1 Global Economics Eco 6367 Dr. Vera Adamchik Trade Policies For the Developing Nations.
Cleanenergy policies of small nations
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Transcript of Cleanenergy policies of small nations
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Cleantech industry policies
of selected small nations
21December, 2010
Prepared by Policy Projects Branch, Policy and Coordination
Division
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY TABLE OF CLEANTECH POLICIES ............................................... 4
A. DENMARK ........................................................................................................ 14 Renewable energy policy ..................................................................................... 14
Strong cleantech export growth ........................................................................... 15
B. FINLAND ........................................................................................................... 16 Renewable Energy ............................................................................................... 17
Cleantech exports ................................................................................................. 18
The Finnish Cleantech Cluster. ............................................................................ 18
Finnish Cleantech R&D programs ....................................................................... 19
Finlands Renewable Energy Market .................................................................. 20 Bioenergy ............................................................................................................. 20
Solar ..................................................................................................................... 20
Wind ..................................................................................................................... 20
Water and waste water ......................................................................................... 21
Energy efficiency ................................................................................................. 21
Waste-to-energy ................................................................................................... 22
Co-generation ....................................................................................................... 22
Air Pollution......................................................................................................... 23
Clean technologies in logistics and transport ....................................................... 23
C. HOLLAND ......................................................................................................... 24 Key Dutch Cleantech sectors ............................................................................... 24
Research institutes and programs......................................................................... 25
Solar energy: key highlights ................................................................................ 27
Offshore Wind Energy ......................................................................................... 28
Greenhouses ......................................................................................................... 30
City of the Sun ..................................................................................................... 30
Cleantech Holland ................................................................................................ 30
E. IRELAND ........................................................................................................... 32 Renewable energy policy ..................................................................................... 32
IDA Cleantech FDI Strategy ................................................................................ 33
Wind Energy ........................................................................................................ 34
Ocean Energy ....................................................................................................... 35
Solar Energy......................................................................................................... 35
Bioenergy ............................................................................................................. 36
Energy Management ............................................................................................ 36
Enterprise Ireland- Key Activities ....................................................................... 36
F. ISRAEL ............................................................................................................... 38 A leader in water management technologies ....................................................... 38
Israel's key water achievements: .......................................................................... 39
R&D support and ready access to capital ............................................................ 40
Government Programs: Israel NEWTech A national program supporting Israels water technology Sector ......................................................................... 40 Program objectives............................................................................................... 41
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Program Strategy ................................................................................................. 41
Israel's key Renewable Energy Technologies ...................................................... 41
Solar Energy......................................................................................................... 41
Geothermal Energy .............................................................................................. 42
Energy from Waste .............................................................................................. 42
Fossil Fuel Replacement/Bio Fuel ....................................................................... 42
Energy Efficiency ................................................................................................ 42
IT Solutions/Green IT .......................................................................................... 42
Israels Agro-tech Highlights ................................................................................ 43 Irrigation .............................................................................................................. 43
Saline water irrigation .......................................................................................... 43
Greenhouse technologies ..................................................................................... 43
Dairy .................................................................................................................... 43
Seeds .................................................................................................................... 43
Bio/Organic agriculture ....................................................................................... 43
Aquaculture .......................................................................................................... 44
Desert Agriculture ................................................................................................ 44
G. SINGAPORE ...................................................................................................... 45 Singapore Governments commitment to Growing Cleantech ............................ 46 The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) ............................... 47
Singapores CleanTech One ................................................................................ 47 Environment and Water ....................................................................................... 48
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SUMMARY TABLE OF CLEANTECH POLICIES
Country GDP
1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
DENMARK 341 5.6 Dutch Trade Council and
Denmark Invest promote
exports and investment in
the sector but there is no
explicit industry
development cleantech
policy.
A strong political
commitment to renewable
energy with a strong
emphasis on wind and bio
energy.
Around 13 per cent of
Denmarks energy
consumption is currently
generated from biomass.
Industry and
government funding
for research,
development and
demonstration
projects covering
biomass, bioenegy,
conversion
technologies and
waste to energy.
Research programs in
hydrogen and fuel
cell technologies.
Diversified support
for different types of
renewables such as
price premiums and
investment via public
tenders for offshore
wind power.
Renewable Energy
Target (RET): 30%
energy from
renewable energy
sources by 2020..
High levels of renewable
electricity generation
installed with a very strong
focus on wind with claims
that Danish manufacturers
occupy 40% of the world
market.
Denmark is a leader in
technological development,
and this has created a
showcase for Danish
cleantech.
Highly internationalised
sector with exports of
growing three times the rate
of total exports over the last
10 years.
Government has a zero
fossil fuel vision but
without a time frame and
strategy on how to
achieve the vision.
Independent climate
commission investigating
how this can be achieved.
1 US Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), millions
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
FINLAND 179 (2009) 5.4 Cleantech policy is very
advanced in a number of
sectors/areas and the
government is very active
in promoting the sector.
Strong clustering
capability with four main
cities specialising in
different streams of
cleantech. The Finnish
Cleantech Cluster
promotes interaction
between Finnish
enterprises and the
research community.
Cleantech Finland
actively promotes the
sectors capabilities.
Invest in Finland -
Business opportunities
and professional
consulting services for
international companies.
Market dominated by
solid bio mass and large
scale hydro power.
Renewable energy
including bio-energy
waste to energy, water
management and some
solar. Expertise in large
scale environmental
projects.
Wide range of
measures range of
measures and
instruments in place
to develop the
industry. Investment
subsidies and energy
tax exemptions to
encourage investment
in technology
development.
Grants are available
for investments and
research projects and
can cover 40% of the
investment, up to
250,000 Euro per
project. Tax
subsidies in place to
support wind,
biomass and gas.
Sector has strong
R&D and innovation
support with
financing reaching a
record 230 million
Euros. BioRefine
Technology
established to
promote new biomass
products.
Strengths in both energy
production and energy use.
Especially strong in
technology that combine
waste management and
energy production.
A world leader in combined
heat and power generation
(International Energy
Agency).
Energy efficiency, waste and
recycling are key strengths.
Highly internationalised
sector with share of clean
technology exports highest in
OECD. Strong trade ties
with China, Russia and India.
Finnish cleantech business in
China is estimated to be
currently worth around
EUR900 million this figure is
expected to double by 2013.
Cluster development is very
high.
Finland is focusing on
nuclear energy and
aiming to build two
additional nuclear
reactors besides the one
under construction.
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
Financing tools
combining public and
private capital.
There are a number of
support organizations
and working for the
companies in the
Finnish cleantech
sector to promote
domestic and
international business,
research and
innovation.
EU commitment to
raise renewable
energy to 38 percent
by 2020.
Announced a major
renewable energy
program worth more
than EUR300 million
per year by 2020 to
meet RET. Package
includes feed in tariff
for wind, biogas, and
small scale heat and
power production.
Voluntary energy
efficiency agreements
help support the
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
sector and subsidies
and tariff schemes for
households to install
energy saving
applications.
National Waste Plan
for Finland has set
ambitious targets for
recycling.
HOLLAND 695 16.6 Development of
Renewable energy
technologies is a top
priority.
Cleantech Holland is the
governments export
development agency
responsible for promoting
cleantech.
Strong focus on offshore
wind energy and biomass.
Tax incentives to
induce investments in
infrastructure,
however not linked to
renewables.
