China Electric Power Exceeds USA Power Use

The carbon emissions of China's electric power sector will jump by about a third this year and surpass the total emissions of the U.S. electric power industry for the first time, according to a report, by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank. Worldwide, power generation accounts for 37 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. The report highlights the challenge of curbing greenhouse gases in time to slow climate change while maintaining world economic growth. According to the report, Chinese power plants will produce about 3.1 billion tons of CO2 this year, up from about 2.3 billion tons in 2007. U.S. power plants are expected to produce about 2.8 billion tons of CO2 this year, about the same as last year.

The United States spews more carbon dioxide per person than other nations. Electricity usage here produces about 9.5 tons of CO2 per person, compared with 2.4 tons per person in China, 0.6 in India and 0.1 in Brazil, the report said. The report shows that over the past eight years, global carbon dioxide emissions have grown to 11.4 billion tons a year.

Half of the biggest carbon emitters worldwide are Chinese power companies, led by Huaneng Power International, an independent company initially led by the son of former premier Li Peng. The next biggest are the South African utility Eskom, China Huadian Group and the Atlanta-based Southern Co., which has 4.4 million customers and 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity. (The Washington Post, 8/27/08)

Offshore Oil & Gas Lease Sales and Royalty Rates

Currently there are more than 7,000 leases in the Gulf Outer Continental Shelf that account for 27 percent of the Nation’s domestically produced oil and 15 percent of the domestically produced natural gas. More than 30,000 jobs are directly related to Gulf energy exploration and production. The areas under a congressional ban contain an additional 18 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in yet-to-be-discovered fields.

Interior's Minerals Management Service, which oversees offshore leasing, has raised the rate for leases in two March 2008 gulf sales to 18.75 percent. The move comes roughly nine months after MMS announced that the royalty rate for new deepwater leases would be increased from 12.5 percent to 16.7 percent. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas will share 37.5 percent of the revenues from leases in this sale.

Minerals Management Service

Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006

FAQ

March 19, 2008 Lease/Sale

August 19, 2008 Bid

EPA Identifies Air Quality Designations in States

EPA has identified areas across the country that are either meeting or not meeting national standards for fine particle pollution, or PM 2.5. In response to recommendations from state and tribal representatives, the agency sent letters outlining areas it is considering designating as attainment or nonattainment for the 24-hour fine particle standards. Today, the agency notified 25 states that they currently meet the fine particle standards, while the remaining states have at least one area under consideration for a nonattainment designation. A nonattainment area would include counties with monitors violating the 24-hour standardand nearby counties that contribute to that violation.

EPA will make formal designations of attainment and nonattainment areas in December 2008, after states and tribes comment on the proposals and if needed, provide additional information. Once designations take effect, they become a component of state, local and tribal governments efforts to reduce fine particle pollution to meet national standards. Designations also help let the public know whether their air quality is healthy. Exposure to fine particle pollution can cause serious health problems, ranging from increased hospital admissions and doctor and emergency department visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease, to nonfatal heart attacks, to premature death. In September 2006, EPA dramatically strengthened the fine particle standards to protect public health, tightening the 24-hour standard from 65 to 35 micrograms percubic meter. Recommendations from states and tribes along with EPA’s responses are available at EPA 2006 Particulate Matter Designations. Or Contact: Dale Kemery, (202) 564-4355

Utilities Trim Trees Or Get Fined

Trees falling onto transmission wires in storms or wires sagging in the heat into tree limbs are to blame for most of the major U.S. blackouts, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC). It is estimated that 90% of weather-related outages are caused by trees hitting power lines. A nationwide order to trim trees near power lines could decrease significantly the kinds of power outages that plunge whole states into darkness. Mandatory tree trimming did not gain momentum until Aug. 14, 2003, when transmission lines owned by FirstEnergy in Ohio came into contact with tree limbs and triggered the shutdown of 21 power plants in three minutes in the eastern USA and Canada.

In 2005, Congress passed a bill requiring tree trimming, but it was not enforced until 2007 to give utilities time to comply. It was not until this summer that NERC, which administers the law, began fining utilities that have not moved aggressively enough to comply. The first two fines, totaling $255,000, were issued in June. NERC says the fines can go as high as $1 million per day.

