Yesterday, a ceremony was held in Lubmin, Germany to inaugurate the Nord Stream gas pipeline, connecting natural gas in Russia to Western Europe. The new pipeline is unique in that it goes directly to Germany from Russia without passing through any other country. The pipeline runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, past the coasts of Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. The inauguration event is being highly touted by the respective governments. In attendance are Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, and EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger.

The Nord Stream pipeline is 1,220 kilometers (760 miles), linking the city of Vyborg, Russia which is 130 km northwest of St. Petersburg, to Greifswald, Germany, directly north of Berlin. It cost about 7.4 billion Euros ($10.2 billion) and is capable of delivering 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The project was championed by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who is now the chairman of the Nord Stream shareholders’ committee.

Nord Stream will connect with the German grid through the OPAL pipeline which covers Eastern Germany, and the still-under-construction NEL pipeline which services Western Germany. The Nord Stream actually has two parallel lines which can each deliver 27.5 billion cubic meters annually. The second line is set to be completed in 2012. The possibility still exists for constructing a third parallel line, but only if it is commercially viable.

At the present, the new pipeline has received orders to deliver about 22 billion cubic meters per year, less than half its capacity. While this may concern some investors who would like to see a quicker return on their investment, it is not uncommon for such huge projects. According to Vladimir Feygin, president of the Russian Institute for Energy and Finance, pipelines like the Nord Stream are built for their long term contracts. The pipeline will be able to increase output if and when it is necessary.

According to Matthias Warnig, managing director of the German-Russian gas pipeline consortium, it would take between 14 and 15 years to recoup the expense if the pipeline operates at full capacity. At less than half capacity, it may take much longer.

Environmentalists are on the fence in approving/disapproving the project. Gas is a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases when burned, but in far less quantity than other fossil fuels like coal. For this reasons, groups like Greenpeace are in favor of it. The greater concern is the ecological impact the pipeline may have in the Baltic Sea. Environmental planning and monitoring were done by Nord Stream to the tune of over 100 million Euro ($138 million). Nonetheless, the pipeline will have an impact on the fragile benthic ecosystem of the Baltic.

Article by David A. Gabel, appearing courtesy Environmental News Network.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, following a summit meeting with Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev in the Siberian city of Khabarovsk, has expressed support for a proposed Russian project to send Siberian natural gas to South Korea through North Korean territory.

Following the Khabarovsk summit, Russian presidential envoy to the country’s Far East Federal District ,Viktor Ishaev, quoted the North Korean leader as telling him that North Korea will permit the natural gas pipeline to transit its territory if Russia and South Korea eventually conclude a contract for the project, Yonhap news agency reported.

Ishayev told journalists, “If Russia and South Korea do sign a contract on gas deliveries, North Korea is ready to offer territory for the building of a pipeline and to receive income from the pumping of gas and rent for land.

In order that we can deliver roughly ten billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, new deposits will have to be developed. Only gas from the Sakhalin-3 project and Yakutsk deposits can be exported.”

Prior to his summit with Kim Jong-il, Medvedev Russian President directed the head of Russia’s state-owned Gazprom natural gas company Aleksei Miller to draw up a report on the problematic aspects of a natural gas project involving Russia and the two Koreas.

Article by Joao Peixe, appearing courtesy OilPrice.com

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Russia, by far, is the largest producer of gas in the world. The country has commonly relied on coal and natural gas for its growing energy demand. However, because of this, Russia is labeled as the third largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world as one-fourth of the emissions come from energy generation. Not only that, but in 2010 the EBRD stated that Russia uses over seven times as much energy per GDP unit than any other Western European economy, and that if the country does not take up energy efficiency measures, in less than 22 years, it could find itself exhausting its oil reserves. In 2009, plans were put into action to create 22,000 MW of renewable energy generation projects by the year 2020 in an effort to reduce the reliance on natural coal and gas. Although not typically looked at as a leader in the cleantech industry, Russia is making large strides to put itself on the cleantech map.