Strong focus on R&D
and business and
knowledge institutes
in solar and offshore
energy. Energy
research central to
Innovation agenda
and comprehensive
range of government
subsidised research
programs on new
energy technologies
from fundamental
research to pilot
programs and
practical
demonstrations.
Specialist expertise in
offshore energy and large
renewable energy projects
including large demonstration
projects.
15% world market share in
wind farms. Strong capability
across the supply chain from
blade design, installation
technology, on site
maintenance and foundation
design and building. Strong
presence of test facilities and
companies.
Offshore wind energy,
photovoltaic solar energy
conversion and biomass.
Growing reputation in energy
efficiency and niche expertise
in blue energy, hydropower
and geothermal energy.
Current policies not
enough to meet current
targets.
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
Large public
expenditure on
sustainable energy
technology. Ranked
6th in the world.
Has a 20% RET for
2020, 2% increase in
energy efficiency per
year and a 30%
reduction in GHG
emissions by 2020.
Feed in tariffs to
stimulate
development of
renewable energy
with different levels
for each technology.
Substantial support
for electric vehicles in
order to reach a target
of 5% electric
vehicles by 2020.
IRELAND 172.5
(2009)
6.2 Enterprise Ireland has a
cleantech strategy in
place which aims for
Ireland to be a global
centre in cleantech.
Include a number of
policy initiatives and
programs to promote
finance, research,
Publicly stated that that it
wants to be the Saudi
Arabia of ocean and wind
energy.
Wind, wave, tidal and
biomass, smart metering
and smart networks.
Massive public
expenditure program
Electricity Supply
Board (ECB) plans to
invest $16.5 billion
into renewable energy
and clean technology.
Includes investments
Natural resources, a strong
Government commitment to
renewable energy
development and deployment
and internationally proven
relevant expertise.
Strengths also in energy
efficiency, water
Just beginning to tap into
its renewable energy
sources. Began to
investigate how to
integrate larger amounts
of wind electricity into its
island grid.
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
industry collaboration,
management capability,
internationalisation and
entrepreneurship
IDA has a comprehensive
FDI strategy in place to
attract cleantech
investment.
in wind, wave, tidal
and biomass, smart
metering and smart
networks, as part of
an overall 22 billion
investment.
Target of 41%
renewable gross
electricity
consumption by 2020.
Recently extended to
cover
biomass/anaerobic
digestion CHP, ocean
energy (wave and
tidal) and offshore
wind.
Public expenditure:
$6.3 billion directly
invested in renewable
energy projects, with
$10.2 to be spent on
smart metering and
smart networks.
Renewable energy
feed in tariff covers
large scale wind
energy, hydro,
biomass landfill gas,
and other biomass.
Provides wide range
treatment/management,
BioEnergy, waste
management.
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
of incentives across
economy to adopt
new energy
efficient/renewable
energy technologies
and advanced waste
management systems
including grant
support, feed in tariffs
and taxation
measures.
Carbon tax of
15/tonne on liquid
and gaseous fossil
fuels (installations
falling under the EU
ETS are exempt).
Public funding and
programs in place to
build up research
capabilities and skills
in areas with wave
energy research a key
focus.
Has cut read tape for
large scale renewable
energy facilities such
as wind turbines and
CHP/Tri Generation
installations.
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
Has comprehensive
wind energy research
and development
program in place.
National Climate
Strategy
for an 80% reduction
by 2050 covers all
sectors.
ISRAEL 207 (2009) 7.5 Israel NEWTech program
promotes water
technology and renewable
energy and focuses on
R&D, skills, innovation
and export development.
Strong policies focused
Solar and water.
Focus on water and solar.
R&D investments
Renewable energy
exports. Israel has a
strong cluster of over 100
companies with
renewable energy
solutions.
Has 20% emissions
reduction target
beginning in 2020.
Aims to produce
2,000MW of
renewable energy by
2020.
Announced a NIS 2.2
Billion national action
plan to reduce
greenhouse gas
emissions and action
plan. The plan
includes promoting
new Israeli
technologies and
green construction.
Local subsidies (feed
in tariff).
Heavily technology focused
with strengths in solar and
water. Advanced in water
management and water
desalination. Notable
achievements including
inventing drip irrigation and
are the number one recycler
in the world.
Solar energy technologies
Comprehensive R&D
environment with a strong
synergy between academia
and industry. Strong early
stage private and
government investment.
Less than 0.5% of energy
production comes from
renewable energy. Has
fallen far behind its
renewable energy target
due to failure to carry out
large projects. Problems
in allocating land for
projects and obtaining
permits for projects have
been cited as major
obstacles.
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
SINGAPORE 251.2
(2009)
5.1 Singapore is an energy
intensive economy and its
Cleantech policy is driven
by its response to climate
change, a need to find
alternative energy
sources.
Clean energy is seen as a
major economic and job
creation opportunity.
Government has a USD
453 million cleantech
blue print with strong
R&D and innovation
focus.
Initiatives and funding to
attract clean energy
companies to establish
operations in Singapore,
encourage R&D and test
bedding of clean
technologies.
Solar energy is a major
focus and also fuel cells,
bio-fuels, wind energy,
tidal energy, biomass,
energy efficiency, and
carbon services.
Does not have targets
in place to reduce
carbon emissions.
Singapore Green Plan
2012 states a national
target to improve
carbon intensity by
20% by 2012 through
energy efficiency.
Sustainable
Development
Blueprint sets targets
to reduce energy
intensity by 20%
from 2005 levels by
2020 and 35% from
2005 levels by 2030.
Generous tax and
other financial
incentives (has one of
the lowest corporate
tax rates) to attract
regional headquarters
or R&D centres.
Also offers a range of
support services and
has strong capability
in attracting outside
expertise to build own
industry.
Developing as a regional
research and business centre
for clean energy products and
carbon trading. Has attracted
30 carbon firms.
Successfully major players in
solar energy, carbon services
and water technologies.
Home to largest R&D wind
technology R&D centre
outside of Denmark. REC of
Norway and Vestas Wind
Systems of Denmark have
made large strategic
investments.
Collaboration with
international companies has
led to technological
breakthroughs such as smart
grids and electronic vehicles
have been test bedded across
the country.
Cleantech policy is driven
by need to diversify its
energy supply is
vulnerable (80% of
Singapores electricity is
generated from natural
gas piped from Malaysia
and Indonesia).
Singapore, together with
South Korea, is classed as
a developing country
under Kyoto, and
therefore has no targets to
cut emissions between
2008 and 2012.
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Country GDP1 Population
(Millions) Cleantech strategy/policy
Sectors of focus Policy instruments
Areas of Strengths Comment
R&D capabilities via
research institutes
such as the Solar
Energy Research
Institute (SERIS).
CleanTech One is an
eco business park will
focus on Cleantech
R&D and the
development of the
sector.
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A. DENMARK
Renewable energy policy
Denmark has a long history of diversified support for renewable which has led to its
comparatively high share of renewable energy production. Denmarks active energy
policy was launched as a result of the oil crisis of the 1970s with a shift towards gas,
expansion of CHP, development and expansion of wind energy, and biomass use and
it has gone from being 99% dependent on sources of foreign oil to becoming
completely energy self sufficient.
In 2006 the Government proclaimed a long term vision for Denmark to become 100%
fossil fuel free. The governments medium term objective is to double the share of
renewable energy, so that it accounts for at least 30% of energy consumption by 2020
and 20% by 2011 (gross energy consumption) compared to 15% in 2007.
