As I discussed in a previous blog, renewable energy trade disputes are becoming a particularly contentious issue between many nations. The United States and China are facing off in one of the most publicized of these disagreements. Further action was taken last week as the U.S. Department of Commerce made its second ruling of the year on this issue, placing tariffs on solar photovoltaic (PV) imports from China.
A Suntech Power Holdings employee at a Chinese solar PV manufacturing facility. The Commerce Department ruling placed a 31.22% tariff on Suntech products. (source: China Daily)
The previous Department of Commerce ruling from March 2012 placed countervailing duties on solar PV imports in order to balance what the department determined to be illegal subsidies to solar PV manufacturers from the Chinese government. The initial tariff rates, which were set between 2.9 and 4.73 percent, came in much lower than what was expected by most experts.
The new preliminary ruling comes in response to the second set of claims by the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) that Chinese solar companies have been dumping their products in the U.S. market at below market value. The coalition, led by SolarWorld USA, looks to level the playing field for U.S. solar manufacturers against what they see as artificially cheap imports coming from China.
Energy is at the very foundation of modern economies. Since the Industrial Revolution more than 200 years ago, all countries—if at a quite different pace—have developed on the back of the production and burning of fossil fuels. There is no doubt that the comfortable lives many of us live today would not be possible without the fossil-fueled development of the past. But the merits of fossil fuels now seem less and less convincing.
Renewable energy technologies, such as solar PV, offer the potential to benefit countries around the world. (source: Flickr user Magharebia)
First, take subsidies. Currently, we throw about 10–12 times more taxpayer money at fossil fuels than we put into renewables—and those are just direct subsidies. In addition, local air and water pollution and related health consequences cost trillions of dollars worldwide. The U.S. National Research Council estimates the “hidden” costs of fossil fuels in the United States (the real costs to society that are not reflected in the fuels’ market prices) at $120 billion annually. The Chinese government believes pollution and related healthcare costs amount to 10 percent of that country’s GDP.
Then there is the volatility of fossil fuel markets, which has arguably led to enormous economic instability in the recent past. Just to give an idea of what this volatility means to some nations: an increase in the world oil price of just $10 can mean a decrease in the GDP of some small nations of 2–3 percent.
In November of 2011 a solar photovoltaic (PV) energy project began construction on the roof of the “National Energy Commission” (CNE) headquarters in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. CNE is the institution responsible for overseeing the energy sector in the Dominican Republic. The solar PV energy project was completed in January 2012 with a total installed capacity of 22 kilowatts (kW) and an estimated annual generation of 35,358 kWh, around 20 percent of the building’s annual electricity consumption. The solar PV energy system is connected to the utility grid Edesur under a net metering contract. CNE is using the solar panels to help mitigate its use of electricity from traditional fossil fuel sources, such as coal, fuel oil, and diesel. The project’s main goals are to lower the headquarters’ greenhouse gas emissions and to demonstrate for others the feasibility of installing solar PV energy systems on roofs.
The solar PV system at CNE's headquarters (Source: CNE).
This project was made possible by the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americans (ECPA), which was created in 2009 in order to fund energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton invited Caribbean governments to join the ECPA Caribbean Partnership, which is administered by the Organization of American States (OAS) and is supported financially by the Department of State. In addition, Secretary Clinton announced that members will receive grants to improve renewable energy development. In 2010, Caribbean governments submitted over 20 proposals to the OAS for renewable energy development projects. The OAS awarded technical assistance to six projects in six countries. One of the six projects was for the construction of a solar PV energy system at the CNE headquarters. In addition to receiving assistance from the OAS, CNE received assistance from the Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP), which is administered by the “German Society for International Cooperation” (GIZ) and is supported financially by the Austrian Development Agency. The total cost of the project was around US$ 130,000 with ECPA contributing US$ 65,000, CREDP contributing US$ 35,000, and CNE contributing US$ 30,000.
In the least electrified parts of rural Africa, over 90 percent of people do not have access to electricity. To address this problem, Solar Nexus International (SNI) has designed a contained system of solar power generation that can be installed relatively quickly and easily.
Solar Nexus connects all the distinct components of an off-the-grid electricity system. (Image credit: Solar Nexus International)
The heart of this operation is the SolarNexus, a small device that links wires, transformers, converters, inverters, and batteries required in an off-grid electricity system. Through this device, Solar Nexus hopes to fulfill its mission for “solar empowerment through market-based development of local solar energy resources worldwide.”
