POWER August 2014 - 12

which the bulk of Indonesia's coal exports
are destined, including China, India,
South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. India,
for example, which relies on Indonesian
coal imports to keep up chronically short
power plant stocks, would have to rely on
increased shipments from Australia and
South Africa.
A Spanish Island's 100%
Wind-and-Water Power
Solution
El Hierro, the smallest island on Spain's Canary
archipelago, in June became what developers
say is the first energy-isolated territory
to power itself solely with renewables.
The project, which was conceived in
1997 with construction officially beginning
in 2005, entailed building a
unique wind-hydro system consisting of
a five-turbine, 11.5-MW wind farm, two
water reservoirs (Figure 4), a pumping
unit, a hydropower plant, and a seawater
desalination plant. (The island also
has a fuel oil power station for backup
generation.)
Several islands around the world are
turning to renewables for power, but El
Hierro is the first to secure a " constant
supply " of energy using only wind and water
power, experts say. The pumped storage
system uses surplus power from the
$110 million wind farm to pump freshwater
from the reservoir near the harbor to
a larger one about 2,300 feet above sea
level. When output from the wind turbines
drops, water is released through channels
to the lower reservoir through turbines to
generate power.
Developer Gorona del Viento S.A. says
the project's main success factor is " related
to the involvement in the project
of a wide range of partners, both political
and technical. " The company is owned
60% by the Council of El Hierro, 30% by
Endesa, the Spanish subsidiary of Italy's
Enel, and 10% by the Canary Islands Institute
of Technology.
The feat marks a major development
for Spain as well, which today generates
about a third of its power from renewables
but has struggled to contain surging costs
of subsidies for renewable generators.
This June, as part of broader reforms
announced in July 2013, Spain adopted a
decree to overhaul its subsidy system for
renewable generators. The decree caps the
earnings of all 1,400 existing renewable
power facilities in the nation, granting
generators a rate of return of about 7%%
over their lifetimes. That rate, which may
be revised every three years, is based on
the average interest of a 10-year sovereign
bond, plus three percentage points.
Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria
said the measures were necessary to grant
stability to the system, guarantee reasonable
returns on investment, and provide
certainty to the industry. Subsidies had to
be revised or the system would have soon
gone bankrupt, he said.
The measures would save the country
$2.31 billion in 2014 alone. According to
4. Green island. El Hierro, the smallest of Spain's Canary Islands, is fully powered by
renewable sources consisting of a 11.5-MW wind farm and a pumped storage hydroelectric
plant. This image shows the lower reservoir at the Gorona power station. Courtesy: Gorona del
Viento
the Ministry of Energy, Spain has already
paid $76 billion to renewable producers
since 1998 and will pay another $193
billion over their lifetime. The retroactive
move is not without opposition,
however, as some renewable companies
are challenging the reforms in the Supreme
Court.
POWER Digest
S. Korea Extends Renewables Target
Deadline. South Korea's government on
June 9 said it would push back the target
for mandatory use of renewable energy
by two years to ease requirements for the
power-strapped nation's eight electric
utilities. The companies have reportedly
failed to meet annual requirements of the
2011-introduced renewable portfolio standard
(RPS), which requires companies with
generation capacities of more than 500
MW to produce at least 2% by 2012-and,
gradually, 10% by 2022-of all power output
from renewable sources. At the same
time, the government also decided to
recognize waste heat from power companies
as renewable energy. The Ministry of
Trade, Industry, and Energy said the measures
considered " the realistic conditions
for the power companies in fulfilling their
RPS requirements. "
India Fast-Tracks Transmission
Projects Worth $2B. India's Ministry of
Power in late June approved nine transmission
projects worth a combined $2.08
billion, opening them up to tariff-based
bidding from the private sector. The
measure to boost the country's power reliability
fast-tracks new 765-kV lines carrying
up to 2.1 GW each to benefit the
congestion-afflicted states of Haryana,
Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The projects
had been mired in the government approval
process. India has suffered a number
of debilitating blackouts owing to a
lack of adequate power infrastructure.
In May and June, several southern and
northern Indian states saw power cuts
of more than seven hours a day. While
power generation capacity in the country
has grown by more than 50% over the
last five years, transmission capacity has
expanded only 30% over the same period.
Government plans outline an increase in
transmission capacity from the current 38
GW to 66 GW by 2017.
Denmark Slashes State Support of
Offshore Wind. Denmark's government
in mid-June agreed with its main opposition
to postpone startup of the 600-MW
Kriegers Flak offshore wind project by two
12
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