Author

Edouard Stenger

Fascinated by sustainability and cleantech since 2004, Edouard wrote both his Bachelor of Arts' dissertation and Master's thesis on sustainable energy topics. He hasn't stopped writing on these subjects ever since. A French Masters graduate in international management, Edouard has a several experience in Marketing and Communications in Europe and Latin America. Since 2007 Edouard has been selecting for his own blog the latest headlines and best researches on sustainable development, climate change, cleantech and the world energy sector. Nowadays Edouard is pursuing an MBA in Sustainable Business as well as a certificate in Sustainable Energy Solutions at Pinchot University . Edouard has been submitting articles to CleanTechies.com since June 2009, mostly on French and European policies. Don't hesitate to contact him as he is always interested in discussing cleantech with new people.

Renewable Energy

Portugal Shows Leadership in Renewable Energy

written by Edouard Stenger

In my previous article for Cleantechies, I wrote that many European nations are already benefiting from renewable energy sources. A country that was missing from the list was Portugal. In today’s article we will see how the country is also leading on clean energy sources.

In 2010, Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote in the New York Times that the country was until fairly recently mostly powered by fossil fuels. From 2000 to 2005, the share of renewables was between 17 and 19.7 percent. Their average share in the local electricity mix in this period amounted to 19 percent.

But in 2005, the Portuguese government decided to sail away from imported fossil fuels and embarked their nation on a massive clean energy cruise. Their plans were most successful as the following figures will show you.

As an example, wind power capacity grew 16-fold in ten years, from 289 MW in 2003 to 4,724 MW in 2013. As a result, in the first quarter of 2013, renewables – mostly hydroelectricity and wind power – supplied 70 percent of electricity of the country.

As a consequence, generation from fossil fuels decreased significantly. Compared to the first quarter of 2012, generation by coal-fired plants and natural gas fired plants fell by 29 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

Overall, in 2013, renewable energy sources provided over 58 percent of the total as the local newspaper Publico reported. Hydro provided 29 percent while wind power brought 23 percent. Solar and biomass brought one and five percent, respectively.

One year later, in 2014, local energy distributing company REN notes on its homepage that renewable energy sources provided 80.9 percent of the electricity of the country in January and February. For February alone, this figure reaches 84.4 percent.

Portugal offers yet another example of how a transition to local and clean renewable energy sources can be done with the right political support. Let’s hope other European nations, the United States and other countries around the world will learn from this exciting example.

Image appearing courtesy Flickr.

03/25/2014 1 comment

Renewable Energy

The European Union Already Benefits From Renewables

written by Edouard Stenger

There is a question that currently puzzles me: Why is the European Union so unambitious on climate and energy goals?

We have seen recently that the European Commission unveiled plans to cut carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2020 and that these cuts would be insufficient to prevent climate change.

This is even more puzzling as the energy transition is already saving money and creating jobs across the EU. Official estimates suggest that 300,000 new jobs in the renewable energy sector were created in the past five years alone. The goal is to create 1.5 million green jobs by 2020.

Many countries are already doing a lot to further renewable energy sources and have begun to benefit from their efforts. Here are some of them:

Denmark has recently unveiled plans to cut its emissions by 40 percent by 2020. During the windy month of December 2013, more than half of the electricity consumed in the country came from wind.

Germany is the most evident example of a European country that has been benefiting from renewable energy sources. Germany has twice as many people employed in the renewables sector than in all other energy sectors combined. An estimated 377,000 jobs have been created in the renewables sector in Germany

Ireland has already saved up to a billion euros – $1.37 billion – on electricity thanks to renewables, according to the local Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Furthermore, carbon dioxide emissions were cut by 12 million tons. The country currently spends as much as 6.5 billion euros per year on fossil fuels imports.

Italy may not be talked about a lot, but has also seen a renewable energy boom in recent years. The installed capacity of renewable energy sources has gone from 18 GW in 2001 to 41 GW ten years later. In 2011, renewables provided 28 percent of electricity production.

