Sweden has for years been working to lower its dependence on fossil fuels for energy, while investing and developing renewable energies. Last week, the Enterprise and Energy Minister Maud Olofsson announced that 2,000 new wind turbines will be built during the next decade. This will help Sweden reach its goal of being supplied by renewable energies 50% by 2020.
The project to build 2,000 wind turbines is intended to add 10 terawatt hours (TWh) a year. One terawatt is one trillion watts.
"This would be the highest share in the world," Olofsson said. No other country has such a high share of renewable energies. Actually, Sweden is already one of the most advanced countries in terms of usage of renewable energy. “Renewable energy makes up 40 percent of our energy consumption”.
Oil accounts for one third of Sweden’s energy system. In the 70s, oil represented more than 70% of the total energy supply. Thanks to diversification of fuels and an increasingly efficient use of energy, this percentage keeps going down.
Nowadays, around half of the electricity comes from hydropower, and nuclear power also plays an important role.
Among the renewable energies that have been growing in Sweden are biomass and wind energy. Biomass is very much used for heating. In fact, bio-energy has been growing very much in the last decades. In the 80s, it accounted for around 10% of the total energy supply; in 2004 that share had risen to 16% or 100 TWh. Some of the biofuels used include wood fuels, black liquors and tall oil pitches, and ethanol.
An interesting tool which is used by the Swedish government is the green electricity certificate system. Energy suppliers need to have a quota of renewable energy. The goal of this Renewable electricity with green certificates Bill is to foster the development of renewable electricity production. There are established targets of renewable energy growth rates which help determine quotas. Renewable energy producers are given certificates for every MWh of electricity produced, which can be bought by electricity suppliers, who need to complete their quota obligation.
VIA: Treehugger
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US President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in his acceptance speech he emphasized the need for fighting climate change. He mentioned that from scientists and environmental activists to military leaders, the knowledge that “our common security hangs in the balance” is widespread.
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100 nations are demanding more ambitious targets in terms of combating climate change. Among these, the 43-member alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is particularly concerned about the effect rising sea levels can have on them. The least developed countries (LDCs) and
the AOSIS support the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees temperature rise. This would require at least a 45% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by rich nations, from 1990 levels by 2020. -
A new draft, the “Copenhagen Accord” has surfaced, prepared by China, India, South Africa and Brazil, the four major emerging economies. The draft suggests that rich countries should reduce their emissions by more than 40% compared to 1990 levels, and that the Kyoto Protocol should include a “binding” amendment. The draft was posted by French newspaper “Le Monde” in its website. The “Copenhagen Accord” aims at keeping temperatures from increasing more than two degrees compared to pre-industrial levels. An interesting proposal is that emissions reductions should be achieved “mainly through domestic measures” and not so much through paying for offsetting in other countries.
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One of the latter is Malmo, a city located in the south of Sweden, with a population of about 280,000 people. Malmo has set itself the target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25% between 2008 and 2012. By 2030, the city plans to run entirely on renewable energies. To achieve this, different measures are being applied.
To start with, sustainable transport is being promoted. Public transportation is being fostered, as well as car-pooling, a more eco-friendly way of driving, and more sustainable cars and buses. Regarding buses, these are connected to traffic lights, so as to get green lights faster than cars, and they have separate lanes. 42% of them run on biogas created from the city’s waste.
Eco-driving is taught to municipal employees; it is also offered in several driving schools, and it has been spread to some of the largest truck companies.
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Batteries are a great invention, very practical. But unfortunately they can also be quite polluting. Their operation is based on chemical components, which, if released from the metal casing that surrounds them, can pollute a lot.
Fortunately, the scientific community is struggling to find new ways to store energy. Many are working to develop batteries made with non-metallic components. Among these compounds, conducting polymers are very promising.
Researchers at Uppsala University are looking to algae as a component for batteries. The so-called Cladophora algae produces an unusual type of cellulose, characterized by a large area, 100 times the area of cellulose found in paper. This creates a greater availability of conducting polymers, which allows to load, store and discharge electricity better.
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