tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79247122024-03-12T22:59:56.574-07:00ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BLOG - Solar-Energy-Wind-Power.comalternative energy blog - news, views and strong opinions on alternate energy resources including solar energy, wind power, wave energy, geothermal & other renewable energy sources + news on other energy issues including the end of cheap gas & oil, plug-in hybrid cars, rising fuel prices, "clean" coal & nuclear powerJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-8692817822496714602008-07-17T21:04:00.001-07:002008-07-17T21:20:24.726-07:00100% Carbon Free Electricity by 2018We need a massive increase in electricity generated from alternative energy.<br /><br />Here's Al Gore's vision:<br /><br /><object width="382" height="310"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dt9wZloG97U&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dt9wZloG97U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="382" height="310"></embed></object><br /><br />Here's one way to achieve <a href="http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4316">100% Carbon Free Electricity</a><br /><br />Thoughts?Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-43963853992104670502008-06-01T05:14:00.000-07:002008-06-01T07:09:14.114-07:00Why are Oil Prices So High?<img src="http://media.canada.com/canwest/22/040307refinery.jpg" /><br /><br />Why are oil prices so high? This is the question being asked with increasing frequency in many countries around the world. Some would have you believe that the blame should be placed on "greedy oil companies", "Arabs", "speculators" or "OPEC".<br /><br />While speculation is happening with investors and hedge funds looking to commodities for returns that are not being seen in the stock or property markets, there are underlying fundamental reasons which mean prices are likely to stay high.<br /><br />Last November the International Energy Agency released its annual World Energy Outlook report. Traditionally the agency has projected energy supply based on projected demand.<br /><br />The agency has projected that India and China will lead the increase in energy demand making 45% of total growth. Oil imports for these two countries combined will grow to 19.1m barrels a day by 2030 compared to 5.4m barrels a day in 2006.<br /><br />Demand for oil will grow to 116m barrels a day by 2030, an increase of 37% on 2006 oil usage. In this report back in November the International Energy Agency warned the price of a barrel of oil could rise to $159 by 2030 due to high growth in demand. This estimate now looks very conservative.<br /><br />The reality is there have been some fundamental changes.<br /><br />Before if the United States went into recession, this would lower demand for oil and prices fell. Now with China, India and other rapidly developing nations demanding ever increasing quantities of oil a recession in America is unlikely to lead to falling oil prices like it did in the past. Were per capita oil use in China and India to reach the same level as in the United States, this would fully deplete the world's remaining proven oil reserves in just 15 years and prospective resources, in 26 years.<br /><br />The other fundamental change is that there is little excess production capacity. While Saudi Arabia would like the world to think it could increase production if it deemed it "beneficial" to the stability of the market, this is just an illusion of control. The reality of the OPEC cartel is that while sticking to production quotas may have benefited the group as a whole, individual countries have always "cheated" consistently and repeatedly exceeded their production quotas. In the past this has lead to significant downward pressure on prices.<br /><br />This time the signs are that the world is at or near its maximum oil production capacity. Does this mean Peak Oil has arrived? In my opinion - not yet.<br /><br />New production will continue to come online in the coming years which is likely to raise worldwide maximum oil production. So we haven't reached peak production... yet.<br /><br />What we may be experiencing is what Robert Rapier calls <a href="http://i-r-squared.blogspot.com/2007/07/peak-lite-revisited.html">Peak Oil Lite</a>, with the early effects of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil">Peak Oil</a> arriving. Demand is rising faster than supply. In its July 2007 report the International Energy Agency predicts OPEC spare capacity will decline to minimal levels by 2012. The lack of spare capacity means, that price volatility increases with price spikes occurring in the event of supply disruption.<br /><br />So what we are likely to experience prior to Peak Oil is Peak Export. According to Eugene Linden in BusinessWeek when it comes to oil our biggest concern should be the amount of "global oil available for export".<br /><br />According to the <a href="http://graphoilogy.blogspot.com/2008/01/quantitative-assessment-of-future-net.html">Export Land Model</a> developed by Jeffrey Brown - exports decline faster than production declines, the rate at which exports decline accelerates over time and only a small percentage of a producing country's production is exported following peak production.<br /><br /><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44679000/gif/_44679049_sweet_crude_gr226.gif" /><br /><br />According to a report in last week's Wall Street Journal, fresh information from the US Department of Energy shows the quantity of petroleum products shipped by the top exporting countries in 2007 fell 2.5% last, while prices increased 57%.<br /><br />Net exports from major producers Mexico, Norway and Venezuela have fallen in every year since 2005.<br /><br />With the rise in prices individual producing countries in OPEC had every incentive to "cheat" and yet exports fell. The influx of wealth into the Middle East has led to a boom in domestic demand. It seems that Middle Easterners aspire to the same gas guzzlers and energy rich lifestyles as Americans. Soaring profits from high-price crude have fuelled a boom in oil demand in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East, leaving less oil for export. In 2007 the output of the region's six largest oil exporters - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar - fell by 544,000 barrels a day. During the same period domestic demand increased by 318,000 barrels a day, leading to a decrease in net exports of 862,000 barrels a day.<br /><br /><img src="http://qster.com/archives/uploaded/2005/11/silver%20Audi%20A8%20Dubai%203-thumb.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />A recent report from CIBC World Markets also indicates that as much as 40% of Saudi Arabia's expected production increases will be offset by rising internal demand by 2010, and Iranian exports will decline by more than 50% for similar reasons.<br /><br />Indonesia recently withdrew from OPEC as it has gone from being a net exporter of oil, to a net importer of oil.<br /><br />The Wall Street Journal report comments that the fall in oil exports "defies traditional market logic." Perhaps that should be blind faith that OPEC nations can turn on the taps if prices rise "too high". It seems even <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7255447.stm">oil traders are unsure</a> what is driving prices as according to one market analyst quoted by BBC News "we really don't know what the fundamentals are doing at any point in time." Much of the information on fundamental factors in the oil market is not public or freely available.<br /><br />In simple terms demand is outstripping supply and prices are rising. This is how the market is supposed to work.<br /><br />Other fossil fuel prices tend to follow oil. IEA's latest World Energy Outlook forecasts coal is set to rocket in demand, increasing by 73% from 2005 to 2030. This means coal's share in global energy demand will rise from 3% to 28%. It is predicted by 2015 America will go from being a net coal exporter to a net coal importer. Coal is the most carbon intensive way of generating electricity and this report predicts that rather than becoming a smaller part of the energy mix, coal is predicted to play a much bigger role.<br /><br />With a presidential election this year in the United States and gas prices at record levels, oil and energy in general is set to be a key issue. There is the opportunity to have a serious debate about energy - a fundamental part of our lives which has been taken for granted for far too long. However the responses from the presidential candidates so far have not been encouraging.<br /><br />In 2002 McCain declared that ethanol is a "giveaway to special interests in corn-growing states as the expense of the rest of the country." In 2003 he put out a press release saying "Ethanol does nothing to reduce fuel consumption, nothing to increase our energy independence, nothing to improve air quality." He went on to describe it as "highway robbery." Hillary Clinton signed a letter saying that there is "no sound public policy reason for mandating the use of ethanol".<br /><br />McCain, Clinton and Obama all seem to have drunk the ethanol Kool Aid and seen the bright white light that has converted them to <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/07/is-ethanol-e85-fuel-solution.html">E85</a>. In 2008 none of these presidential candidates seems to have anything negative to say about ethanol.<br /><br />In 2006 Barack Obama along with four Republican and one Democrat senator introduced the <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/10/clean-coal-or-dirty-coal.html">Coal-To-Liquid Fuel</a> Promotion Act.<br /><br />There have also been accusations made against "Big Oil", "OPEC" (including by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown) and suggestions that a "gas tax holiday" or "windfall tax" would fix everything. It's always easier to find a scapegoat.<br /><br />One bandaid being suggested from some quarters, is to open up drilling in the United States in areas which are currently off limit. This would give access to 19 billion barrels of oil enough to meet US needs for approximately two-and-a-half-years or world demand for just over 7 months at current rates of consumption.<br /><br />To quote the head of the International Energy Agency:<br />"All countries must take vigorous, immediate and collective action to curb runaway energy demand.<br /><br />The next ten years will be crucial for all countries... We need to act now to bring about a radical shift in investment in favor of cleaner, more efficient and more secure energy technologies."<br /><br />Further Reading:<br />The Ethanol Scam in "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1586483218/alteenerblog-20/">Gusher of Lies</a>"<br /><br />You can read more on what the energy policies of McCain, Clinton and Obama should be in this <a href="http://i-r-squared.blogspot.com/2008/04/open-letter-to-our-next-president.html">Open Letter to the Next President</a>.<br /><!-- AddThis Button for Post BEGIN --><br /><div><script type="text/javascript">addthis_url='http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-are-oil-prices-so-high.html'; addthis_title='Why Oil Prices Are So High'; addthis_pub='altenergy';</script><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" type="text/javascript"></script></div><br /><!-- AddThis Button for Post END -->Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-75813117355487079632007-08-06T05:57:00.000-07:002007-08-06T07:09:03.571-07:00House Passes 15% Renewable Energy by 2020<img src="http://www.phatpage.org/highways/shields/i15big.gif" /><br /><br />The United States House of Representatives has passed an Energy Bill requiring utility companies to produce 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2020.<br /><br />The Bill passed in the House on a 241-172 vote, despite strong opposition from electric utility companies and the White House, which has threatened to veto the measure. Twenty six Republicans voted in favor and nine Democrats opposed the bill.<br /><br />A senior analyst for Lazard Capital Markets described the bill as "a significant positive step towards creating a cohesive energy policy."<br /><br />The renewable electricity standard applies only to investor-owned utilities and exempts rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the state of Hawaii from the mandate.<br /><br />The bill also calls for stronger energy efficiency standards for appliances and lighting and incentives for building more energy-efficient buildings. The bill bans the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs by 2012 and requires that all bulbs be 300% more efficient than today’s ordinary bulbs by 2020. The bill also includes a range of loan guarantees, federal grants and tax breaks for alternative energy programs. These include building biomass factories, research into making ethanol from wood chips and switch grass and producing better batteries for hybrid cars.<br /><br />The bill will repeal a tax break for oil companies from 2004, and another tax break relating to income from foreign oil production. Critics of the two tax breaks called them loopholes that the industry had taken advantage of.<br /><br />The 786-page House energy bill does not include an increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. That issue, as well as whether to force major increases in the use of <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/07/is-ethanol-e85-fuel-solution.html">E85 fuel</a> as a substitute for gasoline, were left to be negotiated when the House bill is merged with energy legislation the Senate passed in June.<br /><br />"There's a war going on against energy from fossil fuels" said Representative Ralph Hall, Republican-Texas. Representative Joe Barton predicted the bill "isn't going to go anywhere" because President Bush would veto it if it reaches his desk.<br /><br />In a somewhat surprising comment from the White House, they accused the bill of making "no serious attempts to increase our energy security". This defies commonsense as by producing more electricity from domestic renewable sources rather than with imported natural gas by definition increases the United States' diversity and security of energy supply.<br /><br />As with all legislation the details (such as a subsidy for installing gas pumps for expensive and inefficient <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/07/is-ethanol-e85-fuel-solution.html">E85 fuel</a>) need to be checked carefully. Regardless a 15% renewable energy standard is good news.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-40025355375893940192007-05-07T03:41:00.000-07:002007-05-07T04:27:11.931-07:00Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg/300px-The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg" /><br /><br />Here’s my brief analysis of and comments on the recent IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change released from Bangkok, Thailand as it relates to alternative energy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Energy Efficient & Net Zero Energy Buildings</span><br /><br />Energy efficiency and renewable energy are rightly held to be a key ways to reduce carbon emissions. Buildings, both residential and commercial, are a significant emitter of greenhouse gasses.