New Energy Find: Osmotic Energy

I learned about a new kind of renewable energy this week when I attended the E3 Conference (Energy, Economy and Environment) hosted by the University of Minnesota's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE). It was a great day of speakers and conversation and - contrary to other conferences I've attended - there was a solid mix of business leaders, clean energy advocates and policymakers there.

The new energy I learned about is called osmotic energy. Here's the scenario: When a river runs into an ocean, freshwater mixes with saltwater. A large amount of energy is released when these two types of waters with different salinity meet.

To capture this energy, a semi-permeable membrane can be placed between a reservoir holding the freshwater and another holding the saltwater. A net flow of water towards the saltwater side will occur and this pressure can turn a turbine to create clean energy.

Cities are often located where rivers run into the ocean, so the hope is that this technology could be located near the areas that consume the most power. What's more, this could be used as "baseload" energy - steady and very reliable.

Osmotic energy has been proven in the laboratory and is now being developed for commercial use by companies in the Netherlands and Norway. The speaker at the E3 conference, Terje Gjengeda, is a Norwegian professor and vice president of Statkraft, a company that will begin commercial testing in April 2009. The technical potential of this energy in Norway is up to 12 terrawatt hours per year, or enough energy to power about 540,000 households for a year.

New Chair of House Energy and Commerce Cmte

Update on a post I wrote recently about California Congressman Henry Waxman (D) challenging Michigan Congressman John Dingell (D) for chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Today Dingell lost his post in a secret vote of 137-122. Waxman is an outspoken environmentalist, whereas Dingell is close to the auto industry and has not been as friendly to particular energy and environmental legislation in the past. This committee will handle legislation on global warming, energy and health care in the next session.

Read more here in the NY Times.

Renewables Energized by Obama, Announce 2009 Agenda

On Thursday I was invited to a call-in news conference hosted by the leaders of the major renewable energy trade associations in the U.S.:

• Randall Swisher, Executive Director, American Wind Energy Association
• Karl Gawell, Executive Director, Geothermal Energy Association
• Linda Church Ciocci, Executive Director, National Hydropower Association
• Rhone Resch, President, Solar Energy Industries Association

All of these industries were obviously thrilled at the prospect of a new administration that has so explicitly committed to advancing clean energy via national renewable energy requirements, cap-and-trade mechanisms and investment in efficiency. That commitment, coupled with the crippling economic crisis and the global warming problem make it clear that renewables can play a valuable role in addressing our energy security, economic growth and cutting emissions.

While each industry has sector-specific policies (wind and geothermal, for example, want a multi-year tax credit like solar received, rather than the 12-month one they got), they are collectively seeking the following:

• A national renewable energy standard, which would require a certain percentage of our energy to come from renewable sources.
• An extension of flexible production tax credits
• A major new investment in transmission
• An investment of $30 billion in new clean energy projects right away to help kick start the economy (President-elect Obama has stated he would commit $150 billion over the next 10 years, but these industries believe more immediate action is needed to boost the economy)
• A cap-and-trade policy

Most of these requests fall within Obama’s stated energy plans. But it would be great, Karl Gawell of the Geothermal Energy Association noted, if the Obama administration would bring solar panels to the White House, along with the new puppy.

So what could slow down or stall the renewable renaissance? Not global warming deniers. Not even fossil fuel companies.

Transmission.

Randy Swisher of the American Wind Energy Association explained that transmission – infrastructure – is the single largest long-term constraint facing wind and other renewables.

“We can’t meet the climate challenge or the energy challenge without these green energy superhighways.”

Specifically, these renewable industries believe a nationwide transmission system – a “high voltage backbone” of thousands of miles – is essential. This doesn’t mean that states shouldn’t have a say in lines or the environmental impacts of them, but a federal coordination of the largest lines is the most cost-effective way to build the infrastructure of the country.

The leaders of these renewable energy industries will be meeting with the Obama transition team and Congress to discuss moving their agenda forward.

