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President-Elect Obama Nominates Dr. Steven Chu as Energy Secretary
President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Dr. Steven Chu, the current director of DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), to be the next Secretary of Energy. Dr. Chu won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 and has run LBNL since 2004. Prior to that time, he was a professor at Stanford University and a scientist at AT&T Bell Labs. Dr. Chu is credited as an early advocate for finding solutions to climate change and for guiding LBNL toward more research on low-carbon energy sources, including renewable energy and biofuels.
The president-elect also established a new position in the White House, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, and selected Carol Browner for the new post. Browner is a former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is currently a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a firm that provides strategic advice to companies. According to the Obama transition team, Browner "brought the climate change issue to the forefront" during her tenure at the EPA, and she "established climate change as an important environmental issue requiring action." Browner's deputy assistant will be Heather Zichal, a former legislative director for Senator John Kerry.
See the announcement from President-elect Obama (http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/president_elect_barack_obama_announces_key_members_of_energy_and_environmen/
Hawaii to Feature Car Chargers and an Ocean Thermal Energy Plant
The State of Hawaii has followed the California Bay Area's lead in committing to building an infrastructure for recharging electric car recharging. Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle announced that the state has signed an agreement with Better Place to collaborate on both the infrastructure and the renewable energy sources needed to power a statewide network of public charging spots and battery swapping stations. Better Place plans to begin applying for permits for the network within the next year, followed six months later by the introduction of its first electric vehicles, leading to the mass-market availability of electric cars in Hawaii by 2012. See the press releases from Governor Lingle (http://hawaii.gov/gov/news/releases/2008/governor-lingle-and-better-place-announce).
Governor Lingle also announced that Lockheed Martin Corporation is teaming up with the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to develop a 10-megawatt Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) pilot plant in Hawaii. OTEC technology uses the temperature difference between the ocean's warm surface and its chilly depths to generate electricity. Lockheed and Hawaii have been involved in OTEC since its inception, as partners in the first OTEC demonstration, a barge-mounted facility that generated 15 kilowatts of net electricity off the coast of Hawaii back in 1979. DOE was also involved in developing OTEC technology, and by 1993, DOE and the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii had teamed up to build an on-shore OTEC plant that generated up to 50 kilowatts of net electricity. With its current revival, OTEC could be a key technology for the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, a DOE partnership with the goal of drawing of renewable energy for 70% of the s tate's energy needs by 2030. See the governor's press release (http://hawaii.gov/gov/news/releases/2008/governor-lingle-announces-new-ocean-thermal-energy).
California Approves Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a plan to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The climate change "scoping plan" is a central requirement of AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which was signed into law in September of that year. The plan addresses roughly 85% of the state's greenhouse gas emissions with a cap-and-trade program, which will be developed in conjunction with the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). The WCI comprises seven Western states and four Canadian provinces that have committed to cap their emissions and create a regional carbon market. The plan also includes a variety of measures that will help that cap-and-trade program succeed, while also addressing emissions not included in the program. The CARB now faces the task of developing detailed strategies to implement all of the recommended measures that must be in place by 2012.
Most of those measures relate to energy efficiency and renewable energy, including strategies to enhance and expand the state's energy efficiency programs; implement the state's clean cars standards; increase the state's use of renewable energy; and implement a low-carbon fuel standard to reduce the impacts on climate change from the fuels used in the state. The plan also proposes full deployment of the California Solar Initiative, high-speed rail, water-related energy efficiency measures, and a range of regulations to reduce emissions from trucks and from ships docked in California ports. There are also measures designed to safely reduce or recover a range of very potent greenhouse gases, such as refrigerants and other industrial gases. See the CARB press release (http://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/nr121108.htm) and the scoping plan (http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/document/scopingplandocument.htm).
EIA: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Increased by 1.4% in 2007
The total emission of greenhouse gases in the United States increased by 1.4% in 2007, according to DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). An EIA report released December 3 found that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions reached the equivalent of 7.282 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2007, with the increase mainly attributed to greater weather extremes and a decrease in hydropower production. While carbon dioxide emissions increase by 1.3% in 2007, other greenhouse gases increased at a faster rate, including a 3.3% increase in emissions of the most powerful greenhouse gases, such as refrigerants. Since 1990, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have risen by nearly 17%. See the EIA press release (http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/press/press310.html) and the full report (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html).
EPA Takes Measures to Accelerate ODS Phase Out
EPA is taking the next step to eliminate hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) emissions, which are ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases.
The proposed rule would decrease the consumption and production of HCFCs for the years 2010 to 2014. Consumption and production will be reduced by at least 75 percent in 2010. As a party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the U.S. will completely phase out HCFCs in 2030.
This action will also amend provisions concerning HCFC production for developing countries’ basic domestic needs and would clarify a ban on the sale and distribution of HCFCs through interstate commerce under the Clean Air Act. EPA will accept comments on the proposed rule for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
In 1993, EPA started eliminating the most harmful HCFCs to implement the Montreal Protocol’s gradual phase out of overall HCFC levels.
One hundred ninety-three countries are parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Signed in 1987, this successful treaty is helping to heal the ozone layer by ending the production of ozone-depleting substances.
More on EPA’s involvement in the Montreal Protocol: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/strathome.html