<br /><br />Solar hot water heating can be used to provide up to 70% of annual hot water needs for homes, it can also be used in commercial buildings that require significant hot water such as gyms and nursing homes.<br /><br />Geothermal (ground source heat pumps) is a lesser known source of alternative energy which can be used to both heat and cool buildings in a highly efficient way and is suited both to residential and commercial buildings. It can also be used to provide hot water. As bore holes and/or trenches need to be dug for geothermal to be installed, it is particularly suited to new builds.<br /><br />Electricity can be provided from renewable sources via the grid (e.g. wind power) or off-grid it can be generated using for example solar photovoltaic panels (PV).<br /><br />The use of insulation, natural light & shade, low energy lighting, motion detection lighting etc. can further reduce energy usage.<br /><br />As noted in the report appropriate building codes can minimise carbon emissions from buildings.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alternative Energy = Energy Security</span><br /><br />The report notes that nations seeking energy security (security of supply) can help achieve it using alternative energy. Nations lacking their own fossil fuels resources should be concerned with the negative impact reliance on fossil fuels can have on their economies. By increasing utilisation of alternative energy resources, nations can increase their energy security.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Transport Policy & Fossil Fuels Subsidies</span><br /><br />I was disappointed by the report’s lack of vision on transport. It correctly notes that past increases in efficiency in internal combustion engine (ICE) design have been used to increase power rather than fuel efficiency meaning vehicle carbon emissions have continued to climb. This trend has even continued into hybrid vehicles with performance being favoured over fuel economy (e.g. Lexus hybrid cars). Mention was made of making increased use of biofuels, which can actually significantly increase carbon emissions (see this post on <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2007/02/seeing-red-palm-oil-biodiesel.html">Palm Oil Biodiesel</a>). The glaring emission, is the need for a fundamental shift from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles. I got the impression the report in trying to build consensus was avoiding treading on any toes. Perhaps that’s why it recommended only reducing rather than eliminating the subsidisation of fossil fuels.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Research and Development + Technology Transfer</span><br /><br />India and China will soon be at the top of the list of carbon emitting nations. The report wrongly suggests that because many new power stations are being built in developing nations, they will be using new energy efficient designs and technologies. While new power stations may be more efficient than those built decades ago, for cost reasons less efficient technology is usually used (for more details see this post on <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/10/clean-coal-or-dirty-coal.html">Clean Coal</a>). The report notes there have been low levels of investment in research and development. Investment is needed now and much more should be done to aid the transfer of the most energy efficient technologies between nations.<br /><br />IPCC working group report on <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM040507.pdf">Mitigation of Climate Change</a> (pdf link)Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-33256204384138441972007-02-05T03:08:00.000-08:002007-02-05T02:34:19.840-08:00Seeing Red: Palm Oil Biodiesel<img src="http://www.alterra-research.nl/pls/portal30/docs/folder/strapeat/strapeat/Images/rainforest_s.jpg" /><br /><br />In the enthusiasm for renewable energy and taking care of our environment, it is easy to assume that making fuel from plants (biofuel) must be by definition "green" and renewable. However when it comes to energy issues, easy assumptions can be dangerous assumptions. In previous years some politicians and advocates in Europe have made these assumptions without sufficient thought and research and secured government subsidies for companies importing palm oil from South East Asia to make biodiesel for transport and for use in electricity generation.<br /><br />The demand for palm oil in Europe has soared in the last two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more recently for fuel. This cheap oil can be used for a variety of purposes, including as an ingredient about 10 percent of supermarket products, from chocolate to toothpaste.<br /><br />Promoted by hundreds of millions of dollars in national subsidies, the Netherlands quickly became the leading importer of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.7 million tons in 2006, nearly double the previous year.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.veg.ca/images/e-palm-oil.jpg" /><br /><br />Now it is increasingly difficult to ignore the mounting body of scientific evidence that palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, rather than preserving the environment are in fact actively destroying it. By subsidising biofuels, European governments have artificially raised demand for palm oil in Europe, and accelerated the destruction of huge areas of rainforest in South East Asia. Palm oil plantations are often expanded by draining and burning peatland, releasing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As a result Indonesia has become the world's third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, ranked after the United States and China, according to a study released in December by researchers from <a href="http://www.ckpp.org/">Wetlands International</a> and <a href="http://www.wldelft.nl/gen/news/past.html">Delft Hydraulics</a>, both based in the Netherlands.<br /><br />The 2003 <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/biofuels_en.htm">European Union Biofuels Directive</a>, which required all member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation run on biofuel in 2010, is now under review. In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia has prompted the government to suspend palm oil subsidies.<br /><br />In Europe a small amount of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed#Biodiesel">rapeseed</a> and sunflower oil is used to make diesel fuel, however increasingly plant oils are being imported from the tropics, since there is simply not enough plant matter or land for biofuel production at home. So while the billions of dollars in European subsidies appear to have reduced carbon emissions in European countries by importing biofuels, this has been achieved by exporting them and increasing their impact many times by the permanent destruction of rainforest and peatland in South East Asia.<br /><br />For anyone familiar with how the ethanol industry works in the United States, they will be unsurprised to learn that the palm oil industry was promoted long before there was adequate research. <a href="http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/">Biofuel Watch</a>, an environment group in Britain, now says that "biofuels should not automatically be classed as renewable energy." It supports a stop on subsidies until more research can determine if various biofuels in different regions are produced in a nonpolluting manner. The group also suggests that all emissions arising from the production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/images/profiles/terrestrial/im/sm/im0102a.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">BEFORE: rainforest on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalimantan">Indonesian part </a>of the island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borneo">Borneo</a></span></span><br /><br />Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused by new palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land devoted to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the last eight years.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.biodieselkeepitgreen.org/Images/plantation%5B1%5D.jpeg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">AFTER: a palm oil plantation</span></span><br /><br />Peat is an organic sponge composed of 90 percent water that stores huge amounts of carbon, which when it is drained emits huges amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.<br /><br />Even worse <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat_swamp_forest">peatland</a> is often burned to clear ground for plantations. The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peatland in Indonesia releases 660 million tons of carbon a year into the atmosphere and that fires contributed 1.5 billion tons annually.<br /><br /><img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38191000/jpg/_38191651_klhazeap.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Southeast_Asian_haze">the haze</a> has covered much of SE Asia for extended periods of time since 1997<br /></span></span><br />The total is equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia were not counted before," according to a Wetlands spokesperson. "It was a totally ignored problem."<br /><br />While for the moment the widescale destruction of rainforests in South East Asia continues, hopefully the palm oil story will serve as a cautionary tale which will lead to much better informed policymaking and behaviour. Politicians must resist the urge to rush to legislate and subsidise in order to bask in the glow of being seen to be "doing something" while a number of so-called green companies profit from taxpayer subsidised destruction. Energy policy must make sense from a scientific (i.e. it should be energy positive), economic and environmental viewpoint. However the continued promotion of ethanol and coal-to-liquids calls for continued skepticism.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1164412357202949672006-11-24T15:52:00.000-08:002006-11-24T15:52:39.970-08:00City Utilities End Coal Fired Electricity Contracts in California<img src="http://www.all-star.tv/images/southern-california.jpg" /><br /><br />In what is hopefully the start of a new trend, several Southern California cities have decided not to renew long-term contracts for coal-fired electricity, choosing instead to turn to cleaner sources of electricity.<br /><br />City officials told Utah-based <a href="http://www.ipautah.com/aboutus.htm">Intermountain Power Agency</a> they wouldn't be renewing their contracts for coal-fired power, which expire in 2027, and would instead be looking for alternative energy sources.<br /><br />"It's a huge change," said Mayor Todd Campbell of Burbank, one of the cities that decided not to renew its contract.<br /><br />The cities are <a href="http://www.cityofpasadena.org/waterandpower/power_greenpower.asp">Pasadena</a>, <a href="http://www.glendalewaterandpower.com/Wind_Powered_Energy.asp">Glendale</a>, <a href="http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/electric.asp">Riverside</a> and <a href="http://www.anaheim.net/section.asp?id=147">Anaheim</a>. They join the <a href="www.greenla.com">Los Angeles Department of Water and Power</a>, which has already choosen not to renew the contract with Intermountain. Currently coal fired electricity makes up a significant percentage of their power, for example Pasadena Water & Power says that the Intermountain plant is 65 percent of our energy.<br /><br />Intermountain's general manager Reed Searle said the company had worked for three years on the renewals and was now looking at ways to modernize its plants to bring them into compliance with California's greenhouse gas legislation that takes effect on the first of January.<br /><br />The cities' decision came after increased pressure from politicians and environmentalists.<br /><br />Senator Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to an umbrella group for the cities last week saying she was "shocked and dismayed" by an initial decision last month by Burbank to renew the contract.<br /><br />Phyllis Currie, general manager of Pasadena Water & Power said the utilities wanted to explain how important Intermountain was to California cities. "It's a serious issue when you tell us to walk away from that," she said.<br /><br />The move could put Southern California in the forefront nationally of the commercial use of alternative energy in coming years.<br /><br />Intermountain has extended its renewal offer for power from the plants until 2023 from the previous deadline of May 2007 in the hope state regulators will let utility officials renew the contracts if greenhouse gases are reduced. Electricity utilities are starting to feel the pressure for <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/10/clean-coal-or-dirty-coal.html">"clean" coal</a>.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1164242534235198082006-11-22T16:30:00.000-08:002007-02-05T02:36:28.771-08:00$402m Tidal Energy Plant For New Zealand<img src="http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/fms/Parks/beach-driftwood300px.jpg" /><br /><br />New Zealand’s Northern Advocate reports that a US $402 million (NZ $600m) proposal to generate electricity with 200 tidal-powered turbines submerged at the entrance to the Kaipara Harbour could get under way next year. The harbour is one of the largest in the world. It’s a broad shallow harbour covering an area of over three hundred square miles and has more than two thousand miles of shoreline. It has a two and a half mile wide entrance to the Tasman Sea halfway along its length.<br /><br />Although officially called a harbour, the Kaipara is rarely used for shipping, owing to the treacherous tides and bars at its mouth. For this reason, no large settlements lie close to its shores, although small communities dot its coastline.<br /><br /><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9f/NZ-Kaipara_H.png/160px-NZ-Kaipara_H.png" /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.crest-energy.com/">Crest Energy</a> has applied to the Northland Regional Council for resource consent to set the 22m-tall turbines on the seafloor along about 8km of the 30m deep main channel at the harbour entrance.<br /><br />The tidal energy is expected to get the turbines generating 200 megawatts of power - enough for 250,000 homes. The turbines, shielded from fish, would sit on heavy concrete pylons and be at least 5m from the surface at low tide. Leisure craft and barges could pass over them, but would be restricted from anchoring in the turbine area.<br /><br />Two 30km-long cables 125mm in diameter would feed electricity into the national grid.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.crest-energy.com/">Crest Energy</a> claims the size and commercial scale of the Kaipara project would make it the largest of its kind in the world.<br /><br />If the project gets the green light, possibly around the middle of next year, the company plans to raise about $50 million to begin building turbines.