All Entries in the "Energy" Category

Nuclear Industry to Vermont: ‘Drop Dead’

Harvey Wasserman -

The nuclear power industry is sending a clear and forceful message to the citizens of Vermont: “Drop Dead.”

The greeting applies to Ohio, New York, California and a nation under assault from a “renaissance” so far hyped with more than $640 million in corporate cash.

The Vermont attack includes:

1) A direct threat to ignore the state Senate’s 26-4 February vote against renewing the Yankee reactor’s operating license. As a condition of buying Yankee, Entergy long-ago ceded to the legislature approval of any extension of an operating license, which expires in 2012. But Entergy now says it will spend all the corporate cash it needs to evict the current Senate and install one more to its liking.

Full Story: Nuclear Industry to Vermont: ‘Drop Dead’ | CommonDreams.org.

America’s Premiere Wave Power Farm Sets Sail

Wave energy is among the impressive list of renewable energy resources that is being developed in the United States. New Jersey-based developer, Ocean Power Technologies has launched a project that features the nation’s first commercial wave power farm off the coast of Reedsport, Oregon. Once the project is completed, wave energy will generate power for several hundred homes in Oregon. The wave power farm operates on the wave energy that is created when a float on a buoy flows with the natural up and down movement of the waves.

This action subsequently causes an attached plunger to follow the same kind of ebb and flow movement. The plunger is attached to a hydraulic pump that changes the vertical movement to a circular motion, which drives an electric generator to produce electricity that is sent to shore through submerged cables.

When the initial project is finished, the first $4 million dollar buoy will measure 150 feet tall by 40 feet wide, weighing 200 tons. Nine more of these crafts will be set in motion by the year 2012 for a total cost of $60 million dollars. About four hundred homes will receive electricity from Oregon’s wave power farm by the completion of the project.

Full Story: America’s Premiere Wave Power Farm Sets Sail.

Cracks found in critical reactor parts at Davis-Besse power plant

OAK HARBOR, Ohio — Inspectors working at FirstEnergy Corp.’s Davis-Besse power plant near Toledo have uncovered the same kind of cracking in critical reactor lid parts that were the cause of massive corrosion found at the plant eight years ago.

In a routine report filed early today with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company said inspectors using sophisticated ultrasonic instruments had found indications of cracking in 12 of the 69 metal tubes that carry control rods through the reactor lid.

Davis-Besse has been down since Feb. 28 for regular refueling and plant-wide inspections and maintenance. Workers late last week began instrument-assisted inspections of all 69 of the corrosion-resistant tubes, known as “nozzles” in the industry because they protrude from the reactor lid several feet and resemble nozzles.

Full Story: Cracks found in critical reactor parts at Davis-Besse power plant | cleveland.com.

Restoring Leadership in U.S. Solar Manufacturing

The U.S. has done little to maintain its place of prominence in manufacturing as the rest of the world caught up and eventually surpassed us. Now, we may add solar manufacturing to our growing list of losses.

After the end of the Second World War virtually anything produced anywhere in the world could and would be produced in the United States. American corporations founded many industries that are ubiquitous around the world today. We not only created the nuclear weapon, but its peaceful counterpart nuclear energy.

We created the first telephone systems, and then the first mobile phone systems.

We created the automobile and were once major champions of passenger rail.

We created the personal computer as well as the Internet, which has perhaps done more to integrate the world than any other product or system in existence today.

Full Story: Restoring Leadership in U.S. Solar Manufacturing | Economy In Crisis.

“Peak Oil Period” to Be Attained By 2014, Alarm Scientists

This is serious issue of concern because as the definition of the term “peak oil” suggests, peak oil is the period when the oil production after mounting to its maximum, starts to turn down. Therefore according to the study, the highest oil production will be seen in 2014 followed by a further decrease in production. This will pose a serious threat to the human comfort as we are very much reliant on the petroleum and related products in almost everything, majorly our transporting system.

It has also been revealed that total of 54% of fuel has been used by now and the remaining will be reached within four years 2014 i. e. the highest of 79 million stock tank barrels per day. Scientists are terming this conclusion as “alarming” and are saying that their warnings are resulted only after considering “best available information”.

Full Story: “Peak Oil Period” to Be Attained By 2014, Alarm Scientists | TopNews United States.

Underwater Skyscraper is a Self-Sufficient City at Sea

Ocean levels are rising around the globe, so rather than tethering our buildings to the sinking shoreline why not suit them for a life at sea? That’s the approach behind the Water-Scraper, a futuristic self-sufficient floating city. A special mention in this year’s eVolo Skyscraper Competition, the design expands the concept of a floating island into a full-fledged underwater skyscraper that harvests renewable energy and grows its own food.

Touted as a self-sufficent floating city, Sarly Adre Bin Sarkum’s Water-Scraper utilizes a variety of green technologies. It generates its own electricity using wave, wind, and solar power and it produces its own food through farming, aquaculture, and hydroponic techniques. The surface of the submerged skyscraper sustains a small forest, while the lower levels contain spaces for its inhabitants to live and work. The building is kept upright using a system of ballasts aided by a set of squid-like tentacles that generate kinetic energy.

The architects “envision a future where land as a resource will be scarce; it is only natural progression that we create our own. Approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface is ocean, even more if climate change has its way, hence it is only natural progression that we will populate the seas someday.” As anyone who has seen Waterworld will attest, it’s a grim future indeed — which is why it’s essential that we do what we can to stem the course of the world’s rising tides.

Full Story: Underwater Skyscraper is a Self-Sufficient City at Sea | Inhabitat.

Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy’s limits

In making the case for a rapid conversion away from heavily polluting energy sources like coal and nuclear power to cleaner generation, renewable energy advocates often confront the argument that their scheme is impossible due to the intermittent nature of sun and wind.

But a groundbreaking study out of North Carolina challenges that conventional wisdom: It suggests that backup generation requirements would be modest for a system based largely on solar and wind power, combined with efficiency, hydroelectric power, and other renewable sources like landfill gas.

“Even though the wind does not blow nor the sun shine all the time, careful management, readily available storage and other renewable sources can produce nearly all the electricity North Carolinians consume,” said author John Blackburn, professor emeritus of economics and former chancellor at Duke University in Durham, N.C.. He’s also the author of the books “The Renewable Energy Alternative” and “Solar in Florida.”

Full Story: ISS – Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy’s limits.

The Solar Bus Goes to Washington

In October 2009, the Solar Bus led a march to the White House to call for climate change legislation. The march was part of a global effort in which protests and rallies were held all over the world at the same time, organized by 350.org.

Wind vs. Natural Gas

Today's Wall St. Journal includes a very interesting article on the real-world competition between wind power and electricity generated from fossil fuels. At least in Texas, steadily increasing wind generation has apparently come mainly at the expense of natural gas, rather than displacing coal-fired power, as might have been anticipated by many wind advocates. That has implications for the effectiveness of renewable energy policy as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as for the utilities and independent power generators that are complaining that wind has been given overly-preferential treatment.

Texas makes an interesting laboratory for demonstrating the practical consequences of our shift towards renewable energy. ERCOT, the Texas grid, has little connectivity with neighboring grids; power generated within Texas must, for the most part, be used in Texas, while demand in Texas must be met mainly by generators within the state. That makes the relationship between wind and fossil fuel generation more transparent than it would be in another region with larger imports and exports. The resulting statistics on gas generation displaced by wind, as presented in the article, are unlikely to surprise those familiar with the technologies involved.

As I've pointed out periodically, wind power is unlikely to displace much coal, since most coal plants are run in baseload mode–essentially 24×7–because that suits both their operating requirements and the grid's need for large quantities of predictable, low-cost power to handle routine loads. By contrast, wind turbines rely on the availability of wind blowing at speeds within a specified range. On average they put out about 30% of the full power for which they're rated, in patterns that vary from day to day and season to season. Gas offers much more flexibility than either coal or wind and is thus the supply most likely to be adjusted up or down to accommodate the output from wind when it's blowing or back-stop it when it's calm. From what I can tell from the article, the complaint from gas-based generating companies isn't that this is occurring, but that when wind generators come up short vs. their day-ahead commitments to the grid, the penalty falls on everyone else, not on the responsible wind farms. This constitutes a hidden subsidy, on top of the ongoing benefit of the federal Production Tax Credit (currently available as an alternative Investment Tax Credit and payable as an up-front cash grant) and the Renewable Energy Credits generated under the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Full Story: Wind vs. Natural Gas.

California’s High Speed Rail Future

Many experts and industry insiders believe that the United States will have to embrace a future on the rails if it hopes to cope with obstacles and changes in years ahead. By and large our dependence on gas-powered vehicles has proven to be both hazardous to our environment and disastrous for our wallet.

Anyone who has ever traveled around Europe, Japan, or increasingly China, has seen the dependence that passengers have on long rail networks. Railways in the U.S. are almost completely dominated by freight transportation; travelers utilize a small proportion of our network. Many millions of Americans use subways and regional, or municipal, transit; but there is very little infrastructure to travel long distances.

Many experts and industry insiders believe that the United States will have to embrace a future on the rails if it hopes to cope with obstacles and changes in years ahead. By and large our dependence on gas-powered vehicles has proven to be both hazardous to our environment and disastrous for our wallet.

Our nation may never completely break its addictive bond with automobiles, but it could potentially lessen the burden by rebuilding passenger rail systems that have long been an afterthought.

Full Story: California’s High Speed Rail Future | Economy In Crisis.

Nuclear Projects Waiting on Financial Backing

Obtaining financing for nuclear reactors, a key portion of the Obama administration’s alternative energy policy, is proving to be extremely difficult despite billions of dollars in federal loan guarantees, according to The Washington Post.

According to The Post, obtaining private capital for nuclear projects has always been a major obstacle to increasing the usage of nuclear power in the U.S. Extremely costly to begin with, the construction of nuclear power plants have a tendency to run over schedule and over budget.

The government has guaranteed up to $18.5 billion in financing, however, that may cover just one construction project. A proposed project in Georgia, which would build two nuclear reactors if approved, is expected to cost $14 billion.

Full Story: Nuclear Projects Waiting on Financial Backing | Economy In Crisis.

Coda Automotive to launch all-electric vehicle in the fourth quarter

As Coda Automotive prepares to launch its all-electric, China-built sedan in California in the fourth quarter of 2010, the Santa Monica company said it is focused on safety.

“We’ve worked to make it a safe car so [that], above all, families can use it,” said Dan Mosher, Coda’s chief financial officer at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. “We are working to achieve the highest safety standards so that we can get a five-star crash rating. We’ll have a passenger-side occupant detection airbag, which is the most advanced 2011 model safety standard.”

In recent months, Coda has finalized the sedan’s engineering, settled on component suppliers and announced a joint venture with leading Chinese battery manufacturer Lishen. Last week, it also revealed that it had raised an additional $5 million.

Still on its to do list: meet the government’s safety requirements.

Full Story: Coda Automotive to launch all-electric vehicle in the fourth quarter | Technology | Los Angeles Times.

Opel to launch inner-city electric car

Ailing carmaker Opel is considering launching an electric car for inner-city use to tap what it sees as a high-potential market, the firm’s boss said in an interview Sunday.

“We are thinking about a small electric vehicle,” the chief of the General Motors unit, Nick Reilly, told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

“We believe there is strong potential for growth in cities across the world,” he added, predicting that “various governments are going to provide fiscal support for this kind of vehicle.”

An Opel spokesman said the new model — which would be smaller than the Corsa — was expected to be launched in three years, in both electric and conventional fuel versions.

Full Story: Opel to launch inner-city electric car – Yahoo! News.

Nuclear Power Renaissance Faces Serious Obstacles

The renaissance of nuclear power in the U.S. appears inevitable. It just may not happen as smoothly as the Obama administration and others hope.

