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Embracing Clean Energy Solutions
Embracing Clean Energy Solutions
By Ann-Marie Fleming, December 2005
As the nation works towards meeting the growing energy demands
while maintaining security, energy independence and
environmental protection, many industry participants are turning
towards cleaner sources of energy. Some are looking at better
ways of utilizing existing supplies of power producing material
like coal and natural gas and others are embracing alternatives
such as renewable energy technology. While the future landscape
for the energy industry has yet to be determined it appears that
a diversified portfolio of cleaner and safer means for the
production of electricity is a realistic expectation.
The Drive towards Clean Energy: There are many factors that can
be attributed to the energy industry's movement towards cleaner
energy. The environment has long suffered and society is less
willing to allow its harm to continue. Higher energy prices due
to growing demand and constrained supply has fueled the debate
for alternative solutions and security efforts to reduce the
nation's reliance on foreign sources of energy has become a
priority. These themes have become intertwined throughout
government initiatives and consumer sentiment. As described by
Jamie Wimberly, CEO of the Distributed Energy Financial Group
LLC and Founder of the Distributed Energy Stock Index (DESI),
"For the next three to five years, the major drivers toward the
pursuit for cleaner sources of energy as an end unto itself
would include, in this order: government policies and
regulation, corporate strategies and customer preferences. For
most customers, however, concerns over high prices and the
reliability of supply are the drivers to seek alternative
sources of energy or solutions. Fortunately, this is a virtuous
circle. New energy technologies which match those needs are
generally more efficient and thus cleaner, which will make it
even easier for a customer to make a decision to change. More
customer acceptance, in turn, will drive economies of scale and
scope to make the new, cleaner energy technologies even more
competitive over time. But it is going to take awhile."
Alternative Energy: Over the years, as innovation has led to
practical alternatives for energy production, a diverse set of
technologies has arisen in the renewable energy arena. Energy
Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) is a developer of
alternative energy solutions that includes a diversified
selection of solar, fuel cell, battery and hydrogen innovations.
ECD's Stanford Ovshinsky, President, Chief Technology Officer
and Co-Founder describes the Company's technology portfolio as
being able to provide the complete energy loop. "We generate
electrical energy with our thin-film photovoltaic products. We
store electrical energy in our NiMH battery products. We
distribute hydrogen through our Ovonic metal hydride storage
materials technology. We use hydrogen to power a wide range of
stationary and mobile devices through our Ovonic metal hydride
fuel cell technology or as a fuel source for internal
combustions engines. Hydrogen-powered products produce no
pollution and no global climate changing CO2 emissions.
Additionally, hydrogen is practically limitless. We can and must
reduce our dependence on oil to reduce the potential for
energy-related wars, inflation, and economic instability,"
explains Ovshinsky.
Natural Gas:
Over the years natural gas has become a prominent source of
energy in large part due to the fact that it burns much cleaner
than other fossil fuels and has lower emissions than traditional
coal or oil. While natural gas is a much cleaner source of
energy, a key challenge for this industry has been the reduction
of harmful effects that are associated with the escape of
methane, a form of greenhouse gas. Technology has enabled
participants in this industry to control its impact on the
environment through innovations in detection and analysis to
more accurately identify natural gas reserves, reducing the
number of drilling required. Improvements in storage and
transportation pipelines have also helped to reduce the amount
of natural gas leaks. "The development of extremely efficient,
combined-cycle turbine (CCT) technology has been a breakthrough
for natural gas electric generation, which some energy analysts
see as an important stepping-stone away from coal. The latest
CCTs can convert about 60% of natural gas' heating value into
electric energy, nearly twice what a typical coal boiler can do.
Gas burns cleaner than coal, too," states Hammerschlag.
