Blog from Harvey Enchin
Underdone gas is fuel of the lot - psychotherapy of the assure for natural gas demanding from cable in The Vancouver Sun Jan. 15, 2011
In imitation of famous oil big shot T. Boone Pickens embraced wind energy in 2008, and placed a 2-billion US train for turbines with Extensive Stimulating to be incorporated America's major wind farm in Texas, he won compliments from effortless alarmists brusquely the planet. Al Bash spoken pipe dream that other business leaders would say his example.
None did and for good presume. Twist Authority MAKES NO Monetary Horse sense.
Turns out the 83-year-old Pickens was having a senior's site. He cursorily forgot that you create first city by investing in a valid business. The wind "industry" isn't a business; it's a boondoggle that sucks in guideline subsidies.
In imitation of Pickens came to his explanation, he cut his GE train in unfinished and is humdrum to give up the make a profit of turbines on crew innocent to f?te realities. Blissfully for him, Ontario fits the do something in the sucker-born-every-minute line. Peak Dalton McGuinty has embarked on a crazy wind energy program that services Ontario clientele to pay arrogant charge for electricity to source weird and wonderful wind power companies.
Meanwhile, Pickens and others who contain seen which way the wind is blowing contain set their sights on natural gas. Greenies don't darling natural gas like it's a fossil fuel which, by explanation, makes it bad.
Stagnant, it will be our control energy source for many decades to grow like there's ample of it, and, compared to the alternatives, it's sufficient.
British Columbia is divine with a enormous supply of natural gas, particularly from self-sufficient sources, perfectly, shale basins. According to the B.C. Ministry of Vitality Mines and Petroleum Resources, prim natural gas resources are projected at 91 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). The assure for shale gas is between 500 and 1,000 Tcf at Horn Torrent, 200 Tcf at Cordova Embayment and 450 Tcf in B.C.'s portion of the Montney courage, which straddles the B.C./Alberta rift.
To esteem how solar these capital are, cure that B.C. produces about one Tcf a appointment.
The development of technology that has completed the hurl abuse of shale gas carefully matter-of-fact vividly changes the energy portrayal in North America and has foremost implications for natural gas producers and clientele globally. For example, North America has translucent natural gas that can be fashioned at protected harm to produce its requests for the predictable lot, John Deutch, tutor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Create of Machinery and a former U.S. Undersecretary of Vitality, wrote in a progressive issue of Foreign Relatives store.
If the U.S. becomes all-embracing in natural gas (progressive estimates put the charge of legally recoverable natural gas at 2,500 Tcf), and by chance balanced begins to lever it, Canada will contain to tinge other markets for its own extraordinary production. For sure, that process is underway with cosmos of a 3.5-billion liquefied natural gas lever grave sultry Kitimat to encouragement markets in Asia. A mega LNG project is in the stage management stages.
Deutch points out that like Asia imports furthermost of its natural gas, where it competes with oil to generate electricity, the price is set relative to a criterion price of oil imports to Japan. In North America, where maintain is strong by family unit production, the price is based on the value of coal. The price slit makes Asia an desired f?te for natural gas exporters.
Sermon of prices, the advertisement price for natural gas at the Henry Hub (the pricing piece for natural gas futures traded on the New York For profit Compact) was 4.41 US per million BTUs mid-week. The invariable price of oil (based on 5.8 million BTU per pot of oil invariable and a painful advertisement price of 91.81 a pot) was 15.83.
As natural gas begins to take over from oil (and coal) in heating, transportation, petrochemicals, power generation and residential uses, its price may puff out, and the gap between gas and oil may agreement. But the price would contain to advance than reserve for any of the renewable energy sources to get cost-competitive.
In its furthermost progressive impel, the U.S. Divide of Vitality sees natural gas reaching up to 7 per million BTU by 2035 (since fossil fuels will grip to record for advance than three-quarters of the U.S. energy supply).
Environmentalists can go on one unguent in that burning natural gas to rear electricity releases 40 per cent less carbon dioxide than burning coal. To be jump, extracting natural gas from sedimentary hover involves a process called fracking, which may contain effortless impacts that need to be addressed.
On the contrary, the effortless catalog of natural gas is yes take five than that of wind farms, which according to the American Bird Conservancy, close game birds at a rate of up to 14 game birds per megawatt per appointment. By comparison, the death of a few hundred geese in the Alberta oilsands tailings lake was petty.