The Vermont Senate’s vote Wednesday to block a license renewal for an Entergy plant shows that supporters of nuclear power still have big obstacles to overcome. Those include the growing costs for new plants, environmental worries and the age of the country’s existing nuclear fleet.

“I think if you said ‘ready, go’ today, any kind of meaningful addition would be 10 years down the road,” said Eric Melvin of Mobius Risk.

Full Story: Nuclear Power Renaissance Faces Serious Obstacles.

Nuclear subsidies put taxpayers at risk

Power companies call defaults unlikely

President Obama’s plan to kick-start the construction of nuclear power plants in the United States comes with a big catch: Because private banks won’t lend to an industry viewed as financially risky, taxpayers would be accountable for billions in government-guaranteed loans if plant developers default.

Full Story: Nuclear subsidies put taxpayers at risk – The Boston Globe.

Coal-Fired Power on the Way Out?

Analysis by Lester R. Brown –

The past two years have witnessed the emergence of a powerful movement opposing the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States. Initially led by environmental groups, both national and local, it has since been joined by prominent national political leaders and many state governors.

The principal reason for opposing coal plants is that they are changing the earth's climate. There is also the effect of mercury emissions on health and the 23,600 U.S. deaths each year from power plant air pollution.

Over the last few years the coal industry has suffered one setback after another. The Sierra Club, which has kept a tally of proposed coal-fired power plants and their fates since 2000, reports that 123 plants have been defeated, with another 51 facing opposition in the courts.

Full Story: ENERGY: Coal-Fired Power on the Way Out?.

Bloom Box Launch: Bloom Energy Press Conference Criticized For Being Light On Details

A richly funded clean-energy startup is keeping critical parts of its business plan secret as it launches its first product amid fanfare.

The Silicon Valley company, Bloom Energy, didn’t offer many new details Wednesday about how it plans to make its promising fuel-cell technology affordable enough for regular people to buy for their homes.

That’s an important question because the company’s product – a box of fuel cells that looks like a giant filing cabinet – currently costs $700,000. Corporations are the first customers, but Bloom Energy wants to cut the price to a few thousand dollars and put it in homes.

Full Story: Bloom Box Launch: Bloom Energy Press Conference Criticized For Being Light On Details.

U.S. Nuclear Reactors Could be Made in China

Many leaders in the manufacturing industry fear that China could take a leading role in producing many of the essential parts that will go into the reactors.

Groups representing some of America’s top manufacturers are registering complaints publicly and with the Obama administration over the proposed federal loan guarantee to build two nuclear reactors in Georgia, the manufacturing of which they say will be sourced overseas.

American manufacturers claim that jobs created by taxpayer-backed loan guarantees should be domestic jobs. They also claim that the nuclear reactor components should be American-made due to safety concerns.

The Obama administration last week announced $8.33 billion in loan guarantees for the creation of two new nuclear reactors to be built near Augusta, Georgia, saying the project will create hundreds of American jobs.

Full Story: U.S. Nuclear Reactors Could be Made in China | Economy In Crisis.

Vermont Senate Votes to Close Nuclear Plant

In an unusual state foray into nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 Wednesday to block a license extension for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials and other problems.

Unless the chamber reverses itself, it would be the first time in more than 20 years that the public or its representatives decided to close a reactor.

The vote came barely over a week after President Obama declared a new era of rebirth for the nation’s nuclear industry, announcing federal loan guarantees of $8.3 billion to assure the construction of a twin-reactor plant near Augusta, Ga.

Vermont Yankee’s recent troubles are viewed by some as a challenge to arguments that reactors are clean, well run and worth the enormous investment involved in building and operating them.

Full Story: Vermont Senate Votes to Close Nuclear Plant – NYTimes.com.

$645 MILLION in Lipstick for a Dead Radioactive Pig

Harvey  Wasserman -

The mystery has been solved.

Where is this “new reactor renaissance” coming from?

There has been no deep, thoughtful re-making or re-evaluation of atomic technology. No solution to the nuke waste problem. No making reactors economically sound. No private insurance against radioactive disasters by terror or error. No grassroots citizens now desperate to live near fragile containment domes and outtake pipes spewing radioactive tritium at 27 US reactors.

No, nothing about atomic energy has really changed.

Except this: $645 MILLION for lobbying Congress and the White House over the past ten years.

As reported by Judy Pasternak and a team of reporters at American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop, filings with the Senate Office of Public Records show that members of the Nuclear Energy Institute and other reactor owner/operators admit spending that money on issues that “include legislation to promote construction of new nuclear power plants.”

Full Story: $645 MILLION in Lipstick for a Dead Radioactive Pig | BuzzFlash.org.

Obama’s nuclear vision suffers setback as Vermont plant faces shutdown

Vermont would be the first state to close a nuclear reactor after 38-year-old Yankee’s history of leaking cancer-causing tritium

Barack Obama’s new dream of a nuclear renaissance faces a major reality check tomorrow when the state of Vermont is expected to shut down an ageing nuclear reactor with a history of leaks.

It would be the first time a state has moved to shut down such a reactor, and follows Obama’s announcement last week of $8.3bn (£5.4bn) in loan guarantees for the construction of two new reactors in Georgia. White House officials said the money would help spur a burst of new construction – the first since the Three Mile Island meltdown.

The Vermont Yankee, one of America’s oldest reactors, has had several leaks of radioactive tritium dating back to 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said yesterday.

Full Story: Obama’s nuclear vision suffers setback as Vermont plant faces shutdown | Environment | guardian.co.uk.

Stop The Nukespeak: Tell Us The Truth About Nuclear Power!

Nearly twenty years ago I co-wrote Nukespeak, a cultural history of the selling of nuclear technology for both peaceful and military purposes.

My co-authors and I dedicated the book to George Orwell, whose literary creation of ‘newspeak’ in the classic novel 1984 illustrated the power to control reality through the adroit manipulation of language. The euphemisms, obfuscations and omissions employed by nuclear boosters throughout both industry and government – what one writer has called the “linguistic cosmetics” used “to avoid communicating uncomfortable or threatening thoughts so that the nuclear industry can control the images and perceptions of nuclear power” — were so clearly reminiscent of Orwellian thought control that the homage seemed, if anything, perhaps a little too obvious.

Thus, in Nukespeak, proponents speak of “health effects” when they really mean “cancer.” Accidents such as the infamous one at Three Mile Island are merely “anomalies,” “significant events” or “abnormal occurrences” — and when they recur, they are re-dubbed “normal abnormalities.” Radioactive substances such as Strontium-90 are measured in “sunshine units,” and when deadly plutonium somehow goes missing, it’s simply a “MUF – material unaccounted for.” “Boundless energy” to save us from “freezing in the dark” would be “too cheap to meter” – if we only went nuclear…

Full Story: Media Channel 2.0 — Blog — Stop The Nukespeak: Tell Us The Truth About Nuclear Power!.

OPS: How long before they bring back the term “Sunshine Dust”

Keep ‘Made in Asia’ label off the U.S. nuclear revival

Chinese parts in American Nuclear Reactors?

Set aside your views on the safety and efficacy of nuclear power for a minute and think about this: Is it desirable to trade America’s dependence on foreign oil for dependence on renewables and nuclear energy manufacturing abroad? Worse yet, should we allow our tax dollars to make this possible?

Sadly, that may be our reality. A made-in-China Texas wind farm project last year was slated for federal assistance. Fortunately, a public outcry and outrage from Congress will likely ensure that more of its wind energy components are manufactured in the U.S. But, a potentially bigger battle lies ahead.

With the Obama administration’s announcement of $8.33 billion in federal loan guarantees for two proposed reactors in Burke, Ga., tax dollars may in fact be headed to Asia to support the manufacture of nuclear components. Already, Japan — home of recall-plagued Toyota — may approve financing for the nuclear project, an indication that some high-value components will be made there. And, given China’s keen interest in rapidly developing its own nuclear power generating and manufacturing capability, it is highly likely that Chinese manufacturers of steel and other nuclear components have some skin in the game, as well.

Full Story: Keep ‘Made in Asia’ label off the U.S. nuclear revival – TheHill.com.

The Bloom Box (VIDEO): An Energy Plant In A Box To Power Your Home

Two of these blocks can power an American home, while one will suffice for a European home. A stack of 64 can power a small business. What is this magical box and where can you get one?

It’s the Bloom Box, essentially a power plant in a box, and it claims to be the latest breakthrough in clean energy technology. You can’t get one yet, but K.R. Sridhar, founder of Bloom Energy, says there will be one in every American home in five to 10 years.

Sridhar has been developing the technology for the past 10 years, and its all been kept relatively under wraps. The company made their first public appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday, in an exclusive interview with Lesley Stahl preceding the company’s official launch this Wednesday.

Sridhar invented a new kind of fuel cell that is entirely self-sufficient. He feeds oxygen into one side of a cell while fuel is supplied to the other side. The two combine, forming a chemical reaction that produce electricity.

Full Story: The Bloom Box (VIDEO): An Energy Plant In A Box To Power Your Home.

Chevrolet Volt’s official fuel economy: 230 mpg

Ultra-high mileage for GM’s electric-drive Volt could give it a marketing boost.

The Chevrolet Volt, GM’s electric car that’s expected to go on sale in late 2010, is projected to get an estimated 230 miles per gallon, the automaker announced Tuesday.

That exceptionally high government mileage rating could give the Volt a major boost. For the first time, car buyers will easily be able to compare electric cars with ordinary gas-powered cars.

“Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy can and will be a game changer for us,” said GM CEO Fritz Henderson.

Full Story: Chevrolet Volt’s official fuel economy: 230 mpg – Aug. 11, 2009.

Internet-charged hybrid vehicle tech croudsources electricity generation

Owners could actually get paid $30 an hour when contributing power to the grid

US researchers unveiled a vehicle Thursday that earns money for its driver instead of guzzling it up in gasoline and maintenance costs.

The converted Toyota Scion xB, shown at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science here, is the first electric car to be linked to a power grid and serve as a cash cow.

“This is the first vehicle that’s ever been paid to participate in the grid — the first proof of concept vehicle,” Ken Huber, who oversees technological development at wholesale electricity coordinator PJM Interconnection, told AFP.

The presentation of the box-like, unassuming looking Scion was the researchers’ way of introducing the “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G) concept as it begins to gain momentum in the United States and around the world.

Full Story: Internet-charged hybrid vehicle tech croudsources electricity generation | Raw Story.

Peak oil notes – Energy Bulletin

Prices and production

Oil prices have been volatile this week, opening at $75 on Monday, falling below $73 on Tuesday and closing at $77.33 on Wednesday. The prospects for a Greek bail-out, movement of the Euro, and hopes for a US economic recovery were major factors behind the activity. On Tuesday, oil prices gained nearly 4 percent on a falling dollar and a stock market rally. While the weekly stocks report has been delayed until Thursday because of the President’s day holiday, the API reported that US crude inventories fell by 63,000 barrels; gasoline and distillate inventories increased by nearly 3 million barrels, suggesting that demand remains weak.

MasterCard reported that US gasoline demand fell to the lowest level in since the 2008 Gulf hurricanes last week; however, record snowstorms across the much of the US kept drivers off the roads.

Iran

The US stepped up the pressure on Iran this week with Secretary of State Clinton, National Security Advisor Jones and JCS Chairman Admiral Mullins all making public statements concerning the situation. Clinton said evidence is accumulating that Iran intends to produce nuclear weapons and is headed towards a Revolutionary Guard military dictatorship, while Jones and Mullins talked of imposing tough sanctions on Iran. According to the Israeli press, Mullins told reporters in Israel that a military strike option is still on the table. The New York Times ran a story saying that after a year of diplomatic efforts, the Obama administration was nearing the end of its patience with Tehran.

Full Story Peak oil notes – Feb 18 | Energy Bulletin.

