DoD Can Enter Synfuel Contracts With Long Terms If Low GHG | Coal Gasification News
This is potentially a huge help for our industry. One of the best things the government can do to help speed development of clean domestic fuel sources is to be a strong “consumer of first resort”.
Coal-To-Liquid Fuels Have Lower GHG Than Some Refined Fuels | Coal Gasification News
Here is a good article referencing results from a fabulous study released by NETL in January.
The conclusion: as long as CCS is included, CTL fuels have a lower footprint than conventional fuel. And of course, if you add biomass, this process has the capability of reaching net zero emissions or better.
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Biomass energy ‘could be harmful’
An excellent article that makes some points that should be considered VERY CAREFULLY by those of us looking to use significant amounts of biomass in our projects.
If “sustainable” feedstocks are not produced sustainably (read, the bad-news aspects of many of today’s “industrial agrofuels”), then we have just defeated the purpose.
This kind of falls into the category of one of Richard Heinberg’s “5 axioms of sustainability” (if you have not read those, I suggest you do. I keep them summarized on a sheet, posted to the wall next to my computer. avaliable here: http://www.richardheinberg.com/museletter/178).
1. (Tainter’s Axiom): Any society that continues to use critical resources unsustainably will collapse.
Exception: A society can avoid collapse by finding replacement resources.
Limit to the exception: In a finite world, the number of possible replacements is also finite.
2. (Bartlett’s Axiom): Population growth and/or growth in the rates of consumption of resources cannot be sustained.
3. To be sustainable, the use of renewable resources must proceed at a rate that is less than or equal to the rate of natural replenishment.
4. To be sustainable, the use of non-renewable resources must proceed at a rate that is declining, and the rate of decline must be greater than or equal to the rate of depletion.
The rate of depletion is defined as the amount being extracted and used during a specified time interval (usually a year) as a percentage of the amount left to extract.
5. Sustainability requires that substances introduced into the environment from human activities be minimized and rendered harmless to biosphere functions.
In cases where pollution from the extraction and consumption of non-renewable resources that has proceeded at expanding rates for some time threatens the viability of ecosystems, reduction in the rates of extraction and consumption of those resources may need to occur at a rate greater than the rate of depletion.
In my mind, these are principles that should underpin the implementation of the whole next generation of sustainable energy infrastructure.
- Stephen
What? Clean Air Act Caused Half of Global Warming, Says NASA | Green Day | Fast Company
This is a very interesting article that underscores the importance of looking at all climate forcings and greenhouse gasses, and not just pursuing a myopic focus on carbon emissions.
Present efforts at carbon regulation have the potential to create a real unmitigated accounting nightmare and the potential for rampant fraud if not implemented very carefully. Previous efforts, such as section 526 (which limited the federal government’s ability to buy fuels with high lifecycle carbon emissions, a worthy goal just poorly and hastily implemented), have not taken into account any of the real-world complexities of actually calculating lifecycle greenhouse gas (or even just carbon) emissions, and therefore have left a muddy legal framework wide open to interpretation that will almost surely result in litigation due to it’s unclear nature.
If we cant get carbon right, how do we tackle the other greenhouse gasses?
If our real goal is to reduce the effects of global warming, then should we not also be taking into account the effects of changes in soot and other emissions in various alternative fuels?
For instance, government testing has shown that our fuel burns far more cleanly, resulting in very significant reductions in the emissions of soot. Soot absorbs sunlight and creates warming. Therefore, how can we count that reduction in greenhouse emission as a credit, or if we can’t, why not?
These thoughts illuminate just a few of the considerations that must be taken into account in any serious overall greenhouse gas mitigation program, and highlight the complexities of such an initiative…
Clearly, NASA says the problem is much larger than just carbon.
Bioethanol’s Impact On Water Supply Three Times Higher Than Once Thought - Science Daily
Very interesting. More reason to go to dramatically lower water using synthetic fuels.
Natural World - A Farm for the Future
This is a fascinating piece put out by the BBC on the future of farming post-peak-oil.
A must-see for all in my book.
The Oregon Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players | Xconomy
We were just profiled as part of Oregon’s “cleantech cluster”.
http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2009/03/04/the-oregon-cleantech-cluster-the-a-to-z-list-of-alternative-energy-players/
http://coalgasificationnews.com/2009/02/28/doe-secretary-chu-reduces-time-required-for-loan-approval-process/
This is good news. The previous attempts at implementation of EPACT2005 guarantees, among others, were painfully slow to the point of commercial inviability. Hopefully Secretary Chu will be able to markedly improve the process.
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Mercury pollution treaty proposed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7902092.stm
This would be a good measure for improving the general state of the world environment.
Such emissions cuts are easily achievable with the use of gasification technology, which would have the associated benefit of making new power generating stations both dramatically cleaner in many other categories of pollution (SOX, NOX, ETC), and would make such facilities essentially “carbon capture ready”, so when an agreement on carbon emerges, equipment could be added on, and the carbon from such plants could be sequestered (assuming such facilities are appropriately sited).