Regulators in California have approved a license for the first large-scale solar thermal plant to be built in the United States in twenty years.

After a 2 ½ year-long environmental review, the Beacon Solar Energy Project will be constructed on a 2,012 acre plot of former farmland.  Solar thermal plants generate electricity by using long trays of parabolic mirror to reflect the sun’s rays and heat a tube of liquid.  The super-heated liquid then creates stem to fire a turbine which generates electricity.

“I hope this is the first of many more large-scale solar projects we will permit.  This is exactly the type of project we want to see,” said an Energy Commission member.

However, the Beacon project still has more hurdles to overcome, including environmental concerns about impact on limited water supplies and vulnerable wildlife.  Beacon must also secure a contract to sell the electricity they generate.  The project supporters are optimistic about obtaining this type of contract, considering California’s utilities are required to purchase 20% of the electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

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Over 30 new coal-fired power plants have been built or are currently under construction in the United States since 2008; the industry’s largest expansion in over twenty years.

New coal plants are being built across swaths of the Mid-West and Southeast to take advantage of the plentiful coal resources in the United States. Utilities believe that coal is cheaper than natural gas and nuclear power, and more consistent than intermittent renewables such as solar and wind.

All together, the 16 large plants in operation and the 16 new plants under construction will generate approximately 17,900 MW of electricity. That is enough to power 15.6 million homes, or roughly the combined number of homes in California and Arizona.

The BP oil spill and the tragic coal mine accident in West Virginia have increased public awareness of the social and environmental costs of fossil fuels. However, based on this recent expansion, it appears the coal industry is not convinced that the U.S. will implement legislation to regulate carbon emissions in the near future.

“Building a coal-fired power plant today is betting that we are not going to put a serious financial cost on emitting carbon dioxide,” warned Severin Borenstein, director of the Energy Institute at UC-Berkeley. It is estimated these new 32 coal plants will emit about 125 million tons of greenhouse gases every year, the equivalent of adding 22 million vehicles to the nation’s roadways.

Despite the Obama administration’s dedication of $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to “clean coal” research, none of these new plants incorporate the experimental technology, which filters out carbon before it is emitted into the atmosphere. New investments in traditional coal plants amount to more than $35 billion.

John Grasser, a spokesman for the Department of Energy, acknowledged that these new plants were a “missed chance” to incorporate carbon-limiting technologies into construction. “This is not something that’s going to happen tomorrow,” he remarked, warning that wide-spread carbon neutralizing technologies, he warned, are at least 15-20 years away.

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Figures released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicate that stronger economic activity and use of traditional energy such as coal and natural gas will lift U.S. carbon emissions in 2010.

Fossil-fuel related emissions may rise by 3.4%, and emissions from the industrial and electric power sectors may rise by 3.9%, according to the EIA.  Coal-related emissions alone are on track to rise by 6% this year.

Despite these projected increases, total U.S. carbon emissions for 2010 and 2011 will still fall below 2008 levels, (or any year dating back to 1999.)

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BP is nearing completion of a relief well to seal once and for all the Deepwater Horizon spill site in the Gulf of Mexico.  Upon completion, BP will begin its “bottom kill” operation to plug the leaking well with mud and cement.  The well has been provisionally sealed with a containment cap since July 15th.

“They are closing in on the last 30-40 feet,” said retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the government’s lead point person on the scene.  He expects to intercept the remaining space between the well shaft and the surrounding rock  “sometime before the end of the week,” depending upon the path of a developing tropical storm moving across the Florida peninsula.

Carol Browner, the energy and climate change adviser to President Obama, says approximately three-fourths of the spilled oil has been recovered from the Gulf of Mexico waters. Deliberate burning, skimming and direct recovery accounted for about 25%, while natural evaporation, dispersion and other processes took care of about 50% of the volume.  The remaining oil has either congealed into tarballs, been embedded into sediment, or remains as a sheen on the water’s surface.  “The good news is that the vast majority of the oil appears to be gone,” Browner said during a recent television appearance.

So far, BP has spent $6.1 billion dealing with fallout from the Gulf spill, the worst in United States history.  BP has already paid $319 million in compensation to businesses and individuals that have been affected by the spill, and will likely continue to face high costs as it continues environmental cleanup operations in the afflicted region.

