Snowstorm hits west Canada, leaving thousands without power

Thousands of residents in Canada' s western province of British Columbia (B.C.) remained without power on Tuesday, one day after a winter storm swept through the region, BC Hydro spokeswoman said.

The heavy snowstorm has left up to 40 centimeters of snow in some areas and highway and schools closed. Monday was supposed to be the first day back to class after the winter break.

Closed roads and icy conditions made the work to restore power difficult, BC Hydro spokeswoman Simi Heer said.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 2,000 customers in west coast area and more than 1,000 residents in the Interior were left without electricity.

Nearly three dozen warnings remained in effect on Tuesday about winter storms, rainfall, snowfall and extreme cold across the province, except for the South Coast and Metro Vancouver.

Meanwhile, several highways are closed because of the storm, according to the Ministry of Transportation's DriveBC website. The ministry warns that moderate snow and high winds are increasing the avalanche hazard.
 Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
7/1/15
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Related:

• Un froid polaire s'abat en ce moment sur l'Amérique du Nord ...

• As Toronto braces for another deep freeze, Mayor John Tory has asked the city to open its warming centres – a response to the recent deaths of two homeless men in as many days....

China builds world's largest coal mine waste gas recovering project.

The world's largest facility to turn excess methane gas from coal mines into electricity has been completed in north China's Shanxi Province.

The facility was completed by the Lu'an Group, which owns the Gaohe Coal Mine in the coal-rich province.

The company announced on Tuesday it would soon start operating the generator with a capacity of 30 megawatts, capable of utilizing 99 percent of methane gas discharged from the coal mine.
The poisonous gas is a common emission during underground mining. Normally, mines will liquify the gas into methyl alcohol if it has a concentration higher than 30 percent, for concentrations between 10 percent and 20 percent it is captured and used to fuel internal combustion engines.

However, methane concentrations lower than 10 percent, which qualifies 81 percent of the gas released during mining, can not be consumed through direct combustion.

Jia Jian, deputy head of the Methane Gas Research Institute of the company, said the new technology has helped tackle the problem of how to dispose of the waste.

He said the project can decompose the gas into carbon dioxide and water under temperatures more than 950 Celsius, and use the heat and steam for power generation.

He said by recovering and utilizing the gas, the project can help reduce 1.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gases and produce 200 million kwh of electricity a year.

China's coal mines produce more than 10 billion cubic meters of low-concentration methane gas each year, which causes greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Jia said the project of making waste profitable has a good market potential. The demonstration facility installed at Gaohe Coal Mine has drawn interest from a number of coal mining firms, which have signed agreements predicted to reduce 15.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

Coal mining firms in China are under greater pressure than ever to control carbon emissions as the government continues to step up efforts to cut emissions.

China has set an ambitious goal of reducing carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 40 to 45 percent from the level in 2005.

By 2013, carbon emissions per unit of GDP dropped by 28.56 percent from 2005. In the first three quarters of this year, energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by 4.6 percent from a year earlier and carbon emissions were down by 5 percent, data showed.
 Source: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
  2/1/15
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  *** Photo: www.gidynamics.nl

Ethiopia dam tripartite committee to choose impact study firm in early 2015

The tripartite committee looking into Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is expected to meet by mid-January to choose an international firm to conduct studies on the dam's impact, Egypt's irrigation minister said Friday.

Hossam Moghazi told state news agency MENA that Egypt is committed to completing the study by mid-2015.   
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia had selected seven international firms in October to prepare technical and financial offers to conduct studies on Ethiopia's $4.2 billion dam project, which Egyptian officials fear could affect the country's water share.

The tripartite committee was expected to have selected the firm by mid-December. However, the deadline to receive offers was extended after two firms withdrew.

After meeting to study the firms' offers, the tripartite committee is expected to meet in Addis Ababa to sign the final contract.

The firm's report — based on a study to be conducted over five months — will include the dam's impact on upstream Nile countries Egypt and Sudan, as well as its environmental, social and economic effects.
An Ethiopian "people's delegation" arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for a three day visit. Delegates met with diplomats, religious figures, university professors and journalists.
 http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/118360.aspx
19/12/14
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Related:

• 20% of Egypt's Nile water share lost through ‘misuse’

• Ethiopia calls Egypt to resume talks over dam

• Egypt calling for resumption of Nile dam talks...

