Alternative Resources Used To Develop HCP

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Participating today in the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Camp -- a five day program to help conservation practioners, resource managers and others grappling with climate change -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced the launch of its Operations & Maintenance Habitat Conservation Plan (O&M HCP).

Developed in collaboration with federal and state natural resource agencies, the O&M HCP is an innovative new program that allows for a regional, activity-based approach to comply with the state and federal Endangered Species Act throughout the utility's northern and centralCalifornia service area.

"PG&E's regional mitigation plan is a creative and responsible corporate approach to protecting imperiled species," said Susan Moore,field supervisor in the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office.

PG&E's Operations & Maintenance Habitat Conservation Plan is an extension of the utility's commitment to serve its customers and protect the environment by effectively balancing the utility's need to maintain existing gas and electric infrastructure, and perform work in a way that avoids and minimizes impacts to protected wildlife and plant species.

"Our extensive network of gas and electric infrastructure spans over 74,000 square miles and is home to wildlife and other important natural resources," said Steven Kline, vice president, corporate environmental and federal affairs at PG&E. "As we upgrade and maintain our gas and electric facilities to meet California's growing needs, protecting threatened and endangered species and their habitats is critical. PG&E's new Habitat Conservation Plan will protect more than 175 sensitive wildlife and plant species system wide, and is the latest example of how we are developing innovative solutions to ensure responsible stewardship of these resources while continuing to provide our customers with safe, reliable and clean energy."

The utility's new O&M HCP program is designed to ensure the long-term protection of sensitive species through a process that allows PG&E to access and maintain its facilities in a timely manner. Unlike most HCPs which govern habitat protection for future land development, PG&E's O&M HCP is the first to be activity-based, addressing protection for existing land uses. Other innovative aspects of the program include the wide range of sensitive species to be covered and the governance of many small-scale operational activities dispersed over a large geographic area. This approach improves PG&E's service to customers by avoiding schedule delays associated with acquiring individual, project-by-project permits for threatened and endangered species.

Developed in collaboration with federal and state natural resource agencies, the O&M HCP program also allows PG&E to more effectively partner with local stake holders and environmental groups in support of habitat and species conservation efforts. As part of the program, PG&E is looking forward to partnering with local, state and federal conservation organizations to protect 15,000 acres of sensitive habitat.

PG&E's O&M HCP will first be rolled out to the San Joaquin Valley region in early 2008, the first in a series of six regions that cover PG&E's service area stretching from Eureka in the north to Bakersfield in the south. Additional regions include the Bay Area, Sacramento Valley, North Coast, Central Coast and Sierra Nevada. Recognizing the unique features of each region, PG&E is developing the plans to reflect the species, geography, and operational activities specific to each region. All six regions will roll up into one permit -- PG&E's Operations andMaintenance HCP.

The San Joaquin Valley O&M HCP will cover almost all of the utility's routine operations, maintenance, and minor new construction activities that occur within the San Joaquin Valley for the next 30 years. It also establishes clear goals and measures for protecting, managing and monitoring 23 wildlife and 42 plant species, including the San Joaquin kitfox, California red-legged frog, vernal pool fairy shrimp and western burrowing owl.

Greenhouse Gas Recycling Cars?

ScienceDaily (Feb. 14, 2008) — Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a strategy to capture, store and eventually recycle carbon from vehicles to prevent the pollutant from finding its way from a car tailpipe into the atmosphere. Georgia Tech researchers envision a zero emission car, and a transportation system completely free of fossil fuels.
Technologies to capture carbon dioxide emissions from large-scale sources such as power plants have recently gained some impressive scientific ground, but nearly two-thirds of global carbon emissions are created by much smaller polluters — automobiles, transportation vehicles and distributed industrial power generation applications (e.g., diesel power generators).

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Hybrids Not All They're Cracked Up To Be?

(Feb. 7, 2008) — Hybrid electric vehicles that run on both conventional gasoline and stored electricity can be no more than a stop gap until more sustainable technology is developed, according to researchers in France. They suggest that the adoption of HEVs might even slow development of more sustainable fuel-cell powered electric vehicles.

Jean-Jacques Chanaron Research Director within the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Chief Scientific Advisor at the Grenoble School of Management and Julius Teske at Grenoble, question strongly whether the current acceptance of hybrid vehicle technology particularly in the USA is in any way environmentally sustainable.
The researchers have analyzed the spread of this technology including the non-financial driving factors for its adoption. They point out that most manufacturers are rapidly integrating hybrid electric vehicles into their technology portfolio, despite the absence of significant profitability

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BP Expands into Solar Energy

VACAVILLE, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- OCR Solar & Roofing and BP
Solar, a global leader in solar energy, today announced an expanded
agreement to provide turn-key solar installations to production
homebuilders throughout Northern and Central California. Within the
framework of the expanded agreement, valued at over $10 million, OCR Solar
& Roofing will receive the exclusive right to offer BP Solar's
market-leading EnergyTile roof-integrated solar modules to production
homebuilders in Northern and Central California. In addition, OCR Solar &
Roofing will also offer BP Solar's low profile Integra(R) framing system
for asphalt shingle roofs.

Originally purchasing solar modules under a nonexclusive supply
agreement, OCR has seen an increase in its solar revenue by over 300% since
offering BP Solar's products, and the company expects the growth rate to
more than quadruple in 2008.

"Our agreement with BP Solar is built on a strong relationship which
will strengthen the support that we provide to our homebuilder customers,"
said Aaron Nitzkin, vice president, Solar Division for OCR Solar & Roofing.
"It is a great time in California for new home renewable energy solutions,
and we plan to aggressively educate homebuilders and consumers this year on
the impact and significance of solar energy."

