Gas Firms Lobby EU into Committing to ‘Clean’ Gas Projects

Despite rising concerns about fossil fuels and a global push towards cleaner energy, the EU is currently at risk of continuing its dependency of fossil fuel for another 50 years. This risk has come from lobbying done by the gas industry for a new infrastructure.
The Corporate Europe Observatory claims that a number of gas firms poured over £88 million into their efforts to lobby EU decision makes last year. These funds were spent employing over a thousand professional lobbyists to back their campaign which promotes gas as a ‘bridge fuel’ that is clean and capable of assisting the European transition over to renewables.
Over the last three years, this lobbying has given gas firms the chance to sit down with top dogs of the EU’s climate and energy departments. The Corporate Europe Observatory claims that there has been over 460 of these meetings.
The Observatory goes on to explain that as a result of these meetings, the EU and its member states have encouraged a range of new gas infrastructure projects, which have been identified as controversial. These projects include the Euro-Caspian Mega-Pipeline and the Franco-Spanish MidCat Pipeline.
Belén Balanyá, the Climate Policy Campaigner at the Corporate Europe Observatory is sceptical of the claim made by the gas lobbyists with regards to gas being a clean source of energy. She said: “As a result of intense industry lobbying, the EU Commission has swallowed the gas lobby’s false claim that their fuel is a ‘clean’ complement to renewables and is now planning a new generation of pipelines and other gas infrastructure on this basis.”

What are oil prices?

Oil, it provides gasoline for our cars, diesel for our trucks, and other materials we use every day for energy and manufacturing. It is also no surprise to many that the oil price is a very often-discussed topic. Whether oil is below $50 a barrel, or over $100, the cost of oil determines what we pay for everyday routines.

You or I can’t just go to the store and buy a barrel of oil. Oil producers on the other hand also don’t just put a price tag on their oil and hope a buyer comes along either. Oil is often traded at exchanges. These exchanges bring the buyers and sellers together and this mechanism of supply and demand is what will set the price at that exchange.

The exchange acts as an auction and will sell what the producers are offering at the price the bidders are willing to pay for oil at that moment. It could very well be that the producer doesn’t want to sell at the prices being offered because it cost them more to produce the oil, so they’d be taking a loss and decide not to sell. Often when this is the case, producers will store oil until the price is right.

On the other hand, when the price is high, many producers will want to sell their oil, and the buyers might not be willing to pay that price, because they can get the oil cheaper from another location and ship it to where they need it to be. In this case they won’t buy, and the producers will start offering lower prices to the exchange where the buyers can buy.

What ends up happening is a finely tuned balance between the buyers and the sellers all looking to have the black gold change hands. On the world market, this is what determines the price of oil, and you or I don’t have any say in it; but we can definitely feel it in our pockets. 

European Transmission Network Collaboration

Through the ENTSO-E, the European NetworkOf Transmission System Operators, 43 Transmission system operators are represented in a single organisation. ENTSO-E is tasked and given legal mandates by the EU’s Third Legislative Package for the Internal Energy Market to further liberalise the electricity markets in Europe to allow for greater competition and better use of the scale of networks to deliver reliable supplies to European consumers of Electricity.

The direct objectives of ENTSO-E comprise of setting up the internal energy market, and implementing the EU’s ambitious goals of greenhouse gas reductions in which electricity generation plays a major part. Allowing for renewables to be integrated into the grid requires a lot of planning and coordination, and is most efficient in large-scale networks.

The 43 current members of ENTSO-E paint the picture of how fragmented electricity transmission in Europe is, despite the common goal of creating the world’s largest electricity market. ENTSO-E was set up to facilitate the dialogue and to work together towards common standards and objectives.

Transparancy is a key pillar within the association, and members are required by law to provide ENTSO-E with information related to generation, load, transmission, and outages through a common platform. Not only does this knowledge help with the functioning of the network; it allows for collaboration between parties outside of their networks and presents learning opportunities for all stakeholders.

