QUICK NEWS, 4-4: FUKUSHIMA WILL TAKE ‘SEVERAL MONTHS’; CALIF CLIMATE FIGHT STUCK; RENO’S GREEN DASHBOARD; WIND, WAVES GET BIGGER

FUKUSHIMA WILL TAKE ‘SEVERAL MONTHS’
Japan nuclear plant could continue to release dangerous radiation for several months
David Nakamura, April 3, 2011 (Washington Post)

"The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could continue to release dangerous radiation into the air for several months, Japanese officials said Sunday, acknowledging their painstakingly slow progress in the battle to regain control of the badly damaged facility…[A] special adviser to [the] Prime Minister…first raised the specter of a months-long stabilization process…[The] government’s top spokesman…confirmed the time frame…[and said] the government will continue to examine alternative emergency measures ‘to shorten that period’ but…conceded they ‘may not be feasible.’

"…The public disclosure that authorities were viewing the fight in a window of months, not days or weeks, illustrated the complex challenges and uncertain nature of the massive operation, now in its fourth week, to repair the crippled power plant…[Underscoring the complexity,] the Tokyo Electric Power Co. announced it had retrieved the bodies of two workers who had gone missing March 11."

Living like this for months? (click to enlarge)

"Kazuhiko Kokubo, 24, and Yoshiki Terashima, 21, found Wednesday in the basement of the No. 4 reactor, were killed by the massive earthquake and tsunami that day, the company said, not by the subsequent release of dangerous radiation. They worked in the operation management division and were doing routine checks of the power plant when the quake struck…[The announcement of the deaths was delayed] at the request of family members…

"The announcement, coming a day after Tepco found irradiated water leaking into the sea from a crack in a storage pit at the No. 4 reactor, stoked fears about what other surprises lie in wait for emergency workers. Efforts to stem the leaking water, first by pouring concrete into the crack and then a water-absorbent polymer, have been unsuccessful…[A] spokesman for Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency insisted there has been ‘a degree of progress…[but] ‘challenges…for several weeks and others for several months and others that take even longer…’"

Living like this for months? (click to enlarge)

"Tepco and the government have been criticized by outside experts, the media and the public for failing to disclose information in a timely, transparent manner…Armed with complex charts, government ministers from several agencies [now attempt daily] to explain the incremental progress being made. But time and again, the small success stories have been overshadowed by more shocking revelations…

"[T]he International Atomic Energy Agency said it had found radiation in quantities it considered high enough to warrant evacuation outside the government’s 12-mile evacuation zone around the Daiichi plant. Another day, Tepco announced it had made a major error in reporting the radiation levels…Deep skepticism has set in among reporters…"


CALIF CLIMATE FIGHT STUCK
Suspension Of Cap And Trade Expected To Have Limited Effects
Laura Norin, 29 March 2011 (North American Windpower)

"California's landmark cap-and-trade program for curbing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions faces new uncertainty due to a recent California Superior Court decision. It is very likely that cap and trade ultimately will be implemented in a form similar to its current design, but implementation could be delayed…[which would harm the New Energy industries] economically by deferring anticipated program benefits. However, as long as the delay is short and the long-term prospects for the cap-and-trade program are not in question, the damage should be limited.

"The court's decision arose from a lawsuit filed by the Association of Irritated Residents and several other environmental organizations that object to the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) implementation of the GHG regulation mandate established by the state's A.B.32 legislation."

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"The lawsuit does not contest the basic concept of GHG regulation or CARB's authority to regulate GHG emissions. The environmental groups object to CARB's reliance on a cap-and-trade market to achieve a significant proportion of the required GHG emissions reductions, preferring direct emissions-reduction measures instead. Direct measures ensure local pollution reductions in low-income communities that house industrial facilities, whereas market mechanisms provide facilities the option to purchase carbon allowances in lieu of reducing their emissions.

"…[New Energy] providers that sell power into California will benefit from any GHG-reduction program that increases the cost to produce or sell fossil-fueled power in the state…[Benefits] may be greater under a program of direct emissions-reductions requirements than under a cap-and-trade market, because direct ‘command and control’ requirements are theoretically less efficient than market mechanisms, resulting in a higher effective price of carbon emissions…[but benefits are] likely to depend more on the details of the regulatory program than on the overall program structure."

