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The BrighterEnergy Blog
Discussing the issues of the day in renewable energy
Hurricane Earl poses question about East Coast offshore wind farms »
Hurricane Earl heads for the East Coast, pictured here with Hurricane Danielle to the north (photo: NASA)
Hurricane Earl is moving up the East Coast today, forecast to reach Massachusetts waters by midnight.
The storm has lost some of its power since traveling up to North Carolina, but is still expected to lash islands like Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard with winds of 100 miles an hour.
With developers drawing up plans to locate offshore wind farms along the East Coast, the hurricane poses a question as to whether turbines can withstand hurricane force winds.
So far, the world’s offshore wind turbines are located in Europe, in the Baltic, the North Sea and the Irish Sea, where there are no hurricanes.
Though there are some in the industry that say the technology has been proven well enough to skip over demonstration projects in North America, the conditions here are unlike anywhere where offshore wind turbines have been installed before.
Hurricane Earl shows why demonstration projects are needed here, expensive as they may be.
Though offshore wind turbines are designed with stronger winds in mind, and can feather to protect their blades from excessive winds. Siemens‘ 3.6MW turbines, to be used in the Cape Wind project near Nantucket, shut down at 25 meters per second (about 56mph)
Even feathered, the question is how well wind turbine structures cope with wind speeds twice as strong as that cut-out speed.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts are both racing to complete the nation’s first offshore wind farm, with Rhode Island proposing an eight-turbine demonstration project while Massachusetts forges ahead with a 130-turbine project in the form of Cape Wind.
Though engineers will be sure to keep in mind the weather conditions that can occur along the Eastern Seaboard, and Cape Wind Associates suggests its turbines will withstand 150mph winds. The Rhode Island approach might offer less risk in showing off the technology in these conditions, however.
In North Carolina, Duke Energy has canceled a small demonstration project that would have been partially protected by its location in a lagoon. It said economically it makes more sense to go straight to the construction of a large-scale wind farm out in the Atlantic. But, the hurricane risks do increase the further south you go.
Bluewater Wind, which is seeking to develop offshore wind projects off Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, states that:
Modern wind turbines are engineered to withstand the stress of extremely high winds and will remain standing, even in a hurricane-force storm. In the most extreme winds, sophisticated microprocessors automatically stop the turbine and position the blades so that they can safely ride out the storm. Once the strongest winds have passed, the wind park resumes operation.
However, assurances from manufacturers still need to be tested out in the field. Onshore wind farms around the Gulf of Mexico can given an idea of how towers and blades can withstand prolonged wind forces, but offshore wind turbines offer a different set of construction and design characteristics, including different foundation systems.
Talk of deepwater or floating wind turbines will also offer a whole new ball game in major storms. There are still some interesting studies to be done in this area, including research currently being carried out by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
If you think wind power is intermittent, try lightning »
Lightning could provide electricity according to Brazilian researchers
Science Daily reports on researchers in Brazil who believe one day it may be possible to tame lightning for power generation purposes.
The research, as presented to the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, stemmed from workers noticing that they were getting electric shocks from steam escaping from boilers.
It has allowed scientists to understand a little more about how lightning works – and possibly how to make use of it.
The researchers are naming the field “hygroelectricity”, referring to the humidity levels required for the energy to be generated, with Science Daily suggesting it would be feasible to develop generating facilities in the northeastern and southeastern United States.
But before we start hooking up our DeLoreans to the sky, there’s the small matter to be solved of developing a energy collector – already being dubbed “hygroelectric panels” – that could withstand such enormous and unpredictable deliveries of energy.
Health and safety might also be an issue to think about.
“We certainly have a long way to go. But the benefits in the long range of harnessing hygroelectricity could be substantial,” says study leader Fernando Galembeck from the University of Campinas in Campinas, Sao Paulo.
Uncertain future for once-lauded PACE programs »
The sun is no longer shining on PACE programs, with dozens of communities now reconsidering initiatives
Once seen as a wonder solution to financing home energy improvements including solar panels, PACE programs across the country are now facing a bleak future.
Having received support from the White House and legal adoption in 24 states, the whole system was blown out of the water by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s view that they “present significant safety and soundness concerns” for lenders.
