QUICK NEWS, February 4: NATURAL GAS VS. NEW ENERGY; BIG WIND SET TO BUILD IN SOUTH DAKOTA; COMBINED HEAT AND POWER TO JUMP 33% IN 10 YEARS

NATURAL GAS VS. NEW ENERGY Natural Gas isn’t a Bridge Fuel, it’s a Gateway Drug

John Farrell, January 30, 2014 (Institute for Local Self Reliance/Energy)

“In his State of the Union, President Obama added to the conventional wisdom that supplanting coal with natural gas will act as a bridge toward a climate solution…Unfortunately, gas is more of a gateway drug than a bridge to a clean energy future…1) It’s still a major greenhouse gas. Sure, natural gas is cleaner than coal, but that’s setting a pretty low bar…2) Gas for electricity competes with gas for heating (and gas for transportation)… 3) In electricity and transportation, we have much cleaner options. If you want a cleaner way to heat your home than natural gas, you’re going to have to pay a lot more. Solar hot water, geothermal, and other renewable options are not yet cost competitive…But in the electricity market, renewables are more cost-effective than natural gas… 4) Building natural gas infrastructure chains us to a carbon-based energy future for 50 years…” click here for more

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BIG WIND SET TO BUILD IN SOUTH DAKOTA Wind farm moves into construction phase

Kay Nguyen, February 1, 2014 (American News via Aberdeen News)

"A $160 million wind farm project…has cleared most major hurdles, and construction is ready to begin…Dakota Plains Energy…[acquired some 20,000 acres] and various studies have been underway for about five years…[M]eteorological towers were erected to measure wind speeds….[and preliminary studies looked] at area avian populations, environmental impacts, cultural and archaeological contributions and wetlands…[T]he project will cost about $3 million before the project technically breaks ground…[A permit to get on the power transmission grid was secured and] Basin Electric signed a power purchase agreement…The farm will [have 48 to 50 wind turbines and] produce 98 megawatts…[It] has until the end of 2015 to begin transmitting…Less than 10,000 megawatts of energy is needed to meet consumption needs in South Dakota…Estimates have South Dakota being capable of generating more than 100,000 megawatts using wind…” click here for more

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COMBINED HEAT AND POWER TO JUMP 33% IN 10 YEARS Industrial Combined Heat and Power; Fuel Cell, Engine, and Turbine Technologies for Cogeneration in Industrial Applications: Global Market Analysis and Forecasts

1Q 2014 (Navigant Research)

“…[T]he industrial combined heat and power (CHP) market is capturing renewed interest across all regions. Deployed at small- or large-scale at extraction, processing, and manufacturing sites, industrial CHP systems produce electricity while also capturing heat that would otherwise be treated as waste…North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe accounted for 80% of installed capacity worldwide in 2012, but the diversity in fuel use, technology, and end users makes the industrial CHP market highly dynamic across all continents. Although high capital costs and variability across sites restrict market growth, the expansion of low-cost natural gas is lowering the barriers…[and] governments around the world are focusing on increasing subsidies and other incentives…Navigant Research forecasts that total installed industrial CHP capacity will grow from 317.9 GW in 2013 to 483.7 GW in 2023 globally under a base scenario…” click here for more

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