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1162320340057790892006-11-01T11:11:00.000-08:002006-11-24T15:22:08.490-08:00Buy This Alternative Book<img src="http://s3.worldchanging.com/siteimages/book/bookwithgreenfade.jpg" /><br /><br />Here at the Alternative Energy Blog, while not underestimating the scale of the challenges facing the world, we like to talk about solutions. Another website that has consistently done this is <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/">World Changing</a>, which started as an award winning group blog, became a non-profit and has now also become a 600 page book.<br /><br />This firecracker of a book is about the future of the world, full of big ideas on how humanity, technology and our environment can interact in a positive way. If you are tired of pessimistic doom and gloom tomes on the state of the world and the business as usual messages of many of our political & business leaders, this is the book for you. It is a optimistic read, overflowing with ideas for change.<br /><br />What are you waiting for?<br /><br />Go buy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810930951/alteenerblog-20/">World Changing</a> and instead of the Barefoot Contessa, let's see barefoot solar engineers on the top sellers list.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1159866789954380602006-10-03T01:51:00.000-07:002008-06-07T11:39:06.169-07:00Clean Coal or Dirty Coal?When President Bush said “America is addicted to oil”, he could also have said that America is addicted to coal.<br /><br />Most Americans are not aware of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzHrzobJMyM">sheer scale</a> of current coal use in the United States. Over 50% of electricity is generated from coal with 20 pounds of coal per a person being burnt every day to generate electricity.<br /><br />While questions are increasingly being raised about remaining oil and gas reserves, we are assured that there is plenty of coal left to burn. Indeed in a talk to a meeting of builders and contractors at the Capital Hilton on June 8, 2005 President Bush asked the audience,<br />"Do you realize we've got 250 million years of coal?"<br /><br />Hopefully readers will spot this obvious gaffe. The figure quoted by the coal industry is 250 years of reserves, not 250 million years. The energy illiteracy of the average person is worrying enough, but in our political leadership it is a real cause for concern.<br /><br />There are an estimated one trillion tons of recoverable coal in the world, by far the largest reserve of fossil fuel left on the planet. The United States has over 25% of the world’s recoverable coal reserves. An important point to remember when considering how many years of coal we have left is that these figures are based on current rates of consumption and do no take into account growing demand for electricity. Since 1980 coal use for power generation has increased by over 75%.<br /><br />A good percentage of the coal that’s left is too dirty to be burned in conventional power plants and much of its buried in inconvenient places. In 1974 the USGS published an estimate of the recoverable reserve base at 243 billion tons. This however failed to take into account real world restrictions on mining: state and national parks, roads, towns, proximity to railroads, coal quality, losses during mining and geologic limitations. When these are factored in less than 50% of the coal estimated as “recoverable” in the 1974 study was available for mining. This fails to taken into account how much is economically recoverable at market prices. In a 1989 study by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Kentucky, at $30 a ton 22% of coal was economically recoverable. The author Tim Rohrbacher wrote “a strong argument can be made that traditional coal producing regions may soon be experiencing resource depletion problems far greater and much sooner than previously thought”.<br /><br />Recently there has been a rise in suggestions that America should replace its addiction to oil, with diesel fuel made from American coal. There is currently in place a Coal-to-Liquids Tax Credit of $0.50/gallon in place until 2023. The idea has been around for a long while, in the second world war it was used by the Germans to make Nazi oil from coal when their supply of normal gasoline was cut off. I remember when I first started researching peak oil I realised after awhile if things got bad that coal rich countries might turn to making Nazi oil in desperation when petroleum depletion started to bite. Of course calls to start building Coal to Liquids plants aren’t proof that petroleum depletion is well advanced, but I hardly see it as a source for optimism.<br /><br /><img src="http://ur.rutgers.edu/medrel/science/images/FischerTropsch.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="BoxCaption" style="font-family:times new roman;">Fischer-Tropsch pilot plant </span></span><br /><br />You don’t need to be an expert on coal liquefaction to realise that it’s a bad idea as <a href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/09/06/a-poor-argument-for-coal-liquefaction">this article</a> on AutoblogGreen shows. It’s expensive, uses lots of water, produces double the carbon dioxide when compared to regular petroleum use and produces diesel when the vast majority of the U.S. car fleet runs on gasoline. Over at the Ergosphere, the Engineer Poet crunches the numbers and compares <a href="http://ergosphere.blogspot.com/2006/08/signposts.html">coal to liquids versus electric vehicles</a>. He calculates that to replace the United States petroleum consumption at current rates would take 214 four billion dollar coal to liquid plants (that’s not far off a trillion dollars in investment) and the mining of an additional one and a half billion tons of coal a year, in addition to the one billion tons already being mined for electricity generation. It should be noted that the high percentage of electricity currently produced from coal is not an argument against electric vehicles, this is something I have covered in detail elsewhere on this blog. Electric motors are inherently more efficient than the internal combustion engine. It is far easier to control emissions from large power plant, than from the exhausts of thousands of cars. Electric vehicles are not reliant on one source of energy and in the longer term polluting non-renewable sources of electricity can be replaced by clean alternative energy.<br /><br />The coal industry’s promotion of the idea that America has a vast reserve of coal is slowing the transition to clean renewable sources of energy. In addition to tv spots showing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAArn1FtsXI">child actors extolling the virtues of coal</a>, the industry has spent heavily to get the ear of the political establishment. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company spent over 5% of its revenues on political contributions, for comparison Exxon Mobil and General Motors spent a fraction of one percent.<br /><br />In seeming return for such generosity, The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included five billion dollars of subsidies for the coal industry.<br /><br />Virtually every power plant built in America between 1975 and 2002 was fired by natural gas. However between 1970 and 2000, the amount of coal America used to generate electricity tripled.<br /><br />Now with natural gas prices rising steeply, U.S. power utilities are expected to build the equivalent of 280 500 megawatt coal-fired electricity power plants between 2003 and 2030. China is already constructing the equivalent of one large coal burning power plant a week with two thirds of energy production coming from dirty coal. 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China. India is the third largest producer of coal in the world, also getting over two thirds of its energy from coal. If these new coal plants are built, they will add as much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as has been released by all the coal burned in the last 250 years.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.appalachian-center.org/images/issues/amd-2.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Acid run off from coal mining</span></span><br /><br />Coal’s sale price may be low, but the true costs of its extraction, processing and consumption are high. Our use of coal leads to <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=RPixjCneseE">ravaged mountains</a>, air pollution from acidic and toxic emissions and fouled water supplies. Coal mining is massively more invasive than oil or gas drilling. Coal burning power plants account for more than two-thirds of sulfur dioxide, 22% of nitrogen oxides, nearly 40% of carbon dioxide and a third of all mercury emissions in the United States. Results of the largest mercury hair sampling project in the U.S. found <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/mercury/">mercury levels</a> exceeding the EPA’s recommended limit of one microgram of mercury per gram of hair in one in five women of childbearing age tested. Each year coal plants produce about 130 million tons of solid waste, about three times more than all the municipal garbage in the U.S. The American Lung Association calculates that around 24,000 people a year die prematurely from the effects of coal fired power plant pollution.<br /><br />Techniques for addressing CO2 emissions exist, although the will to quickly implement them lags.<br /><br />The techniques electric utilities could apply to keep much of the carbon dioxide they produce from entering the atmosphere are known as CO2 capture or geological carbon sequestration. This involves separating the CO2 as it is created and pumping it underground to be stored.<br /><br />Until recently I wasn’t aware that all the technological components needed for carbon sequestration are commercially ready (according to an article in <a href="http://www.sciam.com/issue.cfm?issueDate=Sep-06">September’s Scientific American magazine</a>) as they have already been proven in applications unrelated to avoidance of climate change. However integrated systems have yet to be built on a commercial scale.<br /><br />Capture technologies have been deployed extensively throughout the world both in the manufacture of chemicals (e.g. fertilizer) and in the purification of natural gas. Industry has gained experience with CO2 storage in operations to purify natural gas, principally in Canada, as well as using carbon dioxide to boost oil production, mainly in the United States.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.f-e-e.org/Photos-DD/DD20050117-03.jpg" /><br /><br />The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC</a>) estimated in 2005 that it is highly likely that geologic locations worldwide are capable of sequestering at least two trillion metric tons of CO2 - more than is likely to be produced by fossil fuel consuming power plants this century.<br /><br />Carbon sequestration is not without risk. The two main risks are sudden escape and gradual leakage of carbon dioxide. In 1986 at Lake Nyos in Cameroon, Africa carbon dioxide originating from a volcano killed over 1,700 people. However according to IPCC this is unlikely for engineered CO2 storage in carefully selected, deep porous geologic rock formations. In regard to gradual leakage the IPCC <a href="http://arch.rivm.nl/env/int/ipcc/pages_media/SRCCS-final/IPCCSpecialReportonCarbondioxideCaptureandStorage.htm">estimated</a> in 2005 that in excess of 99% of carbon sequestered is “very likely” to remain in place for at least one hundred years.<br /><br />Studies indicate that 85%-95% of the carbon in coal could be sequestered using existing power generation technologies.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/05fal/images/coal_igcc.jpg" /><br /><br />A key point is that fundamentally different approaches to carbon capture would need to be pursued for power plants using the old pulverised coal technology as opposed to the newer integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). IGCC plants use heat and pressure to cook off impurities in coal and convert it into a synthetic gas, this gas is then burnt in a turbine. These plants are 10% more efficient than conventional plants, consume 40% less water, produce 50% less solid waste and burn almost as cleanly as natural gas plants.<br /><br />Although building IGCC power plants is slightly more expensive (10%-20%), IGCC is likely to be the most effective and cheapest option for carbon capture.<br /><br />In an IGCC plant designed to capture CO2 the syngas exiting the gasifier, after being cooled and cleaned of particles, would be reacted with steam to make a gas made up mainly of CO2 and hydrogen. The CO2 would then be extracted and pumped to a storage site. The remaining hydrogen would be burned to generate more power. Captured carbon dioxide can by piped up to several hundred miles to a suitable geologic storage site.<br /><br />A recent study found that for carbon capture in a saline formation one hundred kilometers from a power plant would cost an additional 1.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (over the generation cost of 4.7 cents per kilowatt-hour for a coal IGCC plant that vents carbon dioxide), making a 40% premium. With coal generation costing 6.6 cents for a kilowatt hour, this would make wind power cheaper than coal and with technology advances could also provide a boost to other renewable energy sources (e.g. concentrating solar power).<br /><br />However electricity producers are rushing to build conventional coal pulverisation power plants, just as they rushed to build coal plants without sulfur scrubbers prior to legislation coming into force. This is short-sighted as it is more expensive, more energy intensive and less effective to attempt to capture carbon from conventional coal power plants. It is highly likely that having built these plants, that the coal industry would expect the taxpayer to foot the bill for the additional expense. Of the one hundred or so plants being planned or under construction in America only a handful use IGCC technology.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.futuregenalliance.org/images/futuregen_rendering.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Proposed Design for FutureGen</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.futuregenalliance.org/about.stm">FutureGen</a>, is the Department of Energy financed one billion dollar zero emissions plant intended to turn coal into electricity and hydrogen. Proposed in 2003 and backed by a consortium of coal and electric companies, it is not due to come online until at least 2013. Many in the industry consider this date to be dubious nicknaming the project NeverGen. It is intended to make it look like the coal industry is doing something, while actually doing very little and in the process putting off changing how coal plants are built for a decade or two. Indeed in its <a href="http://www.balancedenergy.org/docs/Coal_Vision_Full.pdf">Coal Vision report</a>(pdf), the industry does not plan on building “ultra-low emissions” plants on a commerical scale until between 2025 and 2035. According to the report “there is considerable debate about the need to reduce CO2 emissions”. The report also states that “achieving meaningful CO2 reductions would require significant technical advances”.