This Gulf of Mexico oil spill should be the start of a new beginning of renewable energy. It should teach us that oil cannot be “done responsibly.” There are too many accidents that can happen and with this, our planet will suffer. Source: www.Montgazette.com

China moves from third spot to second with an overall renewable energy score of 67, with high marks in onshore wind and infrastructure. Germany drops to third spot with a 66 overall, with high scores in offshore wind and solar PV.

Other countries in the top 10 for renewable energy include India (61), Spain (59), Italy (59), UK (57), France (57), Canada (54) and Portugal (53). In descending rank, the balance of the top 25 countries are Greece, Ireland, Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Brazil, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, Turkey, South Africa and Czech Republic.

“This issue sees slight score changes taking place across the board as the weighting between technologies (namely wind and solar) has been reassessed,” the report notes. “This has led to a general rise in countries favouring solar technology, reflecting the growing importance of solar as a generation technology going forwards.”

The one-point drop for Spain to tie with Italy, reflects the continuing impact of legislation changes and delays in processing of applications. China moved above Germany on the back of announcements that restrictions on the amount of non-domestic components used to manufacture generation technologies are being relaxed, as as well as announcements of new plans for solar farms as well as the Golden Sun incentive programme.

The new targets of the Japanese government to reduce GHG emissions by 25% (based on 1990 levels) by 2020 represents a significant increase on previous targets of 8%, the report notes. Brazil’s energy plan to 2017 includes calls for 7.3 GW of wind, biomass and small hydro combined generation capacity to drive towards a 2020 target of 10% of consumption to be met by renewable energy.

Decisions flowing from the climate summit in Copenhagen will, “in the medium term at least, have a significant bearing on these indicies,” the report explains.

On the renewable energy technology indices, China moves into top spot in wind, pushing out the USA, with a score of 72 comprised of 76 in onshore, 61 in offshore and 81 in near-term wind. The USA scores 71, Germany 67, India 63, UK 62, Spain 60, Canada 60, Italy 59, France 59 and Ireland 58.

Spain dropped a point following continued complications in the political environment and news of skyline taxes in Galicia which represent “a new and uncertain development” that may drive renewable energy investment elsewhere, the report says. Britain rises one point following announcements to improve the grid-connection process and a promise of £1.15 bn of investment in the grid.

In the near-term wind index, the USA is ranked top with 85, China 81, India 56, Germany 52, Spain 51, UK 49, France 47, Italy 47, Canada 46 and Portugal 42. The USA rose two points as the short-term drop in installations (relating to stalls caused early in the credit crunch) appears to be easing, bringing stronger forecasts into the near term. The Chinese score rose three points following announcements regarding the reduction of restrictions on the level of local components required in developments.

The report also provides an index on wave energy, where Portugal is ranked top with a 68, followed by Ireland with 65, UK 64, US 60, Australia 53, France 53, Canada 48, South Africa 47, China 46 and New Zealand 44.

Source: www.renewableenergyfocus.com

1. U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. The two Presidents announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. The Center will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from the United States and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country. The Center will be supported by public and private funding of at least $150 million over five years, split evenly between the two countries. Initial research priorities will be building energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles. The Protocol formally establishing the Center was signed in Beijing by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, and Chinese National Energy Agency Acting Administrator Zhang Guobao.

2. U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative. The two Presidents announced the launch of the U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative. Building on the first-ever US-China Electric Vehicle Forum in September 2009, the initiative will include joint standards development, demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, technical roadmapping and public education projects. The two leaders emphasized their countries’ strong shared interest in accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles in order to reduce oil dependence, cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote economic growth.

3. U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan. The two Presidents announced the launch of a new U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan. Under the new plan, the two countries will work together to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, industrial facilities, and consumer appliances. U.S. and Chinese officials will work together and with the private sector to develop energy efficient building codes and rating systems, benchmark industrial energy efficiency, train building inspectors and energy efficiency auditors for industrial facilities, harmonize test procedures and performance metrics for energy efficient consumer products, exchange best practices in energy efficient labeling systems, and convene a new U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum to be held annually, rotating between the two countries.

4. U.S.-China Renewable Energy Partnership. The two Presidents announced the launch of a new U.S.-China Renewable Energy Partnership. Under the Partnership, the two countries will develop roadmaps for wide-spread renewable energy deployment in both countries. The Partnership will also provide technical and analytical resources to states and regions in both countries to support renewable energy deployment and will facilitate state-to-state and region-to-region partnerships to share experience and best practices. A new Advanced Grid Working Group will bring together U.S. and Chinese policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, and civil society to develop strategies for grid modernization in both countries. A new U.S.-China Renewable Energy Forum will be held annually, rotating between the two countries.

