Green Tech Magazine December 2017 en
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World News<br />
GREEN TECH MAGAZINE 3<br />
A record year for r<strong>en</strong>ewables<br />
In the curr<strong>en</strong>t World Energy Outlook published by the International<br />
Energy Ag<strong>en</strong>cy (IEA), solar power was the form of electricity<br />
g<strong>en</strong>eration with the strongest capacity growth worldwide in<br />
2016, especially in China and India. R<strong>en</strong>ewables have overtak<strong>en</strong><br />
gas as the second most important source of power in 2016. According<br />
to the IEA, global use of r<strong>en</strong>ewable <strong>en</strong>ergies will increase<br />
by a further 43 % by 2022. Furthermore, the growth of r<strong>en</strong>ewable<br />
<strong>en</strong>ergies will be twice as high as that of gas and coal combined.<br />
www.iea.org/r<strong>en</strong>ewables<br />
Graphic: 40 % of the <strong>en</strong>ergy produced across the globe is used for<br />
heating which also holds the most pot<strong>en</strong>tial for economical applications<br />
on the way to a heat <strong>en</strong>ergy transition.<br />
Global outlook:<br />
R<strong>en</strong>ewable Power<br />
R<strong>en</strong>ewable heat<br />
R<strong>en</strong>ewable mobility<br />
2016 2022<br />
24 % 30 %<br />
9 % 11 %<br />
4 % 4,5 %<br />
Energy revolution in China<br />
The rapid economic growth of the People‘s Republic of China over<br />
the past decades has contributed to serious <strong>en</strong>vironm<strong>en</strong>tal pollution.<br />
In order to counteract the high level of air pollution, it was not<br />
until October <strong>2017</strong> that more than 176,000 factories and 44,000<br />
coal-fired power plants, which did not meet the specified emission<br />
targets, had to cease operations. Furthermore, the curr<strong>en</strong>t fiveyear<br />
plan is int<strong>en</strong>ded to yield a u-turn. The aim is, among other<br />
things, to reduce CO 2<br />
emissions/GDP by 18 %, to reduce <strong>en</strong>ergy<br />
consumption/GDP by 15 % and water consumption/GDP by 23 %.<br />
german.china.org.cn<br />
The world’s first floating wind farm<br />
The Hywind Scotland Pilot Park, 25 kilometres off the Scottish<br />
coastal town of Peterhead, is the world‘s first floating wind farm.<br />
According to Norwegian <strong>en</strong>ergy group Statoil, the plant serves as<br />
a model for a new type of offshore wind farm, which offers a major<br />
advantage over conv<strong>en</strong>tional plants. Wind turbines with a fixed<br />
foundation can no longer be used from a water depth of 50 metres.<br />
Worldwide, 95 % of all coastal areas are therefore unsuitable for<br />
stationary wind farms. www.statoil.com<br />
Credits: statoil.com, Shutterstock<br />
World-wide emission trade under discussion<br />
The world must do something to get the rising CO 2<br />
emissions under<br />
control. This was also one of the major topics at the World Climate<br />
Confer<strong>en</strong>ce in Bonn. A possible important step in this direction<br />
would be to merge the emissions trading markets of the European<br />
Union and the US state of California. Initial talks on this matter took<br />
place in Brussels betwe<strong>en</strong> EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias<br />
Cañete and California’s Governor Jerry Brown. The aim would be<br />
to establish a kind of institution that could also be joined by other<br />
states and provinces. www.eu-umweltbuero.at
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