for by anyone who remains connected on the grid.

However, Paulwell insisted that large customers who are getting natural gas from that same facility should also pay, and the Ministry needs to ensure that this is so.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Daryl Vaz agreed that this is something that needs to be addressed, telling members that he intends to have further discussions on this issue.

Paulwell

But committee member Fitz Jackson was not pleased with that response, and expressed his displeasure that the committee keeps having these fruitless discussions.

“It would appear in a very vivid way that there is no intention to implement that policy position, only to acknowledge it as a policy, but not to act on it. And therefore the comfort that consumers would have had, that they would be compensated for what they have paid for, by reduction or which other mechanisms that would have been chosen, but there would have been some benefit, and it is only the new users who are getting the benefit of their sacrifice,” he said.

Acknowledging the member’s frustration, Vaz said that this issue often takes the form of a private contractual arrangement between the LNG supplier and the customer. However, the minister committed to address the issue, telling the committee that he will give an update within 60-90 days.

IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY

The minister also reiterated his position that the country could not afford an unbundling of the electricity market. Pointing to statistics from the World Bank which stated that a country needs a system size of at least 3000 megawatts at peak demand, a power market trading value of over 1 billion dollars to justify investments in the needed energy trading platform and have at least 20 terawatt hours of annual sales, he said Jamaica’s grid is a little 600 megawatts at peak demand by comparison (and) has only three terawatt hours of sale per annum.

The minister also indicated that this change would be costly for Jamaican taxpayers who would now have to bear the financial costs related to the termination of JPS current licence and restructuring of the electricity legal and regulatory framework to accommodate an unbundled system.

“If Jamaica forces unbundling then the restructuring cost that will be borne by the JPS would either be recovered from the government of Jamaica or the remaining customers on the grid.”

Instead, he said his ministry will improve transparency in the process.

“With or without JPS, Jamaica’s small electricity market cannot support unbundling. The ministry will set up systems to hold itself accountable and to give a work plan with timelines and updates to the citizenry in order to demonstrate its progress as we chart the way forward,” he said.

And indicating that the process to review the Electricity Act 2015 will be expedited, Vaz outlined that increased focus will be placed on the replacement of existing generation capacity with renewables to achieve 50 per cent renewables by 2050 target.

“We’re at the opportune time right now to be able to do the appropriate step based on our understanding of the grid. And I think having renewables being the dominant procurement going forward should be the pathway that Jamaica goes on,” Richardson said, “Every time we delay we are causing our own issues as a country and our economic security is at risk as well.”

Gleaner

Alternative Energy News Renewable Energy Solar Energy

Renewables increased energy output by more than 12% in 2022

March 12, 2023 jrobinson

According to a review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), renewable energy sources provided almost 23% of the nation’s electrical generation in 2022.

The latest issue of EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through December 31) reveals that renewable energy sources (including small-scale solar systems) increased their electrical output by 12.37% last year compared to 2021. By comparison, electrical generation by all energy sources combined grew by just 3.47%.

In 2022, renewables provided 22.58% of total U.S. electrical generation versus 20.79% a year ago. Accordingly, they modestly surpassed EIA’s earlier forecast of renewables providing 22% of U.S. electricity in calendar year 2022.

Once again, solar was the fastest growing renewable energy source. Output by solar increased by 24.14% and its share of total U.S. electrical generation for the year was 4.74%. A year earlier, solar’s share was 3.95%. Five years ago, it was 1.91% and at the end of 2012, solar’s share was only 0.11%.

Electrical generation by wind also expanded significantly — growing by 14.97% and providing over a tenth (10.11%) of total U.S. electrical generation in 2022. Combined, solar and wind contributed nearly 15% (14.85%) of the nation’s electrical output last year.

In addition, generation by hydropower grew 4.14% and accounted for 6.09% of the total. Electrical output by geothermal as well as wood and wood-derived fuels also increased by 6.43% and 0.29% respectively. Only generation by “other biomass” fell — by 5.06%.

Taken together, in 2022, renewable energy sources comfortably out-produced both coal and nuclear power by 17.18% and 25.90% respectively. However, natural gas continued to dominate with a 39.27% share of total generation.

Renewables’ growing share of U.S. electrical generation last year mirrored their expansion in other sectors such as transportation and heating.

For example, a second EIA report — its “Monthly Energy Review” released last week — reveals that the mix of renewable energy sources, including biofuels, accounted for 13.03% of total U.S. energy production during the first 11 months of 2022. For the same period a year earlier, renewables’ share was 12.50%.

