MORE NEWS, 8-18: CAP&TRADE FIGHT COMING; INVESTORS BUYING WIRES & BATTERIES; THE PROMISE OF GEOTHERMAL; OHIO WANTS NEW ENERGY JOBS

CAP&TRADE FIGHT COMING
Senate climate bill to include free permits
Richard Cowan (w/avid Alexander and Eric Beech) August 14, 2009 (Reuters)

"A climate control bill that Democratic leaders hope to move through the U.S. Senate will seek to give companies a substantial number of pollution permits, potentially worth billions of dollars, rather than sell them, an aide to a key Democratic senator said…

"There will be a "significant role" for allocations -- or free permits -- in the Senate bill, similar to the approach taken by the global warming legislation recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the aide said."

The plan is to auction progressively more of the emissions allowances as the system gets going. (click to enlarge)

"The free permits are designed to help companies during a transition period…build business support for the legislation…[and] shield consumers from bigger price increases for energy and other goods…Under the House-passed bill, about 85 percent of pollution permits…[required] to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases initially would be given to companies…Senate Democrats are expected to introduce their version of a sweeping bill to control carbon emissions from utilities and manufacturers [when Congress reconvenes September 8]…

"The aide, who asked not to be identified, said…the Senate bill] will not lay out the specific formula for dispensing the pollution permits [potentially worth billions of dollars], which would diminish over time as companies are allowed to emit fewer and fewer greenhouse gases…The formula will be worked out when the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meets…"

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showed the plan will control costs. Studies by the Environmental Protection Agenchy (EPA) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) found the same. (click to enlarge)

"The committee, along with other Senate panels, also [has] to work out many other thorny issues, including possible trade protections for some domestic energy-intensive industries, such as steel, cement and paper…[and possible] changes to the House's overall targets…for emissions cuts from 2005 levels of 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. There are pressures to both reduce or increase those targets in the Senate.

"President Barack Obama, who has made a high priority of enacting climate control legislation [because he wants as much progress as possible before the December United Nations meeting in Copenhagen to discuss a new global climate change treaty], initially proposed the government sale of all of the permits. But the House did not follow that path and Obama has shown flexibility…It is not clear whether the full Senate will pass a bill this year, although Democratic leaders say they will try in October…"


INVESTORS BUYING WIRES, BATTERIES
Green dollars moving to smart grid, energy storage
Poornima Gupta (w/Matthew Lewis), August 17, 2009 (Reuters)

"The U.S. green technology sector, which suffered a drop in funding early this year, is seeing renewed interest with venture dollars flowing in once again to promising startups and some companies looking to resurrect public offerings that had been set aside.

"Investment is seen shifting from capital-intensive energy generating technologies, such as solar and wind, to those associated with energy storage, transportation and efficiency…[like] lithium-ion battery makers and startups in the smart grid sector…Smart grid technologies aim to make the existing power grid more efficient and reliable…"

Investment was way off in the 1st half of 2009. (It will likely pick up in the 2nd half). (click to enlarge)

"Industry experts and company executives are expecting the appetite for investments in green technologies, sometimes referred to as cleantech, to see a significant pickup as early as this fall, with continued improvement through 2010…[But] activity is unlikely to reach the $2.6 billion peak seen in the third quarter of 2008…

"...$100 billion for a wide variety of green technology [from the Department of Energy (DOE)] is also providing a big boost…[but] government grant and loan money is still making its way to the companies…Overall, green technology venture investments rose 73 percent to $572 million in April to June from the previous quarter, according to a study by Ernst & Young…[There is reportedly] a lot more money on the sidelines waiting for…when the economy brightens…Some big institutions are already braving the risks…Calpers, the largest U.S. pension fund…committed $60 million to prominent Silicon Valley-based Khosla Ventures in June…"

Investment in solar was WAY off in the 1st half. 2nd half - no comment. (click to enlarge)

"Green technology companies…[set investment records] in 2007 and 2008 on heightened worries about global warming and soaring oil prices…But investments dried up last year as oil prices tumbled…and the U.S. economy slipped into a recession…Solar companies…were the hardest hit…Solar venture investments hit a three-year low in the second quarter…[because] investors now are more interested in [less capital intensive] technology…[like] smart grid infrastructure and energy efficiency…

