Renewable Energy and Greenhouse Update September 2005

According to news reports, the government has responded by disputing a statement of facts asserting the existence of global warming, that burning coal leads to global-warming greenhouse gases, and that climate change can have a severe impact on areas such as the Great Barrier Reef.

Greenhouse gas emissions are not a trigger for assessment under the act, but world heritage areas such as the Great Barrier Reef are.

WPS’ case, the country’s first litigation against greenhouse gas emissions under Commonwealth environment legislation, relies on a precedent set last year by the full bench of the Federal Court over Queensland's proposed new Nathan Dam.

That decision broadened the Commonwealth’s assessment obligations under the Act by finding that the indirect impacts a new dam would have on the Great Barrier Reef, such as increased chemical application and farm run-off, must be considered.

Australia vulnerable to climate change - new report

The Australian Greenhouse Office in the Department of Environment and Heritage has released online a new climate change report entitled Climate Change: Risk and vulnerability - Promoting an efficient adaptation response in Australia (March 2005). The report shows that climate change is inevitable and could have a devastating affect on Australia's water supplies, ecosystems, agriculture and economy in the next 30 to 50 years.

The report is evidence that, even without further greenhouse emissions, climate change will continue ‘because of the greenhouse gases already emitted to the atmosphere and the strong growth of global emissions’.

Possible outcomes include:

• An increase in annual national average temperatures of between 1.0° and 6.0°C by 2070
• More heatwaves and fewer frosts
• More frequent El Nino Southern Oscillation events
• Reductions in average rainfall and run-off in Southern and Eastern Australia with rainfall increases in the Tropical North
• More severe wind speeds in cyclones, associated with storm surges being progressively amplified by rising sea levels
• An increase in severe weather events including storms and high bushfire propensity days, and
• A change in ocean currents, possibly affecting our coastal waters, towards the end of this period.

Minister for the Environment, Senator Ian Campbell, has warned governments, industry and communities to think strategically on ways to prepare for the likely changes.

Wind farm report recommends protocols for protection of birds

The Australian Wind Energy Association (AusWEA) Interim standards for assessing the risks to birds from wind farms in Australia Report has been released. AusWEA is implementing the Wind Industry Development Project, funded by the Australian Greenhouse Office of the Australian Government. One of the outputs of this project is a framework for investigating the impacts of wind energy projects on birds. This comprises protocols and data set and reporting standards for investigations to estimate and monitor the impacts of wind energy developments on birds in Australia.

In February 2004, a preliminary issues paper was circulated that reviewed approaches to assessing the impacts of wind energy developments on birds in Australia and overseas. This paper formed the basis for a workshop held in Melbourne in June 2004 which developed an outline for and explored the possible content of the protocol and data set and reporting standards. A draft set of protocols and data set and reporting standards was then prepared and circulated for comment to a range of stakeholders. Additional refinement of a draft was undertaken at a further workshop in Hobart in July 2005 and this set of interim standards is the result.

These interim standards provide information for three key stakeholder groups:

• Companies that investigate, construct and operate wind farms
• Government agencies that assess and approve development, and
• Community members with an interest in the impacts of wind farms on birds.

The interim standards detailed in the guide provide potential wind farm developers with a structured, systematic and repeatable approach to the assessment of the risk to bird populations potentially posed by the construction and operation of wind farms in specific locations. This will assist wind farm developers to assess the feasibility of their projects and to obtain approval for their projects from the relevant local, state and Commonwealth agencies that assess and approve development.

The interim standards, based on a hierarchical, staged approach to risk assessment, accord with the principles contained in the Australian standard for risk management (AS/NZS 4360) and with the more specific guidance for the assessment of environmental risk provided by HB203:2000. They reflect and build from the staged investigation process detailed in the ‘Best Practice Guidelines for the Implementation of Wind Energy Projects in Australia’ (AusWEA 2002).

The interim standards enable estimation of the consequences and likelihoods of direct and indirect impacts on individual bird species from proposed or operating wind farms. Thus the risk of significant bird impact can be estimated. They therefore provide essential information to inform wind farm location, design, risk mitigation and adaptive operational management.

The Report is available by clicking here

Green deal with China

Australia will work with China on projects to cut greenhouse gases and boost the renewable energy industry.

Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell announced last month the two countries had agreed to jointly fund four projects to tackle climate change.

Australia will provide almost $700,000 towards a $3 million project to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture. The fertiliser has more than 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.

A guide to help Australian businesses break into China’s renewable energy market would be funded for $138,000.

The four new joint projects between Australia and China have been formally agreed under Australia’s Bilateral Climate Change Partnerships Programme (BCCPP). These projects are particularly important, given that China is the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and is predicted to become the largest emitter within 20 years.
In addition to work with China, Australia has active bilateral climate change partnerships with the United States, Japan, New Zealand and the European Union, through which Australia is pursuing a range of practical projects.

The four new projects under the Australia-China BCCPP include :

• Reduction of nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture - This project aims to reduce excessive fertiliser use while maintaining production with economic, environmental and greenhouse benefits applicable to both Australia and China. The Australian Government is contributing $687,500 for the greenhouse component of this $3 million project which, by reducing unnecessary fertiliser use, significantly decreases the potential associated emissions of nitrous oxide, which has 310 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
• Pursuing renewable energy business in China - This project will develop a comprehensive guide that aims to improve market opportunities for the Australian renewable energy industry in China, and to increase the current capacity of Australian industry to take advantage of opportunities in the Chinese renewable energy sector.
• Improving modeling of China’s energy use and emissions - This project aims to improve the representation of the Chinese energy sector, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) Global Trade and Environment Model. Being implemented by ABARE and the Chinese Energy Research Institute, with an Australian Government grant of $100,000, these enhancements to the model’s Chinese energy and emissions database will improve the model’s accuracy, thereby increasing its value as a tool for international climate change policy analysis, and
• Renewable energy training development and cooperation project - This project will develop a five-year renewable energy training framework to provide China with an adequate, ongoing workforce trained to international standards to meet their expanding demands for renewable energy.

Nuclear power still an option in Australia

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australia’s largest and most representative business organisation, has called for the Australian Government to conduct a feasibility study into the establishment of nuclear power facilities in Australia and to re-open its recent Energy White Paper Securing Australia’s Energy Future so as to canvass the possibility of nuclear power. Nuclear power is the subject of the lead article in the August 2005 ACCI Review. The principal reasons listed in the review are the abundance of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.

The review states that stationary energy sources account for 47 per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions and that relying on renewables such as solar and wind power is currently not a viable solution for baseload energy requirements and their premature mandatory introduction would have a negative impact on jobs and economic prosperity.

The review also contends that an energy source which provides base load power while neither threatening economic growth nor contributing to greenhouse gas emissions should not be arbitrarily ruled out of consideration.
However, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer has played down the likelihood of Australia resorting to nuclear energy despite advocating its benefits.

Delivering the 2005 Sir Condor Laucke Oration last month, Mr Downer said nuclear power plants produced no greenhouse gas emissions and concerns about their safety were overblown.

He noted that over 30 countries have nuclear power programs and they avoid emissions of some 2.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Mr Downer noted that the number of reactors globally was expected to increase significantly and Australia would have a vital role to play in the future of global nuclear power.

But at the same time, it was unlikely Australia would turn to nuclear energy itself soon because Australia has very cheap coal. Mr Downer stated that although the use of nuclear power in Australia may be a way off, the nation would still play a major role in the nuclear energy debate because of the growing demand for uranium.

Australia has about 40 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves and has begun formal negotiations on the export of uranium to China but has promised adequate safeguards.

Hazelwood has life extended 25 years

Victoria’s oldest power station, which pumps out more greenhouse gas than almost any other in the world, is expected to have its life extended by 25 years.

An announcement by the State Government is expected this week but the approval will come only in return for the Hazelwood power station cutting its carbon dioxide emissions by 30 million tonnes over the 25-year agreement.

After more than two years of negotiations, the Bracks Government will announce that Hazelwood has been given the go-ahead to mine more of its resource of brown coal and move a road and a river to get access to it.

The $380 million project will extend the power station’s lifespan to 2031 but will cost its owner, International Power, hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements to make the plant more greenhouse-friendly.

International Power had argued for a reduction figure of 25 million tonnes.