The Agency – which has considerable clout as controller of the mighty Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac – is now being sued by various parties hoping to salvage the opportunities presented by PACE programs.
Many programs are now being shelved, including a $30 million municipal program in California and a $150 million program in San Francisco.
A useful update on the situation has been produced by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which lays out the background and possible outcomes.
Three key energy reforms Obama could order without Congress »
It would obviously be better if the nation’s Senators and Representatives could act to reduce America’s dependence on oil, but in their failure there are still ways for the President to put in place lasting change by himself, by executive order.
William Becker, Executive Director of the PCAP, says: “Congress’s inability to cap U.S. carbon emissions contributed to the failure to reach a global climate treaty last year in Copenhagen, It now appears that Congress has failed again just months before international negotiators are set to reconvene.
“Congress has passed the ball back to President Obama,” adds Mr Becker. “He should run with it.”
Here are three key reforms that have been recommended by the Presidential Climate Action Project, a group of academic and think tank experts co-chaired by Retired Senator Gary Hart:
Welcome to California, the 11th most ambitious state for clean energy »
Governor Schwarzenegger has constantly highlighted the jobs potential of clean energy projects driven by the state's renewable energy targets, but now stands in the way of the targets he praises
What is happening in California? Far and away the best state in the union for installing renewable energy, its ambitious 33% renewable energy target tentatively penciled in for the year 2020 is in danger of being wiped away by a huge eraser.
The state doesn’t actually have a formal Renewable Portfolio Standard of 33% in place – so far, there’s just an executive order signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger requiring the state’s Air Resources Board to put one in place by the end of this month.
Governor Schwarzenegger has now called for this move to be postponed by the ARB until at least September.
His decision highlights the fact that without a formal law in place to require such a target, rather than a Governor’s executive order, either himself or a future Governor could remove such a target at a moment’s notice.
One to watch: Discovery Channel’s Powering the Future »
Dr M Sanjavan leads the discussion on what the future entails for our energy supplies
Discovery Channel – Saturday, July 17 from 8-10 PM and Sunday, July 18 from 8-10 PM (ET/PT)
The Discovery Channel is running a special four-hour series tomorrow and Sunday, looking into the future of our energy supplies – “Powering the Future”.
Dr. M. Sanjayan, lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy, looks at the planet’s need for the “next industrial revolution”, and the cutting-edge technologies that could provide an answer to the energy challenges of today.
On Sunday, the show attempts to open up the “conflicting messages” surrounding the energy debate, looking at predictions for the years ahead.
The show concludes with a look at the “unlikely” countries and organizations currently leading the charge towards a different kind of energy, from the US military to the communist giant China.
“We are the energy generation, but we as Americans do not fundamentally understand what energy is, where it comes from, how we use it and how much we need,” says Dr. Sanjayan. “Powering the Future aims to help educate viewers and empower them to take action with their personal energy needs. Watch the show and you won’t throw a light switch, eat a hamburger, drive a car, fly a plane or look at the New York City skyline the same way again.”
For climate legislation, it will all come down to money »
The US military is showing leadership by highlighting the energy security issues surrounding cleaner energy. Here, the US Navy's Green Hornet, a jet being tested on biofuels
As Congress returns from the July 4 recess this week for the final stint before the summer break, there will be much talk about climate and energy legislation.
Will a bipartisan Senate Bill be successful?
There’s a lot of good arguments being put forward by the likes of Senators John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, Harry Reid and others about the environmental benefits of cleaner energy and less pollution.
Never mind the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico – ultimately in recession politics, it is going to come down to money.
Lawmakers supporting a cap-and-trade scheme will have to persuade opponents and those sitting on the carbon fence that limiting emissions from industry can prove an economic opportunity as much as it can represent a cost.
Jobs
As far as the economy goes, for all those power companies and manufacturing firms forced to find new ways to carry out their business in a less damaging way, there will more companies creating jobs to help them clean up their acts.
Many companies will find reducing their energy consumption and generating more of their own energy will even save them money in the short term, let alone the long term.
For the ordinary consumer, it comes down to whether their local utility will charge them more for the same power they are getting.
Many ordinary Americans facing tough financial times can’t afford to pay more for the same product.