Furthermore, the political parties formally agreed to promote the intelligent
management of the future electricity grid including the extended use of technologies
such as smart meters and smart grids.
Denmark plays a central role in the development of the wind energy industry and has
a share of 40% of the world market. The sector employs 20,000 people and has a
combined turnover of EUR 3 billion.
Denmark is known primarily for wind and biomass. Areas such as water purification,
air pollution control and intelligent energy solutions are also developing rapidly. The
strict political demands for greater use of renewable energy such as wind and bio-
energy have provided the impulse for technological development, and have created a
showcase for Danish cleantech resulting in many other countries seeking to emulate
Denmarks achievements in this area.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a strong political commitment to wind energy which saw
the development of a strong domestic market and interplay between producers,
authorities and knowledge institutions. Denmark is home to the worlds leading wind
turbine manufacturer and a number of the leading suppliers to the industry are Danish.
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Biomass has also experienced significant growth as an energy source with around 13
per cent of Denmarks energy consumption currently generated from biomass.
Denmark also has strong research activities in future technologies such as hydrogen
and fuel cell, with leading edge research programmes at Ris and the Danish
Technical University. There is both industry and government funding for research,
development and demonstration projects covering biomass to bio energy, conversion
technologies and waste to energy.
Strong cleantech export growth
Over the last 10 years, exports of Danish cleantech have grown at three times the rate
of total exports. Exports of energy technology reached EUR 8.6 billion in 2008,
making Denmark the leading EU country in exports of energy technology as a
proportion of total exports.
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B. FINLAND
Finlands resource constraints in oil and gas reserves mean that Finns have had to
develop customized ways of energy generation and energy efficiency. The country's
harsh winters make it one of the highest energy users (per capita) in the world, and the
area's very low population density exacerbates problems with efficient energy
transfer. As a result, Finland has been developing certain cleantech industries, such as
waste to energy, since the 1930s making it light years ahead of many other nations.
These factors have driven Finlands commitment to becoming a leader in clean energy
production and intelligent energy demand management such as smart grid' initiatives.
Finlands strengths in clean technologies lie in smart energy systems including smart
grids, district heating and cooling as well as combined heat and power generation
(CHP).
Finland's leading telecommunications companies apply their expertise in network
management gained from decades of experience with mobile telephone networks, to
make energy grids user-friendly. Finland strengths in cleantech also include energy
efficiency and waste and recycling. Strong Finnish ICT and energy efficiency
technologies are key drivers behind the smart grid and meter technologies.
The traditionally strong pulp & paper industry and the 80 per cent level of utilization
of biomass have formed the strong basis for the development of the Finnish biomass
industry and waste-to-energy solutions. Three forest industry companies in Finland
are among the top five globally and have led the way in the development of forest
industry processes. These companies are the world's leading developers of internal
recycling and reuse of treated water.
Finland has responded to tight emissions obligations for member states by using its
clean technologies for improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions in energy
production, industrial processes and transport. In addition, Finland has developed
purification technology for exhaust gases and other air pollutants.
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Renewable Energy
Finland is considered a leader in a number of Cleantech sectors and is one of the
leading users of renewable energy sources in the world. Renewables provide one
quarter of Finland's total energy consumption and account for more than one quarter
of its power generation. The most important renewable sources of energy in Finland
include bioenergy - wood and wood-based fuels in particular - as well as hydropower,
wind power, ground-source heat and solar energy.
Finland has the fastest growing renewable energy market in Europe which is
supported by ambitious renewable energy targets (currently around 30%). Finland
has signed up to an EU commitment to raise the use of renewable energy to 38
percent of its overall energy production by the year 2020 which is among the highest
in the EU.
In order to meet this challenge, the Finnish government in April 2010 announced a
major renewable energy program involving more than EUR300 million per year by
2020. It is estimated that the increase in the use of renewable energy will be
equivalent in energy output to that of three large nuclear reactors and mainly involves
mainly wood-based energy, wind power, bio-fuels and heat pumps. It is estimated
that this would trigger near EUR10 billion investments in green energy and create
10,000-20,000 jobs. The renewable energy package includes feed-in-tariff for wind,
biogas, and small-scale combined heat and power production. In addition, it would
improve energy security and boost exports of environmentally friendly technologies.
Finland uses investment subsidies and energy tax exemptions to encourage investment
in renewable energy. Solid biomass and large scale hydropower dominate the market
and biowaste is also increasing its share. The investment grants are available for
investments and research projects and can cover 40% of the investment (up to
250,000 per project). To support wind, biomass and biogas, Finland uses a tax subsidy
system. The rates increased from 4.2/MWh to 6.9/MWh. In its renewable energy
plan, Finland aims at setting up a feed-in tariff for electricity production by wind and
wood chips, but this has not yet been implemented.
Future renewable energy targets will need to be met by a large increase in the use of
wood-based energy, biomass, heat pumps, biogas and wind energy. This demand will
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also boost technology development and the government will seek to strengthen the
position of Finnish technology and know-how providers to a global market.
According to Cleantech Finlands, Finlands competitive advantages in cleantech
include:
Products and technologies that can be seamlessly integrated into large-scale
environmental projects
Cost-efficient solutions that take advantage of the latest process and
environmental technologies
Close cooperation with major research institutes and universities
Extensive experience of project management and implementation in the Baltic
countries and Russia
Innovative technologies that combine waste management and energy production
Ideal conditions for testing new technologies including sparsely populated areas
and relatively small waste quantities.
Cleantech exports
Finlands cleantech sector is highly internationalised and the share of clean
technology exports is well above the figure for any other OECD country. In May
2010 companies from China and Finland signed 12 deals on clean technology and co-
operation in environmentally sustainable technology and solutions with a total
contract value of around $250 million and with the potential to exceed $1.84 billion.
Chinese companies have shown interest in Finnish renewable energy solutions
including bio-energy, wind power, water management, waste management and
resource efficiency. Finnish cleantech business in China is estimated to be currently
worth around EUR900 million this figure is expected to double by 2013.
The Finnish Cleantech Cluster.
Finland benefits from a strong and dynamic cleantech culture and has established a
number of cleantech clusters. Finland rated highly on the 2008 WEFs Global
Competitiveness Report on cluster development. The Finnish Cleantech Cluster has
created more than 500 new green jobs and a further 900 jobs were targeted for 2010.
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The main cleantech clusters are in Kuopio, Lahti, Oulu, and Helsinki which account
for around 60 percent of Finlands Cleantech business and 80 percent of its cleantech
research. Each area specializes in different aspects of cleantech and is responsible for
spearheading a national project of significance. The clusters aim to promote the
growth and internationalization of their businesses. Environmental monitoring, which
combines ICT and environmental expertise is a common theme of the cluster.
Environmental monitoring is one the fastest growing areas in environmental
technology and the Cluster has a number of major projects in this field.
Lahti Science and Business Park is the coordinator of the Finnish Cleantech Cluster
and has generated more than 100 investment deals. The clusters has achieved a
primary goal to create + 40 new high-growth companies annually. It also aims to
increase Cleantech VC investments to 15% of total investments.
Kuopios focus is on national spearhead projects involving a technology network
concentrating on climate, air quality and health. Environmental informatics is also a
key focus. The Oulu national spearhead projects are catalytic air purification and
water purification. Helsinki projects include environmental monitoring and urban
energy efficiency.