Unlike most solar providers that just install solar panels, OCR
installs both the roofing and solar electric systems. OCR provides this
turn-key solution to many of the region's leading homebuilders, including
Christopherson Homes, Pinn Brothers Fine Homes, Ponderosa Homes, and Tim
Lewis Communities.

"This key relationship with OCR allows us to further our goal of
becoming a leading provider of solar electric systems on new homes in
California," explained Geoff Slevin, vice president of Sales and Marketing
for BP Solar, North America. "We are confident that with our solar
expertise and products along with OCR's strong roofing reputation, we will
be able to make that happen."

The agreement is designed to support new homebuilders by offering roof-
integrated solar electric systems for energy-efficient homes. Benefits to
the homeowner include dramatically reduced or even eliminated electric
bills, improved comfort, federal tax credits and an aesthetically pleasing
roof design.

Clean Hydrogen Energy Project in Abu Dhabi

Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s initiative for renewable and alternative energy and clean technology, and Hydrogen Energy, the joint venture between BP Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto, today announced the signing of an agreement to work together on the front-end engineering design of an industrial-scale hydrogen-fired power generation project with capture of the carbon dioxide (CO2), which would then be available for transportation and storage. The plant would be located in Abu Dhabi.

Natural gas would be processed to create hydrogen and CO2. The hydrogen fuel would generate low-carbon electricity. Rather than being emitted to the atmosphere, the CO2would be captured, ready for transportation and injection into a producing oil field where it could replace natural gas currently being injected into the field to maintain pressure. The injected CO2 has also the potential to increase the proportion of Abu Dhabi’s oil that can be recovered.

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Britain Reports Set Brazil's Ethanol Apart

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- An important step in the
right direction. That is how Brazil's Sugarcane Industry Association
(UNICA) assesses the report "Sustainable Biofuels: Prospects and
Challenges", released by Britain's Royal Society on January 14, 2008. The
report's key conclusions are that each biofuel must be evaluated on its own
merits and governments should ensure their policies promote only the
sustainable production and use of biofuels that result in meaningful
emissions reduction.

According to UNICA President and CEO Marcos Jank, the Royal Academy's
conclusion should go a long way to clarify misleading and incomplete
information that often surfaces when Brazilian ethanol, produced from
sugarcane, is lumped together with less efficient biofuels produced from
non-sustainable sources.

"Biofuels can be produced from various feedstocks, and they are not all
the same," Jank says, emphasizing that ethanol from sugarcane produced in
Brazil is widely recognized as the most efficient in terms of reduced
greenhouse gas emissions, improved energy balance and lower production
costs.

"Studies produced in various countries frequently consider biofuels as
if they were somehow equals that one can compare. Unfortunately, some
studies arrive at broad conclusions without recognizing the profound
differences that exist among different biofuels. These generalizations are
often the basis for misleading assessments about Brazilian sugarcane
ethanol."

The Royal Society report highlights the importance of continued
independent research for a complete picture about the sustainability of
different types of biofuels. "The sugar and ethanol industry in Brazil is
ready to cooperate with these efforts. We find it essential that quality
analyses and unbiased comparisons continue to be produced and
disseminated," concludes Jank.

The British report comes at a defining moment for the future of
biofuels in Europe as a new directive governing the use of renewable energy
is expected to be issued on January 23. Once the directive is approved by
the European Parliament in coming months, it will lead to the
implementation of the decision reached by the heads of government of EU
member states requiring a 10% biofuel target for transportation fuels by
2020.

"We are optimistic that Europe will not only implement the 10% biofuel
mix, but to also adopt biofuel certification mechanisms that come from a
transparent consultative process that involves all interested parties,
including the world's major producers," says Jank.

About UNICA:

Brazil's Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) represents the top
producers of sugar and ethanol in the country's South-Central region,
especially the state of Sao Paulo, which accounts for 60% of the country's
total production. Along with its 101 member companies, UNICA develops
position papers, statistics and specific research in support of the sugar
and ethanol sector. Its membership accounts for about 50% of Brazil's
sugarcane harvest. In 2007, Brazil produced 425 million metric tons of
sugarcane, which yielded 29.8 million tons of sugar and 17.7 billion liters
of ethanol.

General Electric and Wind Turbine Co. Team Up

NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2003 - A company in Bellevue, Wash., is working on a new design for wind turbines that officials believe could lower the cost of wind energy in the electric power marketplace, according to a report in the January 2003 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine, a publication of ASME International (American Society of Mechanical Engineers).

The Wind Turbine Co. is developing a turbine with the rotor blades set in a down-wind configuration. This radically different design, which is aided by flexible towers, allows for significant weight and load reduction in the blades and other components, resulting in higher energy producing efficiency and lower costs.

Meanwhile, energy giant General Electric is going the route of very large wind turbines, including a 3.6-Megawatt machine featuring a rotor 330 feet in diameter atop a tower nearly 40 stories in height. According to Mechanical Engineering, GE plans to situate multiple 3.6-MW turbines in the waters of the Irish Sea later this year.

In addition to GE and Wind Turbine Co., other organizations supporting environmentally sustainable wind energy include the U.S. Department of Energy. In the mid-1990s, the DOE granted $40 million in seed money to private companies to develop low-cost, utility-scale wind turbines, reports Mechanical Engineering.

The commitment to technology development notwithstanding, many experts in the power business are dubious about the future of wind energy in the United States, as well as other countries. Wind turbines currently account for less than one percent of electrical energy produced in the U.S.

The main problem with wind power is cost.