1) High Potential to Create Sources of Renewable Energy. Although Russia is technically seen as being ahead in the thrust toward renewable energy sources use, the outlook is starting to reform into a new one that has Russia promoting solar energy, water power, wind energy, biofuels, and geothermal power. Russia’s natural environment provides a great location for making potential sources of renewable energy. There are many acres of vegetation to be used for the creation of biofuel, geothermal energy potential in the east, and even solar capabilities. “Russia is a big country with various climatic conditions…A lot of Russia’s regions has favorable conditions for efficient use of biomass energy gained from waste timber conversion and agricultural waste conversion, etc. The energy of small rivers also has good prospects. In summer we could use the energy of sun while during colder months wind could provide for the necessary energy.”

2) In April 2008, Bellona Murmansk and the Bellona Foundation established the Northwest Russia Renewable Energy Forum as a permanent arena for dialog, cooperation and problem-solving in developing and implementing renewable energy in Northwest Russia. Bellona conducts regular seminars and meetings for diverse stakeholders to discuss the possibilities, obstacles and mechanisms related to development of the region’s clean, sustainable energy sources and to work towards implementation of renewable energy. The purpose of the forum is to stimulate information exchange, research, development, investment, implementation and commercialization of renewable energy resources in the region. Bellona is convinced that by pooling the resources from research, business and industry, government and NGOs it is possible to achieve environmentally sustainable development of the renewable energy resources in the region and attract investors.

3) Russian Renewable Energy Program. At the end of 2010, the World Ban announced the beginning of a $165 million Greenfield program of investment and consulting within the renewable energy sector of Russia. Set up by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, the Russian Energy Agency, and the Global Environment Facility, the Russian Renewable Energy Program works alongside the government in an effort to assist current projects in the field of renewable energy and increase access to financing for the projects. A majority of the investment will be used on biomass and wind projects. It is a five year program that is estimated to install 205 MW of renewable generation capacity and reduce CO2 emissions by 5 million tons annually.

4) Federal Support to Regional Cleantech Programs. The current Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev made clear the high priority of energy efficiency throughout Russia. At the end of 2010, Medvedev elected to invest a minimum of $300 billion to decrease the quantity of energy spent by 40 percent by the year 2020. These efforts are estimated to save the population and companies $35 billion on energy annually.

5) EU – Russia Energy Technology Center. The EU – Russia Energy Technology Center, headed in Moscow, and serves as a location of contact between European and Russian companies active in various energy fields, including coal, electricity, hydrocarbons, energy efficiency and renewable energy. It center also assists in the facilitation of cooperation as well as technology transfer between the EU and Russia.

6) Russia – United States Collaboration on Energy Efficiency and Technology Programs. At the beginning of 2011, a Protocol of Intent was signed between the Russian Energy Agency and the United States International Development Agency to increase collaboration on clean energy, “smart grid” technology” and energy efficiency. The agreement requires a promotion of partnerships between American and Russian utilities and regulators for the purpose of information dissemination. A partnership with the United States could be extremely beneficial, as the World Bank Group reports that a realization by Russia of the total potential for energy efficiency could save the country more than $80 billion annually.

7) GEF Investment to Increase Urban Housing Energy Efficiency. At the end of end of 2010, the Global Environment Facility CEO endorsed a $9.6 million dollar plan to develop the energy efficiency of Russian residences. This is part of a larger $722 million five year project implemented by the International Finance Corporation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The goal of the project is to enhance energy efficiency within homes and address legislative, technical, and financial issues (which are barriers to the development of energy efficiency in Russia). According to Peter Hobson, senior banker with ERBD, the grant provided by GEF will play a vital role in technical assistance support for improving the living conditions of millions of Russian citizens.

8 ) Opening of General Electric’s Kaluga Energy Technology Center. Nearing the end of 2010, General Electric (GE) celebrated the opting of the Energy Technology Center in Russia. The center will service and manufacture power generation equipment throughout the country, assisting customers in keeping their plants energy efficient. “The opening of GE’s Energy Technology Center in Kaluga is a significant example of a successful partnership between Russia and foreign business in the high-tech arena and will create additional employment opportunities in the region,” said Governor Anatoly Dmitrievich Artamonov. “We are glad to support GE Energy in its contribution to one of Russia’s most important priorities—to increase energy efficiency in the power generation sector. The center will provide innovative services and products designed to meet the needs of the customers.