On the consumption side, renewables were 13.20% of energy use during the first 11 months of 2022. Renewables were 12.43% of energy consumption during the same time period a year earlier. Actual consumption of renewables increased by 8.96%, while total energy use for all sectors increased by just 2.59%.

“Last year set a new record for renewably generated electricity in the U.S.,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director Ken Bossong. “Renewables are now on track to reach one-quarter of electrical generation in 2023 as well as one-seventh of total domestic energy production and then accelerate in the years to follow.”

Solar Power World

Alternative Energy Electricity Government News Renewable Energy Solar Energy

China ready to help Caribbean with transition to solar energy

March 12, 2023 jrobinson

Deputy official for China's National People's Congress, Liu Hanyuan, is chairman of the Board of Directors of Tongwei Group and co-chairman of the China Photovoltaic Agricultural Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance. Liu spoke with reporters during the Two Sessions on climate change issues on March 8, 2023. — Deputy official for China’s National People’s Congress, Liu Hanyuan, is chairman of the Board of Directors of Tongwei Group and co-chairman of the China Photovoltaic Agricultural Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance. Liu spoke with reporters during the Two Sessions on climate change issues on March 8, 2023.

Chinese deputy official Liu Hanyuan said China’s is willing and ready to assist Caribbean regions with the transition to renewable energy, particularly solar, through collaboration and technological assistance.

Speaking with Loop News for the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), Liu said because of the Caribbean’s sunny location solar is a good choice for alternative energy.

Liu said from the technical perspective it is possible to reduce the cost for solar energy, however in the Caribbean region photovoltaic (PV) systems are still being introduced. Another issue would be shipping, which contributes to higher costs.

He said however if there is enough demand this could help make solar more affordable.

“If there is the demand, the price would be cheaper and cost could be lower, and they could also enjoy the same prices as people in China.”

He added that there are no limitations with regard to the sharing of Chinese technology and skills in assisting the Caribbean region in the transition to solar energy.

“From the Chinese perspective of the government with regard to these enterprises, there are absolutely no limitations for the transmission of this technology into the Caribbean region. But we need two things, more demand and the new systems being established, which will help bring lower energy costs.”

He said however that once these systems are built the price of energy will be comparatively lower than fossil fuels.

He said it’s hoped that they can assist with the construction of more solar facilities to assist with the Caribbean region’s energy goals.

Liu, who is chairman of the Board of Directors of Tongwei Group and co-chairman of the China Photovoltaic Agricultural Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, said China’s green development strategy has clear goals for reducing C02 emissions, one of which is developing its solar energy production.

China is also open to developing and providing technological support for other countries in this regard via its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In Trinidad and Tobago, sod has been turned for the construction of a solar park system at the Piarco International Airport, via a $12 million grant from the European Union’s Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) programme.

Plans are also underway for the construction of the country’s largest solar energy project to be developed and executed by a consortium between Lightsource bp, bp Alternative Energy Trinidad and Tobago and Shell Renewables Caribbean.

It is the first joint project between the three entities.

The 148MW total is split over two sites, Brechin Castle (122MWp) and Orange Grove (26MWp), the latter of which will see bp and Shell collaborate with the University of the West Indies. Construction is expected to begin in Q1 2023, and operations in Q3-4 2024.

The project came about in response to the Trinidadian government’s request for proposal (RFP), seeking projects to contribute to the country’s commitment to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the power sector by 15 per cent by 2030.

Loop

Alternative Energy Climate Electricity Environment News Renewable Energy Solar Energy

As rich nations haggle over climate solutions, storm-ravaged Caribbean is taking matters into its own hands

March 12, 2023 jrobinson

Islands Energy Program RMI solar battery system Monserrat

When Hurricane Fiona slammed into Puerto Rico in September, it triggered a nearly island-wide blackout as the storm’s strong winds took down the fragile power grid.

Carlos Ramos spoke to CNN as he helped his friends clean up their flood-damaged beach home in Salinas. Ramos said most of his neighbors in Aguas Buenas, in the island’s central mountain range, were among those who lost power in the wake of the hurricane.

But Ramos’s home maintained power.

Frustrated by the rising cost of electricity and the ever-looming threat of power outages on the storm-stricken island, the 59-year-old retired bank worker had solar panels installed on his home.

“All my neighbors said I was crazy for getting the solar panels,” he told CNN. “Now they’re sitting in the dark. It was the best investment.”

World leaders are in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this week for the UN’s COP27 climate summit where they are negotiating solutions to the climate crisis and haggling over how to help developing nations switch to clean energy and pay for extreme weather disasters.

But as they do so, millions of people are already dealing with the impacts.

