Energy & Electricity
Regulatory Compliance Obligations For the Utility Industry
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:25pm — Kevin Lustig
This chart is an adaptation based upon an original chart from Edison Electric Institute (EEI) - see http://www.eei.org/meetings/Meeting%20Documents/EPA-CAAUtilityRegTimelin.... The original EEI chart has been used to suggest that EPA’s regulatory timeline is unworkable. However, as illustrated in http://www.earthtrendsdelivered.org/node/406, the original chart consists mostly of procedural events and activities that will not impose a direct compliance obligation on power plants.
Environmental Regulatory Requirements For the Utility Industry, Removing All But New Compliance Obligations
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:24pm — Kevin Lustig
This chart is a reproduction of a chart from Edison Electric Institute (EEI) that has been used to suggest that EPA’s regulatory timeline is unworkable - see http://www.eei.org/meetings/Meeting%20Documents/EPA-CAAUtilityRegTimelin.... WRI has identified four categories of EPA activities on the EEI timeline that are potentially misleading:
(Blue X's) Rules that have been remanded or vacated by court decisions that do not impose compliance obligations.
China's installed turbine capacity, 2006
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:21pm — Kevin Lustig
A majority of turbines erected in China are small, with 600–850 kW turbines accounting for 80 percent of the market share. In 2006 the average size of turbines in China was 830 kW, compared to 1634 kW in Germany, 1634 kW in the United States, and 1100 kW in Spain. Today, the United States is developing 10 MW turbines, while China just tested 3 MW turbines.
Global installed wind energy capacity (GW) by nation, 2009
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:20pm — Kevin Lustig
Due to constant technological improvement as well as enabling policies, worldwide installed wind power capacity has risen rapidly, from about 14 GW in 1999 to 158 GW in 2009, of which the United States and Germany accounted for approximately 41 percent. The 158 GW installed capacity was estimated to generate 340 terawatthours (TWh) electricity and save 204 million tons of CO2 in 2009 (Sawyer 2010).
Coal-fired electricity generation versus coal consumption per kWh in China, 2003-2009
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:17pm — Kevin Lustig
Coal consistently contributes to over 75 percent of electricity in China (China Bureau of Statistics 2009). To meet its ever growing demands for electricity, China has seen rapid growth of coal-fired power generation. From 2003 to 2009 the country more than doubled its coal-fired generation capacity, making its fleet the largest in the world. However, the fuel consumption per unit of electricity generated during this period has steadily decreased. The use of supercritical/ultrasupercritical technology has significantly contributed to the improvement of energy efficiency.
China's R&D Expenditure, 1998-2008
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:16pm — Kevin Lustig
In the past two decades China has emerged from a technology importer to a major manufacturer of a number of low-carbon technologies. China’s government R&D appropriations have increased dramatically, from 43.9 billion Yuan (US$6.8 billion) in 1998 to 254 billion Yuan (US$39 billion) in 2008. Accordingly, three other measures—gross R&D expenditure, R&D intensity, and government science and technology (S&T) appropriations—have also enjoyed rapid growth.
Map of China Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Projects
Thu, 09/23/2010 - 1:26pm — Kevin Lustig
Following the government’s lead in supporting CCS technology research activities, leading Chinese energy enterprises have been investing in CCS technology demonstration projects. Petro China, the largest national oil company, began building China’s first CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project at the Jilin Oil Field in Jilin Province in 2006. Two rival companies have plans to deploy plants with components of CCS technology in the next two years: GreenGen Co.’s IGCC plant with associated CCS plant, and Shenhua’s direct coal-to-liquids power plant with CO2 capture and storage.
Breakdown of U.S. Green Stimulus
Thu, 09/23/2010 - 1:24pm — Kevin Lustig
The passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act in 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 dedicated $112 billion to climate-related initiatives, which is three-fold the budget of these programs without the stimulus. Stimulus funding included $3.4 billion for the Smart Grid Investment Grant awards, the largest grid modernization investment in U.S. history.
Net Annual Installed Wind Power Capacity in the United States, 1998-2009
Thu, 09/23/2010 - 11:32am — Kevin Lustig
The countries that lead in wind energy jobs are those that offer a stable and predictable framework for investment in wind power generation. In contrast, in the United States, federal support for the wind industry has been through the production tax credit (PTC), subject to periodic renewal. In years where the PTC expired, new wind investments collapsed. Large wind markets with stable long-term financial support in the forms of a feed-in tariff, such as Germany and Spain, have seen more constant market expansions and job creation.
Average Total Employment for Different Energy Technologies
Thu, 09/23/2010 - 10:22am — Kevin Lustig
Wind power is a nascent industry in the United States, but has the potential to spur job creation. Several studies show that wind power
creates more jobs than power generation from fossil fuels. The nature of wind power is more labor-intensive than traditional energy, and it creates jobs in both manufacturing and skilled scientific, engineering, and service roles.
