Maria Energia

T. Boone Pickens and Al Gore on a New Energy Future

2008-07-17T20:21:00.009-05:00

Two men from very different energy perspectives...at least until now.

T. Boone Pickens, the oil baron who has been out promoting his PickensPlan for a new energy economy, and climate crusader Al Gore were each interviewed by Katie Couric about America's energy future and what they thought of each other.

The PickensPlan calls for a massive move to wind power and a shift in fuel dependency from oil to cleaner burning natural gas. Contrary to being concerned with the "greenness" of his message, Boone told Couric that he's most upset with the $700 billion a year flying out of this country to import oil. His plan is about energy independence and self-sufficiency. He greatly admires what Al Gore has done for the issue and doesn't see why there should be any hullabaloo about a Democrat and a Republican agreeing on something like this: "It's a nonpartisan issue."

In Gore's interview (which I watched on CBSnews.com and was previewed with an ExxonMobil commercial), the Vice President agreed with Pickens that we must end our dependence on oil but also on coal. The biggest issue for Gore is ultimately a global warming one: although clean energy is a health, jobs, economy and national security issue, we need to refocus ourselves on the objective of ending our dependence on carbon-based fuels. Once we pull that thread out and transition to a cleaner energy system, all of the other benefits will follow.

He's impressed with the PickensPlan - although he'd like to see the U.S. vehicle fleet go straight to electricity and skip natural gas as a "transition" fuel. He concurred that global warming and energy independence are truly nonpartisan issues.

Most interestingly, Gore is calling for the U.S. to make the total switch to renewable energy in the next ten years. Yes, you read that right: 100% renewables in ten years. Solar and wind make up the bulk of his plan: Solar is a consistent electricity source in desert areas and even produces electricity during our peak times of need. It's the perfect source to supplement the intermittent nature of wind. Put together, Gore explained, "they fit like a glove."

Is that possible? Right now, in this political climate, I'm saying no. I would LOVE to say "Yes we can!" but until we really kick our leaders in the ass - and seriously improve our lifestyles with more efficient, cleaner sources of electricity - I don't think we can move fast enough.

The transmission, the permits, the siting, the technology and even the raw materials for such a change would be massive. At this point, I don't have enough faith in our political leaders to pull it off. I think the smaller entities are getting there: The impressive goals and movements I'm seeing among cities and even states and regions are extremely important. But the coordination we need to see happen at a national level...we really need a new breed of leaders and a sense of urgency and responsibility in America in order to make that happen. Do I have enough faith in the American people? Maybe. When I read that the editor of my beloved Food and Wine magazine thinks it's too hard to switch to CFLs but feels like she's doing her part by buying organic wine...sorry but that ain't gonna cut it. Making the transition to a new energy system isn't going to be all wine and roses, but we've got to take the leap and do it now, before it's too late and we've committed ourselves to the worst of global warming's consequences.

But perhaps that's why Gore is challenging us to aim for something so enormous, huge and practically out of reach...because even if we make it half that far - to 50% renewables in ten years - it would still be an utter and historic make-over for this country for the better.

Many thanks to CBS Evening News for the heads-up on these interviews.

Below are Couric's interviews with Pickens and with Gore:

Terminology Tuesday: Cellulosic Ethanol

2008-07-15T12:12:00.005-05:00

It's getting harder and harder to come up with these Terminology Tuesday words and phrases, so if you have any burning questions, please let me know! maria underscore energia at yahoo dot com.

With all the negativity - justified or not - around corn ethanol lately, you've probably heard a lot of buzz about cellulosic ethanol. Cellulose is the main carbohydrate in living plants and cellulosic ethanol is ethanol made from the cellulose - the non-edible - parts of plants. Rather than fuel derived corn, cellulosic ethanol can be made from woods or grasses that are not competitive with food for livestock or people.

There are many cellulosic ethanol testing plants in the works, although we've yet to see anything brought to scale. One of the most recent projects is at Oklahoma State University's Bioenergy Center, which has planted switchgrass and sorghum for a facility in Kansas, expected to be operational in 2010.

via Wikipedia

Utah Goes to 4-Day Work Week to Save Energy

2008-07-15T07:44:00.004-05:00

I'm going to have to start lobbying my employer to do this: To save on energy costs, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman has ordered most of the state's employees to work four 10-hour days (state police officers, prison guards, and public universities will have to still be open Fridays. And the liquor stores).