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The Gulf of Mexico spill is a “wake-up call” for the entire offshore drilling industry, says Bob Dudley, the new replacement for embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward.  In the face of harsh public criticism and Congressional scrutiny, Dudley has promised to make safety his number one concern – a change in direction for the company, which has a reputation for risk-taking.

Clean up and other associated costs related to the spill, the largest in U.S. history, may reach as high as $30 billion.  Since the rig explosion in April which broke open the deep-sea well, estimates say over 5 million barrels of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, endangering marine life and resulting in major closures of fishing waters and tourist beaches along the Gulf coastline.

The U.S. House of Representatives took up debate today on a bill to reform off-shore drilling practices in the wake of the spill.  The Senate, the SEC and the Department of Justice have also launched their own investigations, and private lawsuits against BP have piled up as well.  The combined effect of these developments has knocked nearly 40% of BP’s market value since the explosion.

BP says it could begin its “static kill” drilling operations to seal the leaking well shut once and for all by this weekend, ahead of schedule.  Still, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the government’s main representative in the region, says conclusive clean up of the region will be both costly and time-consuming, requiring many more millions, many more years and much more effort from BP over the long-term.

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A new report from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), a body affiliated with the United Nations and the International Energy Agency (IEA), says renewable energy accounts for over half of all new electricity capacity added in the United States and Europe during 2009.

The REN21 report highlights the shift in manufacturing and deployment of these new energy technologies from developed nations to growing ecnomies like China, Brazil and India.

In 2009, China produced 40% of global solar PV and 30% of all wind turbines; a massive increase from 10% in 2007.

However, despite its advances in implementing green power, China’s carbon dioxide emissions also increased in 2009.  It has overtaken the United States and now claims the title of highest emitting nation in the world.

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After 85 days, BP has finally succeeded in containing the gushing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico waters.  After closing valves and vents on the containment cap during a test on Thursday, the well has stayed in place for two full days.

Although this is a very positive sign, both BP and the White House have warned that the containment cap does not represent a permanent fix – there is still much more work to do to seal the well shut for good, and to clean up the hundreds of millions of spilled oil.  “We’re encouraged by this development, but this isn’t over,” said the U.S. government’s lead contact in the region, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen.

BP will likely release the flow of oil again, siphoning it up to ships on the surface as it continues to drill a relief well to permanently shut the well with mud and cement.  The well is expected to be ready in early August.

Investors welcomed news of the containment caps success, sending BP shares higher in trading today.  However, since the rig explosion in April nearly $65 billion has been knocked off BP’s market value.

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Last week, President Obama offered a strong show of support for domestic solar power with the offer of $2 billion in loan guarantees for large scale solar projects in the Western United States.

Abengoa Solar is the recipient of the first offer, $1.45 billion to help finance the construction and start-up of a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Arizona.  Once operational, the “Solana” plant would add 250MW of electric capacity to the grid, enough to power 70,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 475,000 tons.

A loan of $400 million was also offered to Abound Solar Manufacturing to for the manufacture of thin-film cadmium telluride solar panels, the first time such manufacturing will be deployed anywhere in the world.  When completed in 2013, the manufacturing plant will be capable of producing enough panels to support up to 840MW of new solar every year.

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Many of the world’s largest developed nations experienced a drop in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2009.  China and India, however, saw their own domestic emissions levels rise significantly.  Has this growth in effect “canceled out” the reductions made in developed nations?  According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the answer is yes.

Global emissions levels remained relatively unchanged in 2009 largely because of Chinese and Indian contributions, despite predictions from groups such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) which thought the global economic meltdown and decrease in manufacturing would assuredly reduce emissions worldwide.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency notes that carbon dioxide emissions per person in China are now 6.1 tons, roughly equal to France which clocked in at 6.0 tons in 2009.  This figure represents a major increase for China, which in 1990 emitted only 2.2 tons per capita.    Interestingly, this increase comes Chinese wind and solar energy capacity has doubled for the fifth year in a row.

Because of its use of nuclear energy, French emissions are actually on the lower end of the scale in comparison to other developed nations.  Per capita emissions in other EU member nations were 7.9 tons in 2009, down from 9.1 tons in 1990, while per capita emissions in the United Sates fell to 17.2 tons in 2009, decreasing from 19.5 tons in 1990.

