CSLF News (Archives)
The CSLF Secretariat will only archive the CSLF News as far back as five (5) business days.
March 10, 2010
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
NRG Energy to get up to $154M from government to install carbon dioxide ...
Dallas Morning News – March 10
NRG Energy Inc. won up to $154 million in funding from the Department of Energy to install a system to capture carbon dioxide from a coal-fired power plant.
Clean coal? Obama OKs $154 million project to capture carbon
USA Today – March 10
Can coal really be clean? Environmentalists may be skeptical, but President Obama is moving ahead with efforts to create non-polluting coal.
Fluor, Babcock & Wilcox form alliance
The Associated Press – March 10
Fluor Corp. and Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. said Tuesday they have formed an alliance to market and sell carbon dioxide capture systems for coal-fired power plants.
SNC Lavalin awarded Saskatchewan carbon capture project
Journal of Commerce – March 10
SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Sequestration Demonstration Project.
Smokestash Industry: ARPA-E Seeks Breakthroughs in Carbon Capture Technology
Scientific American – March 9
The key to this metabolic process is an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase and it's efficiency at capturing and releasing CO2 is what human engineers want to mimic at the power plant scale. Research engineer Harry Cordatos and his colleagues at United Technologies Corp. (UTC) are working on just such a system—and have garnered funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's new ARPA-E program.
Global CCS Institute encourages more industrial applications
New Energy Focus – March 9
Carbon capture and storage must expand beyond the energy sector into construction and manufacturing if it is to truly figure in reducing emissions, according to the senior vice president of the Global CCS Institute, which aims to spearhead the development of the technology worldwide.
Climate Change
UN to review errors made by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Times Online – March 10
The United Nations is to announce an independent review of errors made by its climate change advisory body in an attempt to restore its credibility.
China tells US to do more on climate change
The Associated Press – March 10
China told the United States on Wednesday to make stronger commitments on climate change and provide environmental expertise and financing to developing nations.
Obama, Key Senators Make Their Pitch for Climate and Energy Bill
New York Times – March 10
Closed-door talks extended to both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue yesterday as President Obama, key senators and industry officials searched for an elusive agreement on comprehensive energy and climate change legislation.
India, China to formally back Copenhagen Accord
Economic Times – March 10
India and China have decided to formally back the Copenhagen Accord worked out at the climate summit in December. While neither India nor China have said that they would ‘associate’ with the accord, both countries have agreed to have their names listed in the preamble. The move would come as boost to the accord. With this the four BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, Indian and China — which were key players in formulating the accord have agreed to be listed in the chapeau.
DOE Chief Urges Energy Leaders to Accept Curbs on Greenhouse Gases
New York Times – March 9
Energy Secretary Steven Chu told participants at a major energy industry gathering here today that they need to accept a limit on carbon pollution and start finding ways to meet it.
March 9, 2010
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Energy Secretary Chu Fields Questions at ECO:nomics
Triple Pundit – March 9
Is there such thing as “Clean Coal?” If you capture the sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, mercury, particulate matter, and 90% of the CO2, Chu responded, “is it pristine clean coal? No, but it’s much much cleaner.”
Drax joins talks over carbon capture and storage project
Yorkshire Post – March 9
THE owner of Britain's biggest coal-fired power station has embarked on feasibility studies into the use of carbon capture and storage after joining talks with the regional development agency to help develop its £2bn carbon cluster project.
Proposed coal gasification plant in W. Ky. receives permit
Louisville Courier-Journal – March 9
State environmental regulators have granted an air-quality permit for a proposed Western Kentucky plant that would use coal to make natural gas.
Climate Change
EU 'imports' a third of its carbon emissions
BBC News – March 9
Rich countries including several EU nations are "importing" about a third of their CO2 emissions, says a study.
EU May Cancel Carbon Allowance Auctions if Price Falls Too Low
Environmental Leader – March 8
As part of a plan to centralize carbon emissions allowances auctions, the European Union may suspend auctions if allowance prices fall “abnormally low,” according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Global warming doubts could hamper climate legislation
Christian Science Monitor – March 8
A recent poll suggests that high-profile controversies regarding climate science are weakening public confidence in the validity of global warming, And that could endanger congressional efforts to pass climate legislation.
EU says loopholes may hasten climate change
Montreal Gazette – March 9
Loopholes in United Nations climate treaties could actually lead to an increase in global climate-warming emissions and the chance to rein in temperatures may be slipping away, a draft European Union report showed.