20% of Egypt's Nile water share lost through ‘misuse’

Egyptians waste 20 percent of the country’s share of water from the Nile, a water resources expert has said in comments reported by Al-Ahram Arabic news website.

Diaaeddin El-Qousi, a professor at the National Institute for Water, said on Sunday that Egyptians “misuse” water by leaving taps running and while washing cars, among other reasons.
Political science professor, Mostafa Elwi, called on Egyptian institutions to cooperate in order to find solutions to the Ethiopian dam issue.

The comments were made at a seminar held by the Research and Strategic Studies Institute for Nile Basin Countries.

Ethiopia's construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam has concerned the Egyptian government since May 2013.

The Nile is Egypt's main source of water, with an allocated flow of 55.5 km3/yr, according to the Nile Waters Agreement between Egypt and Sudan in 1959. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/117962.aspx
15/12/14
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Related:

• Ethiopia calls Egypt to resume talks over dam

• Egypt calling for resumption of Nile dam talks...

UK braced for 'weather bomb'

 The UK is preparing to be hit by a "weather bomb" with freezing winds of up to 130 kilometers an hour and giant waves causing disruption to travel and power supplies.

The Met Office issued alerts on Wednesday as the deep, low-pressure system headed for the country.

Ferry and rail journeys were cancelled in parts of Scotland due to high winds and large waves hitting the coastline while schools in the Highlands and Western Isles were shut down.

In the Western Isles, 17,000 homes suffered a power cut as lightning struck electricity facilities early on Wednesday morning.

Storm warnings were also issued for Thursday across Britain by weather forecasters, with travelers being warned they would face major disruption.

- Freezing winds

Several flood warnings were issued across Scotland

Amber "be prepared" alerts were issued by the Met Office for western Scotland, the Highlands, Northern Ireland, Orkney and Shetland and Strathclyde regions.

Yellow "be aware" weather warnings were applied to England's South East, South West, North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humber and northern Wales.

Referred to by meteorologists as a " weather bomb", deep, low-pressureweather systems known as cyclogenisis are known for their severe effects wrought by freezing, strong winds.
www.aa.com.tr/en
10/12/14
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Related:

• Weather bomb' batters parts of Britain: live updates ...

•  Orkan über dem Atlantik: Wetterdienste warnen vor 20-Meter-Wellen ...

Bulgaria, Greece, Romania to Develop Regional Gas Infrastructure

Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania have signed a contract on cooperation in the development of regional gas infrastructure.

The contract was signed Tuesday by the energy ministers of the three countries.

In February 2011, the EU decided that each Member State had to have at least two sources of natural gas and electricity by 2014 in order to be able to cope with a cut-off of Russian supplies.

Romania still lacks a connection to Bulgaria’s gas grid, despite the fact that a project for the construction of a gas pipeline between Giurgiu and Ruse has been available for years, according to reports of the BGNES news agency.

The gas pipeline, evaluated at around EUR 24 M, is to be completed by 2016.

Romania’s gas transmission grid is connected to those of Hungary and Moldova.

In the case of a suspension of imports from Russia, however, it will not be able to make up for the losses through these connections because the gas imports from Hungary are negligible and the pipeline to Moldova is used for exports.
[novinite.com]
9/12/14

European Commission welcomes electricity subsea cables linking Norway to Germany and UK (EC - 13.10.14)

European Commission, Statement, Brussels, 13 October 2014:

"The EU Commission welcomed the announcement made today by the Norwegian government to licence the construction of two subsea cables linking Norway to Germany and UK. The two 1400 MW subsea cables will enable the three countries to exchange electricity and use the Norwegian hydropower potential.

Vice-President of the EU Commission, responsible for Energy, Günther H. Oettinger said: "This will help enormously to integrate renewable energy in North-West Europe. Germany and UK can sell renewable energy to Norway when weather conditions are such that they produce a lot and Norway can sell electricity from hydropower. This will benefit both sides and balance the system."

The licence granted today is a further step towards building the two subsea cables. The NORD.LINK interconnector will run between Norway and Germany and the North Sea Network (NSN) will run between Norway and UK with a goal to be operational by 2020 at the latest. 

The integration of the Norwegian, German and UK electricity markets, which at the moment are not connected directly, will ensure improved security of supply in the two countries, increase market efficiency and further integrate renewables.

In June 2012, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg agreed a partnership between the three countries to secure sustainable long term energy security through interconnectors connecting Norway to Germany and UK."