This change is expected to save the state about $3 million a year in lighting, heating and air conditioning costs. Carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution from state vehicles may be cut by about 3,000 metric tons.

via The L.A. Times

Midwest Renewable Energy News

2008-07-15T07:29:00.001-05:00

Honeywell Helps Biz Pick Best Renewable Energy

2008-07-14T08:09:00.002-05:00

Once a company decides it's going to make the switch to cleaner, renewable energy, the next question is often: Which type is best? In other words, would a wind turbine make sense, or maybe solar power would provide the fastest payback, or perhaps there are geothermal resources? What are our utility rates, rebates and tax incentive options?

Honeywell (HON) has developed a computer program that provides customers with the data they need to choose the best renewable energy for their needs. The Renewable Energy Scorecard analyzes the variables of any location in North America and recommends the best clean technology based on environmental and economic benefits. The Scorecard considers solar, wind, biomass and geothermal. It provides a payback for technology and a financial forecast based on tax implications, rebates and subsidies. A challenge will be keeping up with the ever-changing energy technology and basing the data on real-world results rather than only a manufacturer's promised performance.

Honeywell, as one of four energy service companies selected by the Clinton Climate Initiative to help the world's largest cities increase efficiency and cut global warming emissions, came up with the Scorecard tool after struggling with the challenges of determining the best and most economic renewable energy sources that also reflect local, state and federal incentives, subsidies, and utility rates.

Eastern Illinois University was the first to test the Scorecard. It found that biomass and wind power were the most viable options. What's more, the Scorecard found a large amount of available biomass right in EIU's area. EIU is now planning to break ground in 2009 on a biomass power plant to replace an old coal-fired one.

Innovations like this one reflect the mainstream respect renewable energy has earned. With enough companies and cities making the switch to cleaner, more efficient technologies, they're also creating a new demand for the infrastructure and tools to help them get there.

via Honeywell and Forbes

The Most Energy Efficient Countries

2008-07-13T13:03:00.003-05:00

Forbes has ranked the planet's top 10 most efficient countries, as measured in BTUs per U.S. dollar of GDP. The pool was the 75 largest nations; not surprisingly, many of the top 10 import most of their energy, making efficiency measures all the more urgent and practical. Here are the top 10 - read the full article and country profiles at Forbes.

1. Japan
2. Denmark
3. Switzerland
4. Hong Kong
5. Ireland
6. U.K.
7. Israel
8. Italy

9. Germany
10. Austria

Renewables in Mass, Solar at General Motors and GreenGraffiti

2008-07-10T19:57:00.006-05:00

While I shirk my blogging duties, check these posts I found worthwhile:

General Motors is planning the world's largest solar rooftop installation! It's in Spain. The story's at EcoGeek.
Tim over Ecopolitology covers the load of renewables energy policies Massachusetts just passed in the Green Communities Act.
Paul at Ecopreneurist profiles a company called GreenGraffiti. They use water, stencils and a sidewalk to create all sorts of ads. Except for the water usage, Paul points out, they seem to pretty green.

What I'm Reading...

2008-07-08T22:49:00.003-05:00

Got some late night reading going on with the PickensPlan. T. Boone Pickens - the billionaire Texas oil baron - is on a rampage now against big oil. He's fed up with America's dependence on dirty, imported energy and says wind power can help us break that addiction: With a goal of 20 percent wind power, Pickens believes we can free up more natural gas for cleaner-burning transportation fuel instead of oil.

In fact, he's betting on it by building the world's largest wind farm in Texas.

Germany to Begin Testing Carbon Sequestration

2008-07-07T21:13:00.000-05:00

There are just a few carbon sequestration projects happening around the world, and this week Germany became the latest to test this experimental technology. Carbon sequestration takes the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a power plant and sequesters them so they don't get released into the atmosphere and worsen global warming. Typically the CO2 is sequestered in rock underground or even swamps.

The German project began pumping the CO2 into sandstone deposits this week, just outside of Berlin, near Ketzin. This first phase will continue through 2009 to determine whether sequestering the CO2 is safe. At the latest, the technology will be ready for market in 2020.

The sequestration facility is being built by the European energy giant Vattenfall. It will pump the CO2 2,600 feet below ground into a saline aquifer with porous sandstone. Safety concerns include leakage - if CO2 makes up just 8 percent of air volume, it can be deadly.