9) Norwegian – Russian Chamber of Congress Works on Energy Efficiency Project. Russia has realized that cross-border cooperation is required to exchange information on energy efficiency. Therefore, the Norwegian – Russian Chamber of Commerce created an initiative to create a new project that would bring energy efficiency technologies from Norway to Russia. Also brought by Norway is competence in modern energy efficient technologies, something Russia requires to remove the technological gap.

10) Energy Efficiency in Northwest Russia. In April 1996, a Collaboration Arrangement on Energy Efficiency was signed between Norway and the Russian Federation. NEEG – The Norwegian Energy Efficiency Group, was commissioned to prepare and implement various activities under this arrangement, through the bilateral project “Energy Efficiency in Northwest Russia”. Currently there are 5 energy efficiency centers located in Northwest Russia they include: Kola, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Karella, and Komi Republic.

Article by Shawn Lesser, president and founder of Atlanta-based Sustainable World Capital, which is focused on fund-raising for private equity cleantech/sustainable funds, as well as private cleantech companies and M&A. He is also a co- founder of the GCCA Global Cleantech Cluster Association, and can be reached at shawn.lesser@sworldcap.com

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Energy is required for any economy to function. From the industrial revolution, the total energy used by the world has only increased in magnitude. However, the good news is that while a hundred years ago we were getting our energy from sources like coal, today’s energy sources are not only less polluting but also more efficient. As a consequence, the energy intensity or energy per unit of GDP has declined and continues to decline for most major economies.

However, even today there are many differences among countries and some use more energy than others to produce the same GDP growth. This can be attributed to a number of factors, such as the overall energy and efficiency of transmission and the way the economy functions.

This interesting graph shows the energy intensity of various economies. It is interesting to note the peaks of US and China. While the energy intensity of the US began to decline from around 1915, the same effect was seen much later in China, around 1960 and again around 1975. The difference can be attributed to the delay in technology reaching the less developed countries. In India, the peak was reached much later, around 1990. The peaks for China and India indicate that the opening up of the economy does a lot of good in terms of efficiency and lowering the energy intensity.

However, even today in this highly globalized world where information and technology travel with ease across borders, there are significant differences in the energy intensity. For example, Russia’s energy intensity is almost twice as large as India’s. This could be attributed to the way in which these economies are evolving. While both India and Russia are growing economies and thus need energy for their growth, the type of growth is different in India, where it is more oriented towards the service sector and lighter manufacturing than Russia, which would need to spend considerable amounts of energy in extraction of natural resources like oil and gas.

The United States remains around the world average, even though the total energy consumption and the per-capita energy consumption remain high. An overall reduction in energy intensity can also be attributed to the general awareness that energy use is responsible for pollution and global warming and people are becoming more conscious of their energy needs.

The good news is that the energy intensity has been declining for almost all the major economies. The forecast of the future is also significant. Russia is projected to decrease its energy intensity by about 50% in the coming couple of decades, which can be a significant achievement even after considering the fact that it still remains higher than the world average.

Energy intensity changes significantly as the economies around the world change. With larger parts of the economy going online, it an only reduce the energy intensity because you do not need as much energy to generate a unit of GDP as in a world that runs on manufacturing. Energy intensity therefore predicts a change in the way the current economy is changing. It is no longer the case that huge amounts of energy are required for GDP growth, which is good for the planet.

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Hot on the heels of the announcement of Russia’s first ever electric vehicle hybrid another announcement came about the bolstering of Russia’s green transportation systems. According to the announcement that came from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the country is preparing to begin serious work towards a high speed rail system. Russia isn’t alone on this plan either. Many countries around the world, including the United States, have been looking at how efficient and cost effective high speed rail transportation can be.