 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-313_en.htm?locale=en

13/10/14

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EUR 815 million support for transport and energy in Greece

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing up to EUR 815 million for motorways, the Thessaloniki metro and an improved electricity transmission network in Greece.

In the presence of EIB President Werner Hoyer, five finance agreements were signed today in Athens in a public ceremony by the EIB Vice-President responsible for Greece, Mihai Tanasescu, the Minister of Finance Gikas Hardouvelis, the Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, Michalis Chrysohoidis, the Chairman and Managing Director of Attiko Metro Christos Tsitouras, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Greek Public Power Corporation S.A. Arthouros Zervos, and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Greek Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) Yiannis Yiarentis. The ceremony was attended also by Minister of Environment, Energy & Climate Change Yannis Maniatis.


On this occasion, EIB President Werner Hoyer stated: “With this strong shot we continue our support for growth and jobs in Greece. We concentrate on key sectors and help the Greek State to proceed with the construction of the country’s major motorways and the Thessaloniki metro to improve the citizens’ living and economic conditions. We also contribute to realise the electricity interconnection of the Cyclades islands, a long awaited project in Greece. This investment boosts tourism, by putting an end to the blackout risks of the past. All five projects will create jobs during construction and after, through commissioning, and will have further positive spillover effects in the regional and national environment, economy and living conditions”.

EUR 300 million to the Hellenic Republic for the Greek motorway programme
The EIB loan will be supporting the State’s financial commitments to the country’s main transport corridor (Patras-Athens-Thessaloniki), which is also a trans-European priority transport investment. The loan will finance the construction of 239 km of new motorways and smaller upgrades on 434 km of existing motorways located along this main axis. This is the second and last tranche of the EIB facility of a total of EUR 650 million for the resumption of construction works on Greek motorways which, considering their strong impact on employment and GDP growth, play a special role in revitalising the Greek economy.

EUR 200 million in further support of the Thessaloniki metro
The Thessaloniki Metro project has been the focus of the Greek State’s strategy for providing an efficient and effective public transport system in metropolitan Thessaloniki, in parallel with the ongoing extensions of the Athens metro network. As such, it has been supported by the Greek State, the European Union through EU grants and the EIB. This essential public service project represents one of the most important areas of EIB value-added activity, as the EU Bank’s ability to provide long-term financing perfectly matches the long-term nature and requirements of the infrastructure provided. The EIB is already partially financing the Thessaloniki metro baseline, with previous loans totaling EUR 650 million, and the finance agreement signed today provides additional support for the network’s extension to the area of Kalamaria.

EUR 180 million for improved electricity network

The signature of EUR 180 million loan is the second and final tranche of a EUR 415 million facility to the Greek Public Power Corporation S.A. (PPC), for renovating and reinforcing the electricity distribution network, as well as extending it to enable some 186 000 new connections throughout peninsular and insular Greece.

The investment programme will benefit consumers and suppliers by improving the electricity distribution infrastructure and increasing the effectiveness of electricity supply in meeting demand.

The promoter of the project is the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A. (HEDNO), a 100% subsidiary of PPC created in 2012.  

EUR 135 million for improved electricity transmission and interconnection of Cyclades
The funding to the Greek Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or ADMIE) consists of two loans aiming at improved electricity transmission and the interconnection of the Cyclades islands to the mainland network.
The signature of EUR 70 million is the first tranche of a EUR 140 million facility to support the company’s current on-going power transmission investment programme. This includes the construction of the Megalopoli Extra High Voltage Station, the interconnection of Nea Makri (Attica mainland) to Polypotamos (island of Evia), and a cluster of smaller transmission schemes.  The loan is expected to support the integration of new generation resources into the grid, including renewable energy, to extend transmission capacity and contribute to improving the reliability of supply.
The signature of EUR 65 million is the first tranche of a EUR 130 million facility to support the connection of the main Cycladic islands Syros, Tinos, Mykonos and Paros with the mainland interconnected system of Greece. The interconnection will be effected through a subsea cable grid operated at 150 kV. The project will substitute the local generation run on fuel oil with energy produced by far cheaper and less polluting stations operated in the mainland system. It will also support the development of additional wind and solar generation capacity that on the islands, which in the currently isolated configuration is restricted for technical reasons.
http://www.eib.org/infocentre/press/releases/all/2014/2014-195-eur-815-million-support-for-transport-and-energy-in-greece.htm?media=rss&language=en
18/9/14

M6.1 deadly quake rattles southwest China

Earthquake kills at least 175 and injures more than 1,400 others in Yunnan province.

