Tag Archives: clean
The Latest Clean Energy Cocktail: Bacteria And Fungus
BY JEFF SPROSS ON AUGUST 23, 2013 By throwing together a common fungus and a common bacterium, researchers are producing isobutanol — a biofuel that gallon-for-gallon delivers 82 percent of gasoline’s heat energy. The more common ethanol, by contrast, only gets 67 percent of gasoline’s energy, and does more damage to pipelines and engines. And the University of Michigan research team did it using stalks and leaves from corn plants as the raw material. The fungus in question was Trichoderma reesei , which breaks down the plant materials into sugars. The team used corn plant leftovers in this case, but many other forms of biomass like switchgrass or forestry waste could also serve. The bacterium was Escherichia coli — good old-fashioned E. coli — which then converted those sugars into isobutanol. Another team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently came up with a similar process by studying leaf cutter ants, but their work produced ethanol instead. The University of Michigan team also got the fungi and bacteria to co-exist peacefully in the same culture and bioreactor. That means fewer cost barriers to commercializing the process: “The capital investment will be much lower, and also the operating cost will be much lower,” Xiaoxia “Nina” Lin, the team’s leader, explained. “So hopefully this will make the whole process much more likely to become economically viable.” The big advantage of a cellulosic biofuel like this is twofold. One, because it can be produced from crops that don’t double as a food source, demand for it won’t drive up food prices or contribute to global food insecurity. Traditional corn-based ethanol obviously competes with one of the world’s most basic and widely-used foods, and American and European demand for it has contributed to spiraling food costs and crises in Guatemala and across the developing world. Studies looking into the 2008 food crisis determined that biofuel policies contributed to the problem, compounding the threat of global food insecurity, which in turn helps drive geopolitical upheaval and destabilization. Two, by driving up demand for food crops, traditional biofuels encourage individuals and countries to clear ever more natural land for agriculture. Grasslands and natural forest store more carbon from the atmosphere than cropland. So the growth in biofuel production, means less natural ecology to absorb carbon, leaving more greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. On top of that, agriculture involves its own carbon emissions from driving tractors and such. So put it all together and traditional biofuel production is largely self-defeating in terms of the final amount of carbon dioxide left in the atmosphere. But if a process like this one produces biofuel purely from waste materials — stuff left over from crops we would’ve grown regardless, on land we would’ve cleared regardless — those biofuels will deliver a much bigger net positive when it comes to fighting climate change. “We’re really excited about this technology,” said Jeremy Minty, another member of the team. “The U.S. has the potential to sustainably produce 1 billion tons or more of biomass annually, enough to produce biofuels that could displace 30 percent or more of our current petroleum production.” And it’s not just fossil fuels that could be replaced, either. Petrochemicals are also used in making a host of other products, especially plastics. The research team hopes their work could be adapted to replace the petrochemicals used in those processes as well. HT: CleanTechnica Continue reading
Carbon Price Changes – Cold Comfort For Coal
Norton Rose Australia Noni Shannon Australia May 14 2013 Introduction The Government has continued its commitment to reduce Australia’s carbon pollution through a carbon price. The 2013 Budget continues the roll out of the Clean Energy Future Package and the transition to an internationally-linked emissions trading scheme from 2015, but with some changes. The changes have largely been dictated by the impact of a reduced forecast of the carbon price coupled with a reduction in the overall projected total Commonwealth Government revenue. The collapse of the European carbon price in mid-April has caused the Government to revise the carbon price projection in 2015-16 from $29.00 a tonne in 2015 to $12.10 a tonne. The revised permit price is estimated to reduce the carbon price revenue by around $6 billion over the four years from 2012-13 to 2015-16. 1 Accordingly, the original forecast spending for the Clean Energy Future Package has been reviewed. There has been a reordering of priorities and a change in the timing of some of the programs – some being brought forward but a number significantly delayed. Committed funding remains on track, as does the move to a full emissions trading scheme in 2015 and continued high industry assistance. ARENA The total funding for ARENA of over $3 billion remains. However $370 million has been deferred to beyond the forward estimates, extending the program to 2021-22. 2 ARENA administers a number of pre-existing Commonwealth Government funding programs in support of R&D, and demonstration and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies (such as the Solar Flagships Program). Its model involves the commitment of significant tranches of money for new, though unproven technology which is expected to deliver energy efficient power. The Coalitions’ policy on ARENA is not yet clear although this funding model has not previously been supported by the Coalition. Clean Carbon Capture and Storage and coal sector assistance In the 2012 Budget, the Government had allocated funding of $1.68 billion to the Carbon Capture and Storage ( CCS ) Flagships program. The 2013-14 Budget will see $500 million of that funding withdrawn from the CCS Flagships Program over three years and returned to the Budget. 