Federal govt keen to boost uranium sales - Breaking News - Business - Breaking News
Australia is punching below its weight in the world uranium market despite record prices and escalating demand, the federal government says.
Senior government adviser John Hartwell has told a uranium industry conference in Adelaide that the government remains committed to improving the country's export performance.
"Where uranium is concerned, Australia is punching below its weight," Mr Hartwell said in a speech delivered on behalf of federal industry minister Ian Macfarlane.
"We hold 37 per cent of the world's low-cost uranium resources, worth about $100 billion at today's prices.
"Yet, we continue to lag behind Canada. We remain in second place as a producer of low-cost uranium, even though we have more than twice Canada's reserves."
Mr Hartwell said the government recognised there were good reasons, both economic and social, why the country with the most uranium should also be the biggest exporter.
But he said it was still fair to say that for many Australians uranium was a mysterious substance.
"It is up to the uranium industry to help inform the uranium debate and to demonstrate the many benefits uranium mining brings to Australia by transparently presenting the issues and facilitating dialogue where opportunities arise," he said.
Mr Hartwell said the government regarded the issue of uranium mining as separate to whether or not Australia should use nuclear power.
However, he said it recognised that, in the public's mind, there was a direct link between the two.
In earlier comments to the conference, South Australian Mineral Resources Minister Paul Holloway added further weight to a push for federal Labor to scrap its no new uranium mines policy.
After Premier Mike Rann this week declared the policy out of date, Mr Holloway said it was time for change and he looked forward to a time of increased uranium exploration and development.
© 2006 AAP
Friday, March 31, 2006
Solar-thermal power touted as energy solution. 31/03/2006. ABC News Online
Australian scientists have developed a new form of electricity that could provide all of Australia's electricity needs in 2020.
It has been developed by mixing solar energy, heat and natural gas.
In the search to find a cleaner, more efficient form of power, scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have developed what is called solar-thermal energy.
Two hundred mirrors track the sun, and focus the sun's rays towards a tower.
The heat can reach temperatures of more than 1000 degrees Celsius, producing 500 kilowatts of power.
This is then mixed with natural gas and water to produce a renewable energy.
Wes Stein from the CSIRO says the new development could provide for Australia's future energy needs.
"It would only require about 50 kilometres by 50 kilometres in the centre of Australia somewhere to provide all of Australia's electricity needs in 2020," he said.
"That's not very much of Australia."
Australian scientists have developed a new form of electricity that could provide all of Australia's electricity needs in 2020.
It has been developed by mixing solar energy, heat and natural gas.
In the search to find a cleaner, more efficient form of power, scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have developed what is called solar-thermal energy.
Two hundred mirrors track the sun, and focus the sun's rays towards a tower.
The heat can reach temperatures of more than 1000 degrees Celsius, producing 500 kilowatts of power.
This is then mixed with natural gas and water to produce a renewable energy.
Wes Stein from the CSIRO says the new development could provide for Australia's future energy needs.
"It would only require about 50 kilometres by 50 kilometres in the centre of Australia somewhere to provide all of Australia's electricity needs in 2020," he said.
"That's not very much of Australia."
India says nuclear deal will not spark arms race
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - India, pressing for U.S. congressional approval of a landmark nuclear energy agreement, on Thursday rejected suggestions the deal might provoke a South Asia arms race and reaffirmed its commitment to a voluntary moratorium on atomic weapons testing.
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran also opened the door to New Delhi accepting certain unspecified congressional modifications to the deal as long as they do not upset the "delicate balance" of understandings negotiated with the Bush administration.
"We have not indulged in a nuclear weapons race before this agreement was arrived at (and) there is no reason why it should be expected that merely because we have an agreement on civil energy cooperation, that suddenly the floodgates would be opened by India for a larger and larger arsenal," he told the Heritage Foundation think tank.
Under the pact, agreed in principle last July 18, India would receive U.S. nuclear technology, including reactors and nuclear fuel, in return for separating its military and civil facilities and opening the civilian plants to international inspections.
India has been barred from acquiring foreign nuclear technology for three decades because it refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and developed nuclear weapons.
President George W. Bush is now seeking changes in U.S. law and international regulations to treat India as a special exemption, arguing that a close partnership with this rising democratic power and its new acceptance of certain international non-proliferation standards advances U.S. interests.
But the deal faces opposition on both fronts.
'FREE PASS' FOR INDIA?
Non-proliferation expert Michael Krepon of the Henry L. Stimson Center, in a Web site posting, said the administration's gamble that the nuclear deal's benefits will outweigh proliferation risks is "every bit as consequential as the decision to topple" Iraq's Saddam Hussein.
The deal gives India a "free pass" on nuclear testing, fissile material production and stockpile growth, he said.
Some experts fear that an administration promise to ensure India an indefinite supply of nuclear reactor fuel means Washington is giving up leverage to halt technology cooperation if India, which tested nuclear weapons in 1998, does so again. Continued ...
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - India, pressing for U.S. congressional approval of a landmark nuclear energy agreement, on Thursday rejected suggestions the deal might provoke a South Asia arms race and reaffirmed its commitment to a voluntary moratorium on atomic weapons testing.
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran also opened the door to New Delhi accepting certain unspecified congressional modifications to the deal as long as they do not upset the "delicate balance" of understandings negotiated with the Bush administration.
"We have not indulged in a nuclear weapons race before this agreement was arrived at (and) there is no reason why it should be expected that merely because we have an agreement on civil energy cooperation, that suddenly the floodgates would be opened by India for a larger and larger arsenal," he told the Heritage Foundation think tank.
Under the pact, agreed in principle last July 18, India would receive U.S. nuclear technology, including reactors and nuclear fuel, in return for separating its military and civil facilities and opening the civilian plants to international inspections.
India has been barred from acquiring foreign nuclear technology for three decades because it refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and developed nuclear weapons.
President George W. Bush is now seeking changes in U.S. law and international regulations to treat India as a special exemption, arguing that a close partnership with this rising democratic power and its new acceptance of certain international non-proliferation standards advances U.S. interests.
But the deal faces opposition on both fronts.
'FREE PASS' FOR INDIA?
Non-proliferation expert Michael Krepon of the Henry L. Stimson Center, in a Web site posting, said the administration's gamble that the nuclear deal's benefits will outweigh proliferation risks is "every bit as consequential as the decision to topple" Iraq's Saddam Hussein.
The deal gives India a "free pass" on nuclear testing, fissile material production and stockpile growth, he said.
Some experts fear that an administration promise to ensure India an indefinite supply of nuclear reactor fuel means Washington is giving up leverage to halt technology cooperation if India, which tested nuclear weapons in 1998, does so again. Continued ...
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Americans at "tipping point" about energy: poll - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are nearly as worried about their country's dependence on foreign energy sources as they are about the war in Iraq, a poll released by the magazine Foreign Affairs showed on Thursday.
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Almost half of the 1,000 Americans surveyed for the Public Agenda Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index gave U.S. policymakers a failing grade in weaning the country from foreign oil.
Nearly 90 percent said the lack of energy independence jeopardizes national security.
Public Agenda, a nonpartisan group, conducted the poll in early January with funding from the Ford Foundation. It said that Americans are at a "tipping point" on energy, akin to their state of mind about the war.
Daniel Yankelovich, chairman of Public Agenda, said the public reaches a "tipping point" when it is gravely worried about an issue and believes the government has the ability to change matters. When the index was first published in August 2005, only the Iraq war triggered a similar response, he said.
"This time we find that a second issue has reached a tipping point, which is energy independence, and you have a very strong increase in the number of Americans who are intensely worried about the problem," Yankelovich said in a conference call.
"Now with this issue having reached the tipping point in the public I think that that means the political complexion of that issue is about to change considerably," he added.
In the latest survey, 85 percent of respondents said the U.S. government could do something about energy dependence if it tried. The share of those who worried foreign conflicts will drive up oil prices or cut off supplies rose to 55 percent from 42 percent in the August poll.
Since the August index was published, the U.S. energy chessboard has been rearranged by a broad energy reform law going into effect, a two-hurricane punch that shut in domestic oil production, sudden spikes in oil prices spurred by geopolitics, and record oil company profits.
While energy independence is certainly on citizens' minds, the index found that the war in Iraq remains their leading international concern.
Their least pressing international issue was promoting democracy abroad, with only one out of five participants saying they considered the activity "very important."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are nearly as worried about their country's dependence on foreign energy sources as they are about the war in Iraq, a poll released by the magazine Foreign Affairs showed on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Almost half of the 1,000 Americans surveyed for the Public Agenda Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index gave U.S. policymakers a failing grade in weaning the country from foreign oil.
Nearly 90 percent said the lack of energy independence jeopardizes national security.
Public Agenda, a nonpartisan group, conducted the poll in early January with funding from the Ford Foundation. It said that Americans are at a "tipping point" on energy, akin to their state of mind about the war.
Daniel Yankelovich, chairman of Public Agenda, said the public reaches a "tipping point" when it is gravely worried about an issue and believes the government has the ability to change matters. When the index was first published in August 2005, only the Iraq war triggered a similar response, he said.
"This time we find that a second issue has reached a tipping point, which is energy independence, and you have a very strong increase in the number of Americans who are intensely worried about the problem," Yankelovich said in a conference call.
"Now with this issue having reached the tipping point in the public I think that that means the political complexion of that issue is about to change considerably," he added.
In the latest survey, 85 percent of respondents said the U.S. government could do something about energy dependence if it tried. The share of those who worried foreign conflicts will drive up oil prices or cut off supplies rose to 55 percent from 42 percent in the August poll.
Since the August index was published, the U.S. energy chessboard has been rearranged by a broad energy reform law going into effect, a two-hurricane punch that shut in domestic oil production, sudden spikes in oil prices spurred by geopolitics, and record oil company profits.
While energy independence is certainly on citizens' minds, the index found that the war in Iraq remains their leading international concern.
Their least pressing international issue was promoting democracy abroad, with only one out of five participants saying they considered the activity "very important."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Government to sell British Nuclear Group
Charlotte Moore and agencies
Thursday March 30, 2006
The government today said it would sell British Nuclear Group, meaning the Sellafield nuclear complex will pass into the private sector.
State-run British Nuclear Fuels Ltd currently runs BNG, a specialist clean-up unit that also operates the Sellafield reprocessing plant.
BNG's main customer is the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which has responsibility for all civil public sector nuclear liabilities.
The NDA said BNG's new owner would be allowed to operate Sellafield, in Cumbria, until 2012.
Article continues
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The plant was recently criticised by the European commission, who said it was failing to reach EU standards and needed to improve accounting and reporting controls.
Sellafield can reprocess 5,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel a year - around one-third of annual world production.
Analysts told Reuters BNFL could expect bids of around £1bn for BNG, with US companies such as Halliburton and the Washington Group possible contenders. The British engineering firm Amec has also been cited as a potential buyer.
Today's announcement confirmed plans laid out in last week's budget, and the government is also likely to sell its 33% share of Urenco, a uranium-enrichment business owned jointly with the Dutch and German governments.
"I firmly believe that a competitive sale is in the BNFL's best commercial interests and represents BNG's best chance of operating successfully in the commercial market," Alan Johnson, the secretary for Trade and Industry, told Reuters.
The NDA said the cost of decommissioning Britain's ageing nuclear power plants could be around £70bn - around £14bn more than previously anticipated.
"We have said we now estimate the cost to be about £63bn and there is potential for a further £7.5bn due issues like contaminated land," a spokesman told Reuters.
Special report
The nuclear industry
Useful links
British Energy
Department of Trade and Industry
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Greenpeace
HSE nuclear glossary
Come Clean WMD awareness programme
UK atomic energy authority
National Radiological Protection Board
Friends of the Earth
World Nuclear Association
World Nuclear Transport Institute
Charlotte Moore and agencies
Thursday March 30, 2006
The government today said it would sell British Nuclear Group, meaning the Sellafield nuclear complex will pass into the private sector.
State-run British Nuclear Fuels Ltd currently runs BNG, a specialist clean-up unit that also operates the Sellafield reprocessing plant.
BNG's main customer is the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which has responsibility for all civil public sector nuclear liabilities.
The NDA said BNG's new owner would be allowed to operate Sellafield, in Cumbria, until 2012.
Article continues
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The plant was recently criticised by the European commission, who said it was failing to reach EU standards and needed to improve accounting and reporting controls.
Sellafield can reprocess 5,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel a year - around one-third of annual world production.
Analysts told Reuters BNFL could expect bids of around £1bn for BNG, with US companies such as Halliburton and the Washington Group possible contenders. The British engineering firm Amec has also been cited as a potential buyer.
Today's announcement confirmed plans laid out in last week's budget, and the government is also likely to sell its 33% share of Urenco, a uranium-enrichment business owned jointly with the Dutch and German governments.
"I firmly believe that a competitive sale is in the BNFL's best commercial interests and represents BNG's best chance of operating successfully in the commercial market," Alan Johnson, the secretary for Trade and Industry, told Reuters.
The NDA said the cost of decommissioning Britain's ageing nuclear power plants could be around £70bn - around £14bn more than previously anticipated.
"We have said we now estimate the cost to be about £63bn and there is potential for a further £7.5bn due issues like contaminated land," a spokesman told Reuters.
Special report
The nuclear industry
Useful links
British Energy
Department of Trade and Industry
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Greenpeace
HSE nuclear glossary
Come Clean WMD awareness programme
UK atomic energy authority
National Radiological Protection Board
Friends of the Earth
World Nuclear Association
World Nuclear Transport Institute
BBC NEWS | Business | Belarus hit by Russian gas hike
The head of Gazprom, Russia's largest gas company, has said Belarus will have to pay five times more for the fuel.
Gazprom boss Alexei Miller told the Belarusian energy minister that Russian gas "must be supplied at prices equivalent to the European level".
Belarus currently enjoys a significant reduction compared to the price other European nations have to pay.
Gazprom said Belarus' fivefold price rise was due to come into effect at the start of next year.
Belarus, which became independent from Russia in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, currently pays $47 per 1,000 cubic metres of Russian natural gas.
If the increase does goes ahead, Belarus, which has a command style economy, would be severely damaged, analysts believe.
It is the only former Soviet nation to have avoided a rise in gas prices in the past year. Belarus has had the same gas contract since 2004.
'Bargaining chip'
Oleg Maximov, an oil and gas analyst with the Troika Dialog investment bank in Moscow, said the move by Gazprom was "a bargaining chip" to buy control over Belarus' pipeline operator Beltransgaz. The operator also takes Russian gas to lucrative western markets.
Mr Maximov said Russia has been trying to negotiate with Belarus for some time to gain a controlling share in Beltransgaz.
Russia has been trying to push former Soviet nations in line with European nations, as the price of gas - like oil - has rocketed in recent years.
Russia stopped exporting gas to Ukraine in January this year, after Ukraine refused to accept a massive price hike from $50 to $230 for 1,000 cubic metres.
Moldova said it too was cut off after refusing to accept a price doubling, to $160 for 1,000 cubic metres.
In 2004, Gazprom stopped supplies to Belarus following a dispute over prices. At the time Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka, who has just gained a third term in office, deemed the move "terrorism."
The row ceased after Belarus agreed to up the price from $30 to $47.
Gazprom is destined to deliver 21 billion cubic metres of gas to Belarus this year.
The head of Gazprom, Russia's largest gas company, has said Belarus will have to pay five times more for the fuel.
Gazprom boss Alexei Miller told the Belarusian energy minister that Russian gas "must be supplied at prices equivalent to the European level".
Belarus currently enjoys a significant reduction compared to the price other European nations have to pay.
Gazprom said Belarus' fivefold price rise was due to come into effect at the start of next year.
Belarus, which became independent from Russia in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, currently pays $47 per 1,000 cubic metres of Russian natural gas.
If the increase does goes ahead, Belarus, which has a command style economy, would be severely damaged, analysts believe.
It is the only former Soviet nation to have avoided a rise in gas prices in the past year. Belarus has had the same gas contract since 2004.
'Bargaining chip'
Oleg Maximov, an oil and gas analyst with the Troika Dialog investment bank in Moscow, said the move by Gazprom was "a bargaining chip" to buy control over Belarus' pipeline operator Beltransgaz. The operator also takes Russian gas to lucrative western markets.
Mr Maximov said Russia has been trying to negotiate with Belarus for some time to gain a controlling share in Beltransgaz.
Russia has been trying to push former Soviet nations in line with European nations, as the price of gas - like oil - has rocketed in recent years.
Russia stopped exporting gas to Ukraine in January this year, after Ukraine refused to accept a massive price hike from $50 to $230 for 1,000 cubic metres.
Moldova said it too was cut off after refusing to accept a price doubling, to $160 for 1,000 cubic metres.
In 2004, Gazprom stopped supplies to Belarus following a dispute over prices. At the time Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka, who has just gained a third term in office, deemed the move "terrorism."
The row ceased after Belarus agreed to up the price from $30 to $47.
Gazprom is destined to deliver 21 billion cubic metres of gas to Belarus this year.
Feds proposed new fuel economy rules
The federal government has proposed new fuel economy standards for light trucks, including the largest sport utility vehicles.
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Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said the proposed standards will save 10.7 billions of gallons of fuel.
