A draft European Commission communication on renewable energy, expected to be published later this month, said EU member states need to share renewables across borders with the help of improved infrastructure and underlined the urgency of agreeing on new laws to guide investment.

The EU is a pioneer in green power and officially is on track to reach a goal of increasing the share of renewables, such as solar, wind and wave, in its energy mix to 20 percent by 2020.

For the future, however, progress could be much harder to achieve as member states squabble over policies to replace existing targets and as subsidies for renewable energy fall victim to the region’s economic crisis.

The emergence of China as a leader in green technology is also challenging the ability of the European sector to export technology and expertise as Chinese rivals threaten to grab market share.

“All in all, renewable energy export opportunities will strongly depend on the elimination of trade barriers in and free access to key emerging renewable energy markets such as in China, India and Brazil,” an impact assessment accompanying the a Commission communication on renewable energy said.

China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang visited Brussels this week for talks on energy cooperation.

“We hope that the EU will exercise more flexibility in exporting higher technology to China. Therefore, we can benefit from each other’s strengths,” Li said in an address.

Some in the European solar industry have been agitating for action to fight off competition from cheaper Chinese products, perhaps through trade moves and defensive duties.

Others have said a better way to save European jobs could be for EU firms to learn from China, whose strength is in producing on a large scale.

SINGLE MARKET

The draft communication on renewable energy said the way forward is to ensure a single, open EU energy market as well as access to markets outside the 27 member states.

EU policy has created “cooperation mechanisms” to lead to greater trade in renewable energy, but so far only two member states said they would use these mechanisms to achieve part of their 2020 goals, it said.

At the same time, 10 member states expect to have a surplus of renewable power, it said without naming them.

To help achieve the Commission dream of a single energy market with a rising share of renewable power, an estimated 100 billion euros ($131.1 billion) needs to be spent on electricity transmission lines alone.

Investments are far more likely if the Commission, the EU’s executive arm, can achieve speedy agreement on what policy should follow its 20 percent target in the years after 2020.

The communication lists a set of options for moving on from the 2020 target, ranging from firm goals, with financial support agreed across the EU, to no targets at all.

Some business leaders are keen for more binding targets to be agreed, while others resist regulation. Member states also have various objections, with coal-reliant Poland the most high-profile opponent of low-carbon goals.

The European Commission has strongly backed green growth as a way out of recession, and the draft documents seen by Reuters said a strong renewables sector could generate more than 3 million jobs.

At the same time, the impact assessment said the cost of financial support for renewable power could result in higher energy prices, affecting consumers and energy-intensive industries.

Other risks include public resistance. Although the public has largely accepted renewable power, some campaigners have raised issues about land use and the environmental effects of proposed infrastructure.

www.uk.reuters.com

The Commission routinely does not comment on leaked drafts.

In an interaction with the members of the Confederation of Indian Industry – Southern Region, Mr Girardi pointed out that Chile had 4,000-km-long coastline that afforded possibilities of developing tidal energy, and being a volcanic country, geo-thermal energy was also possible.

A member of the delegation led by Mr Girardi said at the interaction that while everybody knew Chile as a producer of copper, not many knew it was also rich in lithium. Lithium is a metal that is used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. Chile would welcome any kind of partnership in this area too, he said, noting that the Japanese had formed similar partnerships in the neighbouring Argentina.

Mr Girardi said that the mining sector in Chile would need investments of about $40-50 billion. Such huge mining operations would need energy. “We foresee a tremendous need for solar energy,” he said.

Mr T.T. Ashok, Chairman, CII-Southern Region, said India was set to emerge as a hub of wind, solar, biomass and bio-fuels related manufacturing and exports because of its very strong manufacturing and R&D orientation.

“The two countries need to expedite the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement that can cover protection of bilateral investments, services, and education,” Mr Ashok said.

Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

The GE unit would invest USD 50 million – its first renewable energy investment in India – to support the development of 500 MW of wind projects out of Greenko’s planned development of 1 GW of wind projects in India.

