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Record European Heat | Earth Wise

February 13, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The new year began with record-breaking heat across Europe. In fact, on December 31 and January 1, about 5,000 all-time high temperature records for those dates were broken, in some cases by margins of more than 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

On New Year’s Day, eight European countries recorded their warmest January day ever. These were Liechtenstein, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania, Denmark, and Latvia.

Many of the European cities affected by the heat wave would ordinarily be covered in snow at that time of year. For example, Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, the Czech town of Javornik, and the Polish village of Jodlownik, all recorded peak temperatures between 66 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

By the measure of how far above normal temperatures rose, it was the most extreme heat wave in European history. Last summer saw record-breaking heat waves across much of Europe, but the actual temperature increases over normal were smaller than what just occurred at the beginning of the year.

The source of the exceptional heat was a warm mass of air from the west coast of Africa moving across Europe. As is the case for any individual weather event, one cannot definitively attribute this one to climate change. However, it is abundantly clear that because of climate change, extreme weather events of all types are becoming more frequent and more intense.

The unprecedented European weather does have the effect of helping to ease the energy crisis that has gripped the European continent. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to soaring natural gas prices. The warm weather has meant a lower demand for gas, causing gas prices to drop to their lowest level since the start of the war.

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‘Uncharted territory’: January heat records smashed across Europe

Photo, posted August 13, 2019, courtesy of Herbert Frank via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Clean Energy Transition Is Accelerating | Earth Wise

December 2, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The world’s economies including its energy markets have been in turmoil in recent times but despite the chaotic conditions, the shift to clean energy is gaining momentum. This year, for the first time, the world is investing more in wind and solar power than in oil and gas drilling. Investments in renewables are expected to reach $494 billion this year, more than the $446 billion directed towards oil and gas extraction. It is rather sobering to realize that the world is still spending nearly half a trillion dollars a year to dig up more oil and gas.

According to the International Energy Agency, there will be an estimated 340 gigawatts of new renewable power capacity installed in 2022. This is roughly equal to the total installed power capacity of Japan, which has the world’s third-largest economy. This year is also seeing tremendous growth in electric cars, which are projected to make up 13% of all light-duty vehicle sales across the globe.

According to analysis by Bloomberg Green, 87 countries are now getting at least 5% of their power from wind and solar. This number is considered to be a critical tipping point at which emerging technologies become more widely adopted. The United States reached that 5% threshold in 2011. Last year, our country surpassed 20% solar and wind power. If we follow trends set by pioneering countries like Denmark, Ireland, and others, wind and solar will supply at least half of our power within the next decade.

Despite the turbulence in global energy markets, the shift to clean power is ongoing. Estimates are that global spending on renewables will double over the next 10 years.

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Despite Turmoil in Energy Markets, the Shift to Clean Energy Is Gaining Steam

Photo, posted June 12, 2013, courtesy of Activ Solar via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon Capture In Denmark | Earth Wise

January 11, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Denmark has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 70% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. The country has also banned oil exploration in Danish waters and plans to phase out offshore drilling in the North Sea by 2050.

Instead of pumping oil from the North Sea, Denmark plans to capture CO2 and store it there. To meet its climate goals, Denmark is investing $2.4 billion in a plan to capture carbon dioxide from its energy and industrial sectors and inject it into the seabed in geological formations that previously held oil and gas deposits.

The first North Sea carbon capture and storage facilities will be put into service in 2025 and will remove nearly half a million tons of emissions from the atmosphere each year. The carbon dioxide will be captured from energy and industrial sectors such as waste incineration and cement production.

There are multiple carbon capture projects underway around the world. Many are directed at so-called direct air capture, which is taking carbon dioxide out of the air once it is already there. In Iceland, a project named “Orca” is extracting CO2 from the air and piping into a processing facility where it is mixed with water and diverted into a deep underground well. Other large direct air capture plants are being built in the U.S. Southwest and in Scotland.

Whether capturing carbon from industrial operations or directly from the air ultimately makes environmental and economic sense remains to be seen. What is driving the development of these technologies is the troubling math that reducing emissions is not happening fast enough to stave off the destructive effects of climate change that will result from global temperatures rising too much.

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Denmark bets on North Sea carbon capture to hit climate goals

Photo, posted July 2, 2018, courtesy of Ansgar Koreng via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Floating Renewable Energy | Earth Wise

July 22, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A team of researchers at Texas A&M University believes that the next generation of offshore energy could come in the form of a synergistic combination of multiple renewable energy generators installed on a floating offshore platform.

Their concept for the ocean renewable energy station comprises wind, wave, ocean current, and solar energy elements that could generate electricity for anything from a coastal or island community to a research lab or military unit. The station would be tethered to the sea bottom and could be used in locations where the water depth increases quickly, such as along the U.S. Pacific Coast or Hawaii.

