Tag Archives: massachusetts
Giving Biofuels A Boost: Collaboration For Bioenergy Development
by Christopher J Brigham 11 July 2013 Ideally, successful biofuel development will rely on existing infrastructure, both to transport the fuel to the consumer and to utilise the fuel to generate power. Christopher J Brigham Partnerships between academia and industry on both sides of the Atlantic are key in bioenergy development, writes the University of Massachusetts ’ Christopher J Brigham… Alternative fuels, especially biofuels, are currently hot topics in both the academic and private sectors throughout the world. In many cases, an innovative idea in academic research will become the next revolutionary industrial process, and in some cases, the next potential global solution. I have previously stressed the notion that the academic scholars of today are the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. As in spheres such as information technology, space, and economics, the next generation of powerful, marketable ideas in biofuel production and technology will come from the universities and institutes of technology. Scientists, politicians, business leaders, and other citizens from both the US and EU offer a myriad of views on global climate change and how this problem will be mitigated in the coming years. Increasingly, biofuel alternatives to petroleum are being developed, such as the use of sugarcane-based ethanol in Brazil. Ethanol, as an inefficient and somewhat problematic biofuel, is really only effective if the proper infrastructure is developed along with it (which has been done in Brazil). Ideally, successful biofuel development will rely on existing infrastructure, both to transport the fuel to the consumer and to utilise the fuel to generate power. There has been an increased focus in the US on researching cost-effective production of biofuels that are compatible with existing transportation infrastructure. This focus is driven by a renewed focus on funding of scientific research in the US, including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) , which produces funding opportunities for academic and private sector researchers. ‘Fossil fuel consumption remains high’ In both the US and the EU, fossil fuel consumption for energy remains high. Given the concentrated efforts of EU nations to shift to other sources of energy (wind power, solar energy, biodiesel, etc.), the EU-27 have slowed any increase in petroleum consumption, if not altogether halted it. In the US, fossil fuel consumption has decreased somewhat in recent years, but petroleum-based fuels still dominate the US energy consumption landscape. Keeping in mind the EU and US reliance on foreign sources of oil, uncertainty about the size of a finite supply of fossil-based petroleum, and the increasing demand for renewable products, it makes sense for biofuels to be offered as an alternative fuel source, especially for powering motor vehicles. It should be said that ‘alternative’ fuel source does not mean ‘replacement’ fuel source. We must respect the notion that the Earth’s petroleum supply is large enough to sustain our current habits, perhaps for the entirety of our lifetimes, but also prepare for the possibility that the fossil fuel supply is indeed finite. Academic institutions are major players in biofuels research innovation. Many patents and other intellectual property have been developed as a result of academic research on bioenergy. Currently, programmes like Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) in the US are funding innovative and transformative research in many different aspects of the energy space, from biofuels to rethinking the way the energy grid operates. Similar programmes have been established in the EU, focusing on valorisation of waste biomass, biodiesel production, and other relevant topics. While funds from these programmes go mainly to academic institutions, fostering the next wave of innovation, there is also opportunity for partnership with the private sector. This could be crucial for the development of ideas in bioenergy and bringing them to market. Transatlantic collaboration I propose a partnership in biofuels research and development that has been largely underexplored, if not unexplored: the opportunity for US and EU universities to work together to address the challenge of creating an affordable and efficient bioenergy infrastructure. In a global economy, continued cooperation among respected global institutions is a must. A pooling of resources between the US and EU could have economic and even political advantages for the nations involved, and could help shape the energy future on both sides of the Atlantic. Christopher J Brigham PhD Assistant Professor University of Massachusetts Dartmouth www.umassd.edu [This article was originally published on 1 st July 2013 as part of Science Omega Review Europe 02] Read more: http://www.scienceom…t#ixzz2Yk2V4ZrS Continue reading
Worry Over Scarcer Credits Propels US Carbon Market RGGI
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/25cf4754-cfb6-11e2-a050-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2VuVXa62r June 9, 2013 11:52 pm Worry over scarcer credits propels US carbon market RGGI By Gregory Meyer in New York and Pilita Clark in London A pioneer US carbon market is climbing after an intervention meant to grapple with a surplus of credits that has also dogged Europe’s emissions trading system. Last week’s quarterly auction by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, operated by nine northeast states, was twice oversubscribed. The clearing price of $3.21 per short tonne was the highest in four years. Companies on a list of potential bidders included energy traders EDF Trading, Koch, Mercuria and Vitol as well as Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street bank. The programme began in 2009 as a means to reduce emissions in states including Massachusetts, Maryland and New York. Power plants of 25 megawatts or larger must purchase a permit for each short tonne of carbon dioxide produced. But prices plunged as financial crisis damped electricity demand and a shale drilling boom encouraged generators to burn natural gas instead of higher-carbon coal. In February, the states cut the cap on annual emissions by 45 per cent to 91m short tonnes from next year, with 2.5 annual reductions afterward through 2020. Paul Tesoriero, director of environmental markets at Evolution Markets, a New York broker, said anticipation of scarcer credits had lifted prices. “It has everything to do with the rule change,” he said. The policy shift boosted futures markets pegged to credits. RGGI volume at the ICE Futures US exchange more than quadrupled on the year to 4,285 contracts in May. Still, a stockpile of about 100m credits has been banked by traders. This will weigh on prices for years to come, Mr Tesoriero said. In the European Union’s eight-year-old emissions trading system, the largest carbon market in the world, benchmark prices have collapsed to less than €4 a metric tonne, down from more than €30 five years ago, as the weak EU economy exacerbates a glut in the supply of credits. A surplus of about 2bn permits, or roughly a year’s worth of emissions, has built up in the scheme. That is because of weak EU economic conditions – which reduce industrial activity, and therefore demand for permits – and because the EU gave away too many permits for free when the scheme started. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has been trying to approve a plan that would temporarily take 900m tonnes of permits out of the market, and put them back in later when it was hoped demand might be stronger. The measure, known as “backloading”, was rejected by the European Parliament by 334-315 votes in April after business group lobbyists said it would erode EU competitiveness, sending prices down to less than €3. Prices have recovered slightly since then as the parliament prepares for another vote on July 2. “There is some optimism in the market that it could make it through parliament this time, which is definitely pushing prices up,” said carbon analyst Marcus Ferdinand of Thomson Reuters Point Carbon. Even if the backloading plan does pass, however, many analysts believe it will only push prices up by around €2 from what they would have been otherwise. Continue reading
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