All in all, the Dutch agency now reports that 53% of 2009 global emissions came from developing nations, with 44% coming from the developed world.  International air and sea transportation accounts for the remaining 3%.

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U.S. crude prices have fallen 9.7% since March, finishing the quarter down $8.13, the first quarterly price decrease since Q4 2008.  This has triggered worries over the state of global demand in the wake of continued strain in global financial markets and sluggish job growth.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports growth in gasoline stocks and distillates inventories, disproving forecasts which predicted a fall.  On the other hand, crude stocks dropped by 2.01 million barrels; twice the expected rate.

The onset of Hurricane Alex actually helped to stem the price fall by forcing a stop in 26.3% of oil production and 14.4% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico region.

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It appears that between the Gulf Oil spill, climate change uncertainty, rising energy costs and the availability of future supplies has finally shaken American consumers out of their comfort zone.

Long accustomed to cheap and easy access to energy, American consumers have been notoriously resistant to changing their ways to use less energy.  However, according to a recent study by GE, 79% of U.S. consumers would be willing to make short term changes in order to achieve long-term energy benefits.

A full 88% of those polled would start to use devices like smart meters to help them use energy more efficiently, and of this group, 82% say that smart meters and related devices will be “vital technologies” for the future.

Perhaps the most striking result is the 72% of respondents who agree that America’s energy use and consumption habits, if left unaltered, could stifle future economic growth.  This result, GE says, proves that “consumers are ready to think differently about how they use energy.”

“There are some things that are essential to achieving a desired quality of life,” says Bob Gilligan, VP of Digital Energy for GE Energy Services, “and Americans overwhelmingly agree that investing in our nation’s energy future is one of them.”

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In the wake of the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration moved last week to ban all offshore drilling operations in the Gulf region for six months until further investigation into the cause of the BP gusher, which has been spilling oil into the ocean since April.

However, a judge in New Orleans struck down the ruling, calling it “rash and heavy-handed.”  The Obama administration appealed immediately, saying that continued drilling poses a danger to oil workers and to the environment that “the president does not believe we can afford.”

It is a contentious issue that has even brought in Abdalla Salem El Badri, the Secretary General of OPEC.  After meeting with European ministers in Brussels, Mr. El-Badri urged the United States to reconsider its ban on offshore drilling, warning that a six month hiatus would hold back oil supplies.  “We should not really ban it and we should not jump to conclusions,” he told reporters.

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A recent well explosion in Pennsylvania which blew contaminated gas and water 75 ft in the air has renewed awareness, and in some cases anxiety, over the highly productive yet controversial natural gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

Conventional gas drilling processes use approximately 80,000 gallons of water per well.  However,  the new method of horizontal drilling combined with “fracking” uses millions of gallons of water that has been laced with a cocktail of sometimes toxic chemicals.  These new techniques have opened up gas resources in many previously inaccessible areas, and dramatically increased U.S. natural gas production.

However, environmental pollution concerns have steadily increased in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, across which spans the giant Marcellus Shale formation.  New York has already limited drilling in certain areas because of fears of possible groundwater contamination in watershed regions.   It is likely that similar regulations will soon be put in place to ensure protection of the environment as fracking drilling expands.

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According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, global emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions decreased for the first time since 1998, dropping 1.1% to 31.13 billion tons after 2008′s peak of 31.55 billion tons.

However, despite this overall reduction, China’s greenhouse gas emissions have grown sharply as the nation rapidly industrializes and continues to construct new coal-fired power plants.  China is now the world’s leading emitter, having overtaken the United States in 2008.  This past year, China ‘s fossil fuel combustion released 7.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

China is not the only developing nation whose emissions have grown sharply.  India also saw an increase of 7%, and it has now overtaken Russia as the world’s third largest emitter.  In aggregate, the developing world now accounts for half of all global emissions.

United States emissions, on the other hand, fell by 6.5% to 5.9 billion tons in 2009, the lowest level since 1995.  However, “although the share of emerging markets is growing, the industrialized countries remain the preponderant source of historical greenhouse gases,” reminds Nick Robins, head of HSBC’s Climate Change Center of Excellence.

