The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

A few more from Alt Power Digest:

Message: 6
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 08:28:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: AP@alternatepower.com (Alternate Power)
Subject: Energy Industry to Win Big on Energy Bill

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/22519/story.htm

USA: October 13, 2003: NEW YORK (REUTERS) - After three years of false starts, Congress could soon pass a sweeping energy bill packed with tax breaks and other benefits for oil, natural gas, coal and power companies - a package that could cost taxpayers nearly $53 billion over the next 10 years. Recently, bitter disagreements on issues such as power grid rules and ethanol have bogged down the bill, possibly delaying a vote by House and Senate negotiators until January. But some analysts say the Aug. 14 blackout and soaring gasoline prices will generate the support needed to pass a bill this year or early in the new year. "If you look at the fundamentals, who benefits from the bill and all the different reasons why members of Congress are likely to vote for it in the end, we're looking at excellent chances of getting the bill done this year," said Prudential Securities Washington analyst James Lucier.

The bill is good news for a broad range of energy companies - from oil producer ConocoPhillips COP.N and power company Exelon Corp. EXC.N to drillers like Nabors Industries NBR.A . It has tax credits to promote drilling unconventional sources of gas, changes the tax code to encourage pipeline and power grid investments and takes steps to open more federal lands to drilling. According to Joint Committee on Taxation estimates, the bill's provisions would reduce net tax payments by $16 billion to $19 billion over the next 10 years. "Longer term, there's a lot of stuff in the bill that could move these stocks," said Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Jacques Rousseau. For utilities, the bill is even more beneficial. There are financial incentives earmarked for nuclear power, cleaner coal-based power and coal-based synthetic fuels. Lawmakers also hope to restructure power transmission and repeal Depression-era rules to encourage consolidation and investment from outside the energy industry. Critics complain the bill enriches companies that shaped the Bush-Cheney energy policy behind closed doors in 2001. The legislation, they say, does not do enough to reduce energy consumption, curb pollution or develop renewable resources.

"The industry is reaping huge profits from tax credits, yet there are no benefits to the public," said Navin Nayak, an analyst at consumer advocates U.S. Public Interest Research Group. "It's a waste of money." Final figures are likely to change, but legislation passed earlier this year indicates the bill will carry a hefty price tag. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill's total cost to taxpayers, including lost revenue, would reach $40.3 billion through 2008 and $52.6 billion over the next decade. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, in a Sept 10 memo, told lawmakers the tax impact should not exceed $8 billion.

Still, sponsors say the bill is needed to boost U.S. security and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
For example, there are more than $2.5 billion of "Section 29" credits to encourage production of gas from coal-bed methane, deepwater wells and landfills. Analysts say these credits help coal-bed wells, which take years to reach peak production, compete with conventional gas. "I don't think there's any doubt, depending on the exact terms of the tax credit, that you would see shifting in capital toward unconventional projects," Devon Energy DVN.A Vice President Don DeCarlo said at a conference earlier this year. Beyond tax breaks, the bill expands access to domestic resources, most notably opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drillers. Producers also seek permission to drill in federal lands in the Rocky Mountains.

The bill may also finally launch construction of a 3,600-mile pipeline to Alaska's North Slope by Exxon Mobil XOM.N , BP BP.L and ConocoPhillips. BP and Conoco seek credits that would kick in if gas prices fall below $3.50 before committing to the $20 billion project. Ultimately, some analysts say, the most powerful benefit to the industry comes from new tax rules such as a 30 percent depreciation bonus, on top of normal first-year depreciation. This could yield huge savings for an industry that makes big pipeline, power line and other infrastructure investments. "The tax cuts pack a wallop for all asset classes, but the energy industry should benefit the most," Prudential Securities' Lucier said.

Story by Joseph A. Giannone
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 01:32:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: AP@alternatepower.com (Alternate Power)
Subject: Energy Bill Thin on Conservation

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=3599289
Energy Bill Thin on Conservation, Critics Say: Sun October 12, 2003 08:40 AM ET:

By Chris Baltimore:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For conservationists, the behemoth energy bill crawling through Congress is most notable for its lack of stricter automobile mileage standards or any other major attempts to curb the nation's thirst for oil. The bill, the first overhaul of U.S. energy policy in a decade, aims to offer billions of dollars in incentives for oil companies, electric utilities, coal plants and nuclear plant owners to boost production or generate more megawatts.

But while the Republican-written bill is generous in giving industry help to produce more energy, it gives U.S. consumers few reasons to conserve, critics say. "The bill leaves at least three-quarters of the energy savings off the table, which is really a tragedy," said Bill Prindle, deputy director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a research group. "We really can't afford this ... tweaking-around-the-edges strategy."

To the Republican writers of the bill, the solution to the growing U.S. energy shortage is to make it easier for oil and gas companies to drill more. They would accomplish this by opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, easing permitting requirements on Western federal lands, and ordering an inventory of energy reserves in protected offshore areas along the East Coast.

Environmentalists concede that some conservation measures have been included in the bill. These include boosting the efficiency of small everyday gadgets like illuminated building exit signs, traffic signals and fluorescent lightbulbs. But that isn't enough, environmentalists say. "There really aren't any conservation measures in the energy bill," said Betsy Loyless at the League of Conservation Voters. "This energy bill is a public lands and coastal area giveaway."

GAS GUZZLERS
Activists mourn Congress' refusal to require automakers to make more fuel-efficient cars, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. That would offer the single biggest way to reduce U.S. oil demand and imports, they say. A former environmental official during the first Bush administration also expressed surprise at the lack of conservation measures.