Each month Hazelwood emits 1.53 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the key compound that causes the greenhouse effect. Figures from environment group WWF suggest that is the second-worse emitter in the world, after a power station in Indiana.

Energy firms warn of pull-out

Some of the world’s biggest wind energy companies have warned they could soon pull out of Australia because of a lack of Federal Government support for renewable power.

Hundreds of jobs and billions of dollars worth of investment are at risk and farmers stand to lose over $19 million in landholder lease payments within the next five years if the industry stalls, according to the Australian Wind Energy Association.

The Danish company Vestas will decide in the next few months whether to relocate its Australian business elsewhere in Asia—which could mean the loss of 2000 jobs—while Britain’s Renewable Energy Systems wants to make Australia its regional headquarters, but will look elsewhere if the local wind market does not grow. This is despite the recent announcement that the group has secured an order for 48 of its wind turbine units for the Emu Downs wind farm (see In brief – Business).

Other companies such as the Belgian turbine gear box manufacturer Hansen are delaying investments for the same reason.

Vestas felt a lack of a viable long-term policy supporting wind and renewables was leading it to look towards locating in countries that are more supportive of renewables, such as China and the US.

The Federal Government has refused to extend its mandatory renewable energy target, which has boosted investment in clean power by requiring 2 per cent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources.

Wind energy projects worth about $10 billion and representing an estimated 15,600 Australian manufacturing jobs are in the pipeline.

In brief – Governments and NGOs

• Cleaner fuel for WA.  WA’s projected rise in energy demand for the next five years could be met entirely without burning fossil fuels, a new report claims. However, the Towards Western Australia’s Clean Energy Future report, which claims coal is the most expensive answer to future electricity demand, says gas has a useful role to play in a transitional phase to a cleaner energy future. The report, commissioned by environmental and sustainable energy industry groups, claims that improving energy efficiency is the most cost effective way of meeting demand in the future.
• Wind farm approval.  Australia’s biggest wind farm will be built near Crows Nest, 40km north of Toowoomba on the Darling Downs, following approval of the $250 million project by Crows Nest Shire Council.
• International criticism of Australia's energy policy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its Energy Policies of IEA Countries – Australia 2005 Review. The summary report outlines Australia’s performance in relation to economic efficiency, energy security and environmental sustainability. The IEA praised Australia's efforts in relation to the first two, but was critical of Australia’s performance on climate change strategies and energy efficiency. According to the IEA, emissions from Australia’s energy sector are projected to grow by more than 40 per cent from 1990 to 2010 and Australian CO2 emissions per unit of GDP are 43 per cent above the IEA average ... due to the widespread use of coal and the country’s generally high energy intensity, which results in part from the presence of numerous energy intensive industries. IEA noted that Australia ‘will have to substantially alter future energy supply and/or demand behaviour if it wants to moderate emission levels and work within any future global climate change mitigation programme’.
• WWF calls for geo-sequestration trial to commence. WWF Australia is calling for trials of geo-sequestration to begin as soon as possible to resolve once and for all whether the technology can be relied upon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  The geo-sequestration trials are scheduled to commence late next year, however WWF chief executive Greg Bourne has stated they should start sooner.
• Inner-city wind turbine launched in Victoria. The Minister for Energy Industries, Theo Theophanous, joined representatives from the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) and Origin Energy to launch a new wind turbine at CERES Community Park in Brunswick at the start of this month. The new 15 kilowatt, 17 metre tall wind turbine will generate electricity for the community park with any excess being channelled into the electricity grid.