Spain is already getting a fifth of its electricity from wind power, making it the top energy source in 2013. Overall, renewables now account for almost a third of the local electricity. A decade ago, renewables brought in only around 15 to 22 percent.

The United Kingdom has been advancing wind power for the past few years and has now more offshore wind capacity than all other countries combined. Additionally, the country got 10 % of its electricity from wind during the month of December. On December 21st, no less than 17 percent of the total electricity demand was met by this renewable energy source;

All these countries could rightfully push ambitious goals for climate change mitigation and green jobs as they are benefiting from renewable energy sources.

Let’s hope it will be the case this year during the and next one in Paris for the 21st Conference of Parties (COP).

02/28/2014 1 comment

Renewable Energy

Wind Energy Was Top Energy Source in Spain in 2013

written by Edouard Stenger

2013 was an excellent year for wind energy in Spain as this renewable energy source became the first electricity source, just in front of nuclear. Wind power indeed accounted for more than 21 percent of the total electricity consumed in the country.

According to Somos Eolicos, a Spanish website, wind power produced almost 50 TWh in 2013, an increase by 16 percent over 2012. This large amount of electricity from wind prevented importing up to 3.7 billion Euros of fossil fuels.

Spain has an installed capacity of over 22 GW, the fourth largest in the world behind Germany, the United States of America and China (with 31 GW, 60GW and 75 GW, respectively). In 2013, the global wind power capacity reached 318 GW.

Furthermore, a local company is extremely well placed in the global competition. Gamesa is indeed the fourth largest company of the sector.

In 1996, there was only 163 MW of wind power capacity in the country. In 2001, already 3,442 MW; in 2005, 9,910 MW; in 2011, 21,673 MW. That’s right, the Spanish wind energy capacity grew 137 times between 1996 and 2012.

As a result of the boom, electricity in Spain got a little bit cheaper, 0.8% percent less in the first half of 2013, compared to a 2.32% increase in the overall Eurozone.

However, in 2013, only 175 MW of capacity were installed as the Spanish central government has decreased its financial aids.

Overall, renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro and solar generated almost a third – 32 percent – of the electricity in the country in 2012. A decade ago, renewables brought only around 15 to 22 percent.

These are fantastic news that show how large countries can rely massively on clean energy sources. Another example of this is neighboring Portugal, which will be the topic of a next article.

02/13/2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

European Union to Cut Emissions by 40% by 2030

written by Edouard Stenger

The European Union has long been regarded as a leader on climate change. Now it appears to becoming a laggard as the EU has unveiled unambitious goals for 2030.

If in 2007 the EU led the fight on climate change with an impressive triple goal of 20 percent emissions reductions by 2020, 20 percent renewables and 20 percent increased energy efficiency (compared to 1990), the situation is not the same now.

The European Commission pledged to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030 as well as to cover 27 percent of its energy needs by renewables.

These goals are unambitious as the EU has almost reached its 20 percent emissions reduction goals, seven years ahead of schedule as we have seen in this previous article.

In 2012, this had led a majority of European Parliament members (MEPs) to call for increased action and 30 percent cuts by 2020. The MEPs who voted for such cuts believe that cutting EU emissions by 20 percent wouldn’t be sufficient to prevent global temperatures to warm by just 2°Celsius.

The European Commission’s decision of yesterday is even more puzzling when faced to the previous decision of cutting emissions by a minimum of 80 percent by 2050.

By agreeing to 40 percent cuts by 2030 it states that between 1990 and 2030 it will cut its emissions by one percentage point per annum and that in the remaining twenty years, it would cut them by two percentage point per annum.

As Kees van der Leun, a Dutch expert on climate and energy issues, noted on his Twitter : ” EU CO2 emission reduction from -18% now to -40% by 2030 is not even 2% per year. For 2050 target (-80..95%) we need sustained 4-7% per year! “

There is ample evidence that 40 percent emissions cuts won’t be enough. An example of this is the many negative reactions the European Commission decision brought from many newspapers such as the Financial Times, consultancies such as Ecofys and NGOs.