<br /><br />The report further states “large scale and long term demonstrations of carbon sequestration technologies over a geographically and geologically diverse range of... sites are needed before making any policy decisions concerning carbon management”. The coal industry wants sequestration to be demonstrated not only in the United States but additionally “similar assessments need to be conducted internationally”. In terms of who should pay for these demonstrations the report writes “the government must play a significant role”.<br /><br />It sounds that if the coal industry has its way, it won’t be using carbon capture for many decades.<br /><br />Instead of waiting until 2013 or even 2035, the coal industry could be building IGCC power plants with carbon capture now. The rush to build conventional coal pulverisation plants is extremely short sighted as these plants could be operating for the next fifty years or more.<br /><br />In the first instance I advocate maximising our use of clean renewable energy. At the moment wind power is being used to generate only 0.5% of electricity in the United States. Using existing technology wind power could cost effecively generate a significant portion of many countries electricity supply. Significant sums of money should also be invested in making solar power and wave power more cost effective, as well as investments in energy long shots such as cellulosic ethanol and fusion power. If we are going to continue to use coal as global society as a major source of energy, which seems pretty much inevitable for at least the next few decades in key countries such as the United States, China & India, then we should be building IGCC power plants with carbon capture and retiring existing dirty coal plants now. If there are unforeseen problems with carbon capture, we need to find out now rather than in a few decades time. The coal industry's business as usual attitude is simply not acceptable.<br /><br />Jeff Goodell in his recent book “Big Coal” concludes, “coal gives us a false sense of security, if we run out of gas and oil, we can just switch over to coal… the most dangerous things about our continued dependence on coal is it preserves the illusion that we don’t have to change our thinking”.<br /><br />Further Reading:<br />“<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618319409/alteenerblog-20/">Big Coal</a>” by Jeff Goodell<br />“What to Do About Coal?” in <a href="http://www.sciam.com/issue.cfm?issueDate=Sep-06">Scientific American September, 2006</a><br /><br /><a href="http://watthead.blogspot.com/2006/08/engineer-poet-tackles-coal-to-liquids.html">Lively Discussion of Coal to Liquids</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.balancedenergy.org/docs/Coal_Vision_Full.pdf">Coal Vision by the Coal Based Generation Stakeholders Group</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ilovemountains.org">Mountaintop Removal</a><br /><br /><a href="http://campusprogress.org/cartoon/430/a-quick-guide-to-mountaintop-remov%20al---matt-bors">A Quick Guide to Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/052504_coal_peak.html">When Will Coal Production Peak?</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1157271444848668552006-09-03T00:58:00.000-07:002007-02-05T02:40:16.497-08:00Plug-In Hybrid Campaign<img src="http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0127/csmimg/p16b.jpg" /><br /><br />I encourage everyone to sign this online <a href="http://www.pluginpartners.org/whatYouCanDo/onlinePetition.cfm">plug in hybrid campaign</a> urging automakers to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The petition basically says, 'If you build it, we will buy it.' Plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles are key to energy independence and reducing pollution.<br /><br />Over 40 percent of the generating capacity in the U.S. sits idle or operates at a reduced load overnight, when most PHEVs would be charged. That means tens of millions of plug-ins could be charged every night without the need to build additional electric generation capacity.<br /><br />According to the California Electric Transportation Coalition that commissioned a study, if automakers begin producing Plug-Ins within the next few years, 2.5 million cars (eight percent of the cars on America's roads) could be Plug-Ins by the year 2020. That's the equivalent of taking as many as 5 million of today's vehicles off the road. Annually that's 11.5 million tons of CO2 which won't be emitted and 1.14 Billion gallons of gasoline would be saved each year. For those concerned about energy security it is definitely a step in the right direction. Less than 2% of U.S. electricity is generated from oil, so using electricity as a transportation fuel would greatly reduce dependence on imported petroleum.<br /><a href="http://www.pluginpartners.org/whatYouCanDo/onlinePetition.cfm"><br />Sign the Plug-In Hybrid Petition</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1153939061037334022006-07-26T11:12:00.000-07:002007-02-05T02:46:14.569-08:00Is Ethanol / E85 Fuel the Solution?<img src="http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/ethanol.gif" /><br /><br />I've recently received a number of emails calling for me to <a href="http://www.kicktheoilhabit.org/e85.php">Kick the Oil Habit</a> by supporting E85 which is a liquid fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% regular gasoline. Having previously had my <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2005/07/alternative-fuel-ethanol-fuel.html">doubts about ethanol</a> I emailed fellow blogger <a href="http://ergosphere.blogspot.com/">the Engineer Poet</a> seeking his opinion. A large part of this resulting post is based directly on his reply and as such the credit belongs to him.<br /><br />So is E85 fuel the answer to America's (and the world's) addiction to oil?<br /><br />E85 fuel is not the solution. It is not even a part of the solution, it is a part of the problem. Here's why, in a nutshell:<br /><br />All US vehicles can burn 10% ethanol (E10), but the US does not even produce half as much ethanol as universal E10 would require. We make about 5 billion gallons of ethanol, but use 140 billion gallons of gas.<br /><br />E85 and "flex fuel" is a loophole for the automakers to sell guzzlers without having to pay CAFE penalties. It makes the problem worse. Ending the loophole probably means ending E85, because there is no other reason for it to exist.<br /><br />Since the best estimate is that every gallon-equivalent of ethanol takes about 4/5 of a gallon-equivalent of other fossil fuel to make it, each gallon of E85 really represents about 0.6 gallons-equivalent of various fossil fuels. Since most flex-fuel vehicles get roughly 2/3 the mileage on E85 as they do on gasoline, they burn about 90% as much fossil energy even at their best.<br /><br />Even if we can use "cellulosic ethanol" to reduce the inputs of fossil-derived fertilizer and whatnot, we can't make enough no matter what we do. The efficiency of the average gasoline-powered vehicle is about 15%, and we just can't grow enough inputs to make up for throwing 85% of our produced energy away. The most efficient use of biomass is in local combined heat and power plants, not as a feedstock for ethanol.<br /><br />Low corn prices and high oil prices, and a government subsidy of 51 cents per gallon have fuelled unprecedented growth of the ethanol industry. In the case of the U.S. ethanol industry, fossil fueled trucks ship the fuel halfway across the country from the population sparse corn belt to population and car dense states like California and Texas. Science magazine <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/311/5760/506">found</a> only a 13% reduction in CO2 emissions for bioethanol over gasoline (and only 11% for E85 fuel). U.S. government federal records show a single ADM corn processing plant in Clinton, Iowa generated nearly 20,000 tons of pollutants including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds in 2004. The EPA considers an ethanol plant as a "major source" of pollution if it produces more than 100 tons of any one pollutant per year. From an emissions standpoint it is far preferable to drive a fuel efficient gasoline car than a low efficiency flex fuel vehicle running on E85.<br /><br />E85 fuel is not a solution. It is a distraction, like hydrogen vehicles. Further, every E85 vehicle is also a gasoline-compatible vehicle. It will maintain demand for petroleum as long as it is on the road. If you want to end oil addiction you have to get rid of the things which use it.<br /><br />E85 ethanol fuel may make a small contribution now, but it is a dead end. If we want to really be free of fossil fuels (including imported oil), we have to re-think things as completely as changing from riding horses to driving motor cars.<br /><br />Ethanol has already created an addiction of its own. The farmers and agribusiness interests which got into it found it hugely profitable, and they have big investments in its continuation. Even if you developed a better way of using corn today, you'd still have a lot of money lobbying to use it for ethanol, and even force it to be used for ethanol.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pioneer.co.nz/maize_management/maizemanagement_images/cornfield.gif" /><br /><br />This is already a race between technologies which can make us independent of fossil fuel, and technologies which get subsidy money. In that race, the subsidy seems to win every time. At least 43 percent of <a href="http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-241.html">Archer Daniels Midland's annual profits</a> are from products heavily subsidized or protected by the American government. For every $1 of profit earned by ADM's<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> ethanol operation (the largest in the U.S.), it costs taxpayers $30. If you subsidize a technology which can only replace half our gasoline (and none of our diesel, jet fuel, or anything else), you're probably going to be stuck with it.<br /><br />A hobbyist wrote an article about his home-built plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). He published this article in Mother Earth News... in 1978.<br /><br />We don't need any new technology. We could be building these cars today. Heck, we could have been building them in 1995 (when the CARB ZEV mandate came in)... or maybe even 1985. They would have been crude, but they would have gotten the job done. We can do far better today, of course.<br /><br />People finally got fed up and started building their own PHEV's out of Toyota Priuses. It's time to quit the excuses, both making them and accepting them.<br /><br />CAFE regulations utterly failed to contain U.S. motor-fuel consumption. This is not opinion, this is historical fact. Now the E85 fuel campagin wants to do the same thing again, but "reduce" consumption with E85 instead of directly cutting gallons-per-mile. You'll get the same result as before - if driving doesn't cost more, people will continue to drive as much or more.<br /><br />There are roughly 200 million light-duty vehicles in the USA. One recent <a href="http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/062906/auto.html">news item</a> says that there will be all of 6 million flex-fuel vehicles by 2007. That's a whole 3%.<br /><br />The average flex-fuel vehicle is a guzzling truck (because they get the biggest CAFE preference from it). If those trucks get 13 MPG on E85, and they drive the national average of 13,000 miles/year, those 6 million vehicles would consume 5.1 billion gallons of ethanol. That's roughly the same as the total production capacity of the nation.<br /><br />The E85 fuel campaign is currently sponsoring a road trip to highlight the usage of E85, but also the difficulty of driving a car solely on E85 due to its lack of availability.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autobloggreen.com/media/2006/07/img_6866.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">the electric Tesla Roadster - 250 mile range, one cent a mile, 0-60 in 4 seconds, 130 mph top speed - photo from <a href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/">Autoblog <span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">Green</span></a></span></span><br /><br />However, had this trip been made in a <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/">Tesla Roadster</a> or <a href="http://www.acpropulsion.com/tzero_pages/tzero_home.htm">tZero from AC Propulsion</a>, it could have instead highlighted how EASY it is to get electricity wherever you are... even if you never stop at a filling station! Using non-toxic lithium-ion batteries they have a 250 mile range, charging overnight from an electric outlet.<br /><br />E85 fuel is a distraction, a diversion, a red herring. Just as the switch to "hydrogen economy" (remember that?) was before it. Both require huge investment, new infrastructure and will not lead to a post-oil economy. The hydrogen economy was promoted principally by both automakers and oil companies as a stalling strategy to avoid having to change the way they currently do business. Oil companies were also aware in the unlikely event that the hydrogen economy did take off (with huge taxpayer subsidies) that they would be supplying hydrogen produced from natural gas which they were already profitting from. The automakers sat around lamenting the fact they couldn’t start to build cars as there are hardly any hydrogen filling stations and the energy companies would not open commercial hydrogen filling stations as there is no demand for them. While appearing to want to do something, both the automakers and energy companies continued for a few more years with business as usual.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.edmunds.com/media/seo/500/2006.nissan.armada.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The Nissan Armada <a href="http://www.e85fuel.com/news/071906_armada_release.htm">promoted</a> on the E85 fuel site - with no fuel economy figures indicated</span></span><br /><br />The campaign for E85 fuel is somewhat similar. The automakers are eager to produce flex fuel vehicles which require a relatively cheap modification to the highly profitable gas guzzling SUVs they already produce. By backing E85 fuel they can continue to produce the highly inefficient vehicles while appearing to be green (as seen in GM's <a href="http://www.gm.com/company/onlygm/livegreengoyellow/index.html">Live Green Go Yellow campaign</a>). Car and Driver magazine <a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/features/11174/tech-stuff-ethanol-promises-e85-and-fuel-economy-page7.html">estimates</a> the CAFE loophole could have saved GM more than $200 million in fines in 2005 alone.