I came across several articles on my home country lately and thought it was the occasion to keep everyone updated on how the French energy transition is going on.
Italy
Cleantech investments fell in 2012
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, investements in clean technologies fell by 11 percent in 2012 compared to their 2011 levels. They still amounted to 268.7 billion USD or over 200 billion euros.
These news aren’t all that bad even if this decrease marks the end of a seeminlgy unstoppable increase but i has to be mitigated as the amounts invested in 2012 are still five times higher as in 2004.
Another mitigating factor is the decreasing prices of solar and wind energy as less money can buy more panels and turbines.
Italy unveils bold energy plan for 2020
To Enerdata : ” The Italian government has published its new energy plann. It aims to reduce the gap in energy costs, promote sustainable growth, improve security and independence of supply, meet and exceed the EU target 2020.“ ” Greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 19% by 2020 compared to 1990, while renewables should … Read more
G8 leaders agree to act on climate, air pollution
Are we finally getting things right on climate change ? Not completely, but what happened last week may be a good omen for the Rio +20 conference. As I noted in a post published yesterday on Cleantechies : ” Further to the Camp David meeting last week, G8 leaders agreed to act on climate change … Read more
GE : Solar cheaper than fossil fuels by 2016
After the quite depressing news from the International Energy Agency yesterday, here is something that might cheer you up. If proven true, this could literally change everything. According to Bloomberg : ” Solar power may be cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels and nuclear reactors within three to five years because of innovations, said … Read more
16 GW of solar PV capacity added in 2010
According to Reuters : ” The world added about 16 gigawatts of new solar photovoltaic (PV) power in 2010, double the growth seen a year earlier, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association told Reuters on Monday.”
Out of these 16 gigawatts, Europe is behind the vast majority of the growth with an impressive 13 gigawatts. Out of these, Germany account for seven GW and Italy three (and not six as I wrote there…)
Still to Reuters : ” Estimates for the other major European players included the Czech Republic (1.3 GW), France (0.5 GW), Spain (0.4), Belgium (0.25) and Greece (0.2). “
Avanti ! Italy goes forward on solar
Italy is currently in the news more because of Berlusconi’s taste for orgies but little is written on the expansion of solar photovoltaic there. However, there is much to write as it installed 6,000 MW of solar PV capacity in 2010 alone.
To Cleantechies : ” 7 GWs of PV power will yield well over 8 TWh of electricity per year, almost 2.5% of the nation’s electricity consumption, while still covering a microscopic share of the country’s land (most of which being roofs). “
Yes ! A country can install the equivalent of 2.5 percent via solar of its needed capacity in only a year. This means a lot for those who dream of a future powered only via renewable energy sources.
Desertec gets international support
According to Enerzine [Fr] and other sources the Desertec Project is getting international support as several companies from Europe, America and Africa are joining the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii). The US company First Solar was the first to join in and five more companies from Morocco, Tunisia, France, Spain and Italy followed suit. Desertec is … Read more
Italy to build four nuclear reactors by 2020
There is something I totally overlooked while writing earlier this week my article on how Europe goes forward on energy. Indeed, last month Italy announced its intention to build nuclear reactors this decade.
Italian electricity is both heavily reliant on foreign fossil sources (70 percent) and on imports (ten percent comes from France’s own reactors). Building four nuclear reactors will decrease both.
A total of ten reactors might be built by the next 20 years to enable the country to get 25 percent of its electricity from this low carbon source.
A global wind energy boom
If you think 2009 was a rotten year for all businesses, read on. To the Global Wind Energy Council 37.5 GW of wind energy capacity was installed in 2009 alone. This represents a 31 percent increase over 2008. In Europe, capacity grew up by 10 GW and investors pumped 13 billion euros into the industry. … Read more