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Yesterday, California's legislature passed a bill that will see an official cap placed on greenhouse gas emissions. In enacting this legislation, the state has become the first to officially break with the federal government's stance on climate change. This comes just two weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled an ambitious solar power plan. Keep the greening going, Sacramento.
But I sure do.
It makes me rather sad to think that the wind power development in the US seems to boil down, in large part, to aesthetics. I'm fairly biased toward wind -- not only because I truly believe in the technology, but because I think wind farms are also actually quite beautiful. I wish I could have one in my backyard, I truly do. Offshore, or on, they can be really very majestic:
And, no, they are most certainly not "noisy." I categorically reject that claim. I've seen a number of farms in various parts of the world, and the volume that they run at is quite negligible when compared to virtually any other large structures with moving parts (a traditional power plant, for instance). So, when I read that "others here and elsewhere in the northeast complain about the noise and the changes the 260-foot (79.25-meter) tall towers bring to the bucolic view," I think that's just plain crazy.
(Even if you lack the perspective to find these turbines visually attractive, we're talking about clean and affordable energy, folks...!)
Earlier in the summer, Spain announced that it would begin erecting Europe's largest solar thermal power plant. According to a recent Reuters report, the country's favorable tarriff regime is expected to spur the development of over 20 similar projects in the next few years, bringing a total of 2000 MW to Spain's power grid:
Spain, one of European Union leaders in renewable energy, adopted a feed-in tariff for solar thermal energy generation in 2004, which obliges the grid to buy this type of energy from producers at a high price, triggering a boom in the sector.
Image: a prototype solar tower in Australia
The US has corn. Brazil has sugarcane. SE Asia has its palm trees -- or more specifically, the fruit of its oil palm species (Elaeis guineensis, pictured above). Palm oil is the main driver biofuel development in countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Demand, mainly from Europe, has led to meteoric growth in Asian vegetable oils -- the market has grown by 15% in just the past year. Biodiesel, for instance, has become much more competitive with crude oil hovering just above the $70 mark. These prices have made palm oil cheaper than crude-derived diesel (per ton). A recent EU mandate requiring 5.75% of all automotive fuel to come from renewable sources by 2010 virtually guarantees a market for Asian oils.
Last week, the Economist also ran a story on biofuels in SE Asia, which contains a neutral assessment of the sector.
Besides reducing fossil-fuel dependence and boosting trade balances, biofuels have another advantage: they create lots of jobs. Indonesia's palm-oil industry already directly employs about 1.5m people...
There are, however, also concerns for the industry to address. Aside from potential consequences of introducing industrial development to ecologically-sensitive areas, there is also the following to consider:
There are other potential catches. Oil palms take several years to start bearing fruit. In the meantime, the rising demand for biofuels is pushing up the price of palm oil and the other edible oils with which it is interchangeable, making food and cooking oil more expensive for the poor.
The latter issue must be looked at especially carefully, so as not to create a greater burden for the least well-off segments of these developing economies.
>> Asia Biofuels News [BiofuelsMarketplace.com]
It seems that the issue of fuel market security in Canada has spurred two old foes to form an unlikely partnership:
The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, which speaks for the oil industry, and the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association are for the first time working together to try to convince Ottawa that 5 per cent of all gasoline and diesel fuel must come from renewable sources by 2010.
The two groups, which have for years been at opposite ends of most debates on energy use and many other environmental issues, are poised to distribute a joint platform for the future of renewable fuels.
Though US oil majors have made modest inroads into the renewable fuels market, I don't see such a similarly cozy relationship being forged here anytime soon. It sure would be nice to see my pessimism unfounded here.
>> Canadian Renewable Fuels Strategy (pdf)
"Cleantech" is a term that's being thrown around with increasing frequency. Coming into popular usage just a few years ago, it generally refers to the capital backing of green projects (not the technology itself).
Today, The New York Times profiles the Cleantech Venture Network -- the venture capitalists who invest in renewable energy, green building and sustainable business. The article shows that many investors may not explicitly subscribe, or even put any stock in the green ideology; they simply recognize the profit potential. And if this is all it takes to see renewables proliferate, I'm fine with it.
It's difficult to ignore the tremendous opportunities for growth that biofuels offer -- even if you're a cash-rich multinational oil company. Today's Financial Times discusses some of investments that oil majors are making in this sector, including Chevron's plans for a massive biodiesel plant in Galveston, TX and Shell's R&D of cellulosic ethanol -- a "next-generation" biofuel. Companies that were dismissive of the sector as recently as a couple of years ago are investigating how they can join the fray.
For years the biofuels market has been dominated by relatively small companies and farm co-operatives, so the biggest production plant is still much smaller than the smallest refinery owned by the oil majors.
Indeed, the biodiesel production facility that Chevron is building with Galveston Bay Biodiesel will be able to produce annually up to100m gallons of fuel from soybeans and other renewable resources, more than double all biodiesel production in the US last year.
"Previously there was no real involvement by the oil companies in producing biofuels," said Aaron Brady of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the consultancy. "Some of the oil companies are shifting their thoughts; they believe biofuels are here to stay."
>> Chevron Pursues Opportunities in Emerging Biofuels Sector [press release]
>> About Shell Bio-fuels
The US power industry appears to be slowly awakening to the fact that greenhouse gases do in fact pose a credible threat to both environment and economy. This is in large part, due to the political winds on Capitol Hill. Rapidly growing bipartisan support for greater tighter regulations is applying pressure to an industry that emits more than any other.
At a Senate inquiry in April, six major energy companies (including industry heavyweights Exelon and Duke Energy) went on record with their support of mandatory curbs on CO2 emissions.
For years, most industry groups have fought any effort to limit carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming, warning of dire consequences for the U.S. economy. But with growing public anxiety about climate change, major corporations are increasingly preparing for -- and, in some cases, lobbying for -- Congress to regulate emissions of heat-trapping gases.
The industry's response is evolving in spite of opposition by the Bush administration to new limits on carbon dioxide.
However, not all are on board -- the biggest emittors of greenhouse gas still strongly oppose virtually any regulation, and use their political ties to try to stave off what seems inevitable to most in the industry. As one former EPA climate change expert says, "There is a split in industry -- there are the forward-leaners and the knuckle-draggers."
While stories like this generally inspire some degree of optimism, one can never quite forget that the biggest knuckle-draggers are the ones at the highest level of government.
Another older news item -- the city of Cape Town has just signed on to South Africa's first foray into wind power. The Cape Town pilot will see over 13 gigawatt-hours of energy generated under the terms of a 20-year power purchase plan. The city hopes to source up to 10% of its power from renewable energy from renewables by 2020.
This is about a month old, but important:
Victoria has become the first Australian state to introduce a mandatory renewable energy target for power utilities. The Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) scheme will require electricity retailers purchase a minimum of 10% renewable energy by 2016, up from the current level of around 4%.