<br /><br />As <a href="http://www.gm.com/company/onlygm/energy_flexfuel.html">GM admits</a> the consumer can choose “to operate on gasoline or on a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. So, you can choose the fuel that's best for you. That's good to know, because E85 fuel is not yet widely available.” In other words in the vast majority of cases your new flex fuel vehicle will still be running on regular gas. <a href="http://www.e85fuel.com/background.php?topic=About%20NEVC">Charter members</a> of the <a href="http://www.e85fuel.com/index.php">National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition</a> (NEVC), which promotes E85 fuel, when it was set up in June 2000 include GM, DaimlerChrsyler, and Ford.<br /><br />Meanwhile E85 fuel is also been promoted by organisations such as the <a href="http://www.ncga.com/aboutus/state_assoc/assoc.asp">National Corn Growers Association</a>, as well as regional and state corn growers organisations, associated agribusinesses and biofuel companies. All of which have a commercial interest in promoting E85 fuel. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a clearinghouse on political donations, the agribusiness sector has funneled more than $190 million into federal election campaigns since the 2000 election cycle. In the <a href="http://www.e85fuel.com/pdf/bylaws.pdf">NEVC’s bylaws</a> its purpose is described as to "ensure that as decisions regarding the future of America’s use of alternative forms of transportation fuels are being made, ethanol has a role in the nation’s alternative transportation fuel market and support the expanded use of ethanol" and to "advance legislative proposals" to this effect. This seems to be regardless of whether ethanol/ E85 fuel is the best or is even a good solution to our energy challenges.<br /><br />As the Engineer Poet points out in <a href="http://ergosphere.blogspot.com/2006/07/nothing-will-be-enough-if-you-keep_18.html">this post</a>, burning fuel for transportation is very inefficient way of using energy. Whether you are fed up with the current use of petroleum for transportation for environmental, political or financial reasons E85 fuel is simply not the answer. What we need is a step change, as represented by moving from using gas burning vehicles to electric vehicles.<br /><br />To encourage this, I urge you to sign this online <a href="http://www.pluginpartners.org/whatYouCanDo/onlinePetition.cfm">plug in hybrid campaign</a> asking automakers to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/07/26/exclusive-q-and-a-with-elon-musk-on-the-tesla-roadster-and-the-fut/">Autoblog Green's exclusive interview with Tesla Motors' chairman</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt1AdfgcNiQ&search=tesla%20car">Tesla Roadster Video</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13646">Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) - the Largest U.S. Ethanol Producer</a><br /><br /><a href="http://i-r-squared.blogspot.com/2006/07/vinod-khosla-debunked.html">Vinod Khosla Debunked</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/features/11174/tech-stuff-ethanol-promises.html">Car and Driver Magazine on the Promise of Energy Independence through Ethanol</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-07-31-ethanol-frogs-reader_x.htm">USA Today on the Ethanol Debate</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/200608070031">Cutting Down Borneo's Rainforests to Make BioFuels</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1153080531061098782006-07-17T10:00:00.000-07:002007-02-05T02:48:00.880-08:00Why Alternative Energy?<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41877000/gif/_41877914_energy_poll_gra416.gif" /><br /><br />A poll carried carried out for the BBC World Service of nearly 20,000 people from across 19 countries found wide support for alternative energy strategies.<br /><br />The poll illustrates a perceived triple threat from the way the world produces and uses energy.<br /><br />Majorities across all 19 countries indicate that citizens fear:<br /><br />the climate and environment are being harmed<br />that the global economy will be destabilised<br />that competition for energy will lead to greater conflict<br /><br />Some eight out of 10 of those questioned were worried about the threat to the environment. In Australia, Great Britain, Canada and Italy the level of concern topped 90%.<br /><br />Doug Miller, president of the poll firm GlobeScan, said: "What's fascinating is that in the midst of historically high energy prices and geopolitical tensions, the number one energy concern in every industrialised country we surveyed is the environmental and climate impacts."<br /><br />Creating tax incentives to encourage the use of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power found favour with 80% of respondents.<br /><br />But there was lukewarm support for more nuclear energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. On average, 49% were in favour of building more nuclear plants.<br /><br />Majorities of 60% or more in 18 of the 19 countries polled said they feared energy shortages and prices would destabilise the world economy.<br /><br />The least concerned was Russia, a major oil and gas producer, which benefits from higher prices.<br /><br />Both US and EU leaders have warned Russia not to use energy as a tool of foreign policy. Earlier this year, the nation's monopoly, Gazprom, cut off gas supplies to Europe during a price dispute with Ukraine.<br /><br />Some 73% of those questioned were worried that energy shortages would lead to greater conflict among nations.<br /><br />In total, 19,579 citizens were interviewed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine and the US.<br /><br />Polling was conducted for the BBC World Service by polling firm GlobeScan and its research partners.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/5170152.stm">Full Article on BBC News</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1153068204234701802006-07-17T09:15:00.000-07:002007-02-05T02:49:41.122-08:00$4b Investment in Wind Power by BP Alternative Energy<img src="http://www.photon.de/news/news_wirtschaft_02-11_bp-solar-logo.jpg" /><br /><br />BP is making its first major investment in wind power with a joint venture that will lead to a major expansion of its generating capacity.<br /><br />The oil company announced it had entered a five-year supply and development agreement involving five wind power projects in the US with Clipper Windpower.<br /><br />The news sent Clipper shares up 80p, or 28 per cent, to 362.5p in London. The projects, with an anticipated total generating capacity of 2,015 megawatts, are situated in New York, Texas and South Dakota.<br /><br />BP has also secured a mix of firm and contingent orders of up to 2,250 megawatts of additional Clipper wind turbines in its global wind energy portfolio, the companies said.<br /><br />BP launched BP Alternative Energy to focus on solar, hydrogen and wind power but its wind operation has up to now been confined to two projects with a combined output of only 31 megawatts.<br /><br />Steve Westwell, the chief executive of BP Alternative Energy, said: "We believe the Clipper turbine is a breakthrough in reducing the total cost of renewable energy and we are pleased to be the first large customers for this innovative technology."<br /><br />This is thought to be the biggest single investment in wind power estimated at $4 billion US dollars.<br /><br />The announcement, came in the same week that the British government published its energy review and a telephone poll found that 79% of respondents thought solar power and 76% wind power were the best investments in electricity generation for the UK.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1147639807890751782006-05-15T01:41:00.000-07:002007-02-05T03:31:27.587-08:00Alternative Energy Inspires Young Scientists<img src="http://www.intelisef2006.org/Images/Logo2.gif" /><br /><br />In Indianapolis a number of the 1,500 young scientists competing in the International Science and Engineering Fair for $4 million dollars in prizes and scholarships pursued alternative energy innovations.<br /><br />Seventeen year old Allison Wilson from Stuart, Iowa, won $11,000 in scholarships by making ethanol fuel from prairie grass.<br /><br />Renewable energy also inspired 17 year old Brian Sutterer of Terre Haute, Indiana, who generated electricity using the difference in temperature above and below ground (geothermal energy).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.intelisef2006.org/">2006 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1147638749496329912006-05-14T13:15:00.000-07:002006-08-27T17:29:46.956-07:00Ethanol Fuel in South Africa<img src="http://quixotic.org.uk/Backpacking/images/IMG_0648-sm.JPG" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">photo (c) 2005 <a href="http://www.quixotic.org.uk/Me.html">Julia Freeman</a></span></span><br /><br />Tumi Makgetla reports in South Africa's Mail & Guardian that while an interest in alternative energy and green politics is often seen as the preserve of the chattering classes, working-class people in Johannesburg's inner city are already using renewable energy in their homes.<br /><br />On a pavement in Joubert Park in Joburg (how Johannesburg is commonly called), shoppers cluster around Tumelo Ramolefi’s stall exclaiming and asking questions about his products. Ramolefi is not selling the usual inner-city hawker stock of facecloths and socks, or "smileys" (boiled sheep heads) and "runaways" (pigs’ trotters). Instead, it is his display of innovative renewable-energy gadgets that attracts the attention of passers-by, and often turns them into converts to the green-energy cause.<br /><br />His bestselling items are ethanol gel stoves and lamps, which offer a healthier, safer and more efficient fuel alternative to paraffin or coal fires.<br /><br />Ethanol gel is a renewable form of energy made by mixing ethanol with a thickening agent and water. The ethanol is extracted through the fermentation and distillation of sugars from sources such as molasses, sugar cane and sweet sorghum or starch crops, like cassava or maize.<br /><br />Ramolefi sells ethanol gel products and appliances for GreenHeat South Africa, which has branches in Durban, Jo’burg and Cape Town. The stoves and ethanol gel -- produced from sugar cane -- are manufactured in Durban. A two-plate stove sells for R160 (approx. $25 USD) and a lamp for R50 (around $8).<br /><br />"This stove is number one," said Maria Ndlela, who works in a recycling centre in Joubert Park and has owned her stove for two months. She says it is easy to use and, while paraffin is cheaper than the gel, the gel is more cost-efficient in the long run. Five litres of gel costs about $9.70 and paraffin costs approximately $3.55 for the same amount. "Gel lasts. If you don’t use it too much, five litres of gel takes you a month to use, but five litres of paraffin lasts only three days."<br /><br />Ndlela says an added attraction of ethanol is that the paraffin price fluctuates. “The price of paraffin is going up and down, up and down with the petrol price,” she said, “So now I’m forgetting about paraffin.”<br /><br />“What I like about the stove is that it will conquer our unreliable electricity,” said Florah Thulare.<br /><br />Safety is also a big selling point in favour of ethanol products, particularly for those who use coal or paraffin for heat and cooking. Paraffin stoves, which explode or are easily knocked over, cause fires, and poor ventilation can lead to asphyxiation.<br /><br />"Coal can actually kill you during the night," says Ramolefi. "In this coming month, we know people are going to die, but there’s no campaign."<br /><br />Gel fuel burns with a carbon-free flame, so it does not cause respiratory problems such as asthma, which can be caused by emissions from paraffin, coal and wood fuel. The gel also does not produce any smoke or smell.<br /><br />Gel fuel will not ignite if spilt like gas or paraffin. The gel is non-toxic and thus is not poisonous if swallowed by children. The stoves are designed so they will not fall over if bumped and the stove’s legs allow it to slide when pushed instead of toppling over. Even if an ethanol lamp is overturned, the gel will extinguish the wick.<br /><br />The stoves are designed for cooking, but about half of his customers buy them as heaters, said Ramolefi.<br /><br />Ramolefi has sold about 70 stoves in the past eight months and hopes the market will grow and prices will consequently drop, making the stoves more affordable for the poor.<br /><br />My latest post (July 2006) on <a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2006/07/is-ethanol-e85-fuel-solution.html">Ethanol E85 Fuel</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=271547">Full article on how ethanol gel is replacing paraffin in South Africa</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1139313619126965842006-04-15T04:00:00.000-07:002007-02-05T03:37:57.783-08:00Austin Energy Excels as #1 Green Energy Electricity Utility in America<img src="http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/icons/capitol350x330.jpg" /><br /><br />UPDATE: This is a list of the top ten green energy programs in the United States with the latest December 2005 figures and links to these electric utilities. One of the biggest differences we can make is to switch to "green energy" - energy generated from 100% renewable sources. Florida Power & Light is a new entry into the top ten at number four. The company recently announced the construction of the largest solar array in Florida on the site of a closed landfill in Sarasota. The 1,200 photovoltaic solar panels are each about 31 inches wide and 63 inches long. The facility is to be more than 28,000 square feet, or about half the size of a football field. "We sought a location that had a ground site large enough for 250 kilowatts of photovoltaic panels," said Jeff Bartel, FP&L VP of external affairs.<br /><br />If you live in a part of the United States that is not served by an electric utility on this list please see this <a href="http://www.renewus.org/map.html">Map of Green Energy Providers by State</a>.<br /><br />As our energy challenges are global I appreciate every assistance in compiling a similar list of renewable energy providers in other countries. Feel free to email or leave a comment.<br /><br />Returning to the United States, Austin Energy has shown its commitment to renewable energy by topping the list. The U.S. Department of Energy said <a href="http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Efficiency/Programs/Green%20Choice/index.htm">Austin Energy's Green Choice program</a> sold more than 334 million hours of renewable energy last year.<br /><br />More than 350 businesses in Austin get their power from renewable sources as an alternative to fossil fuels.<br /><br />Austin Energy uses electricity from 61 West Texas wind turbines.<br /><br />Here's the top ten green energy programs in the United States (as of December 2005).