The federal rules affect only high-voltage transmission lines and not the neighborhood wires known as distribution lines. It is transmission lines that carry the risk of major outages.

ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005 (H.R. 6)

Title XII - Electricity
Electricity Modernization Act of 2005 -
Subtitle A - Reliability Standards
Section 1211 -
Amends the Federal Power Act to grant FERC jurisdiction over the Electric Reliability Organization, over regional entities, and over all users, owners and operators of the bulk-power system (except in Alaska and Hawaii), for purposes of approving reliability standards and enforcing compliance.
Requires federal agencies responsible for approving access to electric transmission or distribution facilities to expedite any federal agency approvals that are necessary to allow the owners or operators of such facilities to comply with any FERC-approved reliability standard that pertains to vegetation management, electric service restoration, or resolution of situations that imminently endanger facility reliability or safety.

BP Oil Pipeline in Georgia: Subtext For Russian Invasion?

BP decided to shut down the pipeline that runs through parts of Georgia controlled by Russian troops. Vladimir Putin views the pipeline as a larger campaign by Washington to contain and isolate Russia and limit the expansion of its burgeoning energy empire. It was just as Putin was coming to power in 1999 that an agreement was reached to create the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, above. The project would allow Azerbaijan and its production partner, BP, to bypass Russia and transport their newly drilled oil instead through Georgia and Turkey to a port in the eastern Mediterranean.

Before the BTC, because of Russia's control of the only pipeline system linking former Soviet republics with the West, it had been able to extract most of the profit from any oil and gas that these newly independent countries could produce. But with BTC, which had the active support of the U.S. and European governments, Russia would lose its monopoly, opening the way for Western oil companies to make multibillion-dollar investments in the energy-rich Caucasus states. (The Washington Post 8/13/2008)

Center Leads Environmental Group Support For Nuclear Power

The Center was the first environmental group in the United States to support nuclear power starting in 2000. CECE remains the only environmental group in the United States to support nuclear power. Nuclear power is the best technology for producing emission free electricity. It produces no smog forming gases and produces no greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Although largely unheralded by the nuclear industry, unrecognized by the media and vilified by the environmental movement, The Center has been, and will continue to be, the environmental organization leader in promoting this solution to emission free production of electricity.

Our work speaks for itself:

(Select Activities)


Duke Energy Catawba & McGuire Visits and Ameren Callaway Tour (2002)

Visit Yucca Mountain in Nevada (2002)

Tour Indian Point Nuclear Plant & Testimony Before NY City Council (2003)

Exelon Clinton Nuclear Plant Clinton, Illinois Tour & NRC Testimony (2005)

Dominion North Anna Nuclear Plant Visit and NRC Statement (2005)

Tour San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant South of Los Angeles (2005)

Entergy Grand Gulf Nuclear Plant Tour and NRC Public Meeting (2005 & 2008)

Participate in NRC Headquarters Meeting on COL for Duke Energy (2005)

Formation of Nuclear Fuels Reprocessing Coalition (2005)

Signing of Energy Policy Act of 2005 in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Statement at NRC Meeting on Constellation Energy Calvert Cliffs COL (2007)

Tour Nuclear Plants in China (2007)

Tour Nuclear Reprocessing Facility and Power Plant in France (2007)

Promoting Nuclear Power in South Korea (2007)

Environmental Justice & Nuclear Power at Howard Univ Conference (2007)

Environmental Justice & Nuclear Power at Howard Univ Conf (2008) (All Videos)

Videos of Grand Gulf NRC Meeting in Port Gibson, Mississippi (2008)

NY State DEC Public Meeting on FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant Water Permit (2008)

Statement Before Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (2008)

Photo: Center President Norris McDonald

Court Rejects EPA NSR Position in Alabama Case

The Center's worst fears have come true in regards to New Source Review (NSR) gridlock and the failure of Congress to pass the Clear Skies Initiatives (CSI) in 2004. Instead of the contentious NSR, which has only produced litigation instead of pollution mitigation, we would have the equivalent of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR)--both 'get-around-Congress regulations--have been overruled by the courts.In the decade-long, ongoing battle over the New Source Review program, industry won another significant victory over EPA. The North District of Alabama handed power companies and their customers another significant victory in the NSR enforcement dispute. The court rejected EPA approach to whether a repair or replacement project is "routine" (and thus not subject to NSR) must be determined by reference to similar projects "at the unit."