Honda – solar hydrogen prototype in Los Angeles

Honda has started operations for a solar powered hydrogen fuelling station, at the Los Angeles Center of Honda Research and Development Americas.

The power station is intended to used in people’s homes, so they can fill up hydrogen vehicles themselves. The unit will fit in a garage.

The system has been designed so it does not need a compressor (the compressor was the largest and most expensive component).

Full Story The Hydrogen Journal.

Obama’s Nuclear Option

Amy Goodman -

President Barack Obama is going nuclear. He announced the initial $8 billion in loan guarantees for construction of the first new nuclear power plants in the United States in close to three decades. Obama is making good on a campaign pledge, like his promises to escalate the war in Afghanistan and to unilaterally attack in Pakistan. And like his “Af-Pak” war strategy, Obama’s publicly financed resuscitation of the nuclear power industry in the U.S. is bound to fail, another taxpayer bailout waiting to happen.

Opponents of the plan, which includes a tripling of existing nuclear plant construction-loan guarantees to $54.5 billion, span the ideological spectrum. On its most basic level, the economics of nuclear power generation simply doesn’t make sense. The cost to construct these behemoths is so huge, and the risks are so great, that no sensible investor, no banks, no hedge funds will invest in their construction.

No one will loan a power company the money to build a power plant, and the power companies refuse to spend their own money. Obama himself professes a passion for the free market, telling Bloomberg BusinessWeek, “We are fierce advocates for a thriving, dynamic free market.” Well, the free market long ago abandoned nuclear power. The right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation remarked, “Expansive loan guarantee programs … are wrought with problems. At a minimum, they create taxpayer liabilities, give recipients preferential treatment, and distort capital markets.”

Full Story Amy Goodman: Obama’s Nuclear Option – Truthdig.

Five Reasons NOT to Invest in Nuclear Power

Yesterday, President Obama announced that the Energy department will provide an $8.3 billion loan guarantee to the Southern Co. for its proposed nuclear power plant near Augusta, GA. “The loan guarantee program for new nuclear power plants not only will further the nation’s commitment to clean energy, Obama said, “but also will assist in creating jobs in American communities.” Unfortunately, nuclear energy isn’t safe or clean and it’s too costly for the nation.

News coverage has been mostly supportive and, in some cases, bordering on cheerleading. In his blog for the Atlantic magazine, Editor Daniel Indiviglio laid out “five reasons to cheer Obama’s ambition.” Let’s take a closer look at these “five reasons.”

Reason #1: “Nuclear power is a known quantity. The U.S. has been successfully using this energy source for a very long time.”

Nuclear power is certainly well known to Wall Street, which despite its recent debacles, has refused to fund power reactors for more than 30 years because of their financial risks. Reactor construction costs climbed as high as 380 percent above expectations during the boom period for nuclear in the 1970s. Nuclear investors eventually wrote off about $17 billion. Consider the 1979 Three Mile Island Accident, in which TMI investors lost about $2 billion in about an hour, when the reactor core started to melt. Nuclear energy has depended primarily on the financial burden being born by the tax payer and rate payer. This is hardly a success story.

Full Story Robert Alvarez: Five Reasons NOT to Invest in Nuclear Power.

Isaac Asimov Time Essay: The Nightmare Life Without Fuel

1977 -

Americans are so used to limitless energy supplies that they can hardly imagine what life might be like when the fuel really starts to run out. So TIME asked Science Writer Isaac Asimov for his vision of an energy-poor society that might exist at the end of the 20th century. The following portrait, Asimov noted, “need not prove to be accurate. It is a picture of the worst, of waste continuing, of oil running out, of nothing in its place, of world population continuing to rise. But then, that could happen, couldn’t it?”

So it’s 1997, and it’s raining, and you’ll have to walk to work again. The subways are crowded, and any given train breaks down one morning out of five. The buses are gone, and on a day like today the bicycles slosh and slide. Besides, you have only a mile and a half to go, and you have boots, raincoat and rain hat. And it’s not a very cold rain, so why not?

Lucky you have a job in demolition too. It’s steady work.

Slow and dirty, but steady. The fading structures of a decaying city are the great mineral mines and hardware shops of the nation. Break them down and re-use the parts. Coal is too difficult to dig up and transport to give us energy in the amounts we need, nuclear fission is judged to be too dangerous, the technical breakthrough toward nuclear fusion that we hoped for never took place, and solar batteries are too expensive to maintain on the earth’s surface in sufficient quantity.

Full Story Time Essay: The Nightmare Life Without Fuel – TIME.

217 possibly exposed to radiation at Ont. plant

Up to 217 workers may have been exposed to nuclear radiation at a Bruce nuclear power plant near Owen Sound, Ont., says the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in a document released Tuesday.

The nuclear safety watchdog first confirmed last month that workers who were upgrading the Bruce A Unit 1 reactor may have been exposed to radiation.

A routine airborne sample taken on the morning of Nov. 26 at the plant threw up some red flags, according to a preliminary report by Bruce Power. Further testing of samples uncovered the presence of alpha particles, which can damage human tissue and cause cancer.

Full Story CBC News – Toronto – 217 possibly exposed to radiation at Ont. plant.

Obama’s Atomic Blunder

by Harvey Wasserman  -

As Vermont seethes with radioactive contamination and the Democratic Party crumbles, Barack Obama has plunged into the atomic abyss.

In the face of fierce green opposition and withering scorn from both liberal and conservative budget hawks, Obama has done what George W. Bush could not—pledge billions of taxpayer dollars for a relapse of the 20th Century’s most expensive technological failure.

Obama has announced some $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for two new reactors planned for Georgia. Their Westinghouse AP-1000 designs have been rejected by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as being unable to withstand natural cataclysms like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.

The Vogtle site was to originally host four reactors at a total cost of $600 million; it wound up with two at $9 billion.

Full Story Obama’s Atomic Blunder | BuzzFlash.org.

Energy Sec Unaware That Nuclear Loans Have 50 Percent Risk of Default

The Obama administration on Tuesday announced a loan guarantee for the first new nuclear reactor to be built in the US in decades—part of a planned $54.5 billion program to kickstart a nuclear revival using government-backed loans. Yet Chu said he was not aware of a Congressional Budget Office study showing that the chances of default on these loans are “very high—well above 50 percent.”

“I don’t know of the CBO report,” Chu told reporters during a conference call on Tuesday. “We don’t believe the chance of default is 50 percent. We believe it’s far less than that.” The first loan guarantee, worth $8.33 billion, was awarded to two proposed reactors to be built by Southern Company at Plant Vogtle in Burke, Georgia.

As Mother Jones has reported, the proposal to encourage nuclear construction via massive federally backed loans represents a major risk for the US taxpayer. While the nuclear industry as recently as 2005 claimed the price tag for a reactor was $2 billion, independent estimates now put the cost as high as $12 billion.

Full Story Energy Sec Unaware That Nuclear Loans Have 50 Percent Risk of Default | Mother Jones.

Obama Nuclear Plant: President To Announce Loan Guarantee For More Than $8 Billion

President Barack Obama is highlighting a new investment in energy jobs with an announcement that the government will guarantee more than $8 billion in loans needed to build the first U.S. nuclear power plant in nearly three decades.

Obama was to make remarks Tuesday after touring a job training center at the headquarters of Local 26 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in nearby Lanham, Md. The union represents electrical and telecommunications workers, and it offers training useful for energy jobs, including the construction of nuclear power plants.

Obama was expected to announce a total of $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees to build and operate a pair of reactors in Burke County, Ga., by Southern Co., an administration official said Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of Obama’s announcement.

Full Story Obama Nuclear Plant: President To Announce Loan Guarantee For More Than $8 Billion.

Report Says Cape Wind Would Save Billions

An offshore wind farm in the Nantucket Sound could save the New England region billions of dollars over 25 years, according to a new report.

The long-debated Cape Wind project, which would install 130 offshore wind turbines roughly five miles from the nearest shore, would be the first of its kind in the United States. It would cover 24 square miles in the sound.

The turbines would supply about 10 percent of the 2013 power demand in Southeastern Massachusetts and about 1 percent of the total 2013 New England demand.

The project would save the New England region about $185 million a year, according to the report, which was prepared this month by Charles River Associates and commissioned by backers of the project. Over 25 years, this would amount to $4.6 billion.

Full Story Report Says Cape Wind Would Save Billions – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com.

Oil groups mount legal challenge to Schwarzenegger’s tar sands ban

A lobby group that includes BP and Shell in its membership has launched a legal challenge against low-carbon legislation in California that in effect rules out the use of oil from Canadian tar sands. The action by the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) comes amid growing political, investor and consumer pressure on US oil companies not to participate in the carbon-intensive tar sands of Alberta.

A NPRA statement said the legislation was unlawful for a number of reasons, including the imposition of “undue and unconstitutional burdens on interstate commerce”.

It claimed the legislation would also have “little or no impact” on greenhouse gas emissions nationwide and would harm US energy security “by discouraging the use of Canadian crude oil and ethanol produced in the American midwest”.

The refiners are joined by the American Trucking Associations and the Centre for North American Energy Security in their attempt to overturn legislation from California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wants to cut C02 emissions from transport by 10% by 2020.

Full Story Oil groups mount legal challenge to Schwarzenegger’s tar sands ban | Business | The Guardian.

Nuclear Does Not Make Economic Sense Say Studies

The enormous technical and financial risks involved in the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants make them prohibitive for private investors, rebutting the thesis of a renaissance in nuclear energy, say several independent European studies.

The risks include high construction costs, likely long delays in building, extended periods of depreciation of equipment inherent to the construction and operation of new power plants and the lack of guarantees for prices of electricity.

Adding to these is the global meltdown and the consequent cautious behaviour of investors as also fiscal and revenue difficulties of governments in the industrialised countries, say the studies.

In the most recent analysis on the feasibility of new nuclear power plants, the Citibank group concludes that some of “the risks faced by developers … are so large and variable that individually they could each bring even the largest utility company to its knees financially.”

The Citibank paper, titled ‘New Nuclear – The Economics Say No’, lists five major risks developers and operators of new nuclear power plants must confront. These risks are planning, construction, power price, operational, and decommissioning. According to the study, most governments in industrialised countries today have only “sought to limit the planning risk” for investors.

Full Story ENERGY: Nuclear Does Not Make Economic Sense Say Studies – IPS ipsnews.net.

Hertz to include Nissan electric cars to fleet

Hertz will add Nissan’s electric vehicle to its lineup next year in the U.S. and Europe, the rental car company said Friday.

Hertz Corp., the world’s largest car rental agency, plans to use the Nissan Leaf, an all-electric vehicle with a rechargeable battery.

The Leaf can seat five adults and is designed to travel up to 100 miles on a single charge. It will be available at select Hertz rental sites, though the company did not specify where.

Full Story Hertz to include Nissan electric cars to fleet.

Walmart Made Millions Off Oregon’s Renewable Energy Tax Credits

Renewable Tax Incentives Gone Wild?

As much as we tout the importance of government support for the fledgling renewable energy industries like wind and solar, recent revelations in Oregon point out how these can get out of hand, and become a mess, fast. Until now, Oregon has had a generous business energy tax credit available designed to help its renewable energy sector. But due to the program’s massive popularity, curious loopholes, and apparent inefficiency, the state has voted to cut back on the credit. After all, the retail mammoth Walmart had raked in $11 million dollars by taking advantage of it–without ever touching a solar panel or a wind turbine.

Clean Energy Tax Credit Abuse?

Here’s what happened with Wal Mart, according to the Portland Oregonian:

Walmart took advantage of a provision in Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit that allows third parties with no ties to the green power industry to buy the credits at a discount and reduce their state income tax bills.