Russia’s plan to move into green transportation on the mass transit scale has been thin on the details so far, but it is said to be inspired by another high speed rail system. Recently, the Prime Minister rode on a Finnish high speed rail train with the Finnish President, Tarja Halonen, during his visit to the country. The train in question was a French made Allegro and ran on a rail that passed between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg. Putin says that the high speed rail he would like to have built in Russia would be ready in time for the 2018 World Cup which has chosen Russia for the host. Once the World Cup has come and gone, however, the trains would be utilized in a way to allow quicker travelling times between cities like Moscow, Kazan, Samara and Ulyanovsk and at a more frequent rate than current mass transit allows. While the future of such a rail service in Russia is unknown, all of the first rails would be run primary through the European portion of the country where the World Cup is to be held.

The announcement of high speed rails to bolster green transportation in Russia has come at a time when other projects have been announced across the globe. Turkey, for example, is currently testing new bullet train models on their currently existing high speed rails lines. In the United States, Florida has also announced that they will be working with Siemens to build a high speed rail line between Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. The Florida rails are a part of the greater picture presented by President Obama who has vowed to give over $80 million in grants for the development of high speed rail across the country in a bid to support a move towards green transportation.

No matter where it is established in the world, the development of high speed rails is pretty critical for the spread of mass transit and green transportation. Considering the size of the United States, it would seem this country could benefit from a system much like the Russians would. However, only time will tell if we are able to adopt new green transportation methods like the rest of the world or if we will get left behind.

Article by Richard Cooke, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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The Russian automotive industry is not one that is totally familiar with the green changes towards electric vehicles and other models that have been sweeping other countries throughout Europe or the world. In fact, historically, there has never been much to say about the automotive industry as a whole. In past decades car models tended to be outdated while time was spent updating other facets of transportation and a great deal of Soviet automobile designs never made it much farther than the Soviet Union’s own borders. Since the fall of the Soviet Union there has been work in revitalizing the domestic automobile industry with even recent plans for a nearly twenty billion dollar stimulus investment being planned by Vladimir Putin earlier this year. Now, however, Russia is ready for her first hybrid car.

In a joint announcement between Russian automobile manufacturer YAROVIT Motors and financial company Onexim Group, the E-Mobile (or Yo) electric vehicle hybrid was unveiled to the world. Mikhail Prokhorov, the thirty ninth richest man in the world and head of Onexim Group, is the man behind the financial move that led to the creation of the E-Mobile. The vehicle is being seen by many as one way of working towards President Dmitry Medvedev’s plan to move Russia’s economy away from reliance on fossil and carbon based fuel sources. The E-Mobile is expected to see a full distribution sometime in 2012 after an investment of around $200 million is made towards the construction of a production and assembly plant for the new car.

While exact details are slim on the technical aspect of the E-Mobile electric vehicle hybrid some information was announced during the unveiling. The E-Mobile is intended as an electric and gasoline or natural gas hybrid that will allow the vehicle to extend its gas mileage to around sixty seven miles per gallon and it is said that it has a top speed of approximately eighty one miles per hour. In the announcement Prokhorov also said that the E-Mobile could have a potential range of around 680 miles. Currently, the E-Mobile is expected to cost around $14,500 once it hits the market in Russia. While the initial model is an electric vehicle hybrid car with two doors there are two other models that are being planned for the system that would allow for five person passenger van and a cargo van.

With the E-Mobile model ready to hit the market in only one short year this could be the jumping off point for the development of other electric vehicles in the Russian market. Considering the financial backing that could go into the project with Mikhail Prokhorov at the helm, one would hope that some of those rubles could be used towards further development in the industry.

Article by Richard Cooke, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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Some interesting news recently went unnoticed. Indeed, last month, Russia unveiled a massive energy efficiency plan as the country wastes as much energy as the French economy consumes.

Soviet-era buildings and factories completely lack energy efficiency as they were built as cheaply as possible to answer the demands of the government at that time.

But this might soon change. The Moscow Times recently noted that:

Promoting energy efficiency is one of the priorities of Medvedev’s modernization program and includes a goal to cut the amount of energy spent per unit of economic output by 40 percent by 2020.

The country is estimated to use 2.5 times more energy to produce a given amount of goods and services than the world average.

