Quote of the Day, April 14th, 2009

"This is an attempt to silence a peaceful movement of young people trying to make people aware of the greatest threat to the world. This is madness."

-Unnamed UK climate activist quoted in the Guardian (UK). According to the Guardian, UK police raided dozens of homes yesterday after preemptively arresting and detaining 119 climate activists for planning protests against coal-fired power plants. Full story here.

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BBC Says "Obama's First Real Challenge: Reducing America's Dependence on Coal"

An interesting look at coal, mountain top removal, and the challenges awaiting President-elect Barack Obama from our friends across the pond at the BBC:

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UK Auctions First Carbon Permits; Government Hoarding Revenue

Cross-posted from the Breakthrough Institute

The UK Government auctioned the first four million allowances to emit greenhouse gases under their portion of the European Union's Emissions Trading System this week, raising £54m ($80.9m). However, the government is drawing fire for failing to earmark the auction revenues to investments in clean energy and energy efficiency that could further cut emissions and help reduce the costs of compliance with the cap and trade program. Instead of reinvesting the revenues in clean energy ventures, the government is reportedly planning to add revenues to the general budget.

The Financial Times has details on the auction:

"The first auction of carbon dioxide permits netted the government £54m ($80.9m) on Wednesday as bidders fought for the right to emit greenhouse gases.

Almost 4m permits were sold in an auction that was four times over-subscribed. Previously, all of the emissions permits allocated to UK businesses under the European Union's trading scheme were given out free.

The government has pledged to auction another 80m permits in the next four years, which is likely to bring in revenues of more than £1bn. The identities of bidders were not disclosed, but electricity producers were expected to be the main buyers as they had their free allocation of permits cut by 30 per cent.

...

The free allocation of permits in the first phase of the scheme, from 2005 to 2008, enabled power companies in the UK and other countries to make windfall profits by raising electricity prices to cover the notional cost of having to buy permits, despite receiving them free. The government said on Wednesday the auctions should not result in further electricity price increases, as the cost of permits had already been factored in.

The UK is pushing for power generators to have to pay for all of their carbon permits in the third phase of the EU scheme, from 2013, arguing that electricity producers tend to be well-insulated from international competition."

However, the UK government apparently isn't planning to spend the money raised by the auction on clean energy investments and is instead putting the funds into the general coffer, the UK Guardian reports:

"The UK government was under fire today for "undermining" the European Union's fight against climate change by auctioning off carbon allowances for the first time and not earmarking the cash for "green" projects.

Around four million permits are being distributed today under a new phase of the European Union's (EU) emissions trading scheme (ETS) with expected receipts of up to £60m going to the Treasury for general spending purposes.

"The policy of the UK government on this issue undermines the very purpose of the EU ETS... Auctioning undermines this flexible mechanism as it takes money away from those who can do something about climate change, the emitters, and it gives it to those who can't, the politicians," said James Emanuel at emissions trading broker, CantorCO2e.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said ministers should change their mind and use the cash specifically for projects such as improving energy efficiency of homes, investing in low-carbon technologies and helping poorer countries cope with climate change.

"This is a great opportunity to help poorer households make their homes both cheaper to heat and warmer, and create jobs through investment in new green technologies," said Lisa Harker, IPPR co-director.

Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF-UK, agreed saying the review by Lord Stern into the economics of climate change had shown that tackling the problem made sense financially. "This battle can't be won if we don't find the money to invest in solutions and kick-start new green industries," explained Allott."

More on the EU ETS price and auction format later in the article:

"The price of emission allowances have plunged by nearly 30% since September to around €16.50, partly because there are fears that the auction will flood the market and partly because a recession will cut industrial output and reduce pollution worldwide.

The ETS scheme implements an overall cap on the amount of emissions countries can produce, allocates carbon allowances to companies and then allows them to buy or sell the permits to cover shortfalls or profit from cutting their emissions.

Phase II of the scheme, which covers energy generators and heavy industry and aims to cut emissions by encouraging the market to produce carbon reductions at least cost, allows for up to 10% of permits to be auctioned.

In the UK, 7%, or 85 million, permits are being auctioned over five years of the scheme to 2012. The main target of the auction is energy companies which have lost 30% of their free allowances."