Petrol Oil and Gas, Inc., a Coal Bed Methane (CBM) producer,
utilizes progressive technology to address the environmental
concerns associated with CBM dewatering and carbon dioxide
issues. Paul Branagan, Petrol's CEO explains, "Petrol transports
water produced from our CBM fields through underground pipelines
and safely re-injects that water into our salt water disposal
wells. Our operations area located in rural southeast Kansas and
Petrol tries to minimize our impact on the farmers and ranchers
fields by handling our water disposal in this manner. It
essentially eliminates the need for tank batteries, trucking and
handling which ultimately reduces the risks of spills,
environmental hazards and cleanup. Although carbon dioxide
production is relatively small, averaging between 1-8% of the
produced gases we recently added a processing plant to strip
carbon monoxide from our natural gas stream, reducing it below
1%. This process increases the heat content of the sales gas as
well as reducing any potential hazards to the interstate
pipeline."
Clean Coal:
In President George Bush's Energy Policy cleaner sources of
domestic energy is a key focus to try and take advantage of
local supply in a manner that does not compromise the
environment as the nation works towards energy independence.
"This bill will allow America to make cleaner and more
productive use of our domestic energy resources, including coal,
and nuclear power, and oil and natural gas. By using these
reliable sources to supply
more of our energy, we'll reduce our
reliance on energy from foreign countries, and that will help
this economy grow so people can work. Coal is America's most
abundant energy resource. It accounts for more than one-half of
our electricity production. The challenge is to develop ways to
take advantage of our coal resources while keeping our air
clean," stated the President.
The United States congress has funded over $1.3 billion in
research towards making existing coal plants cleaner and to help
in the building of future clean coal plants.
American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest electric
utilities in the United States has 70% of its fuel portfolio in
coal; however they are actively pursuing clean coal production
to utilize domestic supplies with less environmental impact.
AEP's Melissa McHenry, Corporate Media Relations describes,
"There is increasing public support for environmental
improvements in using coal for energy generation. We (AEP)
believe that it is very important to be on the forefront of
demonstrating technology and improving technology that will
enable us to continue to use domestic reserves of coal, which
are very important for the energy security of the country, to
generate electricity."
AEP have been conducting environmental retrofits as well as
pursuing new Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC)
plants. The IGCC process according to McHenry, entails
approximately a 20% cost premium over conventional coal-fired
plants, but efficiency advantages and a long term view on
removing all types of pollutants outweigh the initial cost
differential. While research-scale IGCC plants have been around
for more than a decade, until recently there was no one willing
to move forward with a commercial project. "In the past, you
could purchase the plans for building an IGGC plant, but all of
the risk of construction and hoping it would work was on you.
Now GE and Bechtel have formed a consortium and other companies
such as Shell have stepped up to build plants and guarantee
their operation. That is critically important when you are
building a regulated plant."
Manufacturing:
In China, coal dominates energy production, but is also a key
driver of the steel industry. The use of coal across multiple
markets is often associated with environmental destruction, but
the Chinese Government's increasing focus on reducing the impact
that their economic and population growth has on the environment
has led to cleaner manufacturing processes. This focus has
inspired companies producing the materials to pursue methods
that support this progressive consciousness.
Puda Coal Inc., a leading supplier of China's premium grade
coking coal for the steel making industry, uses skimping
technology from Germany to produce clean coking coal. Puda's
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Zhao Ming explains, "Clean
coking coal is a 'must have' raw material for coke production,
and high quality coke is a 'must have' raw material for steel
production. Clean coking coal not only guarantees the quality of
the steel product, but also reduces the industrial waste from
steel production. It is very environmental friendly. Producing
high quality coke will generate a low coke-over gas helping to
reduce the harmful effects of air pollution."
Puda is working to take advantage of the nation's movement
towards more environmentally conscious production helping firms
within the steel industry reduce waste and establish a clean
steel process through the use of their clean coking coal. "The
Chinese government just came out with a new policy system
whereby all firms that do not meet the environmental
requirements will either be closed, have operations stopped or
ownership changed. As for the steel industry, in order to meet
the environmental requirement, they need to start working on the
beginning phase of the whole production process. Therefore,
clean coking coal, produced by Puda, is becoming a very popular
raw material among all steel manufacturers, resulting in the
overwhelming market demand for Puda's high quality clean coking
coal. We will have quintupled our current capacity by early 2006
just to keep pace with this demand, from 500,000 metric tons
annually to 2.7 million metric tons. Our company is showing very
energetic growth and great future potential," states Ming.