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(Ads by Google)The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the proposed fuel economy standards represent the second time the Bush administration has increased mileage standards for light trucks and the first complete reform of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans since its inception in 1979.
"The new standards represent the most ambitious fuel economy goals for light trucks ever developed in the program's 27-year history," Mineta said. "And, more importantly, they close loopholes that have long plagued the current system."
The new standards set individual miles-per-gallon goals for all passenger trucks sold in the United States, requiring manufacturers to install fuel saving technology on all such vehicles.
The new fuel economy standards also strengthen the miles-per-gallon target for light trucks from 21.6 to 24 miles per gallon.
Large SUVs would be included in the CAFE program starting in 2011.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
The federal government has proposed new fuel economy standards for light trucks, including the largest sport utility vehicles.
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Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said the proposed standards will save 10.7 billions of gallons of fuel.
Green Vehicle Guide
New car environmental ratings See how cars rate before you buy!
fuel economy ratings
Get a more efficient car & Save carsguide.com.au-Too Big to Miss
All the Chevrolet Trucks
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All the Chevy Trucks
All the Chevy Trucks Savings! Chevy Truck Shoppers Start Here
(Ads by Google)The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the proposed fuel economy standards represent the second time the Bush administration has increased mileage standards for light trucks and the first complete reform of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans since its inception in 1979.
"The new standards represent the most ambitious fuel economy goals for light trucks ever developed in the program's 27-year history," Mineta said. "And, more importantly, they close loopholes that have long plagued the current system."
The new standards set individual miles-per-gallon goals for all passenger trucks sold in the United States, requiring manufacturers to install fuel saving technology on all such vehicles.
The new fuel economy standards also strengthen the miles-per-gallon target for light trucks from 21.6 to 24 miles per gallon.
Large SUVs would be included in the CAFE program starting in 2011.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Probing Question What heats the earth's core
Although we crust-dwellers walk on nice cool ground, underneath our feet the Earth is a pretty hot place. Enough heat emanates from the planet's interior to make 200 cups of piping hot coffee per hour for each of Earth's 6.2 billion inhabitants, says Chris Marone, Penn State professor of geosciences. At the very center, it is believed temperatures exceed 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the surface of the sun.
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A cross-section of the Earth reveals three concentric layers. Around the outside, a thin, hard crust ranging from 10 to 100 kilometers thick. Under that, a donut-shaped mantle 2,900 kilometers thick. Instead of dough, it consists of viscous molten rock that flows very slowly, on a geological time scale. "It moves about as fast as your fingernails grow," Marone explains.
At the center of the Earth lies a two-part core. "The inner part is about the size of our moon," Marone says, "and has a density of essentially steel." The outer core surrounding it is an ocean of liquid metal 2,300 kilometers thick. The Earth's rotation makes this ocean flow and swirl, and the moving metal generates the planet's magnetic field.
Most of Earth's heat is stored in the mantle, Marone says, and there are four sources that keep it hot. First, there's the heat left over from when gravity first condensed a planet from the cloud of hot gases and particles in pre-Earth space. As the molten ball cooled, some 4 billion years ago, the outside hardened and formed a crust. The mantle is still cooling down.
"We don't think this original heat is a major part of the Earth's heat, though," Marone says. It only contributes 5 to 10 percent of the total, "about the same amount as gravitational heat."
To explain gravitational heat, Marone again evokes the image of the hot, freshly formed Earth, which was not of a consistent density. In a gravitational sorting process called differentiation, the denser, heavier parts were drawn to the center, and the less dense areas were displaced outwards. The friction created by this process generated considerable heat, which, like the original heat, still has not fully dissipated.
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(Ads by Google)Then there's latent heat, Marone says. This type arises from the core's expanding as the Earth cools from the inside out. Just as freezing water turns to ice, that liquid metal is turning solid—and adding volume in the process. "The inner core is becoming larger by about a centimeter every thousand years," Marone says. The heat released by this expansion is seeping into the mantle.
For all this, however, Marone says, the vast majority of the heat in Earth's interior—up to 90 percent—is fueled by the decaying of radioactive isotopes like Potassium 40, Uranium 238, 235, and Thorium 232 contained within the mantle. These isotopes radiate heat as they shed excess energy and move toward stability. "The amount of heat caused by this radiation is almost the same as the total heat measured emanating from the Earth."
Radioactivity is present not only in the mantle, but in the rocks of Earth's crust. For example, Marone explains, a 1-kilogram block of granite on the surface emanates a tiny but measurable amount of heat (about as much as a .000000001 watt light bulb) through radioactive decay.
That may not seem like much. But considering the vastness of the mantle, it adds up, Marone says.
Sometime billions of years in the future, he predicts, the core and mantle could cool and solidify enough to meet the crust. If that happens, Earth will become a cold, dead planet like the moon.
Long before such an occurrence, however, the Sun will likely have evolved into a red-giant star, and grown large enough to engulf our fair planet. At that point, whatever heat is left in the mantle will hardly matter.
Source: Research/Penn State, By Joe Anuta
Although we crust-dwellers walk on nice cool ground, underneath our feet the Earth is a pretty hot place. Enough heat emanates from the planet's interior to make 200 cups of piping hot coffee per hour for each of Earth's 6.2 billion inhabitants, says Chris Marone, Penn State professor of geosciences. At the very center, it is believed temperatures exceed 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the surface of the sun.
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A cross-section of the Earth reveals three concentric layers. Around the outside, a thin, hard crust ranging from 10 to 100 kilometers thick. Under that, a donut-shaped mantle 2,900 kilometers thick. Instead of dough, it consists of viscous molten rock that flows very slowly, on a geological time scale. "It moves about as fast as your fingernails grow," Marone explains.
At the center of the Earth lies a two-part core. "The inner part is about the size of our moon," Marone says, "and has a density of essentially steel." The outer core surrounding it is an ocean of liquid metal 2,300 kilometers thick. The Earth's rotation makes this ocean flow and swirl, and the moving metal generates the planet's magnetic field.
Most of Earth's heat is stored in the mantle, Marone says, and there are four sources that keep it hot. First, there's the heat left over from when gravity first condensed a planet from the cloud of hot gases and particles in pre-Earth space. As the molten ball cooled, some 4 billion years ago, the outside hardened and formed a crust. The mantle is still cooling down.
"We don't think this original heat is a major part of the Earth's heat, though," Marone says. It only contributes 5 to 10 percent of the total, "about the same amount as gravitational heat."
To explain gravitational heat, Marone again evokes the image of the hot, freshly formed Earth, which was not of a consistent density. In a gravitational sorting process called differentiation, the denser, heavier parts were drawn to the center, and the less dense areas were displaced outwards. The friction created by this process generated considerable heat, which, like the original heat, still has not fully dissipated.
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Thermal Analysis Software
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(Ads by Google)Then there's latent heat, Marone says. This type arises from the core's expanding as the Earth cools from the inside out. Just as freezing water turns to ice, that liquid metal is turning solid—and adding volume in the process. "The inner core is becoming larger by about a centimeter every thousand years," Marone says. The heat released by this expansion is seeping into the mantle.
For all this, however, Marone says, the vast majority of the heat in Earth's interior—up to 90 percent—is fueled by the decaying of radioactive isotopes like Potassium 40, Uranium 238, 235, and Thorium 232 contained within the mantle. These isotopes radiate heat as they shed excess energy and move toward stability. "The amount of heat caused by this radiation is almost the same as the total heat measured emanating from the Earth."
Radioactivity is present not only in the mantle, but in the rocks of Earth's crust. For example, Marone explains, a 1-kilogram block of granite on the surface emanates a tiny but measurable amount of heat (about as much as a .000000001 watt light bulb) through radioactive decay.
That may not seem like much. But considering the vastness of the mantle, it adds up, Marone says.
Sometime billions of years in the future, he predicts, the core and mantle could cool and solidify enough to meet the crust. If that happens, Earth will become a cold, dead planet like the moon.
Long before such an occurrence, however, the Sun will likely have evolved into a red-giant star, and grown large enough to engulf our fair planet. At that point, whatever heat is left in the mantle will hardly matter.
Source: Research/Penn State, By Joe Anuta
Subsurface bacteria to immobilize uranium
In research that could help control contamination from the radioactive element uranium, scientists have discovered that some bacteria found in the soil and subsurface can release phosphate that converts uranium contamination into an insoluble and immobile form.
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Based on laboratory studies, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers report promising results using bacterial species from three genera isolated from subsurface soils collected at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Field Research Center site in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Researchers conducted preliminary screenings of many bacterial isolates and found several candidate strains that released inorganic phosphate after hydrolyzing an organo-phosphate source the researchers provided.
The bioremediation research project, funded for three years by DOE's Environmental Remediation Sciences Division, is in its early stages. Research team member Melanie Beazley, a Ph.D. student in the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, will present preliminary findings on March 30 at the 231st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Atlanta.
"These organisms release phosphate into the medium, but the precipitation (of uranium phosphate) occurs chemically," explained Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Martial Taillefert, co-director of the study. "That is the biomineralization of uranium and the novelty of this approach."
The process begins when the bacteria – from the genera Rhanella, Bacillus and possibly Arthrobacter– degrade an organo-phosphate compound such as glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) or phytic acid (IP6), which can be present in subsurface soils.
"During their growth, the organisms liberate phosphate they derive from the organo-phosphate compound," said project co-director Patricia Sobecky, an associate professor of biology. "The free phosphate is released to the surrounding media, which is a solution in the lab. Then we conduct assays to see how much uranium is mineralized by the phosphate released by the bacteria."
The bacteria's role is crucial in this process because uranium cannot dissociate the organo-phosphate compound chemically, Taillefert explained. So uranium in the presence of organo-phosphate alone does not result in significant uranium precipitation.
Sobecky and her Ph.D. student Robert Martinez are conducting the microbiological and physiological component of the research, while Taillefert and Beazley study the uranium chemistry and analyze distribution of different forms of uranium during incubation in the lab.
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(Ads by Google)"The devil's in the details with the chemistry of uranium: There are numerous forms of uranium in the environment, which are all influenced by the natural properties of soils and groundwater," Taillefert said.
Sobecky added, "What we're doing now is optimizing the assay conditions and the techniques to analyze the distribution of uranium species in the lab."
Traditionally, DOE has funded research investigating the chemical reduction of uranium contamination. But there are two approaches to immobilizing uranium. One strategy reduces uranium (VI) to uranium (IV), which is, in principle, immobile. But the uranium can re-oxidize even with traces of oxygen from rainwater seeping into the groundwater. The Georgia Tech approach biomineralizes uranium (VI) into an insoluble form of uranium via phosphate precipitation.
As they work toward a bioremediation strategy that will work in the field, researchers must design a mechanism to deal with competing organisms in the soil that might sequester the free phosphate, Sobecky noted. Though their current grant does not cover the cost of a field study, researchers hope to obtain funds in the future to test their strategy at Oak Ridge and potentially other DOE sites. Uranium contamination is a concern at DOE sites because it can migrate to groundwater in surrounding areas, Taillefert noted.
"At this point, we know the organisms we're studying are active in precipitating uranium phosphate," he said. "…. Now we need to determine how chemically stable it is."
Researchers also have learned that when the bacteria are releasing phosphate from G3P, the bacteria can tolerate the toxic uranium and can continue to grow once the uranium is precipitated by the released phosphate.
"Our challenge now is fine-tuning the conditions around the bacterium so eventually it can thrive and work chemically in a natural setting," Taillefert said.
Source: Georgia Institute of Technology
In research that could help control contamination from the radioactive element uranium, scientists have discovered that some bacteria found in the soil and subsurface can release phosphate that converts uranium contamination into an insoluble and immobile form.
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Based on laboratory studies, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers report promising results using bacterial species from three genera isolated from subsurface soils collected at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Field Research Center site in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Researchers conducted preliminary screenings of many bacterial isolates and found several candidate strains that released inorganic phosphate after hydrolyzing an organo-phosphate source the researchers provided.
The bioremediation research project, funded for three years by DOE's Environmental Remediation Sciences Division, is in its early stages. Research team member Melanie Beazley, a Ph.D. student in the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, will present preliminary findings on March 30 at the 231st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Atlanta.
"These organisms release phosphate into the medium, but the precipitation (of uranium phosphate) occurs chemically," explained Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Martial Taillefert, co-director of the study. "That is the biomineralization of uranium and the novelty of this approach."
The process begins when the bacteria – from the genera Rhanella, Bacillus and possibly Arthrobacter– degrade an organo-phosphate compound such as glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) or phytic acid (IP6), which can be present in subsurface soils.
"During their growth, the organisms liberate phosphate they derive from the organo-phosphate compound," said project co-director Patricia Sobecky, an associate professor of biology. "The free phosphate is released to the surrounding media, which is a solution in the lab. Then we conduct assays to see how much uranium is mineralized by the phosphate released by the bacteria."
The bacteria's role is crucial in this process because uranium cannot dissociate the organo-phosphate compound chemically, Taillefert explained. So uranium in the presence of organo-phosphate alone does not result in significant uranium precipitation.
Sobecky and her Ph.D. student Robert Martinez are conducting the microbiological and physiological component of the research, while Taillefert and Beazley study the uranium chemistry and analyze distribution of different forms of uranium during incubation in the lab.
Silver Membranes
Uses range from air-borne contaminant to bacteria sampling.
Phosphorus Removal
Wastewater dischargers Meet NPDES permit levels
Crystalactor® - DHV
Cost Effective Water Treatment? No Waste/Sludge Production!
Phospholipid Products
Wide selection of phosphoinositide & phospholipid reagents and tools
(Ads by Google)"The devil's in the details with the chemistry of uranium: There are numerous forms of uranium in the environment, which are all influenced by the natural properties of soils and groundwater," Taillefert said.
Sobecky added, "What we're doing now is optimizing the assay conditions and the techniques to analyze the distribution of uranium species in the lab."
Traditionally, DOE has funded research investigating the chemical reduction of uranium contamination. But there are two approaches to immobilizing uranium. One strategy reduces uranium (VI) to uranium (IV), which is, in principle, immobile. But the uranium can re-oxidize even with traces of oxygen from rainwater seeping into the groundwater. The Georgia Tech approach biomineralizes uranium (VI) into an insoluble form of uranium via phosphate precipitation.
As they work toward a bioremediation strategy that will work in the field, researchers must design a mechanism to deal with competing organisms in the soil that might sequester the free phosphate, Sobecky noted. Though their current grant does not cover the cost of a field study, researchers hope to obtain funds in the future to test their strategy at Oak Ridge and potentially other DOE sites. Uranium contamination is a concern at DOE sites because it can migrate to groundwater in surrounding areas, Taillefert noted.
"At this point, we know the organisms we're studying are active in precipitating uranium phosphate," he said. "…. Now we need to determine how chemically stable it is."
Researchers also have learned that when the bacteria are releasing phosphate from G3P, the bacteria can tolerate the toxic uranium and can continue to grow once the uranium is precipitated by the released phosphate.
"Our challenge now is fine-tuning the conditions around the bacterium so eventually it can thrive and work chemically in a natural setting," Taillefert said.
Source: Georgia Institute of Technology
New processing steps promise more economical ethanol production
Why isn't ethanol production growing by leaps and bounds in the face of higher gasoline prices? Ethanol production from cornstarch is a $10 billion dollar business in the United States and 4 billion gallons of ethanol will be produced in 2006. In his 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush called for doubling ethanol production by 2012, and replacing 75 percent of Middle Eastern oil with bioethanol from renewable materials by 2025.
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"We have the technical ability, but making ethanol production economical is the problem," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, assistant professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech.
Zhang has developed a more cost effective pretreatment process that he will report on at the 231st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Atlanta March 26-30.
Ethanol now comes from corn kernels. "But that is food," Zhang said. "If we want to produce 30 to 60 billion gallons of ethanol, which is what is needed to meet the President's goal, we have to use the entire plant, or the stover (leaves, stalks, and cobs), and leave the kernels as food." The largest challenge for bioconversion from raw materials to bioethanol is high processing costs, resulting in higher prices for bioethanol than for gasoline.
Corn stover is the most abundant agricultural residue in the United States. The challenge is separating the sugars from the lignocellulose -- the combination of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose that form plant cell walls. Many technologies have been developed to convert lignocellulose to sugars, but the costs are still high and sugar yields are low. "No one wants to take the risk -- to invest $1 billion in a large-size biorefinery based on lignocellulose," said Zhang. "Processing costs are also high. It requires chemicals, utilities, enzymes, and recycling in the pretreatment and the sequential processing stages."
Zhang's cost-effective pretreatment process that integrates three technologies – cellulose solvent pretreatment, concentrated acid saccharification, and organosolv, and overcomes the limitations of existing processes. Instead of a high pressure system that operates at between 150 and 250 degrees C, Zhang's "modest reaction" operates at atmospheric pressure and 50 C (120 F) to pretreat corn residue to free the solid polymeric sugars. In a several-step pretreatment system, Zhang uses a strong cellulose solvent instead of highly corrosive chemicals, high pressure, and high temperature to breakup the linkages among lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose.
