NewEnergyNews: MORE NEWS, 7-8 (FEDS FUND FARM & RANCH SMALL WIND; TOYOTA PLUG-IN BY 2012; KICKING THE COAL HABIT)

NewEnergyNews

Gleanings from the web and the world, condensed for convenience, illustrated for enlightenment, arranged for impact...

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YESTERDAY

  • SUNDAY WORLD- LATIN AMERICAN WINDS
  • SUNDAY WORLD- NEW SOLAR POWER PLANT MONEY FOR SPAIN
  • SUNDAY WORLD- NORWAY’S OCEAN OSMOSIS PLAY
  • SUNDAY WORLD- GREEN BROTHER IN KENYA
  • SUNDAY WORLD- W/HYDROPOWER DROUGHTED, KENYA GOES GEOTHERMAL

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    GET THE DAILY HEADLINES EMAIL: CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR SEND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO: herman@NewEnergyNews.net

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    THE DAY BEFORE

  • Saturday Video: Tick Tick Tick
  • Saturday Video: We Are All Connected
  • Saturday Video: Climate Crock Of The Week

    • THE DAY BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE

    THINGS-TO-THINK-ABOUT FRIDAY, 11-27:

  • TTTA Friday- THE COPENHAGEN DEAL
  • TTTA Friday- THE FORCES OF RUIN, OUT TO RUIN THE COPENHAGEN DEAL
  • TTTA Friday- ENERGY STORAGE GETS HOT, 1
  • TTTA Friday- ENERGY STORAGE GETS HOT, 2
  • TTTA Friday- ENERGY STORAGE GETS HOT, 3

    • THE DAY BEFORE THAT

  • THANKSGIVING - A Word Of Thanks
  • THANKSGIVING - For The Cause
  • THANKSGIVING - If You See Somebody Today You’d Like To Hit With A Turkey, Don’t

    • AND THE DAY BEFORE THAT

  • HEADLINE: NUCLEAR ENERGY IS SIMPLY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE (& NEW ENERGY IS THE BEST BUY)
  • MORE NEWS, 11-25: HOUSES W/O UTILITY BILLS; HEARTLAND WIND FROM ENEL, WINDSTREAM; THE SUCCESS OF NET METERING; UTILITIES AND SOLAR POWER PLANTS

    • THE LAST DAY UP HERE

  • HEADLINE: ASIA, THE U.S. AND THE NEW ENERGY RACE
  • MORE NEWS, 11-24: CONGRESS POSTPONES CLIMATE CHANGE; $4 BIL FOR U.S. WIND JOBS; NEW ENERGY POLISHES RUST; COAL AND THE DAMAGE DONE

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    Anne B. Butterfield of DAILY CAMERA, is a biweekly contributor to NewEnergyNews

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  • The first rule of holes - Stop digging
  • Anne B. Butterfield, November 21, 2009 (NewEnergyNews)

    “The supply of cheap coal is no longer abundant. Seventy percent of Colorado`s electricity comes from coal plants and that is too much today, and over time it will become an impediment to economic growth.” - Tom Sanzillo.

    Most experienced investors know that the way to invest safely is through a diversified portfolio of stocks picked across a variety of market sectors, with options to keep money in cash, bonds, metals or land. That`s diversity. It spreads the risk and allows flexibility to respond to changing market conditions.

    If any stockbroker saw that your portfolio on which you will utterly depend in the future, were 70 percent in one sector, that would be the fist thing he would tell you to change. Too much exposure. Too risky. Too rigid.

    Now look at Colorado`s power generation: it comes 70 percent from one fuel type: coal, a fuel source documented by the United States Geological Survey, plus the Departments of Energy, Agriculture and Interior, have all estimated our days of cheap coal ending in as little as two decades.

    In Colorado, vaunted as a "coal state" by so many politicians, production of the black rock peaked in 2004 and fell off about one-fifth in four years, according to the Energy Information Administration. On top of that, documents from Xcel Energy show that four mines in Colorado entered "force majeure" status in the past eighteen months meaning they were hampered by exogenous difficulties that freed them from contractual obligations.

    The coal situation is a sword of Damocles over Colorado`s prosperity, particularly because when XcelEnergy fires up its new 750 megawatt coal plant soon in Pueblo, it will increase the utility`s coal burn by 25 percent on coal brought in from Wyoming. That means exporting our dollars on fuel we don`t need.

    Sending our fuel dollars out of state adds insult to the basic injury of our largest utility increasing its basic rates on people already being disconnected at 5,000 per month, plus passing on coal costs that are will jump by 25 percent this year, both in cost and volume.

    Up at our northern fuel source, Wyoming`s Powder River Basin is now producing 40 percent of our nation`s coal from mines that mostly have life spans of less than twenty years. The PRB`s future mine sites shall be much deeper underground than today`s mines, that means escalating costs. Generally all other states producing coal have gotten past their peak production.