State records show Walmart paid $22.6 million in cash last year for the right to claim $33.6 million in energy tax credits. The cash went to seven projects, including two eastern Oregon wind farms and SolarWorld’s manufacturing plant in Hillsboro. In return, Walmart profits $11 million on the deal because that’s the difference between what it paid for the tax credit and the amount of its tax reduction.

Full Story Walmart Made Millions Off Oregon’s Renewable Energy Tax Credits : TreeHugger.

Biofuel ‘miracle crop’ jatropha failing to deliver

A “miracle” plant, once thought to be as the answer to producing renewable biofuels on a vast scale, is driving thousands of farmers in the developing world into food poverty, a damning report concludes today.

Five years ago jatropha was hailed by investors and scientists as a breakthrough in the battle to find a biofuel alternative to fossil fuels that would not further impoverish developing countries by diverting resources away from food production.

Jatropha was said to be resistant to drought and pests and able could grow on land that was unsuitable for food production. But researchers have found that it has increased poverty in countries including India and Tanzania.

Full Story Biofuel ‘miracle crop’ jatropha failing to deliver – Business – NZ Herald News.

No Nukes

Ralph Nader –
A generation of Americans has grown up without a single nuclear power plant being brought on line since before the near meltdown of the Three Mile Island structure in 1979. They have not been exposed to the enormous costs, risks and national security dangers associated with their operations and the large amount of radioactive wastes still without a safe, permanent storage place for tens of thousands of years.

All Americans better get informed soon, for a resurgent atomic power lobby wants the taxpayers to pick up the tab for relaunching this industry. Unless you get Congress to stop this insanely dirty and complex way to boil water to generate steam for electricity, you’ll be paying for the industry’s research, the industry’s loan guarantees and the estimated trillion dollars (inflation-adjusted) cost of just one meltdown, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, plus vast immediate and long-range casualties.

The Russian roulette-playing nuclear industry claims a class nine meltdown will never happen. That none of the thousands of rail cars, trucks and barges with radioactive wastes will ever have a catastrophic accident. That terrorists will forgo striking a nuclear plant or hijacking deadly materials, and go for far less consequential disasters.

Full Story No Nukes | CommonDreams.org.

Burn Up the Biosphere and Call It Renewable Energy: The New Taxpayer Bailout That Will Make You Sick AND Poor

Just when you thought the biofuels bad dream was about over along comes the nightmare of “biomass.”

Last week President Obama announced his plans to ensure that the mandate for biofuels, 36 billion gallons by 2022, voted into law in the Energy Independence and Security Act in 2007, is met, and to provide huge new supports through the USDA for the cutting, harvesting and transport of biomass (aka forests, plants) to be delivered to incinerators and burned as “renewable” electricity and heat.

The transportation biofuel mandate was adopted without clear consideration of the impacts of production on food, public health, direct and indirect land use, greenhouse gas emissions, soils, water or biodiversity. Since being passed into law, the critique of biofuels, particularly corn ethanol, has only grown deeper and more damning. Cellulosic fuels, not much available yet, will, according to mythology, avert these concerns because they are made from the inedible parts of plants. True, we do not eat forests, but creating huge new demands for wood is a recipe for disaster.

Lucky, technological hurdles have slowed the development of cellulosic fuels, but no such hurdles lie in the way of burning biomass for electricity and heat. Across the country, communities are being offered “green jobs” cutting, hauling and chipping their forests to feed the gaping maws of a new generation of “green energy” utilities being constructed or retrofitted in their neighborhoods. At least 200 new burners are proposed around the country. Further, many facilities that burn coal are seeking to co-fire biomass under the assumption that burning trees is a step up from burning coal. It’s not.

Full Story Burn Up the Biosphere and Call It Renewable Energy: The New Taxpayer Bailout That Will Make You Sick AND Poor | CommonDreams.org.

Stimulus Creating Green Jobs… Overseas

As intended, the $787 billion stimulus package is creating thousands of “green jobs,” yet, of the money spent thus far, eight of every $10 went to a foreign company.

As intended, the $787 billion stimulus package is creating thousands of “green jobs,” unfortunately the vast majority of those jobs are going overseas, according to a new report conducted jointly by the Investigative Reporting Workshop and ABC News.

So far, over $2 billion has been spent on wind energy projects through the stimulus package – enough to power 2.4 million homes, the report found.

Yet, of the money spent thus far, eight of every $10 went to a foreign company, the report says.

“This is one of those stories in Washington that when you tell people five miles outside the Beltway, or anywhere else in America, they cannot believe it,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, according to ABC News. “It makes people lose faith in government, and it frankly infuriates me.”

Full Story Stimulus Creating Green Jobs… Overseas | Economy In Crisis.

Incentives to going ‘off grid’ bring power to the people

The price of power has always been a political issue — but now campaigners argue it could be the key to starting a green energy revolution.

On February 1, the British Government announced details of the rates that will be paid for renewable power generated by homeowners and communities.

Called the Clean Energy Cashback, or feed-in tariff (FIT), the aim is to provide an above-market bonus that will encourage individuals and groups to invest in solar panels, wind turbines and other forms of green power.

Full Story Incentives to going ‘off grid’ bring power to the people – CNN.com.

Plug-in Hybrids: Renewable Energy Solution of the Month

Many people seem to think dealing with climate change will bring poverty and limit human development.

The truth may be exactly the opposite. Moving to a world of where we aren't fighting each other over the last few drops of oil, where energy is free, will mean a better life, with greater opportunities even for an expanding population. If we make the right decisions, we could be on the verge of the most prosperous period in human history.

The Future of High Speed Rail in Jeopardy

As it stands now the bidding for any rail projects will be open, as in, open to foreign companies as well. With almost no momentum domestically to build trains it is likely that these contracts will go to companies based in Canada, France, Japan, China, or a host of other countries.

After essentially dragging its feet for a year as it failed to push through financial or health care reform proposals, the Obama administration may have righted the ship in terms of picking up some of its progressive agendas.

During the presidential campaign then Senator Obama was all in favor of vast and comprehensive infrastructure projects that would revitalize the economy, create employment, and help America join the rest of the developed world. This was before the White House ran into the blatant obstructionist agenda of Republicans, and several bought and paid for Democrats, who took reasonable policies (financial reform, consumer protection, healthcare overhauls) and dragged them through the mud.

After having to combat the combined efforts of huge corporate policy agendas, and vast right-wing media propaganda, the Democrats and the president have absolutely nothing to show for any of their efforts. Now, with the 2010 election cycle underway, they are turning their attention to issues that are actually politically feasible.

Full Story The Future of High Speed Rail in Jeopardy | Economy In Crisis.

Branson warns of oil crunch within five years

Sir Richard Branson and fellow leading businessmen will warn ministers this week that the world is running out of oil and faces an oil crunch within five years.

The founder of the Virgin group, whose rail, airline and travel companies are sensitive to energy prices, will say that the ­coming crisis could be even more serious than the credit crunch.

“The next five years will see us face another crunch – the oil crunch. This time, we do have the chance to prepare. The challenge is to use that time well,” Branson will say.

“Our message to government and businesses is clear: act,” he says in a foreword to a new report on the crisis. “Don't let the oil crunch catch us out in the way that the credit crunch did.”

Full Story Branson warns of oil crunch within five years | Business | The Guardian.

Obama Eyes Biofuels, Clean Coal in New Climate Push

President Barack Obama announced new measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with “clean coal” technology on Wednesday in his latest move to keep climate change at the top of the country’s political agenda.

The administration also outlined a strategy to boost biofuels production, seeking to nudge the country toward energy independence while balancing the environmental costs of grain-based motor fuels.

The moves are part of Obama’s effort to gain more votes for a climate bill stalled in the Senate that will seek to boost production of clean, low-carbon energy and help the country reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels.

The climate bill faces further obstacles after the election last month in Massachusetts that gave Republicans a Senate seat long held by Democrats, depriving the president’s party of 60 votes that could overcome procedural hurdles.

Full Story Obama Eyes Biofuels, Clean Coal in New Climate Push | CommonDreams.org.

Transportation secretary says owners of recalled Toyotas should stop driving them

Transportation Secretary LaHood advises owners to seek repair at dealers

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood suggested Wednesday that owners of recalled Toyota vehicles stop driving them and seek a repair for the sticking accelerator problems that have forced the automaker to recall a record number of autos.

“My advice is if anybody owns one of these vehicles: stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have the fix for it,”  LaHood said in testimony before a House committee.

Earier, Lahood said he plans to speak with Toyota President Akio Toyoda about the automaker’s spate of recalls in the United States. LaHood confirms that the government is investigating potential electrical problems in Toyota vehicles.

Full Story Transport chief: Stop driving recalled Toyotas – Autos- msnbc.com.

EnerDel to invest $237M in Indiana lithium-ion battery plant

Lithium-ion battery manufacturer EnerDel will invest $237 million in a new manufacturing plant near its Indianapolis headquarters in order to meet anticipated demand for advanced battery systems used in both automotive and stationary smart grid applications.

Backed by a mix of private funds and public incentives, the new facilities will more than double EnerDel’s U.S. production capacity and create 1,400 new jobs.

The announcement came during a special unveiling at the EnerDel facility of the new EnerDel powered C30 electric vehicle platform for Volvo Cars, the best selling platform within Volvo. The unveiling was to commemorate 18 months of collaboration between the two companies, with EnerDel and Volvo management outlining the C30’s imminent path to commercialization to gathered media and investors. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joined EnerDel and Volvo executives for the event.

Full Story EnerDel to invest $237M in Indiana lithium-ion battery plant.

China: $7 billion for Las Vegas to Los Angeles maglev train

China may fund 300mph maglev train from Las Vegas, Nevada to Anaheim, California.

The Export-Import Bank of China has negotiated a plan to provide the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission with the investment capital needed to create thousands of jobs for the men and women of Las Vegas.

Video: Maglev Gets $7B Investment From ChinaThe construction of the Maglev from Las Vegas to Anaheim will create 90,000 jobs and has the potential to revitalize the Las Vegas economy immediately by employing thousands of construction workers and in the long term by linking Las Vegas with the ARTIC intermodal transportation hub of Southern California, said spokesman Mark Fierro.Video: Which Is Better: Maglev Or DesertXpress?The proposal on the table would take the form of a direct loan that would require the backing of the federal government and continued cooperation with Chinese enterprises.

Full Story China: $7 billion for Las Vegas to Los Angeles maglev train

OPS:  If China owns it – WTF is the point?

Two Very Different Views on Oil Prices

Some oil-dependent nations are preparing for the worst, but according to most expert analysts there is simply no way of knowing how the market will trend in the next year.

The oil market ended 2009 on the upswing, surging toward $85 per barrel and putting added pressure on global economies. Analysts expected the increase to continue in 2010, right up until it reversed. Oil prices have dropped nearly $10 per barrel in the month of January, leaving speculators, analysts, oil executives, and foreign officials to ponder where the market will head next.

For oil-dependent economies like those in the Middle East, the constant fluctuations on the oil market have brought havoc to their annual budget planning.

For instance, in Iran the government set up its fiscal position on the assumption of $60 per barrel oil in 2010. That figure is nearly $15 lower than current prices, and reflects a fear among many oil-rich nations that the global economy, particularly in the U.S., will slow down in the next year. When the economy struggles, oil demand drops, and the price falls along with it.

Full Story Two Very Different Views on Oil Prices | Economy In Crisis.

China Is Leading the Race to Make Renewable Energy

China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year.

China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants.

These efforts to dominate the global manufacture of renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.

Full Story China Is Leading the Race to Make Renewable Energy – NYTimes.com.

Obama Said to Seek $54 Billion in Nuclear-Power Loans

President Barack Obama, acting on a pledge to support nuclear power, will propose tripling loan guarantees for new reactors to more than $54 billion, two people familiar with the plan said.