5. 21st Century Coal. The two Presidents pledged to promote cooperation on cleaner uses of coal, including large-scale carbon capture and storage ( CCS ) demonstration projects. Through the new U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, the two countries are launching a program of technical cooperation to bring teams of U.S. and Chinese scientists and engineers together in developing clean coal and CCS technologies. The two governments are also actively engaging industry, academia, and civil society in advancing clean coal and CCS solutions. The Presidents welcomed: ( i ) a grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to the China Power Engineering and Consulting Group Corporation to support a feasibility study for an integrated gasification combined cycle ( IGCC ) power plant in China using American technology, ( ii ) an agreement by Missouri-based Peabody Energy to participate in GreenGen, a project of several major Chinese energy companies to develop a near-zero emissions coal-fired power plant, ( iii ) an agreement between GE and Shenhua Corporation to collaborate on the development and deployment of IGCC and other clean coal technologies; and ( iv ) an agreement between AES and Songzao Coal and Electric Company to use methane captured from a coal mine in Chongqing, China, to generate electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

6. Shale Gas Initiative. The two Presidents announced the launch of a new U.S.-China Shale Gas Resource Initiative. Under the Initiative, the U.S. and China will use experience gained in the United States to assess China’s shale gas potential, promote environmentally-sustainable development of shale gas resources, conduct joint technical studies to accelerate development of shale gas resources in China, and promote shale gas investment in China through the U.S.-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, study tours, and workshops.

7. U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program. The two Presidents announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program. The program will leverage private sector resources for project development work in China across a broad array of clean energy projects, to the benefit of both nations. More than 22 companies are founding members of the program. The ECP will include collaborative projects on renewable energy, smart grid, clean transportation, green building, clean coal, combined heat and power, and energy efficiency.

According to geological estimates, between 30 and 35 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil deposits are found in the Arctic, alongside 13 percent of the globe’s natural gas reserves. With the effects that global warming has on the North Pole, the ice barriers that once made it impossible to even consider setting up exploitations in the region are failing, which means that, pretty soon, we could witness the construction of extraction platforms in areas that were once taboo for the industry. A new research, published recently in the journal Science, managed to finally assess the resources of the Arctic region.Last year, an investigation by experts at the US Geological Survey (USGS) hinted at the riches that lay underneath the ice sheets, but those numbers were only estimates. The new paper comes with much more accurate data, to amend the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal. The study is the result of a very detailed geological investigation, conducted by renowned experts worldwide. However, the document does not state whether the resources are recoverable or not, but simply enumerates places and quantities. Independent investigations are required for each of the locations, to determine their full economic potential, the experts say.

In addition, the research does not highlight the potential damage to the environment and wildlife that opening up new drilling platforms in otherwise pristine areas might cause. The numbers only “give us insight into future petroleum resources, political relations, and places that environmental conflicts may occur,” the leader of the new study, Donald Gautier, explains, quoted by Nature News. “The study represents an excellent overall estimate of Arctic resources,” Natural Resources Canada expert Jacob Verhoef adds. 

Between 770 and 2,990 trillion cubic feet (22-86 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas may “reside” in the Arctic region, the USGS paper has found. These numbers amount to about 30 percent of the world’s yet-undiscovered reserves of natural gas. “The South Kara Sea, Russia, is probably the richest basin in the Arctic, in terms of undiscovered resources,” Gautier tells, adding that the territory, which belongs to the Russian Federation, will probably start being exploited over the next few years.

Additional estimates show that Alaska holds most untapped oil resources, of between 22 to around 256 billion barrels. The reserves are not enough to shift the Middle East’s control of global oil supply and demand, but it could give the US and other countries a bit of leverage in future negotiations. “The world’s future energy supply will not be determined by Arctic oil. But the future economic prosperity of the Arctic nations will be greatly affected by oil resources,” Gautier explains.

“Conventional oil and gas are just a small part of the Arctic’s vast energy resources. These sources [methane, tar sands, oil shales, heavy oil and gas hydrates] were not part of the scope of the study, nor were the Arctic’s giant wind, wave, geothermal, hydro-electric and tidal energy potential,” the Chairman of the US Arctic Research Commission, Mead Treadwell, concludes. In other words, the region has a great potential for producing both traditional an renewable forms of energy for decades to come.

Source: www.news.softpedia.com

As recently as last summer, plants that make ethanol from corn were sprouting across the Midwest. But now, with motorists driving less in the economic downturn, the industry is burdened with excess capacity, and plants are shutting down virtually every week.

In the meantime, plans are lagging for a new generation of factories that were supposed to produce ethanol from substances like wood chips and crop waste, overcoming the drawbacks of corn ethanol. That nascent branch of the industry concedes it has virtually no chance of meeting Congressional production mandates that kick in next year.

