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  • Wealthy nations reneging on emission: China.

     

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    Chinese climate official Su Wei said at the conference that it was “unfair” to set a limit on nations that were still developing while emissions from fully developed countries were still rising. He said anticipated offer of financial support from rich countries to poorer nations in the draft of $10 billion a year was drop in the ocean.

    Mr Su said the United States, the European Union and Japan simply had not brought enough to the table.

    “If thought about in terms of the world’s population, what is being talked about is less than $2 per person,” he said.

    Mr Su expressed disappointment in the plans laid out by the United States. “Currently, the target is to reduce emissions by 17 percent from the 2005 level. I think, for all of us, this figure cannot be regarded as remarkable or notable,” he said.

    “I do hope that President Obama can bring a concrete contribution to Copenhagen,” China’s top climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said.

    Another Chinese official, Yu Qingtai, China’s special representative in the UN climate talks, said: “You will find a huge gap if you make a comparison between their pledges and the actions they have so far taken,”

    Developing nations are asking for at least $US300 billion in financial support to help them deal with the impacts of climate change. Developed nations’ financial commitments have fallen far short of that goal, and no money has actually been provided, the People’s Daily newspaper said.

    Financial support for developing nations is not “charity work” of the rich nations, but their “legal obligations” under international conventions, Mr Yu said.

    Mr Su said that the EU’s announced 20 per cent target was also too little, too late.

    Japan, which is the world’s fifth-largest emitter, has said its commitment depends on ambitious targets being set by other major polluters. “The Japanese have actually made no commitment because they have set an impossible precondition,” Mr Su said.

    But Mr Su’s most vehement criticism was reserved for rich countries that seemed to want to violate international agreements. He said they wanted to go back on undertakings that allowed poorer countries to put economic growth ahead of reducing emissions.

    Mr Xie also said that China could accept a target of halving global emissions by 2050 if developed nations stepped up their emissions cutting targets by 2020 and agreed to financial help for the developing world to fight climate change, the China Daily reported.

    “We do not deny the importance of a long-term target but I think a mid-term target is more important. We need to solve the immediate problem,” Mr Xie said.

    He added that “if the demands of developing countries can be satisfied I think we can discuss an emissions target” aimed at halving global emissions by 2050.

  • You caused it: you fix it; Tuvalu takes off the gloves.,

     

    On the third day of the December 7-18 negotiations, Tuvalu proposed opening discussions on a “legally binding amendment” to the Kyoto Protocol that would set targets for the reductions of greenhouse gas emissions for major emerging economies, starting in 2013.

    But the move was blocked by China, India, Saudi Arabia and other large developing countries.

    “The constraints would mostly remain on developed countries but also, partly, on big developing economies as well,” Taukiei Kitara, head of Tuvalu’s delegation, told AFP.

    Kitara acknowledged that the proposal constituted the first serious breach in the up-to-now united front of the “G-77 plus China”, a bloc of 130 developing nations.

    “We know the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol is not complete and we want to create an impulse for a stronger commitment,” Kitara said, referring to the landmark treaty that imposes emissions cuts on rich nations up to 2012.

    Today more than half of global carbon pollution comes from developing countries, led by emerging giants China, India and Brazil, and the proportion is set to rise as their high-population economies grow.

    The 42-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), including Tuvalu, and the bloc of mainly African Least Developed Countries, have rejected the widely held goal of keeping global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius as inadequate.

    Only a cap of 1.5 degrees compared with pre-industrial times would give these nations a chance of fighting off rising seas or crippling drought, they say.

  • Copenhagen talks break down as developing nations split over ‘Tuvalu’ protocol

     

     

    The crisis, partly precipitated by revelations yesterday that the host country Denmark had proposed a text which could have seen the death of the Kyoto protocol, threatens to divide the powerful G77 plus China group of 130 developing countries.

     

    Tuvalu, a Pacific island state politically and financially close to Australia, proposed a new protocol which would have the advantage of potentially forcing deeper global emission cuts, but could lead to other developing countries – rather than rich nations – having to make those cuts.

     

    Many developing nations cherish the legally binding commitments that Kyoto places on industrialised nations and fiercely oppose proposals that would change this.

     

    Tuvalu was immediately supported by other small island states, including Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and several African states. But it was opposed by 15 countries, including the powerful nations of China, Saudi Arabia and India. One of the two negotiating tracks was then suspended for several hours as no consensus could be reached.

     

    Civil society groups including the TckTckTck campaign and 350.org demonstrated outside the meeting in favour of Tuvalu, chanting: “Tuvalu is the new deal.”

     

    Observers said a G77 plus China rift at this early stage in the conference was a serious setback for the big developing countries. Small island states, least developed countries and Africa have so far worked together in public with the G77.