<br /><br />1. <a href="http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Efficiency/Programs/Green%20Choice/index.htm">Austin Energy</a> -<br />areas served include Austin, Texas<br />green energy from Wind Power, Land Fill Gas, Small Hydro -<br />435 MWh/year<br /><br />2. <a href="http://www.portlandgeneral.com//home/products/renewable_power/default.asp">Portland General Electric</a> (PGE) -<br />areas served include Portland, Oregon<br />green power from existing Geothermal, Wind Power, Small Hydro - 340 MWh/year<br /><br />3. <a href="http://www.portlandgeneral.com//home/products/renewable_power/default.asp">PacifiCorp</a> - includes Pacific Power and Utah Power<br />areas served include:<br /><a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Homepage/Homepage58962.html">Oregon</a>, <a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Article/Article22007.html">Washington</a>, <a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Article/Article22004.html">Wyoming</a>, <a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Article/Article35885.html">California</a>, <a href="http://www.utahpower.net/Article/Article22009.html">Utah</a>, <a href="http://www.utahpower.net/Article/Article22009.html">Idaho</a><br />green energy from Wind Power, Biomass, Solar Energy -<br />234 MWh/year<br /><br />4. <a href="http://www.fpl.com/residential/electric/sunshine_energy.shtml">Florida Power & Light</a> - green power from Biomass, Wind Power, Solar Energy - 225 MWh/year<br /><br />5. <a href="http://www.smud.org/green/index.html">Sacramento Municipal Utility District</a> (SMUD) -<br />green power from Landfill Gas, Wind Power, Small Hydro, Solar Energy - 195 MWh/year<br /><br />6. <a href="http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,3080,1-1-2_735-311-10_15_15-0,00.html">Xcel Energy</a> -<br />areas served include: Denver,Colorado; Elkhart, Kansas; Wakefield, Michigan; Saint Paul, Minnesota; Roswell, New Mexico; Fargo, North Dakota; Boise City, Idaho; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Amarillo, Texas; Eau Claire, Wisconsin<br />green electricity from Wind Power - 148 MWh/year<br /><br />7. National Grid -<br />areas served include:<br /><a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">New York</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/narragansett/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/nantucket/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">Nantucket</a><br />green power from Biomass, Wind Power, Small Hydro, Solar Energy - 128 MWh/year<br /><br />8. <a href="http://www.basinelectric.com/EnergyResources/index.html">Basin Electric Power Cooperative</a> (SMUD) -<br />green power from Wind Power - 114 MWh/year<br /><br />9. <a href="http://www.pse.com/renewable/greenpower/index.shtml">Puget Sound Energy</a> (PSE)-<br />area served Washington state<br />green energy from Wind Power, Solar Energy, Biogas -<br />71 MWh/year<br /><br />10. <a href="http://www.oge.com/es/wp/">OG&E Electric Services</a> -<br />area served Oklahoma<br />green electricity from Wind Power - 64 MWh/year<br /><br />(source: <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/">NREL</a>)<br /><br />MWh/year = million kWh/year rounded down<br /><br /><a href="http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/pricing.shtml?page=1">List of Green Energy Providers by State</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.green-e.org/your_e_choices/pyp.html"></a>One of the single biggest ways we as individuals can encourage the use of alternative energy and help aid the transition to a post fossil fuel age is to buy electricity partly, or preferably completely, generated using alternative energy.<br /><br />Switching your electricity utility provider may be as simple as requesting a form or filling one in online. That's exactly how I switched to 100% renewable energy (generated mainly from wind power with some solar power and small scale hydro thrown into the mix). Renewable energy options are available throughout the U.K. and in many other countries.<br /><br />To find out if you can switch to renewable energy in your area look on your search engine of choice for "<span style="font-weight: bold;">green energy</span>", "<span style="font-weight: bold;">green power</span>" or "<span style="font-weight: bold;">green electricity</span>". You may also need to add your location to the search. If your local utility doesn't provide a renewable energy option yet, email or call them and ask why.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=135821">Original News 8 Austin Article</a><br /><br /><a href="http://green-e.org/ipp/certified_products.html#rep">Green-e Certified Electricity Products</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1141932137205610202006-03-09T11:22:00.000-08:002007-02-05T03:39:34.475-08:00Mixed Signals & Federal Funding for Alternative Energy Research<img src="http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/AdvPhoto2004/chicago/images/Mixed%20Signals.jpg" /><br /><br />There have definitely been some mixed signals on alternative energy research recently. At the same time President Bush's State of the Union address called for a 22 percent increase in federal spending to develop alternative energies, dozens of staffers and contractors for the <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> in Golden, Colorado, were being laid off.<br /><br />The disconnect was a political embarrassment for the president, so federal officials restored the laboratory's funding, rehiring the workers who had been laid off just in time for President Bush’s scheduled speech at the NREL.<br /><br />In his speech the President acknowledged the confusion, “I recognize that there has been some interesting mixed signals when it comes to funding," President Bush said.<br /><br />This comes at a time when a new national public opinion survey demonstrates overwhelming public support in the United States for government policies and investments that will support development of alternative energy sources. The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, VA, for the Energy Future Coalition. The survey’s findings included:<br /><br />According to the survery there is nearly unanimous support for a national goal of having 25% of the United States domestic energy needs met by alternative energy by the year 2025. Ninety-eight percent of voters see this goal as important for the country, and three out of four (74%) feel that it is "very important." Ninety percent of voters believe this goal is achievable.<br /><br />Similar majorities support government action to encourage greater use of renewable energy. Eighty-eight percent of voters favor financial incentives, and 92% support minimum government standards for the use of renewable energy by the private sector.<br /><br />Nearly all voters (98%) say the costs, such as the cost of research and development and the cost of building new renewable energy production facilities, would be worth it to get the United States to the 25% by 2025 goal.<br /><br />Voters consider energy to be an important issue facing the country, rating it similarly with health care, terrorism and national security, and education, and ahead of taxes and the war in Iraq. Half (50%) of voters believe America is headed for an energy crisis in the future, and 35% believe the country already is facing a crisis.<br /><br />So just how much is the United States government spending on alternative energy research? After the 22% increase the budget will stand at $771 million. This amounts to less than one percent of the $55,000 million the federal government spends annually on research, nearly half of which is devoted to healthcare.<br /><br />It’s time for action.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/060306/6energy_2.htm">Source for figures on federal funding for alternative energy research</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nrel.gov/features/">President Bush's speech at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.25x25.org/">America's Energy Future</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1145310369623304012006-02-07T14:43:00.000-08:002006-04-17T14:46:09.706-07:00Austin Energy Excels as #1 Green Energy Electricity Utility in America<img src="http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/icons/capitol350x330.jpg" /><br /><br />UPDATE: This is a list of the top ten green energy programs in the United States with the latest December 2005 figures and links to these electric utilities. One of the biggest differences we can make is to switch to "green energy" - energy generated from 100% renewable sources. Florida Power & Light is a new entry into the top ten at number four. The company recently announced the construction of the largest solar array in Florida on the site of a closed landfill in Sarasota. The 1,200 photovoltaic solar panels are each about 31 inches wide and 63 inches long. The facility is to be more than 28,000 square feet, or about half the size of a football field. "We sought a location that had a ground site large enough for 250 kilowatts of photovoltaic panels," said Jeff Bartel, FP&L VP of external affairs.<br /><br />If you live in a part of the United States that is not served by an electric utility on this list please see this <a href="http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/pricing.shtml?page=1">List of Green Energy Providers by State</a>.<br /><br />As our energy challenges are global I appreciate every assistance in compiling a similar list of renewable energy providers in other countries. Feel free to email or leave a comment.<br /><br />Returning to the United States, Austin Energy has shown its commitment to renewable energy by topping the list. The U.S. Department of Energy said <a href="http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Efficiency/Programs/Green%20Choice/index.htm">Austin Energy's Green Choice program</a> sold more than 334 million hours of renewable energy last year.<br /><br />More than 350 businesses in Austin get their power from renewable sources as an alternative to fossil fuels.<br /><br />Austin Energy uses electricity from 61 West Texas wind turbines.<br /><br />Here's the top ten green energy programs in the United States (as of December 2005).<br /><br />1. <a href="http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Efficiency/Programs/Green%20Choice/index.htm">Austin Energy</a> -<br />areas served include Austin, Texas<br />green energy from Wind Power, Land Fill Gas, Small Hydro -<br />435 MWh/year<br /><br />2. <a href="http://www.portlandgeneral.com//home/products/renewable_power/default.asp">Portland General Electric</a> (PGE) -<br />areas served include Portland, Oregon<br />green power from existing Geothermal, Wind Power, Small Hydro - 340 MWh/year<br /><br />3. <a href="http://www.portlandgeneral.com//home/products/renewable_power/default.asp">PacifiCorp</a> - includes Pacific Power and Utah Power<br />areas served include:<br /><a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Homepage/Homepage58962.html">Oregon</a>, <a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Article/Article22007.html">Washington</a>, <a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Article/Article22004.html">Wyoming</a>, <a href="http://www.pacificpower.net/Article/Article35885.html">California</a>, <a href="http://www.utahpower.net/Article/Article22009.html">Utah</a>, <a href="http://www.utahpower.net/Article/Article22009.html">Idaho</a><br />green energy from Wind Power, Biomass, Solar Energy -<br />234 MWh/year<br /><br />4. <a href="http://www.fpl.com/residential/electric/sunshine_energy.shtml">Florida Power & Light</a> - green power from Biomass, Wind Power, Solar Energy - 225 MWh/year<br /><br />5. <a href="http://www.smud.org/green/index.html">Sacramento Municipal Utility District</a> (SMUD) -<br />green power from Landfill Gas, Wind Power, Small Hydro, Solar Energy - 195 MWh/year<br /><br />6. <a href="http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,3080,1-1-2_735-311-10_15_15-0,00.html">Xcel Energy</a> -<br />areas served include: Denver,Colorado; Elkhart, Kansas; Wakefield, Michigan; Saint Paul, Minnesota; Roswell, New Mexico; Fargo, North Dakota; Boise City, Idaho; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Amarillo, Texas; Eau Claire, Wisconsin<br />green electricity from Wind Power - 148 MWh/year<br /><br />7. National Grid -<br />areas served include:<br /><a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">New York</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/narragansett/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalgridus.com/nantucket/home/energychoice/4_greenup_provider.asp">Nantucket</a><br />green power from Biomass, Wind Power, Small Hydro, Solar Energy - 128 MWh/year<br /><br />8. <a href="http://www.basinelectric.com/EnergyResources/index.html">Basin Electric Power Cooperative</a> (SMUD) -<br />green power from Wind Power - 114 MWh/year<br /><br />9. <a href="http://www.pse.com/renewable/greenpower/index.shtml">Puget Sound Energy</a> (PSE)-<br />area served Washington state<br />green energy from Wind Power, Solar Energy, Biogas -<br />71 MWh/year<br /><br />10. <a href="http://www.oge.com/es/wp/">OG&E Electric Services</a> -<br />area served Oklahoma<br />green electricity from Wind Power - 64 MWh/year<br /><br />(source: <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/">NREL</a>)<br /><br />MWh/year = million kWh/year rounded down<br /><br /><a href="http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/pricing.shtml?page=1">List of Green Energy Providers by State</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.green-e.org/your_e_choices/pyp.html"></a>One of the single biggest ways we as individuals can encourage the use of alternative energy and help aid the transition to a post fossil fuel age is to buy electricity partly, or preferably completely, generated using alternative energy.<br /><br />Switching your electricity utility provider may be as simple as requesting a form or filling one in online. That's exactly how I switched to 100% renewable energy (generated mainly from wind power with some solar power and small scale hydro thrown into the mix). Renewable energy options are available throughout the U.K. and in many other countries.<br /><br />To find out if you can switch to renewable energy in your area look on your search engine of choice for "<span style="font-weight: bold;">green energy</span>", "<span style="font-weight: bold;">green power</span>" or "<span style="font-weight: bold;">green electricity</span>". You may also need to add your location to the search. If your local utility doesn't provide a renewable energy option yet, email or call them and ask why.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=135821">Original News 8 Austin Article</a><br /><br /><a href="http://green-e.org/ipp/certified_products.html#rep">Green-e Certified Electricity Products</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1141933873795675022006-02-05T11:29:00.000-08:002007-02-05T03:41:15.979-08:00Alternative Energy Argentina: Bringing Wind Power to Remote Areas<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/americas_winds_of_change_in_patagonia/img/7.jpg" /><br /><br />Max Seitz reports for the BBC that wind power is the most widespread renewable energy source in Argentina - and Patagonia in particular has extraordinary potential due to its strong and constant winds.