Ministry of Interior joins hands with SDAIA in providing high tech services for pilgrims    19,710 illegals arrested in Saudi Arabia during first week of May    Saudi Armed Forces participate in 'Eager Lion 2024' exercise in Jordan    MHRSD: 1 million workers benefit from initiative to improve contractual relationship 50% fall in rate of labor disputes after launch of the initiative    SDAIA chief: Summit set to make Riyadh a global compass for AI advancements Crown Prince to patronize 3rd Global AI Summit in September    Egypt joins genocide case against Israel at ICJ    Pro-Palestinian protests sweep across Europe in response to Gaza attacks    Biden Administration proposes intelligence sharing to prevent Israeli occupation of Rafah    Neymar celebrates Al Hilal's title win, eager for comeback next season    Al Hilal wraps up Saudi League title; Jesus touts season as model of excellence    Saudi Arabia bolsters digital government ties with the UK    Muslim World League inaugurates first Southeast Asian scholars council in Kuala Lumpur    AlUla partners with Riyadh Air to enhance Saudi Arabia's travel offerings    Red Sea Global celebrates graduation of first batch of International Hospitality Management students    Al Hilal clinches Saudi Professional League title in a star-studded season    Saudi authorities recall contaminated mayonnaise after food poisoning incident at Riyadh restaurant    Al Ettifaq inflicts historic 5-0 defeat on Al Ittihad in Saudi Professional League    Israel heads to Eurovision final, despite protests    Rat remains found in bread sparks Japan recall and refunds    JAX District earns industrial heritage site designation in Saudi Arabia    JK Rowling in 'arrest me' challenge over hate crime law    Trump's Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles    Hollywood icon Will Smith shares his profound admiration for Holy Qur'an    We have celebrated Founding Day for three years - but it has been with us for 300    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



German rail to run on sun, wind to keep clients happy
By Erik Kirschbaum
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 08 - 2011

ReutersIt won't be easy to run a national railway on renewable energy like wind, hydro and solar power but that is what Germany's Deutsche Bahn aims to do for one simple reason: it's what consumers want.
Deutsche Bahn says it wants to raise the percentage of wind, hydro and solar energy to power its trains from 20 percent now to 28 percent in 2014 and become carbon-free by 2050.
“Consumers in Germany have made it clear they want us all to get away from nuclear energy and to more renewable energy,” Hans-Juergen Witschke, chief executive of Deutsche Bahn Energie, said of the railway's attention-grabbing revised targets that exceed the government's already ambitious national aims.
“It's what customers want and we're making it happen,” Witschke said in an interview with Reuters. “The demand for green electricity keeps rising each year and that'll continue.”
Prevailing attitudes in Germany were already decidedly green before the Japanese Fukushima nuclear accident in March prompted a head-first dive into renewables.
The Berlin government abruptly reversed course on nuclear power, shutting eight nuclear plants and vowing to close the other nine by 2022.
That caught Deutsche Bahn - and German industry - off guard. The state-owned railways had relied heavily on nuclear energy. But now the public and industry are increasingly attuned to sustainability and what companies are doing, Witschke said.
“Environmental protection has become an important issue in the market place and especially in the transport sector,” he said. “It's a mega trend. Even though more renewables will cost a bit more, that can be contained with an intelligent energy mix and reasonable time frame. We're confident that cutting CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions will give us a competitive advantage.”
There are still concerns about the reliability of renewables as their share rises towards 100 percent and before more storage capacity is available. What happens when there is no wind or sunshine?
Some transport industry analysts are skeptical.
“It sounds like a bit of ‘green-washing',” said Stefan Kick, an analyst at Silvia Quandt Research, a Frankfurt brokerage. “Obviously costs for renewable energy are going to be higher. Yet if customers are truly willing to pay, it could make sense.”
The railway's new push for a larger share of renewable energy to operate trains that transport 1.9 billion passengers and 415 million tons of freight each year has won applause from environmental groups.
They have cheered Deutsche Bahn's partnerships with wind and hydroelectric power suppliers and its exploratory moves into harvesting solar power from the roofs of its 5,700 stations.
Photovoltaic panels in the spectacular glass roof of Berlin's main station produce 160,000 kw/h of electricity a year - meeting about two percent of the Hauptbahnhof station's needs.
Previously, environmentalists had accused the company of neglecting to develop renewables on its vast properties and because of its heavy reliance on nuclear.
Peter Ahmels, a renewable energy specialist at the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH), said the railways could have done more with wind and solar on its property holdings.
Instead, he said Deutsche Bahn had relied complacently on its image as a low-emission mode of transport.
It could do this because even high speed trains have CO2 emissions per passenger per km of 46 grams, compared with an average 140 for cars and 180 for planes.
“Since Fukushima, Deutsche Bahn has been moving in the right direction,” Ahmels said. “There's clearly a new thinking on the board. They're doing sensible things. Before they resisted. The argument was that renewables were not their core business.”
The railway's high speed trains zip across the country at up to 300 kph. By 2014 a third of the electricity for long-distance trains will come from renewable sources.
Deutsche Bahn also operates myriad local rail operations in towns and cities. Some operations, such as local railways in Hamburg and Saarland, already run on 100 percent renewable energy and proudly boast about that in advertising.
To run its trains the railways use a staggering amount of electricity every year: 12 terawatt hours. That is as much as Berlin with its 3.2 million residents consumes.
The railways alone use two percent of Germany's total electricity. A single high-speed ICE train traveling from Frankfurt to Berlin uses up 4,800 kw/h, enough for a four-person family for a full year.
Germany is already a world leader in renewable energy. About 17 percent comes from renewables, up from six percent in 2000.
The German government aims to raise that share to 35 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. Witschke said Deutsche Bahn will have 35 or 40 percent by 2020 and 100 percent by mid-century.
“We've got a vision of being carbon free by 2050. That's not just a declaration of intent. It's a concrete business target.”
Some passengers and business partners, such as carmaker Audi, already voluntarily pay small surcharges for CO2-free transport packages that guarantee green power is used.
“The demand for our CO2-free products has been above expectations,” Witschke said. “The customers really want this. If they keep turning to the CO2-free products at this pace, we'll be over the 40 percent mark in 2020.”
To help meet that target, Deutsche Bahn has been operating two wind parks in Brandenburg and in July signed a 1.3 billion euro deal with utility RWE to get 900 million kw/h a year from 14 hydroelectric plants


Clic here to read the story from its source.