Solar Focus: China invests in biggest solar project, private sector struggles
This is part of a series of short news updates beyond Greenpeace-specific news. World environmental events in a blurb:
Focus on Solar Energy:
While China invests in the world’s biggest solar project, the recession could cut the solar industry in half by 2010.
The Information Network, a market research firm, announced that 50 per cent of solar panel manufacturers might not survive next year. While the cost of solar panels is going down, making solar panels more accessible for the private sector, the economic recession is making business tough for the manufacturers. (Could we be looking at a solar energy oligopoly in the near future?)
Meanwhile, First Solar Inc., a U.S.-based renewable energy company, just announced it will build the world’s largest solar power plant in China as the country plans to increase non- polluting electricity generation.
Competing with the German Desertec project (which would provide 15 per cent of Europe’s energy) to be the biggest solar project, the Chinese plant will be 30 times larger than existing solar power stations operating in Europe. The 2,000-megawatt complex will be built in the Inner Mongolian desert by 2019. Only 1 megawatt is enough to power 800 homes.
China may increase its capacity to generate electricity from sunlight more than 13-fold by 2011, said Cui Rongqiang, head of the Shanghai Solar Energy Society. The country’s solar-power capacity may rise to 2,000 megawatts by 2011 and 20,000 megawatts by 2020, from 150 megawatts in 2008.
“There are a few existing solar projects of about 50 to 60 megawatts, but this would be the biggest by a country mile,” said Charles Yonts, an analyst specializing in alternative energy.
China, the world’s biggest polluter, burns coal to produce 80 per cent of its electricity. Taking steps towards a greener future, China wants at least 15 per cent of the nation’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020.
And how much is this going to cost China?
The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency, says China plans to invest $293 billion in its alternative-energy industry through 2020.
And with these plans, China may pass Europe, Japan and the U.S. in becoming the world’s largest user of renewable energy by 2010…let the competition begin!
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China, Asia and African developing economies will take a similar stance to India for the simple reason that there is no substance to The (significant human-made global climate change) Hypothesis. I posted the following on the Greenpeace UK seb site today and it relates to this thread.
It is claimed (Note 1) that QUOTE: .. in 2008 Greenpeace announced an official policy of not debating the causes or merits of climate change UNQUOTE. The reaction that I’ve had here so far supports this claim but I have not been able to find confirmation of this on the Greenpeace site so would appreciate confirmation or otherwise. I quote from Greenpeace FAQ (Note 2) QUOTE: Debate is part of science, isn’t it? Real scientists always debate science – that is correct, its part of the scientific process, testing hypotheses and introducing new data and analysis. UNQUOTE.
Back in April 2008 it was reported (Note 3) QUOTE: New Delhi, Apr.29 (ANI): “Act now to prevent climate change or rehabilitate 12.5 crore people, Greenpeace warns”.
In a dramatic action early this morning, singer Rabbi joined Greenpeace activists who have occupied “prime real estate” and set up a “migrant colony” of hutments 35 feet above the Delhi Noida toll bridge. This occupation will continue all day and will highlight the urgency of creating a National Climate Action plan (NCAP) that focuses on taking action now to prevent climate change. Indications are that the government’s approach to the NCAP is to wait and deal with the nightmarish consequences through “adaptation”.
The Greenpeace report, ‘Blue Alert Climate Migrants in South Asia: Estimates and Solutions’ (1), authored by Dr. Sudhir Chella Rajan professor of Humanities & Social Sciences at IIT Madras, warns that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow under the business-as-usual scenario as projected, leading to global temperature rise by 4-5degC, the South Asian region is estimated to face an enormous wave of 12.5 crore climate migrants. UNQUOTE.