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UK Liberal Democrats Call for Carbon Neutral Britain

Last week, I argued that the right national target in the fight against global warming should be complete carbon neutrality. Apparently the UK's Liberal Democrats party has the same target in mind!

Calling for a "100 per cent carbon free" Brtain by 2050, the UK's Liberal Democrats party unveiled a series of proposals yesterday aimed at transforming Britain into an international leader in the fight against the climate crisis.

"Pollution doesn’t respect national boundaries," said Liberal Democrat party leader, Menzies Campbell. "Climate change is a global problem that requires an international solution. Britain should not be a bit player in finding that solution; we should be leading the pack."

The Liberal Democrats, the UK's third largest political party (wikipedia entry here for ignorant yanks like me), will debate the proposals, outlined in a paper called "Zero Carbon Brtain - Taking a Global Lead," at their party conference in Brighton next month.

The plan calls for:

Major improvements to the rail network and the construction of a high speed rail line, paid for by tolling lorries [trucks] on motorways

A commitment to 100 per cent carbon free, non-nuclear electricity by 2050

The use of green taxes to make the polluter pay, using the revenue to cut income tax

Introducing ‘green mortgages’ to enable people to make their homes more energy efficient

"With these policies the Liberal Democrats have become the first major British party to map out the route to a carbon neutral Britain," Campbell said. "And the first to plan the way towards a cleaner global environment too."

"This ambitious objective for zero-carbon Britain would put us in the global lead in tackling climate chaos," said Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary and Member of Parliament, Chris Huhne.

"Just as crucially," Huhne said, "we have set out plans that are the first attempt of any British political party to tackle carbon emissions from every part of the economy: transport, energy, housing, offices and factories. The time for talk has passed; we need action."

Well at least one yank is wondering (again) why we don't have instant run-off voting/preferential voting here in the U.S. (as they do in Australia) - or at least some system that allows viable 3rd parties.

The Liberal Democrats, a left-leaning social liberal party and Britain's third largest political party, routinely receives around 20% of the votes in general elections, and while the UK's first past the post" system under-represents them in parliament, the Lib Dems, as they are often abbreviated, still captured 62 seats in the House of Commons (about 10% of the 659 seats in the House).

In the U.S., we can only dream of a strong third party with seats in Congress that has the strength and position to take up a bold position on climate change, call for a carbon neutral America, and begin to shift the tenor of national and congressional debates on the climate crisis.

Without a strong two-party system that leaves little room for viable third parties, we in the U.S. will have to focus our attention on the two main political parties and do our best interject our rallying cry of a carbon neutral America into the mainstream.

Bravo to the Liberal Dems for taking a bold stand and setting an example for other political parties across the world! I'll raise a glass of gin to you chaps tonight...

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Wave Energy News: Projects Move Forward in Oregon and the UK

Finavera Granted Preliminary Permit for 100 MW Oregon Wave Park and UK Wave Hub Project Receives $43M Investment

Two pieces of wave energy news came over my RSS reader today:

Oregon Wave Energy Project Granted Preliminary Permit

First, Finavera Renewables, Inc., who acquired wave energy technology developers AquaEnergy Group, Ltd. last year, has received a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) to explore a 100 MW wave energy project off the coast of Coos County, in southern Oregon. The preliminary permit is valid for a period of three years, and allows Finavera Renewables to conduct various studies, including analyses of oceanographic conditions, commercial and recreational activities, and other impacts potentially associated with the planned project.

The proposed Coos County wave project would use interconnected clusters of the company's patented AquaBuOY wave energy devices (pictured right being deployed from a ship). The project would have a generating capacity of 100MW, and total annual generation from the project is estimated to be approximately 175 gigawatt-hours per-year, which is sufficient electricity to power approximately 15,000 American homes.

According to Finavera, the company also plans to deploy one second generation AquaBuOY wave energy device this summer off the coast of Newport, Oregon, in partnership with Oregon State University (OSU). During the test deployment, OSU scientists and engineers to explore the technology's potential. OSU has emerged as the leading national research institute for wave energy technology.