Lawmakers do need to protect the person on the street from affairs that are out of their control. But, they also need to look ahead to the future, to protect people against future recessions.
America sizzles in heat, but remains unclear on tapping into it »
So much sun, so little solar infrastructure
As much of the East Coast wilts in a heat wave at the moment, there seems to be a lot of solar energy going to waste.
In Washington DC, the heat may be making it even more difficult for the nation’s politicians to work on an agreement that might make the most of all this free energy.
Time magazine’s Ecocentric blog notes that Europe is now sourcing twice the proportion of electricity from renewable energy than the US, around 20% of its power from wind, solar, bioenergy and hydropower.
But Time’s Jeffrey Kluger is not so optimistic about the US following suit.
With the climate and energy bill now languishing in the place all good ideas go to die—the U.S. Senate—the prospects for improving those numbers in the near future look dim. Meantime, the 4 PM temperature in New York City is 102 degrees and the lights are still on—for now.
The Dayton Daily News is hopeful that another Senate Bill, the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology Act, might spur “exponential growth” in the solar industry.
The bill from the state’s own Senator Sherrod Brown seeks to extend tax credits for renewable energy as provided by 2009′s Recovery Act.
“It’s the right thing for our country. Why not become leaders in this clean energy economy — not buying solar panels from China and wind turbines from Germany,” says Steve Melink, owner of Milford-based solar firm Melink Corp.
Lacking PACE
While clean energy legislation is bogged down in Congress, trouble is also brewing for the nation’s fledgling Property-Assessed Clean Energy programs.
How not to award a contract to run an alternative energy program »
Not alternative energy: Bituminous coal
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) decided to give Clean Power Markets – part of Georgia company Comverge – another three years administrating the state’s alternative energy credits (AEC) program.
This is a program in which generators of alternative energy can sell credits to utilities for every megawatt-hour of power they sell, which provides them an added incentive (on top of the income for the power itself) to generate their electricity from alternative sources, rather than, say, coal, oil, gas or nuclear sources.
Utilities must buy enough of these credits to meet their annual targets to supply alternative energy in Pennsylvania each year (rising to 18% by 2021).
One of the main jobs that Clean Power Markets is supposed to do, as administrator, is to verify that the electricity generators selling “alternative” power and picking up the extra incentives (as paid for by utility ratepayers) are actually generating “alternative” power.
Because you shouldn’t get an incentive for alternative energy, ultimately paid for by utility ratepayers, if you aren’t producing alternative energy.
Clean Power Markets administrated the AEC program from March 2007, some three years after the scheme began.
This month, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission decided to renew the contract for another three years, with the option of two one-year extensions.
One of the four commissioners voted against the $2.7 million deal.
Reading the opinion of the dissenting commissioner, Commission vice chairman Tyrone J Christy, you can just about work out why he did not support the new contract.
But why three other commissioners did support it – that is a little harder to fathom.
For Louisiana, now is the time to adopt a Renewable Energy Standard »
BP contractors cleaning up the beaches in Louisiana, photographed on May 23, 2010
The terrible images and stories emerging out of Louisiana – despite apparent attempts by BP to control the media coverage – makes you wonder if the state will ever be entirely comfortable with offshore oil drilling again.
Will millions of gallons of toxic black sludge taking over the Gulf of Mexico, and still no end in sight to the disaster, Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek highlights a number of legislative measures that could now find support among Louisiana legislators, as well as some interesting ideas about sourcing power from the flow of the Mississippi River.
While some may be focusing on who to blame, whether a Hollywood director can help stop the oil leak, or whether the “cool” demeanor of President Obama is or is not appropriate for a crisis, a group of lawmakers in the affected State are getting on with real efforts to try to affect some change.
Among the proposed laws is Senate Bill 183 from Senator Nick Gatreaux, which is seeking to rent out Louisiana state land for renewable energy projects, a bill that has passed the Senate and awaits House committee review.
This could include solar plants, wind farms and perhaps most intriguingly a hydrokinetic power project on the Mississippi.
A pair of House Bills from Rep Franklin Foil seeks to break down the barriers that homeowners face in setting up their own renewable energy equipment – HB 751 and HB 973 have passed the House and now await a Senate committee hearing.
