Climate Change Is Gaining Visibility As A Political Issue

Global warming and climate change were first brought to public attention in 1979 when NASA’s Jim Hansen testified on the topic before the US Congress. It was given increased attention by former US Congressman and Vice President Al Gore in his 2006 book ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Nevertheless, as a political issue for politicians to run for election on, it remained relatively quiet – until recently. Suddenly, several of the people seeking the Democratic Party nomination for US president in 2020 have identified climate change as an important part of their appeal to voters. In fact, one candidate has identified climate change as his primary electoral focus.

I certainly believe that climate change is one of the two biggest challenges facing the world today, along with the need to control nuclear weapons. This is reflected in Chapter 10 of my recently published book ‘Water, Energy, and Environment – A Primer’ (see my previous blog post). The book was published by International Water Association Publishing.

The chapter identifies and discusses six questions that I believe must be addressed as we confront climate change:

  • Is there a physical basis for understanding global warming and climate change?
    • Is there documented evidence for global warming and
    climate change?
    • Can global warming and climate change be attributed to
    human activities, and what are those activities?
    • What are the potential short- and long-term impacts of
    global warming and climate change with respect to water
    supply, environment, and health?
    • What is the anticipated time scale for these impacts?
    • What can be done to mitigate the onset and potential
    impacts of global warming and climate change?

I provide the link to this chapter below (it is an Open Access free download) to bring increased attention to this issue and contribute to the needed broad public discussion that may finally be getting underway. The chapter can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.2166/9781780409658_0165.

‘Water, Energy, and Environment – A Primer’ Has Been Published

    My new book has just been published and is available online as an Open Access free download at 

https://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book/744/Water-Energy-and-Environment-A-Primer

Clicking on this URL will bring you to a page showing the cover, several choices under the cover image (pdf, share, ..), and a listing of each individual section and chapter. Clicking on pdf under the cover image will allow you to download the entire book.  Chapters can be downloaded individually from the list that follows. 


Please bring to the attention of the groups you work with – it’s a freebie!

New Book: ‘Water, Energy, and Environment – A Primer’

After a long hiatus from blogging while I worked on a new book, I am pleased to announce that the book ‘Water, Energy, and Environment – A Primer’ will be published by International Water Association Publishing (IWAP) on February 18th (2019). It will be available in both printed and digital form, and the digital version will be downloadable for free as an Open Access (OA) document.

To access the free digital version go to IWAP’s OA website on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IWAP_OA.

Attached below is front material from the book, its preface and table of contents. Designed to serve as a basic and easily read introduction to the linked topics of water, energy, and environment, it is just under 200 pages in length, a convenient size to throw into a folder, a briefcase, or a backpack. Its availability as an OA document means that people all over the world with access to the internet will have access to the book and its 10 chapters.