To solve this, Dmitry Medvedev’s government will invest no less than $300 billion in order to cut the amount of energy spent per unit of economic output by 40 percent by 2020.

The recent heat waves and related events as well as the prices of energy have pushed the local government to start acting on climate change.

It is estimated that the efforts will enable the population and companies to save an estimated $35 billion on energy per year.

Russia is the world’s first natural gas producer and has ample reserves. Local selling prices are fixed by the State and this drastically slows energy efficiency efforts and behavioral changes.

Additionally, 13 millions smart meters will be installed over the next ten years

Beyond energy efficiency, Russia is also working on implementing renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro power.

Recycling is also gaining some interest as RBTH notes :

Russia’s Natural Resources and Environment Ministry also drafted a bill in August to promote recycling. The legislation would require factories to recycle the material they currently throw away.

Pulp and paper factories could easily sell much of their waste to biofuel plants, resulting in economic gains for them as well as reduced waste.

Will the country join the cleantech arms race? Only time will tell.

Photo :Ed Yourdon

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Russia is not known for being a country with any immediate interests in renewable energy or biofuels. The country still has a great deal of invested time and money in oil and coal based power plants are still a common sight in many parts of the country. Recently, however, it has been announced that Russia will be preparing for the construction of the country’s first biofuel production plant.

Spearheaded by the Russian Technologies Corporation, a state owned company with a diverse background in various technological developments, the biofuel plant will be built in order to create a “new modern fuel.” Sergei Chemezov, head of Russian Technologies Corp., has announced that they will begin construction on the plant sometime in March or April of next year near Tulun; a town in the Irkutsk region of Siberia where a thriving timber and coal industry is currently based. Russia believes that the construction of this plant will be critical in getting Russia on track for reducing carbon emissions nationwide. Currently, Russia has no true programs in place with a similar goal in mind so they believe that this plant can kick start the whole affair.

During the announcement, Chemezov made note that the biofuels the plant would be producing would be unique in comparison to various other biofuel programs found around the world. Instead of using sugar cane, corn, or other switch grass or seed based biomasses as the starting point for biofuel, Russian Technologies plans to use a mixture of wood chips, roots, and other timber based products. The direct end result of the procedure will result in a mixed fuel of, presumably, gasoline and the wood based biobutanol with an overall mixture of approximately 10% to 15%.

Some critics have been quick to point out that this biofuel plant may not be as big a step as Russia is hoping to make it seem. It has been pointed out that since the source of the biofuel will be wood and timber based byproducts, they will presumably have to be produced by cutting down large chunks of the nearby forests. It is also worth noting that even if done properly, this is but a small change in a country where fossil fuels reign supreme.

Despite the obvious negatives, however, it is still exciting to see Russia taking a step towards at least thinking about doing something to regulate carbon emissions through biofuels. It can be assumed that should the plant end up as big as Chemezov is hoping, Russia could start an entire biofuel based industry and then eventually move on to other renewable energy sources. Considering the size of the country and the amount of resources they could use to start such a program, Russia could potentially become home to one of the world’s largest renewable energy programs to date. That, however, remains to be seen and we will have to wait and watch.

Article by Richard Cooke, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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(Reuters) – Russia’s summer heat wave has dimmed prospects that northern countries will “win” from climate change thanks to factors such as longer crop-growing seasons or fewer deaths from winter cold, experts say.

Canada, Nordic countries and Russia have been portrayed as among a lucky few chilly nations where moderate climate change will mean net benefits such as lower winter heating bills, more forest and crop growth and perhaps more summer tourism.

Russia’s two-month heat wave — blamed on global warming by President Dmitry Medvedev even though many experts say it is impossible to link individual weather events to climate change — is likely to shift the perceptions of risks.

“There ought to be, coming out of this, a greater awareness that many hazards come with climate change,” said Kevin Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

“It’s not a matter of a benign shift to a longer growing season” for northern nations, he said. Russia’s heat wave doubled death rates in Moscow, wrecked a quarter of Russia’s grain crop and may cut $14 billion from gross domestic product.

