Windfarms More Efficient than Biofuels?

- by Aidan Harrison, December 5, 2014, Northumberland Gazette

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"337","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"320","style":"width: 333px; height: 222px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","width":"480"}}]]Its obsession with ‘markets’ has already placed our railways and utilities in the hands of big foreign state and corporate-owned monopolies.

The first thing to make clear is that the technology of wind power is nothing like as inefficient as its fanatical detractors claim.

In terms of energy returned on energy invested (EROEI), it is better than nuclear and shale gas, yet safe and clean.

It is infinitely more energy-efficient than utilising good farmland for biofuel production. Ninety-seven per cent of the dash for turbines is outside the UK, with such politically diverse places as China, Chile and Texas piling into wind power. Can the rest of the world really be so wrong?

The latest figures show that in October, Scotland’s wind turbines produced more Kw/hrs than the country consumed.

Yes, they receive taxpayer support, but only a tiny fraction of the money which our Government has promised to France and Communist China for building two nuclear power stations in Somerset.

Incinerator in Frederick, MD Canceled After Decade-Long Fight

- by Patrice Gallagher, No Incinerator Alliance

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"331","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"320","style":"width: 333px; height: 222px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: No Incinerator Alliance","width":"480"}}]]On November 20, 2014, Frederick County, Maryland's Board of County Commissioners cancelled plans to build a 1500 ton-per-day waste-to-energy incinerator, ending a 10 year citizens' effort to kill the project and put better alternatives for community waste management in place.

The vote was 3 to 2, and all three who voted to cancel had previously supported the project.

As a citizen activist who has fought this project since 2006, it feels great to finally be able to put this terrible idea to rest, and begin to help our county focus on more recycling, repurposing and composting — perhaps in the form of a Resource Recovery Park, as many other communities around the nation are doing successfully.

How did we do it? I suppose the best answer I can give for this is: persistence. The organized opposition got its start with one woman who decided to educate herself and any other interested citizens by inviting to our community a national expert on sustainable waste management. He made a lot of sense to us... much more sense than those advocating for a large incinerator project — the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority.

We began as a loose coalition of activists from many walks of life, most of whom had no knowledge or experience in waste management, but who educated ourselves along the way and were fortunate to eventually attract national experts and environmental organizations (including Energy Justice Network), engineers, lawyers and accountants to our ranks, who shared their expertise with us and helped us make the case against incineration, and in favor of other more economically and environmentally sound ways to think about our waste as a resource to be reused, not burned.

From Shock to Victory: The Planet’s “Immune System” at Work

- by Jan Baty, Newark Residents Against the Power Plant

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"335","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 318px; height: 480px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;"}}]]As I saw Alex Lotorto (campus and community organizer for Energy Justice Network) step out of his car, unloading materials for the meeting he was to lead at my house, I had a flash back to how I had discovered the Energy Justice Network. In Newark Delaware, residents had taken on the enormous task of stopping a project the University of Delaware was considering, a data center power plant, proposed by The Data Centers, LLC (TDC), to be built in the heart of this college town and the university, at a former Chrysler plant site. The plans for the power plant had now grown to 279 megawatts —at least two times larger than any other on-site power generation facility at data centers in the US.

News of this proposal had been kept tightly under wraps for over a year by City of Newark staff, TDC, the State of DE and the University of DE until June 2013, when the CEO of TDC approached the local Sierra Club chapter seeking an endorsement for this project as being “green.” The alarm was raised by the directors, Stephanie Herron and Amy Rowe.

An official resident’s group was formed, Newark Residents Against the Power Plant (NRAPP), which by now had hundreds of members and dozens of working groups and neighborhood groups across Newark. Much effort was going into persuading city council to withdraw their support of this proposal. City council meetings were filled with passionate statements by citizens, including revelations of results from FOIA requests, and uncovered information about TDC’s plans. There was a continuous stream of letters to the editor of the Wilmington News Journal.  Knowing how long it often takes for governments to respond, some of us were eager to pour our energy into educating university faculty, and students about this —since most knew nothing about it!  We realized that if given enough pressure the University could certainly stop this project.