With the completion of the book I plan to return to a regular schedule of blogging.
…………………………..
Contents
Preface ………………………………….. xi
Acknowledgement ……………………….. xv
Acronyms ……………………………… xvii
Epigraph ……………………………….. xxi
Chapter 1
Water and its global context …………………. 1
1.1 Earth’s Water Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Saline Water and Desalination Processes . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Energy Requirements and Costs of Desalination . . . . . 5
1.4 Demand for Freshwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 Implications of Limited Access to Freshwater . . . . . . . . . 9
1.6 Actions to Increase Access to Freshwater . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.7 Gender Equity Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 2
Energy and its global context ……………….. 13
2.1 Energy’s Role in Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 Energy Realities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 What is Energy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.4 Energy Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4.1 Important questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4.2 How is energy used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4.3 Electrification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 3
Exploring the linkage between water
and energy ……………………………….. 23
3.1 Indirect Linkages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2 The Policy Linkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.3 The Conundrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4 Addressing the Conundrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5 The Need for Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter 4
Energy production and its consequences for
water and the environment …………………. 29
4.1 Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.2 More on Climate Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.3 Environment and Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.3.1 The theocentric worldview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.3.2 The anthropocentric worldview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.3.3 Other worldviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 5
Energy options ……………………………. 37
5.1 Fossil Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.2 Nuclear Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.3 Geothermal Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.4 The Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.5 Energy Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.5.1 Energy demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
vi Water, Energy, and Environment – A Primer
5.5.2 Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.5.3 Saving energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.5.4 Accelerating implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.5.5 Energy Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5.5.6 The lighting revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.5.7 Energy efficiency in buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.5.7.1 Zero energy buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.5.7.2 Electrochromic windows . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.6 Energy Efficiency in Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.7 Energy Efficiency in Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Chapter 6
Fossil fuels ………………………………. 61
6.1 Coal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.1.1 Carbon capture and sequestration . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.1.2 A conundrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.2 Petroleum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.2.1 Oil spills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.2.2 Peak oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6.3 Natural Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
6.3.1 Methane hydrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6.3.2 Fracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Chapter 7
Nuclear power ……………………………. 85
7.1 Nuclear Fission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7.1.1 Fission fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7.1.2 Introduction to nuclear issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
7.1.3 Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
7.2 Nuclear Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
7.2.1 Fusion fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
7.2.2 Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
7.2.3 Barriers to Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
7.2.4 Pros and cons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7.2.5 Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Chapter 8
Renewable energy ………………………… 97
8.1 The Sun’s Energy Source and Radiation
Spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
8.2 Direct Solar Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
8.2.1 Photovoltaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
8.2.2 Concentrating solar power (CSP) . . . . . . . . . . 108
8.2.2.1 Power tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
8.2.2.2 Linear concentrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
8.2.2.3 Dish engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
8.2.2.4 CSTP history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
8.2.2.5 Advantages and disadvantages . . . 112
8.2.2.6 Thermal storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.2.2.7 Current status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
8.2.2.8 Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) . 115
8.3 Solar Power Satellite (SPS) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
8.4 Hydropower and Wind Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.4.1 Hydropower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.4.2 Wind energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.4.2.1 Onshore wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.4.2.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8.4.2.3 An onshore limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8.4.2.4 Offshore wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
8.5 Biomass Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
8.5.1 Sources of biomass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
8.5.2 Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
8.5.3 Biofuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
8.5.4 Algae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
8.5.5 Biochar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
8.5.6 The future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
8.6 Geothermal Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
8.6.1 Sources of geothermal energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
8.6.2 Manifestations of geothermal energy . . . . . . . 135
8.6.3 Uses of geothermal energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
8.6.3.1 Geothermal power generation . . . . . 136
8.6.3.2 Ground-source heat pumps . . . . . . . 138
8.6.4 An unusual source of geothermal energy . . . . 140
Ocean Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8.7.1 Wave energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8.7.1.1 Wave energy conversion
devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8.7.1.2 Potential and pros and cons . . . . . . . 143
8.7.2 Ocean current energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
8.7.3 Tidal energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
8.7.3.1 Barrage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
8.7.3.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8.7.3.3 Environmental impacts . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8.7.4 Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) . . 147
8.7.4.1 Barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
8.7.4.2 OTEC technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
8.7.4.3 Other cold water applications . . . . . . 149
8.7.4.4 OTEC R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Chapter 9
Energy storage …………………………… 151
9.1 Storage and Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
9.2 Types of Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
9.2.1 Traditional and advanced batteries . . . . . . . . . 153
9.2.1.1 Lead–acid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
9.2.1.2 Sodium sulfur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
9.2.1.3 Nickel–cadmium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
9.2.1.4 Lithium-ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
9.2.1.5 Supercapacitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
9.2.2 Flow batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
9.2.3 Flywheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
9.2.4 Superconducting magnetic energy
storage (SMES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
9.2.5 Compressed air energy storage (CAES) . . . . 159
9.2.6 Pumped storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
9.2.7 Thermal storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
9.3 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
9.4 Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
9.5 Fundamental Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Chapter 10
Policy considerations …………………….. 165
10.1 Important Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
10.1.1 Is there a physical basis for understanding
global warming and climate change? . . . . . . 166
10.1.2 Is there documented evidence for global
warming and climate change? . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
10.1.3 Can global warming and climate change be
attributed to human activities, and what are
those activities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
10.1.4 What are the potential short- and long-term
impacts of global warming and climate
change with respect to water supply,
environment, and health? What is the
anticipated time scale for these
impacts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
10.1.5 What can be done to mitigate the onset
and potential impacts of global warming
and climate change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
References ……………………………… 183
Index …………………………………… 189

……………………

Preface
This book springs from my strong conviction that clean water and clean energy are the critical elements of long-term global sustainable development. I also believe that we are experiencing the beginning of an energy revolution in these early years of the 21st century. Providing clean water requires energy, and providing clean energy is essential to reducing the environmental impacts of energy production and use. Thus, I see a nexus – a connection, a causal link – among water, energy, and environment. In recent years we have adopted the terminology of the water-energy nexus for the intimate relationship between water and energy, and similarly we can apply the term nexus to the close connections among water, energy, and environment. Thisuse of the term nexus can be, and has been, extended to include the related issues of food production and health. Dealing with, and writing about, a two-element nexus is difficult enough. In this book, I will limit my analysis and discussion to the three-element water -energy-environment nexus and leave the discussion of other possible nexus elements to those more qualified to comment.