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"The key consideration…is therefore not the structure of the GHG regulations, but the timing. A delay in implementing the cap-and-trade program would…defer the benefits that are expected to arise from putting a price on GHG emissions…[and] a delay is possible; the court ordered CARB to stop implementing its GHG-reduction programs until it…[expands] the discussion of alternatives to the cap-and-trade program in its environmental impact assessment, and [resolves] a procedural matter related to the timing of the adoption of its GHG-reduction programs.

"Any delay is likely to be short in nature, because the court decision found fault only with CARB's procedural steps…CARB is planning a legal appeal…and may request a stay of the decision…[I]t is unclear whether it will ultimately require changes to the GHG-reduction programs, which would likely involve a longer delay, or simply additional procedural steps to demonstrate that the cap-and-trade program was properly selected…[D]emand for renewable energy in California is not likely to be materially affected…[except by the delay in benefits]…"


RENO’S GREEN DASHBOARD
Reno Site Offers Comparison Shopping for Home Wind Turbines; Small turbine sales are increasing every year, but useful data on the amount of electricity the turbines generate is still hard to come by
Maria Gallucci, March 28, 2011 (SolveClimate)

"…[C]ity officials in Reno, Nevada, are helping consumers take the guesswork out of buying home turbines…[with] an online consumer guide called the Green Energy Dashboard that allows potential buyers to track performance of nine different turbines at four sites throughout Reno, including the city hall and a water treatment plant.

"Last month, data collected on wind speed, wind direction and potential energy production began streaming in real time to the three-dimensional, interactive Wind Resource Map…to show homeowners and businesses how each turbine type might fare…and where…"

click thru to the interactive website

"The smallest turbines, or micro units, range from .02 to .5 kilowatts, or enough electricity to charge a car battery. The larger turbines can reach 100 kilowatts and are an ideal size for generating power at large facilities with heavy electricity loads…Wind towers in the Reno project — each a different make and model — range from 1.5 to 15 kilowatts, a scale suitable for pumping water at the three waste treatment plants…An average utility-scale turbine, by comparison, can churn out 1,500 kilowatts, or 1.5 megawatts…

"…In 2009, U.S. sales on small units grew to $83 million on 9,800 units — up 15 percent from 2008 sales…Residential-scale turbines can cost from $3,000 to $50,000 to install…[A] typical home wind system costs around $32,000 for 10 kilowatts of capacity. A comparable photovoltaic solar system would cost over $80,000 to install…"

click thru to the interactive map

"…[U]seful information is still hard to come by…[M]oving turbines even short distances could drastically affect the wind power potential, and building custom roof mounts could cost just as much as the turbine itself…[M]anufacturers couldn't say if ice would form on the blades, and one model shut down during bursts of gusty wind above 28 miles per hour. An ideal range for generating small wind power is 20 to 25 miles per hour…

"…Reno…expects to get 15 to 20 percent of its electricity from wind, solar and geothermal energy by mid-2012. Efficiency measures are on track to help reduce municipal energy consumption by 30 percent next year, saving about $1 million in annual costs…The city is also likely to meet its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2012 from 2003 levels…Reno used nearly $1 million of city grant money to purchase and install the turbines, plus an additional $550,000 to develop and run the three-dimensional wind map…More small turbines could be added to the nine-turbine project in the future, and some residents have offered to tie in their personal turbines to the study…"


WIND, WAVES GET BIGGER
Wind and waves growing across the globe
25 March 2011 (Swinburne University of Technology)

"Oceanic wind speeds and wave heights have increased significantly over the last quarter of a century according to a major new study undertaken by Australian researchers…the most comprehensive of its kind ever undertaken…

"Studies of climate change typically consider measurements or predictions of temperature over extended periods of time…[T]his study examined global changes of oceanic wind speed and wave height, which are also important environmental indicators."

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"It was authored by former Swinburne University Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young…and Swinburne oceanographers Professor Alex Babanin and Dr Stefan Zieger...[They] analysed satellite data over a 23 year period from 1985 to 2008…The data showed that wind speeds over the majority of the world’s oceans increased by 0.25 to 0.5 per cent every year. For extremely high winds, speed increased by a yearly average of 0.75 per cent."

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"The global increase in wave height was most significant for extreme waves, with the largest one per cent increasing by an average of 0.5 per cent every year…[I]n some parts of the ocean, extreme waves increased by up to one per cent per annum…

"…[T]he researchers’ access to satellite data…enabled them to conduct such a comprehensive study…[Previous] oceanic wind speed and wave height [studies] have relied on [regionally limiting] visual observations, point measurements or numerical modeling…"