Standard
Meanwhile, the glaringly obvious omission from state legislation is a full Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Environmental groups like the Sierra Club have been calling for a Standard for several years, a measure that would require state utilities to supply renewable energy to their customers.
A meeting of the Louisiana Public Service Commission on June 23 may see some consideration to a proposal for a Renewable Portfolio Standard, although it considered a standard last year to no avail.
However, as it stands the proposal on the table is for a voluntary Standard, with a weak target of just 12.5% renewable electricity by 2025.
Another possibility is that the “renewable” standard could include the use of nuclear power and even “clean” coal among the types of energy that can be used toward the standard targets.
While some may argue that Louisiana cannot afford higher prices for renewable energy under the kind of mandate California has put in place, the fact that the existing oil industry has inflicted such a huge cost on the Gulf of Mexico cannot go unnoticed.
Take into account that a major delay to new offshore oil projects as set in place by the White House could see an increase in future oil prices, and a major investment in renewable energy makes even more sense at this time.
Renewable ambitions go up in smoke in Nevada »
Nevada prison officials have learned the hard way about the need to get the supply chain right appropriate for a biomass project
A lot of good projects have been supported by federal stimulus programs like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but you don’t always hear about the occasions when it hasn’t gone quite so well.
Nevada’s Record-Courier reports on an $8 million biomass cogeneration project at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City that has been troubled since it started up in 2007, and now faces closure.
The 650-kilowatt (electrical) facility has received stimulus funding and funds from the Forest Service, but officials at the Correctional Center have said the plant has design problems, and is not large enough to provide a profit in terms of generating electricity for sale to the grid.
In particular, the plant needs a specification of wood fuel that makes it difficult and relatively to get the right fuel.
Analysis has suggested the plant’s flaws “can’t be cured”, reports the Record-Courier, with deputy corrections director Jeff Mohlenkamp stating that if a buyer is not found for the facility, it could be shut down by the end of the summer.
“But that doesn’t mean the technology and the concept is a bad thing,” he said. “It’s a lesson learned. It doesn’t mean plants like this can’t be successful.”
On the plus side, lessons learned from the project are going to be written up in the form of a paper, which should be applied to future projects such as a new biomass facility being developed at North Lake Tahoe.
The ozone hole is closing – international action can work »
The ozone layer as seen in 2007 (left) and in December 2009 (right), Images from NASA
National Geographic highlights the positive story of the ozone hole over Antarctica, which has now largely closed thanks to international action to curb the use of CFC gases in things like aerosol spraycans and refrigerators.
It’s inspiring to know that efforts to change global industry and our own behavior can deliver real change.
Action to combat climate change is a little more difficult, the piece warns, since despite events like floods, droughts and hurricanes can be linked to global warming, it’s not the same as the warnings of increased skin cancer that came with the ozone layer campaign.
“There was a scary side of the ozone hole, linked to skin cancers and cataracts and so on, which immediately engaged the public,” the British Antarctic Survey’s Jonathan Shanklin said. “The real impact of what a rapidly warming world could do is not so obviously intuitive.”
The ozone story comes with a little caveat, the perfect kind for skeptics to pick up on: Closing the ozone hole may further enhance climate change.
As with other greenhouse gases like the high-profile carbon dioxide, the extra ozone in the layer 9-18 miles up will be keeping in more of the heat of the sunlight reflected back off the earth’s surface.
That doesn’t mean closing the ozone layer was a bad move – without it, there would be virtually no life on earth. It just means there’s more action needed by humankind to reduce its own emissions of greenhouse gases.
Gulf of Mexico tragedy turns political »
The Gulf of Mexico oil slick as photographed from space on April 29 (Credit: NASA/Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen)
The tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico is beginning to turn political, we’re told.
The perfectly legitimate question after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, in which 11 innocent people died, is whether it will persuade the government to rethink its plan to open up more areas of US coastline to oil exploration.
And, to balance the situation politically, perhaps it would be a good idea to now question the Republical Party‘s apparent policy of “Drill, baby, drill”.
Surely, if the drilling of oil offshore poses such calamitous risks to US coastal communities, it should be questioned?
Not, apparently, if you belong to certain bodies of thought.