This book also springs from my observation that while there are many existing books of a more-or-less technical nature on the three elements of this nexus, a book addressing each of them and their interdependencies in a college-level primer for a broad global and multidisciplinary audience would be valuable. Consideration of these and related issues, and options for addressing them, will be priorities for all levels of government. They will also be priorities for many levels of the
private sector in the decades ahead, both in developing and developed nations. A handbook-style primer that provides an easily read and informative introduction to, and overview of, these issues will contribute broadly to public education. It will assist governments and firms in carrying out their responsibilities to provide needed services and goods in a sustainable manner, and help to encourage young people to enter these fields. It will serve as an excellent mechanism for exposure of experts in other fields to the issues associated with the water-energy-environment nexus. Further, in addition to the audiences mentioned above, target audiences include economists and others in the finance communities who will analyze and provide the needed investment funds, and those in the development community responsible for planning and delivering services to underserved populations.
The book is organized as follows: the first chapter will be devoted to the concept of nexus and how the three elements, water, energy, and environment, are inextricably linked. This recognition leads to the conclusion that if society is to optimize their contributions to human and planetary welfare they must be addressed jointly. No longer must policy for each of these elements be considered in its own silo. Chapters 2 and 3 will be devoted to spelling out global contexts for water and energy issues, respectively. Chapter 4, on related environmental issues, will address the issues of water contamination, oil spills, fracking, radioactive waste storage, and global warming/
climate change. Chapter 5 will be a discussion of energy efficiency – i.e., the wise use of energy – and its role in limiting energy demand and its associated benefits. Chapter 6 will focus on the basics of fossil fuels – coal, oil, natural gas – which today dominate global energy demand. Chapter 7 will discuss nuclear-fission-powered electricity production, which today accounts for 10% of global electricity. It will also discuss the prospects for controlled nuclear fusion. Chapter 8 will discuss the broad range of renewable energy technologies – wind, solar,hydropower, biomass, geothermal, ocean energy – which are the basis of the now rapidly emerging energy revolution. Chapter 9 will discuss the closely related issue of energy storage. Finally, Chapter 10 will address
policy issues associated with water, energy, and environment, discuss policy history and options, and provide recommendations.

Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord – A Tragic Mistake

It is hard to even know where to begin to respond to President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord. This is not because it was unexpected – the Trump Administration has sent several signals through its appointments that acceptance of and actions to address global warming and climate change is not on its agenda. What is most striking and disturbing, in this author’s opinion, is the distortion of facts and outright lying that defined the President’s withdrawal statement, and the impact that this withdrawal will have on our country and its standing in the world. While the decision by the U.S. to withdraw will not stop other countries, and states and localities in the U.S., from continuing their efforts to reduce carbon emissions, it will slow down the global effort and is a tragic decision on three grounds – moral, economic, and national security. I discuss each of these below.

To me the moral argument is clear – global warming arising from the introduciion of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is a real physical phenomenon and is producing some positive but mostly negative climate change effects. And while countries such as the U.S. and China produce most of the gases that impact global climate its impacts are also felt by many others that had nothing to do with global warming – e.g., the island nations of the Pacific. If we accept the fact that in this world we are ultimately all in this together, and we all have an obligation to care for our fellow human beings, then we have a responsibility to be sensitive to these impacts of global warming. What seems to differentiate the Trump Administration from many of the the rest of us is summarized in a statement this week in the Wall Street Journal by two of President Trump’s top advisors, H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn, who wrote: “The president embarked on his first foreign trip with a cleareyed outlook that the world is not a ‘global community’ but an an arena where nations, nongovernmental actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage.”

We each experience the physics of global warming when we step into an overheated car on a hot day – solar radiation from our high temperature sun passes through the windshield of the car and heats the upholstery, which heats up and in turn radiates energy, but from a much lower temperature source. This changes the frequency distribution of the reradiation so that while the sun’s initial radiation passed freely through the glass windshield, the radiation from the seat covers is now blocked from escaping by the windshield and the car heats up. In the case of global warming, the sun’s rays heat the earth and the oceans, which in turn reradiate at frequencies that are now blocked from escaping into space by the greenhouse gases introduced into the atmosphere. This creates the same heating effect for the planet as in the hot car situation.

