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  • Warming climate may cut cloud cover, push temperatures even higher

    Warming climate may cut cloud cover, push temperatures even higher

    One of the great unknowns of climate science is what effect clouds have in accelerating or slowing warming. A new study sheds a disturbing light on their possible impact.

    By Tim Radford, via Climate News Network

    Australian and French scientists believe they have cracked one of the great puzzles of climate change and arrived at a more accurate prediction of future temperatures.

    The news is not good, according to Steven Sherwood of Australia’s Centre for Excellence for Climate System Science at the University of New South Wales. If carbon emissions are not reduced, then by 2100 the world will have warmed by 4°C.

    This figure does not, at first, sound high: researchers have been warning for 20 years on the basis of computer models that under the notorious business-as-usual scenario in which everybody goes on burning coal and oil, then as carbon dioxide levels double, global temperatures could rise by between 1.5°C and 4.5°C.

    Pessimists could cite one extreme, optimists the other: the range of uncertainty was a recognition that there were still some big unknowns in the machinery of climate, and one of those unknowns was the behaviour of the clouds in a warmer world.

    More warmth means more evaporation, more vapour could mean more clouds. Low-level clouds reflect sunlight back into space, and help cool the climate a bit. This is what engineers call negative feedback. 

    Drying the clouds

    But if more water vapour actually led to less cloud, then more sunlight would reach the surface and the world would warm even more: positive feedback would be in play. Climate models cater for such possibilities, but cannot choose between them.

    What Sherwood and his colleagues from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris did was to start with some real-world observations of what happens when water vapour gets into the atmosphere.

    They report in Nature that updraughts of water vapour can rise 15 kms to form high clouds that produce heavy rains, or the vapour can rise just a few kilometers before coming back to the surface without forming rain clouds.

    When this happens the process actually reduces the overall cloud cover because it dessicates the clouds above: it draws away water vapour from the higher regions in a process called convective mixing.

    Climate models in the past have tended to predict high cloud formation that damps warming. What Sherwood and his colleagues have done is demonstrate that the world may not work like that.

    Profound effects in prospect

    So the next step was to feed the new understanding into computer simulations. These then showed that climate cycles could develop that would take vapour to a wider range of heights in the atmosphere, with the consequence that fewer clouds would form as climate warms.

    If so – and other climate scientists will have their own arguments with the findings – then as carbon dioxide levels double, which they will do in the next 50 years or so, the average planetary temperatures will increase by a colossal 4°C.

    Governments have expressed the wish – but not so far taken the necessary action – to contain planetary temperatures to a rise of no more than 2°C. If Sherwood and colleagues are right, they will not get their wish. And the process will go on. The temperatures will continue to soar beyond 2100, to reach an additional 8°C by 2200.

    “Climate skeptics like to criticise climate models for getting things wrong, and we are the first to admit they are not perfect, but what we are finding is that the mistakes are being made by those models that predict less warming, not those that predict more”, said Professor Sherwood.

    “Rises in global average temperatures of this magnitude will have profound impacts on the world and the economies of many countries if we don’t urgently curb our emissions.”

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  • New comment on the Tally Room

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    [New comment] Numbers point to WA Senate by-election

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    The Tally Room <donotreply@wordpress.com>
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    New comment on The Tally Room
    Ben Raue commented on Numbers point to WA Senate by-election.

    in response to Ben Raue:

    Update: The result today saw Scott Ludlam (GRN) and Wayne Dropulich (Sports Party) elected instead of the PUP and ALP candidates who had won in the first count. The margin at the key point is 12 votes, a net turn-around of 26 votes. The case seems set to head to the Court of Disputed Returns. […]

    The dates for the by-elections haven’t been announced.

    The earliest possible date for Griffith is February 8, if the by-election is called in the next week.

    There has been speculation that Redcliffe will go on the same date, although it isn’t required. I don’t think as much time is required for the Redcliffe by-election.

    The WA Senate by-election cannot begin until the Court of Disputed Returns considers the matter. Unlikely to be in February

  • Tracking Abbott’s wreckage – The full list

    Tracking Abbott’s wreckage – The full list

    Tony Abbott has been in power since 7 September 2013. From that moment, he and his government have broken promises and hurt Australians.