Among the regions that have long endured these devastating impacts are the Caribbean islands, where sea level is rising and hurricanes are becoming more intense.

But Caribbean leaders, residents and even utility companies say they are tired of waiting for world leaders to save them. Experts and residents tell CNN that the islands are now eagerly adapting on their own through grant funding, phasing out fossil fuels and advancing clean energy across the region, to make them better prepared for the worsening impacts of the climate crisis.

“We don’t have the luxury of being able to sit by and wait until the planet comes to an agreement,” Racquel Moses, CEO of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, told CNN. “We have been waiting, and we have been trying to do the best that we can with the resources that we have. But we are not seeing enough momentum and we keep sustaining losses.”

Microgrids keep the lights on

In 2021, storm-ravaged Ragged Island in the Bahamas successfully developed a solar-powered microgrid so that the next time a storm hits, the lights can stay on.

Last year, the Bahamas successfully developed a solar-powered microgrid that provides renewable energy to every home on Ragged Island – a small island community which was devastated by Hurricane Irma. The Category 5 tore through the Caribbean in 2017, displaced thousands of people and leveled electric grids.

The Ragged Island electric project was designed so that the next time a storm hits and takes down the power system, the 390-kilowatt microgrid can disconnect from the main grid and keep the lights on for residents.

That project’s success created a ripple effect across the Bahamas, said David Gumbs, director of the Islands Energy Program at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit group that’s working to scale up clean energy programs to curtail global emissions. The country has now deployed even more microgrids to other islands, totaling nearly 6.5 megawatts of renewable power across the country — which is enough to power around 300 Caribbean houses.

“The project is definitely a success,” Gumbs told CNN. “We’re in the phase of transition. There are now a number of islands that are champions in big initiatives.”

Moses said 2017’s back-to-back hurricanes — first Irma, then Maria — was the turning point for the Caribbean, where residents and government leaders said they could no longer afford to wait and “be sitting ducks, hoping” that wealthy countries would rescue them from the climate crisis, or halt its acceleration.

“We are already under threat,” Moses said. “You’ve just seen Hurricane Fiona and what it’s done, not only to islands in the Caribbean, but also in the US – the most powerful economy on the planet – and yet responding to billions of dollars’ worth of damages is going to be problematic.”

The Caribbean islands contribute a tiny fraction to the climate crisis — less than 2% of planet-warming emissions, Moses said — yet they are on the frontlines when it comes to climate disasters.

And on top of the flooding, fallen trees, battered roads and broken infrastructure, soaring utility prices have become unaffordable, Gumbs said.

“When you’re paying four times as much for electricity, and your income is four times less than the average income in the US, it just creates such a hardship for people,” he said. “And those are the people we are worried about getting left behind.”

Future-proofing the Caribbean

Gumbs experienced the wrath of Irma himself in his home island of Anguilla, where at the time he was the CEO of the island’s utility company. Now with RMI, he has been overseeing this energy transition across the Caribbean region, redesigning the electricity grid to be free of fossil fuels and climate-resilient.

“There’s such an enormous opportunity,” Gumbs said. “We would love for it to happen at scale, to just transform the entire system to renewables tomorrow, but there are certain barriers to do that.”

At COP27, money is the biggest debate. Developing nations are putting more pressure on the world’s richest countries to help them recover from climate disasters. Negotiators will also discuss the existing promise of climate finance meant to help developing countries adapt to climate change and transition to clean energy – a $100 billion-a-year pledge that rich countries have yet to make good on.

A woman walks on a street in Saint-Martin on September 11, 2017, after Hurricane Irma.

But even then, Gumbs said it’s hard for low-income countries “tap into” those funds: “It just takes years to get the money out,” he said. “It’s always a problem, but there are a number of ways to overcome that.”

On Tuesday, RMI and investment fund Lion’s Head Global Partners launched a new Caribbean Climate-Smart Fund to accelerate that clean energy shift. The initiative intends to expand the islands’ access to resilient clean energy, which advocates say would help Caribbean nations not only adapt to a warmer future, but also save millions each year in utility costs.

Gumbs said the fund will comprise more than $150 million of philanthropic money and will be spread across more than 20 Caribbean islands.

Damaged trees after the passage of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in September 2017.

Charlin Bodley, the global south manager for RMI, said wealthy countries must look beyond reducing their climate emissions – which she said is the “easy part” – and consider how they will support small island nations suffering the consequences of their fossil fuel use.

“There is a level of support that is necessary,” Bodley, who is based in St. Lucia, told CNN. “It’s really, at this point, a matter of survival for Caribbean.”

