Publications: GHG Reduction Technologies Monitor

The FY 2014 omnibus appropriations bill approved by Congress this week largely supports coal interests and boosts Department of Energy funding for carbon capture and storage and power research and development, but at the same time cuts funding for clean air and climate regulation at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Summit Power’s Texas Clean Energy Project is renegotiating its purchase power agreement with CPS Energy after the Texas-based utility company allowed the agreement to expire at the end of 2013, citing project construction delays and a changing energy landscape.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy said that coal should continue to play an essential role as part of a diverse energy portfolio in its new energy platform, “Energy Works for US,” which was unveiled this week.

A point of contention has emerged among some officials in the Enhanced Oil Recovery industry over a draft guidance document released alongside the Environmental Protection Agency’s finalized rule that excludes sequestered CO2 from its definition of hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board voted unanimously at a meeting this week not to further review the science behind the EPA’s proposed rule that essentially forces coal-fired power plants to use carbon capture and sequestration technology to meet new greenhouse gas emission standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule that would limit greenhouse gases from new coal-fired power plants has come under legal fire with a new lawsuit from the state of Nebraska challenging the new source performance standards under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

President Obama’s nominee to be Under Secretary for Science at the Department of Energy, Dr. Franklin Orr, pointed to major barriers to commercial adoption of carbon capture and storage technology—including “a lack of a clear market signal, pore space ownership, long-term liabilities and cost relative to other technology options,” factors that had been identified by the 2010 Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage—in written response to questions from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his views on CCS.

IN THE INDUSTRY A subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) has signed a 10-year license agreement with Chem-Mod LLC that will allow Chem-Mod to use the subsidiary’s combustion additive, which is expected to boost the performance of Chem-Mod’s own coal additive technologies that reduce nitrogen oxides, mercury and other emissions during combustion. “We’re pleased to […]

The use of shareholder pressure as a tactic for pushing power companies to consider ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions has long been gaining traction among some groups concerned about the environment, and last week’s announcement that FirstEnergy had agreed to issue a report on policies it could adopt to curb emissions in the face of a shareholder resolution is again putting the issue in the spotlight as 2014 appears set to be a banner year for such resolutions and other means of persuasion by investors. 

ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT The United Arab Emirates and Denmark signed an agreement last week to collaborate on advancing carbon capture and storage technologies. The agreemend was signed by H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and CEO of the energy company Masdar, and Danish Minister of Development Cooperation, Rasmus Helveg Petersen Jan. […]

As part of what has been hailed by its developers as the world’s largest start-to-finish demonstration of carbon capture and storage technology at a commercial power plant, an initial demonstration test phase for a project that aims to capture 500 metric tons per day of CO2 from a coal-fired plant has completed, it was announced this month.

Fluor Federal Petroleum Operations is now set to begin transition to take over management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after the Government Accountability Office denied the second of two protests filed over the Fluor-led team’s win of the contract.

An effort by Congressional Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), to stop President Obama’s draft rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants by using a novel application of an infrequently invoked legislative tool faces major hurdles, League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski said late last week.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) this week pushed the head of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S to explain the basis of the Ex-Im Bank’s new policy to no longer provide financing for coal-fired power plants in most countries unless the plants are equipped with carbon capture and storage technology.

Southern Company is setting aside an additional $40 million dollars to increase the contingency for risks associated with start-up activities of its flagship Kemper County IGCC project—the cost of which has already risen to more than $5 billion dollars—the company’s Chairman, President and CEO Tom Fanning said on a call with investors this week.

Murray Energy Corporation is planning to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over its draft rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from new coal-fired power plants, arguing that the EPA did not adequately consider how the rule might affect jobs as required by the Clean Air Act.

President Barack Obama offered few surprises on the energy and environment front during this year’s State of the Union address, conducted this week, highlighting his commitment to an all-of-the-above energy strategy and urging swift action on climate change while also declaring success in moving the country closer to energy independence and lowering its carbon emissions.

A bill taking aim at the Environmental Protection Agency’s controversial draft regulation that sets CO2 emission standards for new power plants and forces new coal plants to be equipped with carbon capture and storage technology passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, paving the way for a potential vote by the full House of Representatives.

An interview with Advanced Resources International President Vello Kuuskraa was conducted by ExchangeMonitor Publications President and Publisher Ed Helminski and GHG Monitor Reporter Karen Frantz.

The Environmental Protection Agency released a finalized rule and a guidance document this month that raised questions among some enhanced oil recovery industry officials over various regulatory issues surrounding the injection of CO2 into the ground—including whether the EPA recognizes that incidental geologic storage of CO2 can occur during EOR operations—prompting the agency to respond to industry questions late last week.

Wyoming may soon be home to a new carbon capture and storage test center that would explore novel uses for captured CO2 and develop new markets for carbon.

One of Congress’s most formidable crusaders against climate change, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), announced late this week that he has decided not to seek re-election at the end of the year.

Controversy over President Obama’s draft regulation limiting greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants played out in testimony delivered at a day-long public hearing at the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters this week, with opponents and detractors alike speaking out about a particularly charged provision of the rule forcing coal-fired power plants to install carbon capture and storage technology in order to meet the new standards.

New greenhouse gas emission standards for power plants and the emergence of clean energy will pave the way for Congress to take up climate legislation in the next four to six years, said the President of the National Resources Defense Council, Frances Beinecke, at an event in Washington, D.C., this week exploring the legislative outlook for energy issues in 2014.

Opponents of President Obama’s efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants ramped up their efforts last week, with several prominent industry groups announcing a new initiative to fight the Environmental Protection Agency’s GHG regulations and a number of legislators arguing that the rules could be damaging to the economy.

In the latest legislative attempt to block President Obama’s plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced a bill this week that would allow any state to opt out of federal regulations governing electric generating units.

In a process that has the potential for driving a market for carbon, University of Delaware scientists have developed a more efficient tool for converting CO2 into carbon monoxide, which in turn can be used to produce useful chemicals. According to a paper published in Nature Communications late last week, the scientists found that using a nano-porous silver electrocatalyst, rather than polycrystalline silver, was more effective for converting CO2 into CO, with an efficiency rate of 92 percent.

The deployment of carbon capture and storage technology in the United Kingdom could add between 15,000 and 30,000 jobs and £15–£35 billion in Gross Value Added to the nation’s economy, according to a new report prepared for the Trades Union Congress and the Carbon Capture and Storage Association.

ON THE INTERNATIONAL FRONT Greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom increased 3.2 percent in 2012 compared to 2011 levels, according to official government data released this week. The largest emissions increase in the energy sector—at 5.9 percent—was due to the greater use of coal in electricity generation: Coal consumption in power stations increased by […]

As the Environmental Protection Agency works to craft a new rule that will set greenhouse gas emission standards for existing power plants, some stakeholders have expressed that it is critical that the regulations provide adequate flexibility, as well as opportunities for inter-state collaboration, sufficient compliance time, and other conditions, acting Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation Janet McCabe said at a meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners held in Washington this week.