"Inventing less costly ways to store energy has so far been a stumbling block toward widespread use of renewable energy…That quest helped lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems attract $69 million last quarter…[R]esidential smart grid company Tendril attracted $30 million in June. Energy efficiency company CPower and Grid Net, which builds software for smart meters, also were successful in raising money…A123 Systems and biotech firm Codexis are actively monitoring the markets to launch their initial public offerings…"


THE PROMISE OF GEOTHERMAL
Geothermal power search holds promise, threat
David R. Baker and David Perlman, August 16, 2009 (SF Chronicle)

"On a high ridge in the Mayacamas Mountains, a drill slowly bores into the earth…[AltaRock Energy] has chosen this ridge to try a new form of geothermal power, using the heat of the Earth to produce energy. The surrounding hills…north of San Francisco…hold more than a dozen older geothermal plants that tap underground pockets of steam to turn turbines and generate electricity.

"But AltaRock will drill below the steam pockets, burrowing into deep rocks hotter than 500 degrees Fahrenheit…fracture those rocks with high-pressure water, creating a network of cracks...[and] then pump more water into the cracks, using the rocks to heat the water and create steam. Geologists monitoring the $17 million project say it will create earthquakes, but most will be too small to notice…[If successful] the technique could work most anywhere. Geothermal energy, which produces almost no greenhouse gas emissions, would no longer be limited to rare places…that have steam or super-heated water underground…"

Schematic of dry hot rock geothermal. (click to enlarge)

"…[Residents near the drilling] worry about the repercussions…Their homes have been rattled by frequent earthquakes for years. The shaking increased after Lake County and the city of Santa Rosa started pumping treated waste water into nearby wells to recharge the underground steam fields…

"Fracturing deep rocks for geothermal energy touched off a 3.4-magnitude earthquake in Basel, Switzerland, in 2006…[S]imilarities between AltaRock's project and the one in Basel prompted the federal Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Energy to take another look…[It allowed the] drilling [but] the government won't let AltaRock pump water into the well and fracture rock until federal officials are satisfied that the project is safe…"

The deeper you drill, the hotter it gets. (click to enlarge)

"…AltaRock [says it] isn't drilling as close to big fault lines as the Basel drillers did, and the water pressure the company will use to fracture underground rocks will be lower than in Basel…[The area has had] more than 300 quakes greater than a magnitude 2 hitting each year for the last five years…The number of quakes has been growing in the last decade, a rise many residents blame on the injection of waste water into the steam fields. But some of the area's seismicity is natural…A magma bubble lies just 4 miles below…[making it] an ideal place to test…hot dry rock [geothermal]...

"AltaRock will use high-pressure water to lubricate the rock, allowing natural pressures within the rocks to create a network of cracks that can be used to heat water…Each fresh fracture inevitably creates new "micro-earthquakes" …[but] evidence shows there are no faults in [the area]… Most places don't have 500-degree rocks so close to the surface. But "hot dry rock" geothermal power could still work in other parts of the country, provided the wells are drilled much deeper…The benefits for a world grappling with climate change could be huge….[G]eothermal plants can run nonstop, producing a steady stream of power…"


OHIO WANTS NEW ENERGY JOBS
Ohio coalition pushing for clean energy jobs plan
Gazette Staff, August 17, 2009 (Chillicothe Gazette)

"…[A] diverse coalition is strongly urging Congress to pass a comprehensive clean energy jobs plan…The coalition has released a set of studies underscoring how comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation can renew Ohio's economy with new clean energy jobs…

"…[The Clean Energy Economy; Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America] from Pew Charitable Trusts…examined the number of clean energy jobs that already exist in each state and discovered that more than 35,000 Ohioans already are employed in clean energy endeavors…"

click to enlarge

"...[Green Recovery], conducted by the Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, found the American Clean Energy & Security Act, passed by the House of Representatives, would create a net increase of 1.7 million new jobs, including 67,356 in Ohio."

click to enlarge

"A report from Green for All and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Prosperity, also touts clean energy jobs as a way to fight poverty and raise living standards across the country…

"The Clean Energy Park Initiative in Piketon involves a partnership between Duke Energy, French-based Areva, USEC, UniStar and the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative. Its intent, as stated in a June announcement in Piketon, is to focus on transitioning land, infrastructure and workforce resources in and around the former nuclear weapons site into clean energy production as cleanup of the sites nears completion. The centerpiece would be a new nuclear power facility sometime in the next decade if all hurdles can be cleared."