As there is no true direct competition among TSOs, and each is tasked with the management of a fixed network, this collaborative space and the cooperation with one another has led to one of the most reliable and well connected grid systems in the world.

As Europe’s interconnectedness continues to grow, so too will the tasks of ENTSO-E relaying feedback and ensuring oversight of the world’s largest transmission networks. 

Technological Barriers to grid Integration

One of the major hurdles to overcome in harmonising and combining separately operating grids is making sure that the systems are compatible and that the necessary fail-safes are in place to make sure that there is not a cascading catastrophic failure of the grid. All components of the grid must operate in unison and to within set frequency parameters.

Short, localised outages occur on power systems frequently. System wide disturbances that affect many customers across a broad geographic area are rare, but they occur more frequently than a normal distribution of probabilities would predict. Electric power systems are robust and are capable of withstanding one or two contingency events, but they are fragile with respect to multiple contingency events unless the systems are readjusted between contingencies. With the shrinking margin in the current transmission system, it is likely to be more vulnerable to cascading outages than it was in the past, unless effective countermeasures are taken.

A cascade is a dynamic phenomenon that cannot be stopped by human intervention once started. It occurs when there is a sequential tripping of numerous transmission lines and generators in a widening geographic area. A cascade can be triggered by just a few initiating events, as was seen on August 14th. Power swings and voltage fluctuations caused by these initial events can cause other lines to detect high currents and low voltages that appear to be faults, even if faults do not actually exist on those other lines. Generators are tripped off during a cascade to protect them from severe power and voltage swings. Protective relay systems work well to protect lines and generators from damage and to isolate them from the system under normal and abnormal system conditions

The largest hydroelectricity plants in the world

One of the most common forms of renewable energy has, for quite a while, been hydroelectricity. Sites such as the Hoover Dam and the Three Gorges Dam have become landmarks in their own right, however, they serve a purpose that is more than what makes a great tourist attraction. Harnessing the flow of the water, great turbines convert the steady deluge into electricity which has powered the grid for over a century. Below is a listing of some of the largest dams by electricity generation capacity in the world.

Three Gorges Dam

Completed in 2008, this dam was not without controversy in its scale and the sheer size of the lake that it would create displacing many people. A total of 1084 square kilometers was flooded to be able to generate 22,500 MW of power from the Yangtze river in China.

Itaipu Dam

Straddling the border between Brazil and Paraguay, the Itaipu Dam has a capacity of 14,000 MW and comes in as the world’s second largest hydroelectric generation station.

Xiluodu

The Xiluodu project is the newest of the world’s super dams; able to generate 13,860MW of power, this dam on the Jinsha river in china was completed in 2014. China is one of the fastest growing electricity producers in the world and much of its capacity is being gained from Hydro-electricity with four of the top 10 hydroelectric power plants in the world being located in china.

Baihetan

Though this dam is not yet complete, or supplying power to the grid yet, in 2021 this dam sill overtake the Itaipu dam to become the world’s second largest hydro power plant with a capacity of 16,000 MW. Giving China the number one and number two spots. 

Smart Grid Projects in China

In terms of progress towards a smart grid, China is already leading the world for Wide Area Monitoring systems (WAMs) using phasor measurement units based on Global Positioning System (GPS) with more than one thousand phased measurement units installed. The installation of a Wide Area Monitoring system (WAMs) was part of the government’s previous five-year plan. By 2012 the State Grid had a target for phasor measurement units (PMU) sensors at all generators of 300 megawatts and above, and all substations of 500 kV and above. Of the substations installed, all of the 110 kW substations and most of the 35 kV and 66 kV substations have an ISA system (International Society of Automation) and can be controlled remotely. New substations are likely to conform to the IEC61850 standard developed by the state grid. There is an additional requirement for the use of the same PMUs from the same Chinese manufacturer and stabilisers conforming to state specification. The communication system used will be via broadband using a private network avoiding time delays.