An earthquake has struck southwestern China, killing at least 175 people in a remote mountainous area of Yunnan province, and causing some buildings, including a school, to collapse.

Some 1,400 people were injured and 181 missing, Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the authorities.
The official Xinhua news agency said that the epicentre of Sunday's quake was in Longtoushan town in Yunnan's Ludian county.
Communications have been seriously affected and rescuers are rushing to the scene, the report said.

Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Kunshan, China, said: "This quake has happened in a very very remote area of southwest China.

"The difficulty for rescuers is going to be the time it takes to reach this area."
Pictures posted online by state media showed troops stretchering people away, and bricks which had fallen off buildings damaging cars, Reuters news agency reported. 

'Not quake proof'
Many people rushed out of buildings onto the street after the quake hit, electricity supplies were cut and at least one school collapsed, Xinhua added.

"The problem is a lot of the structures in this area are simply not quake proof. This is a very impoversihed region and very remote", Brown reported.

The US Geological Survey said the quake registered at shallow depth of less than 1 mile (1.6 km). Chinese state media said was felt most strongly Yunnan, as well as in the neighbouring provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan.
The government is sending 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to the disaster zone, the report said.
Ludian is home to some 265,900 people, Xinhua added. China is frequently struck by quakes in this part of the country. A quake in Sichuan in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.
A quake in the same region in 2012 kiled 80 people.
Earlier in the day a less severe quake struck Tibet, causing no casualties.
 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/08/deadly-quake-rattles-southwest-china-20148313030154246.html
3/8/14
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• M 6.1 - SICHUAN-YUNNAN-GUIZHOU RG, CHINA - 2014-08-03 08:30:14 UTC....local time: 16:30.....

Magnitude	Mw 6.1
Region	SICHUAN-YUNNAN-GUIZHOU RG, CHINA
Date time	2014-08-03 08:30:14.1 UTC
Location	27.26 N ; 103.50 E
Depth	10 km
Distances	258 km N of Kunming, China / pop: 1,023,674 / local time: 16:30:14.1 2014-08-03 22 km W of Zhaotong, China / pop: 109,400 / local time: 16:30:14.1 2014-08-03

 -------------------------------------

• M6.1 - 11km WNW of Wenping, China

• Event Time

1. 2014-08-03 08:30:13 UTC
2. 2014-08-03 16:30:13 UTC+08:00 at epicenter
3. 2014-08-03 11:30:13 UTC+03:00 system time

• Location

27.245°N 103.427°E depth=10.0km (6.2mi)

• Nearby Cities

1. 11km (7mi) WNW of Wenping, China
2. 29km (18mi) WSW of Zhaotong, China
3. 91km (57mi) WNW of Weining, China
4. 135km (84mi) ESE of Xichang, China
5. 731km (454mi) NNW of Ha Noi, Vietnam

FEATURE: As climate talks heat up, experts debate if natural gas, fracking will turn ‘brown’ economies ‘green’

UN, 1 August 2014 – The world faces a looming energy problem. There’s not enough of it. It also faces a looming climate change problem. Too much of it. Could natural gas and fracking technology be part of the solution to both challenges?

The answer to this question is especially relevant for developing countries. Nearly half the world’s population lacks reliable access to modern energy services and more than 20 per cent of the global population – 1.4 billion people – remains without access to electricity, according to a recent UN Development Programme (UNDP) report. Household air pollution from the use of biomass fuel is expected to cause more than 1.5 million deaths a year by 2030.
Could natural gas, whose production is boosted by hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” – the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside – be a bridge to greener economies and to new, more-efficient energy technologies?
“Is fracking, by providing natural gas, giving us a cleaner energy source? The answer is yes, perhaps, if you regard natural gas as a cleaner energy source,” said Elizabeth Thompson, senior advisor for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. 

She spoke at a panel organized by the UN Academic Impact. “However, if the methodologies used are dirty, or environmentally harmful, then some of the beneficial impacts are significantly eroded.”................................http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48389#.U9vrtaPm7gw
1/8/14
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Related;

• University of Colorado Boulder Scientists Link 10,800-Foot-Deep Fracking Wastewater Well to More Than 200 Earthquakes

• Seven earthquakes in the US state of Oklahoma over the weekend

• Europe Considers Fracking to Cut Russian Gas Imports (That would be beneficial for both Europe and Russia)

• Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

• Gaz de schiste: la Commission européenne ouvre la voie à l'exploitation

Europe with no "Plan B" in case of power outages

No backup plan is present should a Europe-wide power blackout occur, experts warned at a conference on "Sudden Blackout" in Vienna Thursday.