In Alabama, the Democrats have been critical of support for oil drilling. They’re unhappy at the Republican Party’s support for drilling, and the fact that Alabama’s communities will ultimately pay if and when the oil spill reaches their shores.
But rather than give a good response to such criticism, the Republican Party in the state responds by accusing the Democrats of trying to “politicize a national tragedy”.
Certain members of the local press in the State go even further, stating that rather than look at the causes of the disaster, and question the whole ethos of offshore oil drilling, people should just clean up the mess and shut up.
Read more…
Great Lakes in race for America’s first offshore wind farm »
The State with America's first major offshore wind project could find itself at the heart of a new manufacturing and operations industry
As the sector waits for a decision on Cape Wind this month, the Great Lakes appear to be moving towards a real challenge to the handful of proposals on the East Coast for the title of America’s first offshore wind farm.
The billion-dollar Cape Wind project has gone through various consultations and hearings, and now awaits a decision from one key elected official – US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. He has promised a decision by the end of this month (April 2010).
But after Rhode Island threw out the proposed power purchase agreement for the relatively small Deepwater demonstration project (just eight turbines compared to Cape Wind’s proposed 130), if Sec. Salazar denies Cape Wind then the Great Lakes could have a shot at hosting the nation’s first offshore turbines.
The Wall Street Journal discusses the interest in offshore wind building around Lake Michigan, with Evanston, Illinois, in particular showing signs of favoring a project off its shores.
“We’re determined to find a way to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Elizabeth Tisdahl, mayor of Evanston, where the city council last week approved a plan to seek information from developers interested in building a wind farm about seven miles offshore.
Cleveland, Ohio, is also now in the chase, with the city now in the early stages of seeking developers for a 20MW demonstration project for Lake Erie. Other states like New York are also looking into offshore wind in Erie.
Read more…
Its the corn vs sugarcane ethanol wars – as seen on TV »
Heading up the Growth Energy campaign, Gen Wesley Clark is highlighting the energy security credentials of US biofuels
The US ethanol industry is stepping up its lobbying efforts this week, with a new national TV advert fronted by retired General Wesley K Clark.
Facing an attack by the Brazilian ethanol industry, which is seeking to end trade tariffs on biofuels imported into the US, as well as pressure at home to end lucrative subsidies, the US campaign wants to “reach beyond the Beltway” to appeal to the wider American public for support.
The Growth Energy campaign, as it is called, is paying out $2.5 million to put TV spots in prime time positions on cable networks including Fox, MSNBC, CNN and HLN to hit back at what it suggests is an unfair treatment by opponents like the oil industry.
The move comes as the oil industry is taking the EPA to court over legal requirements to use biofuels.
“Ethanol is America’s fuel: it’s made here in the U.S., it creates U.S. jobs, and it contributes to America’s national and economic security,” says Gen Clark as part of the campaign.
The New York Times casts a reflective eye today on the corn versus sugarcane battle, in which both sides are trying to promote biofuels while sniping at each other’s versions of the product.
It points out that on the surface, the US industry is hitting back against the oil industry. But, adds:
Some of the ethanol trade groups’ ads target each other indirectly, with the sugar-cane ads arguing, “Americans cannot benefit from this clean, less expensive alternative if Congress continues to maintain trade barriers against imported ethanol.” One fuel ad offers “ethanol has not shipped a single job overseas.”
Virginia signs up to offshore wind, but is the signature real? »
Siemens has the most experience when it comes to manufacturing offshore wind turbines, and will capitalize on US manufacturers getting into the industry late
Virginia is taking a fresh look at the offshore wind potential in its waters, which is good news for the environment, even if the state is also looking to open up new oil fields in the Atlantic.
But Governor Bob McDonnell has fallen out with the wind lobby over its inclusion of his name on material campaigning for a national Renewable Electricity Standard.
As the Washington Post reports, the Governor was fuming that he had not, apparently, even seen the letter sent by the Governors’ Wind Coalition to Congress.
“They sent out a letter with my name on it that I didn’t approve, never saw. That’s the problem,” McDonnell said. “Secondly, the contents of the letter said that all the governors that were signatories were supportive of a mandatory (renewable energy standard) that I am not. So that’s the problem.”
Falling behind
At least Governor McDonnell is still on board with the concept of offshore wind energy, something in which the US is falling seriously behind.
