Feed-in Tariffs for the United Kingdom: Accelerating the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy

On April 1, 2010, the United Kingdom will launch a new feed-in tariff policy, providing an additional boost to its advanced clean energy market. As the first country in the world to make carbon reduction targets legally binding, the United Kingdom has nearly a decade’s experience implementing its strategic commitment to a low carbon economy.

Now, with the introduction of feed-in tariffs for small scale renewable electricity generation, the UK has established a financial framework to drive investment and stimulate clean energy adoption on a much broader scale. Under the scheme, many UK households, communities and businesses will become eligible to receive guaranteed payment – “clean energy cashback” – for the low carbon electricity they generate from wind, solar PV, hydro, and new anaerobic digestion installations. It is expected that by 2020 the scheme will support over 750,000 small scale low carbon electricity installations and will have saved 7 million tons of carbon dioxide.

UK Trade & Investment, in cooperation with the New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy (NYC ACRE) at NYU-Poly, the New York Association for Energy Economics and Solar One, invite you to a presentation on the new policy and the opportunities it creates for investment in clean energy. The discussion will analyze the policy in reference to the experiences of other countries and focus on its implications for growth in the UK’s clean energy sector.

Thursday, March 25, 2010
6:00 – 8:00pm

Keynote presentation by:
John Moriarty, Assistant Director, Feed-in Tariffs Policy, Department of Energy and Climate Change, United Kingdom

In discussion with Nils Mellquist, Vice President, Senior Research Analyst, Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors

Moderated by Jonathan McClelland, President, New York Association for Energy Economics

Introduced by Rebecca Lewis, Vice-Consul and Trade & Investment Officer, British Consulate-General New York

A networking reception will follow.

NYC ACRE
Steelcase Room
160 Varick Street, 12th Floor
New York City
Space is limited.

Please RSVP to NYUKTI-RSVP@fco.gov.uk

Run, don’t walk, to your TV and TURN IT ON RIGHT NOW! Solar One Educator Sarah Pidgeon will be seen tonight as part of NBC4’s special series Wednesday’s Child, a weekly feature that helps recruit families who can provide permanent and loving homes for NYC foster children.

WNBC came to Solar One to tape Sarah showing a child, Brandon, how to build a solar car. Brandon, who is looking for a permanent home/adoption has been in and out of foster homes most of his life. He is interested in science so this was a perfect fit.

Solar One was happy to participate in this segment, and we wish Brandon a lot of luck in his search for a permanent home!

WHEN – Wednesday, March 10, between 6 and 6:30pm and again on Sunday, March 14, between 7 and 8am on NBC Channel 4.

One of the hardest things about working for an environmental cause is that there’s so much scary news…

Some of you who attended the 2009 Solar-Powered Film Series probably remember the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the infamous collection of tiny plastic particles in the Pacific ocean that’s twice the size of Texas (featured in the film Addicted to Plastic). Others may have been alarmed at the sharp rise in the ocean acidification and its deleterious effect on marine wildlife- including wildlife in our own food supply!- depicted in A Sea Change. But this story from Yahoo! is somehow even more terrifying: the oceans have now been found to be losing oxygen.

According to the article, there are some areas of the Pacific, particularly off the coasts of Oregon and Washington, that have become completely oxygen-depleted, or hypoxic. Although areas of hypoxia in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans have long been observed, the new trends show the hypoxic areas growing, and greater overall hypoxia all over the globe seems to have become the norm. While Southern California’s levels of oceanic oxygen have declined 20% over the last 25 years, in some places deoxygenation is happening even faster- up to 33% over 50 years!

Hypoxia is a serious problem, killing sea life that our food chain depends on; also, the process of decomposition requires oxygen (decomposition is basically oxygenation), so the dying creatures are speeding up the process in much the same way that melting permafrost releases even more sequestered carbon dioxide, exacerbating the problem of global warming. You can also look at a graph of ocean hypoxia over the decades HERE! And read about the likely results of hypoxia and its link to global climate change HERE!