The cluster is highly internationalised and has a strong focus on neighbouring
countries including Russian and the Baltic States. Japan and the USA have been
targeted and agreements are in place with both China (FECC) and India (through the
strategic collaboration with YES Bank India). Agreements with other EU partners are
also being developed. LSBP hosts cleantech investor events annually including
cleantech workshops and Cleantech Venture Day. Cluster success stories include
Eagle Wind power, EcoCat, Numcore and Green Stream Network.
Finnish Cleantech R&D programs
The Cleantech sector in Finland has strong R&D support in the form of strong
governmental R&D and growth financing. Finnish governmental R&D financing in
2010 totaled a record 230 million Euros for energy and environmentally sound
solutions.
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Government-backed VC funds such as Veraventure Finnish Industry Investment help
high-growth companies raise financing. Finland also offers subsidies and tariff
schemes for households to install energy saving applications, such as heat pumps and
geothermal energy. In Finland there is a culture sharing business risks between the
public and private sector. Finland has created a variety of new financing tools
combining public & private capital however the government does not traditionally
take a direct financial position in the technology.
Finlands Renewable Energy Market
Finlands renewable energy market consists of the following sectors.
Bioenergy
Finnish companies have decades of experience and strong position in exporting bio-
energy technology. Advanced technology covers the entire chain, from collection of
wood-based material to the boilers using biomass. Finnish companies in the forest and
energy industries are also currently developing new generation bio-fuels from wood-
based raw materials and also non-wood and non-food vegetable matter. In 2007
Finland established the BioRefine Technology Programme to promote new
Bio-mass products. The goals are to develop innovative new products, technologies
and services based on biomass refining and bio refineries and to strengthen and
expand existing biomass expertise in energy and forest industry to new areas.
Solar
Finland has investing in the development of solar cells, panels and heating systems
since 1980s and Finnish technology is in use worldwide for powering telecom base
stations, water pumping, health centres and schools in remote areas, especially in
developing countries.
Wind
Wind power production only accounts for 0.3 percent of the Finnish electricity
consumption, however Finnish wind power technology providers with advanced
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technologies are significant players in the market and its share is expected to grow
with significant investment planned in coming years. During the next 10 years, it is
forecast that at least 1,000 new wind generators will be built in Finland.
Water and waste water
Finland has more than 6,000 groundwater aquifers and nearly 120,000 lakes. To
shelter the highly vulnerable water resources and systems, Finland has developed the
most sustainable water management level in the world according to the UN Water
Poverty Index. Finland has been a pioneer in preventing pollution in water systems
since 1940 and has led to the development in technologies and consulting services for
reducing water use, closing industrial water cycles and for efficient waste water
treatment. Finland is the home to the number one supplier of coagulants and number
three supplier of flocculants for water treatment in the world.
Finland provides comprehensive technologies and services globally using leading
technology to avoid water pollution and deterioration of the environment in complete
water and waste water treatment plants - from chemical coagulation and precipitation
to biological treatment support, odour and corrosion control, disinfection, and sludge
treatment - and optimizing the performance of these plants.
Energy efficiency
Due to its energy-demanding industry, cold climate and long distances, Finland has a
long history of investing in energy efficiency technologies, covering the entire chain
from energy production to its end use. Finnish technologies in energy efficiency are
well developed in the following areas:
Combined heat and power generation (CHP) or co-generation
District heating and cooling
Efficient industrial processes
Automation and environmental measurements
Smart grids and power electronics.
Finland has implemented voluntary energy efficiency agreements which help to
support the sector. A feed-in tariff for biogas CHP (electricity supply) and small scale
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wood based CHP electricity production is planned within the renewable energy plan.
Finnish companies invested over EUR 377 million in energy efficiency from 1998 to
2007. These investments have resulted in energy savings of 7.35 terawatt hours -
comparable to the district heat consumption of the city of Helsinki. The agreements
will play a central role in the national implementation of the EU Energy Services
Directive applying to companies that are not part of the emissions trading scheme.
The goal is to make their energy consumption 9 percent more efficient by 2016.
Waste-to-energy
Finland has strong expertise over the whole waste management chain. Lahti has one
of the worlds most modern waste management centers where 90% of the citys
municipal waste is recycled, with the sludge being converted into bio-gas. Specific
strengths include:
waste separation, collection and transportation, logistics and planning
waste recycling and reuse
waste-to-energy solutions
composting and digestion of organic waste
utilization of by-products, such as ash, slag and crushed concrete
landfill technology including gas collection and treatment
automation, measuring and monitoring waste management chain
Co-generation
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that Finland is the 'model for the
world' in co-generation with high efficiency and low emissions.
The Finnish energy production system is among the worlds cleanest with carbon
dioxide emissions per produced kilowatt-hour below 300 kWh/kg CO2.
Co-generation makes it possible to achieve a total efficiency of 8090 percent, or
even higher. Fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions are roughly 30
percent less compared to generating heat and power separately. For instance, co-
generation saves 11 percent of Finlands primary energy consumption annually.
In the city of Helsinki, district heat, district cooling and electricity are produced
on a large scale in a single process. The emissions have decreased and the air
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quality in Helsinki has improved considerably since the 1990s despite the fact
that energy production has increased by more than 60 percent. The citys energy
company has received awards from the UN and the EU.
Air Pollution
Finnish technology expertise for air protection includes:
solutions to reduce emissions from machines, power plants, ships and vehicles
catalytic technology for volatile organic compounds (VOC) treatment
information and communication solutions to reduce the need for physical mobility
utilizing satellite information to help drivers to avoid traffic congestions
measuring air quality and process emissions
development of measuring instruments.
Clean technologies in logistics and transport
Finlands geographic location in Northern Europe results in long transport distances
within the country. This has resulted in the development of many clean technologies
in logistics and transport:
Energy auditing tools focusing on transportation chains
Emission control devices suitable for new vehicles and for retrofitting in existing
fleets
Further Finnish strengths in clean energy technologies also include expertise in
improving productivity and reducing emissions via:
intelligent automation and information management systems as well as
optimization solutions for process and the energy industry
distributed networked automation for reliable distributed energy production
measuring, analysis and monitoring air, water and soil
satellite-based detection of floods and landslides and assessment of forest
resources
utilization techniques of earth observation data.
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C. HOLLAND
Like most advanced industrialized economies, the Dutch economy faces the challenge
of meeting future energy supply and dealing with the impacts of climate change. The
development of sustainable energy technology is a top priority and a 20% renewable
energy target has been set for 2020 to help achieve this goal including an agreement
to substitute biomass for coal.
The Netherlands has the potential to be among the worlds leading nations in the field
of biomass and offshore wind energy, thanks to its geographical location, lengthy
coastline, good harbours and a strong maritime sector. It has developed specialist
expertise in large renewable energy projects in offshore wind energy, solar energy
conversion and biomass. It has a growing reputation in energy efficiency and also
managed to develop specialist niche expertise in areas such as Blue Energy and
geothermal energy.
Key Dutch Cleantech sectors
Sustainable energy
generation
Smart Grids
Energy efficiency
Biomass
Solar energy
Waste processing and
management
Water
Wind energy
Billing and
monitoring
Energy
management
Storage
Build
environment
Glasshouse
horticultural
sector
Industry
Infrastructure
Transport and
mobility
The Netherlands host an impressive array of world leading businesses and knowledge
institutes specialising in research and development (R&D) of renewable energy
technologies including the roll out of large scale demonstration projects. The
Netherlands have had been very successful in being able to push new frontiers in
technology and increased complexity of solar cells and has matched these production
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techniques in wind turbine modelling and in harnessing biological processes for using
biomass in electricity and fuel generation. The Netherlands is considered an
international leader in the fields of wind energy, biomass, bio-fuels and photovoltaic
solar energy; the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity by means of a solar cell.