Offshore wind is already commercially competitive, while wave-energy converters so far have been less cost-effective and only useful for specialized, smaller-scale applications. The proposed ocean renewable energy station would make use of multiple different methods of electricity generation and incorporate innovative smart materials in the wave energy converters that respond to changes in wave height and frequency and allow for more consistent power production.

Denmark is already building a huge multi-source, multi-purpose ocean energy island. This world’s first energy island will be 30 acres in area and serve as a hub for 200 giant offshore wind turbines generating 3 GW of electric power. It is the largest construction project in Danish history, and will cost an estimate $34 billion. As well as supplying other European countries with electricity, the goal is to use the new offshore island to produce green hydrogen from seawater, which can also be exported. Large battery banks on the island will store surplus electricity for use in times of high demand.

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Research Underway On Floating Renewable Energy Station

Photo, posted September 27, 2014, courtesy of Eric Gross via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Oil Platforms And Biodiversity | Earth Wise

April 8, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

We have previously reported on the important role that offshore oil platforms seem to play for fish. In short, the support structures of offshore oil platforms that often rise hundreds of feet through the water column create essentially a prefabricated reef for marine life.

According to a new study recently published in the British journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence, the large gatherings of fish around oil and gas platforms attract harbour porpoises searching for food – despite the fact that noise from industrial activities normally scares porpoises away.

Harbour porpoises are one of the smallest whale species and the only whale species that’s known to breed in Danish waters. The species has been protected in Danish waters since 1967. Previous studies have demonstrated that underwater noises from sources like shipping and industry typically scare porpoises away.

But according to new research from scientists at Aarhus University in Denmark, there are actually more porpoises around the largest Danish oil platform – Dan F – in the North Sea than there are within the three to ten kilometers surrounding the platform. The research team found that the platform acts as a natural reef where porpoises can find favorable habitat and food.

Currently, the international OSPAR convention requires that all decommissioned oil and gas platforms be removed from the ocean. But according to researchers, leaving the old platforms in the ocean to serve as artificial reefs is actually more beneficial to the marine environment.

In the Gulf of Mexico, the United States program Rigs to Reefs has converted 558 oil and gas platforms into artificial reefs.

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Harbor porpoises attracted to oil platforms when searching for food

Photo, posted March 26, 2008, courtesy of Dave Herholz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Powering Amazon By The Sun | Earth Wise

June 29, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Amazon.com is a multinational conglomerate company that sells nearly $300 billion dollars a year worth of products, employs over 800,000 people, and by any measure, consumes a tremendous amount of resources. In terms of its environmental impact, Amazon is estimated to be responsible for the emission of 50 million tons of CO2 annually, which is more than the yearly total for countries like Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, and about 140 other countries.

Amazon is trying to reduce its environmental impact. The company recently announced five new renewable energy projects in China, Australia and the U.S. as part of its commitment to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024, 100% renewable energy by 2030, and to reach net zero carbon by 2040.

The projects include a 100 MW solar project in Shandong, China, a 105 MW solar project in New South Wales, Australia, two solar projects in Ohio (one 200 MW and one 80 MW), and a 130 MW solar project in Virginia.

To date, Amazon has announced 31 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects as well as 60 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the world. Taken together, these projects provide almost 3 GW of capacity and will deliver more than 7.6 million MWh of renewable energy annually.

In order for the world to meet the climate goals set by the Paris Agreement, it will take more than just countries to make and keep commitments. Whatever else one may think about Amazon’s place in the world, their latest efforts for the environment are a big step in the right direction.

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Amazon announces five new utility-scale solar projects to power operations in China, Australia, and the US

Photo, posted November 16, 2018, courtesy of Todd Van Hoosear via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Coronavirus And European Energy | Earth Wise

April 23, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

As people all over the world shelter in place and much ordinary commerce and other activities have ground to a halt, there have been big changes in energy usage. With production halted, offices shut down, schools closed, and public transport operated on reduced timetables, the demand for energy has decreased dramatically.

In Europe, as a result of all this, during the first quarter of this year, renewables’ share of total energy production was greater than 60%. Wind farms provided more than 40% of the renewables’ share of total electricity generation. During February, Denmark, Germany and Ireland saw nearly 50% of their electricity demand met with wind power. Hydroelectric power was the second largest source of renewable energy during the first quarter, with Norway providing the largest share of this. In contrast, generation from nuclear plants was at its lowest first quarter figure for the past five years.

The large shift to renewable generation was in great part due to the overall reduction in demand. This impacts nuclear and fossil-fuel generation much more than renewables because those plants can be throttled back or shut down entirely so as not to needlessly consume costly fuels. Generation that runs on sunlight, wind, or flowing water does not require fuel expenses, so it makes sense to prefer them when demand is reduced.

