Slow Progress in Greenhouse Gas Reduction

There is more progress being made on the climate change problem facing the United States. The Obama administration is promoting measures to reduce greenhouse emissions, and the President appeared at a solar energy installation in Florida earlier this week. The New York Times reports that the Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, told a Senate panel,

“When the starting gun sounded on the clean energy race, the United States stumbled, but I remain confident that we can make up the ground... When we gear up our research and production of clean energy technologies, we can still surpass any other country.”

This optimism is heartening for supporters of green energy, but the American Clean Energy and Security Act still languishes in the wake of the healthcare bill. The development of clean energy should add jobs to the economy and help modernize the power grid, but consumers, I suspect, will be skeptical of rising energy costs being passed along to them from power generation companies. Only time will tell if the Obama administration can come up with a real plan to reduce greenhouse emissions while keeping price increases to consumers low.

British Prime Minister Sounds the Alarm Bell

''There are now fewer than 50 days to set the course of the next few decades." (via NY Times)

Secret Carbon Tax Revealed in the UK

There is news from the United Kingdom today of a so-called ‘secret plan’ by the British government to tax electricity consumption from carbon-burning power generation plants. This tax is meant to fund the construction of the United Kingdom’s first new nuclear reactors in more than twenty years. This tax is expected to increase an annual household’s energy bill by about £44 per year. Many people are upset since the government ministers have made repeated promises that the nuclear industry would no longer benefit from public subsidies.

The new construction of nuclear power plants and this tax are being carried out because there are growing concerns about the UK’s aging nuclear infrastructure. There is a growing peak energy gap caused by the retirement of old nuclear plants and the long lead time to opening new ones. Adding to this energy gap is public enmity towards plans for the construction of new coal plants. Power companies such as E.ON and EDF Energy are hesitant to build new nuclear power plants because of rising construction costs and falling energy prices. The cost to construct new nuclear plants is in the multi-billions of pounds.

A European energy executive has told the Guardian,

New nuclear will not happen without sorting out the carbon price,

which is bad news for consumers and government ministers, alike. According to the government, the only way to bridge the energy gap and commence swift construction of new nuclear plants is by artificially raising the price of electricity with a carbon tax. The Office of Nuclear Development, a new government unit created to facilitate building new nuclear plants, has promised nuclear companies that the price of carbon under the European Union emissions trading scheme will be disallowed to fall below €30 to €40 per ton. Currently, the price is €13 per ton. Consumers have made clear their desire for cheap, clean energy. Unfortunately, the only way for the government oftentimes to push through such measures is by raising taxes. As the old saying goes, “Cheap, good, and fast: pick two.” The rest of the world should be chastened by these developments in the UK. The power-generation infrastructure of many leading nations is aging at what seems a fast pace. As new, cleaner power generation technologies are created and their costs become reasonable, consumers are going to want to take advantage. However, lower prices means less incentive for energy companies to deliver on substantial improvements to the power grid. The only way to bridge the enthusiasm gap between consumers and power generation companies may be government intervention in the form of higher taxes or incentives.

The Nation's Largest Solar Photovoltaic Plant To Open This Week

In one week, the nation’s largest solar photovoltaic plant will commence operations in Arcadia, Florida. It is called the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. The Next Generation Solar Energy Center is opening weeks ahead of schedule and about $22.2 million under budget.

The Solar Energy Center uses more than 90,000 photovoltaic panels to turn solar energy into electricity that can support the electricity needs of more than 3,000 homes. Plant officials are working with local officials to expand the Center to increase its capacity to at least 150 megawatts. Presently, the plant has a 75 megawatt capacity. Combined with other ongoing solar energy projects that have recently launched in Florida, the solar energy center in Martin County and the one at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida has increased its solar energy capacity to 110 megawatts.

In addition to its solar capacity, the Solar Energy Center is the world’s first hybrid solar thermal plant. Besides the more than 100 workers the plant will employ during its operations, it has employed more than 600 construction workers, who are all on site right now.

Lockheed Martin to tap ocean waves for electricity generation

Lockheed Martin Corp. and Ocean Power Technologies Inc. said Tuesday they have agreed to develop utility-scale power-generation systems based on Ocean Power Technologies’ system for generating electricity from waves.

Good News For Nature?

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the official energy statistic bureau of the United States government, released its latest outlook report recently, and it contains some good news for opponents of fossil fuels.

Carbon dioxide emissions from coal, oil, and natural gas are expected to drop by 5.9% this year due in large part to the economic downturn and a groundswell of support for green energy and renewable energy sources, which has started to reduce fossil fuels consumption. The EIA outlook report says that reduced coal consumption accounts for 63% of the CO2 emissions decrease. A decrease in petroleum consumption and natural gas account for 30% and 7% of the reduction, respectively.

The EIA outlook report also says that there is an expected rise in power generation from hydroelectric dams and wind farms: 5.4% and 19%, respectively. Power generation from nuclear power plants is expected to remain steady, while solar and renewable biomass power are on a decline relative to last year.