The additional loan guarantees in Obama’s budget, which will be released Feb. 1, are part of an effort to bolster nuclear-power production after the president called for doing so in his State of the Union address Jan. 27. Today, the Energy Department plans to announce creation of a panel to find a solution to storing the waste generated by nuclear plants.

“To create more of these clean-energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives,” Obama said in his speech. “That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear-power plants in this country.”

Full Story Obama Said to Seek $54 Billion in Nuclear-Power Loans (Update1) – BusinessWeek.

OPS: Stupid and suicidal

Wind Power Growth Up 39% Due To Stimulus Investment

While debates about the economy, unemployment and the effectiveness of the stimulus plan continue to rage throughout the country, their appears to be a bright spot for proponents of clean energy stimulus spending.

According to Whitehouse.gov, the release of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) 4th Quarter 2009 industry assessment(PDF) indicates that stimulus spending is directly responsible for turning a potential 50% decline in growth in the wind power sector into a 39% increase in growth in the country’s fleet of wind plants in 2009 alone.

“The U.S. wind industry shattered all installation records in 2009, and this was directly attributable to the lifeline that was provided by the stimulus package,” Denise Bode, the trade association’s chief executive told The New York Times Deal Book Blog. “The second half of the year was extraordinary. But manufacturers didn’t see much growth because they had built up so much inventory.”

Full Story Wind Power Growth Up 39% Due To Stimulus Investment.

Biofuel Companies Attack Algae Study

In a face-off between academia and industry, algae biofuel companies have made a joint statement decrying recent research that highlights algae’s drawbacks.

The research, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, found that algae production can be energy intensive and can end up emitting more greenhouse gases than it sequesters.

In response, the Algal Biomass Assocation, a trade organization of companies involved with developing algae biofuels, said the researchers used old and outdated data.

Full Story Biofuel Companies Attack Algae Study – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com.

GM Doubles Down On Plug-In Technology

As long as the federal government is handing out money to encourage the development of plug-in cars in the U.S., General Motors says it will invest in the necessary technologies.

GM is expected to announce Tuesday a $246 million investment in a new U.S. factory that will build electric motors, a technology that is every bit as important as advanced batteries for the development of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.

By designing and building electric motors in-house, GM says it will be able to lower costs and improve performance, quality and reliability by controlling the design, purchasing and manufacturing processes.

Full Story GM Doubles Down On Plug-In Technology – Forbes.com.

USGS claims Venezuela sits on Earth’s largest oil reserves

Venezuela may have just become the center of an energy-starved world.

The Orinoco Belt, situated squarely underneath the South American nation, may hold some 513 billion barrels of crude oil, according to a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

That’s twice the size of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves, placing Venezuela firmly atop the list of oil-rich nations.

The timing of the USGS announcement is striking. On Jan. 28, international firms will take part in an auction for contracts to drill in the Orinoco Belt. The deadline for auction registration was Jan 18, according to industry publication Petroleum World. Results will be announced on Feb. 10.

However, the USGS did not make an estimate of how much oil is actually recoverable. The Orinoco Belt’s reserves are typically thick and tar-like, with some patches difficult to reach with current drilling technology.

Full Story USGS claims Venezuela sits on Earth’s largest oil reserves | Raw Story.

OPS: Aw shit.  Here comes our next war and occupation for the next 20 years. Unless China gets there first.  Soon we will be hearing how AlQaeda has taken up residence in Chavez’s palace. Venezuela just became the next target for Blackwater

U.S. Feeds One Quarter of its Grain to Cars While Hunger is on the Rise | EPI

The 107 million tons of grain that went to U.S. ethanol distilleries in 2009 was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels. More than a quarter of the total U.S. grain crop was turned into ethanol to fuel cars last year. With 200 ethanol distilleries in the country set up to transform food into fuel, the amount of grain processed has tripled since 2004.

The United States looms large in the world food economy: it is far and away the world’s leading grain exporter, exporting more than Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Russia combined. In a globalized food economy, increased demand for food to fuel American vehicles puts additional pressure on world food supplies.

From an agricultural vantage point, the automotive hunger for crop-based fuels is insatiable. The Earth Policy Institute has noted that even if the entire U.S. grain crop were converted to ethanol (leaving no domestic crop to make bread, rice, pasta, or feed the animals from which we get meat, milk, and eggs), it would satisfy at most 18 percent of U.S. automotive fuel needs.

Full Story EPI Releases – Data Highlights: U.S. Feeds One Quarter of its Grain to Cars While Hunger is on the Rise | EPI.

Oil Is Too Important To Burn In Cars

Megatrends 2020

If there is one lesson to be learned from the designers, thinkers and curators presenting at Conversations in Design: A World Without Oil, it is the fact that we need the stuff for a lot of uses far more important than pushing boxes of steel around on roads.

When one realizes that we are using a cubic mile of the stuff every year (that is the Eiffel Tower on the right for scale), it becomes pretty obvious that this isn’t going to continue forever, and we have to begin to think about what we are going to use it for.

When you realize what we would have to build to replace the energy from all that oil, like building four dams the size of the Three Gorges Dam, 52 nuclear power plants or 104 coal fired power plants every year it becomes obvious that switching to Tesla Roadsters and plug-in hybrids is not going to make very much of a difference.

Full Story Oil Is Too Important To Burn In Cars : TreeHugger.

Solar Power Is Now an Option for Even the Most Cash-Strapped Suburbanites

Residential solar leases offer a no-money-down, low-monthly plan that makes solar electricity cheaper than the stuff we get by wire — and you don’t have to buy the panels.

Say hello to the thing that could save our sun-splashed suburban lifestyle: affordable residential solar power that puts roof-top solar panels within reach of the most cash-strapped America consumer. This breakthrough is not a result of technological innovation, but a new financing scheme cooked up on Wall Street called a “residential solar lease,” a no-money-down, low-monthly plan that has made solar electricity cheaper than the stuff we get by wire. It’s an old approach to a new source of energy, and it is taking California by storm.

“Go solar for $0 down. Now you can afford to go solar without the high initial cost of installing a system. Instead of buying the equipment, you simply lease it,”  boasts the Web site of SolarCity, a well-financed Silicon Valley start-up that has been pioneering the residential solar lease.

A solar lease is a fairly simple arrangement that is not unlike a car lease. Instead of dishing out tens of thousands of dollars upfront to buy and install a rooftop solar array, homeowners simply borrow one for a low monthly fee. Like a car lease, customers sign a contract that locks them in for a specified period of time with the option of extending their lease or buying the panels at the end of the contract. It makes sense when you consider that a typical homeowner would have to cough up between $20,000 and $50,000 to buy and install a solar panel system. A solar lease, on the other hand, would only cost them somewhere around $100 a month.

Full Story Solar Power Is Now an Option for Even the Most Cash-Strapped Suburbanites | Environment | AlterNet.

McCully opens Antarctic wind farm

A new joint-venture wind farm at the bottom of the world is expected to cut diesel use by nearly 500,000 litres a year at Scott Base and McMurdo Station.

The wind farm on Ross Island in Antarctica was to have been opened remotely in Auckland by Hillary Clinton, the United States Secretary of State, during her visit to New Zealand. However, she abandoned her visit to return to Washington to co-ordinate the American aid effort for earthquake-devastated Haiti.

Today foreign minister Murray McCully stepped in and in a live link with Antarctica, formally declared the wind farm open.

Full Story McCully opens Antarctic wind farm – National – NZ Herald News.

Turkey Point nuclear suspension

Florida Power and Light has suspended work on two new reactors at Turkey Point in an angry reaction to a decision by state regulators.

The company said it would immediately stop work on expanding the Turkey Point power plant, citing the “deteriorating regulatory and business environment” created by the Florida Public Service Commission. The nuclear project is one among $10 billion in investment that FPL said will now be cancelled.

PSC officials today rejected an FPL’s request to increase the rates charged to consumers – the way FPL had hoped to finance the investments. The company’s regulated base rate had not been reviewed since 1985, and although it has twice been allowed to begin collecting extra money to aid investment, a request to add a total of $1 billion to its income after 2011 was slashed by the PSC to just $75 million. “The decision was about politics, not economics,” said FPL Group chairman and CEO Lew Hay.

FPL will continue to work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete its licence application to build and operate two Westinghouse AP1000s, but has abadoned its ambition to build them by 2017 and 2019.

Full Story Turkey Point nuclear suspension.

Detroit Auto Show Small and Efficient Vehicles

Many of the 2012 model year vehicles achieve close to 40 miles per gallon on the highway, and the concepts of the future are almost exclusively next-generation hybrids or all-electric vehicles.

Every year dozens of auto shows around the world are used to showcase and refine new models and concepts. The 2009-2010 circuit is still the same showcase, but the products on display have changed drastically from years past. The North American International Auto Show, held in Detroit, is currently underway with small high mileage vehicles taking center stage.

Many of the 2012 model year vehicles achieve close to 40 miles per gallon on the highway, and the concepts of the future are almost exclusively next-generation hybrids or all-electric vehicles.

General Motors unveiled a new mini-car meant to compete against Daimler’s immensely popular Smart Fortwo. The Chevrolet Spark will be the smallest car in GM’s lineup and will be available in showrooms around the United States early in 2012.

Full Story Detroit Auto Show Small and Efficient Vehicles | Economy In Crisis.

Ford Fusion Hybrid: 2010 Car Of The Year

Ford Motor Co.’s market momentum got a lift Monday by winning both the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.

Ford’s Fusion Hybrid midsize sedan took top car honors and its versatile Transit Connect compact van snagged truck of the year at the Detroit auto show.

It was only the third time in 17 years that an automaker has won both awards, selected by 49 auto journalists and given annually since 1994. Finalists for the car award included the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf GTI and TDI diesel. The Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Transit Connect and Subaru Outback were finalists for the truck award.

Full Story Ford Fusion Hybrid: 2010 Car Of The Year.

Gas: A Cost We Cannot Bear

Every $0.10 increase in gasoline prices costs the United States roughly $14 billion annually. Most of the profit from this money is added to our trade deficit and shipped overseas.

At the height of the oil shock in 2008, midsummer futures had climbed to a record $147 per barrel on some markets in the United States and Europe. Since reaching a staggering peak, oil prices have declined to as low as $40 per barrel. Unfortunately, for the past year oil has marched unflinchingly up the charts.

As oil prices march forward, fuel prices follow, dragging the economy down with them. Higher gas prices increase the cost of all goods and services in the economy; with our economy still struggling to find its way the increases on the oil market could seriously hinder any chances of recovery.

According to AAA’s FuelGaugeReport.com, the national average for a gallon of gasoline has risen from $1.762 to $2.725 in the past twelve months. In just one week the average price has gone up $0.07. These increases hurt American consumers, squeezing more money out of their wallets and into the sunk cost of travel, rather than allowing it to flow freely in a bustling economy.

Full Story Gas: A Cost We Cannot Bear | Economy In Crisis.

Ethanol good news and bad news

Two papers published on January 7, 2009, by researchers at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University shed more light on the use of ethanol as a fuel.

The Rice study, “Fundamentals of a Sustainable U.S. Biofuels Policy” concludes the following:

1) “We need to set realistic targets for ethanol in the United States instead of just throwing taxpayer money out the window,”

2) “the U.S. government spent $4 billion in biofuels subsidies to replace roughly 2 percent of the U.S. gasoline supply. The average cost to the taxpayer of those ’substituted’ barrels of gasoline was roughly $82 a barrel, or $1.95 per gallon on top of the retail gasoline price (i.e., what consumers pay at the pump).”

Full Story Ethanol good news and bad news.

Trash to gas: Landfill energy projects increasing

Garbage to gas: Landfill energy projects on rise as government seeks to cut greenhouse gases

Hundreds of trash trucks across California are rumbling down city streets using clean fuel made from a dirty source: garbage.

