The United Kingdom’s offshore renewable energy capacity could one day generate as much electricity every year as would one billion barrels of oil, according to a recent report from the Offshore Valuation Group.

The Group projects that utilizing just one third of the available wind and tidal resources off the UK coast could eventually transform the nation from a net importer to a net exporter of electricity by 2050.  At the same time, deploying these resources would result in a savings of 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions and create infrastructure with a positive net present value of £35 billion.

“We have long been saying that the North Sea will become the Saudi Arabia of wind energy,” says Peter Madigan, head of offshore renewables at industry advocacy body RenewableUK.

Read the full article here…

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar has begun drilling on what will be the first geothermal project in the Middle East region.

Masdar, which was founded in 2006 to advance research, development and commercialization of renewable energy and clean technologies, has employed an Australian company to do preliminary drilling for subterranean geothermal energy sources such as steam or hot water.  Two wells have been drilled so far, with potentially more to come.

Masdar reportedly is planning to invest around $11billion into this venture, and aims to produce 5MW of power to power the air conditioning systems in MaAbu-sdar City.  Masdar City is the world’s first carbon-neutral zero waste city, and is the global headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

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New Delhi, 4 February 2010 – The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) today launched the Vision 2050 report ( 2.6 MB), a study that lays out a pathway leading to a global population of some 9 billion people living well, within the resource limits of the planet by 2050. The report, released at the World CEO Forum in New Delhi, India, was compiled by 29 leading global companies representing 14 industries.

This work results from an 18-month combined effort with CEOs and experts, and dialogues with over 200 companies and external stakeholders in some 20 countries.

The report presents new opportunities for business in a broad range of business segments with the foresight to lead their societies on a sustainable business development agenda. Entitled Vision 2050: The new agenda for business, the report “lays out the challenges, pathway and options that business can use to create an opportunity-rich strategy, both regionally and globally, that will lead to a sustainable world,” said Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Alcoa, who led the project as one of four co-chairs.

“The world already has the knowledge, science, technologies, skills and financial resources needed to achieve Vision 2050. However, concerted global action in the next decade will be required to bring these capabilities and resources together, putting the world on the path to sustainability,” explained WBCSD President Bjorn Stigson.

The publication outlines a future in which 9 billion people live well, enjoying health, food, shelter, energy, mobility, education and other basics of life. Syngenta CEO, Michael Mack added that “humanity has largely had an exploitative relationship with our planet; we can, and should, aim to make this a symbiotic one.” In the Vision 2050scenario, global society attains this standard of living at a sustainable rate, without further harm to biodiversity, climate and ecosystem services.

The report states that the world already has the resources to achieve Vision 2050,but there is a catch: “The radical changes highlighted in Vision 2050 demand a different perspective from business leaders, requiring them to rethink how they operate to stay on-track for a sustainable future,” added Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr., former CEO and Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers. This includes a radical transformation of global markets, governance and infrastructure, and a re-thinking of our ideas of growth and progress.

Vision 2050 spells out the “must haves” – the things that must happen over the coming decade to make a sustainable planetary society possible. These include incorporating the costs of externalities, starting with carbon, ecosystem services and water, into the structure of the marketplace; doubling agricultural output without increasing the amount of land or water used; halting deforestation and increasing yields from planted forests: halving carbon emissions worldwide (based on 2005 levels) by 2050 through a shift to low-carbon energy systems and improved demand-side energy efficiency, and providing universal access to low-carbon mobility.

As part of this transformation, Vision 2050 calls for a new agenda for business: to work with government and society worldwide to transform markets and competition. “Sustainability will become a key driver for all our investment decisions,” added Idar Kreutzer, CEO of Storebrand and another project co-chair. New rules for markets will reframe environmental challenges as economic challenges, driving innovation and competition in the direction of sustainability and away from resource- and energy-intensive production. Rationalizing prices to include such externalities as climate and biodiversity impacts will make corporate environmental efficiency a true competitive advantage across all industries and regions.

Business will lead market change by doing what business does best: forming partnerships, creating efficiencies and competitive advantage, seizing opportunities and meeting customer needs. At the same time, a shift toward sustainability will trigger trillions of dollars in new investments in infrastructure, technology and human services, creating new opportunities for business to thrive and grow. A recent study commissioned for this project with PricewaterhouseCoopers and released today indicates that this investment could reach US$ 3-10 trillion per annum in 2050.

Vision 2050, with its best-case scenario for sustainability and pathways for reaching it, is a tool for thought leadership, a platform for beginning the dialogue that must take place to navigate the challenging years to come. “It is hoped that the Vision 2050 work will be used for many years to come. It is designed to be a platform for companies when deliberating strategies and for dialogue with governments and society about how to realize the sustainable future,” concluded Per Sandberg, Project Director for Vision 2050.

Download

• Vision 2050: The new agenda for business – full report ( 2.6 MB)
• Vision 2050: The new agenda for business – summary report ( 2.4 MB)

Despite the challenges facing the overall construction market, a new market study shows the green building industry has survived and thrived in 2009.

According to the 2009 Green Building Market & Impact Report published by GreenerBuildings.com, the total floor area registered by the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED green building rating system will grow by 40% from 2008 levels, bringing the global total to 7 billion square feet.

Since the standard was launched in 2000, LEED certified buildings have saved nearly 15 billion gallons of water and approximately 2.9 million tons of carbon dioxide.  The green buildings market represented approximately $7 billion in 2009, and is expected to reach $230 billion by 2030.

The 2009 Green Building Market & Impact Report is available for free download here.

New ‘Solar Shingle’ Could Make Building-Integrated Solar Mainstream

Dow Chemical, the world’s second largest chemical company, unveiled a new rooftop shingle which incorporates thin-film solar photovoltaic technology to generate electricity from the sun.  The company says these “breakthrough” solar shingles are cheaper and easier to install on individual residences than conventional photovoltaic arrays.   There is no special training required for installation, and the shingles resemble those in common usage today.  Dow is planning a test run for the product in 2010, and expects to reach full commercialization in the North American market by 2011.  These “Powerhouse Solar Shingles” could bring building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) into the mainstream, potentially bringing in record sales.  Dow expects to yield $5bn in revenue by 2015, and $11bn by 2020 from sales of these shingles.  The company’s stock rose 5.3% upon news of the product launch.

Buildings Embrace Efficiency Retrofitting

To increase efficiency and reduce costs, U.S. landlords and developers are increasingly looking to retrofit old buildings that have high levels of energy consumption.  The combination of volatile energy prices, new technology and an influx of favorable government incentives and subsidies have led to a rush of energy retrofits in cities across the nation.  It is estimated that buildings account for half of all global energy consumption.  The Obama administration has made energy conservation a top priority and has committed billions to retrofit government buildings.  The companies that perform these retrofits say business is booming, and expect to see more activity as energy costs threaten to spike again as the economy recovers.  Since 2004, the energy services industry has grown by 22%; by 2013, the industry is expected to triple in size.