We formed a group of residents, faculty, and students, which became a resource for motivating the university community. Faculty (mostly in environmental studies) began reaching out to colleagues—students were quick to connect with environmental and other student organizations. 

I remembered an environmental lawyer I had met in Washington, DC. Perhaps he would know of a regional organization that could help us learn about how to make a difference on campus, that was also documenting evidence about the dangers of ‘natural’gas. We had a brief conversation. “Here’s Ralph Nader’s phone number. Call him.”I did. After leaving a message about our needs, I received a short message back. I could hear a humming sound of other people talking in the background, and a man’s voice in a hoarse whisper said “Energy justice.net …Mike Ewall”, and gave me his phone number. Feeling somewhat like a character in a detective novel, I phoned Mike.  What a relief to connect with this organization and to find out what a resource they are.  A later conversation with Alex revealed that he was traveling to DC and could stop on the way to give us a presentation.  Support was showing up.

Alex is a person of considerable warmth, intelligence, humor, courage and dedication. I cannot imagine surviving with what he takes in stride day after day. His presentation was organized around how to take an increasing complexity of information and possibilities and organize that into a more usable context. One chart, “The Midwest Academy Strategy Chart”, had five headings: GOALS, RESOURCES, PEOPLE, TARGETS, and TACTICS. 

As we organized our conversations around these, we began to realize how much we were already doing, and how to strengthen the contacts we were making. For all of us, this meeting gave us courage. There was a larger supportive world out there.

A series of actions and events evolved. 

•    We set up a Google group for sharing information, and a local Episcopal church offered us meeting space near campus for our increasing number of meetings with students.

•    We started planning a Teach-In on campus for the spring semester, which would present spokespeople from the residents, the TDC, and environmental faculty from the university.  This eventually happened and was a great success. 

•    A few people designed a White Board video presentation, (with hand drawings and a voice - over explaining the dangers of this project), that went viral.  

•    A number of concerned faculty wrote dynamic letters explaining their opposition to the project for the student newspaper. 

•    We were interested also in educating students to the Indigenous perspective. An opportunity opened up when a visiting outside environmental group traveling from campus to campus to raise level of awareness regarding environmental concerns, gave us space for a presentation at a free student dinner. We were able to invite two presenters, Dennis Coker, the Lenape Indian Chief and Amy Rowe, one of the founding members of NRAPP. Amy’s message was about the excitement of becoming an activist with heart. Dennis spoke of the importance in native tradition, of “Everything done for the community…A simple life…respect for self extending to respect for others and the planet.”

•    Out of that gathering came students’suggestion to have a rally on the main campus green (this was the first time since the 80’s when something like this had been done) where they cut out silvery grey strips of fabric donated to us —representing smoke—and waved them around as they danced in a circle, chanting enthusiastically.  Even some professors chimed in.

As NRAPP began taking a more active role on campus in addition to all of their speaking out at city council meetings, continual FOIA requests, and pointing out inaccuracies in the TDC’s continually changing proposals, they organized letter writing to the board of trustees, and alumni.  To create a strong presence at Decision Days on campus (when perspective students and parents would be visiting), the need for striking banners became clear. I went around to local hotels, asking for old sheets and then found people to make dramatic banners we could hold, one of them saying “Which Future Do We Deserve?”with smokestacks carefully painted on one side and flowers on the other.

And one more event that I found particularly moving—for the last board of trustees meeting before the summer break, students were asked to make and hold ‘Selfies’containing their picture, what they were studying and that they were in opposition to the power plant. What a feeling it was to come into the foyer from the parking garage to find a circle of young people standing quietly--their presence and statements saying it all. Certainly even a board of trustees would be moved by that!!

