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Making Waves in California
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Melanie Pahlmann reporting
Last December, California's largest utility company PG&E committed to the development of an Offshore Wave Energy Power Plant on the shores of Humboldt County. The Canadian company Finavera Renewables has cut a deal with California to build an ocean wave energy plant 2.5 miles off the coast that will service PG&E's customers throughout northern and central California.
The plant is expected to offset greenhouse gas emissions by displacing an estimated 245 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually. The plant is expected to begin delivering clean, renewable electricity to northern Californians in 2012 -- granted it passes an extensive regulatory analysis.
Before any construction is started on the project, this two to three year regulatory "permitting process" will be undertaken, involving several tiers of regulators and community stakeholders, and extensive, if not exhaustive, impact studies by a variety of organizations. This regulatory process is not only slow and painstaking, it is particularly difficult for non-existing energy technologies, which is to say, the clean technologies.
The regulatory process that any renewable energy company must face today was designed over half a century ago and thus does not allow for the multitudinous aspects of today's technologies. This slows an disrupts the approval time for clean energy power projects. "And so," says tidal power developer Trey Taylor, " already underworked, understaffed resource agencies like FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] would just as soon as have these new technologies go away."
Indeed, outdated regulations are what's holding the renewable energy industry back in the U.S., according to Roger Bedard of EPRI, an electric power research institute in Palo Alto.
Despite the hurdles and delays of the permit process, Finavera is obviously very excited about wave energy. From an entrepreneurial perspective, Finavera is quite clearly enthused about the short and long term potential of wave energy. "Propelled by the worldwide demand for renewable energy, ocean wave energy has the potential to become commercially viable quicker than other renewable technologies, achieving the fastest growth rate of all energy sources and generating significant wealth."
While I would never go as far as to agree that "greed is good", in the case of renewable energy technology, a balanced amount of profit motive is essential, at least until our government gets off its duff, stops subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and begins funding clean energy projects, as we all know it should. In lieu of that, venture capital funding will be the life blood of renewable energy research, development and implementation.
10 Clean Energy Innovations
Whether we see it or not, know it or not, a renewable energy revolution has begun. Literally hundreds of non-fossil-fuel technologies are in various stages of development right now, many of which are already being implemented on small and large scales. These technologies harness energy from natural, non-polluting sources that are virtually limitless in supply.
Here are 10 renewable energy technologies.
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Photovoltaic Solar Power
Solar cells convert sunlight into direct current. The first solar cell was conceived in 1883, but not really developed for use until the 1940's. The 1973 oil crisis spawned an increase in this technology, and since that time, there has been a great proliferation in solar energy plants, initially in the US and more recently in Japan, Germany, France, Italy and South Korea.
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Solar Thermal Energy
Instead of gathering energy from sunlight, solar thermal collectors harness energy from the sun's heat. This is achieved by reflecting sunlight onto a single collecting source, where heat then concentrates. One of the more common techniques uses parabolic mirrors (see image right).
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Wind Power
The simple windmill has been replaced by the equally beautiful 3 bladed turbine we see cropping up in wind farms. By the end of 2007, wind was producing about 1% of all electricity in the world. 19% of Denmark's electricity comes from wind; in Spain and Portugal 9% is wind-produced; in Germany and Ireland 9%.
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Hydroelectricity
One of the most simple renewable technologies. The force of moving water turns turbines which then generate power. People of many cultures have been using hydropower for centuries. Today the largest hydroelectric plants are found in Brazil, Venezuela, Washington state, Russia and Canada.
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Biofuels/Biomass
Biofuels are renewable liquid fuels made from plant matter rather than fossil fuels. Today’s primary biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel. Biofuels can help reduce toxic air emissions, greenhouse gas buildup, and dependence on imported oil, while supporting United States agriculture.
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Wave Power
Energy can be produced from the powerful current of ocean surface waves. This is a relatively new but quickly developing technology. California is currently in planning stages of America's first commercial wave power plant. A wave plant is under construction right now in Portugal, and will be operational in 2009. Scotland, England, Australia and Canada also have committed to building wave power plants off their shores.
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Tidal Power
A cousin to wave power, tidal energy is generated by the movement of water as it is affected by the gravitational pull of lunar phases. There are two ways this can happen: kinetic energy of the moving water can power turbines, or energy can be harnessed from changes in the water's height between high and low tides.
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Ground Source Heat Pumps
This is still a small-scale technology, but one that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available. Heat is transferred from the ground into a building to provide heating and, in some cases, to pre-heat domestic hot water. The use of a ground source heat pump in a home can save anywhere from 30% to 70% annually on utilities.
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Hydrogen
Some are calling hydrogen "the perfect fuel". Hydrogen is not an energy source, but an energy carrier. When combined chemically with oxygen electricity is produced (and clean, pure water as a by-product!). Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe (found in about 93% of all atoms). Tremendous research efforts from private and public sectors are seeking efficient ways to extract hydrogen. Water is a favorite source, and so too is methane gas. Converting methane gas into hydrogen would displace it's polluting carbon content.
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Green Algae
Over a dozen US companies are exploring algae as a biofuel source. Amazingly, the algae can grow in waste water, where it feeds on carbon dioxide. This means the algae offers a double benefit: it eats up excess CO2 while it matures into a non-polluting fuel source. Algae may one day be the preferred feedstock for biofuels. Because it's not grown in soil and isn't edible, algae doesn't compete with food crops.
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