Many people in Nordic nations and Canada have grown aware of possible damaging side-effects of less chill weather, including the risk to forests and crops of insect pests normally kept in check by winter frosts.

FUR COATS

But that belief is less widespread in Russia, where Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has in the past sometimes spoken about benefits of global warming. As president, in 2002 he joked that less icy weather would enable Russians to buy fewer fur coats.

“By and large, Canadians understand that there may be benefits but climate change is going to be bad,” said Steven Guilbeault, of Canadian environmental group Equiterre. Extreme weather in 2010 “is going to help people understand the risks.”

He said government policy did not match the urgency felt by the public. Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions were 24 percent above 1990 levels in 2008, despite a promise under the U.N.’s Kyoto Protocol to cut them to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

Russia’s emissions were 33 percent below 1990 levels in 2008, partly due to the collapse of high-polluting Soviet industries, and well within its Kyoto goal of keeping emissions below 1990 levels by 2012.

Moscow plans to let emissions rise from current levels by 2020, despite pleas by many nations for a tougher goal.

A study in Norway in June showed farming and forestry could benefit from moderate global warming, blamed mainly on emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.

“The immediate effects are in general benefits” to economic growth, said Asbjoern Aaheim, lead author at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo.

But there could be shocks, such as to fish stocks. And longer growing seasons were likely to have knock-on effects, such as more absence from work because of pollen-related illnesses.

Jay Gulledge, senior scientist at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, said predictions of climate “winners” and “losers” inevitably ignored many risks, for instance on Russia from Pakistan’s floods.

“Does Russia ‘win’ if the Taliban and other hardline extremists step in to fill the void left by an ineffectual government and international aid response to the floods in Pakistan?” he asked in a blog.

Article by Alister Doyle, Edited by Janet Lawrence; appearing courtesy Reuters.

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On December 17^th 2009 the Sapsan (Russian for Peregrine Falcon) high-speed train made its maiden voyage from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Nothing has ground America’s collective gears worse than losing to the “Ruskies” for the majority of the past century, so this development could provide the spark needed to ratchet up speed rail development in the United States as a matter of national pride.

When Sputnik slung Yuri Gagarin into orbit, the United States launched into the space race with the Apollo missions.  America prides itself on its tech capabilities, which makes it even more puzzling why the high speed rail resistance has held out for so long and why we are behind the Russians in this regard.

The Sapsan is the latest and greatest of Russian rail, and adds to the heritage the zheleznya doroga (meaning railway, or  literally “iron road”).

One of the most impressive feats of its day was the Trans-Siberian Railway that linked Russia’s European and Asian parts. Approved by Tsar Alexander the Second in 1889, the project was a record expenditure meant to unify a large country with a little in the way of rail (a large country with no rail, sounds awfully familiar). With a blistering speed of 15 mph, the Russian Empire could move populations to its mainly empty eastern frontier, along with troops and munitions to establish itself as an Asian power as well as a European one.

The Japanese severely dented those ambitions with a resounding victory in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5.  Nevertheless, the eastern regions became more developed thanks to the rail link with European Russia, and Vladivostok (literally meaning “Ruler of the East”) became one of Russia’s major cities.

For those who have never been to that part of the world, one becomes overwhelmed by the vastness of Russia and Central Asia.  Flat steppe extends as far as the eye can see in any direction, well over the horizon line. In the wintertime it is a virtual white out, a blank slate of snow and ice that goes on for hundreds of kilometers. The Sapsan and the high-speed rail lines that will follow have the potential to do something that could bring a great benefit to the Russian Federation: shrink it.

Getting around the former Soviet Union is a time-consuming experience, so most people do not travel far unless they absolutely must. Were travel times to be cut, a much more mobile society would emerge and the citizens of the world’s biggest country would want to get out and see more of their own land. More travel options would lower prices, giving more of an incentive to go a bit further a field for vacation than the dacha homes.

There is a big social dividend in the shrinking of a country. It obviously brings people together. There is so much to explore in Russia for both its own citizens and foreigners, and the prospect of fluid Western European style transportation is very exciting indeed. Now, to get rid of those visa requirements…

photo: Inside Russia

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