'No reason for US to wait India on climate change'
Press Trust of India – March 9
The US should not wait for India and China to act on climate change and should go ahead with its environmental protection activities in terms of legislation besides research and development, a top official of the Obama Administration has said.
Germany casts doubt on 2010 climate change deal
BusinessWeek – March 8
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is not sure whether there will be a global climate change deal this year setting binding emissions targets for the time beyond 2012.
March 8, 2010
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
FutureGen project may still get off the ground this spring
Effingham Daily News – March 6
After a false start several years ago, a leading economic development professional in Coles County told a group of Effingham-area business leaders the long-awaited FutureGen project may get off the ground this spring.
Group vows to fight greenhouse gas burial
Muncie Star Press – March 8
Randolph County is home to a landfill, an ethanol plant, a sudden increase in hog farms and two potential wind farms. But if the state tries to deploy a new technology (carbon dioxide sequestration) in Randolph County to combat global warming, it will be met with strong resistance.
Decision due in contest for carbon capture site
Press and Journal – March 8
A major step forward is expected to be taken this week in a contest aimed at paving the way for the creation of thousands of jobs in the north-east storing carbon under the sea.
Is Calera attracting coal industry interest?
FT.com (blog) – March 8
Forget Bloom Energy. According to Thomas Friedman’s latest column, the new new thing in clean tech this week will be Calera, a Californian start-up that has developed a way to turn CO2 captured from coal- and gas-fired plants into calcium carbonate, by spraying it with seawater or bubbling it through seawater, according to an 18-month old Scientific American story, which has more on the technology itself.
This Week In CCS News: AEP Is Bullish On West Virginia Test Project
Treehugger – March 8
The great hope of those who want coal to remain at the center of our energy mix--CCS--received special attention this week from Mike Morris, head of American Electric Power, the nation's largest utility. At a conference sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, Morris touted the progress of AEP's test carbon capture and sequestration project in West Virginia. The project, which is backed by Department of Energy funding, is now capturing and storing about 2 percent of the emissions from the New Haven coal-fired power plant.
Climate Change
Siberian Methane Could Fast-Track Global Warming
Atlantic Online – March 5
Unexpectedly huge quantities of Siberian methane are being released into the atmosphere, according to a new study.
IMF floats climate change fund idea
The Press Association – March 8
Global financier the International Monetary Fund has switched its attention to the environment with a plan for the world's governments to pool together to raise money needed to adapt to climate change.
Congress Proposes to Suspend EPA's Greenhouse Gas Regulatory Power
Eco Factory – March 8
Senator Jay Rockefeller has introduced legislation to impose a two-year moratorium on the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants and other stationary emitters.
March 5, 2010
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
AEP Chief Wants to Expand Sequestration Project in W.Va.
New York Times – March 5
A carbon capture and sequestration project started in West Virginia last year is working and ready to be ramped up to a level that would pump significant levels of carbon into formations several miles below the Earth's surface, said the chief executive of American Electric Power Co. Inc.
SaskPower chooses SNC Lavalin-Cansolv for uncertain Boundary Dam CO2 capture ...
Regina Leader-Post – March 5
The Boundary Dam clean-coal demonstration project took another step towards reality Wednesday when SaskPower announced SNC Lavalin-Cansolv had been chosen to provide the carbon capture technology for the $1.4-billion project.
Carbon sequestration: terrifying or not?
Winchester News Gazette – March 4
Carbon sequestration involves putting carbon dioxide (CO2) deep in the ground under great pressure in order to keep out of the air a major contributor to greenhouse gases. Is it a new approach to an increasing pollution problem or is it a terrifying possibility?
Chinese coal remedies (2)
chinadialogue – March 4
The global community can – and must – help China overcome the obstacles to a carbon capture revolution, argues the Natural Resources Defense Council.
California Energy Leaders Launch Coalition to Advance Capture and Storage of ...
Business Wire (press release) – March 4
Energy organizations with an interest in advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) in California will announce the launch of a new statewide coalition to foster CCS development and deployment.
Carbon sequestration being studied in Wisconsin
FOX 21 Online – March 4
A state task force is recommending more exploration of storing power plant emissions underground, but members admit the idea faces many hurdles.
Foster Wheeler Awarded CFB Boiler Contract for CO2 Capture Development Plant ...
MarketWatch (press release) – March 5
Foster Wheeler announced today that a subsidiary of its Global Power Group has been awarded a contract by Fundacion Ciudad de la Energia, an institution created by the Spanish Government, for the design and supply of a circulating fluidized-bed unit for testing Foster Wheeler's Flexi-Burn carbon capturing CFB technology. This unit will be part of CIUDEN's Integrated Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technology Development Plant located near Endesa's Compostilla power plant in Ponferrada, Spain.