The Netherlands has a 15% share of the world market in the construction of wind
farms. Successful Dutch companies in this area are Sif en Smulders for wind turbine
masts, and world players such as Ballast Nedam, Van Oord, IHC Merwede and Vroon
for laying the foundations and erecting wind turbines. GustoMSC, Huisman and IHC
are strong in the design of wind turbine installation vessels.
The Netherlands is a niche player in photovoltaic solar energy (PV), hydropower
and geothermal energy and can boast several successful manufacturers
of solar cells and solar panels such as Salland Solar and Scheuten Solar. The
turnover of these companies is small in both absolute terms and in global terms.
The Netherlands has a strong position in the production of machinery for
manufacturing solar cells is much stronger, with companies such as Smit Ovens and
OTB Solar.
KEMA, Wetsus and Redstack hold a unique and leading position in the field of Blue
Energy which involves generating electrical power through Reversed Electrodialysis
(RED), from the chemical potential difference between salt and fresh water.
In the field of geothermal energy, i.e. tapping the earths internal heat, the
Netherlands is home to international players for subsoil mapping such as TNO, IF
Technology, PanTerra Geoconsultants and Fugro. Well Engineering Partners are
active in the field of drilling techniques.
Research institutes and programs
The Netherlands is home to leading research and knowledge institutes such as ECN,
TNO, three Dutch universities of technology and the universities of Wageningen,
Groningen, Utrecht, Leiden, and Nijmegen. The Netherlands is ranked sixth in the
world in terms of public expenditure on sustainable energy technology. However, this
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expenditure results in only limited commercial application when compared
internationally.
The Netherlands cleantech sector benefits from a wide range of substantial
government subsidy schemes for the research and development of sustainable energy
innovation projects. The most important of these include:
In 2008, the Netherlands Cabinet announced the Societal Energy Innovation
Agenda (IAE) involving a budget of 438 million Euros available for energy
innovation. The IAE focuses on speeding up application of the results from the
research phase and gives particular support to pilot projects and large-scale
demonstration projects.
Energy Research Subsidy (EOS) and subsidy schemes which is part of the Societal
Energy Innovation Agenda (IAE). The EOS programme focuses on researching,
developing and introducing new energy technologies. The subsidy schemes involves a
budget of approximately 30 million Euros a year to support the entire chain from
fundamental research up to and including initial practical demonstrations. In addition
there are four specific Innovation Programmes which fund energy projects.
(Maritime IP, Materials M2i, PointOne and the Polymer IP).
The Advanced Dutch Energy Materials (AEM Innovation Lab) is a 30 million
Euro materials programme. AEM is a joint initiative of ECN and the three Dutch
universities of technology. ADEM focuses on material developments for solar cells
and lightweight materials for wind turbines.
A subsidy has been awarded to The Far and Large Offshore Wind (FLOW) project
for offshore generation of electricity. This project covers research into and the
development of efficient wind turbines in the North Sea, innovative foundation
concepts, maintenance strategies and installation techniques for deep water.
Another part of the project is dedicated to connecting these wind farms to the
electricity grid.
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The Maritime Innovation Programme (MIP) involving the Ministry of Economic
Affairs has earmarked a sum of 39.5 million Euros developing offshore wind farm
activity. The Innovation Programmes Point-One, Polymers and Materials (M2i), also
funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs funds renewable electricity generation
and enabling infrastructure.
Point-One (nanotechnology, embedded systems and mechatronics, running with 151
million euro subsidy) R&D-projects are executed on solar PV thin-film and cell
production technologies, advanced mechatronic drives for offshore wind turbines and
embedded systems and sensor technology in buildings. One of the focal points for the
Polymer Innovation Programme (2007-2011 worth 47.5 million euro) focuses on
the development of functional polymers for solar-PV applications. The Materials
innovation programme M2i (running 2007-2011 with a 34.5 million euro subsidy)
runs projects on metals in solar-PV applications and lightweight materials for
windturbines.
The Joint Solar Programme, an industrial partner programme involving Stichting
FOM in association with Shell, Nuon, and the NOW Chemical Sciences division. This
programme runs from 2005 to 2013, has a budget of 7.2 million Euros and focuses on
a new generation of PV cells with greatly improved properties.
Another three schemes run by the Ministry of Economic Affairs stimulate the
largescale application of energy technology: Energy Investment Allowance (the tax
scheme), the Sustainable Energy Incentive Scheme (SDE) and the Subsidy
Programme for Geothermal Energy.
Netherlands intends to obtain 20% of
Solar energy: key highlights
The Netherlands has an excellent knowledge base in the field of solar energy. The
Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) is among the world leaders in
solar energy research, focusing on the development of the next generation of
photovoltaic systems.
The Netherlands has extensive expertise in the production of ultra-thin
photovoltaic films, which enable solar energy systems to be integrated into glass
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and other components of a buildings exterior without detracting from its
aesthetic qualities.
Dutch manufacturers have extensive experience in designing and implementing
large-scale photovoltaic systems, both in the Netherlands and especially other
countries.
Over the past 25 years, Dutch suppliers of solar collector systems have made
major advances in terms of the efficiency, visual integration and modularity of
their products, establishing extremely high standards of quality.
Dutch solar collector systems can be supplied with a runback option which
automatically shuts down the collector in extremely hot or cold weather. The fluid
in the system (used to transfer heat) drains into a buffer container inside the
building where it is protected against the elements. This Dutch invention renders
the entire system extremely reliable and virtually maintenance-free.
For many years, Dutch researchers have been working to develop a combined
photovoltaic and solar collector panel which will generate heat and electricity
simultaneously and a working prototype has heen developed. Where space is
limited, this solution can generate considerably more energy than two separate
parallel systems. Within the next ten years, electricity from solar energy is
expected to become significantly less expensive than that generated using fossil
fuels.
Offshore Wind Energy
The Dutch are particularly strong in offshore wind energy solutions. Wind is a robust
and sustainable source of energy. It is inexhaustible, and large-scale use of offshore
wind turbines can make an enormous contribution to the global production of
sustainable energy, and hence to the attainment of the world climate objectives. In
2008, a second Dutch offshore wind farm, Q7, became operational. Located 23
kilometres off the coast of IJmuiden in waters of 19 to 24 metres deep, the wind farm
consists of 60 turbines each with a capacity of two megawatts. Its the only wind farm
in the world thats situated so far from the coast and in such deep water. The farms
electricity is transported to the mainland through an undersea cable, and is expected to
yield almost 450 GWh per year. Dutch wind energy expertise is being applied
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internationally. The Dutch have been asked to assist with Indias endeavour to supply
18,000 villages with renewable energy, particularly via wind turbines.
Two Dutch offshore wind farms have been in operation since March 2009. The
Egmond aan Zee Offshore Wind Farm (OWEZ) is a large-scale demonstration project
with 36 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3 MW. OWEZ is owned and operated
by Shell and NUON, and was built by Ballast Nedam and Vestas. The purpose of this
project is to develop knowledge and experience in building.
In addition to knowledge and experience in the construction of complete wind
turbines, the Netherlands has a number of (off-shore) specialists in areas such as blade
design, installation technology, on-site maintenance, and foundation design. The
Dutch companies Heerema, Mammoet van Oord, and Ballast Nedam are noted for
their expertise in foundation technology for offshore wind farms. Almost all vessels
(the so-called jack-ups) used to install offshore wind turbines were designed by the
Dutch company IHC-Gusto.