Terrifying, isn’t it! So terrifying that as recently as July the Indian Government rejected any binding agreements on resticting carbon emissions (Note 4) QUOTE: “India won't accept any legally binding emission reductions: .. ”. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh asserted that New Delhi was "simply not in a position" to accept any legally binding emission reductions and made it clear that India was not running away from responsibilities on the issue. The minister's comments came at a joint press conference with US secretary of State Hillary Clinton .. The US wants India to agree to limit its carbon emissions ahead of the signing of a new UN climate treaty in Copenhagen in December. .. Clinton pointed out that India's green house gas pollution was projected to grow by about 50 per cent between now and 2030 and the country was vulnerable to climate change. However, she said that the US does not and will not do anything that would limit India's economic progress. Ramesh underlined India's stand that its GHG emissions would never exceed those of the developed nations. ..
UNQUOTE.
So, despite the Greenpeace leader’s (Note 5): QUOTE "Leipold told the BBC that there is an urgent need for the suppression of economic growth in the United States and around the world. He said annual growth rates of 3 percent to 8 percent cannot continue without serious consequences for the climate." “We will definitely have to move to a different concept of growth. ... The lifestyle of the rich in the world is not a sustainable model,” Leipold told the BBC. “If you take the lifestyle, its cost on the environment, and you multiply it with the billions of people and an increasing world population, you come up with numbers which are truly scary," Leipold explained. UNQUOTE and all of those scare-mongering tactics adopted as campaigne policy by Greenpeace, India will not toe the Greenpeace line and neither will other Asian or African developing counties.
In the last few months the Heartland Institute ran three full-page ads in the Washington Post calling for an open debate over the science of global warming (Note 6), yet Greenpeace is too cowardly to get involved. Greenpeace is fighting a losing battle and knows it. By refusing to debate The (significant human-made global climate change) Hypothesis Greenpeace is further detracting from its already seriously diminished credibility.
NOTES:
1) see http://www.climatechangefraud.com/politics-propaganda/4370-the-wong-fielding-meeting-on-global-warming
2) seehttp://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/exxon-secrets/faq
3) see http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/act-now-to-prevent-climate-change-or-rehabilitate-125-crore-people-greenpeace-warns_10043268.html
4) see http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/India-wont-accept-any-legally-binding-emission-reductions-Jairam-Ramesh/articleshow/4795816.cms
5) see http://www.climatedepot.com/a/2521/Greenpeace-Leader-There-is-urgent-need-for-the-suppression-of-economic-growth-in-USLifestyle-of-the-rich-in-the-world-is-not-a-sustainable-model
6) see http://www.heartland.org/suites/environment/LetUsDebate.html
Regards, Pete Ridley, Human-made Global Climate Change Agnostic
Posted by: Pete Ridley | September 9, 2009 3:04 PM
Hi Anne-Marije. This is my ( not very ) official welcome to Greenpeace. There; that's done with. We have witnesses.
From Anne-Marijes blog entry - "The Information Network, a market research firm, announced that 50 per cent of solar panel manufacturers might not survive next year. While the cost of solar panels is going down, making solar panels more accessible for the private sector, the economic recession is making business tough for the manufacturers."
Mmmm. "Renewables", including photo-voltaics, are volatile markets, after all. Relatively new in the global markets, they are obviously controversial even without weighing one single dram of their merits. 50% is a lot, but I haven't studied the market in this and it seems possible.
So I hear claims that P.V. technology has reached a ERoEI of greater than one ( Energy Returned on Energy Invested ). It has gone a long ways these past few decades; with an ERoEI of 3, 5 or so P.V. would earn the name renewable... or it could if enough of the energy produced by P.V. was invested in manufacturing replacement P.V. systems.
Quote again - "(Could we be looking at a solar energy oligopoly in the near future?)"
Let's hope that some of the manufacturers can scale back, and perhaps way back, and survive market fluctuations. While in hope mode let's add in that more people wake up to the facts of imbalance generated by tricks and tirades, and just wake up.
Posted by: listenin | September 10, 2009 3:57 PM
LOS FELICITO A TODO EL EQUIPO DE GREENPEACE POR TRABAJAR SIEMPRE POR LA PROTECCION DEL MEDIO AMBIENTE
JOSE LUIS
LIMA.PERU
10 SETEMBER
E MAIL zorrodelosdesiertos@hotmail.com
Posted by: JOSE LUIS | September 11, 2009 1:37 AM