By May, as the momentum of concern within the town and the university continued to grow, the faculty senate voted 43-0 against the power plant, saying that the plant would be inconsistent with the university’s core values and signed commitments to environmental sustainability. Then from a July 11 News Journal article came the welcome announcement that the University of DE had terminated its lease with TDC after a year long debate over green energy and economic development in Delaware. “After more than a year fighting the project, opponents celebrated, gathering outside Old College Hall on Main St., hoisting signs thanking UD for its decision.” NRAPP co-founder Amy Rowe was quoted as saying “I think the University has learned that the University and the community are partners.”

Many yearn for community—people helping each other with shared concerns for the planet, which is our home. Sometimes this community emerges due to a shared threat, and then the ongoing challenge is to keep growing community to build the “art of the possible.” The acronym NRAAP has now changed to Newark Residents Alliance Project. The ‘immune system’ of the planet seems to be working. Organizations and resources such as The Energy Justice Network are at its core. Thank you for all you do.

Ethanol Spill in Greensboro, North Carolina

- December 8, 2014, Biofuels International

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"328","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"359","style":"width: 333px; height: 283px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","width":"422"}}]]Firefighters in Greensboro, North Carolina, responded to a leaking tanker at a Ryder truck rental facility.

Approximately 2,000 gallons of ethanol spilled in an accident in south Greensboro North Carolina.

A tanker filled with ethanol burst after the landing gear, which is used to keep the trailer upright when not hooked to a tractor gave way.

Additional city crews with heavy equipment were called in to dig a pit to contain the fuel.

Crews placed large containers under the tanker to capture some of the fuel.

Firefighters moved the rest of the remaining fuel from the damaged tanker to a second tanker.

Census Bureau Releases Biomass Incinerator Data

- by Erin Voegele, December 3, 2014, Biomass Magazine  

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"327","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 300px; height: 178px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: US Census Bureau"}}]]The U.S. Census Bureau recently released new economic census statistics on renewable energy, reporting that revenues for electric power generation industries that use renewable energy resources increased 49 percent from 2007 to 2012, reaching $9.8 billion. In 2007, revenue was only $6.6 billion. Biomass is among the four newly delineated industries addressed by the Census Bureau.

According to information released by the Census Bureau, the 2007 Economic Census included wind, geothermal, biomass, and solar electric power under the broad “other electric power generation” industry, under NAICS code 221119. By the 2012 Economic Census, those industries had been broken out separately, with the “other electric power generation” industry limited to only tidal electric power generation and other electric power generation facilities not elsewhere classified.

Over 1,200 New Biomass Incinerators to be Constructed Within the Next 10 Years?

- December 4, 2014, AltEnergyMag

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"326","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"360","style":"width: 333px; height: 250px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","width":"480"}}]]Electricity generation from solid biomass continues to increase throughout the world. In late 2013, around 2,800 operational power plants worldwide were incinerating biomass only or very large shares of this fuel. These plants had an electricity generation capacity of about 42 GWel. Additionally, around 350 fossil power plants were co-incinerating biomass. In 10 years, there will be approximately 4,100 active plants with a capacity of around 67 GWel. In 2014 alone, approximately 170 new power plants with electricity generation capacities of around 3.6 GWel will be constructed.

The subsidisation of renewable energies will remain the most important market factor for the development of electricity generation from biomass. Until early 2014, around 140 countries had introduced policies for such a subsidisation. Most of them also had schemes for electricity generation from solid biomass at that time. Vietnam, for instance, introduced a feed-in tariff for biomass electricity some months ago. Around 40 countries throughout the world have such compensations. Other countries have different support schemes. Columbia, for instance, has recently reduced the turnover tax on biomass electricity and Mexico has facilitated the access to the grid for this type of electricity.

New Law Will Make Biomass Heating Cheaper in Massachusetts

- by Shira Schoenberg, December 1, 2014, Mass Live

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"320","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 333px; height: 221px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: John Suchocki"}}]]A new law that goes into effect in January will make it cheaper to use renewable energy to heat a home – and could provide a boost to the wood industry in rural parts of Western Massachusetts.

