PERU PERUSES ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

RENEWABLE POWER = PERUVIAN POWER

Wind and solar power hard at work in Peru.

The Peruvian government has announced a portfolio of 35 renewable energy projects. Though alternative energy has been slow to catch on in Peru, the government wants to take advantage of the country’s rich solar and wind potential, in an effort to diversify away from oil dependency and fight climate change.

One of the proposed projects could make Peru a major exporter of “clean” energy: a hydropower plant located in the Amazon with the potential to generate over 7,500 megawatts per year. Peru uses only 350 megawatts per year.

Fifteen of the proposed projects are for hydropower. Other projects include wind, geothermic, solar and tidal power, as well as the development of a national solar map. The solar map would chart levels of solar radiation across Peru, and would guide the location of solar panels. The government predicts that at some sites, one solar panel could generate as much energy as 15 panels in other sites. The price tag for all 35 projects is expected to be US$35 billion over 15 years.

Peru currently depends on oil for 56 percent of its energy, with more than half of it’s oil imported from other countries. The government plans on replacing much of the imported oil with Peruvian natural gas, and increasing the country’s use of renewable energy from 27 percent to 33 percent. The goal is to reduce the use of oil to 25 per cent of 2004 levels by 2011.

A law on renewable energy aiming to provide funding for research and development was proposed to Peru’s congress on February 1, and should be passed before the end of the month. Shoutout to the government of Peru for jumping on the alternative energy bandwagon.

Sources, resources, discourses:

1. latinamericanpress – article
2. SciDevNet – article
3. hotStocked.com - article

WELCOME TO GREEN CITY, UAE

"NO CARBON CITY" UNDER CONSTRUCTION

IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Masdar City, United Arab Emirates - a green city in the desert.

Abu Dhabi has begun construction of the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste car-free city.

Masdar City will cost US$22 billion and be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses. It will be powered mostly by solar energy, and residents will travel in emission-free pods running on magnetic tracks. The city will also make use of traditional Gulf architecture to create low-energy buildings, with natural air conditioning from wind towers. Water will be provided through a solar-powered desalination plant. The city will use a quarter of the power required for a similar-sized city, and 60% less water.

The United Arab Emirates, the world’s fifth largest exporter of oil, currently has one of the world’s highest per capita carbon footprints. Masdar City forms part of Abu Dhabi’s $15 billion five year plan to develop clean energy technologies in an effort to diversify from dwindling oil wealth. As part of the plan, Abu Dhabi will become home to the world's largest hydrogen power plant.

There is also a financial payoff: Masdar City is expected to create 70,000 new jobs and boost the UAE's GDP by 2 per cent. By implementing clean energy technologies, the city will save the equivalent of more than $2 billion in oil over the next 25 years.

Masdar City is expected to be completed by 2016. Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan presided over a ground-breaking ceremony on Saturday. Giant shoutout to the UAE, and to the tens of thousands of people who will work hard to build this amazing city of the future.

Sources, resources, discourses:

BBC News – article and photo
Gulfnews.com - article
Times Online - article
news.com.au – article
Khaleej Times Online - article

GERMAN SHIP SAILS A GIANT KITE

GERMANY LOOKS AHEAD TO THE AGE OF SAIL

The world's first commercial ship powered in part by a giant kite is concluding its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. The 10,000-tonne MS Beluga SkySails left Germany on Jan. 22 for Venezuela, but its computer-guided kite system was fully deployed only after it reached favorable trade winds near the Azores. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Venezuela today.

The SkySails towing kite system bears little resemblance to canvas sails on conventional sailing ships. Instead of support from a mast, boom and rope, the SkySails is tied to the bow by a single line. The 160-square meter kite, which flies up to 300 meters above the water, carves figure-eight patterns in the air, reaching speeds four times higher than the prevailing wind, which dramatically increases its pulling power.

SkySails estimates that by using the towing kite system, a ship’s average annual fuel costs can be reduced by 10 to 35%, depending on the prevailing wind conditions. Under optimal wind conditions, fuel consumption can be cut by up to 50%. On its first trans-Atlantic voyage, the MS Beluga has recorded a 10 to 15% reduction in oil consumption, which amounts to a savings of about $1,000 to $1,500 a day.

The MS Beluga's journey comes more than a century after the world's commercial sailing fleet was replaced by coal-burning steamships. SkySails hopes for a similar revolution, and believes the kites could be used aboard 60 per cent of the world's commercial fleet. The world's 90,000 merchant ships emit 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – about 5 per cent of the world's total.

Shoutout to the crew of the MS Beluga for making history, and to SkySails for looking into the future by looking back at the past. Godspeed, Beluga! And go fly a kite!

Sources, resources and discourses:

1. The Globe and Mail – article
2. Telegraph – article
3. SkySails - website

JANUARY MEDALS OF HONOR

TOP VICTORIES OF THE REVOLUTION,

JANUARY 2008

Every day is a good news day here at ¡Hasta La Victoria Siempre!, but it is still worthwhile to stop and reflect on some of the victories that have been fought and won throughout the month. And so, dear reader, I submit my Medals of Honor: the top three good news stories of the month.

January was a particularly good month for the Revolution. I had a hard time picking just three top stories. I admit that this is a completely arbitrary list - how can you rate the worth of hydrogen boats over endangered vultures, for example – but I have made my decision based on the overall impact the story might have on the planet in general. You can click on the headings to read the original story.