Let’s hope the vote by the European Parliament will bring more ambition. Our climate, our economies and our jobs are at stake.

01/25/2014 1 comment

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy Increased Slowly in France in 2013

written by Edouard Stenger

According to recent data from the French Ministry on Environment, both solar energy and wind power pursue their progression, albeit more slowly than in the past.

Regarding wind power, At the end of September 2013, the total wind power capacity in France was of 7,971 MW. This has to be compared with the 8.4 GW in the United Kingdom, 22.7 GW in Spain or the massive 31.3 GW in Germany (2012 figures from the EWEA, European Wind Energy Association)

The installed capacity in the first three quarters of 2013 were of 348 MW. This represents a 39 percent cut compared to the same period in 2012. In 2012, 815 MW of capacity had been installed. This is below the levels of installed capacity in 2009 ( 1,138 MW), 2010 ( 1,255 MW) and 2011 (830 MW).

Wind power produced in the three first quarters of 2013 10.1 TWh of electricity, a six percent increase over the same period in 2012. This represents a 2.8 percent share of the total electricity consumed in the country.

The installed capacity could double rapidly as around 500 onshore wind farm projects totaling around 5,500 MW and eight offshore projects totaling over 3,000 MW are to be installed within the next few months or years.

Regarding solar PV, the total capacity at the end of September 2013 was of 4,478 MW. This has to be compared with over 7,700 MW in Italy or 32,000 MW in Germany. (IEA data for 2012)

The situation is far from the boom witnessed between 2009 and 2011. In the first three quarters of 2013, only 420 MW of capacity were connected to the grid. This is a 59 percent cut compared to the same period in 2012.

This has to be compared to 300 MW in 2009, 800 MW in 2010, a massive 1,800 MW in 2011 and 1,100 MW in 2012. Over 70 percent of the installed capacity in 2013 comes from large projects of over 250 kW or intermediary-sized ones.

Overall, solar photovoltaic produced 3.7 TWh in the first nine months of 2013, amounting to one percent of the total electricity consumed in France.

01/09/2014 0 comment

Renewable Energy

European Union Could Agree to 45 Percent Cuts in Emissions by 2030

written by Edouard Stenger

We have recently seen that the European Union is already close to its climate goals, to cut its greenhouse gases emissions by 20 percent by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). In 2012, emissions were already 18 percent lower than in 1990.

This is perhaps why a majority of European Parliament members (MEPs) have called for increased action and 30 percent cuts by 2020.

Currently, the European institutions are preparing both for the 2015 Climate conference that will take place in Paris, France, as well as the future of its climate plans.

The United Kingdom is already calling for the European Union to halve its emissions by 2030. A recent study from the WWF has stated that such a target is within reach.

All this perhaps explains why according to RTCC, the European Union could agree to 45 percent cuts by 2030.

To some analysts, the European Union has not conducted any analysis on how it could reduce its emissions by more than 45 percent by 2030.

A MEP representing the European Green Party – Bas Eickhout – has said that this lack of ambition could be explained by a failure to calculate the potential of both renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

The 2020 strategy will be further reviewed in January. Let’s hope these targets will be set higher and that the 2030 plans will be ambitious. It is high time for the European Union to take the lead again on climate change as the threat is even clearer according to the most recent IPCC report.

12/17/2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Poland Could Halve Coal Consumption By 2030

written by Edouard Stenger

Poland, like many East European nations, relies heavily on coal. Approximately 90 percent of the country’s electricity comes from coal. Worse yet, over two thirds of Poland’s coal-fired plants are over 30 years old and thus highly inefficient.

This means Polish citizens breathe the second dirtiest air in the European Union. A recent study from the European Environment Agency noted that six of the ten most polluted cities in Europe are in the Poland.

It is no surprise that local populations want to change that. As Greenpeace reported recently, a recent poll showed that 89% of Polish citizens are in favor of increasing renewable energy production in the country and that as many as 73% want their government to be active in preventing dangerous climate change.

The New York Times recently reported that hundreds of people recently protested the dreadful air pollution in Krakow, the second largest city in Poland, whose air is the third most polluted in Europe (see study mentioned above).