During Zhang's gentler process, there is no sugar degradation and inhibitor formation. In the following step, he creatively uses a highly volatile organic solvent to precipitate dissolved cellulose, extract lignin, and enable effective chemical recycling. After pretreatment and reagent recycling, lignocellulose can be fractionated into four products: lignin, hemicelluose sugars, amorphous cellulose, and acetic acid. "Co-products can generate more income, making biorefinery more profitable, and enable satellite biorefineries that fully utilize scattered lignocellulose resources," said Zhang. "For instance, lignin has many industrial uses, from glue to polymer substitutes and carbon fiber; and xylose can be converted to a healthy sweetening additive – xylitol, or to the precursors for nylon 6."
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(Ads by Google)Amorphous cellulose, which is converted from crystalline cellulose, is another advantageous product from Zhang's process because in this form the cellulose material is more accessible for further hydrolysis, resulting in a higher sugar yield, higher hydrolysis rate, and less enzyme use. Zhang tested amorphous cellulose hydrolysis by adding special enzymes (Trichoderma cellulases) from Genencor International. The result is that about 97 percent of the cellulose is digested after 24 hours of the hydrolysis process.
Zhang, who has been at Virginia Tech since August 2005, began his research at Dartmouth Thayer School of Engineering, where he received his Ph.D., was a postdoctoral research associate, and then a research scientist. He and Lynd have applied for a U.S. patent for this pretreatment, which has been licensed to the bioethanol start-up company, Mascoma Co. After joining Virginia Tech, Zhang made another significant improvement based on the previous patent, and Virginia Tech has filed for a global patent.
Zhang is collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, using NREL software to analyze the economic costs of various ethanol production strategies and ORNL facilities to test different enzymes and material performance. "NREL and ORNL have spent 30 years on lignocellulose processing, biocatalysis, and bioenergy research, and are glad to cooperate on new technologies which can effectively overcome the recalcitrance of lignocellulose," Zhang said. "We hope to soon establish the first pilot plant in Virginia based on this new technology with switchgrass."
Zhang will also present at the 28th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals in April.
Source: Virginia Tech
Why isn't ethanol production growing by leaps and bounds in the face of higher gasoline prices? Ethanol production from cornstarch is a $10 billion dollar business in the United States and 4 billion gallons of ethanol will be produced in 2006. In his 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush called for doubling ethanol production by 2012, and replacing 75 percent of Middle Eastern oil with bioethanol from renewable materials by 2025.
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Structure Search and Compare with MDL Available Chemicals Directory
Dupont Chemical Solutions - www.dupont.com.au
For chemical products & solutions for a range of industries
Sponsored Links (Ads by Google)
"We have the technical ability, but making ethanol production economical is the problem," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, assistant professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech.
Zhang has developed a more cost effective pretreatment process that he will report on at the 231st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Atlanta March 26-30.
Ethanol now comes from corn kernels. "But that is food," Zhang said. "If we want to produce 30 to 60 billion gallons of ethanol, which is what is needed to meet the President's goal, we have to use the entire plant, or the stover (leaves, stalks, and cobs), and leave the kernels as food." The largest challenge for bioconversion from raw materials to bioethanol is high processing costs, resulting in higher prices for bioethanol than for gasoline.
Corn stover is the most abundant agricultural residue in the United States. The challenge is separating the sugars from the lignocellulose -- the combination of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose that form plant cell walls. Many technologies have been developed to convert lignocellulose to sugars, but the costs are still high and sugar yields are low. "No one wants to take the risk -- to invest $1 billion in a large-size biorefinery based on lignocellulose," said Zhang. "Processing costs are also high. It requires chemicals, utilities, enzymes, and recycling in the pretreatment and the sequential processing stages."
Zhang's cost-effective pretreatment process that integrates three technologies – cellulose solvent pretreatment, concentrated acid saccharification, and organosolv, and overcomes the limitations of existing processes. Instead of a high pressure system that operates at between 150 and 250 degrees C, Zhang's "modest reaction" operates at atmospheric pressure and 50 C (120 F) to pretreat corn residue to free the solid polymeric sugars. In a several-step pretreatment system, Zhang uses a strong cellulose solvent instead of highly corrosive chemicals, high pressure, and high temperature to breakup the linkages among lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose.
During Zhang's gentler process, there is no sugar degradation and inhibitor formation. In the following step, he creatively uses a highly volatile organic solvent to precipitate dissolved cellulose, extract lignin, and enable effective chemical recycling. After pretreatment and reagent recycling, lignocellulose can be fractionated into four products: lignin, hemicelluose sugars, amorphous cellulose, and acetic acid. "Co-products can generate more income, making biorefinery more profitable, and enable satellite biorefineries that fully utilize scattered lignocellulose resources," said Zhang. "For instance, lignin has many industrial uses, from glue to polymer substitutes and carbon fiber; and xylose can be converted to a healthy sweetening additive – xylitol, or to the precursors for nylon 6."
Fuji Polymer Optics
custom designed polymer optics and microstructured components
Insulation Conference
Insulation manufacturers conference 16-17 October 2006, Brussels
Asona Benelux B.V.
Akoestische oplossingen, voor ieder wat wils. Naadloos, glad, strak enz
Analytical Testing Lab
Contract testing lab specializing in pharmaceutical analysis.
(Ads by Google)Amorphous cellulose, which is converted from crystalline cellulose, is another advantageous product from Zhang's process because in this form the cellulose material is more accessible for further hydrolysis, resulting in a higher sugar yield, higher hydrolysis rate, and less enzyme use. Zhang tested amorphous cellulose hydrolysis by adding special enzymes (Trichoderma cellulases) from Genencor International. The result is that about 97 percent of the cellulose is digested after 24 hours of the hydrolysis process.
Zhang, who has been at Virginia Tech since August 2005, began his research at Dartmouth Thayer School of Engineering, where he received his Ph.D., was a postdoctoral research associate, and then a research scientist. He and Lynd have applied for a U.S. patent for this pretreatment, which has been licensed to the bioethanol start-up company, Mascoma Co. After joining Virginia Tech, Zhang made another significant improvement based on the previous patent, and Virginia Tech has filed for a global patent.
Zhang is collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, using NREL software to analyze the economic costs of various ethanol production strategies and ORNL facilities to test different enzymes and material performance. "NREL and ORNL have spent 30 years on lignocellulose processing, biocatalysis, and bioenergy research, and are glad to cooperate on new technologies which can effectively overcome the recalcitrance of lignocellulose," Zhang said. "We hope to soon establish the first pilot plant in Virginia based on this new technology with switchgrass."
Zhang will also present at the 28th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals in April.
Source: Virginia Tech
Make your own energy at home, Britons urged
http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060327/full/060327-10.html
UK government energy strategy pushes 'microgeneration'.
Michael Hopkin
Plastering your own roof with solar panels can lower your heating bill, and help save emissions.
© Getty
British politicians are urging people to turn their homes into power plants, by embracing 'microgeneration'. The scheme could see more homeowners installing solar panels, rooftop wind turbines and a range of other measures to cut their power bills and ultimately reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
Although such technologies are established methods to create electricity on small scales, few private households have taken them up. The new campaign aims to overcome barriers such as cost and planning regulations, which have traditionally prevented microgeneration from being widely adopted.
The drive was launched by UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks on 29 March at a meeting of microgeneration businesses in London. The strategy will take advantage of £50 million (US$87 million) earmarked for developing low-carbon buildings in the UK budget announced last week by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.
A recent report to the government predicted that, with enough investment, 30-40% of Britain's household energy from microgeneration by 2050, up from today's tiny contribution. The government hasn't yet decided how the available cash should best be spent to make this happen; tax breaks and subsidies may be part of the answer.
Each of us can and must become part of the solution.
Malcolm Wicks
UK Energy Minister
The strategy is being applauded by environmentalists. But they caution that the financial barriers are not insubstantial.
Although gadgets such as solar panels or heat exchangers offer savings in energy bills, they cost hundreds or thousands of pounds to install, says Chris Elliott of the technology consultancy firm Pitchill Consulting in Ewhurst, UK. "A small power station will always be more expensive [per unit of electricity] than a big one," he says. "The answers are not quite as easy as green enthusiasts are saying."
Cash back
Homeowners are currently offered a knock-down rate of tax on purchases of microgeneration equipment: just 5% compared with the usual 17.5% added to most British retail items. Micropower bosses at the London meeting pointed out that this isn't as generous as it could be, given that industrial power companies can currently claim all of their tax back.
Part of the attraction of microgeneration is that homeowners may be able to sell any excess electricity back to the national grid, becoming net providers rather than consumers of power. But Elliott doubts that the infrastructure is currently in place to do this. Would-be domestic power tycoons will need a 'smart meter' to monitor flow in both directions, and local substations will be difficult to shut down for maintenance if electricity is being fed into them from many sources.
Sorely needed savings
If successful, the strategy would put Britain more in line with countries such as Germany and Japan, which boast uptake rates for solar panels some three or four times greater than those in Britain.
ADVERTISEMENT
It would also yield cuts in Britain's household carbon emissions of 15% a year by 2050.
That's a saving that Britain sorely needs to make. In a new review of its climate strategy, the government admitted that it will not meet its self-imposed 2010 target of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 20% relative to 1990 levels. The real figure looks like it will fall between 15 and 18%, Wicks told the meeting.
Cutting emissions from household use will be a help; some 27% of Britain's total emissions in 2003 were from domestic power use. "Each of us can and must become part of the solution," says Wicks.
Visit our newsblog to read and post comments about this story.
Top
http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060327/full/060327-10.html
UK government energy strategy pushes 'microgeneration'.
Michael Hopkin
Plastering your own roof with solar panels can lower your heating bill, and help save emissions.
© Getty
British politicians are urging people to turn their homes into power plants, by embracing 'microgeneration'. The scheme could see more homeowners installing solar panels, rooftop wind turbines and a range of other measures to cut their power bills and ultimately reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
Although such technologies are established methods to create electricity on small scales, few private households have taken them up. The new campaign aims to overcome barriers such as cost and planning regulations, which have traditionally prevented microgeneration from being widely adopted.
The drive was launched by UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks on 29 March at a meeting of microgeneration businesses in London. The strategy will take advantage of £50 million (US$87 million) earmarked for developing low-carbon buildings in the UK budget announced last week by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.
A recent report to the government predicted that, with enough investment, 30-40% of Britain's household energy from microgeneration by 2050, up from today's tiny contribution. The government hasn't yet decided how the available cash should best be spent to make this happen; tax breaks and subsidies may be part of the answer.
Each of us can and must become part of the solution.
Malcolm Wicks
UK Energy Minister
The strategy is being applauded by environmentalists. But they caution that the financial barriers are not insubstantial.
Although gadgets such as solar panels or heat exchangers offer savings in energy bills, they cost hundreds or thousands of pounds to install, says Chris Elliott of the technology consultancy firm Pitchill Consulting in Ewhurst, UK. "A small power station will always be more expensive [per unit of electricity] than a big one," he says. "The answers are not quite as easy as green enthusiasts are saying."
Cash back
Homeowners are currently offered a knock-down rate of tax on purchases of microgeneration equipment: just 5% compared with the usual 17.5% added to most British retail items. Micropower bosses at the London meeting pointed out that this isn't as generous as it could be, given that industrial power companies can currently claim all of their tax back.
Part of the attraction of microgeneration is that homeowners may be able to sell any excess electricity back to the national grid, becoming net providers rather than consumers of power. But Elliott doubts that the infrastructure is currently in place to do this. Would-be domestic power tycoons will need a 'smart meter' to monitor flow in both directions, and local substations will be difficult to shut down for maintenance if electricity is being fed into them from many sources.
Sorely needed savings
If successful, the strategy would put Britain more in line with countries such as Germany and Japan, which boast uptake rates for solar panels some three or four times greater than those in Britain.
ADVERTISEMENT
It would also yield cuts in Britain's household carbon emissions of 15% a year by 2050.
That's a saving that Britain sorely needs to make. In a new review of its climate strategy, the government admitted that it will not meet its self-imposed 2010 target of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 20% relative to 1990 levels. The real figure looks like it will fall between 15 and 18%, Wicks told the meeting.
Cutting emissions from household use will be a help; some 27% of Britain's total emissions in 2003 were from domestic power use. "Each of us can and must become part of the solution," says Wicks.
Visit our newsblog to read and post comments about this story.
Top
PM: nuclear power can save climate - Yahoo! News UK
A NEW generation of nuclear power plants will form part of the solution to combat climate change in Britain, according to Tony Blair.
The Prime Minister gave his strongest signal to date that he would back a resumption of the nuclear industry as ministers were forced to admit they would fail to meet their target of cutting carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2010.
But his remarks came as a group of Labour MPs, headed by Edinburgh North MP Mark Lazarowicz, attacked nuclear energy as a costly
ADVERTISEMENT
and dangerous alternative, claiming that extracting uranium would use more energy than it would generate.
Mr Blair continued to press the case for "new technologies" - including nuclear - on his tour of Australia and New Zealand. At a press conference in Canberra with John Howard, the Australian premier, Mr Blair said businesses needed incentives to grow in a "clean way".
He said: "Clean coal technology, carbon sequestration, renewable energy, the new generation of nuclear power, all of these things I think are going to be part of the mix that we use for our future energy requirements."
Mr Blair gave another keynote speech on the environment in Auckland, where he called for a "technological revolution" as radical as the internet to combat climate change.
The UK needed to make a decision this year on energy and climate change, not wait another five years, he said. Mr Blair vowed to use 2006 to push for a new international framework to supersede the Kyoto protocol when it expires at the end of 2012 but warned that countries would not accept anything that would hamper economic prosperity.
His comments were part of a pre-emptive operation to soften resistance to nuclear power ahead of the conclusion of the government energy review in June.
Alistair Darling, the Scottish Secretary, insisted renewable forms of energy could not meet all of Scotland's needs at a conference in Glasgow on Monday - and signalled that nuclear power would be part of the future.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, also waded in yesterday by suggesting that not signing up to the Kyoto protocol was un-Christian. "There are choices we can make, each one of us, to change things now, and I think what the Bible and the Christian tradition suggests is that those who have a challenge before them and don't respond bear a very heavy responsibility before God," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The government's endorsement of nuclear as being part of the future energy mix came ahead of the publication of a report today by a group of SERA, a campaign group made up of eight Labour MPs. They highlighted the "new offensive" by the nuclear industry to sell itself as a clean and environmentally friendly source of energy, despite the unresolved problem of nuclear waste and the risks of accidents and terrorist attacks.
Mr Lazarowicz said: "Nuclear power is neither safe, secure, cheap nor renewable. As long as the debate remains focused on the fors and againsts of nuclear power, the full potentiality of renewable energy will not be realised."
Mr Blair's environmental credentials were also put under scrutiny by a projection from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, that the UK would only manage to cut emissions by 15-18 per cent by 2010.
Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary, said ministers would not abandon their flagship environmental goal but she added: "It has proved to be a more difficult task than we had hoped, to reach the targets that we had originally set."
Tony Juniper, of Friends of the Earth said: "Tough action is needed to tackle climate change, but once again the government has caved in to short-term pressures and produced a totally inadequate response." The WWF said Mr Blair's credibility on climate change lay in tatters.
By: GERRI PEEV -- 29-Mar-06
More related news at The Scotsman:
Nuclear energy
A NEW generation of nuclear power plants will form part of the solution to combat climate change in Britain, according to Tony Blair.
The Prime Minister gave his strongest signal to date that he would back a resumption of the nuclear industry as ministers were forced to admit they would fail to meet their target of cutting carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2010.
But his remarks came as a group of Labour MPs, headed by Edinburgh North MP Mark Lazarowicz, attacked nuclear energy as a costly
ADVERTISEMENT
and dangerous alternative, claiming that extracting uranium would use more energy than it would generate.
Mr Blair continued to press the case for "new technologies" - including nuclear - on his tour of Australia and New Zealand. At a press conference in Canberra with John Howard, the Australian premier, Mr Blair said businesses needed incentives to grow in a "clean way".
He said: "Clean coal technology, carbon sequestration, renewable energy, the new generation of nuclear power, all of these things I think are going to be part of the mix that we use for our future energy requirements."
Mr Blair gave another keynote speech on the environment in Auckland, where he called for a "technological revolution" as radical as the internet to combat climate change.
The UK needed to make a decision this year on energy and climate change, not wait another five years, he said. Mr Blair vowed to use 2006 to push for a new international framework to supersede the Kyoto protocol when it expires at the end of 2012 but warned that countries would not accept anything that would hamper economic prosperity.
His comments were part of a pre-emptive operation to soften resistance to nuclear power ahead of the conclusion of the government energy review in June.
Alistair Darling, the Scottish Secretary, insisted renewable forms of energy could not meet all of Scotland's needs at a conference in Glasgow on Monday - and signalled that nuclear power would be part of the future.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, also waded in yesterday by suggesting that not signing up to the Kyoto protocol was un-Christian. "There are choices we can make, each one of us, to change things now, and I think what the Bible and the Christian tradition suggests is that those who have a challenge before them and don't respond bear a very heavy responsibility before God," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The government's endorsement of nuclear as being part of the future energy mix came ahead of the publication of a report today by a group of SERA, a campaign group made up of eight Labour MPs. They highlighted the "new offensive" by the nuclear industry to sell itself as a clean and environmentally friendly source of energy, despite the unresolved problem of nuclear waste and the risks of accidents and terrorist attacks.
