'On the verge of an energy revolution'
New technologies set to move world from coal dependence, study finds
By Ken Ward Jr., SundayGazeteMail.Com, December 28, 2008
Read the report.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- New technologies will move the world economy away from coal and other fossil fuels much more rapidly than experts from the energy industry would have the public believe, according to a new study by the Worldwatch Institute.
Hundreds of old coal-fired power plants that provide 40 percent of the world's power could be retired in the process, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions, while creating millions of new jobs, the study asserted.
"We are on the verge of an energy revolution," said Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch and author of the report, "Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap," issued earlier this month.
Worldwatch, a nonprofit that follows environmental and poverty issues, argues that reducing dependence on fossil fuels will not only "strike a defiant blow to the climate crisis," but also act "as an agent of recovery for an ailing global economy."
The 49-page report disputes arguments from coal industry advocates who say the world's energy future must be based mostly on finding ways to capture greenhouse emissions from coal-fired plants and pump those emissions underground.
"While these technologies are advancing, together with advances in modeling and monitoring of geological sites, full-scale commercial [carbon capture and storage] systems are still a long way off," the Worldwatch report said. "And a vast physical infrastructure will be needed to capture, move and store the emissions from even a fraction of today's fossil fuels combustion."
The report found that government-sponsored carbon capture research projects in the United States, the European Union, Japan and China have moved at a "surprisingly lethargic" pace "given the urgency of the climate problem and the fact that much of the power industry is counting on CCS [carbon capture and storage] to allow them to continue burning massive amounts of coal.
"How large a role CCS ultimately plays in a low-carbon economy will depend on how much it costs, and whether governments and industries are able to successfully mobilize the massive infrastructure that will be required," the study said.
Meanwhile, the Worldwatch study said, there are concrete steps the world could be taking to transition to a low-carbon economy:
- Make buildings more efficient - Buildings consume about 40 percent of global energy and emit a comparable share of carbon dioxide emissions. More efficient lighting and appliances and improved walls and windows could reduce energy use in buildings by 70 percent or more, with the investment paid for via lower energy bills.
- Improve efficiency of power plants - Two-thirds of the energy contained in the fuel for most power plants is converted to waste heat or lost in distribution. Combined heat and power systems can reduce those losses to less than 20 percent and provide the U.S. with 150 gigawatts of generating capacity - more than nuclear power now provides.
- Expand wind power - In 2007, wind power represented 40 percent of new generating capacity installations in Europe and 35 percent in the United States. Wind power now costs less than 6 cents per kilowatt-hour on average, less than natural gas and roughly even with coal.
"We no longer need to say 'in the future' when talking about a low-carbon energy system," Flavin said. "These technologies - unlike carbon-capture facilities - are being deployed now and are poised to make the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels obsolete."
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