Thailand Closes Diving Sites to Protect Corals

Some of Thailand’s most popular diving sites are now off limits to tourists: Thai officials announced on Thursday that they were restricting access to seven marine national parks for up to a year to prevent further harm to coral reefs severely damaged by a long period of elevated sea temperatures last year.

Tourists standing on living coral off Taru Island in the Gulf of Thailand.Reefs are plentiful in Thailand and serve as a major tourist draw, and the announcement met with opposition from some hotel and tourism operators. More than 80 percent of the corals at 18 dive sites have undergone bleaching, a symptom of severe stress caused by excessively warm water temperatures. Corals can recover from bleaching, but if the stress is too acute, they die.

Read more at NY Times

Vibro-Wind Array Oscillators

Outdoor Testing of the Vibro-Wind array. The foam oscillators convert the kinetic energy of the wind into usable electrical energy via piezoelectric cantilevers

New Study Says We Could Be 100% Renewable Energy Reliant by 2030

A new study says that we could be 100% renewable energy reliant by 2030. Two U.S. researchers, Mark Delucchi and Mark Jacobson, believe that we could tap into ample natural resources to such an extent to completely power all homes, businesses and factories world-wide in less than 20 years.

The results of the study were published in a recent National Geographic article entitled, “Going ‘All the Way’ With Renewable Energy?”

So, just how can this leap occur? How is it possible that we can somehow pull a 360 degree turn from using coal, natural gas and oil as more than 80% of all energy, to going 100% renewable energy reliant?

The authors of the new study note that many new energy generating systems would have to be built. More precisely: 4 million 5-MW wind turbines, 90,000 300-MW large-scale solar plants, and 1.7 billion rooftop PV systems at 3 kW each. Notably, the study excludes biomass and carbon-free electricity generation, as those power plants rely on fossil fuels.

New Study Says We Could Be 100% Renewable Energy Reliant by 2030 Solar Panels - Green Power#comment-1449

Virtual Scale Model Sand Engine Delfland Coast Holland

The Sand engine is a large amount of sand that will be deposited in front of the Delfland coast. Wind, waves and sea current will spread the sand around. We call this 'building with nature'. This will contribute to the coastal safety in the long term and create more space for nature and recreation.

The struggle against water is as old as the Netherlands itself. The Dutch are hydraulic engineers and expertise is used all over the world. But deep in our hearts we know: the sea will never be tamed. The changing climate poses new challenges for us. And the Dutch wouldn’t be the Dutch if we didn’t go in search of new, innovative solutions for the impending rising sea level.

The Sand Engine could be such a solution. An innovative way of large-scale sand suppletion whereby we use the power of the wind and waves to create new land. Building with nature: we let the sea do the hard work. In this way we combine two objectives. We create more space for nature and recreation and the coastline becomes more solid and safer.

See also: Sand Engine

Renewables could supply 99.5% of power by 2050

Renewable energies could furnish 99.5 percent of European Union electricity needs by 2050 if nuclear loses its priority access to distribution networks, Greenpeace said in a report released Tuesday. The environmental campaigners said that windfarms are "often stopped in peak production periods to give priority access" to electricity generated by nuclear reactors and coal-fired power stations.

Greenpeace researchers said that solar energy in Europe's south and wind energy from the north could supply 68 percent of the 27-nation EU's electricity needs in 2030 and 99.5 percent by the middle of the century.

However, the group claimed that would require governments to change policy tack and favour investments in green energy to the tune of 70 billion euros (94 billion dollars) by 2030 and another 28 billion euros over the following decade.

See also: Battle of The Grids

Source: The Independent

First C2C Certified Office Paper by Van Gansewinkel

Waste management services provider and supplier of raw materials Van Gansewinkel launches its first Cradle-to-Cradle end product: Van Gansewinkel Office Paper. 100% recycled office paper, certified by the scientific Cradle-to-Cradle institute EPEA.

Studies carried out by the German Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU) in Heidelberg (www.ifeu.de) show that Van Gansewinkel Office Paper meets all the requirements for high-quality office paper, but it takes up to 83% less water (79 litres for 1 pack of paper) and 72% less electricity to produce than standard office paper.

The maximum reduction in CO2 emissions is 53%. In addition, no trees have to be cut down for Van Gansewinkel Office Paper, but 1 pack of standard office paper uses up to 7.5 kg of wood. Office paper is already frequently recycled, but usually as newspaper or tissue paper and not office paper. Unnecessarily large amounts of natural resources are still used in the production of high-quality office paper.

For the sale, service and distribution activities related to its office paper, Van Gansewinkel has entered an exclusive partnership agreement with Océ, one of the largest suppliers of professional document management and printing systems in the world.

See more Van Gansewinkel Office Paper: 100% Gerecycled Cradle to Cradle Certified Offive Paper

Molten Salt Energy Storage Tank System Provider Announced for Salina Parabolic Solar Plant

Caldwell Tanks Supplying Thermal Storage For Solana Solar Plant. Louisville, Ky.-based Caldwell Tanks Inc. has been awarded a contract for the supply of 12 molten-salt thermal energy storage tanks for the Solana parabolic solar thermal power project currently under construction in Gila Bend, Ariz.

Molten Salt Energy Storage Tank System Provider Announced for Salina Parabolic Solar Plant | Solar Thermal Magazine

Europe close to 3 GW offshore wind power

Europe is now close to 3 GW of installed offshore wind power capacity, according to numbers from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

Europe has a total of 2.9 GW of installed offshore wind power capacity and a further 19 GW have been consented in Europe’s waters, which could supply 66.6 TWh annually.

The UK is the leader with over 1.3 GW installed, followed by Denmark’s 854 MW and the Netherlands’ 247 MW.

Renewable Energy Focus - Europe close to 3 GW offshore wind power