In brief - Business

• Vestas wins Emu Downs order. Denmark’s Vestas Group has secured an order for 48 of its V82-1.65 MW wind turbine units for the Emu Downs wind farm in the state of Western Australia. The project will be located in Dandaragan shire to the north of the state capital Perth. The Emu Downs project comprises a 79.2 MW wind farm. The equipment will be delivered to a joint venture of two subsidiary companies of Stanwell Corporation Limited, which is the Queensland state-owned generator. The order, which has an estimated value of around A$180 million, will involve delivery, installation and commissioning of the equipment and the remote control system, as well as a two-year service and maintenance agreement. The shipment of the turbines would begin in 2006 with commissioning of the wind power plant scheduled to take place during the second half of 2006. Power from the wind farm will be bought by state-controlled Western Power Corporation.
• Hydro seeks partner power. A multi-million-dollar stake in all of Hydro Tasmania’s wind farms is available, with the big wind-power deal likely to be announced within the next month. Hydro Tasmania confirmed late last month that it was selling off a half-share in its wind-farming arm, Roaring Forties, after questions were asked in State Parliament about the secret deal.  Hydro Tasmania has a likely buyer waiting in the wings, understood to be a major international industrial company which already owns some energy interests. The size of the wind farm sale is likely to be about $130 million. Within the next five years, Hydro Tasmania plans to have completed its $200 million wind farm at Woolnorth. It will also build massive new wind farms at Musselroe ($175 million), at Waterloo ($160 million) in South Australia’s Clare Valley and at Heemskirk ($190 million). The total cost of wind farms assets will be about $785 million.
• Second largest wind farm opens in WA. Australia’s second largest wind farm has officially opened in Western Australia’s mid-west. Fifty-four turbines standing 80 metres high make up the Walkaway wind farm, near Geraldton. They will produce 90 megawatts of electricity at full capacity, which is only one megawatt less than Australia's largest wind farm at South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. The project has helped the WA state government towards its goal of renewable energy making up 6 per cent of the state's power needs by 2010. The owner of the wind farm, Renewable Power Ventures, has stated that it has plans for similar projects across Australia.
• Strong solar industry grows but others missing the boat. Australian solar power generation is growing and export figures for 2004 confirm the local solar photovoltaic (PV) industry as a world leader, according to a report released by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Sales of Australian-made solar PV increased 33 per cent to $267 million, contributing $140 million in export earnings. PV installations for 2004 totalled 6.67 MW, taking the cumulative Australian capacity to 52.3 MW. The report shows an excellent result for the PV industry.
• Contact sells Valley Power.  Contact Energy says the Valley Power project in Australia has been sold for $243 million. The project, in which Contact had a 40 per cent stake, had been sold to Snowy Hydro, a New South Wales generator and retailer.
• Chinese and Australian firms join hands in solar cell production. Jinglong Group, in north China’s Hebei Province, and Australian Solar Energy Development Company recently concluded an agreement for joint production of solar cells. The first-phase of the project, which is expected to involve an investment of 60 million yuan to be jointly contributed by the two sides, will build a production line of 25-mega solar cell wafers. The line will be put into production before the end of this year. Jinglong Group mainly produces solar energy large-diameter mono-crystalline silicon rods and wafers, semiconductor elements and mono-crystalline silicon series for integrated circuits. It is believed that the group is the world’s largest solar energy mono-crystalline silicon production base and China’s largest silicon wafer processing centre.
• Dyesol lists on ASX.  Solar energy firm Dyesol made a solid debut on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on 31 August 2005. Its shares hit the ASX boards at 29c, a 9c premium to the initial public offer price of 20c, and closed at 22c. It produces a type of solar energy technology that mimics plant photosynthesis.
• New wind farm blade factory for Portland. The Victorian Minister for Energy Industries and Resources, Theo Theophanous, officially opened a wind blade factory on 4 August 2005 that will supply blades for one of the largest wind farms in the southern hemisphere. The $9 million Vestas facility is the first of its kind in Australia and will manufacture approximately 225 blade sets (equal to 75 wind turbines) per year. Construction of the blade factory took just over six months. The Bracks Government has a strong commitment to growing the renewable energy sector, particularly wind, and public statements have been made that the government is determined to increase the share of Victoria’s electricity consumption from renewable sources from 4 per cent to 10 per cent by 2010. The government is also committed to facilitating the development of up to 1000 megawatts of wind energy in appropriate locations around the state. Vestas is the construction contractor for the $270 million Portland Wind Energy Project.

International

Solar power firms consider IPOs

A number of solar power firms are considering floating their shares in the coming months as the soaring price of oil draws increasing interest from governments trying to reduce their dependence on importing costly and polluting fossil fuels. The largest markets for solar power—Germany and Japan—have already been boosted by state support, which has made relatively-costly products such as roof-top solar panels affordable to the general public.

Solar cell maker ErSol Solar Energy AG and sources at wafer maker PV Crystalox Solar AG and component and systems maker Renewable Energy Corp AS all said they were considering listing in Europe.