The Netherlands has an excellent knowledge base with regard to wind energy. The
partnership of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), ECN, and WMC is among
the Top Three in the country in the field of wind energy research. The Netherlands
has a number of excellent test facilities, including ECNs test field, WMCs blade and
materials test lab, and the wind tunnels of the Netherlands Organization for Applied
Scientific Research (TNO), TU Delft, and the German Dutch Wind Tunnels company.
Given the space available and the high wind speeds at sea, offshore wind energy has
far greater potential than onshore wind energy. It has been estimated that offshore
wind energy could actually produce over twice the worlds projected electricity
requirement in 2020. The turbines can be clustered in huge wind farms, well out of
sight from the coast. They can then be much larger than their onshore counterparts,
which are generally subject to height restrictions to reduce adverse visual impact.
Moreover, the noise of the blades and rotation mechanisms will raise no objections
when the turbines are sited offshore.
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Dutch engineering and consultancy companies have gained much experience in
producing Environmental Impact Assessments, based on the Egmond aan Zee project
and various ongoing offshore projects in the North Sea. It is projected that electricity
generated using offshore wind energy will offer a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels by
the year 2020. Foundation technology is a very important aspect in terms of both cost
and and environmental management and there is a strong presence of companies in
these fields such as Grontmij, Heerema, Mammoet van Oord, and Ballast Nedam have
broad expertise and much practical experience in this area.
Greenhouses
Greenhouses as energy sources is a Dutch initiative which uses greenhouses as
energy sources for residential areas. The greenhouses serve as solar collectors for
neighbourhood, while the homes supply CO2 for the crops inside the greenhouses.
City of the Sun
Another example of a high-quality clean technology solution from the Netherlands is
the City of the Sun in the Dutch town of Heerhugowaard. This newly-built
neighbourhood will be carbon neutral, producing enough energy to offset what it
uses. The City of the Sun is the largest photovoltaic (PV) project in the housing sector
worldwide. The project will also include wind turbines, and every home will be built
according to high standards of energy efficiency.
Cleantech Holland
Cleantech Holland is the Netherland governments export development agency
responsible for promoting the cleantech industry. Its mission includes making a
valuable contribution towards the achievement of the national, European and
international climate objectives by promoting the products and services of Dutch
clean technology companies on the international markets.
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Cleantech Hollands chief objectives include:
To raise international awareness of the Dutch clean technology sector.
To position Dutch products, concepts, and innovations in clean technology on the
international markets.
To achieve substantial export growth in clean technology products and services.
To promote international cooperation between private sector organizations,
governments, and research institutes.
Cleantech Holland holds trade and export missions and will be conducting a mission
for Dutch companies to the USA in February 2011.
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D. IRELAND
Renewable energy policy
In March 2008, Irelands state-owned Electricity Supply Board (ECB) announced
plans to invest $16.5 billion into renewable energy and clean technology, aiming to
halve its carbon emissions within 12 years, and get to carbon net-zero by 2035. The
three key drivers behind the strategy include dealing with the consequences of climate
change, energy security and competitiveness of energy supply.
The ECB said it expects to be delivering one-third of its electricity from renewable
generation by 2020. This includes over 1,400 MW of wind generation, in addition to
wave, tidal and biomass. The ECB said that with the development of a single U.K.-
Irish electricity market by 2020, it plans to invest in more generation plants and
renewables in the U.K. and further plants in Europe.
The ECB plans to make significant investments into wind, wave, tidal and biomass, as
well as smart metering and smart networks, as part of an overall 22 billion, or $34.6
billion, investment by the utility. According to ECB, $6.3 billion would be directly
invested in renewable energy projects, with $10.2 to be spent on smart metering and
smart networks. Ireland has also announced a push for tidal and wave power with a
$38 million initiative for research and facilities and a new feed-in tariff. Under the
new program, the remaining half of the overall $34.6 billion will go toward the
country's electricity infrastructure, with the utility saying the upgrades would facilitate
the development of up to 6,000 megawatts of wind on the island.
In addition the Irish government has put in place a range of initiatives to:
Provide strong and wide ranging set of incentives for the domestic and business
sectors of the economy to adopt new energy efficient/renewable energy
technologies and advanced waste management systems. This includes grant
support, feed in tariffs and taxation measures.
Make available strong public funding to build up research capabilities, skills,
institutions and infrastructure in key areas such as wave energy research.
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Develop a streamlined and effective administrative/planning process for
implementing test programmes in emerging technologies such as wave energy and
the installation of large scale renewable energy and energy efficiency facilities
such as wind turbines and CHP/Tri Generation installations
IDA Cleantech FDI Strategy
IDA has a comprehensive FDI strategy in place to attract Cleantech investment.
Ireland strategy is to market Irelands emerging cleantech sector including its natural
resources, a strong Government commitment to Renewable Energy development and
deployment and internationally proven relevant expertise.
According to IDA, many of the 1,000 multinational companies already operating in
Ireland are diversifying into this sector and taking advantage of their local know-how
and technology development expertise to explore new technologies and energy
efficiencies. The Irish CleanTech sector directly comprises companies in Energy
Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Waste Management, BioEnergy Water and Services
sectors. It also encompasses companies from a range of other diverse industries
including engineering, software, building management and electronics. Ireland also
has a growing local clean technology industry with companies like Wavebob and
Ocean Energy developing and testing ocean energy prototypes around Ireland.
Irelands key competitive advantages in Cleantech actively marketed by IDA include:
The Irish Government has a strong commitment to reaching a range of very
ambitious renewable energy targets including a plan to have 40% of all electricity
generated from renewable sources by 2020.
Ireland has some of the best wind and wave resources in the world which Ireland
an ideal research and test bed location and significant market for renewable
technologies in its own right. Ireland is a strong location for the research and
development of technologies and systems that can allow very high levels of
intermittent energy sources, such as wind and wave, on a conventional grid
system or as part of a smart grid.
Ireland is a location for a number of high technology sectors such as ICT, Bio
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, all of which also have strong synergies
with the technologies and skills underlying clean technology. These include
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silicon based solar technologies, electronic/computer components and software, a
wide range of biological processes needed for next generation bio-fuels and waste
treatment systems and very high/medical grade precision engineering technologies
and skills.
Research and Development is a key activity for Clean Tech companies and Irelands
broad range of universities and educational institutes are seen as an important part of
Irelands attraction for Cleantech. Companies will often locate to a region containing
university that they can partner with to achieve their R&D requirements.
In addition Ireland has put in place a range of initiatives to:
Provide strong and wide ranging set of incentives for the domestic and business
sectors of the economy to adopt new energy efficient/renewable energy
technologies and advanced waste management systems. This includes grant
support, feed in tariffs and taxation measures.
Make available strong public funding to build up research capabilities, skills,
institutions and infrastructure in key areas such as wave energy research.
Develop a streamlined and effective administrative/planning process for
implementing test programmes in emerging technologies such as wave energy and
the installation of large scale renewable energy and energy efficiency facilities
such as wind turbines and CHP/Tri Generation installations
Research and Development is a key activity for Clean Tech companies and Irelands
broad range of universities and educational institutes are seen as an important part of
Irelands attraction for Clean Tech. As such, companies in this sector will often locate
to a region containing an educational establishment that they can partner with to
achieve their R&D requirements.
