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10.
US
News
U.S.
says we need new technology
U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham
has claimed that meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will
be impossible without revolutionary new energy technologies being developed
by U.S-led research. In a speech to European energy experts last year,
he said that “the United States is neither ashamed of its position on Kyoto nor indifferent to the challenges of climate change”. It was in fact “investing
billions of dollars to address these challenges”.
There was he argued “one hard and
clear choice: either dramatic greenhouse gas reductions will come at
the expense of economic growth and improved living standards, or breakthrough
energy technologies that change the game entirely will allow us to reduce
emissions while, at the same time, we maintain economic growth and improve
the world’s standards of living”.
He described technologies designed
to reduce or eliminate CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, or to replace fossil fuels with
new energy sources such as hydrogen. “Over the next five years, the
United States has pledged $1.7 billion to fund the ambitious Freedom CAR
and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to develop emission-free automotive operating
systems that run on hydrogen”.
He added that U.S. funding for global
climate research projects now totals $4.5bn a year, surpassing the combined
spending of all other nations and reported that the US was partnering
with other countries to collaborate on research to “accelerate the
transition to a global hydrogen economy” that would substantially
reduce the world’s dependence on petroleum. Well maybe, but, although
Abraham did include renewables, including
biomass, as the source of hydrogen, he also mentioned nuclear, and he
focussed mostly on coal plus sequestration.
He highlighted the “FutureGen”
project, a $1 bn research effort to create
a pollution-free coal-fired power plant. “Virtually every aspect
of the plant will be based on cutting-edge technology. FutureGen will lead to the development of clean fossil fuel
power plants all across the world. It will allow this abundant and economical
fuel source to continue producing energy without its traditional environmental
side-effects.” He concluded that we needed to develop revolutionary
technologies “that do not simply refine current energy systems, but
actually transform the way we produce and consume energy. When those
technologies are developed, we will all exceed our targets. If they
are not developed, then we will all fail.”
US
Energy Policy Act
Although there have been hitches with
final ratification, in Nov. the US Congress agreed on most of
the details of the Energy Policy Act 2003- which contains more than
$72 billion in authorised spending and an
estimated $23 billion in tax giveaways. Although it is based on the
Bush administration’s energy priorities, including
commitments to nuclear coal and oil, and it does water down
some pollution control rules, it does also back renewables and energy
efficiency. It authorises over $2.9 billion in funding over the next
five years for renewable energy research and development, including
$800 million to develop biopower energy systems,
biofuels and bio-based products. It establishes a programme to develop hydrogen energy from many sources, including
renewable energy resources like solar energy. There are also Tax incentives
for development of wind, solar and geothermal power and support for
energy efficiency programme and transmission line development investment designed
to improve energy security.
Less welcome, the bill provides authorizations
for an average of about $600 million per year for the Department of
Energy’s program for existing and new coal based research and development
and provides a $1.8 billion authorisation
for the Secretary of Energy to carry out the Clean Coal Power Initiative,
which will provide funding to those projects that can demonstrate advanced
coal based power generating technologies that
achieve significant reductions in emissions.
In addition, the bill renews liability
protections for the nuclear industry for 20 years, including provisions
to encourage the development of advanced modular reactors. It authorises
more than $800m over five years for the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative
(AFCI) which involves developing the technology base to transform long-lived
radioactive materials, such as those in spent
nuclear fuel rods, into short-lived or non-radioactive materials, and
to extract energy from high-level nuclear waste. More positively it
provides for improved federal oversight of nuclear plant security and
the expansion of federal laws for sabotage of nuclear facilities. The
bill also allocates $1.8 bn over five years for research into nuclear fusion, authorizing participation in ITER, the international fusion
research project. There was however no provision for allowing controversial
oil and gas drilling in the environmentally sensitive Alaska National
Wildlife Refuge. Evidently public pressure, coupled with fears about
the vulnerability of the pipeline, had won out. A poll by Zogby
International conducted for the Widerness Society in November found
that 82% of Democrats, 80% of Independents and 70% of Republicans said
that investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources is
preferable to drilling for more oil and gas in the United States.
Arnie backs RPS
During his successful candidacy for
California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger
promised to accelerate California’s renewable portfolio
standard (RPS) support scheme. Currently, under the existing RPS, utilities
have to increase the proportion of their power purchases coming from
renewables by 1%/yr until they reach 20% in 2017. Schwarzenegger proposed
bringing the 20% target forward to 2010, and then moving to 33% by 2020.
He has also been talking about tax credits for solar power, and even
a requirement that, from 2005, half of all new homes have PV arrays
fitted. And he has been talking about a ‘hydrogen highways’ programme.
All well and good- but it remains to be seen if the money is there-
given the states major economic problems. Also, although he has evidently
backed the ZEV electric vehicle programme,
he blocked a planned increase in conventional vehicle fuel tax. So
SUV’s are still safe.
Source: Platts Renewable Energy Report 57
Nov. 2003
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