However, many energy experts point out that we are so over-reliant on coal power - in the U.S., it makes up 50 percent of our energy - that it will have to continue to be part of our energy mix in the near future. Reconciling that reality with the global warming reality that demands we cut emissions deeply and quickly means that carbon sequestration is a technology that must be explored.

Graphic source: Speigel Online

Midwest Renewable Energy News

2008-07-07T20:47:00.001-05:00

Energy Trend Watch: Another Coal Plant Falls to CO2

2008-07-06T16:11:00.008-05:00

It's a growing energy trend in the U.S.: Proposed coal plants denied because they fail to address or sufficiently limit the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) they produce (CO2 is a major contributor to global warming). Late last year, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment was the first to kill a new coal plant on the grounds that the CO2 it contributed to global warming amounted to a public health threat. Not long after, Washington and Wyoming denied new coal plants because of the CO2 pollution and the uncertain regulatory market surrounding CO2 emissions.

Now, a Georgia state court has invalidated a permit to build a 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant, citing the developers' failure to limit CO2 emissions. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources issued the permit, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore cited last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that CO2 is a pollutant that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

This is the first court decision applying the Supreme Court's ruling to coal plants, but it won't be the last. Energy efficiency must become a greater focus to meet our energy needs (and indeed is the cheapest, fastest, easiest way to fight global warming), along with more renewable energy to create a better energy system for the 21st century.

Midwest Renewable Energy News

2008-07-01T21:09:00.001-05:00

North Pole Ice Melting Faster than Expected

2008-06-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

The scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado say the North Pole could be ice-free for a time this summer. The chances are roughly 50-50, actually: Specific weather patterns will determine whether the ice cover melts completely.

What does this mean for us down here? The Data Center's senior research scientist, Mark Serreze, explained that while the loss of ice at the North Pole is symbolic at this point, the fact that we're losing ice this soon to global warming is "astounding" to him. Scientists had predicted this event closer to 2030. He told CNN:

"It's not cyclical at this point. I think we understand the physics behind this pretty well. We've known for at least 30 years, from our earliest climate models, that it's the Arctic where we'd see the first signs of global warming...It's a situation where we hate to say we told you so, but we told you so."

While cutting global warming emissions now will help to slow more of the effects, our actions have committed us to some warming:

"If we had a few cold years in a row, we could put sort of a temporary damper on it, but I think at this point going to an ice-free Arctic Ocean is inevitable. I don't think we can stop that now."

Photo credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Off-Shore Drilling Chatter

2008-06-29T14:43:00.002-05:00

Have you noticed all the talk lately about offshore drilling to combat our energy/oil problems? President Bush called for the ban on offshore drilling to be lifted and presidential candidate John McCain wants the same.

The pro-drilling side often talks about it in terms of "energy independence" (i.e. less foreign imports of oil), while others point out that offshore drilling is not a long-term solution, but rather an expensive one that doesn't address the global warming problem.

The American Petroleum Institute recently hosted a conference call for bloggers to talk about offshore drilling. I wasn't able to make the call, but here's the transcript of it. The most interesting parts of the conversation start around page 9, with talk of the regulations of off-shore drilling, amount of oil left offshore, etc. There's also an audio version.

It's always helpful to learn more about how offshore drilling works, the policies involved and the amount of oil predicted to be left in these areas. But the larger picture is that we need to address energy efficiency (both in our transportation sector and electric sector) and a shift to cleaner energy sources to really address the root of the problem.

South America Recommendations?

2008-06-23T20:58:00.003-05:00

I'm 2/3 of the way to my goal of traveling to six continents by the time I'm 30. Next up: South America. Specifically, we're flying in to Santiago, Chile and out of Buenos Aires, Argentina this October. My plan so far is to drink wine and eat beef. Does anyone have any recommendations of where to stay, what to see and do?

Midwest Renewable Energy News

2008-06-23T20:53:00.004-05:00

These past few days have been the nicest weather we Minnesotans have all year - we broke 80 degrees woo hoo! So I've been outside more than blogging. Here's your weekly dose of Midwest renewable energy news:

Clean Energy Quick Clicks

2008-06-18T19:43:00.000-05:00

Wind turbine manufacturers Vestas and Siemens have announced the locations of their new wind energy research centers. Vestas chose Houston and Siemen's facility will be in Boulder, CO. Disappointing that a Midwest state didn't land one of these. Both companies are eying the U.S. as their biggest wind power market yet. via Wind Energy Weekly

Green Air Radio is featuring audio from a panel discussion at the American Wind Energy Association's WINDPOWER 2008 conference in Houston. Panelists include General Wesley Clark and former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta.