The court held that "routine" must be judged "with reference to the industry as a whole, not just the particular.unit at issue." This holding reaffirms an earlier ruling of this court, as well as decisions by district courts in North Carolina and Kentucky. Each of these courts has rejected the government's position on "routine" and confirmed industry's position that routine must be evaluated with reference to the projects conducted by the industry as a whole. The Alabama court also took note of "EPA's different statements about what kind or type of work at plants in the industry.was [routine] and what was not."The court went on to say in the ruling that "using a plant specific test for activities that occurred as far back as 1985, when it was patently obvious what [Alabama Power] was doing, and the EPA said and did nothing.strikes the court as a 'gotcha' test."

The court also emphasized that, in order to prevail in this dispute, "EPA will have to prove that there was a physical change that resulted in a net emissions increase." In the recent Cinergy case involving similar facts, a jury found that the government had failed to meet this burden of proving an emissions increase from virtually all the projects at issue, including so-called "life extension" projects. The combination of Cinergy's rejection of the government's position on emissions increase, and the rejection of the government's "routine" standard by the Alabama court and other courts, raises serious questions about the viability of EPA's enforcement cases.

Kyoto Protocol Pollution Credits Benefitting Asia Most

The Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations air pollution trading system, does not directly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emitted to the atmosphere, since each ton of carbon dioxide cut in a developing country allows someone in an industrialized country to pollute that same amount. Yet, the idea is to transfer money to poor countries to encourage construction of environmentally sensitive factories and spur alternative energy use. Otherwise, global greenhouse gas emissions would grow more quickly as developing nations like China expand their economies. Credit sales were initiated under the U.N. program in 2004.

Estimates of pollution credits as of April 2008 (carbon credits* in millions):

China------------------------------------- 44.6

India-------------------------------------- 42.9

South Korea----------------------------- 27.2

Brazil-------------------------------------- 21.5

Vietnam------------------------------------ 4.5

In Europe, the carbon credit market is mandatory. Carbon credits on that market have been trading in the $20 to $30 range. In the U.S. voluntary market, prices range from $1 to $10/credit. A credit is equal to 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gas. Credit prices on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) reached a low of $1.85 in January 2008 and traded as high as $4.55 in February 2008.

* Certified emissions reductions

Sources: United Nations Environment Programme Risoe Centre, International Monetary Fund, The Wall Street Journal

Superlattice Power, Inc Lithium-ion Battery Technology

Superlattice Power, Inc gained our attention when they took out a full page ad in the July 23, 2008 edition of USA Today. We are interested because the lithium-ion battery is powering everything from cars to cell phones and laptop computers.

Superlattice Power, Inc is focused on using its resources and efforts to develop and market lithium-powered vehicles and products for use in residential and commercial properties. Using its technology, the company is able to convert scooters, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, cars and even homes and businesses into zero-emission, lithium-powered vehicles and facilities.

The advertisement is aimed at potential investors. The Center is not endorsing the product because we have never used it. We are publicizing it because it sounds like an interesting improvement in an established product.

Nuclear Power Plants Operating on Earth As of May 2008

Nearly 24% of the world's 439 nuclear plants are in the USA. The nations with the most nuclear reactors are listed below (and the percentage of that nation's electricity that the reactors produce):

USA (19%)........................................................................104


France (77%)..................................................................... 59


Japan (28%)...................................................................... 55


Russia (16%)...................................................................... 31


South Korea (35%)............................................................. 20

Source: World Nuclear Association

Utilities Collaborate with Electric Vehicle Companies

Electric utility companies and General Motors have agreed to collaborate on comfortably, cost-effectively and reliably integrating plug-in electric vehicles into the grid. Toyota Motor Corporation and Ford Motor Company are also working on producing plug-in cars. Some of the utilities that operate in 40 states that are collaborating with GM include:

American Electric Power Company
Austin Energy
Consolidated Edison, Inc
Dominion Resources, Inc
Duke Energy Corporation
DTE Energy Company
Edison International
New York Power Authority
PG & E Corporation
Progress Energy Inc
Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc

GM's Chevy Volt (pictured) is due out in 2010. The Volt will go 40 miles on a full charge of the lithium-ion batteries before the gasoline engine kicks in. Plug-in electrics are using Lithium-ion and Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. The prospect for using nickel has caused the price of the commodity to rise, which is making the battery more expensive. The lithium-ion battery is like the one in laptops and cell phones and has a tendency to oveheat. Some have even exploded. Tesla Motors has designed a system to keep the batteries cool and under control however in its Tesla Roadster. Lithium-ion batteries also love to be recharged.

Utilities do not want to inadvertenty undermine grid reliability by not anticipating the increased demand from the addition of a significant number of plug-in vehicles to the grid. Research shows that there is enough excess electrical capacity at night to recharge tens of millions of vehicles without increasing capacity. Moreover, utilities and car makers want to benefit from Congressional legislation that will ultimately regulate carbon dioxide. If credits are given for replacing gasoline and cutting overall emissions, it might be cheaper to recharge a car overnight than to buy the equivalent amount of gasoline.

The Problems With Retrofitting Existing Structures

While it is evident that technology now permits a facility owner and operator to receive, manage, conserve, use and produce energy in a manner that would not have been possible in the past, only a relative few are taking advantage of the full range of possibilities. For retrofitting existing structures, the usual suspects that stand in the way of wider expansion are:

1. The time and cost demands of arranging for, and cooperating with, an energy audit;

2. The difficulty of changing entrenched methods of operation and retraining personnel;

3. The lack of compensation incentives (and possible risks) for the mid-level managers responsible for implementing change;

4. The perceived or real complexity of making changes; and

5. The difficulty of determining the cost/payback of implementing measures or seeking renewable energy as compared to continuing to use existing sources.

Sustainability Facility, Dec 2007

Court Strikes Down Clean Air Mercury Rule Exemptions

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia invalidated a 2005 EPA rule issued in February that would remove power plants from the Clean Air Act’s list of toxic sources – replacing it with a cap and trade regulatory scheme – to be in violation of the act. The Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) was set to go into effect in 2010. Power plants that failed to meet emission targets, under the rule, would have been allowed to buy credits from plants that did, rather than having to install their own mercury emissions controls.

CAMR was the first nation-wide control rule. Fourteen states, a number of Native American tribes and environmental organizations filed the suit. EPA is now obligated to develop maximum achievable control technologies, or MACT, standards for power plant mercury emissions. The three-judge panel unanimously agreed with the states that the EPA did not have the authority to exempt the power plants. (Pollution Engineering)

See also: Court Strikes Down Clean Air Interstate Rule

Georgia Court Carbon Dioxide Ruling Will Be Overturned

Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore ruled this week that the proposed 1,200 megawatt Dynergy Inc/LS Power Group coal-burning power plant cannot proceed unless its carbon dioxide emissions are limited. She relied on the April 2007 Supreme Court decision for her ruling.

The Supreme Court in a 2007 decision required EPA to determine whether carbon dioxide endangers public health or welfare. EPA has yet to issue a rulemaking so the court is ahead of the regulating agency. This is the reason the George Ruling will be overturned on appeal. (The Wall Street Journal 7/1/08)

51 Republican Congresssmen Request Cut in Ethanol

The members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting a reduction in the required ethanol production for this year because of fears that it will significantly increase already high corn prices.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) of the Energy Information and Security Act of 2007 requires 9 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced in 2008.

Greener Fireworks?

Environmentally friendly fireworks are available but it might be awhile before they can compete with cheaper Chinese imports. After all, the Chinese did invent gunpowder. Now there is a replacement that is relatively smoke free and does not use potassium perchlorate, an oxidant. Perchlorate mixed with charcoal and sulfur fuel is responsible for speeding up the fuel burning process and creating the fiery effects. Unfortunately, perchlorate is linked to thyroid damage. Pyrotechnics can often include potentially toxic color-producing heavy metals such as barium magnesium and copper. Red color results from the use of the chemical element strontium, blue from copper, gold from a sodium, orange from calcium and green from barium.

DMD Systems based in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico has produced a perchlorate-free substitute it calls nitrocellulose that burns with little smoke and "no fallout or residual combustion byproducts." Nitrocellulose has its own oxygen so it does not require a lot of additional oxidants and it burns cleanly. (The Washington Times, 7/2/08)

Chemical Fog Keeps Birds Out of Substations

PG&E is using methyl-anthranilate fog to keep nuisance birds away from high-voltage substations. The accumulation of bird excrement on substation equipment presents serious risks to system reliability and under the right conditions can cause a system outage. Cleaning capacitor banks requires their removal from service, which reduces transmission capacity, is time consuming, costly and is a health risk. Utilities have used bird bombs and propane cannons to control nuisance birds.

PG&E uses bird repellent Reje X-it Fog Force Bird Repellent, a food-grade, nonlethal aerosol fog formulation of methyl anthranilate that is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and is registered for use by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The cost for each capacitor bank is approximately $10,000. (Transmission & Distribution World, Oct 2007)

Florida Buys U.S. Sugar Corp To Preserve Everglades

The State of Florida purchased U.S. Sugar Corporation for $1.75 billion and will turn its 187,000 acres (292 square miles) of farmland south of Lake Okeechobee into reservoirs in an effort to preserve the 1.5 million acre Everglades. There will be a six year transition period for its 1,700 employees to find new employment. USSC produces 700,000 tone of can sugar annually. (The Washington Post 6/15/08)

Squirrels Can 'Short Out' Electricity Systems

Did you know that when a squirrel moves from a power line and touches a tree limb, not only can he or she electrocute him or herself, they can also create a short circuit that shuts down that section of the system. Although this is of more concern to the utility companies, you should look at this information below:

Rauckman Wildlife Shield

3 Sizes, 2 Colors

618-222-7100

Comparing Costs of Hybrid Cars

Hybrid cars generally cost more than equivalent gasoline powered cars and the analysis below shows the amount of time it would take a buyer to break even, where fuel savings offset the premium paid for a hybrid model. Estimates are based on a 2008 car driven 15,000 miles annually with gas that costs $4.01 a gallon.

Model--Price--Hybrid Premium**--MPG (city/hwy)--Annual Gas Savings--Yrs Break Even

Toyota Prius -- $22,939 -- $3,708 -- 48/45 -- $1,073 -- 3.5

Nissan Altima* -- 22,666 -- 1,879 -- 35/33 -- 499 -- 3.8

GMC Yukon* -- 47,653 -- 5,680 -- 21/22 -- 1,170 -- 4.9

Toyota Camry -- 25,732 -- 3,046 -- 33/34 -- 562 -- 5.4

Mercury Mariner*--24,946 -- 4,324 -- 34/30 -- 784 -- 5.5

Ford Escape* -- 24,051 -- 4,622 -- 34/30 -- 784 -- 5.9

Honda Civic* -- 21,082 -- 3,601 -- 40/45 -- 587 -- 6.1

* Vehicles w/ available tax credit ** Amount car exceeds cost of comparable gas powered model.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal 6/12/08, Edmunds.com

Commercial Airline Engine Washing Saves Jet Fuel

United Technologies Corporation (a unit of Pratt & Whitney) is washing the engines of planes at about 50 airlines because of the maintenance and gas savings benefits. The engine washing system is called EcoPower and now includes about 5,000 such cleanings a year. It is estimated that scrubbing off the caked on grime can reduce fuel consumption by 1.2%. It is also estimated that if all engine in the world were washed the global airline industry could save $1 billion a year in fuel costs and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 3.2 billion pounds.

The washings can lead airlines to avoid costly overhauls for as long as 18 months. Washings take about 90 minutes and cost between $3,000 and $5,000 depending on the size of the engines. During thousands of hours of operation, gunk in the air builds up an oily crust (mixture of soot, dirt, salt, lead and arsenic) that compress intake air before it enters the combustion chamber. EcoPower uses a proprietary system of nozzles to spray atomized water directly into the core of the engine instead of using harsh chemicals and high pressure. (The Wall Street Journal 6/11/08)

Saudi Arabia Wants To Build Nuclear Power Plants

And President Bush wants to help. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently signed an agreement to assist Saudi Arabia with nuclear technology. The agreement also includes training nuclear engineers and constructing nuclear infrastructure. With oil hovering around $130 per barrel, why would they want to burn it in their own power plants instead of selling it to the world?