Architects offer 345-ft solar-powered waterfall for Rio »
Renewable energy and extreme sports - all in one place
The Brazilian city of Rio hosts the Olympics in 2016, and is running an architecture competition to seek a new landmark to celebrate.
Swiss Architects RAFAA Architecture and Design have offered up a tower featuring a 345 foot high man-made waterfall, which would form the centerpiece of a solar-powered hydropower storage facility.
Located on a small island, the Solar City Tower would generate electricity through its solar photovoltaic systems by day, with excess energy used to pump water into huge storage tanks for use generating power at night.
The new building would have a cafe and observation tower on the top, but if it’s 345 foot high, why not a wind turbine as well?
The concept was created for a design competition for an Olympic landmark for Rio de Janeiro.
The architects explain:
This project represents a message of a society facing the future; thus, it is the representation of an inner attitude. Our project, standing in the tradition of “a building/city as a machine”, shall provide energy both to the city of Rio de Janeiro and its citizens while using natural resources.
And if you’re inner attitude is right, in 2016 you could perhaps try the bungee-jumping platform that comes out of the waterfall on the 90th floor.
40 years of oil left, but that’s good news for BP »
Tony Hayward speaking at the Peterson Institute on Tuesday
BP boss Tony Hayward attacked the coal industry on Tuesday (March 23), saying it is “extraordinary” that the US is still building new coal power plants.
Speaking at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Mr Hayward said natural gas and nuclear power should be the big alternative to coal.
Lower carbon, yes. But, what was perhaps more extraordinary in his speech was his feeling that it is “good news” that we have “over 40 years of oil and 60 years of gas” reserves remaining at today’s consumption rates.
Good news? While there’s probably more than 40 years of oil left, given the world’s undiscovered reserves, four decades worth of oil is hardly much given the scale of the world’s dependency.
Red faces in Michigan over tax credit award »
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who needs to do better background checks in future
Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Granholm has found out to her horror that one of the companies she has awarded tax credits to in order to create hundreds of jobs with a new renewable energy factory was a scam.
Rick Short said his company RASCO was going to make renewable energy equipment and telecommunications systems for export to African villages, creating 765 jobs. Sporting a new haircut and glasses, he was awarded $9.1 million on state funding on Tuesday, among a group of other job-creating companies.
But former CNN reporter Patrick Clawson uncovered his past as a convicted embezzler, as the Detroit Free Press reports today.
Greg Main, Michigan Economic Development Corp. president and CEO, said background checks will become standard procedure from now on.”Needless to say, we are embarrassed,” Main said in the statement. “We work hard to grow, expand and attract business in Michigan and are proud of our achievements. We are taking the necessary steps to ensure situations such as this do not happen in the future.”
Mr Short is reportedly back behind bars this morning for a parole violation – failing to pay money he owes following his past crimes – although the announcement about his tax credits is still on Governor Granholm’s website.
Questions raised over emissions from biomass plants »
The Oregon timber industry - benefits can be gained as biomass power projects replace the open burning of waste
The Oregonian discussed the difficult subject of biomass carbon emissions yesterday, revealing some concerns about a 18MW biomass project being built at the Seneca wood products site in Eugene, Oregon.
The article discloses the concerns of the local water and electric board, which is looking to buy power from the Seneca facility. It states:
The plant features West Coast-leading pollution controls endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s projected to release far less pollution than the usual practice of burning slash piles in the woods.
However, the eye-catching line soon comes: “it will also release more carbon dioxide and lung-damaging particulates than a comparable coal-fired power plant”.
This is the kind of statement that the headline-writers will pick out in other publications, no doubt. The statement that Oregonian readers will read out to friends and colleagues – whether true or not.
It takes until virtually the last line of a long article for us to discover that the timber company currently has to burn its wood waste out in the open, with no pollution controls at all – at least the new plant will feature pollution control systems.
Is there any point to a voluntary Renewables Standard? »
While Congressmen are facing a barrage of lobbying from the clean energy sector in Washington DC this week over the need for a national Renewable Energy Standard, Louisiana’s regulators are discussing their own version.
But in Louisiana, the proposal on the table is for a voluntary standard, which begs the obvious question – what’s the point?