California is having a hard time building renewable energy fast enough to meet its own requirements, which say the state has to get 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2010. But contracting for the energy and establishing the infrastructure is proving difficult. If utilities don't meet the required amounts by the deadline they could be fined, although the law says that if they can show they have enough renewable energy under contract (even if it's not online yet), that's sufficient. About 30 states, including Washington DC, now have renewable energy requirements. via Green Biz Journals

14-year-old Liza Stoner is biking from Minneapolis to Washington DC to tell Congress to support plug-in hybrid vehicles. She thought of the idea after watching the film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and became frustrated that the U.S. is still using oil and gasoline to power its cars. "The United States would realize health, environmental, financial and even security benefits by switching from gas-powered vehicles to fully electric vehicles." She's documenting her journey at her blog, As the Crank Turns. Go Liza! via New Energy News

Random Green Publication Recommendation

2008-06-18T19:15:00.003-05:00

Do you read the Green Biz Journal? I'm a fan. They cover energy, sustainability and environmental issues from a business perspective, so I find a lot of pieces about the great innovations and initiatives businesses are coming up with to address our energy and global warming problem. Succinct and informative articles.

Shameless Family Promotion (But Energy-Related!)

2008-06-17T20:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's Real Time Economics blog over at the Wall Street Journal asks readers to hypothesize about the "tipping point" of energy costs. When does the cost of electricity or gas get high enough to actually drive change in consumer behavior? The posts cites several recent studies about energy and choice, including a paper by my cousin, Dan Kaffine, and a colleague that shows as gas prices went up, Los Angeles freeways became less congested.

Has there been a tipping point in energy costs for you that got you to change your behavior?

Most recently, I've started driving more slowly to conserve gas (don't tell my husband or he'll never let me drive) and now always take the highway route to work versus the more scenic - but stop-and-go - city street route. I really really wish I could take mass transit, but Minneapolis-St. Paul's lame (but improving) transit options would triple my commute time.

Midwest Renewable Energy News

2008-06-17T11:43:00.000-05:00

ViroPop Video: Wind Power, Greenwashing

2008-06-16T08:17:00.000-05:00

The ViroPop network's ZapRoot news show has another informative and informational segment about the world's largest wind farm and greenwashing:

Production Tax Credit for Wind Stalled

2008-06-14T22:58:00.005-05:00

Congress dropped the ball this week when it failed to approve a one-year extension of the the production tax credit (PTC) for wind power. The Senate needed 60 votes to end debate and move to consider the Renewable Energy and Jobs Creation Act of 2008, which included the PTC extension. The vote failed by 10 votes.

Here's a map from the American Wind Energy Association that shows how the Senators voted. Green means the majority of state's delegation voted for the legislation, red means the majority voted against it, and gray means the vote was split. via Ecopolitology

Solar Powered Bra! (The Japanese Think of Everything)

2008-06-14T22:48:00.001-05:00

I'm hiding out in my basement while some bad storms move through and came across this bit of fun innovation. I thought it appropriate for a Saturday night post:

Triumph International Japan (which you may remember from their chopstick/rice bowl bra) has developed a solar powered bra that comes with a solar panel (worn around the stomach) that can generate enough power to charge an iPod or cell phone. To avoid plastic bottle use, there are pouches around the breasts that can be used to store water. The bra isn't going to show up in stores anytime soon though; the company is still figuring out how to make the solar panels work through clothing. via Greentech Media

Priorities, Priorities

2008-06-12T21:15:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't posted since Monday....sigh. But Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen are calling me name on DVR. Joram and I are really into Top Chef and then my cousin-in-law got us into Hell's Kitchen too. It's so stressful to watch but hilariously entertaining.

Video from American Petroleum Institute/Newsweek Energy Event

2008-06-09T22:14:00.000-05:00

Here are some video clips of the API/Newsweek Energy Dialogue Series I attended last week at Stanford (courtesy of API). More clips can be view here, the entire panel discussion can be viewed here and the transcript can be read here.

Paul Siegele, vice president of strategic planning at Chevron, talks about the cost of meeting energy demand and drilling for oil:

Dr. James Sweeney closed the discussion with an economist's perspective on the energy problem: