Avoiding Desaster

                                          US Coal-firing power plants are high air-polluters for decades
31.01.2010:  US coal-firing power plants have to reduce two million tons of SO2 and Nox/year, says EPA [1]
The total combined sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emission reductions secured from settlements will be about 2 million tons each year once all the required pollution controls have been installed and implemented. Coal-fired power plants are big contributors to air pollution.
Here are some examples:
Westar agrees to install a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system on one of the three Jeffrey Energy Center coal units by the end of 2014 to reduce harmful emission of nitrogen oxide into the air. To reduce SO2 a continuously flue gas desulfurization (FGD) for the control of SO2 has to be installed to meet the most aggressive SO2 rates

Depending on the results Westar will decide if they want to update another Jeffrey coal unit by the end of 2016, if needed to meet nitrogen oxide reduction targets. Already scheduled projects to install new low-nitrogen oxide burners and electrostatic precipitators will go forward as planned. Electrostatic precipitators remove emissions of fine particles, mostly of ash, created from burning coal. [2]

Westar Energy owns and operates eight coal-fired units in Kansas at the following locations:
Jeffrey Energy Center, St. Marys. On grid since 1978
Lawrence Energy Center, Lawrence. On grid since 1980
Tecumseh Energy Center, Tecumseh. On grid since 1983

EPA News [3]
EPA says that investment of Weststar could be $ 500 millions to reduce 75,000 tons of harmful air pollution from a power plant if the projects will ever become reality.

Sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides can be converted to fine particulate matter once in the air. Fine particulates can be breathed in and lodged deep in the lungs, causing a variety of health impacts, including premature death. Other health and environmental impacts from the pollutants addressed in this settlement include the following:

Sulfur Dioxide - High concentrations of SO2 affect breathing and may aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Sensitive populations include asthmatics, individuals with bronchitis or emphysema, children and the elderly. Sulfur dioxide is also a primary contributor to acid deposition, or acid rain.
Particulate Matter - Short term exposure to particulate matter can aggravate lung disease, cause asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, may increase susceptibility to respiratory infections and has been linked to heart attacks and premature mortality.
Nitrogen Oxides - Nitrogen oxides can cause ground-level ozone, acid rain, particulate matter, global warming, water quality deterioration, and visual impairment. Nitrogen oxides play a major role, with volatile organic chemicals, in the atmospheric reactions that produce ozone. Children, people with lung diseases such as asthma, and people who work or exercise outside are susceptible to adverse effects such as damage to lung tissue and reduction in lung function.
Mercury emission at coal-fired plants - EPA also tries to implement and explore innovative ways to reduce mercury at coal-fired plants

The United States has reached similar settlements with coal-firing power plants which are told to reduce 2 million tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxises each year.  Coal-fired power plants are big contributors to air pollution [3]:

[1] Westar Energy to invest in environmental upgrades, proposed as settlement of litigation. Westar Energy. Jan. 25, 2010.
http://www.westarenergy.com/corp_com/contentmgt.nsf/resources/2010-1-25/$File/2010-1-25.pdf?openelement

[2] Westar Energy, Inc. Settlement Information Sheet
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/westarenergy-infosht.html

[3] Coal-Fired Power Plant Enforcement Initiative. EPA.
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/coal/index.html

Are we on the right course to protect climate? [2] [3]
Financial crisis will overshadow the outcomes of the UN Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. Nuclear energy and fossil fuel power plants will mobilise a powerful lobby to keep the actual
configuration of the global energy field. Some doubts arise about the efficiency of the strategies to counter climate change. The New Scientist in its edition of January/February2009, focusing on renewable energy, highlight deficiencies of proposed strategies and stress that they will not be able to replace conventional methods.

Does a shortfall of indium hinder global solar energy system?
The article of the New Scientist points out that the production of photovoltaic modules depends on the rare metal indium, and their sources will be depleted in 5 to 10 year, depending on the growth of the photovoltaic market.
Global supply of electricity using solar energy, however, will not be hindered by indium shortfall.
By the time indium will not be available any more, new generations of photovoltaic panels will do without this rare element.
Solar energy, a global solution for the post Kyoto Protocol
Act immediately, start the solar energy economy now: Photovoltaic is seen as a start of the solar electricity and hydrogen economy. It may produce immediate revenues, with an installation in days. It can develop the infrastructure of hydrogen for transportation.

Evolving the system to supply global needs: Meanwhile the introduction and the acceptance of the solar energy takes place at the political and the economical platform, there planing and installation of additional solar thermal technology can be considered. This includes solar thermal power parabolic troughs and the more sophisticated Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC).

Wind turbines and much more: Wind turbines will add to the capacity of the system. Their importance is bound to the geographical and climatic situation. Off-shore wind turbines present hindrance for ship traffic. Some regions are poor on wind. Wind turbines are welcome in the high North, where sunshine is rare. Best location for photovoltaic are the deep deserts and solar thermal technology needs water to operate the steam turbines. Best operation is therefore the interconnection of wind and solar energy in a super grid.

Global interaction
A global interconnection in a super grid according to Fuller brings energy around the globe [4]. Electrolysis of water provides clean fuel for transportation. It can therefore use excess of generated solar energy. The production of hydrogen stabilises the system and avoids overloads. The deserts provide endless energy which can be used for transportation and also transformed back again to electricity at night. This has proved very efficient in Utsira [5] where wind generators produce electricity and not needed power is stored as hydrogen and transformed back to electricity as needed. See the story at http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/jun/16/environment.society1

Conventional strategies are to slow to succeed: All other power plants strategies need a planing and construction time of five to ten years. There is an enormous technical installation necessary. Their construction and their maintenance is extreme complicated. Shortfall of building capacity and shortfall of fuel will limit conventional power plant constructions.

The fast growing world population and the depletion of natural resources leave us no time to postpone, argue and hesitate. Act now and start the global solution for clean electricity and fuel for transportation.


Are fuel cells essential for hydrogen cars?
Fuel cells: Hydrogen cars are equipped with fuel cells to feed electric motors. This has proved to be very efficient in car, space technology and German submarines. Some critics say platinum, used in fuel cells will be a shortfall limiting, or even turn impossible, a massive production of fuel cells.
Nanotubes for fuel cells: Liming Dai and colleagues 2009 developed a nanotube based catalisator for fuel cells, which may replace platinum. It increases the efficient of the fuel cell. [6]

New catalysts improves water electrolysis [7]
Solar Revolution Project brings hydrogen in homes: MIT launched the Solar Revolution Project in 2008, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years. It is based on new catalysts developed by Nocera and Kanan. Cobalt and phosphate deposited on top of an indium-tin-oxide electrode works as catalyst for the oxygen side and platinum for the hydrogen side. The authors say that this system will turn hydrogen technology available for home use.
The other group of catalysts Nocera and his team are developing are special dye molecules designed to absorb sunlight; the energy captured by the dyes would drive the water-splitting reaction

Hydrogen combustion engine: BMW and GM, however, has been successful in developing combustion engines which work with hydrogen, and can switch to reserve petrol operation. Hydrogen combustion engine proved to be dependable in the system of
Both technologies can be used side by side , depending of availability of materials and the preferences of the customer, however, the combustion engine alternative seems promising, particularly during the introduction of the hydrogen refilling stations.

Wind turbines a complement of solar energy
Wind turbines: Mark Jacobson in a study of 2008 says that wind turbines have the best ranking of eleven energy types of non-fossil origin. The analysis of Jacobson, however, are focused on specific parts of the global carbon dioxide emission. Wind is unstable and many regions are unsuitable for the installation of wind turbines. It is only a part of the solution and is a complement of solar energy.

                                                                           Bad alternatives [8]
Biofuel: Biofuel from corn and plant waste competes with Food. Valuable arable acres are being used for the production of fuel. USA transformed the corn belt of the Mississippi region to fuel fields, replacing just 10 percent of fossil fuel. What about the other 90 per cent of petrol ? Only hydrogen cars can clean up transportation.
Jacobson says in his study that ethanol-based biofuels will actually cause more harm to human health and environment than fossil fuels.

Nuclear energy: Jacobson says that nuclear energy results in 25 times more carbon and air pollution than wind, where half of those emissions are caused by the time it takes to plan and build a nuclear power plant - time during which fossil fuels have to be burnt for energy. Here photovoltaic can bring immediate results, That is why the start with photovoltaic is so important.

Jacobson,does not mention that there is no way to get rid of nuclear waste. An experimental site in Germany, the former salt mine Asse 2, is contaminating groundwater of the region with nuclear waste leaking. Asse 2 is the horror vision of what nuclear waste disposal means. The whole mine will be flooded because it is impossible to recover or seal the leaking barrels. [9]

"Clean" coal: 25 per cent of the electricity used in Germany comes from lignite (brown coal) which is won by opencast mining [strip mining). Another 25 per cent of its electricity is won from bituminous coal (stone coal). Mining modifies the ecology of the of the region and displaces complete villages. German government holds desperately on burning coal.

Capture and store: The dream of politicians and industry is to capture and store carbon dioxide from coal power plants. according to a study by MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. Coal would again become the dominant source of electricity.

EU Cap and trade: The European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is based on Directive 2003/87/EC, which entered into force on 25 October 2003. It is the world's first multinational cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases. [10]
The ETS is being severely criticised for permitting to sell Greenhouse emission certificates to organisations who exceed their quotes. In this way there the emission is only transferred from one place to another. Total emission of the EU did not decrease therefore.
ETS, however, is a welcome argument to hide behind, when actions are needed. All political parties are concious of that, but prefer to silence in order to please the industry and not to harm the good image at UN meetings. The governments should unite their efforts on a global solution integrating wind turbines, solar energy and hydrogen technology. [11]

US cap and trade: There are also activities in America, with main focus on “trade” and very small results on a reduction of emission on power plants and on transportation. [12]

                                                       Efforts are to low to be heralded
Jakobson says that it is wrong to try a little bit of everything is wrong. Her stresses the need to focus on the technologies that provide the best benefit.
Germany gets 14 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, whereas USA , the biggest global greenhouse gas emitter gets miserable 1 per cent of its electricity from wind, Both countries claiming to be leading in technology and environment should be ashamed of their low scores. [8]

Missplanning and abstruse ideas [2]
Vattenfall, an European electricity giant, stresses that more transmission lines and technologies that can store extra electricity from wind farms in batteries. The company cites plug-in hybrid cars, for example, or remotely turn power-hungry appliances on and off as the energy supply rises and falls to avoid unacceptable stresses on existing electrical systems. This would mean a stress for the private batteries charging and discharging during night.

The European Commission predicts a growing electricity production from wind adding another 25,000 megawatts to Germany's grid by 2030. This may lead to massive overloads. The number of batteries connected to the grid would also vary during daytime while on road.

Electrolysis of water for the production of hydrogen as clean fuel avoids overloads. It does not limit the range of the cars. Electric cars are of no help for long trip. Hydrogen cars offer the same advantages of unlimited rage of the gasoline driven car.
Other absurd actions, supported by governments, are used as false excuses to avoid coherent international activities.
Carbon Capture and Storage is one of such absurd enterprises which will increase electricity price and capture only 30 percent of the emission. Other absurditzies are unveiled in Absurd Actions. [13]

                                                                Correcting grievances [14]
The grid: Upgrading the grid must include long distance transport lines, such as the connection of the Arabian peninsula to Europe via Turkey, or a Transmediterranean line from North Africa to Europe. This is less troublesome and less expensive as gaspipelines on these routes which are already under construction, such as a 4.500 km gas pipeline through Algeria and the Mediterranean Sea, or the Nabucco gas pipeline running 200 kilometres parallel to the Russian pipeline. An electric grid is less difficult to be constructed than to lay and maintain a gas pipeline.  [15]  [16]

Summary:

[1] Talbot, David: Weathering Climate Change
Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences, discusses the challenges of climate-change research. Technology Review. 10.02.2009.
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22096/

[2] Talbot, David : Lifeline for Renewable Power. Without a radically expanded and smarter electrical grid, wind and solar will remain niche power sources. Technology Review. January/February 2009.
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21747/page2/

[3] Barras, Collin: Why sustainable power is unsustainable. New Scientist, 06 February 2009
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16550-why-sustainable-power-is-unsustainable.html

[4] Martin I. Hoffert at all: Advanced Technology Paths to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet. Science 1 Nov. 2002: Vol. 298. no. 5595, pp. 981- 987
DOI: 10.1126/science.1072357
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/5595/981

[5] Utsira WindHydrogen System
https://www.hfpeurope.org/uploads/699/808/UTSIRA.pdf

[6] Gong, Kuanping; Du, Feng; Xia, Zhenhai; Durstock, Michael; Dai, Liming: Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube Arrays with High Electrocatalytic Activity for Oxygen Reduction. Science 6 February 2009: Vol. 323. no. 5915, pp. 760 – 764. Doi: 10.1126/science.1168049
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/323/5915/760

[7] MIT News: Major discovery from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution. Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system. Anne Trafton, News Office July 31, 2008
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:MIT:Daniel_Nocera:Catalytic_Electrolysis

[8] Jacobson, Mark Z.: Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security. Energy Environ. Sci., 2009, 2, 148 - 173, Doi: 10.1039/b809990c
http://www.rsc.org/publishing/journals/EE/article.asp?doi=b809990c

[9] Where Should Germany Store Its Nuclear Waste? 09/08/2008
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,577018,00.html

[10] Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:275:0032:0046:EN:PDF

[11] Spiegel Online: Unsinnige EU-Klimapolitik. Windräder bringen nichts für CO2-Ziel. 10.02.2009
http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,606532,00.html

[12] John E. Parsons, A. Denny Ellerman and Stephan Feilhauer : Designing a U.S. Market for CO2 . The MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. Report 171.
http://globalchange.mit.edu/files/document/MITJPSPGC_Rpt171.pdf

[13] Desert Energy Project: Absurdities of a mix of isolated actions supported by governments
http://www.desertenergyproject.net/Absurd_Actions.html

[14] European Commission, Press Release: TransSahara Gas Pipeline conference. Reference: IP/07/1037 Date: 09/07/2007
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1037

[15] Medgaz Press Release. Madrid, 16.02.2007
http://www.medgaz.com/medgaz/pages/nota_prensa_9eng.htm

[16] Algeria Economics: Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline conference
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/000906/2000090641.html