A Renewable Energy Standard is in effect a requirement for power utilities to source a certain proportion of their electricity supplies from renewable energy projects. It might cost a little more in the short term, but in the longer term these utitilies would be protected from potential price instability in the fossil fuels sector – while improving local air quality and their impact on climate change.
In Europe, where an equivalent renewable energy target has been driving renewable energy investments for the past several years, utilities are used to such a mechanism.
But their support has been based on there being a level playing field – if one company has to face such a requirement, all companies should face such a requirement. Then, they can explain to their shareholders or rate-payers that everybody has to do it.
A voluntary Renewable Energy Standard, on the other hand, means that you can source your power from renewable electricity if you want to. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to.
Isn’t that the case already in Louisiana, and elsewhere?
A national renewable energy standard is a good idea, and more than 27 states have decided a local renewable energy standard is a good idea. But a voluntary target is hardly worth the paper it’s written on.
Perhaps lawmakers think they can squeeze a voluntary standard in through the opposing voices, but at the end of the day, what’s the point? More than likely, it’s a chance for politicians to say: “Renewable energy? Let’s not, and say we did”.
Senator Bob Casey’s office – researchers required »
Putting a news statement out today demanding an end to federal stimulus money going to foreign companies, you’d think a Senator could spare five minutes of time to check that a company he praises within that statement is not foreign-owned.
Even one of his researchers.
But Bob Casey’s mistake in highlighting Gamesa USA’s creation of jobs in his home state of Pennsylvania seems to be symptomatic of the flaws in his entire argument in calling for a moratorium on Recovery Act funds going to foreign-owned projects. It’s a Spanish company, but has operations in the US, along with operations in many other countries.
Global free trade rules mean foreign companies can operate in the US, and benefit US workers in doing so. To put a hold on clean energy developments across the board will threaten more US jobs than the senators’ legislation will support.
Then, when the legislation comes into effect, it will mean less investment in the US by foreign companies – and therefore, thousands of US jobs will go.
Recycle the Bay Bridge as a renewable energy generator? »
Room for a turbine or two? The Bay Bridge, currently being replaced
A nice idea from the San Francisco Chronicle today – use the old Bay Bridge as a host for renewable energy generation systems after its current replacement.
The San Francisco to Oakland bridge, as built in 1936, is now being replaced by a new link due for completion in 2013.
But, instead of just knocking down the old one, which features towers in the middle stretching 519 feet high, why not use it as a platform for wind turbines and solar panels, says SF Chronicle columnist John King.
“Imagine, for instance, that experimental wind turbines dotted the structure, corkscrews whirling in the stiff afternoon wind. Or a thin-sliced row of photovoltaic solar panels stretched across the top of the span, harvesting the sun on all but the foggiest days.”
Arizona lawmakers burying their heads in the sand »
While other states are currently in the process of strengthening their own Renewable Energy Standards, seeing the economic development and employment potential in a growing – and sustainable – industry, Arizona appears to be trying to shoot itself in the foot.
The state doesn’t even have a particularly stringent Standard, considering the potential of its sun-drenched wide open spaces to host renewable energy facilities.
Aiming for a 15% renewable electricity rate by 2025 means reaching a target half that of many other states. Arizona may be starting from a lower base than some, but other states are setting even higher goals in a bid to attract clean energy companies.
The solar industry is naturally opposing legislation that set it additional red tape to get through, but the addition of nuclear power in Arizona’s definition of “renewable power” is truly strange.
Success from the Recovery Act – new jobs, but for how long? »
One year after President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, the renewable energy industries have been keen to highlight the jobs that the measure has created.
Yesterday saw the solar industry suggesting that 18,000 jobs were created in solar power and heating activities during 2009.
While opponents, led by last week’s ABC World report, may be worried about foreign companies benefitting from the Recovery Act tax credits instead of “American” companies, it has to be said that foreign-owned companies employ hundreds of thousands of workers here.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which made the 18,000 estimate for US solar sector jobs created in 2009, said 50 solar manufacturing plants were also established thanks to the Recovery Act. US-based manufacturing plants create US jobs – that cannot be doubted.
The real issue people should worried about is whether there are long-term arrangements in place to continue supporting these American jobs in alternative energy.