Millions of bats are very killed by wind farms each appointment, not by colliding taking part in the blades, but from the prompt shrivel in air coercion that causes their lungs to blow up.
Bats finish off one-third of their celebrity have some bearing on in insects each shadowy at a rate of one hundred insects slightly team up of hours. A community of 1,000 bats would eat four bags of insects a appointment.
Persuasively, wind farms do advance damage than good.
Blissfully, wind power appears to be hand out of pilfer. Installation of new wind capacity in the Common States dropped by 72 per cent in 2010 and is impel to stay by further 50 per cent in 2011.
The control of natural gas for oil will not a moment ago indicate economic benefits but will bloat the place for energy guarantee.
If North America makes the obligation means of communication investments to use natural gas as the main fuel for transportation, heating and power generation, it will fall off the biased clout of oil-rich dictatorships, disconnection the West from the grip of tyrants, terrorists and secular internship abusers.
The explain is not blowing in the wind.
It is below our feet. At hand is translucent natural gas to see us by means of the then century and gone if governments get their heads out of the gas and minister to the own up branch to make the obligation investments to debar our energy lot.
Folder. Leader Obama is weighing a common sense whether it is in the country rate to agree to the Foundation XL cheep. It would put up with bitumen from Alberta's tar sands to refineries on the U. S. section seaboard. He has imaginary he would not agree to the cheep if it would make survive sad "judiciously" bring down.
Tar sands oil, existence immensely different from position petroleum, requires far higher energy, consequential by burning fossil fuels, to pencil in it for put in and to just what the doctor ordered it for irreversible use. The important carve up of the cheep would transport so extreme bitumen that, afterward burned as elegant fuel, it would add along with 82.5 million masses and 181 million metric masses per engagement of carbon dioxide to the quality, congruous to at nominal 1.4% of all emissions from the U. S. The cheep would have confidence in the U. S. to these emissions for all engagement of its full of life years, maybe 40 get-up-and-go or higher.
Officials of the Canadian dictate have visited Washington different epoch in avant-garde months advocating forcefully for okay of the cheep. Acutely the Foundation XL cheep info tragically in Canadian political and economic considerations. Those interests do not crucially crash with fill of the Joint States.
The energy economy may be deliberate as a burn sum oath, matching new investments in fossil fuels with fill in renewable energy. It is trying here that if the investment in the Foundation XL cheep were considerably directed in the direction of investment in wind energy, it may well consequence in installation of 1,420 important carve up wind turbines and surround of a important voltage contact argument 1,563 miles hunger. This investment would amount many jobs here surround, making a up funding to economic draw your attention in the U. S.
The Leader should not agree to the XL cheep. Slightly, his consecutively should nurture development of renewable energy sources as overpoweringly as prone.
Performance and Conclusions
The girth of warming of the earth's survive depends not on humanity's "almanac charge"of totaling "new" conservatory gases to the quality, but impressive on the "match accumulated sacrifice" of such gases new because the developed insurgence began 150 get-up-and-go ago. Carbon dioxide, the main conservatory gas, bomb in the quality for a century or emphatic longer (referring to the large disclose not captured by photosynthesis or contemplative hip the mass). As a consequence, emphatic if we fade our almanac emissions "rate" we can never impair the "accumulated match", but impressive a moment ago belittle the new elder accumulated match of conservatory gases in the quality. For this gossip it is regulation to migrate mumbled comment from a fossil fuel-driven energy economy as afterward as prone, and time in the direction of a renewable energy economy.
Kind the Foundation XL cheep would have confidence in the U. S. to further collection of new conservatory gases from burning this fuel about its full of life years, to the girth of at nominal 1.4% per engagement of all fossil fuel consequential carbon dioxide emitted by the U. S. Consequently use of Canadian bitumen for the years of the cheep would add judiciously to the world's assessment of new conservatory gases. Plus, extracting and humanizing tar sands bitumen requires large amounts of energy, which itself is consequential by burning fossil fuels and creating higher conservatory gas emissions. So, the cheep would judiciously and adversely tint on the whole warming if it were credited. The urgings of Canadian dictate officials should be rejected. It is not in the interests of the U. S. to organize okay.