Mr Lazarowicz said: "Nuclear power is neither safe, secure, cheap nor renewable. As long as the debate remains focused on the fors and againsts of nuclear power, the full potentiality of renewable energy will not be realised."
Mr Blair's environmental credentials were also put under scrutiny by a projection from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, that the UK would only manage to cut emissions by 15-18 per cent by 2010.
Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary, said ministers would not abandon their flagship environmental goal but she added: "It has proved to be a more difficult task than we had hoped, to reach the targets that we had originally set."
Tony Juniper, of Friends of the Earth said: "Tough action is needed to tackle climate change, but once again the government has caved in to short-term pressures and produced a totally inadequate response." The WWF said Mr Blair's credibility on climate change lay in tatters.
By: GERRI PEEV -- 29-Mar-06
More related news at The Scotsman:
Nuclear energy
ACCC authorises sale of LPG - Breaking News - Business - Breaking News
Woodside Petroleum and its joint venture partners at the advanced Otway gas project will be able to jointly market the gas, with the competition watchdog giving the final okay to the arrangement.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) granted authorisation to Woodside Energy Ltd, Benaris International Pty Ltd and CalEnergy Gas (Australia) Ltd for three years to jointly market and sell the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced by the project.
The project, off the coast of Victoria, is a joint venture between the applicants and Origin Energy Ltd.
The decision follows a draft determination issued in February.
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the regulator considered that without authorisation, Benaris and CalEnergy were likely to sell their LPG entitlements to Woodside or Origin, noting the higher cost of marketing small volumes of LPG.
He said the separate marketing of Origin's LPG and the competitive constraint provided by LPG producers from other gas fields and refineries would limit any anti-competitive detriment by the proposed arrangement.
"The ACCC is satisfied that any detriment will be outweighed by benefit in the form of cost savings to Benaris and CalEnergy."
© 2006 AAP
\nBrought to you by
Woodside Petroleum and its joint venture partners at the advanced Otway gas project will be able to jointly market the gas, with the competition watchdog giving the final okay to the arrangement.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) granted authorisation to Woodside Energy Ltd, Benaris International Pty Ltd and CalEnergy Gas (Australia) Ltd for three years to jointly market and sell the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced by the project.
The project, off the coast of Victoria, is a joint venture between the applicants and Origin Energy Ltd.
The decision follows a draft determination issued in February.
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the regulator considered that without authorisation, Benaris and CalEnergy were likely to sell their LPG entitlements to Woodside or Origin, noting the higher cost of marketing small volumes of LPG.
He said the separate marketing of Origin's LPG and the competitive constraint provided by LPG producers from other gas fields and refineries would limit any anti-competitive detriment by the proposed arrangement.
"The ACCC is satisfied that any detriment will be outweighed by benefit in the form of cost savings to Benaris and CalEnergy."
© 2006 AAP
\nBrought to you by
The Australian: Pipeline giant cooking with gas on electricity diversification [March 31, 2006]
AUSTRALIA's biggest pipeline operator, Australian Pipeline Trust, has embarked on its first major diversification, paying $153 million for the under-performing Murraylink electricity interconnector between Victoria and South Australia.
APT chief executive Mick McCormack announced yesterday the company was the successful tenderer for the Murraylink system that includes the world's longest underground direct current high voltage interconnector running 180km between Berri and Red Cliffs near Mildura.
Murraylink was built in 2002 by the world's biggest electricity supply company, Hydro Quebec, on a business model predicated on carrying merchant supplies of electricity through an unregulated transmission link to meet shortages in South Australia, most notably during periods of hot weather.
It has a rated capacity of 220 megawatts.
The model did not work, partly because APT's 30 per cent owner, AGL, installed a gas-fired peaking plant at Hallett, 200km north of Adelaide, to help meet summer shortages, reducing the need to import electricity into South
Australia from other states. Murraylink's owners subsequently applied for the interconnector to be regulated by the Australian Energy Regulator.
Mr McCormack said yesterday that Murraylink was covered by an approved revenue cap until 2013 which provided a fixed annual revenue stream of around $13 million, while the established regulated asset base underpinned the certainty of revenues beyond 2013. He was particularly enthused that APT had acquired the assets well below their $180 million construction cost.
"Murraylink marks APT's first significant acquisition of a non-gas transmission asset and is a logical progression from natural gas pipelines into complementary energy transmission assets," Mr McCormack said.
"It is a low-risk operation and is an ideal asset to leverage off our skills and asset management experience."
It would reduce the proportion APT's revenue provided from the Moomba-Sydney gas pipeline from around 30 per cent to 28.
AGL has included its stake in APT as part of the suite of assets that would be incorporated in the energy business if it succeeds with its takeover for Alinta.
Yesterday, it was not clear whether AGL subsidiary Agility, which manages the APT assets, would extend its management contract to cover Murraylink.
Mr McCormack said the purchase was 100 per cent debt funded, which would take APT's gearing to 68 per cent "still comfortably within APT's current lending covenants of 72.5 per cent".
APT shares closed down 6c at $4.58, having traded as low as $4.49 after the announcement.
AUSTRALIA's biggest pipeline operator, Australian Pipeline Trust, has embarked on its first major diversification, paying $153 million for the under-performing Murraylink electricity interconnector between Victoria and South Australia.
APT chief executive Mick McCormack announced yesterday the company was the successful tenderer for the Murraylink system that includes the world's longest underground direct current high voltage interconnector running 180km between Berri and Red Cliffs near Mildura.
Murraylink was built in 2002 by the world's biggest electricity supply company, Hydro Quebec, on a business model predicated on carrying merchant supplies of electricity through an unregulated transmission link to meet shortages in South Australia, most notably during periods of hot weather.
It has a rated capacity of 220 megawatts.
The model did not work, partly because APT's 30 per cent owner, AGL, installed a gas-fired peaking plant at Hallett, 200km north of Adelaide, to help meet summer shortages, reducing the need to import electricity into South
Australia from other states. Murraylink's owners subsequently applied for the interconnector to be regulated by the Australian Energy Regulator.
Mr McCormack said yesterday that Murraylink was covered by an approved revenue cap until 2013 which provided a fixed annual revenue stream of around $13 million, while the established regulated asset base underpinned the certainty of revenues beyond 2013. He was particularly enthused that APT had acquired the assets well below their $180 million construction cost.
"Murraylink marks APT's first significant acquisition of a non-gas transmission asset and is a logical progression from natural gas pipelines into complementary energy transmission assets," Mr McCormack said.
"It is a low-risk operation and is an ideal asset to leverage off our skills and asset management experience."
It would reduce the proportion APT's revenue provided from the Moomba-Sydney gas pipeline from around 30 per cent to 28.
AGL has included its stake in APT as part of the suite of assets that would be incorporated in the energy business if it succeeds with its takeover for Alinta.
Yesterday, it was not clear whether AGL subsidiary Agility, which manages the APT assets, would extend its management contract to cover Murraylink.
Mr McCormack said the purchase was 100 per cent debt funded, which would take APT's gearing to 68 per cent "still comfortably within APT's current lending covenants of 72.5 per cent".
APT shares closed down 6c at $4.58, having traded as low as $4.49 after the announcement.
The Australian: Pipeline giant cooking with gas on electricity diversification [March 31, 2006]
AUSTRALIA's biggest pipeline operator, Australian Pipeline Trust, has embarked on its first major diversification, paying $153 million for the under-performing Murraylink electricity interconnector between Victoria and South Australia.
APT chief executive Mick McCormack announced yesterday the company was the successful tenderer for the Murraylink system that includes the world's longest underground direct current high voltage interconnector running 180km between Berri and Red Cliffs near Mildura.
Murraylink was built in 2002 by the world's biggest electricity supply company, Hydro Quebec, on a business model predicated on carrying merchant supplies of electricity through an unregulated transmission link to meet shortages in South Australia, most notably during periods of hot weather.
It has a rated capacity of 220 megawatts.
The model did not work, partly because APT's 30 per cent owner, AGL, installed a gas-fired peaking plant at Hallett, 200km north of Adelaide, to help meet summer shortages, reducing the need to import electricity into South
Australia from other states. Murraylink's owners subsequently applied for the interconnector to be regulated by the Australian Energy Regulator.
Mr McCormack said yesterday that Murraylink was covered by an approved revenue cap until 2013 which provided a fixed annual revenue stream of around $13 million, while the established regulated asset base underpinned the certainty of revenues beyond 2013. He was particularly enthused that APT had acquired the assets well below their $180 million construction cost.
"Murraylink marks APT's first significant acquisition of a non-gas transmission asset and is a logical progression from natural gas pipelines into complementary energy transmission assets," Mr McCormack said.
"It is a low-risk operation and is an ideal asset to leverage off our skills and asset management experience."
It would reduce the proportion APT's revenue provided from the Moomba-Sydney gas pipeline from around 30 per cent to 28.
AGL has included its stake in APT as part of the suite of assets that would be incorporated in the energy business if it succeeds with its takeover for Alinta.
Yesterday, it was not clear whether AGL subsidiary Agility, which manages the APT assets, would extend its management contract to cover Murraylink.
Mr McCormack said the purchase was 100 per cent debt funded, which would take APT's gearing to 68 per cent "still comfortably within APT's current lending covenants of 72.5 per cent".
APT shares closed down 6c at $4.58, having traded as low as $4.49 after the announcement.
AUSTRALIA's biggest pipeline operator, Australian Pipeline Trust, has embarked on its first major diversification, paying $153 million for the under-performing Murraylink electricity interconnector between Victoria and South Australia.
APT chief executive Mick McCormack announced yesterday the company was the successful tenderer for the Murraylink system that includes the world's longest underground direct current high voltage interconnector running 180km between Berri and Red Cliffs near Mildura.
Murraylink was built in 2002 by the world's biggest electricity supply company, Hydro Quebec, on a business model predicated on carrying merchant supplies of electricity through an unregulated transmission link to meet shortages in South Australia, most notably during periods of hot weather.
It has a rated capacity of 220 megawatts.
The model did not work, partly because APT's 30 per cent owner, AGL, installed a gas-fired peaking plant at Hallett, 200km north of Adelaide, to help meet summer shortages, reducing the need to import electricity into South
Australia from other states. Murraylink's owners subsequently applied for the interconnector to be regulated by the Australian Energy Regulator.
Mr McCormack said yesterday that Murraylink was covered by an approved revenue cap until 2013 which provided a fixed annual revenue stream of around $13 million, while the established regulated asset base underpinned the certainty of revenues beyond 2013. He was particularly enthused that APT had acquired the assets well below their $180 million construction cost.
"Murraylink marks APT's first significant acquisition of a non-gas transmission asset and is a logical progression from natural gas pipelines into complementary energy transmission assets," Mr McCormack said.
"It is a low-risk operation and is an ideal asset to leverage off our skills and asset management experience."
It would reduce the proportion APT's revenue provided from the Moomba-Sydney gas pipeline from around 30 per cent to 28.
AGL has included its stake in APT as part of the suite of assets that would be incorporated in the energy business if it succeeds with its takeover for Alinta.
Yesterday, it was not clear whether AGL subsidiary Agility, which manages the APT assets, would extend its management contract to cover Murraylink.
Mr McCormack said the purchase was 100 per cent debt funded, which would take APT's gearing to 68 per cent "still comfortably within APT's current lending covenants of 72.5 per cent".
APT shares closed down 6c at $4.58, having traded as low as $4.49 after the announcement.
Finally using the N-word [March 31, 2006]
Whether the Coalition and Labor are ready or not, the uranium discussion must be had now, writes Dennis Shanahan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 31, 2006
AUSTRALIAN politics is going nuclear. It is going nuclear at a faster rate than anyone thought possible only a year ago. There is a lively and dangerous political debate just around the corner on uranium with ramifications for our economic prosperity, the international credibility of the Howard Government and the repositioning of the ALP.
If not handled carefully by the Coalition and the ALP, the outcome of the debate could have catastrophic consequences.
Next Monday, John Howard, the conservative Liberal leader whose formative years were during the height of the Cold War and who considers the collapse of the Soviet Union as the greatest world political event of his life, will sign a deal to sell Australian uranium to communist China.
This is the first time Australia will help fuel the Chinese nuclear cycle.
Next month, Australia will send a delegation of officials to New Delhi and Washington to examine the new deal between India and the US on nuclear technology and explore avenues for selling Australian uranium to India for nuclear power generation. India is not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and has detonated nuclear devices between 1974 and 1998.
Last Wednesday, Kim Beazley, the Labor leader whose party during his early years in parliament was deeply divided over uranium mining and the peculiar compromise of limiting uranium mining to three existing mines, said it didn't really matter how uranium was dug up.
"I don't think it's a question of so much who digs it up or how it's dug up, it's a question of the terms and conditions on which it's exported," the Leader of the Opposition said.
There is already a push within the ALP to have a full debate on uranium mining and nuclear energy and to dump the anachronistic three mines policy. MPs know that, no matter how much work is done on solar or wind power, the bulk of future energy needs will still be met by fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Yet, even two years ago political discussions of nuclear power in Australia or dropping the three mines policy were "no-go" zones for the Coalition and the ALP. It was considered there was too much fear and odium attached to nuclear energy, and the Labor Party would divide as it did in the 1980s over uranium mining.
Early, tentative and overcautious probes on having a nuclear debate in Australia only in the past year have accelerated and are about to blossom into a full debate on uranium mining and exports, the treatment of nuclear waste and nuclear power. It will still take some time but it is going to happen. It has to happen.
Greenhouse emissions and the threat of climate change, combined with the world economy's insatiable appetite for energy, have made clean energy an inescapable priority. Whether mankind is entirely responsible, whether we can do much or anything about climate change is almost irrelevant. Climate change is a worldwide political imperative.
This is even more so for Australia as one of the world's biggest producers of both fossil fuels and uranium in a region dominated by the booming (and polluting) economies of India and China.
Howard has thrown himself into global debate on greenhouse emission as well as the negotiations with China on energy deals, including liquid natural gas and uranium. Howard, as a founding member of the new Asia-Pacific Climate Pact (AP6), which includes China and India, has steered Australia away from the mandatory greenhouse emission targets and carbon trading of the Kyoto Protocol and yet meets the Kyoto emissions targets.
He has also linked the image of clean and green nuclear power reducing fossil fuel pollution in the booming Chinese economy, which is not bound by the Kyoto Protocol. His position was boosted by the recognition of British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Australian parliament on Monday that the future of fighting greenhouse emissions goes beyond the protocol.
While Labor has emphasised the need to ratify Kyoto and introduce carbon trading, Blair held out the prospect of a combined effort against greenhouse emissions which included aspects of Kyoto and the AP6. Blair's view was that anything that doesn't include China and India (and the US) simply won't work.
So far so good for Howard, outflanking Labor domestically on climate change, burnishing his credentials on the relationship with China and edging towards a domestic nuclear debate without too much fallout.
Yet, the idea of selling uranium to India is far more problematic. India is not about to sign the NPT, the public is unlikely to give the tick it has to the China exports without demonstrable, world recognised controls and standards.
Howard's responses on India have been extremely cautious and he even downplayed the strategic fillip the proposal received when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told The Australian in Beijing China did not object to Australian uranium sales to India.
Howard has made it clear the decision on uranium sales to India would not be dictated by either the US or China.
For Beazley there is greater domestic pressure to have a nuclear debate. Simply put, Labor's three mines policy is illogical, inconsistent and unsustainable. It's also outmoded and a dangerous symbol of Labor's adherence to ideological baggage when it is trying desperately to regain economic credibility.
A debate on the three mines policy may create internal unrest but it would also demonstrate the Labor Party is prepared to talk about policies, take action on economic matters and not stand in the way of jobs. A bit like negotiating a true Labor position on forests in Tasmania and not some half-arsed pastiche designed with Greens preferences in mind.
Labor's primary vote will go down at the next election unless it regains some economic credibility and is not seen as a captive of the Greens on climate change, uranium mining or forestry.
There are downsides for the Coalition and Labor in a nuclear debate but it has to be had. They just have to manage it properly to benefit from it.
Whether the Coalition and Labor are ready or not, the uranium discussion must be had now, writes Dennis Shanahan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 31, 2006
AUSTRALIAN politics is going nuclear. It is going nuclear at a faster rate than anyone thought possible only a year ago. There is a lively and dangerous political debate just around the corner on uranium with ramifications for our economic prosperity, the international credibility of the Howard Government and the repositioning of the ALP.
If not handled carefully by the Coalition and the ALP, the outcome of the debate could have catastrophic consequences.
Next Monday, John Howard, the conservative Liberal leader whose formative years were during the height of the Cold War and who considers the collapse of the Soviet Union as the greatest world political event of his life, will sign a deal to sell Australian uranium to communist China.
This is the first time Australia will help fuel the Chinese nuclear cycle.
Next month, Australia will send a delegation of officials to New Delhi and Washington to examine the new deal between India and the US on nuclear technology and explore avenues for selling Australian uranium to India for nuclear power generation. India is not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and has detonated nuclear devices between 1974 and 1998.
Last Wednesday, Kim Beazley, the Labor leader whose party during his early years in parliament was deeply divided over uranium mining and the peculiar compromise of limiting uranium mining to three existing mines, said it didn't really matter how uranium was dug up.