Solar cell maker Q-Cells AG may also seek an initial public offering. Elsewhere, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation plans to spin off its solar products unit, SunPower, via a listing in New York towards the end of 2005.

In Europe interest in renewable energy sources has also been reignited by a drive by countries to curb their greenhouse gas emissions to meet commitments under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

Acciona still keen on foreign deals

Acciona, the Spanish construction and services group, remains on the lookout for foreign acquisitions and joint ventures in renewable energy following its failed bid earlier this year for Pacific Hydro, the Australian group.

Juan Muro-Lara, group executive director, has stated that the company was keen to expand beyond Spain in the development of wind farms and the sale of electricity.

His comments came as the company unveiled a 37 per cent rise in first-half net income, to $166.5 million which it attributed largely to the full consolidation of its wind energy business, a surge in electricity pool prices, and organic growth in installed capacity.

Spain is the European leader in per-capita wind-generated energy and the government has approved new capacity targets aimed at meeting emission criteria set out in the Kyoto protocol.

The development of turbine technology and the construction of wind farms is one of the country’s fastest growing sectors, fuelled by a combination of oil market concerns, government incentives and the ready availability of cheap financing.

Acciona and Iberdrola, Spain’s second-largest electricity group, are among the world’s largest wind park developers and operators and are stepping up their drive into non-Spanish markets.

After being outbid in a tense battle for the Pacific Hydro group in June, Acciona recently agreed joint ventures with several Canadian companies for the construction of two wind farms, which will push its total capacity in the country to 91MW.

Manila pushes renewable energy bill

Manilan President Gloria Arroyo is pushing for the passage of a renewable energy bill that would require all generating companies to source a percentage of their power supply from renewable energy sources. The bill, which the Department of Energy is currently discussing with focus groups to identify areas of concern, also would increase fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the utilization of renewable energy sources.

The government already offers incentives for the development of renewable energy, including income tax holidays and other tax breaks. The Philippine Export-Import Bank extends guarantees for private sector investments in renewable energy projects, including most recently the Bangui wind farm in Ilocos Norte province, and, recently, the Development Bank of the Philippines has opened a $893 million financing facility for renewable energy projects.

Geothermal energy accounted for 18 per cent of power generation in Manila in 2004, while hydroelectric accounted for 15 per cent.

Four Japanese wind power firms to boost output by 60 per cent by 2006

Japanese wind power companies are planning to expand domestic operations, with four leading firms planning to hike their power output by around 60 per cent in 2006.

Eurus Energy Holdings intends to establish three wind operations, including one in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, by October 2006 and raise its total power production from roughly 184,000 kilowatt-hours to about 304,000kwh, a 65 per cent increase. The new Hokkaido wind farm will be the biggest facility for the Tokyo Electric Power Company, with 57 wind turbines churning out an estimated 57,000kwh.

Electric Power Development Company is building the biggest wind farm in Japan in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. The 66,000kwh facility, to be completed in late 2006, is expected to raise the total power output of the company from about 130,000kwh to around 210,000kwh.

Eco Power Company, meanwhile, plans to construct new facilities in Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, and elsewhere by March 2007 to boost its power production by 27 per cent to about 130,000kwh. The company is a joint venture between Ebara Corporation, Kansai Electric Power Corporation and others.

Japan Wind Development Corporation is set to increase its total power output by 79 per cent to roughly 140,000kwh by the end of 2006.

Amid the high crude oil prices and growing awareness for the need to reduce global warming gas emissions, alternative power generation has been drawing more attention in Japan.

US emissions trading needs Federal assistance

US trading of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emission contracts could eclipse the European Union’s (EU) $37 billion market, but only if the Federal Government imposes mandatory limits, according to expert commentary last month.

The UN-backed Kyoto treaty hatched the world’s first large-scale trading of carbon emissions among the EU’s 25 members, which started in January. Approximately $37 billion in emission allocations are expected to trade there annually.

The Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress oppose limiting carbon dioxide emissions, preferring voluntary industry efforts.

The United States is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, which are linked to a gradual rise in the earth's temperature.