    This post will be regularly updated to keep track of the Abbott Government’s broken promises and everything his Government does to hurt Australians.

    Each separate item will have a link to a source. Broken promises appear in bold and in a separate list at the end.

    The List 

    72. Refuses to support jobs at SPC at the cost of hundreds of jobs – 27 December 2013 

    71. Appoints Tim Wilson, a Liberal Party member and Policy Director of a right-wing think tank to the position of Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission even though this think tank argued for the Commission to be abolished – 23 December 2013 

    70. Approves private health fund premium increases of an average 6.2% a year – 23 December 2013

    69. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean – 23 December 2013 

    68. Requests the delisting of World Heritage status for Tasmanian forests – 21 December 2013 

    67. Scraps the Home Energy Saver Scheme which helps struggling low income households cut their electricity bills – 17 December 2013

    66. Defunds the Public Interest Advocacy Centre whose objectives are to work for a fair, just and democratic society by taking up legal cases public interest issues – 17 December 2013

    65. Defunds the Environmental Defenders Office which is a network of community legal centres providing free advice on environmental law – 17 December 2013

    64. Axes funding for animal welfare – 17 December 2013

    63. Abolishes the AusAID graduate program costing 38 jobs – 17 December 2013

    62. Cuts Indigenous legal services by $13.4 million – 17 December 2013

    61. Abolishes the position of co-ordinator-general for remote indigenous services – 17 December 2013

    60. Changes name of  NDIS “launch sites” to “trial sites” and flags cuts to funding – 17 December 2013 

    59. Abolishes the National Office for Live Music along with the live music ambassadors – 17 December 2013

    58. Weakened the ministerial code of conduct to let ministers keep shares in companies – 16 December 2013

    57. Disbands the independent Immigration Health Advisory Group for asylum seekers – 16 December 2013 

    56. Backs Qantas bosses over the workers as 1000s local jobs threatened – 14 December 2013 

    55. Starts dismantling Australia’s world leading marine protection system – 13 December 2013 

    54. Scraps the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water – 13 December 2013 

    53. Breaks its NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 – 12 December 2013  

    52. Overturns the “critically endangered” listing of the Murray Darling Basin – 11 December 2013

    51. Dares Holden to leave Australia. Holden announces closure which costs Australian workers 50 000 jobs – 11 December 2013 

    50. Approves Clive Palmer’s mega coal mine in the Galilee Basin, turning the Great Barrier Reef into a dumping ground for dredge spoil and a shipping super highway – 11 December 2013

    49. Demands that the few childcare workers who got pay rises “hand them back” – 10 December 2013 

    48. Approves the largest coal port in the world in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – 10 December 2013  

    47. Removes the community’s right to challenge decisions where the government has ignored expert advice on threatened species impacts – 9 December 2013 

    46. Downgrades national environment laws by giving approval powers to state premiers – 9 December 2013  

    45. Undermines Australia’s democracy by signing a free trade agreement with South Korea allowing corporations to sue the Australian Government – 6 December 2013 

    44. Damages our diplomatic relationship with our nearest neighbour East Timor – 5 December 2013 

    43. Repeals the pokie reform legislation achieved in the last parliament to combat problem gambling – 4 December 2013 

    42. Suspends the Wage Connect program, despite it being proven to deliver good outcomes for unemployed people – 3 December 2013 

    41. Axes funding to the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, forcing the 46 year old organisation to close – 27 November 2013  

    40. Back-flips twice on Gonski, reversing a commitment to a ‘unity ticket’ and failing to deliver equitable education funding – 25 November 2013  

    39. Shifts Australia’s position at the UN on Israeli settlements – 25 November 2013

    38. Damages our diplomatic relationship with the Indonesian Government by refusing to apologise for tapping the phones of their President, his wife and senior Government officials – 23 November 2013 

    37. Converts crucial Start-Up Scholarships into loans, increasing the debt of 80,000 higher education students by $1.2 billion – 21 November 2013 

    36. Gifts two navy patrol boats to the Sri Lankan government to stop asylum seekers fleeing the Sri Lankan government – 17 November 2013

    35. Introduces a Bill to impose on workers who are elected to unpaid committees in their union huge financial penalties and jail terms for breeches of new compliance obligations – 14 November 2013 