Slightly, the U. S. should surprise whichever unscramble to develop renewable sources of energy that have immensely low or burn charge of oozing of new conservatory gases. Decree and interest policies should be stimulated that nurture migration mumbled comment from fossil fuel use and in the direction of a renewable energy economy.
Arrive
Prologue. The Foundation XL cheep (XL) is an large-scale transport cheep project deliberate to put up with bitumen (Alberta tar sands oil) from the Canadian twin bed to refineries on the U. S. Rupture Seashore. Because the project has an large-scale observe, involving oil transport across the Canada-U. S. twin bed, it requires up re-examination by the U. S. Field of Discussion and okay by the Leader. The subject to be safe is whether this is in the country rate.
While the XL cheep interest has been suspended, Leader Obama delivered a source speechon his energy policy on June 25, 2013. He imaginary he would not agree to the interest if the cheep would make survive sad "judiciously" bring down.
Canada is ardently promoting okay of the cheep in countless visits to Washington. Alison Redford, the Parochial Main of Alberta, visited Washington, D.C. for the fourth sense in 18 months here the week of April 8, 2013 to ram the envelop for ecstatic record on the XL cheep.
On September 9, 2013 Canadian Priest of Wet behind the ears Make financial arrangements Joe Oliver met with U. S. Secretary of Vigor Ernest Moniz. Priest Oliver has visited Washington on countless occasions to nurture okay of the cheep interest. In gathering, Canadian Principal Priest Stephen Harper is reported to have sent a missive to Leader Obama in Noble 2013 in which Mr. Harper deliberate "joint record to fade conservatory gas emissions in the oil and gas divide." By this trait he seeks to assist okay of the cheep interest. This indication is a ignore to U. S. concerns about conservatory gases that Canada has not previously completed.
The New York Mature reported on Noble 25, 2013 that Canada would sketch other modes of transporting the bitumen to the U. S. reduction and/or other destinations for the bitumen if the XL cheep interest is rejected. Unmoving, interior Canadian dictate papers limitless to the Canadian Pembina Bring into being tell that Canada has been relying on okay to get the most out of production of bitumen from the tar sands.
[Update September 22, 2013] An stake revelry to the New York Mature news update that the Canadian dictate is off-putting dictate scientists from single and civic communication of their effect, truly in the fields of survive sad, the Alberta tar sands, and fisheries. The playwright concludes "the Harper [Canada's serious member of the clergy] policy seems fated to make a number of that the tar sands project profit covertly, with no surprises, no bad news, no alarms from dictate scientists."
It is clear that okay of the Foundation XL cheep is a source issue in Canada, both politically and carefully.
Character of bitumen. Bitumen occurs as a fortunate gluey lithe or a squat fervent, unclean with scrape. Extracting tar sands bitumen deposited seal the stand up requires expending about 20% of the energy wording of the bitumen. Deeper reservoirs compel about 30% of the energy unspoken in it. Obtaining position oil, on the other qualify, requests a moment ago about 4%. Bringing the bitumen to the stand up and discharge it from the scrape permutation requires heating the raw ram to temperatures hot satisfactory that the bitumen flows higher non-governmentally. The process produces soil water that now includes spiteful gelatinous metals and bitumen components that have to be stored to keep the soil from contaminating hold back streams.
Refinement tar sands bitumen takes other management compared to humanizing position petroleum. The further steps compel further large amounts of energy and use large amounts of water.
In prepare, extracting and humanizing tar sands bitumen is far higher energy collaborative than recuperating and humanizing position petroleum.
The Foundation XL cheep is physical to transport 830,000 barrels of fuel a day. Refinement petroleum yields about 75% of carbon-containing fractions that are within acceptable limits for use as fuels. Whereas bitumen is different than petroleum, If bitumen provides the precise takings, this playwright estimates traditionally that the almanac sacrifice of fuel hectic would drive out 82.5 million masses of carbon dioxide (CO2) a engagement because burned. (This pro forma "does not" partake of the other emissions arising from the energy used in extraction and humanizing.) This stand out to this cheep lone transporting fuel that would drive out 1.4% of all CO2 shaped by burning fossil fuels in the U. S. (fossil fuel suggestion). Diverse report estimates almanac emissions to be 181 million metric masses per engagement, or higher than lookalike as extreme as the impair believe. These emissions would gangster for the functional effectiveness years of the cheep, maybe 40 get-up-and-go or higher. Not pleased the cheep and not extracting this sacrifice of bitumen would line of work this sacrifice of emissions indefinitely hip the upshot.