"National crisis management is not enough, as it requires technical communication to be possible," said Herbert Saurugg, initiator of the conference.

He added broader society must be a part of problem-solving efforts, including the first step of acknowledging that a large-scale power outage is a possibility.

Ideally 50 percent of the population should also know what to do in such a situation, particularly when oil, gas, food, and water supplies are potentially cut off, according to Saurugg.

Bernd Benser of GridLab, a German-based power systems security company, said the threat of large-scale blackouts is a very real possibility, with potential triggers including cyber attacks and terrorism.

A blackout could last more than six days, he said, and with hospitals having an average emergency power supply of only about 48 hours, the lives of intensive-care patients could be at risk.

Additionally, in the case of Germany alone it would cost about 580 million U.S. dollars per hour without electricity, he added.

Bernd said the entire European power network "interconnected from Portugal until shortly before Moscow" is potentially at risk, and that particularly larger cities require concepts for dealing with an emergency situation.
VIENNA, June 12 (Xinhua)

Ethiopia calls Egypt to resume talks over dam

Ethiopia has urged Egypt for another round of tripartite talks with Sudan to implement international recommendations over the construction of its hydroelectric dam on the Nile, an Egyptian news agency reported Thursday.

“We seek to persuade the Egyptian authorities to avoid unnecessary complaints against the dam and to resume the tripartite talks with Ethiopia and Sudan,” the state-run news agency MENA quoted Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as saying during a parliament meeting.

Desalegn said his country is ready to respond if Egypt decided to take its dispute over the Grand Renaissance Dam to the United Nations.

Thirty-one percent of the dam’s construction was already complete, Desalegn said, adding that the dam would begin generating electricity next year.
Ethiopia building the damn could transform one of the world’s poorest countries into a regional hydropower hub.

Addis Ababa has already rejected an offer from Cairo to help finance building the dam and opted to fully pay for the project.

Power-hungry region

The electricity it will generate - enough to power a giant rich-world city like New York - can be exported across a power-hungry region.
So far, Ethiopia has paid 27 billion birr ($1.5 billion) out of a total projected cost of 77 billion birr for the dam, which will create a lake 246 km long, according to Reuters.
Economists warn that squeezing the private sector to pay for the public infrastructure could hurt future prospects. Growth is already showing signs of slowing.
Egypt, which has claimed exclusive right to control the Nile’s waters for generations, is infuriated. Cairo worries the dam will reduce the flow on which it has depended for drinking water and irrigation for thousands of years.
Talks between Ethiopia and Egypt deteriorated in recent months but officials from the two countries still insist they will continue to meet in order to solve the dispute.
Egypt has demanded building be halted pending negotiations between the countries.
Cairo no longer wields the same leverage it once did when upriver sub-Saharan countries were too poor to build such huge projects themselves.
(With Reuters)

Last Update: Friday, 25 April 2014 KSA 09:16 - GMT 06:16 

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2014/04/25/Ethiopia-calls-Egypt-to-resume-talks-over-dam.html

25/4/14

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• Ethiopia insists that it must build a series of dams. Dialogue only way to bridge Ethiopia-Egypt gap. -PM  ...

 

Citing its own development needs, however, Ethiopia insists that it must build a series of dams to generate electricity – both for local consumption and export.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn said Monday that dialogue was the only way to bridge outstanding differences between Ethiopia and Egypt about a multi-billion dollar hydroelectric dam on the Nile River. "I know dialogue will continue. I don't see there will be a military solution and [talk of] war is absurd. It doesn't work," Dessalegn told a press conference in Addis Ababa.
"This kind of problem is solved through dialogue," he said. "From the Ethiopian side, we are ready to see a cooperative way to find solution through dialogue." Plans by Ethiopia to build a massive hydroelectric dam, dubbed the "Grand Renaissance Dam Project," on the Blue Nile – the primary source of Egypt's water supply –sent shockwaves down Egypt's Nile Valley.
Water distribution among the states of the Nile basin have long depended on a colonial-era treaty giving Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of Nile water.

• Citing its own development needs, however, Ethiopi
• a insists that it must build a series of dams to generate electricity – both for local consumption and export.