"This is going to help (renewable) technologies compete with and replace oil-fired furnaces and other fossil fuels for use for heating ... and cooling," said David O'Connor, a former Massachusetts Commissioner of Energy Resources who is now senior vice president for energy and clean technology at ML Strategies and who lobbied for the law on behalf of the Massachusetts Forest Alliance.

The new law builds on an existing law that requires electricity suppliers to buy a certain amount of electricity from renewable energy sources. The electricity suppliers can fulfill this requirement by buying "renewable energy credits" from companies that produce electricity through renewable means. The new law creates renewable energy credits for the production of thermal energy – energy used for heating and cooling. This could include the use of solar panels, wood pellet stoves and boilers, geothermal heat pumps, and a range of technology that uses hot water, solar, biomass or other renewable energy forms to generate heat.

Commercial Use of Wood Energy is Heating Up

- by Michael Mccord, November 26, 2014, New Hampshire Business Review

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"318","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 320px; height: 480px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: New Hampshire Business Review"}}]]New Hampshire’s recently released 10-year energy strategy acknowledged an ongoing fact of life for the state’s commercial and residential sectors: New Hampshire imports 100 percent of its fossil fuels and natural gas. According to the NH Wood Energy Council, New Hampshire pays more than $1 billion annually to import heating oil, with a large chunk of that paid for by businesses, since the state’s commercial sector is the second most dependent on heating oil in the nation, just behind Maine.

As energy customers realized again last winter, this dependence makes the state vulnerable to wild market swings and, in the case of natural gas last winter, shortages due to limited pipeline infrastructure.

That’s why, among its many recommendations, the state’s energy strategy calls for a greater use of wood as a fuel source. Wood, the energy report says, “offers a promising alternative to home heating oil and other petroleum products, providing a much needed option to extend fuel choice to rural areas of the state. Since New Hampshire is one of the most forested states in the nation, wood also presents an opportunity to capitalize on locally‐produced resources, keeping money in state while promoting land conservation efforts.”

In fact, the growth of a wood/biomass heating alternative for commercial use has been an ongoing under-the-radar trend taking place in more rural areas of New Hampshire. Like the wood stove heating the general store a century ago, biomass heating in the forms of wood pellets and wood chips has become an economically viable option for larger-scale municipal, school and commercial operations.

Ethanol, Fighting for Its Life, Gets a Temporary Reprieve

- by Matthew Philips, November 24, 2014, Bloomberg Businessweek

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"314","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 333px; height: 222px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images"}}]]The ethanol industry just avoided a death blow. Rather than deciding to permanently lower the amount of renewable fuels that have to be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply, as it first proposed a year ago, the Environmental Protection Agency last week opted to wait until next year to decide. The delay (official notice here) means this year’s ethanol quotas won’t be set until 2015 and ensures they will be lower than the original mandate envisioned. That’s not great news for ethanol producers, but it gives them more time to fight and avoids an outcome that could have been far worse.

When Congress first passed the Renewable Fuel Standard during the George W. Bush years, it set out a schedule of yearly mandates that rose steeply with what it thought would be the country’s perpetually growing demand for gasoline. Biofuel production has tripled since then, into a $30 billion-a-year industry.

Commissioners Scrap Frederick, MD Incinerator Plan

- Associated Press, November 21, 2014, Herald-Mail

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"313","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 333px; height: 283px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;"}}]]The Frederick County Commissioners are scrapping plans for a waste-to-energy incinerator after more than five years of debate.

The Frederick News-Post reported that the board voted 3-2 Thursday night to cancel a contract with Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. for the $471 million project.

The board unanimously voted in favor of hauling the county's trash to an out-of-state landfill for up to five years.

The project suffered a blow in April when Carroll County pulled out of an agreement to jointly fund the project.

The incinerator had been planned for an industrial park south of Frederick near the Monocacy National Battlefield. Opponents, including the National Park Service, had argued it would pollute the air and water, and obstruct views from the Civil War site.