The fuel is derived from rotting refuse that San Francisco and Oakland residents and businesses have been discarding in the Altamont landfill since 1980. Since November, the methane gas created from decaying detritus at the 240-acre (96-hectare) landfill has been sucked into tubes and sent into an innovative facility that purifies and transforms it into liquefied natural gas.

Almost 500 Waste Management Inc. garbage and recycling trucks run on this new source of environmentally friendly fuel instead of dirty diesel.

In a state that has passed the most stringent greenhouse gas reduction goals in the United States, the climate change benefits of this plant are twofold — methane from the trash heap is captured before entering the environment and use of the fuel produces less carbon dioxide than conventional gasoline.

“We’ve built the largest landfill-to-LNG plant in the world; this plant produces 13,000 gallons (49,400 liters) a day of LNG,” said Jessica Jones, a landfill manager for Houston-based Waste Management. “It will take 30,000 tons a year of CO2 from the environment.”

Full Story Trash to gas: Landfill energy projects increasing – Yahoo! Finance.

Loans to Boost Nuclear Industry Seen Coming Soon

The Obama administration is poised to announce loan guarantees to help kick-start the country’s nuclear power industry, which hasn’t built a new plant in more than three decades.

Congress authorized $18.5 billion for nuclear loan guarantees in 2005, hoping to revive development of the carbon-free source of energy. Investments in nuclear power have dried up on soaring costs following the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island.

But earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Department signaled it was keen to aid the industry and narrowed the list of those likely to receive loan guarantees to four:

Full Story Loans to Boost Nuclear Industry Seen Coming Soon – CNBC.

Carter Tried To Stop Bush’s Energy Disasters – 28 Years Ago

Thom Hartmann

In his recent news conference, George Bush Jr. suggested that our nation’s “problem” with high gasoline prices was caused by the lack of a national energy policy, and tried to blame it all on Bill Clinton. First, Junior said, “This is a problem that’s been a long time in coming. We haven’t had an energy policy in this country.”

This was followed by, “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying to the American people — 10 years ago if we’d had an energy strategy, we would be able to diversify away from foreign dependence. And — but we haven’t done that. And now we find ourselves in the fix we’re in.” As is so often the case, Bush was lying.

Consider President Jimmy Carter’s April 18, 1977 speech. Since it was given nearly three decades ago, when many of the reporters in Bush’s White House were children, it’s understandable that they don’t remember it. But it’s inexcusable that Bush and the mainstream media (which, after all, has the ability to do research) would completely ignore it. It was the speech that established the strategic petroleum reserve, birthed the modern solar power industry, led to the insulation of millions of American homes, and established America’s first national energy policy. “With the exception of preventing war,” said Jimmy Carter, a man of peace, “this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes.”

He added: “It is a problem we will not solve in the next few years, and it is likely to get progressively worse through the rest of this century. “We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and grandchildren.

“We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us.” Carter bluntly pointed out that: “The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation.” He called the new energy policy he was proposing, “[T]he ‘moral equivalent of war’ — except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy.”

Full Story Carter Tried To Stop Bush’s Energy Disasters – 28 Years Ago.

A Power Station in Your Basement

German green energy provider Lichtblick has an ambitious new approach to power generation: Thousands of small home generators networked into the grid

Chief executives of Germany’s major energy suppliers usually don’t have much time for their junior counterpart, Lichtblick. The Hamburg-based green-electricity provider’s half a million customers may be “impressive,” they say, but Lichtblick works in a niche market and is no competition for the larger companies in the industry.

But things may be about to change. In the next couple of days, the relatively small company is due to reveal a new business model that could shake up the energy market quite a bit—and not only in Germany. So, despite the fact that they currently have large power plants and considerable power over the market, things may soon turn a little less comfortable for energy giants like E.on (EONGn.DE) and RWE (RWEG.DE).

Lichtblick—the name translates as “glimmer of hope”—is no longer content with distributing eco-friendly gas and electricity. Ten years after entering the market, the group wants to take a shot at the electricity-generation business as well—and to do so while collaborating with a unusual partner on a completely new idea.

Unlike Germany’s well-established energy giants, the Hamburg-based company isn’t planning to build a few colossal wind farms or solar-panel systems. Instead, it wants hundreds of thousands of buildings and private households to get their own highly efficient mini “home power stations.”

Full Story A Power Station in Your Basement – BusinessWeek.

No Need to Wait (or Pay) for Climate Technology

As the world's attention converges on the Copenhagen climate summit, a little-mentioned issue is the proper role of patents in encouraging the development of emissions-free energy technologies. Large tech companies like to claim that they need broad patents to encourage their investment in innovative new technologies. And they are poised to make a fortune by selling patent licenses for new “green technologies” designed to abate carbon emissions.

But David E. Martin, an intellectual property activist who works with many developing countries, argues that a great many green technologies are already in the public domain and ready to be developed. They just need to be identified and used.

Martin’s brilliant and subversive innovation, launched earlier this month, is called the Global Innovation Commons (GIC). The project is described in a cover article in the German magazine Der Spiegel called “Patent Lies: Who Says Saving the Planet Has to Cost a Fortune?”

Full Story No Need to Wait (or Pay) for Climate Technology by David Bollier — YES! Magazine.

Protection of Desert Land Faces Off With New Energy Sources

Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in Congress on Monday to protect a million acres of the Mojave Desert in California by scuttling some 13 big solar plants and wind farms planned for the region.

But before the bill to create two new Mojave national monuments has even had its first hearing, the California Democrat has largely achieved her aim. Regardless of the legislation’s fate, her opposition means that few if any power plants are likely to be built in the monument area, a complication in California’s effort to achieve its aggressive goals for renewable energy.

Developers of the projects have already postponed several proposals or abandoned them entirely. The California agency charged with planning a renewable energy transmission grid has rerouted proposed power lines to avoid the monument.

“The very existence of the monument proposal has certainly chilled development within its boundaries,” said Karen Douglas, chairwoman of the California Energy Commission.

Full Story Protection of Desert Land Faces Off With New Energy Sources – NYTimes.com.

Quake Threat Leads Swiss to Close Geothermal Project

A $60 million project to extract renewable energy from the hot bedrock deep beneath Basel, Switzerland, was shut down permanently on Thursday after a government study determined that earthquakes generated by the project were likely to do millions of dollars in damage each year.

Every second, a vast quantity of cold, dense seawater equal to six times the combined flow of every land river on Earth streams over an ocean-floor ridge that stretches between Greenland and Scotland. This deep southbound current, flowing from the Norwegian, Iceland and Greenland seas into the North Atlantic, is the lower limb of the Gulf Stream and its northerly extension, a great conveyor belt of ocean heat and salt that transports warm tropical water north from the equator. Most climate change models predict global warming will slow these flows, in part by altering a key component of the Atlantic’s circulation, called deep-water formation. If that happens, northern Europe will cool—or warm less severely—as the rest of the globe swelters.

Understanding the role that deep-water formation plays in driving this grand circulation pattern, more formally called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), will help scientists predict how global warming will affect climate—both in and beyond the Northern Hemisphere. Shifts in the Atlantic’s circulation patterns will alter African and Indian monsoon rainfall as well as hurricane patterns in the South Atlantic, resulting in “a profound impact on the global climate system,” according to a team of international scientists asked by the U.S. government to evaluate the potential for abrupt climate change.

Full Story Quake Threat Leads Swiss to Close Geothermal Project – NYTimes.com.

Who Needs the Grid?

In the boardroom at Bloom Energy, a single picture hangs on the wall: a satellite image of the world at night. Clusters of bright lights mark the industrial centers, and thin white lines trace connecting passageways such as the U.S. Interstate System and the Trans-Siberian Railroad. In between, huge swaths lie in shadow.

Standing almost reverently before the image, K. R. Sridhar, the CEO of Bloom, points to the dark areas—places where electricity isn’t accessible or reliable. “This is my motivation for everything,” he says. To improve the lot of the more than 2 billion people living in those dark areas, he says, you have to get them reliable, affordable energy. And if you don’t want to doom the environment in the process, you have to make that energy very clean.

Impossible? No more so than creating enough water and oxygen to keep astronauts alive on Mars. And Sridhar’s already figured out how to do that. In fact, his research on oxygen generators for NASA laid the technical groundwork for his current venture: highly efficient solid-oxide fuel cells that run on everything from plant waste to natural gas and provide electricity while emitting relatively little carbon dioxide.

Such technology might sound far-fetched, but the basic patent behind Sridhar’s cells, which he calls “Bloom boxes,” dates to 1899. Fuel cells—which facilitate a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuel without burning anything—have been used aboard NASA vehicles and Navy submarines for years. The biggest challenge in adapting them for commercial use was making the technology reliable and affordable. That’s where Sridhar’s NASA background gave him a breakthrough advantage.

Full Story Who Needs the Grid? – The Atlantic (December 2009).

Opec expected to maintain oil output

Cartel determined to support crude price at $70-$80 a barrel.

The Opec oil cartel will almost certainly leave its production levels unchanged when it meets on Tuesday, satisfied with current crude prices at $70-$80 a barrel.

Arriving in Luanda, Angola’s capital, for the cartel’s meeting, ministers and delegates said the 12 Opec countries were hopeful that robust demand for oil in China, India and other economically emerging nations would be enough to support oil prices in the first quarter of 2010.

Full Story FT.com / Commodities – Opec expected to maintain oil output.

Plug-in Hybrid Hysteria Hits a Wall

For this technology to truly take hold we must first make huge strides in the fabrication of batteries and we must make home electricity even more affordable than it already is.

The American car market has quickly become flooded with gas-electric hybrid vehicles. For several years the Toyota Prius was the only car even trying the hybrid model.

Today, every major automaker provides full lines of hybrid alternatives. In some cases, after rebates and deductions, there is no reason whatsoever to purchase the standard combustion version.

The rapid growth of the hybrid market has led to another off-shot: the plug-in hybrid.

A hybrid vehicle uses a symbiotic relationship between the gas engine and an electric motor. The “plug-in” hybrid of the future depends almost completely on its electric motor, while carrying a backup generator running on gasoline. This technology allows for much greater fuel economy, and in a world of high gas prices it is very appealing to consumers.

Full Story Plug-in Hybrid Hysteria Hits a Wall | Economy In Crisis.

Coal-fired Congress Blocks Path to Clean Energy

U.S. leadership on global warming threatened by compromise in Congress

Becoming a grandfather is cause for celebration, unless you’re a coal-fired power plant.

Coal plants that predate the Clean Air Act have become the mules of air pollution—set in their ways and not liable to change. Exploiting their “grandfathered” status, these coal plants have refused to implement technologies that are currently available to reduce pollution.

Now, Congress seems determined to let these dinosaurs off the hook all over again.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent Clean Air Act endangerment finding prescribes a strong antidote to global warming pollution—a fact President Obama will surely highlight tomorrow on the final day of climate negotiations in Copenhagen—a political compromise over coal plants threatens to bind EPA’s hands just as it begins to act.

Full Story Coal-fired Congress Blocks Path to Clean Energy | unEARTHED, the Earthjustice blog.

DOE begins Open Energy Information website

On December 14, Secretary Chu announced that the Department of Energy is launching Open Energy Information (www.openEI.org).

A wiki style open source evolving web platform that can be used by anyone to deploy clean energy technologies across the country and around the world.

The website was launched as part of a broader effort at DOE, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and across the Obama Administration to promote the openness, transparency, and accessibility of the federal government.

The site currently houses more than 60 clean energy resources and data sets, including maps of worldwide solar and wind potential, information on climate zones, and best practices. OpenEI.org also links to the Virtual Information Bridge to Energy (VIBE), which is designed as a data analysis hub that will provide a dynamic portal for better understanding energy data. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will continue to develop, monitor, and maintain both sites.

Full Story DOE begins Open Energy Information website.