As usual, any comments are welcome.
- Nigel

1. ISRAEL GOES ELECTRIC

What do you do when you’re a tiny, oil-poor country surrounded by oil-rich neighbors who don’t like you, and the price of gas is at an all-time high? If you’re Israel, you invest a load of money in electric cars.

This is an important story because of the big-name players involved: Israel and Renault-Nissan. Israel is a technologically advanced country with a population of over 7 million people, an economic powerhouse, and perhaps the most progressive country in the Middle East. Renault-Nissan is an alliance between two of the world’s largest auto manufacturers. In other words, there is a lot at stake – over $200 million dollars in seed money, a cross-country network of 500,000 battery charge stations, and as many as 50,000 new jobs, for starters.

In a world where reducing reliance on oil is more political posturing than reality, Israel and Renault-Nissan have raised the bar by promising an electric alternative to gasoline engines that would eliminate carbon and noise emissions… within three years. Kind of makes all those other greenhouse emissions targets look like a joke, doesn’t it? This story is proof that meaningful change can happen if government and industry work together to find solutions.

2. CHINA BANS PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

In the grand scheme of ecological collapse, the plastic shopping bag may seem a trivial player. The entire nation of China with its 1 billion citizens, however, is not. And so when the government of China suddenly announced that it was banning all plastic shopping bags by June 1 due to pollution and energy concerns, the world paid attention.

The lowly plastic shopping bag, it seems, has become a symbol of the environmental apocalypse. More than 500 billion get tossed every year, choking our landfills and clogging our gutters. From San Francisco to Sydney, communities are beginning to shake off their plastic shackles in favor of reusable alternatives. But nowhere has it been done as effectively and as dramatically as in China, where companies still manufacturing plastic bags will face heavy fines or seizure of goods and property.

Keep your eyes peeled for more news about the war on plastic shopping bags over the next couple of weeks, exclusively on ¡Hasta La Victoria Siempre!.

3. TOTAL PAYS FOR FRANCE’S WORST OIL SPILL

Oil companies are so big and so rich and have so much influence that sometimes it seems like they are above the law. In fact, sometimes they are. But the courts of France showed South African oil giant Total who was boss this month when they ordered Total to pay $285 million dollars in compensation for a 1999 oil spill. The spill, France’s worst ever, dumped 230,000 tons of crude oil and polluted 320 kms of French coast, killing tens of thousands of seabirds. The money was ordered to be paid to over a hundred civil parties, mostly associations involved in the cleanup and ecology groups.

Despite the large payout, the victory is largely symbolic. The $285 million dollars will barely make a dent in Total’s bottom line, but the decision sends a clear message that industry will be held accountable for damaging the environment and ignoring safety concerns.

ISRAEL GOES ELECTRIC

GREEN CARS:

WHO NEEDS OIL

WHEN YOU’VE GOT LITHIUM-ION?

On Monday, Israel’s government endorsed an ambitious plan to build the world's first electric car network by 2011. The undertaking could be a bold step in the battle against global warming and energy dependency.

The project is a joint venture between Renault-Nissan, which will provide the electric vehicles, and the Silicon Valley-based startup Project Better Place, which will operate the recharging grid. The replacement and charging of the lithium-ion batteries will work like that of a cell phone battery, with half a million recharging stations to crisscross the tiny country.

The Renault-Nissan cars will have a range of up to 160 kms per charge, and will accelerate from zero to 100 kph in 13 seconds and have a top speed of 110 kph - similar to many gasoline-powered cars. The car will cost the same or less than comparable gasoline engine autos and will have a lifetime warranty. The cars are expected to create 50,000 jobs, and be on the road by 2011.

The idea was perhaps not a hard sell: Israel is a small, oil-poor country surrounded by oil-rich enemies. The average Israeli car owner drives less than 72 kms per day, and Israel’s major cities are less than one battery charge apart, making electric cars a feasible option. By going oil-free, Israel hopes to weaken the political clout of their oil-dependant - and oil-providing - neighbors. Israel currently depends on Russia for much of it’s oil.

This is big news. A giant shoutout to the government of Israel, to Renault-Nissan and Project Better Place, and to everyone involved in getting this historic project off the ground. Good luck to all.

Sources and resources:

1. The Jerusalem Post
2. The New York Times
3. Reuters
4. The Canadian Press
5. The Register

TOTAL PAYS FOR FRANCE'S WORST OIL SPILL

THE VERDICT:

TOTAL-LY GUILTY

PARIS (AP) — A court on Wednesday convicted Total SA in France's worst oil spill and ordered the petroleum giant and three other defendants to pay $285 million in compensation — the first time a French court has awarded damages for harming the environment.

The ruling found Total guilty of maritime pollution for shipping fuel in a rusty tanker that broke apart in a 1999 storm and stained 250 miles of coast with oil. Compensation was ordered paid to 101 civil parties, mainly associations involved in the clean-up or ecology groups.

Read the entire AP article here.

Total should have done some cost analysis: $9 million USD for a brand new oil tanker, or $285 million in compensation for sinking an old rust-bucket and coating 250 miles of French coast with oil. Poor Total... it just doesn’t pay to cut corners anymore.

Shoutout to the courts of France for holding big business accountable for their actions, and to the ecology groups who cleaned up the mess.

Wonder what happened to other companies guilty of oil spills? Check it out here.