UPDATE: Double Uh Oh – the Atlantic Ocean now has its own garbage patch. And here’s an article from last summer on the Pacific patch and the way that these problems can potentially help spur innovation.

Snow sculpture in front of J’s Big Gym in Washington Heights (not taken today, obvs)

Solar One E$C Coordinator Diana Pangestu’s snowman in her Brooklyn backyard

A get-together for New Yorkers who share an interest in solar power, music, clean energy activism, cocktails, and DIY gadget building. It’s a chance to have fun, learn and get directly involved in efforts to transform the Empire State into a solar power capital.

Tuesday, March 16th, 7pm – 11ish PM

At Southpaw,
125 Fifth Ave. Brooklyn tel: 718.230.0236
M,R to Union; B,Q to 7th Ave, or 2,3 to Bergen.

What’s happening?

• 7PM – 7:45: TEACH-IN for clean energy activists who want to help us make New York a Solar Power Capital! Learn about our goals and how you can get involved. We’ll be debuting our new mobile phone application GNR8R (“generator”) which enables activists to more easily get friends and family to call their politicians in support of pro-solar policies.

• Letter Writing Bar – write a message to your state politicians in support of our solar initiative. We’ll brief you when you get here and provide the stamps, envelopes, etc. Motivation and eloquence are on you.

• Ask a Solar Installer. Are you considering investing in a solar system but don’t know where to start, what it will cost or if your building is a good fit for the technology. We’ll have real live solar professional to answer all of your questions.

• Throw down $5 and build a nifty little solar powered device in the company of friends. Lots of fun. The best design gets a blue ribbon.

• DJ Joa Kin will be spinning dub, r&b and soul.

FREE!
18 to enter, 21 to drink.

example of a vibro-bot a.k.a. bugbot!

In this workshop, participants will learn how to construct a circuit that gathers solar energy and releases it in bursts, and then use it in the creation of a small, light-powered, vibro-bot. These Bugbots will respond directly to the intensity of the light that they are exposed to, using solar energy to power two vibrating pager motors. On a sunny day they will skitter about frantically… On cloudy days they will move intermittently as they build up energy.

During the course of this workshop, participants will be introduced the basics of solar electronics and circuit construction. Each participant will solder their own circuit board and build a Bugbot of their own to take home. Participants need no prior experience in this field. Just come with a willingness to learn!

Date: Saturday, March 13

Time: 1pm-5pm

Cost: $35 (covers materials and other workshop costs)

Spaces are limited so reserve your spot today through our secure online system.

Taught by Christian Cerrito Resident Researcher Interactive Telecommunications Program, NYU. Visit his website here!

NYC-ACRE and Solar One come together to showcase some of the newest wind and energy projects in NYC, while providing invaluable and practical discussion on how to further establish a cleantech market in NYC.

SPEAKERS:
Micah Kotch, Director of Operations at NYC-ACRE at NYU-Poly
John Humphrey, Co-Founder of Sollega Inc.
James Gallagher, NYCEDC Senior VP for Energy Policy
Russell M. Tencer, CEO of Wind Products LLC
Diana Pangestu, Energy $mart Communities Coordinator at Solar One

Wine & Cheese networking reception to follow!

LOCATION:
NYC-ACRE at NYU-Poly, 160 Varick Street, aka 10 Hudson Square,
12th Floor, New York City

FREE EVENT!
Please RSVP by March 15 as space is limited: www.solar1.com/acre-cleantech

The next Green from the Inside Out will be held February 27 at the Interpretive Center at Clay Pit Ponds Park Preserve in Staten Island. More information is available here.

Below: NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator Max Joel discusses ways to save energy in apartment buildings.

Click here for more information, or visit the official website:
www.nyapplianceswapout.com

Presented by Solar One and the New York Solar Energy Society.

