Policy Pitfalls Pitfall Underdefined objectives
In mid-2003 I was asked by the World Bank WB to attend its review of the Bank's activities in extractive industries. Extractive in this context refers to extracting resources from the ground from mining gold to drilling for oil. The Bank's lending to extractive industries and projects has been under pressure from many sides, from indigenous people unhappy with intrusive developments, to international pressure groups calling for a halt to fossil fuel lending. I was asked to speak about some of...
Refining the EFL The Renewable Energy Law
Germany is in the midst of changing its Renewable Energy Law REL , which was specifically applied to wind, solar and geothermal facilities for hydro, landfill gas and sewage or mine gas facilities under 5MW and biomass facilities under 20MW Knight, 2004a . As with the old law, the REL requires that renewable energy be purchased at specified tariff rates, but this time with the amount of renewable energy distributed equally among all electricity suppliers. This avoided the competitive...
References
BTM 2003 World Wind Energy Market Update, BTM Consult industry analysis report, EWEA, Brussels Dambourg, S. and Krohn, S. 1998 Public Attitudes Towards Wind Power, Internal publication, Danish Wind Industry Association www.windpower.dk European Photovoltaic Industries Association EPIA 2003 Solar Generation, European Photovoltaic Industries Association and Greenpeace EPIA 2005 Solar Generation, European Photovoltaic Industries Association and Greenpeace International European Wind Energy...
References Shq
Carmichael, R. 2003 'A volatile, high octane blend Oil and gas don't mix well with corruption and weak governance', Phnom Penh Post, 15 28 August, pp8 10 CFSP 2004 'Legal and sustainable charcoal', paper presented by Cambodia Fuelwood Saving Project to the Improved Cookstove Workshop, Phnom Penh, 25 February Council for Social Development 2002 National Poverty Reduction Strategy 2003 2005, Council for Social Development, Phnom Penh Electricite du Cambodge EDC 2003 Annual Report 2002,...
Energy master plans
In 1998 the World Bank commissioned a consultancy firm to develop a power transmission master plan and rural electrification strategy for Cambodia. The master plan covers load forecasts, transmission development and power generation options. In brief, the plan advocates the development of high voltage transmission lines across the country to allow the import of power from neighbouring countries, plus the development of a series of large hydropower schemes involving dams on a number of rivers...
List of Contributors
Karl Mallon trained as an experimental physicist specializing in high energy physics before pursuing an engineering doctorate in renewable energy. He was director Greenpeace Energy Solutions from 1997 to 2001 and worked on energy policy analysis and reform in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In 2002 he formed the Transition Institute, an energy think tank and business incubation company based in Sydney, Australia. He is also director of Climate Risk Pty Ltd, a company...
The Spanish Energy Context Energy dependence and emissions
Spain is highly dependent on imported energy supplies in various forms three-quarters of all basic energy requirements are imported. Nevertheless effective energy efficiency programmes have not been put in place, even despite public concern about environmental issues such as climate change. Energy consumption has been growing rapidly, increasing greenhouse gas GHG emissions well above levels agreed by Spain and the European Union toward its Kyoto commitments. Emissions levels, permitted to rise...
Implementation and tactics What are we actually going to do
Now we are ready to implement the strategy. We know what we need to do and why, who we need to speak to and what we need to say. The next step is to actually build the roll-out plan for the strategy. If we need to get the message through to a particular person, we need a way to be heard, understood and have our message taken on board, and for the message to lead to action on their part. There is always a temptation with campaigns to jump straight to tactics. Perhaps this is because tactics are...
Are the policies comprehensible enough to understand and comprehensive enough
At the outset, we must consider whether the policies we are making are clear and straightforward, and that they cover all necessary bases. We can do this in two ways. We can think of all the possible areas where we may need to legislate, or we can go to a renewable energy project developer and ask, 'What is it that you need to make your project bankable ' Bankability is the litmus test of any energy project's viability. It means that the project proponent can produce a set of contracts,...
Key messages What do we need to communicate
When you have positive information to convey, it is always tempting to try to say as much as possible in the belief that a person's opinion will be swung by the sheer weight of the good news. Sadly communication does not work like that. I was once told that people retain about 3 per cent of the detail in a presentation and about 10 per cent of the general orientation. But mainly what they remember are impressions of the presenter. This is reinforced by what communications experts say about...
The technical myth The price of renewable energy will be reduced by technical
The first myth of energy is that some great idea will come along and revolutionize its production, making energy cheap and clean, allowing man to live in peace, enriching the poor and healing the lame. We have heard this about nuclear power, fusion reactors, solar power and many other technologies. For example, several times a year a claim rings out about a new technology that will make solar power affordable to everyone. But as we hear from KPMG, the only thing required to make solar...
The Potential for Sustainable Energy in Cambodia
An understanding of Cambodia's sustainable energy potential is a necessary basis to discuss its role in Cambodia's energy mix, and the effectiveness of current policy. However, there is no official and comprehensive review of Cambodia's renewable energy resources or energy efficiency opportunities. This presents a significant barrier to sustainable energy development, and may lead to energy policy that ignores its potential contributions and benefits to the country. The author has conducted an...
Conclusion 1
Cambodia is one of the world's poorest countries, yet its citizens pay some of the world's highest prices for commercial energy. Transport and power production rely almost entirely on imported fossil fuels, and households still rely on energy from wood. However, the country has some good renewable energy resources, the development of which could help reduce poverty and improve energy security and general sustainability. In many ways the conditions for sustainable energy development in Cambodia...
Technology banding
The use of a single market for all technologies rather than a system of technology banding when combined with an emphasis on costs means that the RO primarily benefits the cheaper technologies. This is to the exclusion of more expensive sources that may be less progressed in their industrial development. The RO will therefore inhibit their development relative to other sources, rather than cause an acceleration of a diverse set of commercially viable technologies. This is recognized by the UK...