"I don't think it's a question of so much who digs it up or how it's dug up, it's a question of the terms and conditions on which it's exported," the Leader of the Opposition said.
There is already a push within the ALP to have a full debate on uranium mining and nuclear energy and to dump the anachronistic three mines policy. MPs know that, no matter how much work is done on solar or wind power, the bulk of future energy needs will still be met by fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Yet, even two years ago political discussions of nuclear power in Australia or dropping the three mines policy were "no-go" zones for the Coalition and the ALP. It was considered there was too much fear and odium attached to nuclear energy, and the Labor Party would divide as it did in the 1980s over uranium mining.
Early, tentative and overcautious probes on having a nuclear debate in Australia only in the past year have accelerated and are about to blossom into a full debate on uranium mining and exports, the treatment of nuclear waste and nuclear power. It will still take some time but it is going to happen. It has to happen.
Greenhouse emissions and the threat of climate change, combined with the world economy's insatiable appetite for energy, have made clean energy an inescapable priority. Whether mankind is entirely responsible, whether we can do much or anything about climate change is almost irrelevant. Climate change is a worldwide political imperative.
This is even more so for Australia as one of the world's biggest producers of both fossil fuels and uranium in a region dominated by the booming (and polluting) economies of India and China.
Howard has thrown himself into global debate on greenhouse emission as well as the negotiations with China on energy deals, including liquid natural gas and uranium. Howard, as a founding member of the new Asia-Pacific Climate Pact (AP6), which includes China and India, has steered Australia away from the mandatory greenhouse emission targets and carbon trading of the Kyoto Protocol and yet meets the Kyoto emissions targets.
He has also linked the image of clean and green nuclear power reducing fossil fuel pollution in the booming Chinese economy, which is not bound by the Kyoto Protocol. His position was boosted by the recognition of British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Australian parliament on Monday that the future of fighting greenhouse emissions goes beyond the protocol.
While Labor has emphasised the need to ratify Kyoto and introduce carbon trading, Blair held out the prospect of a combined effort against greenhouse emissions which included aspects of Kyoto and the AP6. Blair's view was that anything that doesn't include China and India (and the US) simply won't work.
So far so good for Howard, outflanking Labor domestically on climate change, burnishing his credentials on the relationship with China and edging towards a domestic nuclear debate without too much fallout.
Yet, the idea of selling uranium to India is far more problematic. India is not about to sign the NPT, the public is unlikely to give the tick it has to the China exports without demonstrable, world recognised controls and standards.
Howard's responses on India have been extremely cautious and he even downplayed the strategic fillip the proposal received when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told The Australian in Beijing China did not object to Australian uranium sales to India.
Howard has made it clear the decision on uranium sales to India would not be dictated by either the US or China.
For Beazley there is greater domestic pressure to have a nuclear debate. Simply put, Labor's three mines policy is illogical, inconsistent and unsustainable. It's also outmoded and a dangerous symbol of Labor's adherence to ideological baggage when it is trying desperately to regain economic credibility.
A debate on the three mines policy may create internal unrest but it would also demonstrate the Labor Party is prepared to talk about policies, take action on economic matters and not stand in the way of jobs. A bit like negotiating a true Labor position on forests in Tasmania and not some half-arsed pastiche designed with Greens preferences in mind.
Labor's primary vote will go down at the next election unless it regains some economic credibility and is not seen as a captive of the Greens on climate change, uranium mining or forestry.
There are downsides for the Coalition and Labor in a nuclear debate but it has to be had. They just have to manage it properly to benefit from it.
Cummins Westport Secures Order for 278 CNG Engines in Russia
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - March 30, 2006) - Cummins Westport Inc. ("CWI"), a leading provider of high-performance alternative fuel engines for the global market, announced that Russian Buses, of Moscow, Russia has ordered 278 Cummins Westport C Gas Plus natural gas (CNG) engines.
"This is the first major order of Cummins Westport natural gas engines by a CIS Original Equipment Manufacturer," stated Alexei Ustinov, Cummins Russia ABO Head. "The first prototype natural gas engine was delivered to the OEM, LiAZ in 2003. Currently, there are 7 prototype buses of various models which will be operating in a number of Russian cities."
"This is one of Cummins Westport's largest orders since its inception and the largest in Europe," said Guan Saw, President of Cummins Westport Inc. "Russia is a fast growing market for CNG vehicles and this order represents a great endorsement of CWI's products and support. We want to also acknowledge the great work of the team at Cummins Russia in securing this important order."
The C Gas Plus CNG engines will be installed in LiAZ-5256 (250hp) and LiAZ-6212 (articulated, 280hp) buses and will exclusively transport workers to and from the AutoVAZ car manufacturing plant located in Togliatti, Samara region, 1,000 km from Moscow. AutoVAZ is the largest car manufacturer in Russia. The plant in Togliatti produces more than 700,000 cars annually.
More information about the C Gas Plus: http://www.cumminswestport.com/products/cgasplus.php
About Russian Buses
Russian Buses is the largest manufacturer of buses in Russia. It manufactures buses under the LiAZ, PAZ, GoIAZ and KAVZ brand names. It is a division of RusAutoProm, a conglomerate whose businesses are engaged in manufacturing of buses, small and large trucks, cars, road-construction equipment, loaders, diesel and gasoline engines, and fuel instrumentation. http://self.bus.ru/eng/.
About Cummins Inc.
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins serves customers in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 Company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations. Cummins reported net income of $550 million on sales of $9.9 billion in 2005. Press releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com.
About Cummins Westport Inc.
Cummins Westport Inc., a joint venture of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) and Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT), manufactures and sells the world's widest range of low-emissions alternative fuel engines for commercial transportation applications such as trucks and buses. Westport Innovations is the leading developer of technologies that allow engines to operate on clean-burning fuels such as natural gas, hydrogen, and hydrogen-enriched natural gas (HCNG). www.cumminswestport.com.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - March 30, 2006) - Cummins Westport Inc. ("CWI"), a leading provider of high-performance alternative fuel engines for the global market, announced that Russian Buses, of Moscow, Russia has ordered 278 Cummins Westport C Gas Plus natural gas (CNG) engines.
"This is the first major order of Cummins Westport natural gas engines by a CIS Original Equipment Manufacturer," stated Alexei Ustinov, Cummins Russia ABO Head. "The first prototype natural gas engine was delivered to the OEM, LiAZ in 2003. Currently, there are 7 prototype buses of various models which will be operating in a number of Russian cities."
"This is one of Cummins Westport's largest orders since its inception and the largest in Europe," said Guan Saw, President of Cummins Westport Inc. "Russia is a fast growing market for CNG vehicles and this order represents a great endorsement of CWI's products and support. We want to also acknowledge the great work of the team at Cummins Russia in securing this important order."
The C Gas Plus CNG engines will be installed in LiAZ-5256 (250hp) and LiAZ-6212 (articulated, 280hp) buses and will exclusively transport workers to and from the AutoVAZ car manufacturing plant located in Togliatti, Samara region, 1,000 km from Moscow. AutoVAZ is the largest car manufacturer in Russia. The plant in Togliatti produces more than 700,000 cars annually.
More information about the C Gas Plus: http://www.cumminswestport.com/products/cgasplus.php
About Russian Buses
Russian Buses is the largest manufacturer of buses in Russia. It manufactures buses under the LiAZ, PAZ, GoIAZ and KAVZ brand names. It is a division of RusAutoProm, a conglomerate whose businesses are engaged in manufacturing of buses, small and large trucks, cars, road-construction equipment, loaders, diesel and gasoline engines, and fuel instrumentation. http://self.bus.ru/eng/.
About Cummins Inc.
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins serves customers in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 Company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations. Cummins reported net income of $550 million on sales of $9.9 billion in 2005. Press releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com.
About Cummins Westport Inc.
Cummins Westport Inc., a joint venture of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) and Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT), manufactures and sells the world's widest range of low-emissions alternative fuel engines for commercial transportation applications such as trucks and buses. Westport Innovations is the leading developer of technologies that allow engines to operate on clean-burning fuels such as natural gas, hydrogen, and hydrogen-enriched natural gas (HCNG). www.cumminswestport.com.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Home power plan 'disappointment': "
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Home power plan 'disappointment' "
There has been a lukewarm reaction to the government's strategy on microgeneration, launched Wednesday.
The strategy aims to create conditions under which household or community generation of electricity becomes "a realistic alternative".
While some industry figures have welcomed the strategy, others say it is short on concrete action and funding.
They say it will keep the UK behind countries such as Germany and Japan in uptake of these technologies.
The government believes technologies which work on the scale of households, small businesses and communities can help bridge Britain's coming energy gap while reducing carbon emissions.
This is definitively not the dynamic new drive for low carbon home generation we were promised
Matthew Spencer, Regen SW
"Microgeneration has a role to play in delivering sustainable, secure, affordable heat and electricity through competitive markets," writes energy minister Malcolm Wicks in a foreword to the strategy document.
Launched in the same week as the government's review of its climate change policy, the strategy declares that microgeneration can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from buildings, which make up nearly half the UK total, by about 15% by 2050.
Mixed reviews
The chief executive of the Micropower Council, Dave Sowden, found much in the strategy to welcome.
"Following last week's announcement of £50m extra funding for microgeneration [in the budget], the government is to be congratulated for this strategy which contains many of what we believe to be the necessary measures for consumers, through adoption of microgeneration, to become a substantial part of the solution to the UK's numerous energy policy challenges," he said.
The strategy aims to boost uptake of microgeneration in schools
Other observers were less convinced.
"A large number of the 'actions' in the strategy are not actions at all, if by that we mean proposed concrete steps to deliver real policy changes," said Seb Berry, head of micro-renewables at the Renewable Energy Association.
"A large number are contingent on further research and review - eg 'DTI will undertake further research and analysis', 'DTI will investigate', and 'Defra will look carefully at'," he said.
The strategy's "Actions" include:
researching consumer behaviour in regard to investing in micro-power
investigating the feasibility of a communications scheme to spread awareness
working with the electricity industry to ensure wiring regulations do not bar microgeneration equipment
boosting installation in schools
The strategy comments on the successes achieved by the German and Japanese governments, which have issued grants for more than 200,000 solar photovoltaic installations each.
In Sweden, it says, policies have led to 10% of houses installing heat pumps, devices which extract and concentrate heat from the ground.
"What the strategy doesn't do is spell out what policy mechanisms were used, or more importantly why they are felt inappropriate for the UK," said Mr Berry.
The UK can muster a total of 82,000 micro-power installations, of which 78,000 are solar hot water heaters.
'Great disappointment'
Renewable energy: Small is beautiful
At-a-glance
Some observers have criticised the strategy for not tackling planning regulations, which mean micro-power schemes can be blocked by objections over noise and other issues.
A further criticism centres on the lack of firm measures to reform the grid distribution system so it can accept feeds from a large number of tiny generators.
Matthew Spencer, chief executive of Regen SW, the renewable energy agency for the southwest of England, described the strategy as "a great disappointment".
"Fourteen of the 24 actions in this document are no more than commitments to further studies," he said.
"This is definitively not the dynamic new drive for low carbon home generation we were promised."
Within a few months the DTI is expected to launch its review of overall energy policy.
The microgeneration industry, as well as advocating tougher action on greenhouse gas emissions than the government announced in its climate change review, will be hoping it contains more concrete measures to stimulate carbon-free generation of heat and power.
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
LINKS TO MORE SCIENCE/NATURE STORIES
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Home power plan 'disappointment' "
There has been a lukewarm reaction to the government's strategy on microgeneration, launched Wednesday.
The strategy aims to create conditions under which household or community generation of electricity becomes "a realistic alternative".
While some industry figures have welcomed the strategy, others say it is short on concrete action and funding.
They say it will keep the UK behind countries such as Germany and Japan in uptake of these technologies.
The government believes technologies which work on the scale of households, small businesses and communities can help bridge Britain's coming energy gap while reducing carbon emissions.
This is definitively not the dynamic new drive for low carbon home generation we were promised
Matthew Spencer, Regen SW
"Microgeneration has a role to play in delivering sustainable, secure, affordable heat and electricity through competitive markets," writes energy minister Malcolm Wicks in a foreword to the strategy document.
Launched in the same week as the government's review of its climate change policy, the strategy declares that microgeneration can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from buildings, which make up nearly half the UK total, by about 15% by 2050.
Mixed reviews
The chief executive of the Micropower Council, Dave Sowden, found much in the strategy to welcome.
"Following last week's announcement of £50m extra funding for microgeneration [in the budget], the government is to be congratulated for this strategy which contains many of what we believe to be the necessary measures for consumers, through adoption of microgeneration, to become a substantial part of the solution to the UK's numerous energy policy challenges," he said.
The strategy aims to boost uptake of microgeneration in schools
Other observers were less convinced.
"A large number of the 'actions' in the strategy are not actions at all, if by that we mean proposed concrete steps to deliver real policy changes," said Seb Berry, head of micro-renewables at the Renewable Energy Association.
"A large number are contingent on further research and review - eg 'DTI will undertake further research and analysis', 'DTI will investigate', and 'Defra will look carefully at'," he said.
The strategy's "Actions" include:
researching consumer behaviour in regard to investing in micro-power
investigating the feasibility of a communications scheme to spread awareness
working with the electricity industry to ensure wiring regulations do not bar microgeneration equipment
boosting installation in schools
The strategy comments on the successes achieved by the German and Japanese governments, which have issued grants for more than 200,000 solar photovoltaic installations each.
In Sweden, it says, policies have led to 10% of houses installing heat pumps, devices which extract and concentrate heat from the ground.
"What the strategy doesn't do is spell out what policy mechanisms were used, or more importantly why they are felt inappropriate for the UK," said Mr Berry.
The UK can muster a total of 82,000 micro-power installations, of which 78,000 are solar hot water heaters.
'Great disappointment'
Renewable energy: Small is beautiful
At-a-glance
Some observers have criticised the strategy for not tackling planning regulations, which mean micro-power schemes can be blocked by objections over noise and other issues.
A further criticism centres on the lack of firm measures to reform the grid distribution system so it can accept feeds from a large number of tiny generators.
Matthew Spencer, chief executive of Regen SW, the renewable energy agency for the southwest of England, described the strategy as "a great disappointment".
"Fourteen of the 24 actions in this document are no more than commitments to further studies," he said.
"This is definitively not the dynamic new drive for low carbon home generation we were promised."
Within a few months the DTI is expected to launch its review of overall energy policy.
The microgeneration industry, as well as advocating tougher action on greenhouse gas emissions than the government announced in its climate change review, will be hoping it contains more concrete measures to stimulate carbon-free generation of heat and power.
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
LINKS TO MORE SCIENCE/NATURE STORIES
Kippster: Location, location, loki
Location, location, loki
Disclaimer: I consult for Skyhook Wireless so consider my bias (although I wasn't paid to write this)!
Location based services continue to garner interest among users, businesses, search engines, advertisers and entrepreneurs. I've been fortunate enough to have worked closely with a company that just got included in Gartner's "Cool Vendors in Mobile and Wireless, 2006" publication (ID Number: G00138458). I can't actually post the info or I'd get strung up, but it is cool!
The problem? It's hard to give location information if you don't know (more specifically, if your computing device doesn't know) where you are. The more precise the location, the better services are able to provide location specific information back to you/your computing device. We're all familiar with GPS, and some are likely familiar with Enhanced Observed Time Difference (EOTD) and Assisted GPS (A-GPS), but Skyhook has attaked the problem by using the ever growing infrastructure that is created by the wifi networks.
Rather than relying on satellites for positioning, the system utilizes wifi access points to provide location information. All that is needed is a lightweight client and a device that supports wifi (and in general, a connection to the Internet -- although this is not strictly required it sorta makes sense).
Wireless Positioning Service (WPS) is not a cure all, clearly it needs a certain density of wireless access points in order to do its job accurately. This, as of now, relegates the service to urban (and indoor) settings in which wifi radio waves are bouncing all over the place. Interestingly, this is also where GPS sometimes has a harder time. It's also handy in that no additional hardware is necessary, if you have a wifi interface, you can use the service.
They recently went Beta with a browser toolbar (pretty soon, there will be no room in my browser for actual content, all I'll have is a stack of toolbars!) called Loki. I personally think the toolbar cool and useful, but I'll let others that aren't as biased explain:
Lookie at Loki: Wi-Fi Begets Latitude, Longitude
JiWire's Weekly Guide to Wi-Fi (Friday, March 24) (sorry, no link)
Loki turns your Wi-Fi laptop into a GPS
Turns Laptop into GPS with Loki
Loki will tell you where to go - on your laptop
Loki Local Search Toolbar from Skyhook Wireless
Free Loki (Wi-Fi location solution)
Loki: Location-Based Internet Search & Navigation
Loki Local Search Toolbar from Skyhook Wireless
Loki Local Search Toolbar from Skyhook Wireless
Skyhook Wireless Offers Loki Local Toolbar
Software Which Turns Laptops Into GPS
Loki turns your Wi-Fi laptop into a GPS
Loki Tells Where You Are
There are probably others, but this seems like a good list to start things off...
I'm just bummed that there isn't a mac version out yet!
Location, location, loki
Disclaimer: I consult for Skyhook Wireless so consider my bias (although I wasn't paid to write this)!
