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    MNM Service What is it? Latest Edition Search Archive
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World Energy News From the Communications Centre Contributed by Aristide Mbiock IJmuiden, NL, 17th July 2000 - Ref.:0007art12 CO2
emissions report for U.S. offers mixed message CO2 emissions report for U.S. offers mixed message There is good news and bad news about carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels in the United States in 1999. The good news is that U.S. CO2 emissions went up 1 percent for 1999 compared to 1998, and this is below the 1.2 percent yearly average increase for the entire decade. In 1998, 1,495 millions metric tons of carbon were spewed into the air, while in 1999 the number rose to 1,511 million metric tons. The bad news is the increase for 1999 was almost an entire percentage point higher than that for 1998, which came in at .1 percent over 1997 levels. The transportation sector was responsible for the biggest rise in CO2 emissions in 1999, with an increase of 2.9 percent over 1998. This and other data are part of a report released last week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration containing preliminary estimates for CO2 emissions in the United States for 1999. "This information is important," said Perry Lindstrom of the EIA and lead author of the report, "because it's the first look at emissions data for 1999, and is a good indicator of total greenhouse gas emissions growth in 1999." EIA is an independent research arm of the U.S Department of Energy. "We have a memorandum of understanding with the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) to provide the underlying energy data," said Lindstrom. EIA data on greenhouse gases along with similar analyses from EPA are handed over every year to the U.S. State Department. The State Department then reports the numbers to the United Nations as required under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, where countries have agreed to do these inventories for the purposes of worldwide emissions policy. Carbon dioxide emissions from transportation, industry and commercial and residential use account for about 80 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gases. Other gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and CO2 from other sources contributed the remaining 20 percent. The transportation sector was responsible for the biggest rise in CO2 emissions in 1999 with a rise of 2.9 percent over the year before. This was due to a vigorous U.S. economy that encouraged travel and demanded the delivery of more goods, according to the EIA analyses. Vehicles are generally responsible for one-third of the CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. Energy-related industrial carbon dioxide emissions in 1999 increased by only 0.2 percent despite a surging economy, which may be due to less-than-expected growth in energy intensive industries such as metal, chemical, paper and petroleum production. Oddly, though, energy-related industrial carbon dioxide emissions in 1999 increased by only 0.2 percent despite a surging economy. EIA researchers suggest that such a small addition may be due to less-than-expected growth in energy intensive industries such as metal, chemical, paper and petroleum production. Perhaps the most interesting CO2 emission statistics are those related to the weather. Sizzling temperatures in the summer of 1999 sparked an increase in electricity use for air conditioning and caused the emission of 3 million more metric tons of carbon than the year before. However, this increase was more then offset when a warmer-than-usual 1999 winter significantly lowered the consumption of heating fuels. As a result, CO2 emissions related to winter fuel use decreased by 15 million metric tons in comparison to 1997. "Carbon dioxide emissions could have been up to 29 million metric tons higher had normal weather and non-fossil fuel generation patterns existed (in 1999)," said the report. Also in 1999, a record amount of nuclear power generation and above average hydroelectric power generation reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 17 million metric tons compared to 1998 due to the displacement of fossil fuel power generation. Nuclear power was responsible for a decrease of 12 million metric tons and hydroelectric power generation accounted for a reduction of 5 million metric tons. The EIA plans to refine its estimates of 1999 carbon dioxide emissions as more complete energy information becomes available. A final report on all greenhouse gas emissions for the United States in 1999 is due out in October. Engelhard and Shell Global Solutions Form Alliance to Design, Market, License Natural-Gas Conditioning Process ISELIN, N.J., & THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 2000: Engelhard Corporation and Shell Global Solutions International today announced an alliance in which the two companies are joining forces to design, market and license a new hydrocarbon dew pointing process for natural gas. The new process will enable natural gas to be conditioned and transported more cost effectively than existing technologies. The foundation of the alliance is a process that removes heavy hydrocarbons and water from natural gas onto a proprietary adsorbent based on Engelhard's unique Sorbead technology. The process changes the dew point of the gas, which enables it to be transported more economically. Another cost savings benefit is the recovery of heavy hydrocarbons. Use of Sorbead, which allows longer run times and reduces unplanned unit shutdowns, also contributes to overall cost efficiency. The joint team will draw on extensive application experience. Engelhard, which has been in the separations and purification business for more than 40 years, supplies its Sorbead adsorption technology to more than 200 natural-gas plants worldwide. In addition, the company has extensive technical and marketing expertise in this area. For many years Shell Global Solutions International has provided Shell operating companies with technical support for their natural gas plants that employ a silica gel hydrocarbon dew pointing process. Shell Global Solutions International also has developed tools to design and simulate the new hydrocarbon dew pointing process. "Shell's insight into this process and its strong market position in