     

     

    In a separate development, a new draft text prepared by Denmark and other rich countries is known to make several compromises to developing countries. Sources close to the Danish prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, today indicated that the text contains a commitment to complete a legally binding agreement by December 2010. This is significantly more time than is wanted by the UK prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, but is thought to be necessary to complete the legal work.

     

    The new text also also says that countries will work towards agreeing a new commitment period for the Kyoto protocol. This has been holding up talks because developing countries fear the Kyoto protocol will be abandoned. The document also makes reference to the present negotiations, in an apparent move to deflect criticisms that the UN process is being undermined by back-room manouevering.

     

     

    Elsewhere today, Britain, Mexico, Norway and Australia tabled a paper that strongly backs a major new climate fund for developing countries. This would be run by a board which would be accountable to the UN, where priority would be given to spending in the poorest and most vulnerable countries. It addresses the vexed question of how cash for developing countries to adapt to climate change should be raised and distributed.

     

    Britain has proposed that an fund of $10bn (£6.2bn) be set up immediately to pay poorer nations between 2012 and 2015. Developing countries want $400bn (£246bn) to come on stream a year by 2020.

     

    While the voices of climate sceptics have largely been drowned out in Copenhagen, former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has intervened in the debate, saying President Barack Obama’s “cap and tax” plan for cutting US greenhouse gas emissions would be an economic catastrophe. In a Washington Post article, which made no mention of climate change, she said Obama’s plan would outsource energy supplies to China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Obama’s fiscal stimulus package gave $94bn for green measures in the US, second only to China.

  • Brain food: how voter’s whims could scupper Copenhagen

     

    General principles often get lost in political translation. US voters typically oppose free trade – until they go shopping for Chinese electronics. They’re hostile to immigration, but are loyal customers at their Korean corner store. Political theorists put this disconnect down to public ignorance, or a sense of individual powerlessness (especially against giant lobby groups) but American academic Bryan Caplan has another explanation: “Voters are worse than ignorant. They are irrational – and vote accordingly.“

    In fact, he believes such voters are “rationally irrational”. In a large democracy, no single ballot paper settles the result, so there’s no point in someone swotting up on the options. As long as voters pay no direct cost for supporting a policy, they’ll call for whichever seems most pleasant or socially respectable. But when there’s a price, the option lightest on the wallet usually wins.

    This helps explain why green policies often stall at Westminster, says Mathew Humphrey at Nottingham University. The British tell pollsters that climate change is more important to them than religion, but a recent Times survey found that even greens aren’t willing to fly less. In this way, the fight against global catastrophe is reduced to a clarion call to, um, unplug the mobile-phone charger.

    Governments can, of course, impose change and leave it to voters to adjust; Whitehall has launched a big drive for renewable energy that will add thousands to household fuel bills. But for Humphrey, the phenomenon of rational irrationality “makes me pessimistic about the ability of democratic governments to fight climate change”. Caplan is even more pointed: the cover of his latest book depicts the electorate as a flock of sheep.

  • DC Arc Faults and PV System Safety

     

    As an industry, we have done a good job of providing adequate system protection and safety mechanisms.  Widespread deployment of PV systems teaches us new lessons.  We must learn from those lessons and continue to improve the safety of PV systems.  Arc fault detection is a necessary next step.

    Aspects of DC Arc Fault and Safety

    Recent proposed changes to the National Electric Code underscore the gravity of DC arc fault risks. The changes (which have NOT yet been adopted as of this writing) will mandate detection of — and preventative measures for — series DC arc faults in systems where the DC voltage exceeds 80VDC. This is a step in the right direction as it addresses the prevention element of DC arc fault safety. There are two elements to the DC arc fault/safety issue:

    1. Prevention – this aspect deals with the mechanism and factors necessary to create an arc, especially one that is capable of becoming the source of ignition of nearby combustible materials. It should be noted that DC arcs can reach temperatures of over 3000 degrees C. Arcs of this temperature can melt metal, which can fall as slag and ignite nearby combustible materials. Preventative measures are therefore necessary to minimize the risk of starting the fire in the first place.
    2. Suppression – this involves all aspects related to extinguishing the fire after it has started. Fires are typically started by some means other than the PV system, but the presence of relatively high DC voltage and high DC current presents a significant risk to the firefighters.

    Types of Arcs

    Three types of arcs are of particular concern:

    Series – A series arc occurs when a connection is pulled apart while the PV is producing current. Any intermittent connection in the DC circuit has the potential for producing a DC arc fault. These connections may include soldered joints within the module, compression type wire connections, or the actual connectors that are commonly used on the wire leads attached to PV modules.