Politicians however aren’t so willing to change all that.

As Julia Michalak from Climate Action Network Europe explains, “The Polish government is not listening to the Polish society. Politicians are determined to maintain Poland’s outdated coal-dominated energy model. They’re defending the interests of those benefiting from centralized energy system with state-owned large utilities controlling the market. The government is ignoring clean energy investment opportunities.”

But a breath of fresher and cleaner air could soon arrive.

A report carried out by several institutions including the European Renewable Energy Council, Greenpeace and the Global Wind Energy Council, shows that Poland could halve the quantity of electricity it generates from coal by investing massively into energy efficiency and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass.

Coal could thus account for 60 TWh in 2030, compared to 120 TWh currently. Renewable energy sources accounted in 2010 for 7.8 percent of Poland’s total primary energy demand. This proportion could rise to 26.8 percent by 2030.

Such a move would cost $264 billion (191 billion euros), or twice the money currently spent each year but would create 100,000 jobs in the next two decades and alleviate air pollution. In the long term, the country would also save money as wind and solar, once installed, are free.

Poland recently hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Warsaw. It also recently hosted the International Coal Summit.

11/29/2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

More and More French Households Burn Wood for Heating

written by Edouard Stenger

According to a recent study from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), wood burning is being used more and more in the country. Current estimates show that approximately 7.4 million households use this method to heat their homes, compared to 5.9 million in 2009.

This represents an increase of over 100,000 households per year. If this trend continues, by 2020, 9 million households could use this fuel (out of around 27 million households in the country).

An interesting fact reported by Enerzine [Fr] is that despite this important increase, the quantity of burned wood remained stable as the quantity burned by household decreased from 8.6 to 7.5 steres ( cubic meter of wood) per household.

According to Wikipedia [Fr], French forests have been constantly growing in the past century – it grew by six million hectares in the 20th century – and cover now over 29 percent of the Metropolitan area with 16.3 million hectares.

Wood is by far the cheapest energy source on the market, with 3.4 euro cents per kWh, compared to 7 cents for natural gas, 9.9 cents for heating fuel and electricity is the most expensive with 13.3 euro cents.

However, the energy price is not the first reason for choosing wood. The main reason (63 percent of users) is comfort. Price comes second with 52 percent of users and the environment third with 40 percent.

As a result, more and more wood buyers use this energy source as their main or only source. In 1999 only 30 percent of wood burners used it as their main energy source for heating. Nowadays, this share has increased to over 50 percent. Half of these users use solely this to heat their places.

This can be explained by a better efficiency of the stoves and heaters as well as a better insulation of the households. On the former point, the average efficiency have risen from 50 to over 70 percent since the year 2000. Important gains in energy efficiency are still possible.

An important factor in these trends was the Flamme Verte (green flame) label.

Launched by over 60 companies in 2000, this quality label has increased the efficiency of the stoves and heaters and has reduced the pollution induced by wood burning. Particles emissions have been slashed by a factor ten. To date, 70 percent of the sold apparels in France have this label.

To conclude this article, I believe many countries could learn from what takes place in France. Growing forests are used in a sustainable way to heat more and more houses with less and less resources. When renewables meet energy efficiency, everybody wins.

11/05/2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

France Simply Won’t Give Into Fracking

written by Edouard Stenger

I reported previously here on Cleantechies that in 2011 France was the first country to ban hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of recovering oil and natural gas deposits using large quantities of water and chemicals and sand.

Fracking, as it is more widely known, is fiercely

10/14/2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

European Union Already Close to 2020 Climate Goals

written by Edouard Stenger

According to the European Environment Agency, the European Union is already close to its 2020 climate objectives as it has decreased its emissions by no less than 18 percent between 1990 and 2012.

Additionally, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and many others were already accounting for

10/10/2013 3 comments

Energy Efficiency Green Building

France Unveils New Efforts to Renovate Buildings

written by Edouard Stenger

This week, the French government unveiled a new series of efforts due to tackle the lack of thermal renovations in French buildings.