GE Awarded Contract for World’s Largest Wind Farm

The wind farm, owned by independent power producer Caithness Energy, will cover some 30 square miles in the north-central Oregon region and provide enough electricity to power 235,000 California homes.

General Electric announced Thursday that it has been awarded a $1.4 billion contract to provide wind turbines for what will be the world’s largest wind farm when completed, according to a company press release.

“This is a smart investment in a well structured, contracted power project with an experienced developer using the nation’s best technology,” said Alex Urquhart, president & CEO of GE Energy Financial Services.

The wind farm, owned by independent power producer Caithness Energy, will cover some 30 square miles in the north-central Oregon region and provide enough electricity to power 235,000 California homes.

“This project underscores our commitment to harness the power of wind to meet present and future energy needs while reducing greenhouse emissions. The Shepherds Flat project will add more renewable energy to the west coast’s energy mix and help the region meet its demand for clean energy,” said Les Gelber, a partner at Caithness Energy, in a press release.

Full Story Economyincrisis.org – America’s Economic Report – Daily.

Neither Canada nor the world can afford growth of dirty oil

Today in Copenhagen, the Harper government will walk into the UN climate summit not with the intention of transitioning Canada into a clean energy economy, but instead with the agenda of prolonging the oil industry frenzy in the tar sands in northern Alberta.

It is crunch time to stabilize the climate so that our children inherit a safe world. Scientists tell us there is no more room in the atmosphere for the heat-trapping gasses that result from our burning of fossil fuels, and that we must in fact reduce the concentrations of those gasses if we want some measure of security.

Into this historic moment steps the tar-sands industry, on the one hand breathless when describing the hundreds of billions of barrels of oil it could potentially get out of the ground, while on the other pleading to be seen as a minor global warming villain. But you cannot have it both ways.

The current estimate of recoverable oil from the tar sands is 175 billion barrels, which if processed and burned amounts to over 110 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This alone, if it happened quickly, is enough to increase global concentrations of heat-trapping gasses to levels that scientists consider more than dangerous.

Full Story Neither Canada nor the world can afford growth of dirty oil – thestar.com.

Coal is deadly, not cheap

Herald-Leader news article, “Commerce Lexington turns more pro-coal; Business group alters policy after E. Ky. trip”

By Stephanie Pistello, Ben Evans, Jeff Biggers and Ben Sollee

As world leaders gather for the Copenhagen Climate Summit, we disagree with Commerce Lexington that energy legislation is “the most immediate threat to Kentucky’s business climate.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. Dirty energy led to Lexington’s embarrassing selection last year as the worst carbon footprint contributor in the nation. Commerce Lexington has taken a giant carbon step backwards.

In 1776, Thomas Paine challenged our country to embrace the cause of independence over compromise. In a moment of crisis, he declared: “We have it in our power to make the world over again.”

Full Story Coal is deadly, not cheap – Op-Ed – Kentucky.com.

Most U.S. States Can Be Energy Self-Reliant

I’ve been sitting on this one for a while, but finally have the time to put up something. I feel like I normally share bad climate- and energy-related news: ice sheets are melting faster than expected, temperatures are rising more than expected, new and dire effects are being discovered, Congress is stupidly delaying progress on legislation, etc. There is plenty of good news in the climate and energy arena. People are taking matters into their own hands and actually doing something, and it’s becoming commonplace that they’re doing much more than replacing light bulbs in their house. This is one of those cases – but on a larger scale.

The New Rules Project in Minnesota released a second and updated edition of a report they originally issued in 2008, “Energy Self-Reliant States”. In this expanded edition, each state is assessed for commercial potential, not technical potential, of renewable electricity. The large picture: 64% of states can be self-sufficient in electricity from in-state renewables. An additional 14% can generate 75% of their electricity within their own borders. It argues for a decentralized energy approach, which makes the most sense to me. Why depend on your neighbor for electricity when you don’t have to, whether that neighbor is the state next door or another country. Keying on that decentralized approach, the report notes that 40 states could generate 25% of their electricity just with rooftop photovoltaic (PV) power. Generating energy exactly where it is used is by far the best way to go.

WeatherDem :: Most U.S. States Can Be Energy Self-Reliant

You can go to the website I link to above and download the report to see results for your own state, read more about the methodology, etc. I’m going to concentrate on my own state: Colorado.

Full Story SquareState.net:: Most U.S. States Can Be Energy Self-Reliant.

MIT Breakthrough can generate electricity w ZERO CO2 emissions from Natural Gas

Scientists at M.I.T. have developed a novel process that has the potential to generate abundant electricity with zero carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

A Greener Way to Get Electricity from Natural Gas

Postdoctoral associate Thomas Adams and Paul I. Barton, the Lammot du Pont Professor of Chemical Engineering, propose a system that uses solid-oxide fuel cells, which produce power from fuel without burning it. The system would not require any new technology, but would rather combine existing components, or ones that are already well under development, in a novel configuration (for which they have applied for a patent). The system would also have the advantage of running on natural gas, a relatively plentiful fuel source — proven global reserves of natural gas are expected to last about 60 years at current consumption rates — that is considered more environmentally friendly than coal or oil. (Present natural-gas power plants produce an average of 1,135 pounds of carbon dioxide for every megawatt-hour of electricity produced — half to one-third the emissions from coal plants, depending on the type of coal.)

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Their process uses a type of fuel cells powered by Natural Gas, with CO2 emitted in a pure stream that can be sequestered directly adding less costs than having to separate the CO2 from other combustion byproducts like would be necessary with a coal plant.

Zero emission electricity from Natural Gas would have an enormous advantage of already having a highly developed infrastructure in place. That could make a much more timely conversion of electricity generation from our dirtiest fuel coal, more feasible in the near future. This new fuel cell technology has an enormous potential to become a very important part of the mix of carbon cutting tools coming on line.

We have the opportunity to make substantial progress in the near future IF our governments can agree to expand the carbon market, in order to send the right price signals needed to bring new green technologies like this one on line. This new fuel cell technology could be instrumental in speeding the conversion of our economy to an environmentally sustainable one.

Technological breakthroughs like this one that make extensive use of existing infrastructure can make expanding the carbon market under an agreement following the Copenhagen Summit much more palatable to politicians and the entrenched corporate interests that wield so much influence. This new fuel cell technology has the potential to open up lucrative new markets for the Natural Gas Industry, creating a powerful ready made corporate constituency for the new technology.

Full Story Daily Kos: MIT Breakthrough can generate electricity w ZERO CO2 emissions from Natural Gas.

Solar cell breaks efficiency record

Boeing-Spectrolab has developed a solar cell that can convert almost 41 percent of the sunlight that strikes it into electricity, the latest step in trying to drop the cost of solar power.

Potentially, the solar cell could bring the cost of solar power down to around $3 a watt, after installation costs and other expenses are factored in, over the life of the panel. The new cost information comes from Boeing, whose Spectrolab unit supplies searchlights and solar simulators, and the Department of Energy, which sponsored the project. Current silicon solar cells provide electricity at about $8 a watt, before government rebates. The goal is to bring it to $1 a watt without rebates or incentives.

The cell achieves 40.7 percent efficiency. The Department of Energy has been sponsoring research to find ways to get solar cells past the so-called 40 percent barrier.

Earlier this year, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories reported that cells made of a new type of semiconductor, zinc-manganese-tellurium, combined with a few atoms of oxygen, could convert around 45 percent of sunlight into electricity. That technology, also partly sponsored by the Department of Energy, has been licensed to RoseStreet Labs in Arizona. It remains to be seen whether this material can be made into solar cells economically.

Full Story Solar cell breaks efficiency record – CNET News.

Elusive Goal of Greening U.S. Energy

The Great Green Hope for lifting America’s economy is not looking so robust.

Barack Obama, when he was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, visited a wind turbine being built in Pennsylvania.

<<President Obama, both during his campaign and in his first year in office, has promoted the promise of new jobs in cutting-edge, nonpolluting industries, and such green jobs will be a major issue at his jobs “summit” meeting Thursday.

But, increasingly, skeptics who point to the need for more jobs are wondering why he is not doing more to create green jobs faster.

Full Story TradeReform.org – Elusive Goal of Greening U.S. Energy.

GM to launch Volt in California next year

General Motors will launch its hotly anticipated Chevrolet Volt electric car in California next year, the company announced Wednesday.

The US carmaker announced the decision as the Los Angeles Auto Show got underway, one day after the surprise departure of the auto giant’s chief executive Fritz Henderson.

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz said the Volt, which can be charged by a conventional electrical power outlet and can run for up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) without fuel, would be released in California in late 2010.

Other markets for the car, which analysts expect to retail at between 30,000 and 40,000 dollars, would be announced later Lutz said.

Full Story GM to launch Volt in California next year – Yahoo! News.

Sunrise Over the Passive Solar House

This will be the 29th November I have lived in my passive solar home.

The picture was taken at 8:00 am, November 19, 2009. The outside temperature was 24 degrees and the expected high for the day is predicted to be in the mid forties. You can see from the picture that we had a hard frost the night before. Since my solar home faces true south, the sun is almost rising at the position it will be in on the shortest day of the year – Dec 21.

There will be no need to start my woodstove today as the low angle of the winter sun will quickly heat my home and provide excess solar energy to be stored in the Solar-Slab for evening use after the sun goes down. Solar-Slab is a name I coined for my formally patented method of storing heat in the base of a solar home. The Solar-Slab consists of an array of concrete blocks positioned to allow air to pass through them. The blocks are then capped with concrete to make a ventilated concrete heat storage unit. The Solar-Slab then acts like a battery that takes on a charge and then gives the electricity “back” when needed. In the case of the Solar-Slab heat is stored instead of electricity. How this all works is described in my book The Passive Solar House (Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997).

The response from my book has been very pleasing to me. It has done exactly what I hoped. It has enabled people from all over the country to realize the dream of owning and living in a solar home. There are now hundreds of solar home owners that will have the same gratifying morning experience I had today.

Full Story Sunrise Over the Passive Solar House – James Kachadorian at Chelsea Green.

Blue Concept Cars at the L. A. Auto Show That Are Really Green

Green cars actually come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. When perusing the debuts and concept cars for the Los Angeles Auto Show I happened to notice that many of these green cars are actually painted blue.

There are several blue car offerings from Mercedes, Subaru, BMW and Toyota. The Mercedes-Benz E350 Bluetec is based upon clean diesel technology and will have an additional 32 horsepower bump due to direct injection.

The Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept first premiered at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. It uses a 2.0 Liter direct turbocharged gasoline engine plus a lithium ion battery pack and two electric motors front and back.

The BMW MINI Coupe Concept was originally unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year commemorating the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the first MINI. Besides being good on gas, this 2-seater has a 1.6L twin-scroll turbo-charged engine.

Full Story Blue Concept Cars at the L. A. Auto Show That Are Really Green | Green Tech Gazette.

Coal Kills

Medical Group Condemns Coal in Critical Report

So you thought smoking cigarettes was bad for your health? Try living next to a coal-fired power plant.

That’s the diagnosis Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) relayed to the public in a comprehensive medical study released on November 18 called Coal’s Assault of Human Health. In it, the organization, comprised of physicians and public health experts, claims that coal pollutants damage every major organ in the human body and contribute to four of the top five leading causes of death in the United States.

Not since NASA’s James Hansen rang the global warming alarm about coal’s major contribution to climate change has there been a more dire call to shut down coal operations in the United States. It is not simply about cleaning up the coal process; it is about halting its production altogether in order to immediately save lives.

At every stage in its life cycle coal can negatively impact human health, from mining operations, cleaning, transportation to burning and disposing of the combustion waste. PSR reports that many Americans are being affected daily by coal and the exposure is contributing to horrible health problems; heart attacks, lung cancer, strokes, asthma among others.

Full Story Joshua Frank: Coal Kills.