Addis Ababa maintains that the new dam will benefit Egypt and Sudan, both of which will be invited to purchase electricity thus generated. The Ethiopian premier said that his country wants to see a stable and democratic Egypt. "If General [Abdel-Fattah] al-Sisi is elected, I am ready to work with him," he said. Calls have grown for al-Sisi, who led the army move to unseat elected president Mohamed Morsi, to run in Egypt's upcoming presidential election, expected within three months. Turning to the conflict in South Sudan, the Ethiopian premier said that the Inter-government Authority for Development (IGAD) has authorized the Ugandan army to protect the government in Juba. "We denounce unconstitutional power seizure and this is the position of all IGAD states," he said. "IGAD has a clear position in this regard. Uganda has to protect the government." He, however, said that forces from Uganda and other countries must leave South Sudan phase by phase.............................http://www.ellanodikis.net/2014/02/ethiopia-insists-that-it-must-build.html

10/2/14

Germany seeks to trim subsidies for renewable energy

Germany's economy and energy minister laid out Tuesday proposals to curb renewable energy subsidies and cap electricity prices but opponents fear they could jeopardise the country's much vaunted green energy transition.
Just weeks after taking over as Economy and Energy Minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel's left-right "grand coalition", Social Democrat Sigmar Gabriel presented a blueprint to meet what he described as "the biggest challenge currently facing our country."
He wants to start by trimming subsidies for renewable sources of energy, a keystone in the so-called energy transition that Europe's top economy embarked on 15 years ago under its then Social Democrat chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

The strategy has been pursued with even greater intensity by his conservative successor Merkel after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan persuaded her to gradually abandon nuclear energy completely.
Generous subsidies -- financed via an energy tax -- have meant that renewables now account for around a quarter of energy production and consumption in Germany. And the aim is for renewables to meet as much as 80 percent of the country's energy needs by 2050.
But the tax has caused energy prices to shoot up, adding as much as 24 billion euros ($32 billion) to industry's power bills, according to Gabriel.
"We must be careful not to bite off more than we can chew," he argued, pointing out that the manufacturing industry remains the backbone of the German economy.
By the summer, the subsidy system has to be revamped to target "the most promising technologies," namely wind and solar power. And the pace of development in those sectors should be monitored more closely.
In the medium term, the Social Democrat minister hopes to introduce market mechanisms to the subsidy system.
That will help keep a lid on price rises but will not force prices down, Gabriel insisted.
Industry is satisfied
"It's a big step in the right direction," said the BDEW industry federation for the energy sector.
And Leonard Birnbaum, board member at Germany's biggest power supplier E.ON, said the proposals were "clearly positive."
The powerful BDI industry federation, which has been highly critical of the current system, also hailed "the first sensible steps."
It welcomed in particular the government's commitment to exempting high-consuming industries from all or part of the energy tax.
But such exemptions have come under fire from the EU Commission in Brussels and Berlin has been ordered to take action to appease the EU's competition authorities.
EU Energy Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, gave Gabriel's plans the thumbs up.
"I fully back the plans of Mr Gabriel. They're important and are the right ones," Oettinger said.
By contrast, the head of the opposition Green party, Simone Peter, claimed that "Gabriel's proposals ... are putting the energy transition in jeopardy."
Fossil fuel is still the biggest energy source for Germany, and Gabriel's proposals will mean that the country will not meet its goals in reducing carbon emissions, warned Hermann Falk of the BEE industry federation for renewables.
"The planned measures are so radical that they resemble open heart surgery," the left-leaning Frankfurter Rundschau wrote in an editorial, expressing concern about the development of wind power.
Nevertheless, a revamp of the system of subsidies for renewables is just the first of many steps that Gabriel will have to take.
The minister must find a solution that allows fossil-fuel fired power stations to remain profitable. Many of them cannot compete with subsidised renewable energy sources. But Germany needs a guaranteed power supply on days when there is no sun or wind.
Peter Terium, head of Germany's number two power supplier RWE, urged the minister to tackle the problem.
"The situation for industry is catastrophic," he said.
RWE is planning to axe 7,000 jobs by 2016 as competition from renewables pushes the group into heavy loss. 
AFP
http://www.france24.com/en/20140121-germany-seeks-trim-subsidies-renewable-energy/
21/1/14
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Uranium shipment signals end of US-Russian nuclear deal.

