Innovation

In its newly released Strategic Research Agenda, the European Wind Energy Technology Platform (TPWind) presents an ambitious vision in which over a quarter of the EU’s electricity could be provided by wind in 2030.

According to the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), wind energy could cover 12-14% of the EU’s electricity consumption by 2020, with a total installed capacity of 180 GW. This could increase to 22-28% of consumption and 300 GW in 2030.

Fulfilling this vision will be a major industrial and technological challenge for Europe, as public and industry research resources across Europe must be mobilized via the coordination of investment at European and national level.

The SRA is the most in-depth analysis to date of the research requirements of the wind energy sector, and is based on two years of work and discussions.

Download the SRA

In a recent scientific article, Michael J. Prather and Juno Hsu of the Earth System Science Department, University of California, Irvine, provide details on the "missing greenhouse gas": Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), a synthetic chemical often used in the plasma etching of silicon wafers.

NF3 is not included in the Kyoto basket of greenhouse gases or in national reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and there are no observations documenting its atmospheric abundance. Yet, NF3 has a long lifetime of over 500 years, and a global warming potential (GWP) over 17,000 times greater than that of CO2.

In 2008, about three-quarters of the chemical is now used to manufacture computer microchips; the rest is used to make LCD panels. With 2008 production equivalent to 67 million metric tons of CO2, NF3 has a potential greenhouse impact larger than that of the industrialized nations' emissions of PFCs or SF6, or even that of the world's largest coal-fired power plants.

According to NanoMarkets, the thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) market will grow from almost $2.4 billion ($US) in revenues in 2008 to over $12 billion in 2013. By 2015, NanoMarkets expects that TFPV will have a market opportunity of over $22 billion. These and other findings are from NanoMarkets newest report, "Thin Film Photovoltaics Markets: 2008 and Beyond".

Order the report: Thin Film Photovoltaics Markets: 2008 and Beyond

With world recoverable coal reserves approximated to be 800 to 900 gigatonnes – could capturing and storing carbon dioxide provide us with a cheap source of power into the future?

As the world moves to more renewable forms of energy, many argue that transitional technologies such as carbon sequestration will be a critical to a smooth transition. But there are many unanswered questions about this yet unproved technology. Pilot projects testing the viability of carbon sequestration have begun in North America, Europe and Australia.

A recent dissertation, "Carbon Dioxide Capture And Storage: Grasping At Straws In The Climate Debate?," by Anders Hansonn at the Department of Technology and Social Change, Linköping University, in Sweden raises some risks and challenges associated with the technology.

"In full scale this technology only exists in the imaginations of the people developing it," says Anders Hansson. "It’s overly optimistic to place such great faith in it, considering all the uncertainties found in the scientific literature."

At the same time the United Nations Climate Panel sees carbon capture and sequestration as being a key mechanism to reduced GHG emissions between 15 and 55 percent.

Is it a good idea to put such tremendous faith in an unproven technology that has yet to be proved to be safe for environment?

Michael Drummond is a Principal with the Earnscliffe Strategy Group, one of the oldest independent public policy strategy firms in Canada, and a leader in government affairs and strategic communications.