An unsuccessful bill written by Democrats when they controlled the Senate struck more of a balance between energy production and conservation, said Dan Esty, an environmental policy professor at Yale University. But Republicans view "the environment as an obstacle to energy production," said Esty, who worked for the Environmental Protection Agency during the administration of the first President George Bush, the current president's father.

The chance of legislation being passed this year became more doubtful a few days ago when an aide to Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, the bill manager, warned that bitter disputes over electricity and ethanol could delay it until 2004.

Although negotiators agree on the need to make the U.S. electric transmission grid more reliable, Southern lawmakers insist the bill must block federal energy regulators from requiring U.S. utilities to join regional grid groups.

Another major disagreement pits Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, an ethanol advocate, against House Majority Leader Tom Delay, a supporter of a rival fuel additive known as MTBE. Also missing is a measure endorsed by Senate Democrats that would require electric utilities to get 10 percent of their supplies from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020, versus 2 percent currently.

The Republican-written energy bill is "one of the most disastrous pieces of legislation in terms of the environment that we've seen in years," said Mark Wenzler, an energy expert at the National Environmental Trust, an environmental group.
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Message: 8
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 01:31:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: AP@alternatepower.com (Alternate Power)
Subject: Tapping Solar Energy to Purify Saline Water

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=99759

Sharjah |By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter | 09-10-2003:
Water desalination and purification with the help of solar energy in the Arab world is one of the top projects on the agenda of the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) - a Sharjah-based organisation of Arab scientists from all over the world. The $11 million research project is expected to finish during the next five years. It will help save precious fuel in the region. Commercial production of silicon chips developed by Arab scientists is yet another mega project in addition to several other projects ranging from $1 million to $300 million.

Dr Abdullah Alnajjar, ASTF president, said: "The Foundation is playing an important role to bridge the gap between scientists, investors and the industry to help scientists turn their research into products. It is a new concept of funding scientists who were finding it difficult to make their research materialise into products."

Dr Alnajjar along with other prominent Arab scientists briefed reporters on Tuesday at the conclusion of a three-day meeting of the ASTF Board of Directors. Also present were Dr Mahmoud Sherif, Research Professor of Materials and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University in the US; Dr Mowafak Al-Jassim, principal scientist at the National Renewable Energy Lab, Golden Colorado, USA; Professor Fakhri Bazzaz from Harvard University, and Dr Fakhreddine Karray from the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Dr Alnajjar said the ASTF has revised its strategies and reset its priorities. "At the beginning, we thought of getting funds from various resources including Arab governments, but this did not materialise for certain reasons. "Now we identify scientific research projects and then find investors to help projects materialise into marketable products."

Dr Mahmoud Sherif, who showed some disappointment over the lack of interest from Arab governments, said: "We are not backing out from our mission. We are trying hard to make them understand that supporting scientific research is more important than just constructing highrise buildings and bridges because science will pay back. "Arabs were pioneers in the field of science and technology some 1000 years ago, and once again, over 600 Arab scientists have joined hands from around the world under the flag of the ASTF to repeat history".

Dr Alnajjar said the ASTF looked for investors from around the world who were ready to invest in the Arab land. He especially thanked His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, for his continuous support of the ASTF. He also announced that the ASTF would hold its third symposium on Scientific Research Outlook in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from April 4 to 7, 2004.
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Message: 9
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 01:31:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: AP@alternatepower.com (Alternate Power)
Subject: Norway's Statkraft Teams Up for Hydrogen Future

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/22538/story.htm (REUTERS)

NORWAY: October 14, 2003: OSLO - Norwegian power company Statkraft SF said on Monday that it would work with Canada's Stuart Energy Systems HHO.TO and Spain's Corporacion Energia Hidroelectrica de Navarra (EHN) to develop hydrogen-based energy systems.

"Hydrogen is the world's most easily available fuel, since it is extracted from water using electricity," Statkraft, Norway's top electricity producer, said in a statement. Hydrogen is considered by many to be a fuel of the future as the only emission from hydrogen when used as fuel is water. It is produced by using electricity to split the gas out of water through a process called electrolysis. "We see and many analyses show that hydrogen will be an important energy carrier for the future," Statkraft's head of research Erlend Broli told Reuters.

Statkraft said its cooperation with the Spanish and Canadian firms aimed "to assess, test and develop ways of producing hydrogen using renewable energy sources" and to be a "platform for long-term commercial collaboration." "We are in a period of intensive research activity," Broli said. "Commercial use of hydrogen is still a few years down the road -- it is difficult to say when." "We are looking 10-15 years ahead, but we have to do our groundwork now with the research and demonstrations," he said. The company said that the partners would establish various research projects, including a demonstration facility that Statkraft will set up in Norway and hydrogen filling stations that EHN will establish in Spain.

"How environmentally friendly hydrogen is depends on how it is produced, and we see our renewable portfolio as a good basis for producing environmentally friendly hydrogen," Broli said. Statkraft said that Stuart Energy Systems is a leader in electrolysis-based production of hydrogen, while EHN is one of Europe's top wind power producers.

Statkraft is Norway's biggest hydropower producer, with average annual electricity output of around 42 terawatt hours. The company says it is Europe's second-biggest producer of electricity from renewable sources after France's EdF [EDF.UL].

"When it comes to environmental goals, whether it is Kyoto or more local environmental rules, this is the one energy carrier linking stationary energy use and the transport sector and so it seems very important for the future," Broli said.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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