Archive for October, 2009

There’s right way to ensure more CCS success

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is front and center this month as an American Electric Power Co. plant in New Haven, W.Va., became the first coal-generated power plant in the United States to capture a portion of CO2 emissions and safely store them underground. A ribbon-cutting event for the pilot project was held today. This groundbreaking achievement is noteworthy given the recent debates on Capitol Hill about climate change legislation.

How will this type of technology improve as time progresses? Where will additional funding for it be derived? How many potential jobs would be created and local economies strengthened because of its manpower requirements? These are all questions federal climate legislation should address.

Clearly there are multiple voices in the room as we look to restructure this country’s energy portfolio. Yet, there doesn’t seem to be a clear direction we’ve all agreed upon in creating a reasonable energy plan.

Coal has been and is one of our most important fuel resources. Its low cost, natural abundance and significant usage must be recognized in any type federal climate legislation. Included in this recognition should be funding for the study and duplication of technologies similar to what has been introduced by AEP.

ACCCE supports a wide variety of energy resources to craft a sound plan. We recognize the benefits of a diverse fuel portfolio. So, as we aid in the structuring of federal climate legislation, let’s continue to support efforts such as the plant in New Haven by expanding upon its success.

Check out today’s announcement here.

30 October 2009, 2:00 pm | Posted in Current Affairs | No comments »
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Why climate legislation must provide support for CCT

We talk a lot on this blog about our belief that technology will be the ultimate answer to climate change, but I heard a fact today at the Clean Carbon Policy Summit in Austin that illustrates just how important technology is to worldwide reduction of carbon dioxide emissions: In the past several years, China has built enough coal-based generation to equal that of the entire US fleet – and in the next 20 years they will do it again.

What good will U.S. regulations do if they don’t provide adequate funding and support for clean coal technologies? Not much, if that stat holds true.

Luckily, it seems that a lot of very smart and important people also believe in the power of technology. In fact, the consensus among conference attendees and presenters was that we will need a suite of technologies, deployed across all energy platforms in order to meet both our growing demand for affordable, reliable power and carbon dioxide emissions limits – whatever those may be.

And though carbon capture and storage – especially CCS deployed over the existing power plant fleet – was widely discussed as the best bang for the buck in terms of the long-term cost of carbon containment, we need strong leadership and increased funding to reach that point.

AEP’s Paul Loeffelman, speaking on a panel about national carbon policy and the challenges facing the power generation industry, took that message one step further by extolling the need for policy support and the creation of public/private partnerships in order to see technologies fast tracked to full-scale commercial deployment without dramatically increasing electricity rates.

He also discussed the legislation pending in Washington – very timely considering the current Senate hearings on the Kerry-Boxer bill. A divisive subject for sure, especially given the anti-climate bill stance of the Texas executive branch, but many attendees supported some type of Federal bill, especially one that keeps costs down and provides increased funding for advanced clean coal technologies.

That’s good news to us at ACCCE, as we are working to ensure that any legislation is committed to developing clean coal technologies, contains a reasonable timeframe for emissions reductions and keeps costs affordable.

See more from the Clean Carbon Summit at www.cleancarbonsummit.com.

30 October 2009, 12:00 pm | Posted in Carbon Capture, Clean Coal, Current Affairs, Energy Issues, Science, Technology | No comments »
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National infrastructure will help encourage the adoption of electric cars

ScreenHunter_13 Oct. 30 08.51

Reva G-Wiz, the world's top selling electric car

A major electric utility trade group has pledged to lay the foundation for a national infrastructure to support battery-powered vehicles, reports The Associated Press.

Last week, the Edison Electric Institute announced that utilities would develop standardized structures such as charging systems, advanced meters, incentives for customers to recharge at night and a grid that interacts with plug-in cars.

These plans will hopefully allay any fears consumers might have about “being stranded with a dead battery” and encourage the adoption of electric vehicles, says the New York Times.

“Customers don’t want to be panicked when they get in their car about where and when they can charge their vehicle,” said Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Jr., at a recent electric vehicles conference.

Because the country already has an electricity grid in place, building the infrastructure will not be a large cost. However, overloading the electrical system is still an issue that the utilities have yet to work out.

Either way, we’re happy to hear the news. The energy a hybrid vehicle runs on has to come from somewhere – and since we get almost half our electricity from coal, odds are that the electricity charging it will be coal generated.

Furthermore, if a plug-in hybrid’s electricity can be produced from power plants utilizing clean coal technology, we can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions for cars on the road – without increasing emissions in the utility sector.

Would you make the switch to an electric car? Post a comment and let us know.

30 October 2009, 9:00 am | Posted in Electric Cars | 1 comment »
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