The reduction in demand has in turn had a major effect on fuel costs as oil reached low prices that haven’t been seen in years.

The decline in demand and fuel prices and the enhanced role of renewables are expected to continue in the current quarter as the timetable for renewed economic activity remains unknown.

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Renewables achieve clean energy record as COVID-19 hits demand

Photo, posted June 25, 2010, courtesy of Martin Abegglen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Lots Of Wind Power In Denmark | Earth Wise

February 11, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Many states and countries have established goals to generate at least half of their electricity from renewable sources by some future date, typically 2030. A number of countries have already been able to achieve 50% or greater renewable generation for brief periods measured in days. Australia did it this past November. Germany has seen it on occasion as well.

Denmark has managed to complete an entire year with half of its energy coming from renewable generation. Almost all of it – 47% of the country’s power – came from wind turbines.

Denmark has been generating much of its energy from wind power for quite a while and actually produced about 46% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2017. Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, is a major manufacturer of wind turbines, and the small country has installed over 6,000 of them. The gains this past year mostly came from the Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm that went online in the fall. The 407 MW wind farm has the capacity to cover the annual electricity consumption of about 425,000 households, which is about 20% of the country.

The growth of wind power in Denmark is still ramping up. A 600 MW wind farm in the Baltic Sea will be connected to the Danish and German electricity grid by 2021, and a wind farm of at least 800 MW capacity in the North Sea is scheduled to come online in 2025.

The Danish Parliament has passed an ambitious climate law with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 70% in 2030 compared with 1990. The country’s overall goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050 does not seem like a pipe dream.

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Denmark Passes Magic 50% In Renewable Electricity Generation Milestone

Photo, posted July 12, 2009, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Scandinavian Wine

December 20, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The warming climate is creating some unexpected entrepreneurial opportunities. Many places that have traditionally dominated the wine industry are starting to be worried that the local climates that made them ideal for vineyards are changing and becoming much less ideal. On the other hand, places where wine-making was regarded as a losing proposition are becoming much more hospitable. A prime example is Scandinavia.

Nordic vintners are increasingly convinced that they can develop thriving commercial operations in what used to be places that are too cold for successful wine-making.

Denmark now has 90 commercial vineyards, up from just two 15 years ago. Forty vineyards have sprung up in Sweden. About a dozen vineyards are now operating as far north as Norway.

Many of these Nordic vineyards are in the startup stage and are tiny compared with the established wineries of Europe. Europe has 10 million acres of vineyards, which is enough to cover almost the entire country of Denmark. At the moment, there are only about 1,000 acres of vineyards in Denmark and Sweden.

But, looking forward, Scandinavia’s climate is forecast to be more like northern France, as regional temperatures climb as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the past decade, warming has produced milder winters, a longer growing season, and even a small but rising number of award-winning Scandinavian wines.

Meanwhile, traditional wine-growing regions are also dealing with climate change. Winemakers in France, for example, are experimenting with grapes from warmer countries like Tunisia to see if they can retain the tastes and yields that are the basis of a multibillion-dollar wine industry. Spanish and Italian winemakers are planting grapes higher up on mountainsides or on shaded north-facing slopes to preserve the quality of their wine.

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Scandinavian Wine? A Warming Climate Tempts Entrepreneurs

Photo, posted August 24, 2019, courtesy of Ron Reiring via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Potential For Offshore Wind

December 10, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, offshore wind technology has vast potential for meeting our energy needs. In total, offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 420,000 terawatt-hours of electricity each year, which is more than 18 times the global electricity demand that exists today.

Based on current policy targets and plummeting technology costs, offshore wind could increase 15-fold by 2040, becoming a $1 trillion industry and eliminating 5 to 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Offshore wind today generates just 0.3% of the world’s electricity, but its’ use is growing rapidly. The industry has grown nearly 30% a year since 2010, and 150 new offshore projects are currently in development around the world. The leading countries are in Europe – especially in the UK, Germany, and Denmark – but China is greatly expanding its offshore capacity and the US, India, Korea, Japan, and Canada are also expected to make large investments in offshore wind going forward.

Offshore wind is in a category of its own because it is considered a variable baseload power generation technology. This is because the hourly variability of offshore wind is much lower than solar power or onshore wind. Offshore wind typically fluctuates far less from hour-to-hour than the other variable energy sources.

Technology improvements and industry growth are driving steep cost reductions for offshore wind. The cost of offshore wind is expected to be cut in half in the next five years, dropping to $60 per megawatt-hour, which is on par with solar and onshore wind and cheaper than new natural gas-fired capacity in Europe.

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