To date the State Grid as deployed extensive fibre optic networking at high voltage substations throughout China. It is estimated that over one million kilometres of fibre optic channels are in place. The State Grid has started applying its SG 186 project throughout the country. This project has a goal to build a unified and integrated corporate information platform including 8 business application systems and 6 information supporting systems.

While there has been limited new distribution automation capacity in the last seven years, due to few incentives and poor return on investment. Considerable progress before then resulted in 200 cities having distribution automation systems in place. Now, with interest in smart grid and growing demand for power supply reliability, there has been a resurgence in interest in distribution automation with the State Grid conducting distribution automation trial projects in Beijing, Hangzhou, Xiamen and Yinchuan, and the China Southern Grid is investing significantly in distribution automation.

Challenges for Battery Storage with EVs

          

• Lithium supplies may be constrained in the mid-to-long-term, although this is contentious and at least 100 years of reserves have been reported, not including the potential for recycling. Constraints, if any, will be caused by a lack of online capacity. South American mines, particularly Bolivia, account for 55% of lithium production and Australia for 35% of production;
• Supplies of rare earth metals, particularly neodymium, used in magnets in motors in electric vehicles. Toyota is developing an induction motor that does not use rare earth metals;
• Battery safety and reliability is an issue because lithium batteries can overheat and are affected by extreme temperatures altering performance levels;
• Poor battery life and low range of current models on the market;
• High cost of vehicles and availability;
• Lack of charging infrastructure, especially charging points at residents, workplaces and other sites that are frequently visited supplies by three-phase electricity. Two main types of charging stations are available: a slow charging point that takes 6 to 8 hours to fully charge a battery and a fast charging point that can charge a battery in half an hour;
• Grid capacity, as a high localised concentration of electric vehicles could push transformers and grids to the limit if a significant number of electric vehicles are charging at peak times in a grid-constrained area.
• The ‘chicken and egg situation’ – customers will not buy vehicles unless there is sufficient infrastructure and large-scale infrastructure will not be implemented until customers buy enough vehicles to justify the investment;
• Safe and easy to use infrastructure e.g. the prevention of overloading of the grid by a demand response, vehicle-to-grid system such as GridPoint and V2Green smart grid software that prevents too many vehicles being grid-connected at one time.
• Competition from conventional fuel sources and other alternative fuel sources which are further along in the development pathway such as biofuels, which already fit into the current infrastructure, and compressed natural gas. 

Wind, solar and hydropower are by far the most common and popular sources of renewable energy

Wind, solar and hydropower are by far the most common and popular sources of renewable energy. However, as the definition of renewable energy includes sources that can be narually replenished on a human timescale. So even though some of the below mentioned sources of renewable energy are known to emit greenhouse gasses GHGs, the fact that they are not reintroducing fossilised carbon into the atmosphere means that they are still considered renewable.

Biomass

By producing electricity by burning wood and other organic matter, biomass energy is very carbon intensive. However, the carbon that is released can also be re-absorbed quickly and re-burned in the same generation plant completing a renewable cycle.

Biowaste

Biowaste energy is created during the processing of household and other industrial wastes. In the most common form, methanol or ethanol is produced through natural decomposition processes which in turn can be captured and burned.

Pumped Storage

Pumped storage power can blur the lines between renewable and non renewable energy. In essence, water is pumped to a higher elevation, only to be released through turbines during times of peak electricity consumption as the system demands it. Pumping the water initially requires more energy than is reclaimed during the generation phase, so there is a net loss of energy. However, if energy from renewable sources is used during times of low demand, when there would otherwise be a surplus of produced energy; these systems can be fully renewable and an effective means of balancing grid supply and demand on grids with a high penetration of renewables.

Ocean Tidal

This form of renewable energy is still very much in a development phase, though there are already commercial, grid connected plants in operation or planning. Using the tidal currents and flows in areas where this can be strong such as in inlets and estuaries, the power of the sea can be used to power the electrical grid. There are numerous challenges which still need to be overcome to successfully deploy this power source on a wide scale, but the potential is great. 