MOSCOW - A 20-year-old deal that has powered American homes while reducing the risk of Russian nuclear material falling into the wrong hands approached its end on Thursday when the final shipment of uranium left St Petersburg for Baltimore.

Under the 1993 HEU Purchase Agreement, Russia downblended 500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from nuclear weapons into low-enriched uranium and sent it to the United States, where it was made into fuel for nuclear power plants.

Over much of the life of the deal, it was used to generate roughly half of all commercial nuclear energy produced in the United States, or nearly 10 percent of all US electricity, according to the US Energy Department.


"For two decades, one in 10 light bulbs in America has been powered by nuclear material from Russian nuclear warheads," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said of the agreement, commonly known as Megatons for Megawatts.

It provided cash and jobs in Russia's nuclear industry at a time, after the 1991 Soviet collapse, when fears ran high that impoverished scientists would sell secrets or "dirty bomb" ingredients.

It was "crucial for stabilizing the Russian nuclear complex at a critical time in the 1990s," said Matthew Bunn, a Harvard University professor and expert on nuclear security and proliferation.

But times have changed. A richer Russia, while seeking to expand its nuclear energy industry, has resisted US efforts to extend the agreement or come up with another one to continue blending down HEU, Bunn said. 
 jpost.com
14/11/13

Dubai inaugurates first phase of mega solar energy project (video)

AFP - Dubai inaugurated the first phase of a solar energy park on Tuesday as the Gulf emirate seeks to diversify its energy sources, official Emirati news agency WAM reported.

The park, named the "Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Park" after the emirate's ruler, will produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity when completed, and will cost 12 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion), WAM said.
The first plant of the solar energy megaproject is 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the city of Dubai and can produce 10 megawatts of energy on its own.

Said Mohammed al-Tayer, deputy head of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and vice chief of its Supreme Energy Council, said the project was "one of a kind in the region," adding that it would be a major boost to the Gulf state's mega-projects.


The supreme energy council is trying to reduce Dubai's reliance on oil and gas. Dubai aims to produce one percent of its energy needs using solar power by 2020, and five percent by 2030, local press has reported. 

Dubai is a major electricity consumer, in spite of its population of just two million, partly because of the extreme heat from June to September, which sees an increased use in air conditioning.

The United Arab Emirates, made up of seven states including Dubai, hold a fifth of the world's oil reserves with 97.8 billion barrels, of which 95 percent is owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The federation also has gas reserves of six trillion square metres, but Dubai holds only about two percent of this.
 france24.com
22/10/13

Brasileño creó sistema de iluminación con botellas de agua

Alfredo Moser es un brasileño que inventó las lámpara de agua. (Foto: BBC)

Alfredo Moser, un mecánico brasileño, ideó en 2002 un sistema para alumbrar su casa durante el día sin necesidad de utilizar electricidad, usando únicamente botellas llenas de agua con un poco de cloro.
Moser explica que el experimento funciona por refracción de la luz solar. “Hay que añadir dos tapas de cloro (a una botella de dos litros) para evitar que el agua se ponga verde. Mientras más limpia esté la botella, mejor”, asegura.
En los últimos dos años su idea llegó a diferentes partes del mundo, y se tiene previsto que para el 2014 un millón de hogares implemente este sistema.
La idea del brasileño se basa en que en el techo de la vivienda se abre un hueco donde se coloca la botella llenas de agua con el cloro, se fija con resina de poliéster y según el inventor “no hay goteras, ni siquiera cuando llueve, no cae ni una gota".

Moser explicó que un ingeniero fue a su casa “y midió la intensidad de la luz, depende de cuan fuertes sean los rayos de sol, pero equivale mas o menos a 40 o 60 vatios", comenta.
El brasileño recuerda que el invento se le ocurrió en 2002, durante uno de los frecuentes apagones que ocurren en el país. "Los únicos lugares que tenían electricidad eran las fábricas, no las casas de la gente", dice refiriéndose a la ciudad en la que vive, Uberaba (sur).
"No hice ningún dibujo con su diseño", cuenta el mecánico. "Es una luz divina. Dios nos dio el Sol a todos, así que la luz es para todos. Quien quiera (usar su sistema de iluminación), ahorra dinero. No vas a electrocutarte con esto y no te cuesta ni un centavo", aseveró.
Mientras que el Gobierno de España pretende cobrar a sus ciudadanos por el uso de la energía solar, Moser instala las lamparas hechas con botellas en las casas de sus vecinos y en el supermercado local y aunque se gana algún dinero con la instalación de las mismas no vive de ello, lo cual lo llena de orgullo.
Cuenta que "hubo un hombre que empezó a utilizar las botellas en su hogar y, en un mes, ahorró suficiente para pagar por las cosas básicas que necesitaba para su hijo, quien estaba a punto de nacer”.