Critics believe that Saudi Arabia wants to get into the nuclear weapons industry and commercial nuke development is a way to do it. Critics also say that it is hypocritical for America to support the Saudi nuclear development while opposing such development by Iran, even though the USA started that program under the Atoms For Peace during the Shah of Iran's reign.

Yet the critics are wrong. America has offered the same deal to Iran as it did to Saudi Arabia. That is participation in the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) that would provide controls over the uranium fuel. Iran has rejected the offer and Saudi Arabia has accepted it. Simple as that. We support the GNEP program.

Yucca Mountain Application Submitted To Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted its application for licensure of the Yucca Mountain Spent Nuclear Waste Repository to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 3, 2008. Yucca Mountain is the site selected to store the nation's spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. In 2002, President Bush and Congress approved the DOE’s proposal of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The Center was the leading environmental group supporting Yucca Mountain.

The proposal now requires NRC approval. The NRC has principal oversight of the facility and will employ the same license process it uses to regulate nuclear power plants. It will take three to four years to get approval of the application. DOE submitted a 2009 fiscal year budget of $494.5 million for the project. The DOE has already spent over $10 billion conducting scientific evaluations on the feasibility of using the Yucca Mountain site.

United Nations Considers Offering Climate Bonds

The United Nations is thinking about offering a new type of bond intended to increase the building of clean energy projects. The bonds would be backed by the issuing government and once they mature, investors would receive carbon credits, tradable securities each guaranteeing a metric ton of carbon dioxide reductions were made. Bond investors would not have to get involved in the full complexity of projects.

Clearly the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) wants to enhance the Kyoto Protocol because signatory countries are not meeting their greenhouse gas reduction targets. It expires in 2012 and it does not set reductions targets for developing countries such as India and China. The bonds would help encourage investment in nations struggling to meet their renewable energy targets. (The Washington Times 5/31/08)

T. Boone Pickens Makes Huge Wind Turbine Order

Mesa Power LLP, owned by T. Boone Pickens, has placed the biggest single order for wind turbines with General Electric Company. Mesa will purchase 667 GE 1.5 megawatt wind turbines as the first part of a $2 billion deal. The turbines will be delivered in 2010 and 2011 and are expected to provide the first 1,000 megawatts of Mesa's proposed 4,000 megawatt Pampa Wind Project in Texas. (The Wall Street Journal, 5/16/08)

Bush Adminstration Halts Petroleum Reserve Purchases

The purchases of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) were halted on May 16 by the U.S. Department of Energy. About 13 million barrels of crudewould have been delivered to the underground salt caverns in Louisiana and Texas between July and December. It has been speculated that buying 76,000 barrels a day of crude oil for the reserve was needlessly adding to upward pressure on prices. The reserve currently has 703 million barrels, or enough to replace U.S. oil imports for 52 days. The SPR capacity is 727 million barrels, but the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the president to expand it to 1 billion barrels.

Global Nuclear Power Expansion Needs GNEP To Be Successful

The Washington Post published a disturbing article today that basically said the Middle East wants to 'go nuclear' for two reasons: 1) to hedge against a nuclear armed Iran, and 2) to sell oil instead of burning it in electricity generating power plants. Such implications for utilizing commercial nuclear power plants as a 'technology-driving' practice for building weapons facilities hurts the case for providing electricity by using these reactors. This is why the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) program is needed to provide adequate confidence by Israel, the United States, Russia, China and others that commercial development of nuclear power will be secure from proliferation of weapons programs to unstable states. GNEP provides a frameworkd for nations with secure nuclear capabilities to provide potential partner nations with nuclear facilities, fresh fuel and recovery of used fuel for recycling.