Typically, it takes a fair amount of knowledge and training to set up an electricity generating system. Whether solar, hydropower, or wind, transforming captured energy into useful electricity requires a variety of different hardware, not always available in rural communities in developing countries. If any of this hardware is improperly installed, or if wires are not the proper size, the efficiency of the system suffers severely. When these systems are installed in developing countries, high-grade wires are usually not used because they are too expensive or not available, and as a result less electricity is available for use. In order to overcome this problem, Solar Nexus International custom-designs a system for each client, and then ships out a container that includes all the wires and materials needed for a U.S. code-compliant system. Once the shipment is received, the provided instructions allow local electricians to install the system. As a result of high quality and correctly sized wiring and components, communities will be able to generate more electricity from the unit, sacrificing much less to poor wiring.
Two men install a photovoltaic system in Sri Lanka. (Source: MPRNews)
Kenya’s power grid does not reach the small farming village of Kiptusuri, making it difficult for local farmers to charge their cell phones. Mogotio, the nearest town connected to the grid, has a small cell phone charging store where waits can be as long as three days. One Kiptusuri resident, Sara Ruto, took the initiative to purchase a solar photovoltaic system, providing lighting for her children to study by and allowing her to provide local residents with more reasonably priced cell phone charging services. Sixty-two other families in the village subsequently installed solar power systems, providing electricity to a previously unlit town.
Small-scale distributed renewable energy is also being developed in places such as Nepal, where 80 percent of the population has no access to the national electricity grid. Solar photovoltaic systems are beginning to be employed in clusters in outlying villages, providing power to between 6 and 12 houses each. Micro-hydropower programs have been implemented in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. There are even efforts to use small subterranean chambers designed to convert cow manure into biogas. The United Nations Development Programme has begun focusing on microgrid solutions as the primary method of providing electricity to rural areas. In many cases, microgrids are more economical and, in addition to off-grid technologies, they represent one of the best options for electrifying the most remote areas.
The winds of change are blowing in Haiti’s energy sector. President Joseph Martelly identified four priorities for his term: education, employment, environment and rule of law (Education, Emploi, Environnement, Etat de Droit – four “E”s in French). Last month, as the President attended a workshop on energy organized by Rene Jean-Jumeau, the recently nominated Secretary of State for Energy, he added energy as the fifth “E”. He emphasized the impact of the current energy situation on Haiti’s decreasing forest cover as trees are cut for the production of charcoal, and the importance of transitioning to a modern and resource efficient energy supply. President Martelly concluded, “Electricity is needed to develop Haiti’s industry, and cast away the darkness of moonless nights.” This added priority was also reflected in the general policy statement from the Prime Minister Garry Conille on October 11th, where he mentioned the development of alternative sources of energy (notably) and the improvement of the country’s electricity supply as national priorities.
Haiti’s energy sector is marked by very low per/capita energy consumption, a very low electrification rate, a high dependency on fossil fuels with the highest energy intensity in the whole Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, and high supply prices. Haiti’s energy sector is primarily reliant on charcoal, which represents 75 percent of the country’s final energy consumption and, along with fuel wood, often constitutes the only source of energy for households living in rural areas. Intensive use of charcoal has been hugely detrimental to the vegetation cover of Haiti. Over 70 percent of Haiti’s 10 million people live without access to the electricity grid, which has led President Martelly to comment, “in terms of energy, Haiti is still in the Middle Ages.” About 63 percent of electricity generation in the country is based on imported diesel fuel, mainly from Venezuela. Hydropower constitutes 37 percent of the country’s electricity generation. A recent WorldBank/Nexant report identified imported distillate to be the most expensive fossil fuel resource option for Haiti in the future, after LNG and coal, with a forecasted levelized price of US $22.45/GJ over 2014-2028.