It is important to emphasize that global warming is not an ideological belief but a phenomenon documented by physical measurements. The basic physics involves an energy exchange between the sun and the earth and what happens to that energy when it hits and is absorbed by the earth. The earth’s average temperature is determined by this exchange – the earth absorbs energy from the sun and reradiates back into space, and if something, such as volcano dust or greenhouse gases in the atmosphere disrupt this exchange the earth must change its temperature to remain in energy balance. Venus is an example of a planet where the balance has led to a very high planetary temperature, On earth the sun’s energy is absorbed by the continents and the oceans, leading to a subsequent complex exchange of energy of both with the atmosphere, creating the weather effects we call climate. Evidence of this energy absorption and exchange can be found in average air and ground temperature measurements, ocean surface temperature measurements and measurements of ocean temperatures at depth. It can also be seen in the expansion of water in the oceans when it is heated, leading to rising ocean water levels, in the melting of glaciers, in the migration of insects and animals in response to temperature changes, and in effects on weather such as changing precipitation patterns and increased frequency and intensity of storms. Well documented experimental observations exist for each of these impacts.

Positive impacts of global warming include improved agricultural production in cold climates, new shipping routes through the Arctic, and the fact that changes in weather patterns produced by warming can bring rainfall to previously arid areas. However, these positives are strongly outweighed by the negatives: glacial melting and addition of glacial ice to oceans is raising sea levels, which causes property destruction and saltwater intrusion into fresh water sources, extreme weather events are more frequent and intense as the atmosphere’s energy content increases, previously fertile areas become less productive due to excessive heat and reduced moisture, hydropower and thermal power generation are limited by reduced water availability, water supplies are disrupted by changing rainfall and ice melt patterns, diseases carried by insects move into new areas causing health problems, and species disappear due to new and extreme environmental conditions. In addition, national security issues are raised for the U.S. (and others) when increased water scarcity around the globe leads to population migrations within and across national borders, creating international tensions. The U.S. Defense Departmental has recognized this possibility in its planning for possible situations that could lead to deployment of U.S. military forces.

Finally a word about jobs. The President in his remarks stated that our withdrawal from the Paris Accord would save American jobs. This is a falsehood that must be rebutted. As I carefully documented in a recent article (‘Jobs? Investing in renewables beats fossil fuels’) posted on the website energypost.eu, and subsequently reposted on my blog website www.lapsedphysicist.org: “If a primary national goal is to create jobs in the energy sector, investing in renewable energy is considerably more effective than investing in fossil fuels. Solar and wind are no longer niche businesses, their widespread use addresses global warming and climate change, and their manufacture and deployment are powerful engines of economic growth and job creation.

The U.S. Congress must recognize this and put policies in place that accelerate their growth. Other countries recognize this potential and are moving rapidly onto this path, some even faster than the U.S. We must not be left behind as this energy transition unfolds in the next several decades, but we must also not forget the people who will be displaced from their jobs in traditional energy industries.”

The bottom line as I see it is that the President has lied to the American people about climate change and the potential harmful long term economic impacts of his policy. He claims to be acting in the national interest but the facts say something very different.

Documenting the Solar Energy Revolution

Posted below are two articles on a massive (1.1 GW) PV project in Abu Dhabi. The first, from pv magazine and dated September 20, 2016, reports on the three bids received for this project by the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority. The second, a press release put out by JinkoSolar Holding Company on May 24, 2017, announces the signing of an $870 million agreement for the project. It is estimated that commercial operation will begin in April 2019 for what will be the world’s largest single utility scale solar PV plant.

Both articles confirm what is becoming increasingly obvious: the world is in the initial stages of an energy transition from dependence on fossil fuels to steadily increasing dependence on solar energy and other forms of renewable energy. This transition is inevitable and represents a major step forward in human history and a positive legacy to all future generations.

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Abu Dhabi: Three world record bids entered for Sweihan solar project by Sam Pothecary (9-20-2016)

Further information has arisen from the record breaking solar PV tender that took place in Abu Dhabi yesterday, which saw a bid as low as USD 0.0242 per kWh for a utility-scale project in Sweihan, however, this was not the only record-breaking bid, as three of the six bidders went lower than ever before.

Yesterday, pv magazine reported breaking news of the world record bid during the tender taking place in Abu Dhabi. Today, new information about all of bids that were entered has emerged and it shows an incredible trend of rock bottom prices for energy generated using solar power.