According to IDA, the main cleantech sectors include:
Wind Energy
Ireland has one of the best wind energy resources in Europe and has installed wind
turbines of 1,000MW in capacity with a further 3,700MW of applications filed to
connect to the grid.
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A set incentive feed-in tariff of 63 per MW hour for onshore wind and 140 per
MW hour for offshore wind is available.
Wind Energy research and development work is being undertaken at Dundalk
Institute of Technology, University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin and
University College Dublin.
Ocean Energy
Ireland has the highest wave energy resource in Europe, with an estimated
generation capacity of 60GW (1/5 of Europes total resource).
An incentive feed-in tariff of 220 per MW hour was introduced in 2008 and fixed
for a period of 15 years.
Companies including Ocean Energy, Wavebob and Hydam are developing and
testing wave energy prototypes at dedicated test sites around Ireland.
Examples of Ocean Energy research and development work in Ireland include
turbine design at the University of Limerick, wave tank modelling at testing at
University College Cork and wave energy modelling at Queens University in
Belfast.
Solar Energy
Driving solar activity development in Ireland is its widely respected experience in
the information communication & technologies and engineering sectors.
Intel, Analog Devices and Xilinx have built a cluster of advanced skills in
materials and device development, semi-conductor manufacture, IC design and
processor technologies.
World-class research centres such as the Tyndall Institute at University College
Cork and the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices
(CRANN) at Trinity College Dublin have research strands of key interest to the
solar industry.
University College Dublin has established a Strategic Research Cluster focusing
on Advanced Biomimetic Materials for Solar Energy Conversion.
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Bioenergy
Ireland has significant potential to develop its bio-energy resources to generate
electricity for use as transport fuels, for use in heating and cooling of buildings
and for conversion to bio-chemicals as industrial raw materials.
A Feed-in-tariff for Biomass (landfill gas) of 7.0 cent/kWh was established in
2007.
Energy Management
Ireland has a strong competency mix of sensor, data management, technical
support, project consultancy and smart building capabilities.
Ireland has research strengths in thermal management at the University of
Limerick and the Tyndall Institute as well as power electronics capabilities.
Companies like IBM have linked up with Irish Researchers to form the Smart Bay
Initiative which is developing and testing technologies to capture and monitor
real-time information from a marine environment.
Enterprise Ireland- Key Activities
Enterprise Ireland is the trade and technology board of the Irish Government and is
responsible for driving Irelands entrepreneurship and innovation performance.
Enterprise Irelands strategy aims to support Irish CleanTech companies at various
stages of growth and development to realise their potential for export growth.
Enterprise Irelands Cleantech Strategy 2009-2011 is to drive competitiveness and
growth and focuses on areas of strong growth potential with existing capability. EI
Cleantech focus includes:
Growing the Sector: For Ireland to be considered a global centre and leader in
CleanTech in niche areas and for EI clients to be central to that reputation; and
Improving Sustainable Development across all key clients.
Enterprise Ireland has identified the following areas as representing strong growth
opportunities for the Irish CleanTech sector in the short, medium and longer term.
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Energy Efficiency, Water Treatment/ Management, BioEnergy and CleanTech
Services companies are positioned to grow very strongly in the short term (1 to 3
year horizon).
Waste Management and Renewables will experience stronger growth in the
medium term (3 to 5 year horizon).
In the longer term (beyond a 5 year horizon) Renewable Energy companies in the
marine, offshore wind and biomass sub-sectors are likely to deliver significant
returns. This reflects the larger investments and longer project timeframes
involved.
EI has a number of policy initiatives and programs to promote finance, research,
industry collaboration, management capability, internationalisation and
entrepreneurship
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E. ISRAEL
Israel is fast becoming a world leader in the development of clean energy solutions.
Per capita, Israel has the largest number of startup than any other country in the world
(except the US) with 3,500 companies, mostly in hi-tech. In a recent visit Israel, Al
Gore acknowledged Israels leadership in cleantech: the people of Israel can lead
the way to renewable energy. With its unique geographical position and cleantech
know how, Israel is a natural leader in the field.
A key driver in the development of Israels cleantech industry has been its
geographical location. Due to its location and terrain, Israel is a country that has had
extremely limited natural resources. Israelis have had to overcome these barriers and
have become experts at getting the most out of limited natural resources. The
foundation of Israel's cleantech industry was laid with the beginning of the kibbutz
(collective communities) movement at the start of the 20th century. At that time, the
land was mostly semi-arid, with a scarcity of water and pockmarked by mosquito
infested swamps. Principles of sustainability and self-sufficiency were adopted from
the outset so as to "make the desert bloom".
Blessed with abundant sun light but challenged by water shortages, Israel is
continuously developing alternative technologies that generate significant energy
from the sun as well as from a host of other renewable energy sources such as wind
and biomass. Israel is considered a leading global cleantech powerhouse and is
attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in cleantech investment every year. Its
success is due to a combination of many factors: its history, attitude of the people,
ingenuity, challenges to survival and very supportive government industry policy.
A leader in water management technologies
Since its founding, water scarcity has been treated as a national priority. As a
consequence, Israel is now considered the Silicon Valley of water. Israel is considered
a world expert in the fields of desalination, water treatment and reclamation, water
safety, and agricultural water consumption via drip irrigation an Israeli innovation.
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Israels approach to water management combines proven technologies with new and
efficient water conservation techniques, make it the worlds #1 water recycler.
Israel initiated seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination and is home to the
worlds largest SWRO desalination plant, annually producing 130 million cubic
meters, the most cost- efficient operation of its kind in the world.
Relative to its small size, Israel has devoted more resources to the development of
waste water treatment and reclamation than any other country in the world. Seventy
percent of its waste water is recycled, three times the figure of number two country:
Spain. Israel is the birthplace and world leader in drip irrigation, which has literally
turned deserts into farmlands.
It's estimated that Israel's water industry was valued at $1.4 billion in 2008 and could
reach $2.5 billion by 2011. The Israeli firm Netafim, a $500 million high-tech drip-
irrigation giant, is a world leader in smart irrigation technology and has been credited
with starting the drip irrigation revolution. Israel Newtech, which promotes Israeli
clean energy and water technologies, has identified hundreds of water companies.
Israel's key water achievements:
Israel has the most advanced national water management system
Israel, with a 75% water recycling rate, is the world's number one water recycler.
The second largest water recycler is Spain, with a rate of 12%
Israeli-invented Drip Irrigation helped achieve - of water efficiency in
agriculture the highest rate in the world
Israel has achieved the highest ratio in the world of crop yield per water unit.
Israel is home to the world's largest Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO)
desalination plant, annually producing 100 million m3 at a low cost of
approximately $0.52 per m3 of water - the most cost-efficient of its kind in the
world
Israel creates 25% of its consumed water
Israel's total water consumption has remained the same since the 1960s, despite a
growing population, rising water requirements and increasing agricultural
production
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R&D support and ready access to capital
The sector is supported by very supportive government policy and a comprehensive
R&D environment involving a strong synergy between academia and industry and a
range of academic institutions and R& D centers. It is also supported by early stage
private and government investment programs, such as the Kinrot incubator (11
investments to date) and the Office of the Chief Scientist (several million dollars in
early stage R&D grants), as well as large industrial players such as IDE Technologies,
a global leader in water desalination and Mekorot, the countrys innovative
technology-oriented water carrier.
