P-R

Private Sector Partnership to Accelerate Renewable Energy Projects

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $750 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help accelerate the development of conventional renewable energy generation projects. This funding will cover the cost of loan guarantees which could support as much as $4 to 8 billion in lending to eligible projects, and the Department will invite private sector participation to accelerate the financing of these renewable energy projects.

To this end, the Department announced the creation of its new Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP), a streamlined set of standards designed to expedite DOE's loan guarantee underwriting process and leverage private sector expertise and capital for the efficient and prudent funding of eligible projects.

“A renewable energy economy is a true opportunity to create new jobs, reinvigorate America's competitiveness and support the president's goal of doubling renewable energy in the United States,” said Secretary Chu. “American innovation can be the catalyst that jumps starts a new clean energy Industrial Revolution.”

Details Here

first published week of:   10/12/2009

Public Works Director pleads guilty to falsifying reports

The Harlem (Georgia) Public Works director, Daniel Webster Cason, pled guilty to three counts of making false st directoratements relating to bogus water quality reports filed in 2004 and 2005. The director, 65, was indicted in September on 11 counts alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act. An investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that in January 2004 he used a portable pump to transfer wastewater from an oxidation pond at the plant into a nearby tributary of Euchee Creek, in violation of the Clean Water Act. He later falsified reports that included erroneous measurements of fecal coliform and oxygen-demanding materials.

A special agent of the EPA testified in U.S. District Court on March 31 that “at least half a dozen” witnesses saw the wastewater being pumped into the creek; and that employee records indicated the director was not at work when the water quality reports were supposedly completed. The guilty plea involved three counts of making false statements related to specific water quality reports filed January 19-February 3, 2004; May 17-June 4, 2004; and March 22-April 4, 2005. Under the plea, seven other charges of filing false reports were dropped, as was the charge of discharging a pollutant into a tributary of Euchee Creek. The three charges to which the director pleaded guilty each carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled later, after a pre-sentencing report is prepared. The director remains on paid leave from the city of Harlem pending action from the city council, the city manager said.

Details Here

first published week of:   04/13/2009

Radioactive devices continue to go astray: report

Seventy-five radioactive devices used in Canadian medicine and industry went astray in recent years — almost one-third of them dangerous enough to cause people harm, newly released figures show. A Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission report says 24 radioactive items classified as “moderate-risk” or “high-risk” were lost or stolen from 2005 through the end of last year. Security officials have tried to improve tracking of such devices, used for everything from measuring soil moisture to irradiating blood, out of concern they could be used for malicious purposes including terrorist attacks. The report says many of the two dozen devices of greatest concern from the four-year period were lost in transit or happened to be in vehicles targeted by thieves. The fact licensees such as construction firms, laboratories, and medical outfits lose potentially hazardous items every year raises questions about whether enough is done to prevent the mishaps, environmental and security experts say.

Details Here

first published week of:   04/06/2009

Reinventing Carbon Dioxide
by Ken Silverstein, EnergyBiz Insider, Editor-in-Chief

Recession may stymie the rate of economic commerce. But it does nothing to inhibit the human mind. At issue now are rising pollution rates in combination with a declining fossil fuel base, both of which are causes that scientists and engineers are dedicating time and resources.

Turning to coal, the focus has been on reducing the level of toxins while also trying to capture and bury the carbon dioxide that it releases. Now, though, attention is turning to recycling the heat-trapping emission so that it can later be used as a transport fuel. The idea is being pursued by both national and private laboratories. It’s all possible. But differences exist as to when wide-scale commercialization will happen.

“We did introduce a prototype in March 2009 and we are now making small amounts of fuel,” says Byron Elton, chief executive of Santa Barbara-based Carbon Sciences. “However, the difference between making milliliters and gallons is big. There will be roadblocks. But once we develop the process, we will have the commercial package.”

Notice, largely, has been on carbon capture and sequestration where coal-dependent countries are trying to make the most of use out of abundant supplies. Lately, carbon recycling has come to fore as multiple global companies have applied for patents. Toward that end, the Obama administration has included the recycling of carbon dioxide as part of its clean coal efforts under the previously enacted stimulus plan. Ditto for Canada and China that are working on some zero-emissions power plants.

If a quarter of the carbon dioxide emissions from power plants could be reused, that could help meet 30 percent of the world’s liquid fuel demand by 2030, experts say. If that happened, the global community could reduce both its emissions and fossil fuel usage.

Details Here

first published week of:   12/07/2009

renewable Energy Project Could Hurt Environment

In this broad gray estuary, where thousands of migratory birds shelter and wildlife lovers walk, it’s a battle of nature versus future.

Environmentalists want to build the world’s largest renewable energy plant here to generate clean power, in what would be Britain’s biggest public construction project since the Channel Tunnels were completed 15 years ago.

But conservationists want to protect the mudflats and Atlantic salt marshes, which sustain ducks, swans and geese.

The plans for the dam on the border between England and Wales highlight the collision of two environmentally sensitive goals - protecting wildlife versus reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Details Here

first published week of:   05/11/2009

--Page 2 of 2--

<<-First <-Previous

Volume 31

-->