The renewable sectors also hope for a change in the new administration’s energy advisory team. Gawell explained:

“We don’t need the leaders of yesterday’s fossil fuel technology running any advisory council. It needs to be the leaders of tomorrow’s energy. But we can’t get lost in more studies and more meetings. It’s time for action and we can’t discount getting things done.”

AWEA Announces New CEO

The American Wind Energy Association has named Denise Bode as its new CEO. Bode will follow current CEO Randy Swisher, who is retiring after 19 years with the wind power trade association.

Bode has a diverse background, most recently as CEO of the American Clean Skies Foundation and formerly as president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. She also spent nine years as legal counsel to former U.S. Senator David Boren (D-OK), focusing on energy and taxation issues.

Read the full AWEA announcement.

Midwest Monday: Renewable Energy News

Midwest Monday: Missouri Passes RES

Missouri voters said "Yes!" last week to a renewable energy standard that will require 15 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2021.

The 66% - 34% support for Proposition C (aka "the Clean Energy Initiative") got on the ballot via the 170,000 signatures collected by Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy.

Prop C also includes a rebate that will help lower the cost of solar installations by almost 20%. It caps the rate impact at 1 percent and, according to Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy, could save residents $331 million over the next 20 years on their electric bills and create more than 10,000 jobs as a result of the increased demand for renewables.

Dems Duel for Control of Energy Committee

There's a duel among Democrats for control of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Yesterday, California Congressman Henry Waxman indicated that he will challenge Congressman John Dingell of Michigan for the chairmanship.

Typically, Democrats assign chairmanships based on seniority. The energy committee is the starting point for bills addressing energy and global warming.

Rep. Waxman has generally advocated for tougher environmental laws than Dingell has, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rep. Waxman has said he wants to more aggressively pursue policies to address climate change next year. Rep. Dingell, hailing from auto industry country, has been less than enthusiastic about CAFE standards to increase fuel efficiency. He also introduced a bill last year to repeal the EPA's Clean Air Act authority to regulate global warming pollution.

The major constituencies of both men have strong opinions of the other. "The fur would really fly" if Waxman became chairman, said David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research. He called the potential change "unfortunate."

Dan Becker of the Safe Climate Campaign called Dingell an enemy of efforts to improve the environment.

To become chair, Waxman has to earn a majority vote by the 50-member Democratic Steering Committee and then its ratification by the full Democratic Caucus.

Let's hope that whoever ends up with the chair, honest efforts are made to balance industry's reality with true leadership on fighting global warming. And now with an Obama administration, there should be the expectation and the demand that meaningful progress is made on energy.

Sources: Bloomberg, Grist, Wall Street Journal

Obama Wins - What Now for Energy?

Will an Obama administration affect the energy sector differently than a Bush one? Yes. For one, Obama supports a cap-and-trade mechanism (as does McCain) for regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a major contributor to global warming. He also wants more funding for renewable energy and incentives for businesses in the solar, wind, geothermal and other cleantech sectors.

Obama has stated his support for cleaner coal technologies and nuclear power, so he's unlikely to do something drastic like put a moratorium on them. But take note that companies are still preparing for some sort of change: Yesterday I was at a breakfast meeting where Xcel Energy CEO Dick Kelly keynoted. He said that although Xcel favors a carbon tax to curb emissions rather than cap-and-trade, he expects a cap-and-trade plan will eventually pass Congress. And when it does, he hopes his company will get credit for all the work they've already done with renewables.

In other words, utilities and other companies have been positioning themselves in ways that they hope will help them once federal regulation takes affect. Or better yet, they are positioned to help influence the creation of that regulation.

The rest of world is expecting more global warming action now that the US has a new administration. The Australian publication HeraldSun reports that there's international hope that the U.S. will change its position on the Kyoto treaty with the dawn of a new leader.

Drastic change on renewables and global warming policy may not appear overnight, but with the new administration and leaders on both sides of the aisle, the U.S. may be entering a period of increased support for homegrown energy and a true leadership role on climate change.

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