MORE NEWS, 7-29 (U.S. NEW ENERGY USE UP, ENERGY USE DOWN; WIND ON THE PRAIRIE; THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE)

U.S. NEW ENERGY USE UP, ENERGY USE DOWN
U.S. energy use fell in 2008
Steven E.F. Brown, July 28, 2009 (SF Business Times via Business Journal of Milwaukee)

"Americans used less energy overall in 2008, according to a new report, and more of that energy came from renewable sources.

"The report from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory says the United States used 99.2 quadrillion BTUs, or “quads” of energy in 2008, down from 101.5 quads in 2007…Use of energy in the transport and industrial sectors of the economy fell slightly, while residential and business usage climbed slightly."

click thru for the LBNL report

"Usage of “green” or renewable sources grew, with the largest chunk of that coming from hydroelectric generation. Hydroelectric sources made up [2.4 quads and] 34 percent of renewable energy generated in the United States last year…Wood was the second most-used renewable source in the country last year, followed by biofuels, wind, waste, geothermal and finally, solar generation…

"Though photovoltaic solar power is a popular field right now…[it] is a tiny fraction of overall U.S. power generation. Of the 99.2 quads of energy used in 2008, just 0.091 — less than 1/10 of 1 percent — came from solar sources. That’s an increase, though from 0.081 quads of solar energy in 2007."

click thru for the LBNL report

"Coal provided 23.9 quads in 2008, up from 23.5 in 2007…Nuclear power provided 8.5 quads in both 2008 and 2007. The number of nuclear generators in the country, which the DOE refers to as “units,” has remained steady at 104 for the last decade…

"A.J. Simon, an energy analyst at Livermore Lab, said some of the changes in U.S. energy use and generation can be linked to the economic downturn, but also to energy policy…Wind power [has] grown, Simon said, because of large investments in wind turbine technology and better use of the already existing wind generators…"


WIND ON THE PRAIRIE
Tulsa, tribe ponder wind energy pact
P.J. Lassek, July 27, 2009 (Tulsa World)

"Wind power is blowing across the country and at least one Tulsa city councilor hopes to harness some of it from a proposed Cherokee Nation wind farm…

"The city and tribe are in the early stages of researching the feasibility of a wind energy partnership and are set to meet next month…"

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"The city receives its electricity from AEP-PSO, but creating a partnership between the city, tribe and power company [could be good for all thre]…[Tulsa] first needs to undergo an energy audit of all its facilities [hopefully completed by the end of 2009] before any decisions can be made…[T]he city’s goals are to use 20 percent less energy by 2011."

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"The Cherokee Nation has land near Newkirk in Kay County where it plans to build a wind farm…The tribe is researching the feasibility of transmitting that power to northeastern Oklahoma, said Amanda Clinton, spokeswoman for Cherokee Nation Businesses.

"…PSO owns the distribution system, so if the city purchased power from the tribe, an agreement would have to be made with the company…PSO currently contracts with three wind farms…Two additional farms are under construction and should be complete by year’s end…PSO is the largest distributor of wind power in the state…"


THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE
China's three biggest power firms emit more carbon than Britain, says report; Greenpeace report names top three polluters and calls for tax on coal to improve efficiency and encourage switch to renewables
Tania Branigan, July 28, 2009 (UK Guardian)

"China’s three biggest power firms produced more greenhouse gas emissions last year than the whole of Britain, according to [Polluting Power: Ranking China’s Power Companies, from Greenpeace]…

"The group warned that inefficient plants and the country's heavy reliance on coal are hindering efforts to tackle climate change. While China's emissions per capita remain far below those of developed countries, the country as a whole has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest emitter."

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"Greenpeace said the top 10 companies, which provided almost 60% of China's total electricity last year, burned 20% of China's coal…The efficiency of Chinese power generation compares unfavourably with other countries. In Japan, 418 grams of carbon dioxide are emitted per kilowatt hour and in the US, the equivalent figure is 625 grams. But most of the top 10 firms in China produce 752 grams of CO2…

"…China closed down 54.07 gigawatt of the least efficient coal-fired plants over the last three and a half years — more than the total electricity installed capacity of Australia…[Greenpeace] urged power firms to phase out all inefficient coal-fired plants under 100 megawatt by 2012…Firms are already turning to renewable energy and by the end of last year Guodian had installed 2.88 gigawatt of wind power; almost 24% of China's total and enough to make it the biggest wind energy firm in Asia…"

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"[But] only three of the top 10 produced 10% or more of their energy from renewable sources. The vast majority relied heavily on hydropower…[Eight do not] produce [the required] 3% of energy from other renewable sources by 2010…Greenpeace urged the Chinese government to impose energy and environment taxes on coal…[encourage] efficiency…[and] renewable sources…[and] called for a doubling of the national renewable energy target to 30% by 2020 and for stricter efficiency standards for coal-fired power stations.

"The State Council, China's cabinet, is currently drawing up plans for a massive "new energy" programme to cut emissions and ensure energy security. Reports in the domestic media and from foreign diplomats suggest the next decade could see between 1.4 trillion (US$200 bn) and 4.5 trillion yuan (US$600bn) investment in projects ranging from nuclear power, low carbon transport and clean coal technology to super-efficient electric grids…[E]xperts warn that de-carbonising the energy supply must happen fast, given the massive toll on China's environment…"