The United States and China, as well as the world’s other top emitters, now find themselves under tremendous pressure to either extend the Kyoto Protocol or formulate a successor to the climate treaty, which is set to expire in 2012.  Nations are also attempting to come up with domestic emissions reductions plans of their own.  “In terms of future emissions targets, China is ahead of the U.S. because it has set itself commitments to reduce carbon intensity, while the U.S. is struggling to get climate legislation through Congress,” remarks Robins.

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The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – which has become the largest environmental disaster in United States history – has also re-ignited public awareness of the climate and energy bill awaiting approval in the Senate.

President Obama has vowed to acquire all the remaining votes needed to pass this legislation, saying in the wake of this catastrophe, the United States must re-address its energy policies.

“If we refuse to take into account the full cost of our fossil fuel addiction – if we don’t factor in the environmental costs and national security costs and true economic costs – we will have missed our best change to seize a clean energy future,” said the President.  He also noted that America “consumes more than 20% of the world’s oil, but has less than 2% of the world’s oil reserves.”

Speaking of the bill, Mr. Obama says “the votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months.”

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BEIJING, May 27 (UPI) — China and the United States signed eight green energy deals Wednesday in Beijing but financial details were not disclosed, Chinese media reported.

The deals, designed to increase cooperation in the sector, cover areas such as aviation biofuel, distributed energy systems using natural gas as fuel, smart meters and cellulosic ethanol, the China Daily reported. A number of Chinese and U.S. companies would be involved in the eight deals.

The report quoted analysts that the agreements between the world’s two largest energy users would encourage global collaboration in increasing energy efficiency and protecting the environment.

The agreements came at the conclusion of the two-day China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogues in Beijing.

Zhang Guobo, head of the National Energy Administration, also noted bilateral collaboration in renewable energy development, adding: “The United States has advanced technology, and China has a huge market,” the China Daily reported.

U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman was quoted as saying the two countries will “take every angle” to ensure their cooperation in energy and environment.

Zhang said renewable energy development is important for China to achieve goals of increasing the use of non-fossil energy to 15 percent of primary energy use by 2020, and reducing carbon intensity by 40 percent to 45 percent in 2020 from 2005 levels, China Daily reported.

He said China will continue to focus on the development of hydro, wind, solar, and biomass energy in the renewable sector.

Earlier, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was quoted as saying improving energy efficiency would both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost economic growth.
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The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is instituting its first-ever strategic plan to deal with “Rare earth metals” – the special group of elements that are essential components of clean energy technologies like electric vehicle batteries, compact flourescent light bulbs and solar panels.

As nations around the world increase development and deployment of clean energy, there is a growing anxiety about China’s clear dominance of these essential supplies.  China currently supplies nearly 95% of global demand  for rare earth metals, and the government is attempting to control all processing of rare earth metals.  Over the past seven years,  China has reduced global exports by 40% and some estimates expect China will begin halting exports of these rare earths within the next two years.

“It goes without saying that diversified sources of supply are important for any strategic material,” said David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy & International Affairs.  ”So too are substitutes and strategies for re-use and recycling.  If rare earth metals are going to play an increasing role in our economy, we need to pursue those strategies.”  The DOE is soliciting information from industry, research labs and other related organizations to gain a more complete understanding of cost and supply issues regarding rare earth metals.

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A veritable environmental catastrophe is developing in the Gulf waters around the Louisiana coastline following a fatal explosion on an offshore BP oil rig.

Last week’s incident left eleven workers missing and presumed dead,  and broke open a deep-sea pipe, which is currently leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels a day into the ocean.  Coordinated efforts from the U.S. Coast Guard and BP – which as leaser of the rig is responsible for all clean-up costs – have not succeeded in containing the oil slick.  Today’s reports indicate that strong winds are pushing the oil towards the shoreline, which is home to a variety of sensitive ecosystems and species that would all be in danger if the oil were to reach land.

The consequences of this major spill could spell disaster for President Obama’s proposal to expand offshore drilling in the United States, which he was offering as a way to encourage bipartisan support for a more far-reaching climate bill.  The President has ceased issuing new offshore drilling leases until a deeper investigation into this explosion is conducted.

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