Green Options

A “green economy” can be built in China in less than 20 years, argues a new McKinsey report. The new study, “China’s Green Revolution“, offers the most comprehensive quantitative analysis to date of China’s abatement cost curve.

Previous studies of a similar ilk, like the Stern Review, have incorporated social benefits to partially offset the cost of scaling up energy efficient and clean technologies. In contrast, the latest McKinsey report considers only technology-related costs and attaches a figure to the cost of green initiatives in China.

So what is the final damage? While costs are negative for upgrades in some industries, like buildings, due to the savings generated from energy efficiency improvements, a total 1.5-2 trillion yuan (USD 220-295 billion) would have to be spent every year until 2030 in order to reach McKinsey’s alternative scenario.

The solar industry has taken a beating lately. At their low in November, solar stocks were down 70%. Natural gas and oil prices have plunged, reducing the value of renewable energy. Financing is scarce, making the upfront cost of solar energy a challenge.

Perhaps these conditions will encourage innovation. Here are some tactics for solar companies to weather the storm in the short-term:

Earlier this week, CleanBoard started talking publicly about what it calls “the most environmentally friendly drywall on earth.” That’s quite a claim, but there might be something to it: the drywall will be produced in a solar-powered factory and made from coal-fired power plant residue.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sheikholeslam wants Iran to build more nuclear power plants to provide electricity needs, rather than using oil and natural gas.

A proposal by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative for a new power plant in central Virginia has local environmental activists up in arms.

An environmental coalition that includes the Sierra Club and Chesapeake Climate Action Network is strongly opposed to the $6 billion plant, saying they are extremely concerned and are pledging “all-out war” against the plans.

“At a time when a majority of Virginians believe that action is required on climate change we have Old Dominion Electric Cooperative ignoring both public opinion and climate science to propose a massive new coal plant. It’s not just about climate change; as a resident of Wise County I see the devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining every day. We’ve lost 29 mountains already.” - Kathy Selvage, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards

In an attempt to continue using the large coal deposits bespeckling our planet, while still keeping greenhouse gas emission down, one of Europe’s biggest power companies has turned to Carbon Capture and Storage, or CCS for short.

Vattenfall, a Swedish owned firm, will be using CCS at the site of the new “Schwarze Pumpe”, Black Pump, located in the Lausitz region in the State of Brandenburg. The pilot unit, which has a thermal capacity of 30 megawatts, has cost approximately Euro 70 million over the past 15 months.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will get a chance to prove itself next week at the 1,600 MW Schwarze Pumpe coal-fired power plant in Germany. The CCS demonstration will capture up to 100,000 tons of CO2 each year and bury it 3,000 m under a nearby gas field.

The scheme uses oxyfuel technology, which relies on burning coal in pure oxygen and CO2 instead of normal air. This results in a byproduct of almost pure CO2 that is bottled and pumped underground.