natural-gas-treating technologies - combined with Engelhard's extensive experience in adsorption technology applications - make this a natural pairing," Dr. Thomas Schulz, market manager and head of the alliance team for Engelhard. "Pooling our expertise and other resources with Engelhard will allow us to deliver enhanced value to natural-gas companies," says Pierre van Grinsven, gas treating business group manager and head of the Shell Global Solutions International alliance team. For additional technical information, contact: Dr. Thomas Schulz (+49 511 540 5615) or Mr. Andreas Binder (+49 511 540 5622), Engelhard Process Chemicals GmbH, Hannover, Germany. Dr. Danny Brands (+31 20 630 2391) or Dr. Jay Rajani (+31 20 630 2774), Shell Global Solutions International, Shell Research & Technology Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Japan mulls setting renewable energy minimum - paper TOKYO - Japan's government is considering a plan requiring power utilities to produce a certain amount of their energy from renewable sources, a business daily reported on July 11th, 2000. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) sees the plan as a means of boosting the use of renewable energy, including wind power, amid mounting opposition to nuclear energy, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.However, a MITI official said the idea was only one of several possibilities the government is studying. Roughly a third of electricity in Japan is generated by nuclear power, but a series of accidents has led to mounting public mistrust of the industry. The government said in March it would review its nuclear policy and is expected to scale down its target of building up to 20 more reactors by 2010. Japan currently produces only 0.6 percent of its total electricity output through renewable energy, including wind and solar power. High costs have stopped it becoming more widespread, but the government is aiming to increase its use to about two percent by 2010/2011, the paper said. Booming computer firms are running out of power COMPANIES in Silicon Valley, California, are being forced to build private power stations amid growing evidence that there is not enough electricity in America's grid to drive the booming high tech industry. Demand for electricity across the United States has grown by 35 per cent in 10 years as people have taken to using computers. More than 10 per cent of the country's total power is now used to drive computers and the many other hand-held electronic gizmos that are becoming popular. The growth of the internet and e-commerce has put even greater strain on the power supply. Karl Stahlkopf of the Power Research Institute said: "You may think electronic gadgets can't use much electricity. In fact, when you look at the servers and the computers that back up the wireless Palm Pilot for example, you'll find it has the electrical load equivalent of a refrigerator." The unremitting desire for electricity is most keenly felt in and around Silicon Valley, where an average microchip processing plant uses enough power to run 50,000 homes. Fearing that the public utility companies will not act fast enough to generate more electricity, Oracle, one of the largest software manufacturers, has spent millions of pounds building its own power station. Many others, including Sun Microsystems and Microsoft, are submitting proposals to do the same. Mr Stahlkopf said: "If they can't get reliable power from the utility, then the only solution is to build a plant and provide it themselves." Justin Bradley, a spokesman for Oracle, said: "It's very critical to us to have reliable power." Demand for electricity so outstrips supply that power cuts in Silicon Valley are increasingly frequent. A loss of power, even for a short time, can cost individual businesses $1 million (£650,000) an hour and the industry £65 million a day. Computers require an uninterrupted supply to function properly. If this is stemmed even for one-sixtieth of a second - not enough to make ordinary lights flicker - a computer system can crash. Power disturbances are capable of causing more than 17,000 different computer problems, from frozen cursors to a serious crash. The power supply in Silicon Valley was recently drained to a point where dozens of companies lost millions of dollars. The event was the most serious indicator so far that America's electricity supply cannot cope with the power needed to run the digital economy. The power industry is building new plants, but they cannot be completed fast enough and are hugely expensive. There are now plans for a temporary floating power plant on a barge to serve Silicon Valley this summer, when even more power is needed to fuel the vast air-conditioning systems. Endesa invests $550m in Brazil Endesa, the Spanish energy company, said yesterday it would invest at least US$550m into Brazil's vast and opening power sector. Alfredo Lorente, president of Enersis, Endesa's Latin American subsidiary, said the company would shortly begin construction of a second $330m power transmission line linking southern Brazil and Argentina. The 530km line is due to begin operating in the last quarter of 2001. The first line has transported some 450GwH since its inauguration on June 21 this year. The investment marks the latest move by foreign, and particular Spanish, energy companies into Brazil's fast-growing energy sector. With a total Latin American investment of $21bn, Endesa is today the largest private power company in the region. Earlier this year Iberdrola, the Spanish multi-utility, acquired a regional power distributor for $1bn and now has some 5.3m clients in Brazil. The company plans to invest R$420m in Brazil this year. The government is to sell numerous state power companies over the next two years. To meet the country's large energy demands, the government is seeking to attract billions of dollars of private investment to boost the country's power generating capacity by some 20,000MW. Endesa will spend about $220m on two thermo-electric projects - with a total generating capacity of 990MW - in which it has a participation with local investors. The investments are part of a US$3bn package the company has earmarked for expansion in Latin America by 2004. The focus of investment will be in Brazil and Mexico. Endesa has some 12m clients outside Spain. In Spain, it has 10m.
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