    "What`s not understood is how expensive it`s going to be to get that coal out of the ground," says Tom Sanzillo, the former acting Comptroller of the State of New York who was responsible for his state`s pension plans, some of the nation`s largest. He made it his calling after retirement to examine the investment case for coal fired power and he now he gives testimony to numerous states` governments. His testimony is that investing in coal power generation in general, and in Colorado in particular, is a sinking ship.

    Sanzillo has seen a side of the coal industry that occasionally burps out truth. Attending the World Coal Conference in London in late October, he saw coal executives respond to mini instant polls in which they used hand clickers to vote anonymously. To one question "Do you believe coal reserve assessments to be accurate?" their answer was "No" -- to the tune of 89 percent.

    No one is thinking that coal reserves are underestimated, but no one in the business is discussing the problem aloud, either. Sanzillo explains: "It takes a while for people to wrap their heads around this knowledge which means decades of common wisdom being overturned."

    And here we are, increasing instead of reducing Colorado`s 70 percent coal profile while the climate bill coming out of the U.S. Congress proposes to intensify our nation`s investment in coal through carbon capture and storage schemes.

    That`s sending good money after bad. You don`t invest in a costly, unproven infrastructure to service a fuel source that is fast depleting anymore than you put fancy improvements onto a house that`s been claimed by eminent domain.

    Fortunately this week, twenty Colorado state lawmakers asked the U.S. Senate to limit funding for coal and nuclear energy in the energy bill so as not to prevent diversification into efficiency, wind and solar, which even Xcel`s own projections have shown can pay off in savings in as little as four years.

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    Anne's previous NewEnergyNews columns:

  • The first rule of holes - Stop digging (November 21, 2009)
  • Boulder Start-up to Profit on Atmospheric CO2 in Manufacturing (November 11, 2009)
  • The wind for new energy is stiffening (October 26, 2009)
  • Necessary but not sufficient (October 14, 2009)
  • Tort reform: Go big, Obama! (September 14, 2009)
  • Xcel takes aim at Boulder’s solar (July 27, 2009)
  • Selfishly seeking clean energy (July 12, 2009)
  • The big ka-ching in our health care wallet (June 19, 2009)
  • It takes a Governor (May 24, 2009)
  • Want a job? Think Wind. (May 10, 2009)
  • Just Say No to Xcess Energy (April 28, 2009)
  • NREL’s history of fickle funding (April 12, 2009)
  • Wagons firmly circled: Governance at REA’s and Tri-State (March 26, 2009)
  • A new migratory pattern: Colorado youth go to Washington (March 12, 2009)
  • Even coal is in for a revolution (February 22, 2009)
  • High Flyers and the Commons (February 11, 2009)
  • Come on Baby, Sit by Me (January 25, 2009)
  • A return on investment (January 3, 2009)
  • Mr. Secretary, we're watching you (December 28, 2008)
  • Canary in the Coal Mine (December 13, 2008)
  • Crash test dummies (November 16, 2008)
  • Needless markup (November 2, 2008)
  • The flap about 58 (October 19, 2008)
  • Hip towns and a clever measure (October 7, 2008)
  • Are we afraid of change? Still? (September 21, 2008)
  • Cheney in a chignon (September 7, 2008)
  • Don't tick off the blonde (August 10, 2008)
  • Buying us time on global warming (July 27, 2008)
  • Hint from Heloise - It's the pH, Stupid! (July 13, 2008)
  • Nukes: the position ridiculous and the expense damnable (June 29, 2008)

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    About Me

    Name: Herman K. Trabish
    Location: La Crescenta, CA

    *Doctor with my hands *Author of the "OIL IN THEIR BLOOD" series with my head *Student of New Energy with my heart

    View my complete profile

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      A tip of the NewEnergyNews cap to Phillip Garcia for crucial assistance in the design implementation of this site. Thanks, Phillip.

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    Pay a visit to the HARRY BOYKOFF page at Basketball Reference, sponsored by NewEnergyNews and Oil In Their Blood.

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    • Wednesday, July 08, 2009

    MORE NEWS, 7-8 (FEDS FUND FARM & RANCH SMALL WIND; TOYOTA PLUG-IN BY 2012; KICKING THE COAL HABIT)

    FEDS FUND FARM & RANCH SMALL WIND
    USDA Small Wind Turbine Grants Cover 25% of All Costs - Applications due July 31, 2009
    July 7, 2009 (PR Newswire)

    "Farmers, ranchers and rural business owners have until July 31, 2009 to apply for the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants. The grants provide funds to purchase and install small wind turbines (or other renewable energy systems). Farmers, ranchers and rural business owners are eligible for grants to cover 25% of the total installed cost of the small wind turbine system. These USDA grants, when used in conjunction with the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), can help a farmer install a small wind turbine system for roughly 50% of the normal cost.