Thursday, February 4, 2010, 6:30-9:30

The Cooper Union Great Hall, 7 E.7th Street, NYC (map)

PROGRAM

Opening address by Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi and State Senator Antoine Thompson

Expert panel discussion featuring

• John Burges, Managing Director, Knight Capital Markets (New York, NY)
• Deborah Doncaster, Executive Director, Community Power Fund (Ontario, CA)
• Nils Mellquist, Senior Research Analyst, Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors (New York, NY)
• Wilson Rickerson, President, Rickerson Energy Strategies (Boston, MA)

Moderated by Chris Neidl, Advocacy Coordinator, Solar One.

Networking reception: 8:30–9:30

ABOUT

The world’s most advanced and profitable clean energy markets didn’t come to lead by accident. Rather, strategic commitments to long-term financial incentive policies that are designed to drive investment and rapidly scale viable, clean technologies directly account for their dominance.

The feed-in tariff is the policy approach that has proven to be the most effective in stimulating clean power adoption, generating jobs and driving down costs. Widely adopted in Europe and now emerging in force across North America, feed-in tariffs enable clean power generators of various sizes, deploying a variety of technologies, to sell their power over the long–term at rates that guarantee attractive and predictable returns.

In this event members of the New York State Legislature will join a prestigious panel of policy experts, financiers and clean energy investors from throughout North America to illustrate the case for a local Empire State Feed-In Tariff. The policy’s implications for investment and finance will form the core of the discussion, and recently introduced feed-in tariff legislation will be analyzed in reference to case studies from around the globe.

Cost: $30

Reserve your spot through secure payment here, or RSVP and pay at the door: email: wyldon1@gmail.com

Contact/Press: Christopher Neidl, neidl@solar1.org.

A Conversation with the ActiFist team: Adam Harvey, Richard Reiss (Artist as Citizen) and David Gibbs. Moderated by Chris Neidl, Solar One Advocacy Coordinator.

When: Monday January 25th, 7PM

Where: Solar One, East 23rd Street and the East River, next to the FDR and just south of the Gulf gas station. MAP.

About two weeks before the U.N. Climate Change Convention convened in Copenhagen, designer Adam Harvey had an idea. A graduate student at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, Harvey was interested in experimenting with how technology could be used to engage New Yorkers in the what was happening at the convention by providing them with a direct, emotionally succinct way of expressing their support for a climate treaty. He struck on a simple but powerful design idea that would link New Yorkers and Copenhageners together in a real time interaction that would hook participants into the issue in a way that conventional clipboard advocacy, by itself, could simply not accomplish.

From this the ActiFist project was rapidly born and ultimately realized three weeks later with the logistical and technical support of Artist as Citizen, Solar One and designer David Gibbs. The video posted above demonstrates how the project worked, and this Huffington Post article provides a concise overview.

ActiFist was a small experiment that explored how technology could promote engagement and interaction around an important issue. Now the development team is considering how the concept could be expanded and deployed in a different form and context to connect people at different points around in dialogue about climate change. In this discussion, ActiFist team members will give a technical overview of the Copenhagen project, share anecdotes of Copenhagen experience, discuss their thoughts on the role of interactive technology in activism in general, and brainstorm out loud (with audience help) about the future of the project.

This is a FREE event!

Contact/RSVP (required): neidl@solar1.org

The town hall building in Hempstead, Long Island, may seem pretty unremarkable at first sight. A big cube-like structure, with rows of glass windows, the building displays just the right amount of authority as the seat of local power. But a closer look at its rooftop reveals lines of shining solar panels, their blue cells merrily processing the sun’s bounty.

With one of the highest electricity rates in the country, Long Island should be a prime location for the development of renewable energy. Watch the video interview with Town Supervisor Kate Murray and learn more about what Hempstead, America’s largest township, is doing to promote clean, green power.

Also, check out Leading the Way, an annual report on Long Island’s municipal adoption of renewable energy.