Six consortiums, made up of two or three members, entered bids into the auction, with the team of Jinko Solar and Marubeni putting in the most price competitive bid of just USD 0.0242 per kWh. pv magazine spoke with a senior representative of Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) today who supplied detailed information about the bids, which can be seen in the table below.

In addition to the official bids, local media is reporting that one of the consortiums offered a price as low as USD 0.023 per kWh, provided that the PV project could be larger than 1.1 GW. The initial size of the project was set at 350 MW, but the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority (ADWEA) invited bidders to put forth bids for a larger project if they so wished. Presumably ADWEA is deciding whether 1.1 GW is a little too large for the project.

Now that the bids are in, they are subject to further review and verification before a final decision is made, however, it stands to reason that the winner is likely to be one of the three consortiums that put forth record low bids. These include Jinko Solar and Marubeni with the USD 0.0242 per kWh bid, Masdar, EDF and PAL with a USD 0.02533 per kWh bid and Tenaga and Phelan Energy with a USD 0.02598 per kWh bid.

Solar’s downward price trend

These prices sound almost unbelievable, but they are just the latest in a string of low price world records for electricity generated by solar PV. Previous to the Abu Dhabi tender, the record was USD 0.0291 per kWh set in Chile in August. And it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise in an industry that has seen prices drop over 80% in the last five years alone.

Additionally, as can be seen from the table, these projects expect to have an internal rate of return (IRR) of at least 7%, which suggests their viability. Of course, there are a number of factors involved in the price drop cumulating in this auction, but it is hard to look past the dramatic reduction in the cost of the technology, particularly solar cells.

It is also important to note that the price in Abu Dhabi cannot just be repeated in other markets, as a number of factors make this price viable, including state support and cost of materials and labor. Yet, it clearly represents a trend, which doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Coincidentally, on the same day that the record-breaking bids were entered, financial think tank Carbon Tracker released a report that stated that renewable power generation costs are already lower on average worldwide than those of fossil fuels. Also stating that utility-scale renewable projects will continue to get cheaper.

“Policy-makers and investors really need to question out dated assumptions on technology costs that do not factor in the direction of travel post-Paris [COP21],” said Carbon Tracker head of research James Leaton. “Planning for business-as-usual load factors and lifetimes for new coal and gas plants is a recipe for stranded assets.”

The Abu Dhabi bid is a sign of the times when it comes to renewable energy prices, particularly solar PV. If prices in markets around the world continue to fall there will be no logical option but to turn to PV to solve some of the energy issues of the future. This comes with its own challenges, which should be addressed sooner rather than later.

“Markets are having to deal with integrating variable renewable on a growing scale,” commented Carbon Tracker senior analyst Matt Gray. “Rather than continue debating whether this energy transition is already occurring, it is time to focus on developing the opportunities in energy storage and demand management that can smooth the process.”

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Financial Agreements of Sweihan Photovoltaic Independent Power Project in Abu Dhabi Were Signed
05/24/2017

SHANGHAI, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar” or the “Company”) (NYSE:JKS), a global leader in the photovoltaic (“PV”) industry, today announced that in a signing ceremony held at the Emirates Palace, the financial agreements for the debt and equity funding for the Sweihan Solar PV Independent Power Project (the “Project”) were signed by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (“ADWEA”), Sweihan Solar Holding Company Limited (“Sweihan”), a joint venture between JinkoSolar and Marubeni Corporation (“Marubeni”), and a syndicate of international and local banks.

The agreements closed a US$870 million financing for the Project, an 1,177 MW (DC) solar PV project with a 25-year PPA signed with ADWEA. The Project is expected to reach commercial operation date in April 2019.

“Today’s Financial Closing is the culmination of 18 months of hard work, determination and commitment from many people, from multiple Abu Dhabi Government stakeholders, the international PV investor market, the international and local lending community and related advisors,” commented H.E Abdullah Ali Musleh Al Ahbabi, Chairman of ADWEA. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in making today’s milestone possible. However today’s event is just the beginning. Over the course of the next 2 years, the vision of the Sweihan PV Project will become reality.”

“The financial closing of the Sweihan Project is an important step-forward to energize one of the largest solar power plants in the world,” commented Mr. Xiande Li, Chairman of JinkoSolar. “We will continue to cultivate to the successful completion, operation, and maintenance of the Sweihan project with the highest standard, along with our partners ADWEA and Marubeni.”