    34. Condones torture by foreign governments by saying “sometimes in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen” – 14 November 2013 

    33. Hides information from the Parliament and the people about the government’s treatment of asylum seekers – 13 November 2013

    32. Separates a refugee mother from her newborn baby – 10 November 2013 

    31. Cuts 600 jobs at the CSIRO – 8 November 2013

    30. Abolishes Insurance Reform Advisory Group which provided a forum for industry and consumer bodies to discuss insurance industry reform – 8 November 2013

    29. Abolishes the Maritime Workforce Development Forum which was an industry body working to build a sustainable skills base for the maritime industry – 8 November 2013

    28. Abolishes the High Speed Rail Advisory Group whose job it was to advise Governments on the next steps on implementing high speed rail for eastern Australia – 8 November 2013

    27. Abolishes the Advisory Panel on the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula which for 21 years monitored compliance of industry to agreements on marketing infant formula – 8 November 2013 

    26. Abolishes the Antarctic Animal Ethics Committee who ensured research on animals in the Antarctic complies with Australian standards – 8 November 2013

    25. Abolished the National Steering Committee on Corporate Wrongdoing that for 21 years worked to make sure the law was effectively enforced on corporate criminals – 8 November 2013

    24. Abolishes the National Inter-country Adoption Advisory Council which provided expert advice on overseas adoption – 8 November 2013

    23. Abolishes International Legal Services Advisory Council which was responsible for working to improve the international performance of Australia’s legal services – 8 November 2013

    22. Abolishes the Commonwealth Firearms Advisory Council a group of experts in gun crime and firearms which was set up after the Port Arthur massacre – 8 November 2013

    21. Abolishes Australian Animals Welfare Advisory Committee – 8 November 2013

    20. Abolishes the National Housing Supply Council which provided data and expert advice on housing demand, supply and affordability – 8 November 2013

    19. Abolishes the  Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing, established to help address the challenges the country faces as the number of older Australians grows – 8 November 2013 

    18. Refuses to offer support to manufacturing in  Tasmania, despite requests and warnings. Caterpillar announces the move of 200 jobs from Burnie to Thailand, costing around 1000 local jobs – 5 November 2013

    17. Provides $2.2 million legal aid for farmers and miners to fight native title claims – 1 November 2013

    16. Abolishes the 40 year old AusAID costing hundreds of jobs – 1 November 2013

    15. Launches a successful High Court  which strikes down the ACT Marriage Equality laws invalidating the marriages of many people and ensuring discrimination against same-sex couples continues – 23 October 2013 

    14. Denies there is a link between climate change and more severe bush fires and accuses a senior UN official was “talking through their hat”  – 23 October 2013 

    13. Appoints the head of the Business Council of Australia to a “Commission of Audit” to recommend cuts to public spending – 22 October 2013  

    12. Instructs public servants and detention centre staff to call asylum seekers “illegals” – 20 October 2013

    11. Appoints Howard era Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC) Director to help reinstate the ABCC with all its previous oppressive powers over construction workers – 17 October 2013 

    10. Axes the Major Cities Unit a Government agency with 10 staff which provided expert advice on urban issues in our 18 biggest cities – 24 September 2013

    9. Fails to “stop the boats”.  Hides the boats instead – 23 September 2013  

    8. Scraps the Social Inclusion Board, which had been established to guide policy on the reduction of poverty in Australia – 19 September 2013 

    7. Abolishes the Climate Commission – 19 September 2013 

    6. Appoints himself Minister for Women – 16 September 2013 

    5. Appoints only one woman into his cabinet and blames the women for his decision, saying he appoints “on merit”– 16 September 2013 

    4. Abolishes key ministerial positions of climate change and science – 16 September 2013 

    3. Breaks his promise to spend his first week with an Aboriginal community – 14 September 2013 

    2. Takes away pay rises for childcare workers – 13 September 2013 

    1. Takes away pay rises from aged care workers – 13 September 2013 

    Thanks to @thefinnigans for this image

    Thanks to @thefinnigans for this image

    The Broken Promise Count

    1. Breaks his promise to spend his first week with an Aboriginal community – 14 September 2013.  This promise was made in front of indigenous elders and participates at the Garma Festival on 10 August 2013, this is a live recording the promise is made at 21:30

    2. Fails to “stop the boats”.  Hides the boats instead – 23 September 2013.   This promise was repeated so many times I can’t count. Here’s Abbott’s 2013 campaign launch speech.