    Parallel – Parallel arcs occur when an insulation system suffers a breakdown. Two conductors of opposite polarity in the same DC circuit are often run in close proximity to each other. The insulation between the two wires can become ineffective due to animals chewing on them, UV breakdown, embrittlement, cracking, moisture ingress and freeze/thaw cycles.

    To ground – This fault only requires the failure of one insulation system.  While GFDI (Ground Fault Detector & Interrupter) provides some measure of protection against this fault, there have been cases of faults to ground that failed to trip the GFDI protection yet created an arc.

    Challenges with Arcs

    Detection of the arc is the first real challenge. It is paramount that the arcs are reliably detected without raising “false alarms.” Many different techniques can be employed, with most relying on voltage, current, radiated energy, or a combination of these.

    Taking appropriate action once the arc has been detected is the second challenge.  Furthermore, the correct action for series arcs is the opposite of the action necessary for parallel arcs.  In fact, the corrective action for a series arc can actually exacerbate a parallel arc.

    To extinguish a series DC arc, power production must be ceased and current flow in the DC circuit must be reduced to a very low level. It is preferable to reduce the DC current flow to zero in order to guarantee that the arc is extinguished. The PV inverter can accomplish this by ceasing exportation of power. 

    A parallel arc requires the opposite action. The two DC conductors must be shorted together to bring the array voltage to zero. Once the voltage is near zero, the arc extinguishes and the protective device must be capable of carrying the array short circuit current indefinitely.

    System Design

    Three aspects of system design contribute to the arc fault risk: high DC voltage, high DC current and large geographic distribution of DC wiring. To sustain an arc of significant temperature, the voltage across the arc gap must be in the range of 20 volts or more. DC short circuit current capabilities below 2 or 3 amps have a difficult time sustaining an arc of any real danger. Wide distribution of wiring systems increases the likelihood of physical damage and increases the degree of exposure to firefighters during the suppression phase of a fire.

    A traditional string/central inverter PV system design is not beneficial in terms of addressing arc fault risk and firefighter safety. Strings are designed for the highest DC voltage to reduce I²R losses, and multiple strings are placed in parallel to increase the DC current. This design also results in a large geographic distribution of DC wiring systems.  All three of these design factors increase the risk of arc faults and make it more difficult to suppress a fault once it occurs.

    The impact of DC-DC converters, which operate at high DC bus voltages and connect to a traditional string/central inverter, resulting in the large geographic distribution of DC wiring, is uncertain.  Certain types of arc faults could fool the control system into taking inappropriate control actions and theoritically worsen the problem.  Some of these systems also rely on communication controls for safety functions.  Without appropriate safety measures similar to those used in aerospace control systems, this is a questionable approach.

    Microinverter and AC module designs work at much lower DC voltages, lower DC current, and limit the distribution of DC wiring to the vicinity of the module. These inverters are Utility-Interactive, which means that the removal of Utility AC power from the system, results in no AC voltage being distributed, and only low voltage DC under each PV module.  This approach reduces arc fault risk and provides the greatest degree of safety for the firefighters.

    In summary, as the concern for fire prevention and suppression rises in the PV industry, more attention is being paid to the threat of arc faults. Challenges with arc faults include understanding the type of arc fault and ensuring that the appropriate corrective action is taken. System design also has a significant effect on both prevention and suppression of fires, with increasing preference being given to AC-based systems that mitigate the risk of fire by avoiding distribution of high DC voltage and high DC current altogether.

  • Aussies swelter through hottest six months on record.

     

    “Australia had the third-warmest year on record with three exceptional heatwaves,” Mr Jarraud said.

    The WMO report said the heatwaves happened in January/February, when the hot weather contributed to the disastrous Victorian bushfires, in August and again in November.

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    The presence of El Nino conditions underway in the Pacific saw near-record rises in sea surface temperatures and most parts of Australia experienced an exceptionally mild winter.

    Maximum temperatures were also well above the national average, with 3.2C above normal, the largest ever recorded in any month.

    Dr David Jones, head of climate analysis at the Bureau of Meteorology’s national climate centre, said one of the biggest impacts in the last year had been the absence of cold, with a massive decline in sea ice in the Arctic.

    “The last six months have been the warmest six months on record for Australia,” Dr Jones said.

    “We expect 2009 will be either the second warmest year on record for Australia or the third warmest.”

    He said the results were not surprising.

    “Every decade’s been getting warmer for the last 70 years.

    “Clearly climate change hasn’t stopped, global warming hasn’t stopped.”

    The outlook for the summer is consistent, Dr Jones said, with warm daytime conditions in northeast Australia forecast to continue.