3 Additionally, $29 million in funding will be withdrawn from the Coal Mining Abatement Technology Support package, $88.2 million from the National Low Emissions Coal Initiative and $274.2 million from the coal sector jobs package. Uncommitted funding of $45 million for the Global CCS Institute will also be withdrawn. While these reductions represent a significant reduction in the scale of the funding available to the coal sector, the emphasis on uncommitted funding here is important. Any reduction or unwinding of the Clean Energy Future Package may face difficulties where it proposes to tackle existing, binding funding agreements with the private sector. The claw back of only uncommitted funding will put this issue off the agenda for the current Government. The money remaining in the CCS Flagships program means that at least one of the projects should be able to proceed beyond the feasibility stage with Government assistance. 4 Clean energy funding for industry The $1.2 billion Clean Technology Program will continue with this Budget, bringing forward $160 million to 2014-15 from 2015 through to 2017. The same total will now be provided over seven years. This will facilitate a potential earlier take up by industry under the Clean Technology Investment Program and Food and Foundries Program. Earlier take up will mean a greater chance of industry stimulus, both generally and specifically for clean energy (the Government’s publicly stated aim), and a greater absorption of the Clean Energy Future scheme within affected industries. Likewise, the Government remains committed to the roll out of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation investments from 1 July 2013, despite recent political noise surrounding this issue. 5 No adjustment has been made to its $10 billion funding profile, with $2 billion appropriated for 2013-2014. The key components of the Government’s Clean Energy Future Package survive this Budget – the carbon price and emissions trading scheme, industry assistance and industry loans – however a number of the “bells and whistles” have been curtailed. These changes are an inevitable result of the collapse of the European carbon price and the overall reduction in Government revenue. The impact of the success of the scheme – judged by reference to emission reduction targets, impact on households, changed behaviour and investment in clean technology – will remain to be seen and will no doubt be put to the political test in the lead up to the September election. Continue reading
Latin America Clean Energy Investments Surged 127% Higher In 2012
April 30, 2013 Some $4.6 billion of clean energy investments were made in Latin America (excluding Brazil) in 2012, a whopping 127% increase from 2011, according to figures released in advance of the third annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum – Latin America & Caribbean (REFF-LAC), which is being held in Miami this week. In sharp contrast to the strong gain in Latin America clean energy investments, new clean energy investments fell 11% year over year globally, from $302.32 billion in 2011 to $268.69 billion, according to the latest report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The global decrease was the first fall in renewable energy financing recorded by BNEF since it began collecting data. Latin America: A Clean Energy Investment Bright Spot In 2012 Latin America was a bright spot amid an overall decline in global renewable energy financing in 2012. Four countries experienced triple-digit clean energy investment growth: Mexico’s total new financial investments in clean energy for 2012 reached $1.9 billion, up 595% year over year; New financial investments in clean energy totaled $1 billion, up 313% from $246 million in 2011; Uruguay’s total new investments in clean energy reached $105 million, a 285% year-over-year increase; Total clean energy investments in Peru reached $643 million, a 176% increase from $233 million in 2011. By dollar amount, Brazil actually led the Latin America & Caribbean region when it came to total clean energy investments. Some $5.17 billion of capital was invested in clean energy in South America’s largest nation in 2012, according to BNEF. Mexico ($1.998 billion) and Chile ($1.018 billion) ranked second and third, respectively. Turning to 2012, LatAm-Caribbean investments in clean energy sectors, biomass and waste attracted the most capital ($822.34 million), biofuels followed ($539.47 million), and geothermal ranked third ($76.69 million), BNEF found. “The increased investments in non-Brazil Latin America was driven by increased activity by the Inter-American Development Bank,” Maria Gabriela da Rocha Oliveira, BNEF’s head of Latin America Research and Analysis, was quoted in a press release. “Additionally, European players, both project developers and manufacturers, have become more active in the region given grim conditions at home.” Added Carlos St. James, president of the Latin American & Caribbean Council on Renewable Energy (LAC-CORE) and CEO of VOLA Investments LLC: “As investments in clean energy declined in 2012 due to the ongoing financial crisis, the sector was actually growing in most of Latin America. This is a huge boon for clean energy finance and the region, which we expect to continue to grow. The most exciting trend is that this has moved beyond Brazil, with other countries now seeing amazing growth and potential.” Read more at http://cleantechnica…8VV0xjeBROwJ.99 Continue reading