    3. Back-flips twice on Gonski, reversing a commitment to a ‘unity ticket’ and failing to deliver equitable education funding – 25 November 2013  See paragraph two from Christopher Pyne on 29 August 2013 

    4. Breaks its NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 – 12 December 2013   This was the Coalition’s policy they took to the election first announced 9 April 2013.

    5. Changes name of  NDIS “launch sites” to “trial sites” and flags cuts to funding – 17 December 2013  The promise to deliver the NDIS in full was made 20 August 2013 and is in the policies they took to the election

    6. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean – 23 December 2013 Promise made by Greg Hunt 9 April 2013

    Thanks to David Olive

    Thanks to David Olive for this image.

    Thanks to The Greens whose research in 100 days, 40 failures: A Preview of secretive, cruel

  • Big things afoot. 350.ORG

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    Big things afoot.

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    May Boeve – 350.org <350@350.org>
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    Friends,

    Here is one of the trickiest things about fighting climate change: whenever you do good work, you find that there is even more work to be done.

    In 2013, 350.org’s global network did such good work — and that means we have set ourselves up for an even bigger 2014. We have got ambitious plans for next year, and it will take some money to make them happen.

    If you can spare anything as the year draws to a close, please make a secure online donation to support the climate movement in 2014. Any amount helps, and our savvy staff will put it to good use.

    Big things are afoot, and they are only going to get bigger.

    With gratitude,

    May

    P.S. If you are on the fence about donating, our team put together this list of reasons to just go for it:

    Top 10 Reasons to Donate to 350.org

    (If you cannot see the pictures below, make sure to turn on images in your email program. Click here to learn how.)

    1) We invest in a global movement.

    We think a lot about scale at 350.org, and know that we need a global grassroots groundswell to rise to this planetary crisis. So we organized “Global Power Shift”, an unprecedented convergence that brought together more than 600 people from 135 countries to Istanbul learn, train, and spark a wave of climate action around the world. After leaving Turkey, these leaders went back to their own countries to organize “National Power Shifts” to catalyze powerful movements in their home countries: from Vietnam to India, Ukraine to Argentina.

    2)We turn up the heat.

    Over the summer, we worked with partners across the USA to coordinate a series of bold direct actions. We called it “Summer Heat”, and from coast to coast, we joined with local activists to confront the fossil fuel industry and stand up for our future. As we said then: “as temperatures rise, so do we.” Right now, as summer comes to Australia, we are making plans and turning up the heat there as well.

    3) We help make history.

    In February, we joined with our allies and converged in Washington, DC for “Forward on Climate”: the largest climate rally in United States history. Over 40,000 people braved the frigid temperatures to tell President Obama to reject the Keystone Pipeline and become a climate leader.

    4)We spread the truth about climate change.

    This year, we launched the “Do the Maths” movie to spread the new arithmetic of climate change. There have been thousands of local screenings around the globe, and hundreds of thousands of additional views online — getting a crucial climate message to people outside of the proverbial choir. We also organized successful “Do The Maths” tours across Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

    5) We flip the narrative.

    Across the world, we are challenging narratives that keep us on the course of climate inaction and disaster. On the Pacific Islands, people are fighting the frame that paints them as climate victims. Activists in the region are rejecting that sea level rise will mean the loss of their islands and cultures, and that nothing can be done about it. Through cultural expression they are reclaiming their narrative and their destiny. They are not victims. They are proud warriors facing the climate crisis head on.

    6) We’re not afraid to pick a fight.

    When we joined with partners to launch the “Fossil Free” campaign to divest from fossil fuel companies, we directly targeted the two things that corporate polluters care about most: their reputation and their money. In barely a year, that campaign has spread like wildfire — from campuses to churches to communities. A new study out of Oxford University has found “The outcome of the stigmatisation process, which the fossil fuel divestment campaign has now triggered, poses the most far-reaching threat to fossil fuel companies.” Fossil Free has taken off in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and across Europe.

    7)We unite for action.