The decline in fortunes has been extreme for both kinds of ethanol since last summer, when $145-a-barrel oil appeared to shift fuel economics in their favor.

Only months ago, refiners in some regions were buying up as much corn ethanol as they could to blend with expensive gasoline, effectively keeping pump prices down slightly. Meanwhile, investors seemed willing to finance plants to produce next-generation biofuels.

But since the summer, oil and gasoline prices have plunged, while the price of corn, from which virtually all commercial ethanol in this country is made, has remained relatively high. Refiners are limiting their ethanol purchases to a level required to meet federal blending mandates – a level far below the industry’s capacity.

“The ethanol industry is on its back despite the billions of dollars they have gotten in taxpayer assistance, and a guaranteed market,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy analyst at Rice University.

The government’s Energy Information Administration recently projected that the industry would fall short of the targets for expanded use of ethanol and other biofuels that Congress set in a 2007 energy law. “It’s possible we may have to look at the targets again,” said Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

VeraSun Energy, one of the nation’s largest ethanol producers, has suspended production at 12 of its 16 plants and is planning to sell production facilities. In recent days Renew Energy, Cascade Grain Products and Northeast Biofuels have filed for bankruptcy protection. Pacific Ethanol said it would suspend operations at its Madera, Calif. plant.

Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group, estimated that of the country’s 150 ethanol companies and 180 plants, 10 or more companies have shut down 24 plants over the last three months. That has idled about 2 billion gallons out of 12.5 billion gallons of annual production capacity. Mr. Dinneen estimated that a dozen more companies were in distress.

Ronald H. Miller, the president and chief executive of Aventine Renewable Energy, said, “The economics right now are very poor.” Aventine has suspended construction of one Nebraska plant and delayed completion of a second in Indiana.

This is not how it was supposed to be when Congress mandated in 2007 that refiners blend increasing amounts of ethanol into the country’s transportation fuel supply. The law came at a time when the country’s thirst for gasoline seemed unquenchable, and oil prices seemed only to go up.

In an effort to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil and to lower the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, Congress mandated a doubling of corn ethanol use, to 15 billion gallons a year by 2015. Congress also mandated, by 2022, the use of an additional 21 billion gallons of ethanol and other biofuels produced from materials collectively known as biomass. The potential materials include corn stubble, wood chips and straw.

Congress hoped that advanced biofuels would overcome the longstanding controversies associated with corn ethanol, including the contention that its production raises food prices. Congress started small, decreeing that industry produce 100 million gallons of advanced biofuels next year and 250 million gallons in 2011. But it is becoming clear that even these modest targets will not be met.

Producing the advanced fuels entails breaking down a tough material, cellulose, that is abundant in corn cobs, wood chips and other biological waste, then converting it to liquid fuel. While scientists have proven it can be done, the cost is still high, and little if any cellulosic ethanol is being produced at commercial scale.

Carlos A. Riva, president and chief executive of Verenium, a company working to produce ethanol from sugar cane waste, said that solving the technological hurdles for this type of fuel was “not a slam dunk.” But he and other executives say they are optimistic the challenges can be overcome, and the 2011 and 2012 targets may be met a few years late.

Small, mostly private companies that go by names like Range Fuels, Poet and BlueFire Ethanol have built pilot plants and hope to move into commercial production. But private investment in advanced biofuels has plummeted since the economy went sour late last year, and it is unclear if the industry can scale up. “Cellulosic ethanol is something that is always five years away and five years later you get to the point where it’s still five years away,” said Aaron Brady, an energy expert at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a consulting firm.

With gasoline consumption declining even as federal mandates for ethanol are increasing, demand for cellulosic ethanol may be insufficient anyway.

Energy experts project that national gasoline consumption in 2009 and 2010 will be 6 percent or more below the 2007 level, and future ethanol production targets could represent more than 10 percent of gasoline production. Since regulations set a 10 percent blend limit for ethanol in most gasoline, there would be no place for ethanol production to go.

“Without moving the blend wall, there is no future for cellulosic ethanol,” said Jeff Broin, president and chief executive of Poet, a company with interests in corn and cellulosic ethanol.

Automobile manufacturers say most of their cars are not designed to run on higher ethanol concentrations. But the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy are conducting studies to see if the 10 percent limit could be raised.

Senator Bingaman said he expected those tests to be completed over the next year or so, and he would like to see higher blend levels for ethanol.

“There’s no doubt when we wrote that bill, we did not anticipate the recession we are currently sinking into,” he said. “Exactly what that requires us to do as far as changing the law, I am not clear on yet.”