From NYSERDA:

The New York State Green Residential Building Program (GRBP) will promote green design and building practices throughout New York State by offering incentives to Owners of newly constructed or substantially renovated green residential buildings of fewer than 12 units. A green residential building is a structure that incorporates design and construction practices that can lower energy costs and production of greenhouse gases, reduce waste and water use, and improve indoor air quality.

“Actifist” launched last night at Union Square/Fresh Air Cafe (Copenhagen) with great success! The interactive portal allowed New Yorkers to express their support for the 350 campaign’s science-based Copenhagen goal with signature attitude – by slamming their fist down and demanding action on one side of the Atlantic and having their motion instantaneously replicated by a wooden hand in  Copenhagen before a live audience. The video speaks for itself. What’s next for Actifist? At least from those of us on the Copenhagen side (Chris Neidl and Dave Gibbs) this is just the beginning. We’re already brimming with new ideas on how to expand the interface for future COPs. Next stop, Bonn, July 2010. Great Job Adam Harvey, Richard Reiss, Angela Tran Dave Gibbs! Big thanks to Solar One staff and friends Janna, Corinne and Dina for holding down the NYC end of things – you looked great!

Solar One’s great friend and former grant writer spent the last several months tracking the U.S. climate negotiators at negotiations in Bangkok, Barcelona and now Copenhagen. He’s spent the last nine days in the Bella Center witnessing various parts of the proceedings, In this video, he shares some impressions on what has happened so far and where things are going.

Last night Greenpeace International’s executive director Kumi Naidoo gave a great ’speech’ at the Fresh Air Cafe in central Copenhagen. It was a nice burst of energy following a rough few of days at COP 15.

Beyond traffic, another major cause identified is fuel combustion for space and water heating.  This is because “New York City is unique in the large amount of #4 and #6 heavy or ‘residual’ oil used for heating. Burning residual oil for heating generates more PM2.5 and SO2 per unit of heat than burning regular #2 home heating oil. Natural gas emits even less PM2.5 per unit of heat produced.”

The report looked only at conditions during winter, and so misses out on some summer-specific causes like increased use of dirtier power plants to meet peak demand.  It also doesn’t get into issues like indoor air quality (which can be much worse, especially in buildings with old equipment) and the increased amount of time people spend outside during the warmer months.  Nor does it include data for the airports, which seem like they would be candidates for high pollution totals with all that jet fuel being burned.

That said, the solutions in the report are good to see, if somewhat obvious: a transition to cleaner fuels, increased efficiency, expanded mass transit and a shift to cleaner vehicles.  To that we might add: promotion of renewable energy solutions like PV for electricity, solar thermal for water heating and geothermal for heating and cooling.  More trees and planted areas like community gardens and green roofs could also be helpful.

Looking to upgrade  the efficiency of your building or maybe put in a PV system? Check out the resources and incentive information available on our new Energy $mart Communities page.

Today was a busy, busy day . . . so busy I didn’t get much of a chance to film anything or hit the streets. Sorry, more footage tomorrow. For now, hope you can settle for my talking head – CN

A sobering graphic produced by 350 using climateinteractive.org data shows how far short the proceedings in Copenhagen are falling from negotiating anything near a science-based carbon reduction target. Please be sure to give this site a good hard look if heads of state are congratulating each other on reaching any kind of deal.

Author Bill McKibben explains the meaning and importance of the number 350.

Building Solar Pathways to Economic Empowerment in the Developing World from Chris Neidl on Vimeo.

Back in September, coinciding with the conclusion of U.N. Climate Week, Solar One assembled a panel of international experts to discuss emerging trends in solar deployment in the developing world. Titled Solar Pathways to Economic Empowerment, the event was attended by roughly 200 guests and hosted at the Steel Case showroom in Columbus Circle.

The panel included Nicola Armacost, founding director of Arc Finance, Asim Buksh, founder of the Buksh Foundation, Max Lacayo Cortes, sales director of Ecami S.A., and Sarah Butler-Sloss, founder and director of the Ashden Awards.

Please enjoy this video footage of the event in its entirety.