<br /><br />He travelled to southern Chubut province, about 890 miles south of Buenos Aires, where wind power is making life easier for a number of isolated communities<br /><br />In the midst of a dark wilderness, wind-generated electricity is changing lives in the region, lighting homes and schools in remote areas.<br /><br />"Patagonia provides ideal conditions, unique almost, for the development of wind power," explained Hector Mattio, Director of the <a href="http://www.eeolica.com.ar/">Regional Centre for Wind Power</a> (or Cree in Spanish).<br /><br />"We get very strong sustained winds of 11 metres per second, while in Europe they usually only reach about nine," Mattio added.<br /><br />Cree - funded by the Chubut government and located in the provincial capital Rawson, near Trelew - currently has many community projects on the go to install wind generators.<br /><br />So far, more than 300 isolated rural villages in Chubut have received small wind turbines which provide them with light, communication and power for domestic electric appliances.<br /><br />A 66-year-old Araucano Indian, Julian Ibanez, welcomed us to his stone-built house.<br /><br />Julian owns horses and sheep but his prize possession is a three-blade, 12-metre high wind turbine with 600-watt power (the equivalent of 10 light bulbs). Like others in the region, he simply calls it the "windmill".<br /><br />"They installed the windmill a while ago now and it's changed our lives. We didn't have electricity before, just a kerosene lamp and that was it; now we have light and we can listen to the radio."<br /><br />Julian led me to a plain bedroom, where he had a fuse box attached to the wall and a 12-volt car battery, and explained how everything worked.<br /><br />The wind turns the windmill blades and a cable takes the energy produced into the house. The fuse box controls the voltage and battery charge.<br /><br />Marcos added that the electrical supply is constant - whether it comes directly from the generator or, when there is no wind, from what has been stored by the accumulator.<br /><br />Some dwellings have installed an inverter, a gadget to transform a 12 volt output into 220 volts - ideal for domestic appliances.<br /><br />Another inhabitant of the area, 30-year-old Adelino Cual, also an Araucano, had this to say: "We have electricity 24 hours a day, not just the little lamp we had before. We no longer have to buy kerosene or gas-oil. It works out cheaper for us."<br /><br /><img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/americas_winds_of_change_in_patagonia/img/2.jpg" /><br /><br />The engineers had shown him how to work and maintain the generator and the fuse box: "They taught me, for example, how to change the fuses if they blow; I've changed them several times," he said.<br /><br />And Marcos added that the idea is for those benefiting from the technology to be self-sufficient.<br /><br />After visiting the hamlets around about, we made our way to the heart of Chacay Oeste, which comprises a dozen or so houses and a school-shelter which accommodates some 30 pupils from neighbouring settlements.<br /><br />The school has been provided with six wind turbines, installed by Cree in the highest part of the town.<br /><br />"They provide energy for our building, for the shelter and also the teachers' houses. During the school holidays, they are used to supply energy to the rest of the village".<br /><br />Before turbines were installed, Chacay Oeste got its electricity from a petrol generator, the noise of which had become part of the landscape for the locals.<br /><br />"The windmills have changed things a lot for the youngsters. Now they have access to computers, and teachers can educate them through television programmes."<br /><br />"Now I feel I communicate more with other people. Not like before - we were a bit unsociable," Julian confessed after telling me that he regularly listens to the radio to find out what is going on, and that he really appreciates the Cree technicians' visits.<br /><br />And at Cree they confirm that this is indeed what it is all about: The social impact the technology has had on the communities has helped to integrate them more.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4663458.stm">Full BBC Article</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1136332145273787332006-01-03T15:35:00.000-08:002007-02-05T03:43:42.619-08:00Alternative Energy Ecuador: 15MW Windfarm for Loja<img src="http://www.lojanos.com/fotos/vilcabamba.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Vilcabamba, Loja Province, Ecuador</span></span><br /><br />Ecuadorian company Villonaco Wind Power, 80%-owned by Canadian alternative energy generator Protocol Energy, is scheduled to begin construction of a 15MW wind park this month in Ecuador's Loja province, Protocol chairman and CEO Thomas Logan told BNamericas.<br /><br />Villonaco is 20%-controlled by Loja province-owned generator Enerloja.<br /><br />Operations are scheduled to commence November-December 2006 on schedule.<br /><br />So far all funding for the US$26mn project has been provided by Logan and a private placement of up to 1.6 million shares at CDN$0.50/share, which is 50% completed.<br /><br />Several companies submitted bids to manufacture the wind turbines last May. Villonaco has narrowed the field down to two companies, Spanish wind power firm Gamesa Eólica and German wind power equipment manufacturer Nordex, and should announce its decision this month, Logan said.<br /><br />The turbine tender does not only pertain to this venture but also to two additional investment phases in the country, the second of which is a 30-65MW wind farm in the feasibility stage, with construction scheduled for the first half of 2007. The third investment phase is a 25-40MW expansion of the Villanoco wind farm.<br /><br />The second level of Protocol's strategy is to launch a wind project in Peru and/or Chile, with internal studies indicating that execution of a 125-150MW program would be appropriate in Chile for 2007.<br /><br />"Along the Andes in Ecuador, Peru, and Region I and II in Chile you're dealing with a wind regime that blows, in the case of Ecuador, with a median speed of 12.5m/s, so about 80% better than the best wind in Canada. But more importantly, it blows at that level for 13 hours/day," Logan said, adding that the turbines will continue turning 24 hours a day.<br /><br />The company aims to sell power to mining companies "simply because miners are energy hogs. The average mine has operating costs that are 20% energy-related. They all have the same requirements, which is a stable and guaranteed source of energy at a reasonable price, and wind does that," Logan said.<br /><br />Within four years Protocol aims to generate 400-500MW of wind, geothermal, biomass and run-of-the-river hydro power through its global endeavors, which have an initial focus in Latin America.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bnamericas.com/story.jsp?sector=10¬icia=340158&idioma=I">Original BN Americas Article</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1136156758633225442006-01-01T14:07:00.000-08:002006-01-07T19:53:34.083-08:00China to Spend Billions on Alternative Energy<img src="http://www.uniphoto.co.jp/english/images/china/june/june_china3.jpg" /><br /><br />China is to spend billions on alternative energy and many times more on oil and coal.<br /><br />Tim Johnson of Knight Ridder reports that barely a dozen years ago the country didn't need deep-sea oil ports, massive tank farms and a brawny foreign policy to procure oil in far-flung spots.<br /><br />Today, China is an oil-guzzling dragon with a voracious thirst, much like the United States. Supertankers stretching three football fields in length now wait to enter China's deep-sea ports.<br /><br />The busiest oil terminal is at Ningbo on the East China Sea. Shipping records show that in November, supertankers arrived there from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Yemen, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Congo to feed a craving that's helped drive up crude oil prices, rattle global politics and put China and the United States at odds in some of the world's most unstable regions.<br /><br />China's thirst for oil has emboldened Iran and complicated the refugee crisis in Sudan. With its economy growing at a 9 percent annual rate, China is also courting many of America's oil suppliers, including Canada and Venezuela.<br /><br />Increasingly, the United States and China are throwing elbows as global rivals for energy. The tussle could get more aggressive if the two nations can't manage to co-exist in the global energy contest.<br /><br />"We've got to start those discussions before the race for oil becomes as hot and dangerous as the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union," Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said in a Nov. 30 speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. "If we let it go, this could end up in real military conflict, not just economic conflict." It is interesting to note that this "race for oil" is framed as a zero sum game in which one country wins and another loses. An alternative would be international cooperation to maximise energy efficiency, minimise pollution and radically increase renewable energy.<br /><br />Compared with the United States, which consumes 25 percent of the world's annual oil output, China burns only 6 percent of the world's production. Yet its energy use is rising steeply.<br /><br />China exported more oil than it imported until 1993, when imports began to surge. This year, it's importing 3.4 million barrels a day, and some estimates say that within a decade it'll need 7 million barrels a day. Within two decades, demand could reach 12 million barrels a day, which would equal U.S. imports today. China's oil thirst since 2000 has accounted for 40 percent of the global demand growth for crude oil.<br /><br />Senior Chinese officials grow testy at the suggestion that China's rising needs are roiling oil markets, saying the nation is following a natural path to prosperity.<br /><br />"Some people complain that China is driving up oil prices. They think the reason lies in China's high consumption of oil," said Zhang Guobao, the vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission. But Zhang said that China's per capita energy consumption is one-sixth of developed countries and deserves to rise.<br /><br />"Chinese people want to live a prosperous life. So the world should respect China's right to development," Zhang said. In other words Zhang is saying the Chinese have a right to an energy rich lifestyle, sound familiar?<br /><br />China still wastes energy, leaving huge potential savings from efficiency. To generate $1 million in economic output, China needs eight times more oil -- or its energy equivalent -- than Japan does. Chinese officials claim a turnabout in efficiency is under way. Last summer, China made fuel standards for cars more stringent than those in the United States, and a campaign is afoot to ramp up reliance on renewable energy. The United States and other western nations have an opportunity to help China to become as energy efficient as possible as fast as possible rather than trying to sell Chinese consumers gas guzzling SUVs.<br /><br />Some experts suggest long-term projections on China's energy needs may be premature because the nation is capable of rapid adaptation and change, and of greater reliance on its vast coal reserves.<br /><br />Some 68 percent of China's power comes from coal, and the nation is building electric power plants at a rate never seen before on Earth, fueling them from unsafe shafts where thousands of miners are killed each year.<br /><br />China built power plants this year generating 68 gigawatts of electricity and plans 80 more gigawatts of capacity in 2006, equal to the entire capacity of Britain.<br /><br />"It took the U.K. 110 years to build those 80 gigawatts," said James M. Brock, an expert who advises the Beijing office of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a U.S. consultancy.<br /><br />Nonetheless, China is seeking oil security differently than other countries in East Asia. It has sent its three major state-owned oil companies to scour the globe and invest in foreign oil companies and oil fields. China, a relative newcomer to capitalism, allegedly deeply mistrusts the global oil markets, viewing them as distastefully volatile.<br /><br />Some analysts believe China's strategy has led it to bid heavily -- and even to overpay -- for some assets. It's adapted a very 19th century approach to energy security, where you seek an almost mercantilist lock-up of energy sources," said John J. Hamre, the president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington public policy organization.<br /><br />China has some reason to be nervous. While imported oil makes up only about 12 percent of China's total energy needs, its energy lifelines increasingly lead to the volatile Middle East. Some 60 percent of China's oil imports come from the Persian Gulf region. Supertankers carrying the oil must pass through the pirate-infested Malacca Straits off Malaysia, where China's oil is protected by the U.S. Navy. China is beefing up its own navy, but it still can't protect faraway sea-lanes. To diversify its suppliers, China has gone oil shopping in Central Asia, West Africa and even in South and North America.<br /><br />Sometimes, Chinese oil companies simply bid high, as CNOOC, one of the national oil companies, did last summer when it offered $18.5 billion for the California oil company Unocal, a deal that was derailed by Capitol Hill critics who suggested that it threatened U.S. national security.<br /><br />At other times, Chinese diplomats trail the state oil companies, sweetening investment bids with offers of few-strings-attached aid packages, hands-off political support and weapons.<br /><br />"Everywhere the Chinese go in the developing world, they go with a lot of development money" said Gal Luft, a Washington-based analyst and the executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a non-profit organization that focuses on the relationship between energy needs and the economy and national security.<br /><br />China has offered large amounts of development aid in Africa, where it gets 28 percent of its imported crude and plays an increasingly important diplomatic role.<br /><br />Last year, China gave Angola, its second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, a $2 billion oil-backed loan to help repair its war-ravaged national infrastructure.<br /><br />China has courted oil-rich nations such as Sudan, Venezuela and Iran that are officially out of favour with Washington, even dangling the possibility of using its United Nations Security Council veto to protect them against sanctions.<br /><br />China last year repeatedly blocked U.N. attempts to punish Sudan for failing to stop atrocities in its Darfur region. China owns a 40 percent stake in the major oil consortium drilling in Sudan, and it buys half of Sudan's crude exports.<br /><br />Eyeing Nigeria's oil fields, China has offered Lagos some $7 billion in investments and said it may sell the country fighter jets too.