Beneficios patentados
El director ejecutivo de la Fundación MyShelter, Illac Angelo Diaz, una organización de Filipinas que se especializa en construcciones alternativas, haciendo casas utilizando materiales sostenibles y reciclables como bambú, llantas y papel, expresó que "Alfredo Moser ha cambiado la vida de una gran cantidad de personas, creo que para siempre".
Recuerda que siempre reciben grandes donaciones de botellas que llenan con barro para hacer paredes, y que "cuando estábamos tratando de poner más, alguien dijo: ‘hay una persona que hizo eso en Brasil. Alfredo Moser las pone en el techo’".
La fundación comenzó a utilizar las lámparas en junio de 2011. actualmente las "lámparas Moser" se encuentran en 140 mil hogares filipinos. La idea también ha sido popular en unos 15 países más, como India, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Argentina y Fiyi.

teleSUR-BBC / ad- LP

 http://www.telesurtv.net/articulos/2013/08/18/brasileno-creo-sistema-de-iluminacion-con-botellas-de-agua-4670.html

18/8/13 

Παραιτείται σύσσωμη η κυβέρνηση της Βουλγαρίας μετά τις διαδηλώσεις

Σόφια: Ο Βούλγαρος πρωθυπουργός και όλοι οι υπουργοί του πρόκειται να παραιτηθούν την Τετάρτη υπό το βάρος των διαδηλώσεων, καθώς η απομάκρυνση (ουσιαστικά) του υπουργού Οικονομικών δεν κατάφερει να κατευνάσει τις αντιδράσεις για την αύξηση της τιμής του ρεύματος.

Ο Μπορίσοφ δεν ξεκαθάρισε εάν σκοπεύει να επισπεύσει τις εκλογές που έχουν προγραμματιστεί για τον Ιούλιο.

«Δεν θα συμμετέχω σε μία κυβέρνηση, υπό την οποία η αστυνομία δέρνει το λαό» είπε ο Μπόικο Μπορίσοφ μιλώντας στο Κοινοβούλιο, όπως αναφέρει το Reuters, στον απόηχο των επεισοδίων στη χώρα κατά τις ογκώδεις διαδηλώσεις.

Τα επεισόδια έστειλαν στο νοσοκομείο 25 άτομα. Οι διαδηλώσεις είχαν συνταράξει τη Σόφια και τις υπόλοιπες μεγάλες πόλεις με αφορμή την τιμή του ηλεκτρικού, σε μία χώρα όπου ο μέσος μισθός είναι 350 ευρώ, ο κατώτατος 155 και η μέση σύνταξη μόλις 75 ευρώ.

Στη βουλγαρική αγορά ενέργειας κυριαρχούν δύο τσεχικές εταιρείες (CEZ και η Energo-Pro) και η αυστριακή EVN. Την Τετάρτη, ο Μπορίσοφ ανέφερε επίσης ότι η άδεια λειτουργίας της CEZ θα ανακληθεί, βάζοντας τη Βουλγαρία σε τροχιά σύγκρουσης με την Πράγα.

Η παραίτηση του Μπορίσοφ ήταν αιφνίδια παρά το τεταμένο κλίμα στη Σόφια: Ο πρωθυπουργός αναμενόταν να προχωρήσει την Τετάρτη σε ανασχηματισμό, αλλά δεν είχε δείξει τις τελευταίες ημέρες προθέσεις για τέτοια κίνηση.

Πηγή: news.in.gr

http://www.philenews.com

20/2/13 

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ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ:

• Ο Μπορίσωφ Αναστέλλει την Άδεια της CEZ στη Βουλγαρία Λόγω του Ακριβού Ρεύματος

• Αποπέμφθηκε ο υπουργός Oικονομικών της Βουλγαρίας .....ΜΕΤΑ ΤΙΣ ΔΙΑΔΗΛΩΣΕΙΣ ...

  ***Φωτογραφίες από την Φιλιππούπολη (Plovdiv, Пловдив) , Κυριακή 18/2/13

  

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