Looking Forward:
It appears that the energy industry, across it diverse
production avenues, will continue to evolve and adapt. While the
long term landscape is yet to be determined, the direction
appears to be forward moving in terms of diversification and
cleaner sources and generation of energy. "I actually think the
energy industry is going to go through some pretty tumultuous
years over the next decade. Think about the challenges: very old
and deteriorating energy infrastructure; supply constraints
leading to a lot of price volatility; backward looking energy
policies; security concerns; and customers who are demanding
more, including more environmentally conscious production. To
respond to these challenges, it is not a question of if the
energy industry is going to change, but how it is going to
change and how fast. New technologies, new business models and
new government policies will absolutely be necessary. I find it
interesting that the oil majors, with the luxury of a longer
term perspective, are already placing their bets on a 'beyond
petroleum' vision of the market in the future," states Wimberly.
Disclaimer: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp,
http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/About/Disclaimer.asp
©Copyright InvestorIdeas 2005
About the author:
Ann-Marie Fleming completed her MBA in the United States, where
she attended Webster University. She also holds an Honors B.A
from the University of Toronto. She has over fifteen years of
experience within the financial industry to include retail
banking and brokerage, investment banking, and mortgage
brokerage within the United States and Canada, with a firm
background in corporate research.
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| Department of Energy - Homepage |
| Governmental department whose mission is to advance energy technology and promote related innovation in the United States. |
| www.energy.gov |
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| www.energy.gov |
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| California Energy Commission's energy and environmental education site for students, parents and teachers. Includes information, Q&As, projects, ... |
| www.energyquest.ca.gov |
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| The Energy Story - Introduction |
| Detailed guide explains what energy is and where it comes from. |
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| Features various sections about energy including what it is and the forms it comes in. Find out how humans use energy through quizzes and a 'fun facts' ... |
| www.eia.doe.gov |
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| Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy ... |
| Section of the US Department of Energy (DOE) providing statistics, data, analysis on resources, supply, production, consumption for all energy sources. |
| www.eia.doe.gov |
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| Energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Free encyclopedia article explaining the scientific notion of energy. Includes units of measure, energy transformation concepts, types of energy, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Department of Energy - Homepage |
| U.S. Department of Energy Awards Contract for Management and Operation of Ames ... The Energy Star label is the government's seal of energy efficiency. ... |
| www.doe.gov |
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| Home : ENERGY STAR |
| US EPA Energy Star programs and products help save the environment and save consumers money by using less energy through advanced design or construction. |
| www.energystar.gov |
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| National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Home Page |
| Facility of the US Department of Energy (DOE) for renewable energy and energy efficiency research, development and deployment. |
| www.nrel.gov |
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| European Commission - Energy - Home page |
| Welcome to the European Commission's "Energy" website ... A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy ... |
| ec.europa.eu |
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| The DTI’s Energy Group deals with energy-related matters, ... UK energy statistics are provided, including production, consumption and prices. ... |
| www.dti.gov.uk |
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| U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Home Page |
| US Department of Energy web site for information on energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. |
| www.eere.energy.gov |
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| Energy for America's Future |
| Provides an overview of President Bush's energy policies. |
| www.whitehouse.gov |
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| International Energy Agency |
| Energy Security, Growth and Sustainability through Co-operation and Outreach. |
| www.iea.org |
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| energywatch: Home Page |
| Independent gas and electricity consumer watchdog, providing help to domestic, commercial or industrial energy (gas and electricity) consumers. |
| www.energywatch.org.uk |
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| Details of one of Australia's largest and oldest gas and electricity supply companies. Includes information on accounts, energy saving tips, appliance sales ... |
| www.energy.com.au |
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| U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources |
| Has jurisdiction over energy policy, regulation, and research. Also deals with energy and mineral conservation, ports used for energy transport, irrigation, ... |
| energy.senate.gov |
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| bloomberg energy prices |
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| Energy Bulletin |
| A clearinghouse of information concerning the peak in global energy such as oil and gas. |
| www.energybulletin.net |
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