Mr. Gerald Lindo is a Senior Energy Engineer with the Ministry of Energy & Mining in Jamaica
From left to right: Fitzroy Vidal, Senior Director, Energy, Ministry of Energy & Mining; Honorable Laurence Broderick, MP; Mark Konold, Caribbean Energy Roadmap Project Manager, Worldwatch; Gerald Lindo, Senior Energy Engineer, Ministry of Energy & Mining
On September 19th, a group of engineers met in Kingston, Jamaica during the Annual Conference of the Jamaica Institute of Engineers (JIE) to discuss the future of Jamaica’s energy sector. This year, the first two days of the week-long event were devoted entirely to discussing the country’s energy challenges and the way forward. The Principal Director of the Energy Division in Jamaica’s Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM), Mr. Fitzroy Vidal, gave one of the keynote speeches detailing Jamaica’s National Energy Policy (NEP) and the progress towards its implementation.
It was a brisk and upbeat meeting, and Mr. Vidal’s speech was well received. Questions abounded on the direction of Jamaica’s energy sector and on the proposed considerations of innovative green technology solutions aimed at ensuring the country’s energy security and long term sustainability. However, underneath the cordiality and spirit of the conference was a smouldering worry, an elephant in the room: the tremendous price that Jamaicans pay for electricity.
Recently I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at this year’s Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF), held in Bridgetown, Barbados. The two-day conference was a uniquely productive session that brought together more than 300 participants from 37 countries, including 11 government ministers. The exceptional vigor that the conference brought to the discussion was facilitated by a format that prioritized open, free form discussion over prepared remarks. I spoke on the last panel of the conference which analyzed the progress, problems and prospects of renewable energy development in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. I had the pleasure of being joined by technical specialists and representatives from both countries’ governments and the World Bank. I would especially like to highlight the contributions of our dear friend, Julián Despradel, whose work as the Coordinator of the Projects Division, in the Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency Department of the Dominican Republic, I greatly admire.
This September, the US Army established the Energy Initiatives Office Task Force in conjunction with announcing the ambitious goal of meeting over 25 percent of its energy demand through renewable sources by 2025.
The US Army is promoting renewable energy as a practical solution to pressing security, economic, and environmental challenges. Source: US Army
This initiative is part of a larger agenda within the Department of Defense to promote renewable energy as a cost-effective security measure. Over the last decade, rising energy costs have increasingly strained military budgets and concerns over fuel convoy and supply security have risen to the fore. As an organization, the US Army currently spends over US $4 billion per year on energy to power bases, installations, transport vehicles, and equipment around the world. The projected costs of the status quo, that is, maintaining a fossil fuel-based energy mix, have proven unsustainable to top military leaders. For example, with every US $1 increase in global oil prices, the US Army’s energy budget can fluctuate by over US $30 million. The Army has indicated that in addition to its environmental benefits, ramping up renewable energy makes sense from both an economic and national security perspective. Secretary of the US Army John M. McHugh recently stated that “The Energy Initiatives Office Task Force will help the Army build resilience through renewable energy while streamlining our business practices so developers can invest in and build an economically viable, large-scale renewable energy infrastructure”.
As one of the largest energy consumers in the world, the US Army’s adoption of such aggressive renewable energy policies will be a major boon to the US and global renewable energy industries. The Energy Initiatives Office (EIO) Task Force estimates that the US Army will need an additional 2.5 million megawatt-hours (MWh) per year of additional renewable energy supply over the next 10 years to meet its 25 percent goal. A recent Pike Research report on US military energy initiatives finds that the renewable energy investments from the Army and other branches of the military will top US $10 billion annually by 2030 and continue to grow. Some analysts estimate that the US Army alone may attract over US $7 billion in private financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects over the next five years. This increase in demand can provide manufacturers and generators the long-term financial security they need to make significant structural investments in renewable energy production and innovation.
Matt Lucky presenting the potential for wind energy in Haiti at an energy sector stakeholder meeting in Port-au-Prince (Source: Worldwatch).
Last week, Xing Fu-Bertaux and I presented Worldwatch’s Low-Carbon Energy Roadmap work to a conference convened by Haiti’s presidential advisor for energy, Dr. René Jean-Jumeau. The conference, held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was attended by many of Haiti’s most important energy sector stakeholders and was organized to discuss the future of the country’s energy sector. The presentation was well received, and stakeholders were very interested in our high-resolution renewable energy resource maps.
With assistance from 3TIER – a company that generates GIS maps for solar and wind resources – I presented country-wide maps exploring the potential of wind and solar resources in Haiti. Stakeholders were enthusiastic to learn that nearly all of Haiti has high levels of Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), which is the type of radiation applicable to solar photovoltaic (PV) development.