    At 350, we love “days of action” — movement moments when people everywhere come together in their communities for a local event. There are few things as powerful as people taking action together while transcending boundaries of geography, language, and class. In April, we joined together to “Do the Maths” with Bill McKibben in thousands of living rooms and theaters around the world. In September, we united at hundreds of events to “Draw the Line” on the Keystone XL pipeline. And in November, we solemnly gathered for vigils around the world to tell the Philippines that “#WeStandWithYou”.

    8) We stand with people on the front lines.

    When Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the Philippines, our team sprung into action: we raised money for direct relief efforts, supported our local team in the Philippines to supply aid to those in need, and helped coordinate vigils to stand in solidarity with the people hit hardest by the storm. And a year after Hurricane Sandy hit the USA, we joined with community, labor, social and environmental justice groups to call for a fair recovery and clean energy for everyone.

    9) Our ambition is high, but our overhead isn't.

    We are taking on the world’s biggest challenge, and doing it all over the planet. Our staff has grown to keep up with this growing movement, but we are lean and frugal, and strive to make every dollar count.

    10) We don’t give up.

    Whether we are fighting a single dirty pipeline or campaigning for global solutions, we know that this fight takes stamina, perseverance, and hope. We are in it to win it — and are so grateful to stand together with all of you in the fight of our lives.

     

  • Coalition cuts Labor, Greens Parliament staff

    Coalition cuts Labor, Greens Parliament staff

    Date
    December 29, 2013
    • 30 reading now
    Bianca Hall

    Bianca Hall is political correspondent

    You can tell a lot about a government’s priorities by what is kept and what is canned in a tight economic environment.

    Among the federal government’s latest cuts, as it grapples with a budget blowout of more than $17 billion, are staff for the opposition, Greens and cross-bench MPs.

    In 2010, Labor had approved its opposite numbers hiring 72 extra staff, at a cost of $54.2 million, to help them navigate legislation in a challenging minority government environment.

    But with a comfortable electoral win under its belt, the Coalition will save $6 million over four years by cutting non-government staffing levels to pre-2010 levels.

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    Since coming to office on September 7, the Coalition has cut billions of dollars in programs, including $1.1 billion it will save by abandoning grants promised by the Labor government, announced this month in its mid-year economic statement.

    Treasurer Joe Hockey’s office cannot provide a comprehensive list of the grants programs it has cut, and a spokeswoman says no estimates have been made of the jobs to be lost due to the cuts.

    Among the casualties are a host of advisory boards and their part-time representatives deemed to have outlived their usefulness, with $43 million stripped from programs delivering policy reform and advocacy activities.

    A spokesman for the Community and Public Sector Union says it’s impossible to know how many jobs will be lost, because of the ”conspicuous absence” of hard data in the mid-year financial statement.

    The government came to power promising to cut 12,000 public service jobs through natural attrition.

    But Finance Minister Matthias Cormann said last month the government had discovered Labor had ”hidden” its own plans to cut 14,500 jobs over the next four years, making achieving the target through voluntary departures hard.

    A Fairfax analysis of the savings announced in the mid-year economic statement shows hundreds of jobs and volunteer positions will be lost as the government grapples with a budget blowout of more than $17 billion on top of the promised public service job cuts.

    Some of them will be jobs in name only, having been announced by Labor then cut by the government before anyone had a chance to actually do the jobs.

    These include ”live music ambassadors” who were to head the $560,000 national office for live music announced by former prime minister Kevin Rudd during the election campaign.

    Also given the chop is the person who would have become the independent inspector general of animal welfare and live animal exports (saving $3.9 million over four years). But most of the job losses will be felt by real people.

    The Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, which had operated since 1966, went into administration after it learnt last month that its funding would cease immediately.

    The council was the peak body for organisations working to minimise the harm caused by drugs and alcohol, providing professional development, information sharing and advocacy services on an annual budget of $1.6 million from the federal Health Department.

    The position of co-ordinator general for remote indigenous services, now held by Brian Gleeson, will be axed when Mr Gleeson retires in January, saving $7.1 million over three years.

    Also losing their jobs are an unknown number of Aboriginal legal aid policy workers.

    Members of the advisory panel on the economic portrayal of senior Australians – Everald Compton, Gill Lewin and Brian Howe – will also go, saving $958,000 over two years.