Location based services continue to garner interest among users, businesses, search engines, advertisers and entrepreneurs. I've been fortunate enough to have worked closely with a company that just got included in Gartner's "Cool Vendors in Mobile and Wireless, 2006" publication (ID Number: G00138458). I can't actually post the info or I'd get strung up, but it is cool!
The problem? It's hard to give location information if you don't know (more specifically, if your computing device doesn't know) where you are. The more precise the location, the better services are able to provide location specific information back to you/your computing device. We're all familiar with GPS, and some are likely familiar with Enhanced Observed Time Difference (EOTD) and Assisted GPS (A-GPS), but Skyhook has attaked the problem by using the ever growing infrastructure that is created by the wifi networks.
Rather than relying on satellites for positioning, the system utilizes wifi access points to provide location information. All that is needed is a lightweight client and a device that supports wifi (and in general, a connection to the Internet -- although this is not strictly required it sorta makes sense).
Wireless Positioning Service (WPS) is not a cure all, clearly it needs a certain density of wireless access points in order to do its job accurately. This, as of now, relegates the service to urban (and indoor) settings in which wifi radio waves are bouncing all over the place. Interestingly, this is also where GPS sometimes has a harder time. It's also handy in that no additional hardware is necessary, if you have a wifi interface, you can use the service.
They recently went Beta with a browser toolbar (pretty soon, there will be no room in my browser for actual content, all I'll have is a stack of toolbars!) called Loki. I personally think the toolbar cool and useful, but I'll let others that aren't as biased explain:
Lookie at Loki: Wi-Fi Begets Latitude, Longitude
JiWire's Weekly Guide to Wi-Fi (Friday, March 24) (sorry, no link)
Loki turns your Wi-Fi laptop into a GPS
Turns Laptop into GPS with Loki
Loki will tell you where to go - on your laptop
Loki Local Search Toolbar from Skyhook Wireless
Free Loki (Wi-Fi location solution)
Loki: Location-Based Internet Search & Navigation
Loki Local Search Toolbar from Skyhook Wireless
Loki Local Search Toolbar from Skyhook Wireless
Skyhook Wireless Offers Loki Local Toolbar
Software Which Turns Laptops Into GPS
Loki turns your Wi-Fi laptop into a GPS
Loki Tells Where You Are
There are probably others, but this seems like a good list to start things off...
I'm just bummed that there isn't a mac version out yet!
Government has done energy options sums - Business - Business - theage.com.au
FROM the Opposition benches it is easy to trumpet grand visions which, with some knowledge of the issue, prove to be little more than plasticine policy.
Kim Beazley did it this with his atrociously misleading commitment to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent. He doesn't define how this will be done or who will pay for his vision.
Now Martin Ferguson has gone down a similar path by latching on to the concept of gas-to-liquid technology.
This Government, as much as Labor, would like to see this technology become part of a broader energy mix for Australia. However, unlike Labor, the Australian Government has spent time and money investigating this fuel option.
As a result, there are some economic realities the Opposition may like to factor into any future stabs at resources policy.
It is not lack of Government support or interest that is holding back GTL development in Australia. To the contrary, we offered $100 million in support to GTL Resources to establish the country's first gas-to-liquid plant in Western Australia.
At the time, Labor condemned us and maligned the project as an example of picking winners. They have only now seen the potential of this technology. The project didn't proceed because of a business basic — the cost of its feedstock. Gas prices have almost doubled in the past two to three years and Australian liquefied natural gas producers are busy exporting at record levels. Last year it was $3.65 billion flowing back to Australia from gas exports.
We'll stop that, says Beazley. He has committed a Labor government to vandalising the country's commodity export income by directing Australian LNG exporters to divert the gas elsewhere, at a reduced price.
Therein lies a pivotal difference between the Howard Government and the Beazley Opposition.
A Liberal resources minister doesn't pretend to know better than business but will work with industry to develop technologies and foster greater energy options.
A Labor resources minister would introduce a carbon tax on business, restrict operations through ideology and direct companies on how they are to make a living.
Australia will develop a gas-to-liquid industry under this Government. But it won't come at the expense of export income and the jobs and opportunities generated by the LNG sector.
Beazley would cut jobs, sacrifice billions in export dollars and make everyone pay more for electricity. His is a vision to dictate to the resource sector how it must conduct business and what projects in which to invest. I'd call that picking losers.
Ian Macfarlane, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources
Give banks the job of deducting tax, super
WHILE we're simplifying the paperwork for personal income tax, how about shifting the burden of PAYE deductions and super contributions off employers and on to the banks (or other financial institutions) into which wages and salaries are paid?
This compliance burden on employers deters hiring and adds to the cost of labour, fuelling inflation and increasing the unemployment rate required to restrain inflation. Shifting the burden would encourage employment and take advantage of economies of scale and the banks' expertise — and make the banks earn their fees.
Instead of deducting tax, your employer would deposit your gross pay into your account, and the bank would deduct tax. Instead of making super contributions on top of your pay, your employer would roll super into your gross pay and the bank would deduct the contributions.
The simplification is greater if you have more than one employer. Instead of claiming the tax-free threshold from one employer and sorting out the mess at the end of the financial year, you would tell all your employers to deposit your wages into a common account, and the bank would deduct tax and super from total deposits.. Taxable social security payments would be similarly simplified.
Dr Gavin R. Putland, West End, Queensland
Look overseas for ways of providing family help
DID anyone else spot the gem buried in "Top job, eight kids: French families are less taxing" (Business 27/3). Clara Gaynard, in Sydney as head of the Invest in France Agency, said French working families enjoy tax deductible child care, child allowances and income tax rates that reflect the number of dependants. In the past week there have been reports of Gordon Brown's generous budget in Britain, offering increases in their (non-means-tested) child benefit rates, child-care tax credits and nine months' paid maternity leave.
Why are these good news stories not on the front page of The Age? Why are they not on the agenda of political parties? The Labor Party might get themselves elected if they put some of these items on their platform.
Sinead Williams, Northcote
FROM the Opposition benches it is easy to trumpet grand visions which, with some knowledge of the issue, prove to be little more than plasticine policy.
Kim Beazley did it this with his atrociously misleading commitment to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent. He doesn't define how this will be done or who will pay for his vision.
Now Martin Ferguson has gone down a similar path by latching on to the concept of gas-to-liquid technology.
This Government, as much as Labor, would like to see this technology become part of a broader energy mix for Australia. However, unlike Labor, the Australian Government has spent time and money investigating this fuel option.
As a result, there are some economic realities the Opposition may like to factor into any future stabs at resources policy.
It is not lack of Government support or interest that is holding back GTL development in Australia. To the contrary, we offered $100 million in support to GTL Resources to establish the country's first gas-to-liquid plant in Western Australia.
At the time, Labor condemned us and maligned the project as an example of picking winners. They have only now seen the potential of this technology. The project didn't proceed because of a business basic — the cost of its feedstock. Gas prices have almost doubled in the past two to three years and Australian liquefied natural gas producers are busy exporting at record levels. Last year it was $3.65 billion flowing back to Australia from gas exports.
We'll stop that, says Beazley. He has committed a Labor government to vandalising the country's commodity export income by directing Australian LNG exporters to divert the gas elsewhere, at a reduced price.
Therein lies a pivotal difference between the Howard Government and the Beazley Opposition.
A Liberal resources minister doesn't pretend to know better than business but will work with industry to develop technologies and foster greater energy options.
A Labor resources minister would introduce a carbon tax on business, restrict operations through ideology and direct companies on how they are to make a living.
Australia will develop a gas-to-liquid industry under this Government. But it won't come at the expense of export income and the jobs and opportunities generated by the LNG sector.
Beazley would cut jobs, sacrifice billions in export dollars and make everyone pay more for electricity. His is a vision to dictate to the resource sector how it must conduct business and what projects in which to invest. I'd call that picking losers.
Ian Macfarlane, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources
Give banks the job of deducting tax, super
WHILE we're simplifying the paperwork for personal income tax, how about shifting the burden of PAYE deductions and super contributions off employers and on to the banks (or other financial institutions) into which wages and salaries are paid?
This compliance burden on employers deters hiring and adds to the cost of labour, fuelling inflation and increasing the unemployment rate required to restrain inflation. Shifting the burden would encourage employment and take advantage of economies of scale and the banks' expertise — and make the banks earn their fees.
Instead of deducting tax, your employer would deposit your gross pay into your account, and the bank would deduct tax. Instead of making super contributions on top of your pay, your employer would roll super into your gross pay and the bank would deduct the contributions.
The simplification is greater if you have more than one employer. Instead of claiming the tax-free threshold from one employer and sorting out the mess at the end of the financial year, you would tell all your employers to deposit your wages into a common account, and the bank would deduct tax and super from total deposits.. Taxable social security payments would be similarly simplified.
Dr Gavin R. Putland, West End, Queensland
Look overseas for ways of providing family help
DID anyone else spot the gem buried in "Top job, eight kids: French families are less taxing" (Business 27/3). Clara Gaynard, in Sydney as head of the Invest in France Agency, said French working families enjoy tax deductible child care, child allowances and income tax rates that reflect the number of dependants. In the past week there have been reports of Gordon Brown's generous budget in Britain, offering increases in their (non-means-tested) child benefit rates, child-care tax credits and nine months' paid maternity leave.
Why are these good news stories not on the front page of The Age? Why are they not on the agenda of political parties? The Labor Party might get themselves elected if they put some of these items on their platform.
Sinead Williams, Northcote
ChangeWave Research Fuel Cells, Hydrogen, and Battery Technology Trends
The ChangeWave Alliance has produced a detailed look at the key trends for fuel cells and future battery technology. I have been given permission to post the abstract of this 13 page report.
Overview: This report focuses on key trends in fuel cells and hydrogen, along with battery technologies. The findings are from the Alliance's most recent alternative energy survey, completed February 10, 2006. A total of 121 members working in the alternative energy industry participated, including 25 working in companies involved with Fuel Cells.
Bottom Line: Respondents working in alternative energy believe that over the next two years the Fuel Cell sector will experience the biggest new technology breakthroughs in the industry. Moreover, when we look out five years, respondents also believe that Fuel Cells will experience the most rapid economic growth of any alternative energy sector.
We asked industry respondents to identify the fastest growing mid-tier companies within Fuel Cells for the next 12-24 months. We also asked respondents who work exclusively in Fuel Cells, to identify the company they believe will have the biggest market impact over the next 1-3 years. In both cases, the same three leaders were identified:
Fuel Cell Energy (FCEL)
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER)
Ballard Power (BLDP)
We note that respondents also think Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) will have the biggest market impact in Hydrogen Storage/Distribution and in Battery Technology.
What are the biggest barriers to more rapid adoption of Fuel Cells technology? Three-in-five who work in the Fuel Cell sector say 'The Cost of Fuel Cells is Too High vs. Other Energy Sources.' High Cost was also cited as the biggest barrier to more rapid adoption of hydrogen-related technology.
Where will Fuel Cells have the greatest economic impact over the next 3-5 years? More than half (52%) of respondents who work in Fuel Cell companies believe that it will have the greatest impact in Stationary Power for Buildings.
Here's a further look at additional key findings:
(A) Fuel Cells
* Reasons for Rapid Growth. Respondents who think Fuel Cells will experience the most rapid growth over the next 5 years cited Technology Advances (37%) as the top reason why - followed by Cost of Energy/Short Supply (23%).
* Palladium Seen As Alternative to Platinum. Respondents cited Palladium (28%) as the most viable alternative to the platinum catalysts needed for fuel cell reactions.
(B) Hydrogen Technology
* Leading Hydrogen Packaging Technologies - Metal Hydride Tanks. In terms of packing large quantities of hydrogen in low-weight, low-volume systems, Metal Hydride Tanks (28%) are seen as having the best chance of succeeding in the marketplace over the next 3-5 years.
* Electrolysis of Water vs. Steam Reformation. By a 2-to-1 margin, respondents also believe Electrolysis of Water (50%) will be the number one trend in hydrogen production for the next 3-5 years, with Steam Reformation of Methane/Natural Gas (24%) ranked second.
(C) Battery Technology
* Lithium-Ion Polymer - Tops in Battery Technology. Fuel cell industry respondents rank Lithium-ion polymer (32%) and Lithium-ion (12%) as the battery technologies that will experience the highest growth rate over the next 3-5 years.
Summary of Key Findings
Fuel Cell Sector Well Positioned for Future Growth
Which Sector will Experience Biggest New Technology Breakthroughs in Next 12-24 Months?
Fuel Cells (27%, up 5-pts), Hybrid/Electric (27%, unchanged)
Which will Experience Most Rapid Economic Growth - Next 5 Years
Fuel Cells (25%), Solar (22%), Hybrid/Electric (20%)
Reasons for Rapid Growth in Fuel Cells
Technology Advances (37%), Cost of Energy/Short Supply (23%)
Where Will Fuel Cells Have Greatest Economic Impact in Next 3-5 Years?
Stationary Power for Buildings (52%), Aerospace/Military (24%), Automobiles (16%)
Fastest Growing Fuel Cell Areas
Proton Exchange/ PEM (44%), Solid Oxide (20%), Direct Methanol (16%)
Biggest Barriers to Rapid Adoption
Cost of Fuel Cells Too High vs. Other Energy Sources, Complexity of Technology/ Too Many Technical Hurdles Still Ahead
Leading Companies
Fastest Growing Fuel Cell Companies - Next 2 Years
Fuel Cell Energy (33%), Energy Conversion Devices (17%), Ballard Power (14%)
Biggest Market Impact - Next 3 Years
Fuel Cells
Fuel Cell Energy (28%), Energy Conversion Devices (24%), Ballard Power (24%)
Hydrogen
Energy Conversion Devices (24%), Ballard Power (11%)
Battery Technologies
Energy Conversion Devices (45%)
The ChangeWave Alliance has produced a detailed look at the key trends for fuel cells and future battery technology. I have been given permission to post the abstract of this 13 page report.
Overview: This report focuses on key trends in fuel cells and hydrogen, along with battery technologies. The findings are from the Alliance's most recent alternative energy survey, completed February 10, 2006. A total of 121 members working in the alternative energy industry participated, including 25 working in companies involved with Fuel Cells.
Bottom Line: Respondents working in alternative energy believe that over the next two years the Fuel Cell sector will experience the biggest new technology breakthroughs in the industry. Moreover, when we look out five years, respondents also believe that Fuel Cells will experience the most rapid economic growth of any alternative energy sector.
We asked industry respondents to identify the fastest growing mid-tier companies within Fuel Cells for the next 12-24 months. We also asked respondents who work exclusively in Fuel Cells, to identify the company they believe will have the biggest market impact over the next 1-3 years. In both cases, the same three leaders were identified:
Fuel Cell Energy (FCEL)
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER)
Ballard Power (BLDP)
We note that respondents also think Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) will have the biggest market impact in Hydrogen Storage/Distribution and in Battery Technology.
What are the biggest barriers to more rapid adoption of Fuel Cells technology? Three-in-five who work in the Fuel Cell sector say 'The Cost of Fuel Cells is Too High vs. Other Energy Sources.' High Cost was also cited as the biggest barrier to more rapid adoption of hydrogen-related technology.
Where will Fuel Cells have the greatest economic impact over the next 3-5 years? More than half (52%) of respondents who work in Fuel Cell companies believe that it will have the greatest impact in Stationary Power for Buildings.
Here's a further look at additional key findings:
(A) Fuel Cells
* Reasons for Rapid Growth. Respondents who think Fuel Cells will experience the most rapid growth over the next 5 years cited Technology Advances (37%) as the top reason why - followed by Cost of Energy/Short Supply (23%).
* Palladium Seen As Alternative to Platinum. Respondents cited Palladium (28%) as the most viable alternative to the platinum catalysts needed for fuel cell reactions.
(B) Hydrogen Technology
* Leading Hydrogen Packaging Technologies - Metal Hydride Tanks. In terms of packing large quantities of hydrogen in low-weight, low-volume systems, Metal Hydride Tanks (28%) are seen as having the best chance of succeeding in the marketplace over the next 3-5 years.
* Electrolysis of Water vs. Steam Reformation. By a 2-to-1 margin, respondents also believe Electrolysis of Water (50%) will be the number one trend in hydrogen production for the next 3-5 years, with Steam Reformation of Methane/Natural Gas (24%) ranked second.
(C) Battery Technology
* Lithium-Ion Polymer - Tops in Battery Technology. Fuel cell industry respondents rank Lithium-ion polymer (32%) and Lithium-ion (12%) as the battery technologies that will experience the highest growth rate over the next 3-5 years.
Summary of Key Findings
Fuel Cell Sector Well Positioned for Future Growth
Which Sector will Experience Biggest New Technology Breakthroughs in Next 12-24 Months?
Fuel Cells (27%, up 5-pts), Hybrid/Electric (27%, unchanged)
Which will Experience Most Rapid Economic Growth - Next 5 Years
Fuel Cells (25%), Solar (22%), Hybrid/Electric (20%)
Reasons for Rapid Growth in Fuel Cells
Technology Advances (37%), Cost of Energy/Short Supply (23%)
Where Will Fuel Cells Have Greatest Economic Impact in Next 3-5 Years?