And because the Caribbean islands see clean energy as a solution to withstand disasters but also to save on electricity costs, Moses said the momentum and political interest across the region is growing, and island governments are turning to groups like RMI and other nonprofits for grant funding to pursue their clean energy goals.

But Gumbs said they still need more clean energy programs, educational resources for residents, as well as access to funds from grant-making entities. To him, the solutions are ready. He said the Caribbean might just be the model that would convince both wealthy nations and the private sector to invest in solutions through climate finance.

“Climate-smart funds provide a vehicle to eliminate a big part of the problem,” Gumbs said. “It’s important to bring people along with these solutions, and we’re going to do it in a way that’s sensitive to the local environment.”

CNN

Alternative Energy News

HEART/NSTA Trust gets boost for EV training

March 7, 2023 jrobinson

JPS Foundation/IDB Lab’s eDrive project donates equipment

Team members from the JPS Foundation and HEART/NSTA Trust examine training equipment acquired for the new Electric Hybrid Training programme. Looking on (from left) are: Dr Marcia Rowe Amonde, deputy managing director (acting), HEART/NSTA; Dr Taneisha Ingleton, managing director, and Kenesha Campbell, director, strategic partnerships research & Innovation; and from the JPS Foundation: Ramsay McDonald, deputy chairman and Winsome Callum, director.

HEART/NSTA Trust, the leading provider of technical, vocational education and training (TVET) in Jamaica, recently received an added boost with the presentation of EV training equipment, valued at over $4m.

The equipment is part of an overall $13-million investment by the JPS Foundation/IDB Lab’s eDrive Project in capacity building and training to support the growth of the electric vehicle sector in Jamaica.

A key objective of the eDrive project is the upskilling of 200 first responders and 200 electric vehicle technicians with in-demand skills to support electric vehicle usage in Jamaica. The items donated included motors, inverters, insulated HV hand tool kits with torque wrenches, insulation testers, meters, head protection gear and other critical EV tools.

Ramsay McDonald, senior vice-president of customer services at the Jamaica Public Service Company and deputy chairman of the JPS Foundation, said that capacity building is essential for the growing electric vehicle (EV) industry.

“First responders and electric vehicle technicians will be able to maximise their learning experience, in preparation for full functionality in the world of EVs. The implementation of training programmes will enrich the country’s human capital, as well as drive several aspects of development across sectors and industries geared toward preparing for a zero-emission future,” McDonald said.

The official handover of the equipment to the HEART/NSTA Trust took place on February 24 at its Jamaican-German Automotive School Maxfield Park Avenue location.

Dr Taneisha Ingleton, managing director at the HEART/NSTA Trust, applauded the JPS Foundation for its efforts to build technical capacity through a partnership with local training institutions.

“Our partnership with JPS Foundation has resulted in opportunities and increased training access to all Jamaicans, which is in keeping with our mandate to facilitate and ensure human development. This will certainly enable a productive workforce for national priorities and global competitiveness,” Dr Ingleton said.

The training opportunities and exposure provided through this collaboration, she said, will help to change the lives of many Jamaicans already on a path to embrace and become leaders in this highly competitive area.

KEY STANDARD-BEARERS

The eDrive project has had a far-reaching impact on the individuals who already participated in the inaugural Train-the-Trainer programme. The Train-the-Trainers group of 15 trainers had five days of intensive training in courses such as electric/hybrid vehicle hazard management and electric/hybrid vehicle system repair and replacement.

The participants came from the Caribbean Military Academy (Jamaica Defence Force), a Ministry of Education institution, and HEART/NSTA Trust. Having completed the course, they are now tasked with training over 400 persons across the island in electric vehicle maintenance and emergency response.

Their globally recognised certification is not just a win for the trainers but makes Jamaica the first Caribbean island to have individuals receiving certification from the Institute of Motor Industry (IMI) in electric vehicle repair, maintenance and safety. The IMI is the leading professional body for the automotive industry, based in the United Kingdom.

According to eDrive Project Manager Coleen Palmer-Wright, the eDrive project has been working with a wide cross section of key standard-bearers, as part of efforts to build a sustainable electric mobility ecosystem.

“We have worked with stakeholders to design curricula adopted from the Institute of Motor Industry for the Jamaican context. We have spent a great deal of time crafting the development of NVQJ occupational standards for the training curricula developed for first responders and electric vehicle technicians,” Palmer-Wright outlined.

Within its activation plan, the JPS Foundation/IDB Lab’s eDrive Project has initiatives expected to create an enabling environment for a sustainable electric mobility ecosystem in Jamaica. This includes creating opportunities for small and medium-size enterprises in the rapidly expanding electric mobility sector.

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