As I found out while writing my Master’s Thesis years ago, there are no less than twenty million housings to be weatherized in France. This would lead to

09/19/2013 1 comment

Renewable Energy

French People and Business Leaders Support Energy Transition

written by Edouard Stenger

According to a Harris poll carried out for the European Climate Foundation and the French Economic, Social Affairs and Environment Council (CESE), over 80 percent of French people and business leaders are supporting the energy transition.

This energy transition is due to allow our civilization to go from polluting fossil fuels to cleaner and greener energy sources such as renewable energy. A significant part of this transition will be played by energy efficiency.

Seen as a way to bring technological innovation, access to new markets and as a way to increase the attractiveness of French companies overall, the majority of citizens and of entrepreneurs believe that the transition will have positive impacts on their lives.

The quasi totality of the polled people see this transition as a good thing for reducing pollution, preserving natural resources and fighting climate change.

Even if short term price increases are foreseen by more than three quarters of polled people, only a third see it as expensive in the long term. As a matter of fact, 43% of the French public believes energy will ultimately be cheaper.

As a result over 80 percent of respondents believe it is somewhat or very urgent to lead an energy transition policy. Similarly over 90 percent are in favor of renewable energy sources.

Nuclear power, while bringing 80 percent of French electricity, is dividing the population with around half in favor and half against.

As both the two main French newspapers – Le Monde and Le Figaro – note, the poll shows that less than a third of French people and less than a quarter of French business leaders believe that shale gas is compatible with this energy transition.

It is worth noting that the previous conservative government led by Mr. Sarkozy had banned fracking as early as 2011. The current liberal government, led by Mr. Hollande, has reaffirmed that it won’t ease the ban as Bloomberg reported.

More on this most interesting poll on the European Climate Foundation page.

06/13/2013 2 comments

Renewable Energy

European Emissions Decreased by 2.1 Percent in 2012

written by Edouard Stenger

According to the latest statistics from Eurostat – the data agency for the European Commission – greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union fell by 2.1 percent from 2011 to 2012. This takes place after a massive 4.1 percent decrease from 2010 to 2011.

This decrease can be explained by the increased importance of renewable energy sources, by more energy efficiency and conservation but also by a warmer winter and the economic crisis. Unemployment in the Euro area has reached a staggering 12.2 percent.

As the official press release notes :

Eurostat estimates that from 2011 to 2012 CO2 emissions decreased in nearly all Member States, except Malta (+6.3%), the United Kingdom (+3.9%), Lithuania (+1.7%) and Germany (+0.9%).

The largest decreases were recorded in Belgium and Finland (both -11.8%), Sweden (-10.1%), Denmark (-9.4%), Cyprus (-8.5%), Bulgaria (-6.9%), Slovakia (-6.5%), the Czech Republic (-5.2%), Italy and Poland (both -5.1%).

Given how in 2010, greenhouse gas emissions were already 15.4 percent lower than in 1990 (source: Eurostat), the goal of slashing emissions by 20 percent from 1990 to 2020 is within reach.

As the European Environmental Agency notes, ” The European Union’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 were 18.4 % below 1990 levels, according to the EU greenhouse gas inventory.”

This is why the European Parliament has called for 30 percent cuts last year. Environmental organizations such as the WWF stated last week that “There’s no reason now to go sit on our hands for 7 years, knowing that by keeping up the recent pace we could reach the 95% cuts needed by 2050 to keep Europe in line with efforts to avoid dangerous global warming.”

As we have seen before, going for 30 percent cuts would enable the European Union to create long lasting jobs, decrease air pollution levels and could even allow some country members to pay back their debts…

06/04/2013 0 comment

Renewable Energy

European Carbon Market Crashes

written by Edouard Stenger

For a long time the European Union has been leading against climate change. Part of this leadership was its emission trading scheme (ETS), a cap and trade scheme that was designed to cut industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

As I noted back in 2009, the emissions trading

04/22/2013 0 comment

Newer Posts

Older Posts