Historical look at players in the Wind industry: Iberdrola

Iberdrola had 12,532 MW of installed capacity at the end of 2010, and is still the number one developer of wind farms. This company has experienced strong growth from only 1,000 MW of wind capacity in 2001.

In 2010 Iberdrola installed 1,780 MW of new wind from 39 wind farms, more than any other utility. Some 1,043 MW of this was commissioned in the United States, 420 MW in Spain, 130 MW in the UK and 187 MW in Europe and Latin America. In June 2010, the 404 MW Peñascal wind farm in Texas started operating. This farm includes a radar that detects large flocks of migrating birds and stops the turbine rotating if poor visibility means that the birds are at risk.

In September 2009, Iberdrola issued USD 2billion (EUR 1.36 billion) in debt between 150 US investors. This is part of Iberdrola’s intent to focus on the US market in the near term.

In January 2010 Iberdrola Renewables and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to jointly develop wind projects in Poland and Hungary. In April that year, Iberdrola was granted a licence by the Romanian grid operator, Transelectrica, to connect 1,500 MW of wind power to the national grid. As part of a partnership with Eolica Dobrogea, Iberdrola will develop 50 wind farms in Romania, with a total capacity of 1.5 GW. Construction will take place between 2011 and 2017.

In August 2010, Iberdrola and Neoenergia were awarded a contract for nine wind farms in Brazil with a capacity of 258 MW. Electricity from the plants will be supplied to the Brazil government for twenty years from 2013.

Iberdrola has signed two supply contracts with Gamesa. The first, in 2006, was for the supply of 2.7 GW of turbine capacity for Spain, Europe, Mexico and the UK. A second supply contract was signed in June 2008 for 4.5 GW of capacity to be deployed between 2010 and 2015. Also in 2008, Iberdrola signed a purchase agreement with Gamesa to acquire approximately 1 GW of wind farms in the US. Both companies set up two vehicles to promote, develop and manage wind projects in Spain and other countries. In September 2009, a new agreement was signed with Gamesa whereby Iberdrola would have pre-emptive rights on wind developments with permits, licences and authorisation for construction of a wind farm, which Gamesa could sell to third parties up until the end of June 2011. Then from the 1st July to the end of 2011 cross options would be available, for example Iberdrola could potentially acquire Gamesa’s wind development businesses, or a joint venture could be set up to manage Gamesa’s business and Iberdrola’s wind projects.

The above was originally published in 2010

The future of hydropower in Latin America and the Caribbean

Hydro-power is no longer what it used to be during the golden 1970s when the whole region was engaged in dash for hydro. Most of the best sites have already been developed and new sites face environmental restrictions so the long run marginal cost of hydro-power has increased relative to other alternatives. Today hydro faces stiffer competition from thermal power. The change in gas-fired power generation technology has made a difficult case even worse. A key feature of investments in hydroelectric power generation projects is that they require long term loans with extensive grace periods because they are capital-intensive, have a long construction phase with significant risks and have a long useful life. As a result, private developers prefer thermal plants. It is not only the environment that is conspiring against hydro development.

Nevertheless, there remain many instances in which hydro alternatives still may be the most economical way to produce power. Hydropower will most likely constitute the main source for Brazilian electricity for at least a decade., Venezuela still has not completed its development of the lower Caroní River Basin and may have interesting sites in the upper basin. Other countries, such as Peru and Ecuador, may either experience some delays in joining the dash for gas or may have important and competitive hydro developments available.

While there are still some old faces in the pipeline of potential projects involving large dams (some cheap and relatively problem- free like Corpus in the Paraná River, some more questionable like Boruca in Costa Rica), there are new sites like Cheves, a 520 MW high head project in the Huaura river in Perú, which for one reason or another didn't figure prominently in the old expansion plans of the golden age. Also, neglected by the earlier inventories are small and medium size sites or even scaled down versions of old projects. The development by the private sector of smaller, 25 MW, high head and relatively environmentally sound projects in Colombia and Costa Rica is an indication of what may lie ahead.