Stationary Power for Buildings (52%), Aerospace/Military (24%), Automobiles (16%)
Fastest Growing Fuel Cell Areas
Proton Exchange/ PEM (44%), Solid Oxide (20%), Direct Methanol (16%)
Biggest Barriers to Rapid Adoption
Cost of Fuel Cells Too High vs. Other Energy Sources, Complexity of Technology/ Too Many Technical Hurdles Still Ahead
Leading Companies
Fastest Growing Fuel Cell Companies - Next 2 Years
Fuel Cell Energy (33%), Energy Conversion Devices (17%), Ballard Power (14%)
Biggest Market Impact - Next 3 Years
Fuel Cells
Fuel Cell Energy (28%), Energy Conversion Devices (24%), Ballard Power (24%)
Hydrogen
Energy Conversion Devices (24%), Ballard Power (11%)
Battery Technologies
Energy Conversion Devices (45%)
The Fresh Air Company- Compressor Manufacturer Pdc Machines Inc. Grows with Market for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
Industry Leaders Buy Clean, Reliable Technology from Pennsylvania-Based Small Business
Warminster, PA--The past few years have proved to be the most active for Pdc Machines Inc., a manufacturer of diaphragm compressors. These compressors are a key technology for the coming hydrogen economy. The small business from Warminster, Pennsylvania has made "compressing a cleaner future" its motto, providing clean, reliable technology to hydrogen (H2) generation companies, fuel cell (FC) developers and the automotive industry around the world. Pdc's list of customers includes top companies such as Air Products and Chemicals, Air Liquide, BOC, Gas Technology Institute, Hydrogenics, HyRadix, Praxair, Proton Energy Systems, Quantum Technologies, QuestAir Technologies, Teledyne Energy Systems, and state-funded initiatives like the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Clean, reliable technology
Typical applications of Pdc's technology include H2 filling stations for FC vehicles, buses and forklifts, power back-up using hydrogen fuel cells for telecommunication towers and power plants, and residential refuelers for FC cars and power generators. The company's success is due to the numerous benefits their products provide:
- Contamination-free and leak-tight gas compression
- High reliability and uptime (customers have reported a life-cycle of 10,000 to 40,000 hours without the need for spare parts replacement)
- Low noise levels with only 85 dbA
- High efficiency (only one to two stages of compression are necessary and very little or no cooling required in certain cases)
- Wide range of performance with flow rates from 1 Nm3/hr to 2,000 Nm3/hr, horsepower from 1hp to 200hp and discharge pressure of up to 15,000 psi (1,034 bar) with the 3rd generation compressor model
Working with the industry's leaders
Working as a supplier to Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: APD), Pdc has provided several compressors for the construction of six hydrogen fueling demonstration stations installed in the United States and abroad. Several of Pdc’s compressors are rated to discharge pressures of 12,000 psi for the fueling of vehicles at 700 bar (10,000 psi).
Pdc has supplied Air Liquide (AL), France with a small compressor for H2 service as part of the AL refueling station destined for Singapore. This compressor provides a flow of 5 Nm3/hr at a discharge pressure of 6,100 psi. This compressor complies with CE regulations.
BOC has chosen Pdc Machines for hydrogen fueling stations the gas company is building across North America. These include one for BP in Taylor, Mi, as part of the DOE-sponsored Infrastructure Validation Program, two along the Hydrogen Highway(TM) in Vancouver, BC, and three for Cellex FC power module demonstrations at Wal-Mart locations in the United States.
Gas Technology Institute is utilizing two Pdc compressors for H2 fueling stations that use on site production of hydrogen from natural gas.
Pdc supplied a hydrogen compressor to HyRadix, Inc. for use with its Aptus(TM) on-site H2 generation equipment for an industrial customer in South-East Asia
Under The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Plug Power will collaborate with American Honda Motor Company, Air Products and Chemicals, and Homeland Energy to provide fueling infrastructure necessary for fuel cell vehicles. Included in this project are two Honda FCX’s leased by the State of New York. The program calls for Plug Power to install a GenSite H2 generator along with Pdc’s compressor at the Company’s Latham location. An Air Products HF-150 mobile hydrogen fueler will be located at the State’s Harriman Campus in Albany, NY, allowing the site to be capable of directly fueling FC vehicles.
In June 2005, ROKAS S.A. installed a Pdc compressor at the Center of Renewable Energy Sources wind farm in Lavrion, Greece, as part of a research project (acronym RES2H2). The RES2H2 project is partly funded by the European Community (5th Framework Program). The goal of the project is to study the behavior of a relatively large scale wind-hydrogen production and storage system (5 Nm3/h) under the fluctuating production of a Wind Turbine.
Pdc is currently manufacturing several compressors of 12,000 psi (822 bar) for Quantum Technologies Worldwide for use in military and OEM fueling operations. These systems can operate both in Europe and the United States and will be dual compliant meeting CE, ATEX, PED and U.S.A NEC regulations.
QuestAir Technologies Inc. (Burnaby, British Columbia) is a developer and supplier of proprietary gas purification systems for several large international markets. Questair has joint development agreements with Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Company, Shell Hydrogen, and a partnership with FuelCell Energy. In March of 2005, Pdc supplied a hydrogen compressor skid to QuestAir’s testing facilities.
As market matures, business grows
Pdc has become a regular exhibitor at Hydrogen Expo US, the leading showcase for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in North America. Since the expo's premiere in 2003, the company has secured some US$ 5 million in new business. "Almost all of the exhibitors are now our customers", says Osama Al-Qasem, Director for Marketing & Sales at Pdc Machines. "This is because we deliver superior technology that is highly-efficient and can be used for a wide range of applications. At the same time, the way the Hydrogen Expo has grown reflects how the market has matured."
For additional information on Pdc's products and services, visit: http://www.pdcmachines.com/fuel_cell.htm or contact Mateen Afzal at tel. 215-443-9442, email: info@pdcmachines.com
For information on Hydrogen Expo US, visit: http://www.hydrogenexpo.com or contact Ines Freesen at tel. +49-2802-948484-0, email: info@hydrogenexpo.com
Pdc Machines, Inc.
1875 Stout Drive
Warminster, PA 18974, U.S.A.
Tel: 215-443-9442
Fax: 215-443-8530
E-mail: info@pdcmachines.com
Web site: http://www.pdcmachines.com
Industry Leaders Buy Clean, Reliable Technology from Pennsylvania-Based Small Business
Warminster, PA--The past few years have proved to be the most active for Pdc Machines Inc., a manufacturer of diaphragm compressors. These compressors are a key technology for the coming hydrogen economy. The small business from Warminster, Pennsylvania has made "compressing a cleaner future" its motto, providing clean, reliable technology to hydrogen (H2) generation companies, fuel cell (FC) developers and the automotive industry around the world. Pdc's list of customers includes top companies such as Air Products and Chemicals, Air Liquide, BOC, Gas Technology Institute, Hydrogenics, HyRadix, Praxair, Proton Energy Systems, Quantum Technologies, QuestAir Technologies, Teledyne Energy Systems, and state-funded initiatives like the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Clean, reliable technology
Typical applications of Pdc's technology include H2 filling stations for FC vehicles, buses and forklifts, power back-up using hydrogen fuel cells for telecommunication towers and power plants, and residential refuelers for FC cars and power generators. The company's success is due to the numerous benefits their products provide:
- Contamination-free and leak-tight gas compression
- High reliability and uptime (customers have reported a life-cycle of 10,000 to 40,000 hours without the need for spare parts replacement)
- Low noise levels with only 85 dbA
- High efficiency (only one to two stages of compression are necessary and very little or no cooling required in certain cases)
- Wide range of performance with flow rates from 1 Nm3/hr to 2,000 Nm3/hr, horsepower from 1hp to 200hp and discharge pressure of up to 15,000 psi (1,034 bar) with the 3rd generation compressor model
Working with the industry's leaders
Working as a supplier to Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: APD), Pdc has provided several compressors for the construction of six hydrogen fueling demonstration stations installed in the United States and abroad. Several of Pdc’s compressors are rated to discharge pressures of 12,000 psi for the fueling of vehicles at 700 bar (10,000 psi).
Pdc has supplied Air Liquide (AL), France with a small compressor for H2 service as part of the AL refueling station destined for Singapore. This compressor provides a flow of 5 Nm3/hr at a discharge pressure of 6,100 psi. This compressor complies with CE regulations.
BOC has chosen Pdc Machines for hydrogen fueling stations the gas company is building across North America. These include one for BP in Taylor, Mi, as part of the DOE-sponsored Infrastructure Validation Program, two along the Hydrogen Highway(TM) in Vancouver, BC, and three for Cellex FC power module demonstrations at Wal-Mart locations in the United States.
Gas Technology Institute is utilizing two Pdc compressors for H2 fueling stations that use on site production of hydrogen from natural gas.
Pdc supplied a hydrogen compressor to HyRadix, Inc. for use with its Aptus(TM) on-site H2 generation equipment for an industrial customer in South-East Asia
Under The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Plug Power will collaborate with American Honda Motor Company, Air Products and Chemicals, and Homeland Energy to provide fueling infrastructure necessary for fuel cell vehicles. Included in this project are two Honda FCX’s leased by the State of New York. The program calls for Plug Power to install a GenSite H2 generator along with Pdc’s compressor at the Company’s Latham location. An Air Products HF-150 mobile hydrogen fueler will be located at the State’s Harriman Campus in Albany, NY, allowing the site to be capable of directly fueling FC vehicles.
In June 2005, ROKAS S.A. installed a Pdc compressor at the Center of Renewable Energy Sources wind farm in Lavrion, Greece, as part of a research project (acronym RES2H2). The RES2H2 project is partly funded by the European Community (5th Framework Program). The goal of the project is to study the behavior of a relatively large scale wind-hydrogen production and storage system (5 Nm3/h) under the fluctuating production of a Wind Turbine.
Pdc is currently manufacturing several compressors of 12,000 psi (822 bar) for Quantum Technologies Worldwide for use in military and OEM fueling operations. These systems can operate both in Europe and the United States and will be dual compliant meeting CE, ATEX, PED and U.S.A NEC regulations.
QuestAir Technologies Inc. (Burnaby, British Columbia) is a developer and supplier of proprietary gas purification systems for several large international markets. Questair has joint development agreements with Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Company, Shell Hydrogen, and a partnership with FuelCell Energy. In March of 2005, Pdc supplied a hydrogen compressor skid to QuestAir’s testing facilities.
As market matures, business grows
Pdc has become a regular exhibitor at Hydrogen Expo US, the leading showcase for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in North America. Since the expo's premiere in 2003, the company has secured some US$ 5 million in new business. "Almost all of the exhibitors are now our customers", says Osama Al-Qasem, Director for Marketing & Sales at Pdc Machines. "This is because we deliver superior technology that is highly-efficient and can be used for a wide range of applications. At the same time, the way the Hydrogen Expo has grown reflects how the market has matured."
For additional information on Pdc's products and services, visit: http://www.pdcmachines.com/fuel_cell.htm or contact Mateen Afzal at tel. 215-443-9442, email: info@pdcmachines.com
For information on Hydrogen Expo US, visit: http://www.hydrogenexpo.com or contact Ines Freesen at tel. +49-2802-948484-0, email: info@hydrogenexpo.com
Pdc Machines, Inc.
1875 Stout Drive
Warminster, PA 18974, U.S.A.
Tel: 215-443-9442
Fax: 215-443-8530
E-mail: info@pdcmachines.com
Web site: http://www.pdcmachines.com
Honda expects to sell fuel-cell car in 4 years
VANCOUVER — Honda would like to be the first to market a fuel-cell car to the public, but it's less important than delivering something that's recognizably Honda, says a U.S. executive overseeing the project.
"I don't think it's critical to be first," says Steve Ellis, manager of fuel-cell marketing for American Honda Motor Co.
"But maybe it's more important than what is first is done with extremely high quality and (with) products that leave a positive lasting impression on the customer."
Regardless of who's first, fuel-cell cars will make up only a fraction of the auto market for two or more decades, says Ellis. And automakers likely won't sell them profitably for some time.
Honda unveiled its FCX hydrogen-fuel cell concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January and announced it would produce a model based on the show car within three or four years.
It's in a race with other major automakers to bring the zero-emission technology to dealer showrooms.
Honda, like its competitors, has a small fleet of early-generation FCX cars mostly in the hands of fleet customers to test the technology over a long term.
Some 15 of the tall, boxy hatchbacks are trundling around California and New York and another dozen are in Asia.
It brought a handful of the cars to Vancouver for this week's Globe 2006 environmental business conference.
Fuel cells produce electricity by chemically breaking down hydrogen. When pure hydrogen is used, the only byproducts are heat and water, although some pollution is produced if fuels such as gasoline are used to make the hydrogen.
Honda was an early licensee of fuel-cell stack technology developed by Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems.
But eventually, like Toyota and General Motors, Honda struck out on its own, though Ellis says some Ballard-based Hondas are still operating.
Fuel-cell stacks are the heart of a fuel-cell car, says Ellis, and engine development is at the core of Honda's self-image, so going it alone was a logical choice.
Honda has a rough idea of who its first fuel-cell customers will be — people trading in their gasoline-electric hybrid cars.
"We already hear of people saying, `gee I like my hybrid but what's next. I want to go beyond gasoline," says Ellis.
Honda believes the fuel cells actually will be an easier step for drivers of the compressed natural gas cars it sells in the United States.
"They already have experience with limited infrastructure, with high-pressure gaseous storage on board. They're comfortable with it. They've crossed that hurdle. Hybrid drivers haven't done that yet," says Ellis.
Honda's tiny fleet of FCXs are running on heavily subsidized leases. Ellis expects the same will be true of the next generation car.
No one expects it to be profitable — hybrids are just turning the corner almost a decade after being introduced.
Automakers expect fuel-cell vehicles to co-exist with hybrids, compressed natural gas and conventionally powered autos for decades.
The adoption of fuel cells depends on the cost of the technology coming down and the future price of oil, Ellis says.
Infrastructure — refuelling stations — is also critical. California and British Columbia have committed to the so-called hydrogen highway, but the pace of development depends on support from the government and the energy sector.
"Canadian infrastructure isn't where it needs to be," says Sandy Di Felice, Honda Canada's assistant vice-president of corporate communications.
"Will that be an impediment to future growth? No."
Honda is working with affiliate companies to develop a home-refuelling station that, when tied to a house's natural-gas service, can also produce electricity for the home.
It's also working on a solar-powered hydrogen station that will produce the gas from water through electrolysis — cutting the last tie to fossil fuels.
VANCOUVER — Honda would like to be the first to market a fuel-cell car to the public, but it's less important than delivering something that's recognizably Honda, says a U.S. executive overseeing the project.
"I don't think it's critical to be first," says Steve Ellis, manager of fuel-cell marketing for American Honda Motor Co.
"But maybe it's more important than what is first is done with extremely high quality and (with) products that leave a positive lasting impression on the customer."
Regardless of who's first, fuel-cell cars will make up only a fraction of the auto market for two or more decades, says Ellis. And automakers likely won't sell them profitably for some time.
Honda unveiled its FCX hydrogen-fuel cell concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January and announced it would produce a model based on the show car within three or four years.
It's in a race with other major automakers to bring the zero-emission technology to dealer showrooms.
Honda, like its competitors, has a small fleet of early-generation FCX cars mostly in the hands of fleet customers to test the technology over a long term.
Some 15 of the tall, boxy hatchbacks are trundling around California and New York and another dozen are in Asia.
It brought a handful of the cars to Vancouver for this week's Globe 2006 environmental business conference.
Fuel cells produce electricity by chemically breaking down hydrogen. When pure hydrogen is used, the only byproducts are heat and water, although some pollution is produced if fuels such as gasoline are used to make the hydrogen.
Honda was an early licensee of fuel-cell stack technology developed by Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems.
But eventually, like Toyota and General Motors, Honda struck out on its own, though Ellis says some Ballard-based Hondas are still operating.
Fuel-cell stacks are the heart of a fuel-cell car, says Ellis, and engine development is at the core of Honda's self-image, so going it alone was a logical choice.
Honda has a rough idea of who its first fuel-cell customers will be — people trading in their gasoline-electric hybrid cars.
"We already hear of people saying, `gee I like my hybrid but what's next. I want to go beyond gasoline," says Ellis.
Honda believes the fuel cells actually will be an easier step for drivers of the compressed natural gas cars it sells in the United States.
"They already have experience with limited infrastructure, with high-pressure gaseous storage on board. They're comfortable with it. They've crossed that hurdle. Hybrid drivers haven't done that yet," says Ellis.
Honda's tiny fleet of FCXs are running on heavily subsidized leases. Ellis expects the same will be true of the next generation car.
No one expects it to be profitable — hybrids are just turning the corner almost a decade after being introduced.
Automakers expect fuel-cell vehicles to co-exist with hybrids, compressed natural gas and conventionally powered autos for decades.
The adoption of fuel cells depends on the cost of the technology coming down and the future price of oil, Ellis says.
Infrastructure — refuelling stations — is also critical. California and British Columbia have committed to the so-called hydrogen highway, but the pace of development depends on support from the government and the energy sector.
"Canadian infrastructure isn't where it needs to be," says Sandy Di Felice, Honda Canada's assistant vice-president of corporate communications.
"Will that be an impediment to future growth? No."
