QUICK NEWS, 7-27: RES RISES AGAIN; STATES WANT FEDS IN OFFSHORE WIND; SUN-MADE LIQUID FUELS; LOW GHG A/C FROM GM

RES RISES AGAIN
Daschle, Reid differ on 60-vote prediction for green-power mandate
Darren Goode, July 26, 2010 (The Hill)

"Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle and other advocates of a first-time [renewable electricity standard (RES) mandating a minimum use of renewable sources] insist they have enough votes to include it in an upcoming Senate oil spill and energy package, despite Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) prediction to the contrary."

[Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader:] “We are very, very confident that we’ve got the votes… We can virtually guarantee there’ll be an amendment offered…”

How could any self-respecting politician see these numbers and be against an RES? (click to enlarge)

"…[Reid] may only allow a limited number of amendments to get something passed in a short available window on the floor and avoid other contentious provisions that could sink the broader bill… [Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association] said they have done a whip count, which Daschle said was based off support for an RES that was included in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee bill that passed with bipartisan support last year. That mandate would require electric utilities to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal by 2021. A quarter of that mandate could be met through energy efficiency measures.

"Republicans have wanted that to include both existing and new nuclear production, while Southeastern lawmakers in both parties have argued their region lacks the resources necessary to meet a national mandate. Green groups, meanwhile, have been calling for a tougher standard than the one in the Senate energy panel’s product…Daschle — who co-wrote a recent op-ed with former Senate Republican leader Bob Dole advocating an RES — said Reid may have confused whether there are 60 votes for a mandate itself and whether there are enough votes overall for the spill and energy package…"

Is there any need for jobs these days? (click to enlarge)

"He said the best chance to get the RES through is as part of the larger spill and energy strategy, and acknowledged it is unlikely a stand-alone RES would be moved on the Senate floor after the upcoming August recess…Daschle, Bode and others — including Iowa Gov. Chet Culver (D) — stressed that the Senate has to act on the mandate to save jobs and the future of the wind and other industries in the United States…

"Bode said investment in wind energy in the U.S. has taken a sharp decline this year and that the country has fallen behind both China and the European Union. “We’re going backwards, we’re not going forwards,” she said."


STATES WANT FEDS IN OFFSHORE WIND
Md., Del. govs ask feds to join wind energy pact
Randall Chase, July 22, 2010 (AP via Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

"The governors of Delaware and Maryland asked the federal government…to join their states in buying offshore wind energy as part of an effort to establish a wind energy manufacturing industry in the mid-Atlantic region.

"Govs. Jack Markell and Martin O'Malley sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking that he direct federal agencies to join Delaware and Maryland in offering to purchase one gigawatt, or 1 billion watts, of energy from offshore wind turbines…"

D.C. is at the heart of the nation's richest wind supply. (click to enlarge)

"Delaware officials already have authorized utilities to enter into long-term contracts for 230 megawatts of electricity from a planned wind farm off the coast of Rehoboth and Maryland has offered to buy 55 megawatts from the proposed 450 million watt project…[but] a commitment to purchase one gigawatt of wind energy could…[create] a manufacturing base and supply chain that could bring up to 20,000 jobs to the region…

"Markell said the project planned about 12 miles off Rehoboth Beach is "absolutely feasible" as currently planned, but that a large power purchase agreement would lead to more job creation in the region by renewable energy businesses…[T]he wind energy that would be purchased could power federal facilities in and around the nation's capital, including military installations in Delaware and Maryland."

Maryland, almost adjacent to D.C., has a measured abundance of offshore wind. (click to enlarge)

"Given its current size, the planned offshore wind farm would have to be expanded or supplemented with another facility in order to reach gigawatt capacity…Delaware environmental secretary Collin O'Mara said the area in which the offshore wind farm would be built is big enough to accommodate 1.5 gigawatts of generation…[composed of] 300 5-megawatt turbines…[A] Delmarva Power substation near Millsboro that is being upgraded to accommodate a regional transmission line known as the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway, or MAPP, would be able to transfer power from the offshore turbines to the electrical grid serving the mid-Atlantic region…

"O'Malley and Markell also called for better coordination among federal agencies on offshore wind issues and asked Obama to support legislative efforts to remove barriers to wind energy development. Among the goals they cited are increasing loan guarantees, extending production tax credits, streamlining the permitting process and allowing the General Services Administration to enter into power purchase agreements beyond 10 years…"


SUN-MADE LIQUID FUELS
Berkeley lab co-leads $122 million sunlight-to-fuel effort
Suzanne Bohan, July 23, 2010 (Contra Costa Times via San Jose Mercury News)

"Plants fuel the world with their ability to convert sunlight into a usable form of energy. Now, the Department of Energy is putting up $122 million to help humans capture the energy of the sun and create renewable liquid fuels through ‘artificial photosynthesis.’

"Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena were selected to lead the ambitious research project…Its aim is to master the basic science involved, and develop applications that can be scaled up for commercial use…Nathan Lewis, a Caltech chemist…will serve as director of the sun-to-energy research collaboration, called the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis."

click to enlarge

"Scientists acknowledge the formidable challenge of creating tiny devices that will mimic the microscopic inner workings of one of nature's more intricate processes — photosynthesis. Plants are able to absorb sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, and in a marvel of nature's ingenuity, yield oxygen and carbohydrates that fuel most life on Earth…[I]nstead of yielding a simple carbohydrate, artificial photosynthesis would be designed to create oxygen and liquid fuels such as hydrocarbons or alcohols that could be directly pumped into vehicles, without additional, costly refinement.

"It's not a new quest, but the modest successes thus far have been confined to basic research labs, many steps from practical applications. The techniques also sometimes have required rare, expensive materials that would make any ultimate commercial scale-up impractical. But advances in nanotechnology, a field in which the Berkeley lab excels, make the development of artificial photosynthesis far more realistic…"

click to enlarge

"With nanotechnology, scientists can create "nanowires" that are one-1,000th the size of a human hair, along with elements like nanocrystals. These tiny machine parts are designed to replicate photosynthesis on a scale closer to what happens inside a leaf…

"The five-year artificial photosynthesis project will get $22 million in funding this fiscal year, and $25 million per year for the remaining four years, subject to Congressional approval…[It could] create 100 new jobs, not including construction and other contract jobs. It also engages the work of an estimated 200 scientists statewide. Other universities involved in the artificial photosynthesis hub include SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and UC San Diego…"


LOW GHG A/C FROM GM
GM Scores Global First with New Climate Protection Technology
Alexandra Viets, July 26, 2010 (Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development)

"General Motors (GM) scored a global first by being the first company worldwide to introduce a climate-friendly refrigerant to replace the super greenhouse gas currently used in auto air conditioning. The new refrigerant, called an HFO, has a global warming potential of just 4 compared to over 1,400 for the current refrigerant, HFC-134a. Use of the new refrigerant will start in 2013, with Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models sold in the U.S.

"GM’s new refrigerant remains in the atmosphere for just 11 days…[Its maker] Honeywell calculates that the low global warming potential (GWP) and the short lifetime of its HFO achieve a 99.7 percent improvement in the climate impact of its refrigerant compared to the current HFC-134a…HFCs are considered super greenhouse gases, and are the fastest growing part of the U.S. climate emissions, estimated to grow more than 140% by 2020 compared to 4% growth for all U.S. climate emissions…"

GM has found a replacement for a small but potent part of the problem. (click to enlarge)

"The technology announced by GM is the culmination of more than a decade of cooperation among industry, government, and standard-setting organizations. The transition to low-GWP refrigerants is being driven by regulation in the European Union that will phase out auto air conditioning refrigerants with GWPs higher than 150 between 2011 and 2017, and similar regulation in California with the same 2017 deadline. In the United States, the improved environmental performance of the new refrigerant helps car makers achieve the 40 percent improvement in average vehicle fuel economy required by 2016. An additional incentive for a rapid refrigerant transition is the pending petition before the U.S. EPA to remove HFC-134a…

"A proposal to phase down HFCs in the U.S. is part of the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill and the Waxman-Markey bill. The proposal is one of the few provisions with bipartisan support. The HFC phase-down could still be part of the oil spill legislation that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to move in the coming days…Proposals also are pending under the Montreal Protocol to phase out the use of all high-GWP HFCs in all sectors…Phasing out high-GWP HFCs under the Montreal Protocol will provide climate mitigation of 5 to 8 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year, for a cumulative total of 88 to 145 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent by 2050…"