Thanks, Harry, for
posting the link to that article. I’d seen it but failed to snag it for my
files. I can’t blame anyone for considering nuclear energy when compared with
the devil’s bargain we’ve made with fossil fuels; however, rather than discuss
the enormous problems with nuclear energy of waste disposal, construction financing,
insurance and liability, maintenance and regulation, much less public health
and safety, and NIMBY, here are some alternative notes that show what a little
flexibility and determination can do.
As large as the US
is, it would take considerably more volume but you don’t get anywhere if you
don’t start first. And it would be a shame if China skips past all our current
addictions and jumps into clean technology energy futures. They’re getting
serious about it, passing legislation, but also attempting major projects
before the 2008 Olympics*.
Certainly, nothing
will replace our current fossil fuel consumption, so the first thing that must
be done is enact intelligent national conservation measures. We need leaders
with good salesmanship, not just lip service. Even some of the energy companies,
like ExxonMobil, are investing in renewables, just as major CEOs are warming up
to the idea of national health care. KwC
UK: Wave, wind, sun and tide a powerful mix
by Oliver Tickell, Guardian Newspapers Limited
Research at Oxford University shows that intermittent
renewables, combined with domestic combined heat and power (dCHP) could
dependably provide the bulk of Britain's electricity. The growing consensus is
that only new nuclear power can plug that gap without contributing to global
warming. But a new report indicates that a judicious mix of intermittent
renewables - wave, wind, sun and tide - could supply over half of UK
electricity.
“Putting these figures together with
estimates of Britain's available renewable resources, wind (onshore and
offshore) could realistically provide some 35% of the UK's electricity, marine
and dCHP each 10-15%, and solar cells 5-10%. In other words, more than half the
UK's electricity could ultimately derive from intermittent renewables.
"In the next year or so, the UK is going to have to decide how to meet its
electricity needs for the next half-century," says Sinden. "It's an
incredible opportunity for renewables but my fear is that it may be
missed."
Article
found at http://www.energybulletin.net/6097.html
Original
at http://www.guardian.co.uk/renewable/Story/0,2763,1481540,00.html
Germany Launches Its Transition To All
Renewables
by Donald Aitken, Ph.D.
Can renewable energy development keep pace with rising global
energy demand? As world governments struggle
with this question, Germany is advancing with resolve in a transition to 100%
renewable energy. The German government accepts the goal is technically and
economically feasible, and has adopted a long-term national policy for the
transition. After years of reliance on nuclear energy - which supplies 30% of
the nation's electricity - Germany
has concluded that nuclear is a dead-end and has established long term plans to
phase it out.
Germany's most urgent conclusion is that the period lasting until about 2020
comprises "make-or-break" years for the renewable energy transition.
It is this conviction that has driven German policy makers to introduce the
world's most aggressive support for renewables, to stick with it during the
past decade and to guarantee that support for the next 20-30 years.
Long-Term Commitment Drives Results At
least seven factors were vital to the rapid rise of Germany's renewable energy
industries:
Enlightened politicians, in
particular the alliance of the Social Democrat Party and the Green Party, and
the leadership of Parliamentarian Hermann Scheer. Federal government leadership,
through the adoption, in 2002, of a national strategy for sustainable
development, and through the government's consistent, long-range support for
energy-efficiency and renewables. Involved
citizens who, mostly working through cooperatives, own 90% of the wind
turbines, as well as most PV systems.
Scientific analysis used as the basis for
developing government policy. The German parliament formed the
Enquete Commission in February 2000 "to furnish scientific evidence to be
used as a basis for the German Bundestag's future decision-making in the field
of energy policy." In its 2002 report to the parliament, the commission
concluded, "It is possible to cover the
total energy demand [for Germany] by means of solar/ renewable sources." Subsequent
German policy is governed by this premise.
The government's energy-efficiency policies: On
April 1, 1999, the federal government implemented the first step in
"environmental tax reform," by which it increased the taxes on oil,
gas and electricity. Further increases occurred each year through 2003. The
estimate is that these taxes, which have yielded tens of billions of euros,
produced 100,000 new jobs in new energy-efficiency related industries, while
contributing to Germany's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases.
The government's ethical commitment to the future
and the world. Germany has demonstrated this
commitment by agreeing to raise its goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
from the Kyoto Accord's requirement of 21% by 2008-2012 to 25% by 2005, and by
adopting the Enquete Commission's conclusion that the global energy supply
system must be designed in such a way that they will no longer generate any
highly radioactive waste in the future."
The government's long-term
commitment. The German government has established firm
goals for renewable energy growth and carbon dioxide abatement for 2010 and
2020. The policy horizon extends to 2030, when nuclear power is to have been
fully phased out, and then to 2050, when a dominant share of Germany's energy
will be produced renewably. Germany's goals extend sufficiently long to assure its renewable energy transition.
To realize a goal of 45% penetration of renewable energy by 2050,
energy productivity must also improve by a significant factor, so that total
energy use in 2050 will need to be about 37% less than it is today.
Ten Years On, New
Jobs, Revenues
By the end of 2003, Germany had an
estimated 45,400
permanent jobs resulting from the wind industry alone, a figure expected to
increase to 103,000 jobs by 2010. About one new job is created in the German
wind industry for every 300 kW capacity installed, for a technology that
contributes 6.2% of the nation's demand for electricity. In contrast, the German nuclear industry, which supplies about
30% of the nation's electricity, employs 38,000 people. The German wind industry therefore produces 10 times as many jobs
per unit of installed capacity, and more
than 20 times the jobs in terms of delivered electricity. About
35,000 people are employed in the solar industries. Total solar sales grew by 60% in 2004, to more than 2 billion
euros (US$2.6 billion).
Starting from almost no renewable energy applications, Germany has moved to the
forefront of global renewable energy in just 10 years.
Governments need no longer doubt if it is possible. Other governments would do
well to follow suit, by recasting their national energy policies to capitalize
on nature's renewable bounty.
++++
Donald Aitken has
been on the board of the German-based International Solar Energy Society for
eight years. Contact him: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.donaldaitkenassociates.com
FROM Solar Today, a SustainableBusiness.com Content Partner
I skipped the
Wind and Solar portions of this article. See how Germany legislated and
manufactured the groundwork for this transition http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/features/feature_template.cfm?ID=1208
Also See Mr Wang’s ‘garden in the sky’: readying Beijing for 2008 “Green Olympics” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7911618