ScottishPower to get share of £1bn carbon research fund
Scotsman – March 5
A SCOTTISH power station is expected to be given a share of tens of millions of pounds of government funding next week to develop technology for catching and storing carbon dioxide emissions.
Climate Change
Methane leak from Arctic Shelf may be much larger and faster than anticipated
Oneindia – March 5
An international team of scientists has found that the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, long thought to be an impermeable barrier sealing in methane, is perforated and is starting to leak large amounts of methane into the atmosphere.
Lawmakers move to restrain EPA on climate change
Washington Post – March 5
As climate change legislation stalled in the Senate, the Obama administration noted that it had a workable -- although admittedly unwieldy -- Plan B. If Congress wouldn't cap U.S. emissions, officials said, the Environmental Protection Agency would do it instead. Now, even Plan B may be in trouble.
Democrats Revolt Over Energy
Wall Street Journal – March 5
President Barack Obama's energy strategy came under attack on at least three fronts Thursday, highlighting the conflict that has hobbled one of the administration's top domestic priorities.
Climate change human link evidence 'stronger'
BBC News – March 5
A review from the UK Met Office says it is becoming clearer that human activities are causing climate change.
Utilities May Go First With Carbon Rules, Crane Says
BusinessWeek – March 4
U.S. power companies may be willing to go first with new rules to curb greenhouse-gas pollution as long as they don’t have to go alone, NRG Energy Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Crane said.
March 4, 2010
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Clean Coal Technology A Step Closer
980 CJME News Talk Radio – March 4
Saskatchewan is one step closer to green power. Work on an actual carbon capture demonstration is beginning.
SNC Lavalin-Cansolv joins Saskatchewan effort to capture carbon
The Canadian Press – March 4
SNC Lavalin-Cansolv is joining an effort to transform an aging unit at a Saskatchewan power station into a source of clean electricity.
Sask. finance minister hopes fed budget will include money for carbon capture
The Canadian Press – March 4
Saskatchewan Finance Minister Rod Gantefoer says he would like to see money in the federal budget for his province's carbon capture projects.
Carbon dioxide injection under way in Alabama EOR pilot project
Oil & Gas Journal – March 3
A project team has begun to inject carbon dioxide into Alabama’s Citronelle field as part of a $7.9 million pilot project to determine whether the field is ideal for simultaneous enhanced oil recovery and CO2 storage, the US Department of Energy said on Mar. 1.
SRI wins $4.5M carbon capture study contract
Bizjournals.com – March 3
SRI International won a $4.5 million Department of Energy contract to study ways to cut pollution at power plants.
Could burning coal underground take Clean Coal Ltd in too deep?
The Guardian – March 4
King coal is ready for a British comeback in a form that sounds more like medieval hellfire than an energy source for the 21st century. But could it be green? The stakes are high – not least because the company behind the plan has captured the high ground in environmental marketing by calling itself Clean Coal Limited.
Tenaska: Taylorville advanced coal plant could cost $3.5 billion
Electric Light & Power – March 3
Power plant developer Tenaska said its planned 602 MW Taylorville coal to gas-fired power plant would cost about $3.5 billion and enter service in 2014. The power plant design uses carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, and would capture more than half of the greenhouse gases produced. Tenaska said the plant’s emissions would be comparable to a natural gas-fired plant of similar size.
Carbon capture mission
The Engineer – March 3
Honeywell-owned Des Plaines, Illinois-based UOP has been awarded $1.5m (£1m) from the US Department of Energy for a project that aims to demonstrate technology to capture carbon dioxide and produce algae for use in biofuel and energy production.
Climate Change
Editorial: Congress, not EPA, should regulate carbon emissions
The Detroit News – March 4
Many in Congress are beginning to push back hard against the Environmental Protection Agency's assertion that greenhouse gases -- including carbon dioxide -- are a public health danger. The regulations that would accompany this finding could be ruinous to the struggling economy. Congress should simply overturn the finding.
Brazil, US sign agreement to combat climate change
People's Daily Online – March 4
Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed on Wednesday in Brasilia a memorandum of understanding on cooperation regarding climate change.
Glacier melting a key clue to tracking climate change
Reuters – March 4
The world has become far too hot for the aptly named Exit Glacier in Alaska.
EPA would require permits to spur biggest polluters to cut emissions
Dallas Morning News – March 4
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to require that power plants, refineries and other major sources of global-warming pollution get permits beginning in 2011 that would require them to cut emissions, the agency's leader said Wednesday.
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