Alla Weinstein, Director and General Manager, Ocean Energy said:

"The Coos County project is part of the next step along our path to the commercialization of wave energy. Permitting activities for this project will be based on our experience gained in the Makah Bay pilot project, which is the first wave energy project to file for a FERC operating license. This project is designed to meet the State of Oregon's policy to invest in and support the growth of clean and renewable energy sources for the people of Oregon. We look forward to working closely with the local community to ensure a successful project."

AquaEnergy/Finavera have been moving steadily towards deployment of the first operating wave energy park in Makah Bay off the northwestern tip of Washington's Olympic Penninsula for several years (see previous post).

Finavera competitors, Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT), has also received a preliminary permit from FERC to explore a wave energy project off the coast of Reedsport in Douglas County, Oregon (see previous post). OPT recently partnered with the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative (PNGC) to develop the project (see previous post), which would initially consist of 2 MW of OPT PowerBuoy wave energy conversion devices and could eventually feature up to 50 MW of buoys.

Finavera/AquaEnergy's approved preliminary permit can be found here.


UK Wave Hub Project Secures Necessary Funding

The United Kingdom's 'Wave Hub' project received $43 million (US) in funding, moving the project much closer to completion. The Wave Hub project will be the first large scale wave energy project in the UK and is being publicly funded and constructed by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA).

The wave farm will feature a high voltage cable on the seabed and be connected to the National Grid via an electricity substation on the mainland. Wave energy companies to connect clusters of their wave energy conversion devices to the cable, allowing wave energy developers to test new technology, assess how well their devices work and how much power they will generate before going into full commercial production.

Matthew Spencer, chief executive of Regen SW, the renewable energy agency for South West England said:

"This is public sector investment at its best -- taking the long view, taking risks the private sector can't take, and making significant investment in the technology we need to tackle climate change. Wave Hub will help make the UK the location of choice for companies developing wave energy, and should see British and overseas businesses making long term investments in Cornwall."

Three wave-energy companies are already working with the RDA to use Wave Hub, and a fourth will soon be selected. The companies involved include, Ocean Power Technologies Limited, Fred.Olsen Renewables Limited and WestWave, a consortium of German-based international oil, power and gas company E.On and Ocean Prospect Limited, using the Pelamis technology of Ocean Power Delivery Ltd. (the Pelamis device is pictured at right, being towed to sea).

The investment means Wave Hub could be operational as early as summer 2008, subject to final UK Government and EU approval.

The Wave Hub project is an evolution of the ocean energy incubator model demonstrated by the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) in the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. The EMEC wave energy site consists of four pre-permited interconnection berths located approximately 2km off shore and in 50m of water. The berths are connected by cables to the national grid via the substation which is set into the cliff and allow wave energy technology developers to connect their devices to the berths for testing and at-sea verification. (EMEC is also finishing construction of a tidal energy test site expected to be ready by the end of 2007).

The EMEC center helped Pelamis deploy, test, and validate their Pelamis design which is now being deployed commercially in Portugal, at the Wave Hub site and in the WestWave project.

Wave Hub will follow up on EMEC's model, allowing wave energy developers to deploy commercial-scale clusters of wave energy conversion devices.

Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Energy, with the backing of Governor Ted Kulongoski, would like to establish a National Wave Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Center near Newport, Oregon (see previoust poast) which would likely feature a facility similar to EMEC's wave test site, with pre-permitted interconnection berths to test wave energy conversion devices at sea. OSU, ODOE and the governor are seeking federal funding to establish the center (and if I'm not mistaken, the governor's 2007-08 budget included a line item to fund a portion of the center... Perhaps the announcement by Finavera that they plan to deploy one second generation AquaBuOY device with the help of OSU researched is a sign that this concept is moving forward).

Oregon, the UK (and Scotland) and Portugal have emerged in recent months as the epicenters of the developing wave energy industry. All three have pilot-scale and commercial wave energy projects at some stage of development, and buoys will likely be in the water in all three locations within the next year.

Update (5-15-07):

Oceanlinx Limited (formerly Energetech), an Australian wave energy company has entered the picture in both Oregon and the UK in the past two weeks. Renewable Energy Access.com reports that Oceanlinx has been selected as the fourth wave energy company to participate in the WaveHub project in the UK discussed above. Oceanlinx also recently applied for a preliminary permit to explore a wave park off the coast near Florence, Oregon. Oceanlinx would install their Oscillating Water Column ("OWC")-based units at both sites.

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