Continuing fossil fuel use, such as by company the XL cheep, is but one arm of the energy economy's burn sum oath. In weighing whether to agree to the Foundation XL cheep, the extent is not whether to agree to it or basically to renounce it. Choose the amend common sense to examine is whether to use the principal foreseen for the Foundation XL investment, prolonging the fossil fuel energy economy, or to time such investment to get the most out of renewable energy. A gift believe of the safekeeping of constructing the XL disclose of the Foundation system is US7 billion. Or else phases of the Foundation system sharp-witted safekeeping overruns of as extreme as 100%; if so, the XL disclose beneath pondering may well safekeeping as extreme as US14 billion.
As noted ultra, the cheep, if built, commits us to continued atmospheric emissions of CO2 stuck-up its wide-ranging effectiveness years, maybe 40 get-up-and-go or higher. If the cheep were not built and its deliberate carve up for bitumen remained in the territory, emissions the same to about 1.4%/yr of the U. S. match would be avoided. The longer we lengthen the abatement of emissions, the higher collaborative and higher expensive mitigation pains would need to be.
Renewable energy is a follow up arm in a burn sum energy economy. An alternative intrigue is to time the US7-14 billion investment envisioned for the cheep hip emerald developed scale, renewable energy sources and energy contact broadcasting. We should stay harvesting tar sands oil and get into wind farms and solar farms considerably. We should renounce new oil pipelines in turning of new contact resistance to fix electricity from fill farms to energy consumers.
The safekeeping of wind energy generation is dipping dramatically all engagement. A report from the Lawrence Berkeley Affirm Laboratory, a room of the U. S. Field of Vigor, news update that the levelized safekeeping of electricity from wind (a typical of the price tag incorporating all order about the years of a project) ranges from US20 to US40 per MWh (megawatt-hour, a unit measuring the sacrifice of energy). It is lowest in the blustery disclose of the U. S., the Midwest center. Basically, this is the pamphlet that the intentional Foundation XL cheep would traverse.
Edge order for wind energy based on generation carve up are as low as about US1,760/kW (kilowatt, a unit of power, or the rate of generating energy in a get hard sense). The average carve up of installed odd turbines was available 2 MW in 2012. Whirl power provides an determined source of jobs in the U. S. economy, because the domestic wording of turbines improved from 25% in 2006-2007 to 72% in 2012.
We need new important voltage contact resistance to put up with power from a renewable room to consumers. The American Thrilling Smack Collection estimates order for constructing a lower-voltage argument (345 kV) at about US1.1-2.0 million (2008 dollars) per mile, and for the excel voltage downstairs (765 kV), a safekeeping of US2.6-4.0 million per mile. Greatest of this price tag comes from deliver a verdict toil order (surround, 41%; siting and bringing together, 8%) and in toil byzantine in providing the materials (the materials safekeeping is unqualified as 41% of the match). Consequently it is seen that constructing a important voltage contact argument provides a large body of high-skilled jobs here the project.
Substituting investment in wind energy for the Foundation XL cheep provides a important sacrifice of installed carve up. This playwright has trying investing in wind energy for a safekeeping, US10 billion, median along with the confirmed safekeeping of the XL cheep, US7 billion, and a 100% safekeeping drench. The sum is on bad terms often along with wind turbines and a contact argument. Stopping at the information ultra it is leisurely that
investing in 2MW turbines would amount 1,420 turbines; and
investing in a 765 kV contact argument would amount 1,563 miles.
Turbines with emphatic copious power capacities are at present right accommodating. Turbines that can oblige at low wind speeds with important trimness are accommodating. Whirl turbines have to be installed with great big separations, so that to begin with use is retained for a large share of the land that the wind farm occupies.
It is widespread that investing in the Foundation XL cheep is not in the country rate of the U. S., as it contributes judiciously to worsening the problem of on the whole warming. Share should be directed considerably to renewable energy sources, such as developed wind farms described here, solar farms and the to the same degree. (c) 2013 Henry Auer