The nations cleantech industry has ready access to capital and is provides a very
attractive investment proposition to major US VC firms who are very active in the
Israeli cleantech sector. At least 40 venture funds, several of them American, manage
more than $10 billion in Israel, with an increasing share of their allocations devoted to
cleantech companies. Israel also has its own vibrant local VC community which
includes Israel Cleantech Ventures, AquaAgro and Terra Venturesthree firms
dedicated to investing in Israels cleantech sector.
Government Programs: Israel NEWTech A national program supporting Israels water technology Sector
Israel NEWTech is a national government program promoting Israels water
technology renewable energy sectors. Launched in 2006, the program promotes
Israel's water technologies in the local and global markets by supporting R&D,
participating in water related events and creating marketing tools for the benefit of the
sector. The government has invested heavily in the program and allocated substantial
resources towards strengthening the foundation of Israel's water tech cluster.
The four key elements of the program include: strengthening human capital,
increasing R & D activities, local market innovation and penetrating world markets.
There are a number of initiatives to promote each element of the program.
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Program objectives
Increase Israeli Exports: Israel aims to double its water technology exports by
2010.
Enhance International Investment: Already a well established destination for
international investment in conventional hi-tech sectors, Israel aims to boost
international investment activity in its water technology sector.
Promote Water Technology R&D: Through international cooperation, Israel
intends to further expand its R&D activities in water technology.
Program Strategy
Back academic studies and advances professional training
Support R&D and academic research with industrial applications.
Promote novel Israeli technology implementation
Market Israelis proven capabilities worldwide.
Based on the success of the water program and the strategic importance of alternative
energy technologies, in 2008 NEWTech launched a second initiative focused on the
renewable energy sector. This program encourages Israeli companies and individuals
to enter the field of renewable energy, invest in R&D, and establish connections with
potential partners overseas. The key objective of the program is to promote Israel's
renewable energy technologies in the local and global markets.
Israel's key Renewable Energy Technologies
Israel is approach is heavily based on finding technology based solutions and it is
continuously developing alternative technologies that generate significant energy
from the sun as well as from other renewable energy sources such as wind and
biomass. A host of Israeli technology based solutions are provided below.
Solar Energy
Flat plate solar systems for water heating were perfected in Israel in the 1950s. Israel
is the world leader in the use of solar energy per capita with 85% of households using
solar thermal systems, the highest per capita use of solar energy in the world, and 4%
of Israels energy capacity. Israels Luz, a subsidiary of BrightSource, pioneered
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solar-thermal technology and built the worlds largest solar plant of its kind in the
Mojave Desert. SolarEdge boosts PV system output to enable cost efficient
production of up to 25% more energy from any PV installation.
Geothermal Energy
Global geothermal leader Ormats breakthrough turbine design converts geothermal
and solar-heated steam into electricity.
Energy from Waste
The ArrowBio process eliminates the need for prior separation of municipal solid
waste (MSW) and has a 90% recovery rate. Emefcy produces low cost electricity
($0.10/kWhr) and hydrogen in a bio-electro-chemical process from wastewater
treatment using Microbial Fuel Cell technology. Applied Cleantech recycles sewage
to produce a material called recyllose, which can then be used to produce between
120 and 135 gallons of ethanol per ton.
Fossil Fuel Replacement/Bio Fuel
TransBioDiesels enzymatic process increases the profitability of biodiesel production
from recycled greases, animal fats and plant oils by 15%-25%, while producing a
chemically clean by-product.
Energy Efficiency
Phoebus Energys hybrid heat pump system integrates with existing oil-based systems
saving 50%-70% of oil, and reducing pollution by 80%-90%. Powersines Lighting
Energy Controllers (LEC) enable dynamic voltage regulation and power consumption
optimization that save between 20%-35% of electricity in lighting.
IT Solutions/Green IT
TaKaDu uses sparse data from existing sensors and folds that in with weather data,
acoustic data, and GIS data to create a smart water grid, allowing the water utility to
improve its ability to plan and forecast, saving money and resources in the process.
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Israels Agro-tech Highlights
Irrigation
Drip Irrigation helped achieve 70%-80% of water efficiency in agriculture -the
highest rate in the world- versus 40% with open irrigation; Israel controls over 50% of
the world market.
Saline water irrigation
Warm, geothermal saline water is recycled from fishponds to irrigate a variety of
crops, from greenhouse tomatoes to grapes grown in desert conditions.
Greenhouse technologies
Spectrum-optimized plastic films and heating, ventilation and structural systems
enable the growth of more than 3 million roses, and 300 tons of tomatoes per hectare
per season, quadruple the yields of open fields.
Dairy
The Israeli cow has the worlds highest milk yields. In 2008 the average annual per
cow yield was 11,461 kg of milk.
Seeds
Some 40% of European tomato greenhouses use long shelf-life hybrid seeds created
in Israel. The worlds most popular varieties of long-shelf-life cherry tomatoes were
developed by Professors Haim Rabinowitch and Nachum Kedar of Hebrew
University.
Bio/Organic agriculture
About 100,000 ha (247,105 acres) of horticulture are under an Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) regime, reducing pesticide use by 30 - 40%.
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Aquaculture
Closed water systems developed in Israel have led to a 40-fold production increase
compared with openpond systems from 0.5kg to over 20 kg per cubic meter.
Desert Agriculture
Recovery of 35-60C geothermal water captured underground in the Arava desert is
used to heat greenhouses and in fish farming;
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F. SINGAPORE
Singapores Cleantech policy is driven by constraints in land, water and natural
resources, and it has been a key policy driver in the search for innovative responses to
challenges such as water and energy security, and rapid urbanisation. The cleantech
industry has hence been identified as a key growth area for Singapore and its
government is attempting to quickly develop the country as a regional research and
business centre for clean energy products and financial services such as carbon
trading among corporations. In addition to one of the region's lowest corporate tax
rates, Singapore now offers a range of support for green corporations, particularly for
those that chose to establish regional headquarters or R&D centers.
Singapore has built up its energy R&D capabilities through the development of
research institutes such as The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS),
and the recently opened Energy Research Institute at NTU (ERI@N). Singapore also
collaborates with international companies which have led to leading innovations
which have been test-bedded across the country. These include rooftop solar systems
in public housing projects, smart grids (named "Intelligent Energy Systems") and
electric vehicles.
Singapore has a strong track record in attracting outside expertise to build its own
industry. Major players in solar energy, carbon services and water technologies have
chosen to locate their activities in Singapore and it has been immensely successful in
attracting leading industry players such as Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) of
Norway and Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark to make strategic investments into the
country. According to the Singapore government, RECs integrated solar
manufacturing complex is earmarked to be the largest in the world and is a key plank
of the citys ambitions to be a player in the cleantech space. The first phase of RECs
planned investment in Singapore will hire about 1,300 employees and begin
operations in early 2010 to produce solar wafers, cells and modules. When the
complex is fully developed, REC could produce up to 1.5 gigawatts of solar products
in Singapore for global markets.
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Denmark's Vestas, the world's largest supplier of wind power systems, chose
Singapore to host its regional headquarters, citing the country's location, infrastructure
and skilled workforce as a major factor for opening its largest research facility outside
Denmark in 2008. Vestas is investing up to SGD$500 million (USD$328 million)
over the next 10 years to develop its largest wind technology R&D center outside of
Denmark.
Financial incentives such as low trading and company taxes have also drawn 30
carbon firms to the city-state. Clean energy project developer Tricorona of Sweden
has set up its global administrative headquarters in Singapore to manage sales and
marketing activities on ca