    The ABC’s Insiders host Barrie Cassidy, who was appointed chairman of the Old Parliament House advisory council, has handed in his resignation after the Coalition asked him to step down from the voluntary position. The government appointed former Howard government minister David Kemp in his place.

    Then there are 38 university graduates who accepted jobs in the prestigious AusAID graduate program, only to be told the program had been scrapped.

    Other groups that have gone are the Climate Commission (now operating as the donor-funded Climate Council) and the Climate Change Authority. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation also faces an uncertain future.

    The First People Education Advisory Group, comprising indigenous academics and education experts, also will no longer receive funding.

    A dozen non-statutory bodies, advising on everything from animal welfare to ageing, will be abolished while a further three will be amalgamated with other non-statutory bodies and five will be absorbed by portfolio departments.

    Funding change slams door on multicultural men’s shed

    It was going to be Australia’s first multicultural men’s shed. A place for about 80 elderly postwar migrants and new migrants to spend time tinkering with hands-on projects and talking to each other.

    As well as supporting other blokes in the shed, the men would have been involved in a pilot ”in-home maintenance program”, going into the community to fix windows, change light bulbs and perform household tasks for residents too frail or elderly to perform them themselves and all for a gold coin donation.

    Newcastle Ethnic Communities Council executive officer John Tucker spent six weeks on the proposal. His organisation submitted a successful development application to Newcastle City Council and spent about $30,000 on plans and preliminary works.

    But the plan – which would have cost $159,000 to complete, employed dozens of local tradesmen and has the support of the NSW government, which kicked in $40,000 – is one of hundreds of community projects abruptly stripped of funds by the federal government in the final weeks of the year.

    ”It was funded under the previous government’s budget, so it was already money spent,” Mr Tucker said. ”It was a legitimate, legal, legitimately applied for grant, so it’s just really disappointing.

  • Giant ‘Battery’ Can Store Renewable Energy

    Giant ‘Battery’ Can Store Renewable Energy

    • Published: December 23rd, 2013

    Repost This

    By Paul Brown, Climate News Network

    LONDON – Norwegian hydropower schemes linked to Europe’s large wind farm projects could successfully act as a backup when wind power fails to deliver enough energy, according to SINTEF, the largest independent Scandinavian research organization.

    Smøla Wind Farm is a 68 turbine wind farm located on the island of Smøla in Norway. Researchers say energy from surplus wind power will provide “battery” power to even out energy supply & demand. Credit: Flickr/Statkraft

    With both on- and off-shore wind power being seen as key to reducing the EU’s carbon emissions by 80-95 percent by 2050, a big hurdle for the technology is solving the problem of intermittent power production. Sometimes there will be too much power on offer, and at others too little.

    A northern European offshore power grid is being developed to link wind farms and carry the electricity to population centers where it is needed in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. But the key problem remains how to maintain a regular supply of energy.

    If the existing Norwegian hydropower schemes were refurbished and updated and connected to the same grid they could act as a giant “blue-green battery” for the system and provide all the necessary backup power, according to SINTEF.

    Goodbye Coal!

    The potential for wind power in northern Europe is huge. There are already 3.8 gigawatts of installed wind power, replacing four coal-fired power plants. According to the European Union this is expected to rise to 150 gigawatts between 2030 and 2050, the equivalent of 150 medium-sized coal-fired power stations.

    Although there are always variations in wind speed, clever use of the grid system, linking to other renewables like biogas and other back-up gas stations, evens up supply. One way of dealing with electricity surpluses, for example from nuclear power stations that have to run 24 hours a day and produce power at night that no-one needs, is to use the electricity to pump water uphill into reservoirs. This water can be released and used for hydropower during daytime peaks. This system is called pumped storage.

    Green Battery

    This is exactly SINTEF’s idea, but on a larger scale. Norwegian reservoirs could be constantly recharged with water delivered by electricity generated by surplus wind power, with the water power used as a “green” battery in times of shortage.

    “If this large wind project is to succeed, we must secure stable electricity supplies”, says Daniel Huertas-Hernando at SINTEF. “Today, forecasts of wind velocities provide the only information which gives us any indication of power generation levels from wind farms for the next 24 hours.

    “If these prognoses turn out to be wrong, or if bad weather makes generation from the turbines impossible, we will need an effective stand-by source which can fill the energy supply gap at short notice.

