China goes mega on wind power
China has started construction on its most ambitious renewable energy project yet – a 10GW wind power base at Jiuquan in the country’s north. The project is part of Beijing’s push toward renewable energy to power its fast economic growth and is expected to propel the country’s total wind power capacity to 100GW by 2020 from its current 12GW mark.
China, the world's second-largest energy user, has pinpointed wind power as part of its broad energy target to generate 3% of total electricity from non-hydro renewable energy.
To that end, the National Energy Administration (NEA) has planned six 10GW “wind bases” in areas rich in wind resources such as Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Hebei and Jiangsu.
The Jiuquan wind base will be built in two phases. The first one, a 3.8GW base, comprising 18 wind farms of 200MW and two with 100MW capacity, is being developed by 20 developers and is expected to be completed by 2010.
Chinese power companies Huaneng Power International and Datang International Power are among the developers, which includes six foreign firms.
Construction for the second phase, consisting of 40 of the 200MW wind farms, will kick off in 2010 and be open to foreign investment.
Analysts have cautioned against blind expansion in a wind power sector that has drawn swarms of investors and record installations despite ongoing issues with services and technologies. However, Shi Lishan, a senior renewable energy official from NEA, dismissed concerns about overcapacity.
"Our wind power capacity is only about 1% of the national total power demand. The real problem is not excessive capacity, but lagging grid services,” Shi told Reuters.
Some wind farms have not been able to start operating because of a lack of grid connections or are running under capacity because of insufficient access. To resolve the problem, Gansu will push the construction of many advanced 750kV grids to help ease the pressure of large-scale and long-haul transmission of unsteady wind power.
Story sourced from: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1028418
India goes mega on solar
India’s Council on Climate Change has approved “in principle” the country’s National Solar Mission, which could roll out as soon as December. The solar mega-project, aimed at expanding India's solar capacity from the current 3MW to 20GW by 2020 and 200GW by 2050, will cost an estimated $24 billion to implement. The target, which would help India close the gap on solar front-runners like China, is part of an ambitious $22.5 billion, 30-year scheme that could increase India’s leverage at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen later this year.
If fully implemented, solar power would be equivalent to one-eighth of India’s current installed power base, helping the world’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse emissions limit its reliance on coal-fired power stations. Only 3% of India’s total power mix comes from renewables at present.
Story sourced from: www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net
UK’s largest food waste processing plant given green light
Proposals to build the UK’s largest food waste processing plant have been given the go-ahead. The £20m facility, to be sited in Selby, North Yorkshire, will have the capacity to treat 165,000 tonnes of food waste a year through anaerobic digestion – a natural process where bacteria s used to break down organic matter.
The plant, approved by local planning authorities, will generate enough electricity to power 10,800 homes, said its developers. The scheme will create 120 jobs. Construction of the food waste factory will begin in September and is due to become operational in 2010.
The facility, which will occupy eight acres of the former Tate & Lyle citric acid plant in the south of the town, will provide a potential low cost heat source for use by local businesses. An anaerobic digester already exists on the site which is currently being updated and the proposal is to build two new anaerobic digesters. All the clean renewable electricity generated would be sent via the site’s existing power connection to the National Grid.
More on this story from: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Supply-Chain/UK-s-largest-food-waste-processing-plant-given-green-light
Article sourced via Resource Recovery Forum http://www.resourcesnotwaste.org/
Japan targets clean coal
A large-scale, low emissions coal plant will be the first major project undertaken by newly formed Japanese company, Osaki CoolGen. Osaki is a merger of Japan's two largest utilities – Electric Power Development and Chugoku Electric Power – and has announced plans for a demonstration of oxygen-blown coal gasification combined cycle technology and CO2 separation and recovery technology. To date, both companies have positioned coal as an “important and continuing energy source for Japan”, saying they will work toward improving its efficiency through high-temperature, high-pressure steam conditions in coal-fired power generating sites.
Osaki plans to build a 170MW large-scale demonstration test facility for oxygen-blown coal gasification technology that aims to verify the reliability, economic efficiency and operability of an oxygen-blown IGCC (integrated gasification combined cycle) system. Osaki will undertake an environmental assessment this month, with construction slated for March 2013 and demonstration testing in March 2017.
www.environmentalmanagementNews.net
Small Business September to help your business
With over 300 events hosted by 100 organisations across NSW, Small Business September has events to help strengthen your business, sharpen your market presence and increase business opportunities. Most events are free.
Check the Department of State and Regional Development Small Business web site (http://www.smallbusinessmonth.nsw.gov.au/) for details on …
• The launch on 1 September 2009 in Sydney featuring a panel discussion hosted by David Koch
• Marketing and sales seminars
• Business growth and exporting workshops
• Financial planning skills and much more …
Your Ideas, Innovations or Events?
If you want publicity for an idea, innovation or technically related event, contact the I&I editor, Colin Seaborn on 4254 0200 or 0419 841829 or click here->
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