    "These incentives, when coupled with the cost savings realized from producing one's own electricity, can result in impressive investment prospects…[I]n locations with 11 mph average wind speeds and with utility rates of $0.12 per kWh, a farmer could realize a 12% annual rate of return on her investment and a payback of 8 years…[I]n certain locations where the local utility cooperative (or rural electric association) offers a rebate to its members…farmers may realize an even greater return on investment and a shorter term payback."

    Looks like its about to boom even bigger. (click to enlarge)

    "The grant program is designed to assist farmers and ranchers who gain 50% or more of their gross income from agricultural operations. Rural small businesses with less than 15 employees are also eligible. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) offers examples of farmers and small business owners who have successfully installed small wind turbine systems on their property…[A]pplications must be submitted to local USDA Rural Development offices by July 31, 2009. It may take up to 2 weeks for a farmer to fully complete an application thus it is recommended to begin the process as soon as possible.

    "For more information…Renewable Options & Investments (david@renewable-roi.com, 517-812-3285) …USDA Rural Development Offices (http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/scrty/sdirs.html)… Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) (www.dsireusa.org)…American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) (www.awea.org)…"


    TOYOTA PLUG-IN BY 2012
    Toyota to mass produce plug-in hybrids from 2012 –Nikkei
    Chang-Ran Kim and Nobuhiro Kubo (w/Valerie Lee), July 4, 2009 (Reuters)

    "Toyota Motor Corp plans to start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012, with a projected first-year output of about 20,000 to 30,000 units, the Nikkei business daily reported…

    "Toyota has said it would start leasing 500 plug-in cars globally by the end of this year, primarily for government and corporate use, but has not said when it would commercialise them."

    Who will emerge from the pack? (click to enlarge)

    "Plug-ins can be cleaner than regular hybrids as they can run purely on electricity but the need for more batteries makes them expensive.

    "Toyota wants to price its plug-in hybrids at a comparable price to Mitsubishi Motors Corp's all-electric car, which debuts this month to fleet customers in Japan at 4.59 million yen ($47,800) before government subsidies, the Nikkei said…Toyota's new Prius gasoline-electric hybrid costs less than half that, starting at 2.05 million yen in Japan."

    Unless it recharges Japan. (click to enlarge)

    "Toyota's plug-ins will be able to run 20-30 km (12.4-18.6 miles) on battery power alone at full charge…Toyota has said the car will be powered by lithium-ion batteries developed and produced by its joint venture with Panasonic Corp…

    "Toyota's plug-in hybrids would fan competition against General Motors Corp's much-hyped Chevy Volt plug-in, which can also be charged at home through an electric socket…GM is aiming to launch the Volt -- a showcase vehicle for its effort to reinvent itself after filing for bankruptcy last month -- by the end of 2010 and plans to have a total 14 hybrid models in production by 2012."


    KICKING THE COAL HABIT
    Los Angeles will end use of coal-fired power
    Bernie Woodall (w/Marguerita Choy), July 2, 2009 (Reuters)

    "Los Angeles will eliminate the use of electricity made from coal by 2020, replacing it with power from cleaner renewable energy sources, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.

    "Consumers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest city-owned utility in the United States with 1.45 million electricity customers, will see higher power bills in the fight against climate change, he added in his inaugural speech for his second four-year term as mayor…"

    A prominent investment banker seems to think coal has some problems. (click to enlarge)

    "California does not have any coal-fired power plants, a leading contributor to greenhouse gas pollution, but the LADWP now gets 40 percent of its electricity from coal plants outside the state…Coal and natural gas-fired power now account for 76 percent of the electricity delivered by the LADWP. By 2020, the LADWP expects to cut its carbon emissions by up to 60 percent from 1990 levels, according to the mayor's office.

    "Villaraigosa said the LADWP will meet its goal of getting 20 percent of its power from renewables by 2010…The LADWP also wants to cut overall electricity use by 1 percent a year for the next 10 years…through energy efficiency…Deputy Mayor David Freeman said the LADWP will continue to use power from the coal-fired 2,250-megawatt Navajo Generating Station in Arizona until 2019…negotiations have not yet begun on how and when the LADWP will leave its contract as lead owner of the 1,800-megawatt coal-fired Intermountain plant in Utah…"

    What is economically recoverable may not be very abundant. (click to enlarge)

    "Villaraigosa and Freeman said the elimination of coal-fired power will…one day increase rates but [the LADWP 12 cents per kilowatt-hour rate] will remain competitive with the 15.5 cents per kwh of the average Southern California Edison customer…The Navajo plant can deliver power at 3 cents per kwh, and the Intermountain power is between 4 to 5 cents per kwh.

    "Freeman said that coal power costs will rise as rules limiting carbon dioxide, including a cap-and-trade system, are implemented…But "costs to society" such as higher medical bills for lung-related diseases, including asthma, will drop…"

    posted by Herman K. Trabish @ 5:49 AM

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