So far, formal trading of US greenhouse gas emissions credits is done only voluntarily, a fact reflected in prices.
A US contract for the right to emit one metric ton of carbon dioxide fetches about $2 on the Chicago Climate Exchange, a voluntary market.

But a similar contract hit a record $35.67 last month on the European Climate Exchange, run by London’s International Petroleum Exchange and the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Several US states have now begun agitating for action. Officials in nine north-eastern US states reached a preliminary agreement to cap and then cut emissions from power plants by 10 per cent by 2020. Under the plan being worked on, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont would cap carbon dioxide emissions at 150 million tons a year – roughly equal to the average emissions in the highest three years between 2000 and 2004. Starting in 2015, the cap would be lowered, and emissions would be cut by 10 per cent in 2020.

Some US companies are experimenting with carbon trading at the fledgling Chicago Climate Exchange. However, large oil and gas companies, industrial cement makers and other large utilities that emit the lion's share of emissions are notable absentees from the Chicago exchange.

China to build offshore wind power plant to meet energy crunch

China plans to build its first offshore wind power plant next year in its northern coastal province of Hebei, according to reports.

The plant, with a designed capacity of one million kilowatts, will be established at the Huanghua Port in the city of Cangzhou.

Involving an estimated investment of $1.1 billion, the wind power plant will be jointly built by the Guohua Energy Investment Corporation and authorities in the development zone.

After a four-month wind test in the coastal area of Cangzhou since April this year, Guohua was convinced that the area was an ideal region for the establishment of a wind power plant.

The first phase of the project, involving some $61.7 million in investment, is set to start in the third quarter of 2006. In this phase, a plant with an initial installed generating capacity of 50,000 kw would be built.

Upon the completion of the whole project by 2020, the offshore wind power plant will help ease the power shortage in many parts of north China, according to local government reports.

In brief

New Zealand

• State-owned energy company Mighty River Power has been awarded 1.2 million carbon credits for its proposed 70MW Kawerau geothermal plant. The move is part of the government’s Projects to Reduce Emissions program, where internationally tradeable emissions units are awarded to projects that lead to a net reduction in emissions. The program is designed to support businesses that would not otherwise be financially viable. The steam for the proposed Kawerau geothermal electricity scheme will be drawn from land owned by the Putauaki Trust and Norske Skog Tasman. Mighty River Power, the country's third largest electricity generator, aims to have the Kawerau plant on stream at the end of 2007. It has an anticipated life of 25 years.
• New Zealand’s biggest wind farm is to go ahead in Hawke’s Bay. The 75-turbine Hawke’s Bay Wind Farm was approved by Hastings District Council yesterday. The 225 megawatts project and its towering 125-metre turbines will sit next door to Unison's already approved $90 million 16-turbine wind farm near Te Pohue. Unison plans to lodge new plans for 30 more turbines nearby shortly. The wind farm would generate enough power to supply 100,000 homes.
• A $300 million wind farm planned for the Tararua Range has been given a provisional go-ahead after the Palmerston North City Council approved the development.  At a meeting last month the council approved the next stage of the development , to investigate building the wind farm along the Turitea ridge, overlooking the city. The wind farm would be the region’s fourth. Mighty River Power, based in Hamilton, was selected by the council from a prospective 19 power generators, to enter into joint partnership for the project. Mighty River will develop the wind farm and make an annual payment to the city from the proceeds of the sale of power it generates.
• Unison’s proposed 16 turbine windfarm on the Titiokura Summit, between Napier and Taupo, has been given the go-ahead. Hastings District Council hearings committee yesterday approved the company's resource consent application – the first for a Hawke's Bay wind farm.

Spain

• Spain approved measures last month aimed at nearly doubling its production of energy from renewable sources like wind, sun and water over the next five years. The plan aims for investment of 23.5 billion euros ($29 billion) in the renewable sector from 2005 to 2010, with private companies footing the majority of the bill. The government will put forward only 2.9 per cent of the estimated cost. By 2010, Spain wants 12 per cent of consumed energy to come from sources like wind, solar and hydroelectric plants, compared to 6.9 per cent at the end of 2004. A previous renewable energy plan, spanning 2000-2010, has fallen well short of targets, especially for solar energy and biomass – an energy resource derived from organic material like agricultural waste. By the end of last year, the energy sector reached just over a quarter of the plan’s objectives. The government has raised the target for wind power energy from 12,000 megawatts under the former plan to 20,155 megawatts. Under Kyoto, developed countries are meant to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, largely from burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars, by an average 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. However, Spain has seen the biggest increase in the emissions of greenhouse gases since 1990 among the countries which originally agreed to Kyoto targets. The amount of fumes released rose 40.5 per cent in the 12 years spanning 1990 to 2002, according to United Nations data.