<br /><br />Iran which won pledges from China last year for $70 billion worth of oil and natural gas deals, also enjoys vital support from Beijing. Iran now appears confident that it can resist pressure from the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program, certain that China will veto any attempt to impose U.N. sanctions.<br /><br />Reuters resports that a Chinese state-owned energy firm plans to invest at least $2.48 billion over the next five years in biomass, garbage treatment and other alternative energy projects.<br /><br />China Energy Conservation Investment Corp. made the plans to take advantage of a new law promoting renewable energy, which sets tariffs in favor of non-fossil energy such as wind, water and solar power and is due to take effect in January.<br /><br />"We see tremendous business opportunities from the new law," the China Daily quoted Wang Yi, a senior company official, as saying. Coal provides some 70 percent of electricity in China, the world's second-largest energy consumer and producer of greenhouse gases. The state-owned company has started building two wind farms and a new facility that would harness steam generated from garbage and sewage treatment to produce power, the newspaper said.<br /><br />The firm had budgeted about $1.1 billion to build the garbage-powered plant underway in eastern China and 10 others like it in other parts of the country over the next five years, Wang said.<br /><br />Another $1.1 billion would go toward constructing up to 30 biomass energy projects in major agricultural provinces, which use organic or woody material such as straw to make fuel or generate power.<br /><br />China has set a goal of getting 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, though it has acknowledged that coal will remain its primary source of electricity for decades to come.<br /><br />Comment<br /><br />Within the overall context China's $2.48 billion investment in alternative energy seems insignificant. China is spending huge sums expanding dirty coal fired electricity production. These new plants are not "clean" coal plants and are certainly not carbon neutral (at least not before <a href="http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2559&language=1">2020</a>). Huge amounts of energy is being wasted in China and this looks set to continue. China has some of the world's worst industrial pollution. It doesn't have to be this way. There is an opportunity for international development and cooperation to help China and the rest of the world avoid some of the worst negative consequences of rapid industrialisation. It won't be cheap and it won't be easy.<br /><br />Or we can seek to deny the Chinese the energy rich lifestyle that many in the west believe is their birthright.<br /><br /><a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2004/08/china-energy-timebomb.html">China - An Energy Timebomb?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://watthead.blogspot.com/2005/11/is-red-china-going-green.html">Watthead - Is Red China Going Green?</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1136152258489621572005-12-31T13:31:00.000-08:002007-02-05T03:46:49.794-08:00Top Ten UK Alternative Energy Projects<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41168000/jpg/_41168788_greencis2.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Solar Powered CIS Tower in Manchester</span></span><br /><br />The UK’s top ten alternative energy projects have been named by the UK government’s <a href="http://www.dti.gov.uk/">Department of Trade and Industry</a> (DTI). They include offshore turbines in Kent, the solar-powered CIS tower in Manchester and a wave buoy in Cornwall.<br /><br />A target of supplying 10% of the UK's electricity from renewable energy by 2010 has been set by the British government.<br /><br />The list includes three wind farms, three solar-power projects, and two examples of microgeneration, or projects with lower outputs.<br /><br />According to the government, the 30-turbine Kentish Flats wind farm has been described as "the Ferrari of the turbine world".<br /><br />Black Law A in South Lanarkshire was one of the largest wind farms approved in the UK, and the Cefn Croes project near Aberystwyth the most powerful when it opened in June.<br /><br />The CIS tower in Manchester - the city's tallest building - was on course to be the biggest user of solar panels in the UK.<br /><br />The biomass plant in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, was singled out for producing a "revolutionary new wood pellet bio fuel", created by burning sawdust and woodchips.<br /><br />The wave buoy project off the north Cornwall coast was highlighted as a project that would "speed up the installation of one of the world's first wave farms". The site is being investigated as a possible wave hub location - an offshore electrical socket that would be connected to the national grid.<br /><br /><a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2005/01/wave-power-energy-buoy-to-lead-to.html">Cornwall Wave Buoy</a><br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4568868.stm">“Revolutionary” Northern Ireland Biomass Plant</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1136125398463668452005-12-29T05:44:00.000-08:002006-01-04T20:53:11.580-08:00Australia: Alternative Energy Grants<img src="http://www.yourearthourworld.co.uk/wainternational/images/hdrig.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Geothermal Plant</span></span><br /><br />From geothermal power to better batteries, millions have been spent on alternative energy research grants in Australia, according to Rod Myer writing for The Age of Australia.<br /><br />The AUD $23 million (approximately $17 million) spent by the <a href="http://www.australia.gov.au">Australian Federal Government</a> under the first tranche of its $100 million (US $73m) pledge to aid the alternative energy sector has highlighted innovations by local companies to cure Australia's fossil fuel addiction.<br /><br />Two companies awarded grants under the <a href="http://www.dpmc.gov.au/publications/energy_future/factsheets/factsheet_3.htm">Renewable Energy Development Initiative</a> (REDI) have developed a no-emissions alternative for base-load generation. <a href="http://www.geodynamics.com.au/IRM/content/">Geodynamics</a> received $5 million grant to help develop its geothermal electricity plant near Innamincka in the north of South Australia. Scope Energy, another betting its future on geothermal energy, received $3.9 million grant to aid development. Its principal, Roger Massey-Greene, says the grant will help finance a drilling program of 500-metre deep holes to prove up its resource. Scope plans to open a 50-megawatt plant, but Mr Massey-Greene says he hopes to see this expand to 1000 MW in the longer term.<br /><br />Scope has a geographic advantage, he believes. Its site is near Millicent, in the south-east of South Australia, meaning it is close to transmission lines and the population centres of Melbourne and Adelaide. "We expect the cost to be very competitive with combined-cycle gas power plants," Mr Massey-Greene said.<br /><br />Scope's geothermal technology will tap hot water heated deep in the earth and run it through a heat exchanger to generate electricity. Mr Massey-Greene likens this process to a "fridge operating in reverse".<br /><br />Geodynamics' system will pump water through hot rocks and use the resulting steam to generate power. Scope's wells will be as deep as 4.5 kilometres. The technology that Scope is planning has been in use at a plant in Italy that has operated for 101 years, Mr Massey-Greene said.<br /><br />Stage one of the plant is expected to cost $4 million per megawatt to construct, compared with about $750,000 for a combined-cycle gas plant. "But we have no fuel costs," Mr Massey-Greene said. Geothermal plants run at an output of about 98 per cent of rated capacity. Mr Massey-Green believes geothermal power has a great future. In New Zealand it provides 7 per cent of power needs and this could rise to as much as 15 per cent. Some in the market believe that Scope will float in the first half of 2006.<br /><br />Melbourne-based <a href="http://www.katrix.com.au/">Katrix</a> will use its $811,000 Renewable Energy Development Initiative grant to further develop its new fluid expander that may enable solar energy to be harnessed for electricity. Founder Attilio Demichelli says the expander, which does the job of a turbine, will allow solar thermal energy to be adapted for small-scale use far more cheaply than photovoltaic systems.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.katrix.com.au/">Katrix</a> is developing units in which solar energy will heat refrigeration fluid that will run through an expander linked to a generator to produce power. The expander is cheaper than a miniature turbine to build and has a number of advantages, including its ability to take gas or steam at 22 atmospheres (twenty two times atmospheric pressure) back to one atmosphere in one step.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.katrix.com.au/">Katrix</a> projects that in the Californian market — once government solar energy grants are factored in — its system will return its cost to consumers in two to three years, compared with 15 years for photovoltaic systems. Mr Demichelli, a private investor, and inventor Yannis Tropalis have invested over $3 million in the technology in three years.<br /><br />Another REDI grant, of $290,000, has gone to <a href="http://www.vfuel.com.au/">V-Fuel</a>, which is developing a vanadium bromide redox battery. The funding will help develop a prototype of a battery that its promoters hope will be efficient enough to use to store power from renewable energy plants. Efficient storage would enable technologies such as wind power and solar energy to get over a bugbear — unpredictability, because no one knows when the sun will shine or the wind will blow.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.vfuel.com.au/">V-Fuel</a> principal Michael Kazacos says the grant is crucial to the company, which has raised only $400,000 up to now. V-Fuel has developed a five-kilowatt battery but is aiming to produce a 50-kilowatt prototype. That, he says, will cost $1 million, and further funding is being sought from another federal grant scheme.<br /><br />"There is a lot of interest in Europe," Mr Kazacos said. "We have had offers of collaboration from there." The battery was 85 per cent efficient, he said, and "we are aiming at having a $200-per-kilowatt production cost". The vanadium bromide process was developed at the University of NSW by <a href="http://www.science.org.au/scientists/msk.htm">Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos</a>, who is a principal of V-Fuel.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.originenergy.com.au/environment/files/9b.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">according to Origin - Sliver Cells are "long, ultra thin, quite flexible & perfectly bifacial"</span></span><br /><br />Origin Energy received a $5 million grant to aid development of its facilities for manufacturing solar energy cells using <a href="http://www.originenergy.com.au/environment/environment_subnav.php?pageid=1233">photovoltaic sliver technology</a>. The technology aims to cut the cost of solar energy cells by reducing silicon usage by up to 90 per cent. Sliver cells are micromachined to less than 70 microns thick with solar cell efficiency running at over 19%. Silicon is the most expensive part of a solar energy cell. Origin Energy says it costs $11,000 to fit a house with a one-kilowatt unit. This would take 20 years or more to pay itself off. However, as energy prices rise and production costs fall, this payback time will be cut. Origin Energy also owns a 19% stake in Geodynamics and offers <a href="http://www.originenergy.com.au/home/subnav_section.php?pageid=1544">Green Earth electricity</a> from 100% renewable sources to Australian electricity consumers. For more green energy in Australia see the government <a href="http://www.greenpower.com.au/go/suppliers.cgi">Green Power website</a>.<br /><a href="http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2004/12/geothermal-energy-hot-dry-rock-hdr.html"><br />Geothermal Energy: Hot Dry Rock</a><br /><br /><a href="www.theage.com.au/news/business/with-grants-set-renewable-energy-is-all-the-go/2005/12/29/1135732693445.html">Article in The Age on Australian Alternative Energy Grants<br /></a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1136162465989098172005-12-25T16:35:00.000-08:002006-01-01T16:43:28.226-08:00Alternative Energy Hungary: First Windfarm in Hungary<img src="http://www.octogon.hu/files/kep_2219_Kaposvar.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Kaposvar</span></span><br /><br />Austrian company Öko-Energia GmbH is to invest Ft60 billion ($284.6 million) in establishing the first wind farm in Hungary, in the south Rábaköz region, 150km west of Budapest. Forty-eight wind turbines will be built, at a price of between Ft500-800m ($2.37-3.79m) and producing 2,000 kilowatts per hour.<br /><br />Although the company has yet to sign any agreements with the landowners, according to Lajos Takács, the mayor of Dénesfa, this won't hinder the project. "I am sure the company will be able to come to an agreement with the property owners," Takács said.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.budapestsun.com/full_story.asp?ArticleId=%7b61BFA9C3568149EBA16780E9F19CD602%7d&From=Business">Budapest Sun Article on Hungary's First Windfarm</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7924712.post-1136160974872532022005-12-24T16:12:00.000-08:002006-01-01T16:18:56.513-08:00Alternative Energy in Central America<img src="http://www.real-estate-immobilien.com/hotels-resorts-accomodations/graphics/topNI.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Managua, Nicaragua</span></span><br /><br />Cancún, Mexico - With the signing of an energy partnership with Mexico, Central America is poised to see a steady supply of oil and natural gas from its northern neighbor.<br /><br />Mexico's focus on hydrocarbons was clear in the plan, drafted by Mexican officials, which ranked development of alternative energy as only the seventh out of eight priorities for the region.<br /><br />"Petroleum is an addiction; it's like a drug," Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco retorted during the meeting. "We have to understand that it's not going to be available forever."<br /><br />Costa Rica has led the region in alternative energy, with 90 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric, geothermal and wind-powered generators, according to Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Costa Rica's energy and environment minister.<br /><br />Nicaragua and El Salvador have also been investing in alternative energy projects. El Salvador gets 50 percent of its energy from renewable energy sources, according to Ismael Sánchez, a professor of energy sciences at the Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Cañas in El Salvador.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255998353063150521noreply@blogger.com1