Greenko has committed USD 65 million for the venture, a newly created subsidiary of Greenko, known as Greenko Wind Project Private Limited.

This investment expands GE’s presence in one of the world’s fastest growing power markets with a local, proven renewable energy developer,” Raghuveer Kurada, Managing Director and leader of India at GE Energy Financial Services, said.

Greenko is currently developing a pipeline of wind projects in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan, which the new venture, an Indian holding company and Greenko subsidiary specifically set up to develop wind projects, would own.

The first project, the 65-MW Ratnagiri wind farm in Maharashtra, is planned for completion in December and would use GE’s 1.6-MW turbines. The wind turbines, specifically designed for low and medium wind speeds, would be assembled at GE’s facility in Pune.

“Once operational, a 500-MW wind portfolio could generate enough renewable electricity to power 8,75,000 average Indian households and displace 7,00,000 tonnes per year of greenhouse gas emissions,” a GE statement said.

“Wind power is an increasingly important part of the Indian energy market, and through our partnership with GE, a global energy leader, we are well positioned to play an important role in helping to meet the country’s energy needs with clean power using advanced technology,” Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, CEO and Managing Director of Greenko, said.

Source: www.artcles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

A report by the multilateral funding agency said that the 68,000 MW of wind, hydro and biomass energy can be harnessed at less than Rs 6 per unit.

“Developing indigenous renewable energy sources, which have low marginal costs of generation, are more economically viable in the long run,” the study –Potential of Renewable Energy in India — said.

India’s electricity demand is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.4 per cent in the next 25 years. Generation capacity will have to increase five-fold to keep pace with the growth of demand.

The installed capacity of the country stands at about 1,70,229 MW from all sources of energy, as per official data.

The report also suggested that renewable energy development can also be an important tool for regional economic development within the country.

The states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand have 65 per cent of India’s small hydropower resources. Much of the economically attractive wind potential in Orissa or the biomass potential in Madhya Pradesh also lies largely undeveloped, it added.

The report emphasised that coal , gas and oil have witnessed considerable price volatility in recent years, renewables are the only free hedging mechanism against price volatility of fossil fuels.

The risk-adjusted cost of renewable energy is lower than that of fossil-based fuels, and their use enhances the price certainty of the portfolio and increases energy security, it said.

Small hydropower, one of the least expensive and most attractive forms of renewable energy, lies largely untapped, the generation costs of small hydropower are comparable with thermal generation sources, and the generation costs of biomass are comparable to those of wind.

This resource is the most attractive in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttaranchal.

The entire renewable potential, including solar, is less expensive than diesel, where existing 20,000 MW of diesel based installed capacity points to innovative possibilities of scaling up renewable in a big way, said N Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director in India.

The government has set an ambitious target of installing at least 40,000 MW of additional capacity of renewables in the next 10 years.

The report is based on data from nearly 180 wind, biomass, and small hydropower projects in 20 states, as well as information from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

El titular hizo la afirmación al intervenir en un taller sobre el tema realizado en Nueva Delhi, que contó con la presencia del Presidente de Islandia, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, quien se encuentra de visita en la India.

El país nórdico está entre los seis primeros del mundo que mayor uso dan a la energía geotérmica para producir electricidad.

Según estimados, la capacidad de generación de la isla a partir de esos recursos ronda los 575 megavatios, mientras que el 87 por ciento de las viviendas utilizan las aguas termales para calefacción.

La India, por su parte, cuenta con campos geotérmicos en el estado de Jammu y Cachemira donde la temperatura alcanza los 250 grados centígrados, trascendió en el taller.

En otros estados como Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra y Gujarat también hay zonas donde las temperaturas llegan hasta los 150 grados centígrados.

El taller, que contó con la asistencia de más de 100 especialistas indios e islandeses también abordó una eventual cooperación bilateral en proyectos hidroeléctricos.

La India intenta además aprovechar la energía solar para producir electricidad, por lo que ha puesto en marcha de un ambicioso programa que le permitirá disponer de 20 mil megavatios adicionales dentro de 12 años.