Honda is working with affiliate companies to develop a home-refuelling station that, when tied to a house's natural-gas service, can also produce electricity for the home.
It's also working on a solar-powered hydrogen station that will produce the gas from water through electrolysis — cutting the last tie to fossil fuels.
Brazil hopes to build on its ethanol success
RIO DE JANEIRO — Drivers here can fill up their cars with just about any imaginable fuel — except plain old gasoline.
A worker cuts sugar cane in São Tomé, Brazil, to be transformed into ethanol.
By Victor R. Caivano, AP
A three-decade-long alternative energy campaign has outfitted Brazilian filling stations with fuel pumps that offer pure ethanol, a blend of gasoline and 20% ethanol called gasohol, or even natural gas. This year, Brazil will achieve energy independence — a goal the United States has been chasing without success since the energy crises of the 1970s.
Now, even as the U.S. haltingly sets out on the path Brazil blazed, producers here are drawing up plans to transform sugar-cane-based ethanol from a national success to a global commodity. Brazilian companies are investing $9 billion in dozens of new sugar mills to boost ethanol production while aiming to double exports by 2010. The eventual goal is to spread new ethanol industries in countries from Japan to Nigeria.
"We are moving fast to the wholesale export of ethanol. ... We're investing in infrastructure in Brazil to make it easier to export in large quantities," says Jose Gabrielli, chief executive of the state-owned oil company Petrobras, which oversees ethanol sales abroad.
In the USA, ethanol imports are expected to surge from modest levels this year as refineries phase out a gasoline additive called MTBE, says the Energy Information Administration. But Brazilian ethanol won't do as much as it could to help the U.S. reduce Middle Eastern oil imports because of domestic trade protection.
In 2005, the U.S. produced 3.9 billion gallons of fuel ethanol and imported 109 million gallons, almost all from Brazil. By expanding purchases of Brazilian ethanol, the USA could curb what President Bush has labeled its oil addiction. But the U.S. imposes a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff to discourage imports and protect domestic farmers. American ethanol is produced from corn, which costs more and produces less energy per unit of input than sugar cane.
"The U.S. is paying much more for gasoline in the world market than it could be paying for ethanol, not only produced in Brazil but also in all sugar cane countries," says Plinio Nastari, president of Datagro, a São Paulo-based consulting firm.
Earlier in the series
China's growing pull puts Brazil in a bind
Brazil's agricultural exports cast long shadow
Comeback kid Embraer has hot jet, fiery CEO to match
Last year's Brazilian ethanol exports of 684 million gallons were more than 10 times the 2000 figure, Datagro says. This year, soaring domestic demand has pinched supplies and raised prices, which are expected to keep foreign shipments about flat, Nastari says. Brazil accounts for 53% of the embryonic global ethanol trade; Europe is a distant second with a market share of 12%.
Ethanol interest in the USA has mushroomed since Bush's January State of the Union address. The president called for reducing by 2025 the USA's dependence on imported oil by 75% in part by accelerating research into new fuels. Among them: a new type of ethanol made from "wood chips, stalks or switch grass" that Bush hopes can be commercially viable within six years.
Chief executives since President Carter have set similar goals, yet the USA still imports 59.8% of its petroleum needs — more than after the second oil shock in 1979.
Brazil leads in ethanol production
Brazil's ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices put a chokehold on the economy. In response, the country's military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil's almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.
Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn't always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late-1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers fuming and seriously dented the program's reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanol-powered cars that were ubiquitous in the '80s represented just 3% of the market.
But in 2003 automakers rolled out "flex-fuel" cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.
Oil prices top $66 a barrel
WASHINGTON — Oil prices rose above $66 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months Tuesday as tensions in oil-producing countries and expectations for a strong summer driving season lifted prices.
The price of a barrel of crude oil trading in New York rose $1.91, or 3%, to $66.07. That was up $4.66 from a month ago and the highest price since Feb. 1.
The increase in prices was led by political unrest in oil producers Nigeria and Iran, a potential labor strike in Norway and regular closures of refineries for maintenance.
A report showing a sharp increase in consumer confidence in March also strengthened expectations that Americans would keep driving to shopping malls and would hit the roads for summer vacations. That would lead to higher demand of gasoline, and in turn, oil, says Phil Flynn, oil analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.
"The combination of all of that kept the markets under buying pressure," Flynn says.
He says oil prices may reach $69 a barrel as early as next week and could hit $75 a barrel this summer, particularly as investors keep an eye on expectations for a strong hurricane season, which could hamper U.S. production and slow imports.
For consumers, that will likely mean higher prices at the pump. Motor club AAA Tuesday said the average retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.50, up 26 cents from a month ago and 37 cents from the same time last year.
Brian Kahn, market analyst at First Enercast Financial in Denver, says a nationwide average of $3 a gallon, which was seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is "very attainable." He notes the price of oil at the start of last summer's driving season was $57 a barrel. Oil accounts for about half of the cost of retail gasoline prices.
—Barbara Hagenbaughi USA TODAY
Today, 70% of new car sales are "flex," which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the "gasolina/alcool" label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (Alcool, pronounced owl-cool, is the local term for pure ethanol.)
"You don't have to choose one or the other. It takes any mix," says Antonio Claudio, 45, a Volkswagen salesman.
Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol's price is no more than 70% of gasohol's, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy. Local newspapers periodically run charts showing readers how to make the calculation.
Brazilian drivers can fill up with ethanol at 29,000 filling stations. In the USA, there are only 600 gas stations that sell the E85 fuel — a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
Brazilian drivers still consume more than 83% of the country's total ethanol production. But the export share has been growing for several years. Brazil already is shipping to nearby Venezuela, India and South Korea. Hopes for a major expansion of global ethanol trade revolve around Japan, which is considering mandating a 3% ethanol mix in its gasoline. If it does, worldwide demand would jump by one-third.
"We see good opportunities in Asia," says Alfred Szwarc, a representative of the sugar industry trade group Unica.
Global market still developing
Developing a true global ethanol trade likely will take several years. Before ethanol can become a commodity like oil or corn, it will need a single international quality specification and a futures market with an accepted reference price, Nastari says.
Brazil today has the physical capacity to export annually 2.2 billion gallons of ethanol, roughly three times the current level. But its network of producing mills lacks cost-effective means for moving ethanol to port facilities.
Today, ethanol shipments usually move from the field to port via tanker trucks, which are far less cost effective than an extensive pipeline network. Last month, Petrobras agreed with the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais to study a proposed pipeline from that region to the coast, which could transport 1 billion gallons annually.
"The existing infrastructure is not the most appropriate for ethanol exports. ... The cost could decrease a lot if the proper infrastructure were in place," says Paulo Diniz, chief financial officer of Cosan, Brazil's largest producer of both sugar and ethanol.
Its extensive use of alternative fuels makes Brazil — still a relatively poor, developing country — a world leader in ethanol. Its high-tech mills, which ingest raw sugar cane, strip its leaves and crush it into a watery paste, are able to switch within hours from production of sugar to ethanol, depending on which product claims the higher price.
But other countries aren't going to bet their fuel lifelines on ethanol unless they can be assured of dependable supplies. That will require the emergence of more than one major supplier. Underscoring the potential risks associated with a single supplier, tight domestic supplies in Brazil have pushed ethanol prices to record highs in recent weeks.
In the long run, Brazilian experts plan to help developing countries set up their own ethanol industries. Those that already produce sugar cane, such as Australia and India, are the leading initial candidates.
Brazilian ethanol makers also are interested in partnering with U.S. ethanol producers, Szwarc says. There have been talks with U.S. companies about cooperating to promote ethanol use in other countries or creating joint venture production operations, he says. Foreign investment also would be welcome in spurring an ongoing consolidation of the fragmented Brazilian sugar industry, populated by 120 enterprises.
By Victor R. Caivano, AP
Tanks holding ethanol are seen at the São Tomé, Brazil, distillery.
But for now, U.S. companies have their hands full meeting domestic demand, says Bob Dineen of the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, D.C. Along with renewed interest in ethanol triggered by the president's speech, the phaseout of the gasoline additive MTBE, slated to occur before the summer driving season, will drive demand for ethanol beyond the capacity of domestic producers.
Even as the U.S. struggles, Brazilian companies are moving to boost production sharply.
"The real challenge today is to increase production to explore the opportunities we have in the sugar market and the export of ethanol," says Heloisa Burnquist, a researcher at the University of São Paulo's agriculture school. "... We don't have any constraints. It's just a matter of time and investment."
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Drivers here can fill up their cars with just about any imaginable fuel — except plain old gasoline.
A worker cuts sugar cane in São Tomé, Brazil, to be transformed into ethanol.
By Victor R. Caivano, AP
A three-decade-long alternative energy campaign has outfitted Brazilian filling stations with fuel pumps that offer pure ethanol, a blend of gasoline and 20% ethanol called gasohol, or even natural gas. This year, Brazil will achieve energy independence — a goal the United States has been chasing without success since the energy crises of the 1970s.
Now, even as the U.S. haltingly sets out on the path Brazil blazed, producers here are drawing up plans to transform sugar-cane-based ethanol from a national success to a global commodity. Brazilian companies are investing $9 billion in dozens of new sugar mills to boost ethanol production while aiming to double exports by 2010. The eventual goal is to spread new ethanol industries in countries from Japan to Nigeria.
"We are moving fast to the wholesale export of ethanol. ... We're investing in infrastructure in Brazil to make it easier to export in large quantities," says Jose Gabrielli, chief executive of the state-owned oil company Petrobras, which oversees ethanol sales abroad.
In the USA, ethanol imports are expected to surge from modest levels this year as refineries phase out a gasoline additive called MTBE, says the Energy Information Administration. But Brazilian ethanol won't do as much as it could to help the U.S. reduce Middle Eastern oil imports because of domestic trade protection.
In 2005, the U.S. produced 3.9 billion gallons of fuel ethanol and imported 109 million gallons, almost all from Brazil. By expanding purchases of Brazilian ethanol, the USA could curb what President Bush has labeled its oil addiction. But the U.S. imposes a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff to discourage imports and protect domestic farmers. American ethanol is produced from corn, which costs more and produces less energy per unit of input than sugar cane.
"The U.S. is paying much more for gasoline in the world market than it could be paying for ethanol, not only produced in Brazil but also in all sugar cane countries," says Plinio Nastari, president of Datagro, a São Paulo-based consulting firm.
Earlier in the series
China's growing pull puts Brazil in a bind
Brazil's agricultural exports cast long shadow
Comeback kid Embraer has hot jet, fiery CEO to match
Last year's Brazilian ethanol exports of 684 million gallons were more than 10 times the 2000 figure, Datagro says. This year, soaring domestic demand has pinched supplies and raised prices, which are expected to keep foreign shipments about flat, Nastari says. Brazil accounts for 53% of the embryonic global ethanol trade; Europe is a distant second with a market share of 12%.
Ethanol interest in the USA has mushroomed since Bush's January State of the Union address. The president called for reducing by 2025 the USA's dependence on imported oil by 75% in part by accelerating research into new fuels. Among them: a new type of ethanol made from "wood chips, stalks or switch grass" that Bush hopes can be commercially viable within six years.
Chief executives since President Carter have set similar goals, yet the USA still imports 59.8% of its petroleum needs — more than after the second oil shock in 1979.
Brazil leads in ethanol production
Brazil's ethanol program started in 1975, when soaring oil prices put a chokehold on the economy. In response, the country's military rulers launched an effort to free themselves from foreign oil — which then accounted for almost 90% of oil consumption — by developing innovative fuels. Ethanol made from sugar cane was an obvious candidate, given Brazil's almost endless amount of arable land and favorable climate.
Years of work and billions of dollars in subsidies later, Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production. It hasn't always been smooth sailing. The first ethanol-only vehicles were tough to start on cold mornings. Sugar mills responded to high world sugar prices in the late-1980s by producing more sugar and less ethanol, resulting in fuel shortages that left drivers fuming and seriously dented the program's reputation for reliability. By 2002, the ethanol-powered cars that were ubiquitous in the '80s represented just 3% of the market.
But in 2003 automakers rolled out "flex-fuel" cars, able to run on ethanol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. For drivers, the new cars eliminated the need to bet on a fuel type.
Oil prices top $66 a barrel
WASHINGTON — Oil prices rose above $66 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months Tuesday as tensions in oil-producing countries and expectations for a strong summer driving season lifted prices.
The price of a barrel of crude oil trading in New York rose $1.91, or 3%, to $66.07. That was up $4.66 from a month ago and the highest price since Feb. 1.
The increase in prices was led by political unrest in oil producers Nigeria and Iran, a potential labor strike in Norway and regular closures of refineries for maintenance.
A report showing a sharp increase in consumer confidence in March also strengthened expectations that Americans would keep driving to shopping malls and would hit the roads for summer vacations. That would lead to higher demand of gasoline, and in turn, oil, says Phil Flynn, oil analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.
"The combination of all of that kept the markets under buying pressure," Flynn says.
He says oil prices may reach $69 a barrel as early as next week and could hit $75 a barrel this summer, particularly as investors keep an eye on expectations for a strong hurricane season, which could hamper U.S. production and slow imports.
For consumers, that will likely mean higher prices at the pump. Motor club AAA Tuesday said the average retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.50, up 26 cents from a month ago and 37 cents from the same time last year.
Brian Kahn, market analyst at First Enercast Financial in Denver, says a nationwide average of $3 a gallon, which was seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is "very attainable." He notes the price of oil at the start of last summer's driving season was $57 a barrel. Oil accounts for about half of the cost of retail gasoline prices.
—Barbara Hagenbaughi USA TODAY
Today, 70% of new car sales are "flex," which are visibly indistinguishable from conventional cars. Only the "gasolina/alcool" label inside the gas tank lid gives them away. (Alcool, pronounced owl-cool, is the local term for pure ethanol.)
"You don't have to choose one or the other. It takes any mix," says Antonio Claudio, 45, a Volkswagen salesman.
Cars get fewer miles from a gallon of ethanol than from a gallon of gasohol. So consumers operate by a rough rule of thumb: so long as ethanol's price is no more than 70% of gasohol's, which it usually is, it makes sense to buy. Local newspapers periodically run charts showing readers how to make the calculation.
Brazilian drivers can fill up with ethanol at 29,000 filling stations. In the USA, there are only 600 gas stations that sell the E85 fuel — a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
Brazilian drivers still consume more than 83% of the country's total ethanol production. But the export share has been growing for several years. Brazil already is shipping to nearby Venezuela, India and South Korea. Hopes for a major expansion of global ethanol trade revolve around Japan, which is considering mandating a 3% ethanol mix in its gasoline. If it does, worldwide demand would jump by one-third.
"We see good opportunities in Asia," says Alfred Szwarc, a representative of the sugar industry trade group Unica.
Global market still developing
Developing a true global ethanol trade likely will take several years. Before ethanol can become a commodity like oil or corn, it will need a single international quality specification and a futures market with an accepted reference price, Nastari says.
Brazil today has the physical capacity to export annually 2.2 billion gallons of ethanol, roughly three times the current level. But its network of producing mills lacks cost-effective means for moving ethanol to port facilities.
Today, ethanol shipments usually move from the field to port via tanker trucks, which are far less cost effective than an extensive pipeline network. Last month, Petrobras agreed with the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais to study a proposed pipeline from that region to the coast, which could transport 1 billion gallons annually.
"The existing infrastructure is not the most appropriate for ethanol exports. ... The cost could decrease a lot if the proper infrastructure were in place," says Paulo Diniz, chief financial officer of Cosan, Brazil's largest producer of both sugar and ethanol.
Its extensive use of alternative fuels makes Brazil — still a relatively poor, developing country — a world leader in ethanol. Its high-tech mills, which ingest raw sugar cane, strip its leaves and crush it into a watery paste, are able to switch within hours from production of sugar to ethanol, depending on which product claims the higher price.
But other countries aren't going to bet their fuel lifelines on ethanol unless they can be assured of dependable supplies. That will require the emergence of more than one major supplier. Underscoring the potential risks associated with a single supplier, tight domestic supplies in Brazil have pushed ethanol prices to record highs in recent weeks.
In the long run, Brazilian experts plan to help developing countries set up their own ethanol industries. Those that already produce sugar cane, such as Australia and India, are the leading initial candidates.
Brazilian ethanol makers also are interested in partnering with U.S. ethanol producers, Szwarc says. There have been talks with U.S. companies about cooperating to promote ethanol use in other countries or creating joint venture production operations, he says. Foreign investment also would be welcome in spurring an ongoing consolidation of the fragmented Brazilian sugar industry, populated by 120 enterprises.
By Victor R. Caivano, AP
Tanks holding ethanol are seen at the São Tomé, Brazil, distillery.
But for now, U.S. companies have their hands full meeting domestic demand, says Bob Dineen of the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, D.C. Along with renewed interest in ethanol triggered by the president's speech, the phaseout of the gasoline additive MTBE, slated to occur before the summer driving season, will drive demand for ethanol beyond the capacity of domestic producers.
Even as the U.S. struggles, Brazilian companies are moving to boost production sharply.
"The real challenge today is to increase production to explore the opportunities we have in the sugar market and the export of ethanol," says Heloisa Burnquist, a researcher at the University of São Paulo's agriculture school. "... We don't have any constraints. It's just a matter of time and investment."
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