    The Dinorwig pumped storage station at Llanveris, North Wales. The potential of Norwegian hydropower plants could provide adequate backup.
    Credit: Jim Barton, Wikimedia Commons via Climate News Network

    “This is exactly what Norwegian hydropower can do, because it makes it possible to store energy which can then be released on tap as and when it is needed,” he said.

    By refurbishing existing plants and installing pump storage, the research shows, the potential of Norwegian hydropower plants could be increased by between 11 and 18 gigawatts, enough to provide adequate backup.

    The next question the researchers are looking at is how to integrate all this into the European grid so that the system is cost-effective. An EU project called Twenties is looking at large-scale stable renewable energy for the EU.

    Peaks and Troughs

    Some renewables like solar, which are also intermittent, pose less of a problem because peak production is around mid-day when energy use is at its highest. This has already led to peak wholesale prices being reduced in countries like Germany and Italy where there are large-scale solar installations.

    Wind is less predictable. The problem is to work out how best to use the output to even out production peaks and troughs before final decisions on a distribution network are taken.

    There are already grid connections between countries, for example to export surplus nuclear power from France to Germany, Italy and the UK. Surplus wind power from Denmark is exported, and Norway can sometimes offer spare hydropower.

    “So far the only power cables we have extending directly between different countries are the so-called ‘cross-border trading cables,’” says Huertas-Hernando. He says what is needed is a grid development strategy across Europe to even out supply and demand.

    “Since grid construction takes such a long time, it’s important to find the answer to this question now, so that we can plan in time,” he said.

    Paul Brown is a joint editor for Climate News Network. Climate News Network is a news service led by four veteran British environmental reporters and broadcasters. It delivers news and commentary about climate change for free to media outlets worldwide.

    Comments

    By Eric Peterson (Front Royal, VA 22630r)
    on December 25th, 2013

    “There are already 3.8 gigawatts of installed wind power, replacing four coal-fired power plants”

    Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_the_European_Union says 105 GW.  In the same page it says Germany generated 35,500 GWh in a year (2010) which is 4 GWh per hour or 4 GW.  Their installed capacity in 2010 was 27 GW so their capacity factor was about 15%.  Using that factor and the 105 total GW of capacity I get 15 GW of installed wind power practically speaking.  Another wikipedia page shows that most coal electric power plants are between 2 and 5 GW.

    Bottom line “replacing four coal-fired power plants” appears to be a correct statement although the numbers behind that statement are different from what I found.

    Reply to this comment

    By SaveNaturefree (Cairns Queensland)
    on December 25th, 2013

    The solution has always been small local generation from solar wind and river currents, What make the solution difficult is money.

    Reply to this comment

    By kermit
    on December 26th, 2013

    SaveNatureFree – yes, but the money for renewable generation is there. It’s no more expensive to replace coal and oil plants with renewable energy plants as they die off than it is to build new ones. The problem is the money being spent on misinformation and buying legislation to protect old and destructive energy technologies.

    It’s true a smart grid will cost us money, but it saves in the long run. It will save us money whatever the source of electricity are, on in what proportions. We cannot consider the cost of anything without considering the cost of alternatives. Soon – if not already – it will not be possible to fix the damage done.

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    By Patricia R. Pearl (Sarasota, Florida 34234)
    on December 27th, 2013

    The use of water towers filed by excess wind generated power to generate electricity is a great idea!
    Here is another great idea from the United Kingdom. It is the use of liquefied air to generate electricity. The air is liquefied during the night when the electricity from the wind turbines is “not needed”.  Then the “liquefied air” is ever so slightly warmed. The gas, having expanded the material about 700 times, is under great pressure. It spins a turbine which generates electricity when it is needed.
    The URL:
    http://highview-power.com/wordpress/
    Both ideas will be more and more useful in the future.
    There is a great solar installation in the Mohave Desert which stores energy as molten salt. The company is called Bright Source. The molten salt generates steam which spins turbines at night, generating electricity.
    The URL:
    http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/
    The molten salt is also a useful technology.
    The variety of ways to store energy is interesting. Cold, wet and gravity, and heat….hmmmmm. It makes me wonder about the next technology, the technology we have not heard of yet………..

    Reply to this comment

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