Scotland

• Scottish Power, one of the UK’s largest investors in wind power, is investigating whether it could use excess power generated from its wind farms to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen could then be turned back into electricity when the output from the turbines dropped, or used to power vehicles using fuel cells. Scottish Power, which has 13 wind farms producing a combined total of 183 megawatts, is pursuing the hydrogen option because wind farms can often produce more than the local connection to the national grid can accept, particularly in more remote areas where wind turbines tend to be situated.  Excess power from wind-driven turbines can be used to produce hydrogen from water through a process of electrolysis. This can then be turned back into electricity using a fuel cell when wind levels drop, helping to balance the output to the grid from wind farms. The first hydrogen could be produced in 2007.

 China

• The Chinese government will not grant approval for new wind power projects unless at least 70 per cent of parts are locally produced, the country’s top economic and industry planning agency said. Previously, only 20 concession projects that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) planned to build before 2010 were subjected to the rule. The government has raised the minimum requirement for locally produced parts to promote research, development and manufacturing of wind turbines in China, the NDRC has announced. It aims to promote the growth of China’s manufacturing capacity and importation of wind turbine manufacturing technology. Products that are made in China by foreign manufacturers will be classified as locally produced. At the end of 2004, China’s total wind power generating capacity reached 730 megawatts, while the country's installed generating capacity totalled 440,700 MW.

. Japan

• Japanese corporations, JGC, Marubeni and Daioh Construction are considering acquiring greenhouse gas emission rights equivalent to 40 million tons of carbon dioxide from 2007 through to 2013 in China. It will be one of the world’s largest projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, which allows companies to obtain carbon credits in exchange for helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, the Economic Daily said. The firms are to sign an agreement with a chemical company in China’s Zhejiang Province. The three company joint venture is expected to secure necessary approval from the Japanese and Chinese Governments this month and complete the registration of the project with the United Nations by the end of the year.

Canada

• Sustainable Energy Technologies has announced that it has agreed to collaborate with a Chinese group to advance the development and commercialisation of wind turbines for use in China and other markets. Under a memorandum of understanding signed on behalf of the China Renewable Energy Technologies Delegation, Sustainable Energy Technologies will license its technology and will collaborate with the Chinese in advancing vertical axis wind turbine technology, beginning with the construction and testing of a commercial prototype of Sustainable Energy’s 250-kilowatt turbine—the ‘Chinook 250’—at a test site in Southern Alberta.

G-8 Summit

• The meeting of the G8 leaders in Gleneagles on 6-8 July 2005 produced a communiqué that called for boosting the development and commercialisation of renewable energy while providing few details on how those goals might be accomplished. The Gleneagles document approved by the leaders of the G8 countries—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and US—urged the world to increase the amount of energy generated from renewable technologies and to develop cleaner power generation from fossil fuels. Yet in contrast to the communique’s specific commitments on aid to developing nations, in which the G8 agreed to double aid to Africa by 2010 and to provide all developing countries with $50 billion annually in aid by the end of the decade, the leaders of the industrialised nations made no specific commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions or to set any targets for funding renewable energy technologies to combat climate change. The G8 leaders saw particular potential for bioenergy and unveiled plans to launch a Global Bioenergy Partnership to support wider use of biomass and biofuels. The G8 leaders anticipated working with the International Energy Agency to report the challenges of integrating renewable energy sources into power grids and increasing their efficiency.
  

For more information please contact:

Mark Dwyer
mark.dwyer@freehills.com
+61 3 9288 1234

John Taberner
john.taberner@freehills.com
+61 2 9225 5427

Michael Back
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+61 7 3258 6666

Tony van Merwyk
tony.van.merwyk@freehills.com
+61 8 9211 7777

Tim Power
tim.power@freehills.com
+61 3 9288 1484