Rhode Island’s Nuclear Fatality–Part I

It’s been almost thirty years since the Three Mile Island disaster put a halt to the expansion of nuclear power in the US. Public opinion was already turning against the industry. Once promising cheap, clean electricity, the power plants in fact required massive taxpayer subsidies to build and a special exemption from liability in case the worst happened.

The worst almost happened at Three Mile Island …

Although the TMI-2 plant suffered a severe core meltdown, the most dangerous kind of nuclear power accident, it did not produce the worst-case consequences that reactor experts had long feared. In a worst-case accident, the melting of nuclear fuel would lead to a breach of the walls of the containment building and release massive quantities of radiation to the environment. But this did not occur as a result of the Three Mile Island accident.

The worst-case accident occurred in 1986 at Chernobyl.

Today, a generation after the gas lines and bitter winters of the 1970’s, we’re again caught unprepared. We still depend on foreign oil and large, centralized power plants. Investment in alternative energy has been cut to a trickle since Ronald Reagan. The nuclear industry is portraying itself as a clean, green savior. Safety concerns are dismissed as a superstitious fear of radioactivity…

In more than 500 reactor years of service in the United States, there has never been a death or a serious injury to plant employees or to the public caused by a commercial reactor accident or radiation exposure. Says Philip Handler, president of the National Academy of Sciences: “Nuclear power is the safest major technology ever introduced into the United States.” link

Full Story Rhode Island’s Nuclear Fatality–Part I « Kmareka.com.

Accident casts fresh doubt on nuclear safety

On Nov. 21, there was a radiation leak at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pa., less than 100 miles north of Baltimore up I-83. One hundred and fifty workers were evacuated, and 20 people were exposed to radiation.

The leak didn’t get a lot of attention here, but Marylanders should care – not only because Three Mile Island is not very far from us but also because Calvert Cliffs in Southern Maryland may be the site of the first new nuclear power plant to be ordered since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Electricité de France (EDF), the largest merchant of nuclear power in Europe, has purchased an almost 50 percent share in Constellation’s nuclear holdings and will try to build a new nuclear power plant in our state with millions of dollars in federal loan guarantees.

Last week’s leak is the latest reminder that nuclear power, despite its proponents’ claims, can be dirty and unsafe. And there are disturbing questions about EDF’s safety record. Last month, it was accused of dumping more than 1,500 tons of spent fuel near a town in Siberia, where the waste was discovered in metal cans. EDF claims it is sending the material to Russia to be “reprocessed.” Environmental experts quoted in Britain’s Telegraph newspaper say that 13 percent of spent fuel from its plants is shipped over there, and it is “really dirty stuff.”

Full Story Accident casts fresh doubt on nuclear safety — baltimoresun.com.

Cheap Energy with New Solar Device

Researchers and scientists are putting on endless effort to make the sources of energy clean and green. There are many devices in the market that run on solar energy. The alternative energy atmosphere is charged with anticipation and excitement. But till now one of the biggest dampeners in green energy scenario is the prices. Fossil fuels are available cheaply all over the world. But solar, wind, geothermal or biofuels are still expensive and out of reach of commoners.

The University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory Mirror Lab has paid attention to this particular aspect. They have produced the first prototype of a solar device that will hopefully not be outrageously priced. The device’s inventor Roger Angel’s expectations will ultimately generate electricity from the sun at a price akin to the cheapest fossil fuels. That’s what manufacturer and consumer both want. Every manufacturer aims for profit and all end users want to save money.

Roger Angel’s prototype makes use of mirrors. These mirrors are arranged in such a way that 21 segments form an array in a parabola on a lightweight aluminum frame. This arrangement helps in focusing the sun’s light on a small solar cell. Its first prototype is supposed to be shipped next week to Raytheon Missile Systems. This design could be used to build portable solar generators for battlefield deployment. This fact is reveled by Eric Betterton. He is a UA professor of atmospheric sciences and he is also the principal investigator for the project.

Full Story Cheap Energy with New Solar Device.

Harvesting Ambient Energy from Nature

We all know that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but can only be transformed into one form to another. Duke University engineers are trying to utilize this simple formula. They are working on harvesting energy from the motions of everyday life. Normally our everyday motions get wasted and remain unused and dissipate in the form of heat without our realization. Energy harvesting strategies cover the installation of colossal wind farms to manufacture large amounts of electricity to using the vibrations of walking to power small electronic devices.

We have not estimated the exact amount of energy generated by random movements of our daily life. But it is indisputable that the trapped day-to-day motions can be a source of huge energy. But right now only limited success has been achieved because the devices used perform well only over a narrow band of frequencies. These devices have certain limitations. They perform well only when forces of motions are fairly constant. If we take an example of walking it is clear that we can’t walk at a constant pace. There are some external environmental forces working. So accordingly our pace of walking changes and varies too.

Samuel Stanton, who is a graduate student in Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, and working in the laboratory of Brian Mann, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials sciences, says, “The ideal device would be one that could convert a range of vibrations instead of just a narrow band. Nature doesn’t work in a single frequency, so we wanted to come up with a device that would work over a broad range of frequencies. By using magnets to ‘tune’ the bandwidth of the experimental device, we were able verify in the lab that this new non-linear approach can outperform conventional linear devices.”

Full Story Harvesting Ambient Energy from Nature.

Signs of Hope

Bob Herbert

…when Stan Ovshinsky tells us that we should be putting our chips on hybrid and electric vehicles, and that solar and hydrogen power can be the cornerstone of an industrial renaissance in the U.S. as well as a cleaner planet, we should be listening very, very closely.”

I came to Detroit and its environs, the seat of America’s glorious industrial past, to see if I could get a glimpse of the future. Is the economic, social and physical deterioration that has caused so much misery in the Motor City a sign of what’s in store for larger and larger segments of the United States?

Or are there new industries waiting in the wings — some of them right here in the Detroit metropolitan area — with new jobs and bright new prospects for whole new generations of American dreamers?

I found real reason to hope when a gentleman named Stan Ovshinsky took me on a tour of a remarkably quiet and pristine manufacturing plant in Auburn Hills, which is about 30 miles north of Detroit and is home to Chrysler’s headquarters. What is being produced in the plant is potentially revolutionary. A machine about the length of a football field runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, turning out mile after mile after mile of thin, flexible solar energy material, from which solar panels can be sliced and shaped.

You want new industry in the United States, with astonishing technological advances, new mass production techniques and jobs, jobs, jobs? Try energy.

Full Story Op-Ed Columnist – Signs of Hope – NYTimes.com.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — The New Arms Race

the Chinese are treating the energy technology competition if it were an arms race. China is spending as much or more on greentech as it does on its military, hundreds of billions of dollars annually

Hobbled by opposition from the carbon incumbents and their short-sighted allies on Capitol Hill the Obama administration acknowledged this week that it would not return from Copenhagen with any groundbreaking commitment to control green house gases. Meanwhile, Congress is backsliding on the administration&apos;s wise commitment to impose a rational price on carbon. Behind the logjam, a treacherous U.S. Chamber of Commerce, always willing to put its obsequious scraping to Big Oil and King Coal ahead of its duty to our country, has battled every effort to accelerate America&apos;s transition to a market-based de-carbonized economy.

The Chamber has continued to argue, idiotically, that energy efficiency and independence will somehow put America at a competitive disadvantage with the Chinese. Meanwhile, the Chinese have shrewdly and strategically positioned themselves to steal America&apos;s once substantial lead in renewable power. China will soon make us as dependent on Chinese green technology for the next century as we have been on Saudi oil during the last.

Indeed, the Chinese are treating the energy technology competition if it were an arms race. China is spending as much or more on greentech as it does on its military, hundreds of billions of dollars annually on renewable energy and grid infrastructure improvements. Those investments, if not vigorously countered, will effectively erode America&apos;s greentech industry leadership and secure China&apos;s dominance. China&apos;s economic stimulus package, targeted 38% of spending on greentech, as compared to a miserly 12% of the U.S. stimulus program. By 2013, greentech will account for 15 percent of the Chinese GDP. While the United States is projected to roughly triple its wind generation by 2020, China will increase its capacity twelvefold to a wind generating capability more than twice that of America&apos;s. And, while the United States is projected to increase its installed solar generation a modest 33% by 2020, China&apos;s solar generation is projected to increase 20,000%.

Full Story Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: The New Arms Race.

Nuclear Power’s Megafraud – Aris Candris and the Fraud of Nuclear Power

Pierre Tristam

Energy independence is the new creationism; nuclear power its deity. As the head glow for nuclear’s new dawn, you can’t do better than Aris Candris. He’s president and CEO of Westinghouse Electric, the company aiming to build 14 of 25 new nuclear reactors planned in the United States. Candris also sums up everything that’s wrong with the nuclear power industry’s orchestrated revival—the deceptions, the manipulated numbers, the false promises and the sheer swindle of taxpayer dollars for a technology with a lethal past and an unproven future. Candris’ Nov. 9 tribute to nuclear in The Wall Street Journal tells the tall tale.

Candris claims that, because electricity demand will grow 21 percent by 2030 from current levels, and “renewable energy sources produce only a small percentage” of total electricity output, it’s “doubtful that they can be scaled up to a degree that would make a significant impact on rising electricity demand over the short or intermediate term.” Actually, that’s more true of nuclear, far less so of renewable. Not a single nuclear power plant has been approved and built in the United States since the 1970s. The newest one, Watts Bar in Tennessee, began construction in 1973 and went online in 1996 — a 23-year span that multiplied its initial costs, to $7 billion. Candris gives the impression that a slew of plants are about to be built. Not so. A slew of plants applied for licenses, but only because the federal government is offering up to $1 billion in tax credits per new nuclear plant (once electricity production begins), as long as the application was in by the end of 2008.

Full Story Nuclear Power’s Megafraud – Aris Candris and the Fraud of Nuclear Power / Pierre Tristam [Candide's Notebooks].

Kansas Launches $34M Energy Efficiency Program

Kansas launched a new energy efficiency program Tuesday to make low-interest loans available to several thousand home owners and small businesses for upgrading insulation, installing new furnaces and sealing air-leaking doors and windows.

Gov. Mark Parkinson said officials have discussed creating such a program a few years, but the state couldn’t afford one until federal economic stimulus dollars became available this year. The state will make $34 million in stimulus funds available to private lenders, who will then write loans.

State officials said during a news conference that home owners and businesses participating in the Efficiency Kansas program will pay back their loans from the savings on their monthly energy bills, so they don’t face out-of-pocket expenses for making improvements. Also, the program isn’t limited to poor or middle-class families.

Full Story Kansas Launches $34M Energy Efficiency Program.

The Oil Situation Is Really Bad

This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

—Morpheus, from the movie The Matrix

On the eve of the International Energy Agency’s release of its annual World Energy Outlook (WEO), a whistleblower at the IEA claims the agency “has been deliberately underplaying a looming [oil] shortage for fear of triggering panic buying” in the world markets. As the young fan said to “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who was wrongly convicted of helping to throw the 1919 World Series, but knew the fix was in, say it ain’t so, Joe.

Ah, but apparently it is so. Another dose of disillusionment for the naive. A second Guardian informant went so far as to say the situation is really bad—

The senior official claims the US has played an influential role in encouraging the watchdog to underplay the rate of decline from existing oil fields while overplaying the chances of finding new reserves.

The allegations raise serious questions about the accuracy of the organization’s latest World Energy Outlook on oil demand and supply to be published tomorrow – which is used by the British and many other governments to help guide their wider energy and climate change policies…

A second senior IEA source, who has now left but was also unwilling to give his name, said a key rule at the organization was that it was “imperative not to anger the Americans” but the fact was that there was not as much oil in the world as had been admitted. “We have [already] entered the ‘peak oil’ zone. I think that the situation is really bad,” he added.

via The Oil Situation Is Really Bad | Energy Bulletin.