Daily Archives: March 6, 2007

Cleaning Up Coal

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Jennifer Kho aat Red Herring on the trials and tribulations in cleaning up coal.

As countries reach for more energy independence, coal’s reign is only likely to grow. Global coal consumption is expected to nearly double from 5.4 billion short tons in 2003 to 10.6 billion short tons in 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Association (EIA) International Energy Outlook for 2006.

The data borders on scary: A single 500-megawatt-per-year coal plant produces as much carbon dioxide as 800,000 cars. Coal plants also emit mercury, and methane emissions from coal mining made up an estimated 9.3 percent of the total in 2005, according to the EIA.

And it’s not just China and developing nations that use coal for energy. According to the EIA, the United States has the largest recoverable coal reserves—enough to last more than 200 years—followed by Russia, China, India, and Australia.

After all, coal’s biggest appeal is its price. In 2005, the latest date available from the EIA, coal cost an average of $1.54 per million Btus [British thermal units, standard units of energy], petroleum cost $6.48 per million Btus, and natural gas cost $8.20 per million Btus.

The biggest VC deal in 2006 was a $30-million investment in GreatPoint Energy by Advanced Technology Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Khosla Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

But even if research succeeds in turning coal into a zero-emission fuel, its critics won’t be assuaged. “Mining coal is dirty work, so you can’t get ‘clean coal’ unless you ignore the fact of getting coal, which is ridiculous,” Mr. Wilder says.

Mr. Perlman counters that the purists ignore reality. “It’s easy to say, ‘we never want to dig anything up again,’ but the reality is that coal is increasing as a fuel supply,” he says. “We think we have a realistic way of converting the dirtiest of commercial fuels into the cleanest of commercial fuels, and we think this is the only way to really make a big difference to environmental issues and global warming.”

THINK a new Business Model

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Todd Woody reports from the Cleantech conference from California.

Among the more intriguing companies in town was Norway’s Think. The automaker is building a two-seater electric runabout with a range of about 115 miles (185 kilometers) called the Think City. What’s cutting edge about Think is not so much its technology as its business model. The company plans to sell its cars but lease the battery for either a monthly or by-the-mile fee. “By leasing the battery the consumer doesn’t take the risk over the unknowns of battery life,” said Think president Jan-Olaf Willums.

Presumably, as battery technology advances, Think drivers can swap their power plants. “Our returns come from both selling the car and the services for which the car is the platform,” he added. Among those services is a package that will include on-the-road WiFi, GPS navigation and a media player. “It Will be most IT oriented car on wheels,” Willums claimed. He said Think will also offer short-term car sharing and a program to offset greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity used to power the vehicles. “We’re moving from a car concept to a mobility concept. People look more and more at the full cost of ownership.”

S&P launches renewables, water indexes

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Environmental Finance reports on the new indexes.

“Clean energy, water and infrastructure have evolved as major investing themes,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P, a US-based financial services agency.

The S&P Global Clean Energy Index (Download – PDF) is made up of the 30 largest stocks selected from 10 countries, with clean energy as either a significant part, or the primary focus, of their business.

According to S&P, the index would have returned 27.35% over the last year, compared to 17.44% for the S&P Global 1200 Index and 3.44% for the S&P Global 1200 Energy Index.

China will concentrate on Green and Equitable growth

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Chinese Premeir Wen Jiabao pledged for environmental and equitable growth in the future for the Chinese Economy.

As the Australian reports:

Launching the annual session of the National People’s Congress, Mr Wen said future economic growth would hinge on “environmentally friendly industries”.

Projects would be assessed for “energy consumption and environmental impact”. Those that failed to meet such standards would be stopped. Mr Wen said China would close “backward” iron foundries with a production capacity of less than 30 million tonnes and “backward” steel mills that could produce 35million tonnes.

Mr Wen said “key energy-saving projects” would be introduced in industries including steel, other metals, coal, chemicals, building materials and construction.

Mr Wen also signalled the Government would control the scale of urban development and instead direct resources towards water conservation projects, energy production bases and trunk rail lines and highways.

The Guardian tackles the emphasis on Education and the rural poor:

`We must put people first, promote faster progress in social programs, work energetically to solve the most practical problems that are of greatest concern to the people … and ensure that all of the people share in the fruits of reform and development,” Wen said in a speech to China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress.

Tuition and other fees for all rural students will be eliminated, easing financial burdens on 150 million rural households, the premier said. The education program and an expansion of a subsidized rural health insurance system would complete in two years projects originally scheduled to be fazed in over five years.

“Education is the bedrock of China’s development, and fairness in education is an important form of social fairness,” Wen said in a 2 hour and 15 minute speech at the cavernous Great Hall of the People in central Beijing

In the countryside, where most Chinese live, spending on agriculture, schools, medical clinics and other programs will rise 15 percent to $51 billion, Wen announced.

With growing concern over China’s role in climate change and the increasing un-sustainable nature of its growth, the Chinese Premier’s speech comes at the right moment.

It remains to be seen what specific programs and policies will be announced and how it will be implemented.