The article states that several countries in the Middle East are interested in building commercial nuclear reactors: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen. In Africa the list includes: Egypt, Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and the kingdom of Jordan. Turkey is also interested in developing commercial nuclear power. Canada and Australia are even expressing interest in building enrichment facilities. Unfortunately, the article pointed out several precedents for commercial programs leading to weapons programs:

"Both India and Pakistan built nuclear devices using an industrial infrastructure built ostensibly for nuclear power. Taiwan and South Korea conducted weapons research under cover of civil power programs but halted the work after being confronted by the United States."

We understand that countries might find the GNEP program to represent a paternalistic intrusion into their sovereignty, but they must understand that the comfort of GNEP nations would be an excellent hedge against the possible unexpected destruction of facilities under construction. In particular, it would send the appropriate signal to Israel that its safety is secure within the context of not only global commercial nuclear power expansion, but particularly among Middle East countries.

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Goes Wind Power

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) has announced that it will buy one-third of its electricity from a Pennsylvania Wind Farm under a 10 year contract. The deal was brokered by Constellation Energy. WSSC provides drinking water to 1.8 million customers in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area.

EPA Proposes Stronger Air Quality Standards for Lead

EPA is revising the nation's air quality standards for lead for the first time in 30 years, proposing to dramatically strengthen the standards to reflect the latest science on lead and health. The proposal recommends tightening the primary standard to protect public health by 80 to 93 percent. It would revise the existing standardof 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air to a level within the range of0.10 to 0.30 micrograms per cubic meter.

The agency is taking comment on alternative levels within a range from less than 0.10 to 0.50 micrograms per cubic meter. Since 1980, emissions of lead to the air have dropped nearly 98 percent nationwide, largely the result of the agency's phaseout of lead in gasoline. And average levels of lead in the air are far below the level of the 1978 standard. Lead in the air today comes from a variety of sources, including smelters, iron and steel foundries, and general aviation gasoline. About 1,300 tons of lead are emitted to the air each year, according to EPA's most recent estimates. Lead that is emitted into the air can be inhaled or, after it settles out of the air, can be ingested. Ingestion is the main route of human exposure. Once in the body, lead is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and can affect many organ systems.

More than 6,000 studies since 1990 have examined the effects of lead on health and the environment. Evidence from health studies indicates that lead in the blood can cause harm at much lower levels than previously understood. Exposure to lead is associated with a broad range of health effects, including harm to the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, kidneys and immune system. Children are particularly vulnerable: Exposures to low levels of lead early in life have been linked to effects on IQ, learning, memory and behavior. Lead also can cause toxic effects in plants and can impair reproduction and growth in birds, mammals and other organisms. EPA is proposing that the secondary standard, to protect the environment, be identical to the primary standard. EPA will accept public comment for 60 days after the proposal ispublished in the Federal Register. The agency will hold two publichearings on June 12, 2008: one in St. Louis and one in Baltimore. EPAmust issue a final decision on the lead standard by Sept. 15, 2008. Details about the proposal and public hearing information: http://www.epa.gov/air/lead

Emission Controls

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) and particulate matter (PM) can be controlled using two technologies: 1) Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) and 2) Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer. The WESP reduces the concentration of particulate matter in the gas stream to levls that are both acceptable for discharge to the atmosphere and suiable for treatment in downstream VOC control equipment. The RTO destroys VOCs with high-temperature combustion(1,500 degrees F).

With respect to air emission control, gases must be cleaned in order to meet local, state and federal environmental requirements. Treatment of these gases with the combined WESP/RTO system, right, results in a gas stream that exceeds all modern standards for the emission of particulate matter VOCs with a minimum of energy and maximum operational reliability

Operation of the wet device starts by spray quenching the gas stream to the wet-bulb temperature with recycled water. The quenching process serves two functions: first, the sprays serve to remove a large portion of the coarse particles that come from the dryer, and second, the resulting temperature reduction causes heavy organic vapors to condense into particles. After quenching, the gas stream passes upward into an array of discharge and collecting electrodes. Here, the electrostatic action takes over to charge, precipitate and remove over 90 percent of the remaining particles. Exiting the top, the clean gas is now suitable for treatment in the RTO.

The RTO system reduces the VOCs (including HAPs) by high-temperature combustion. Given the large volumes of gas to be treated, simply burning the gas stream at the required 1500˚F (as in a simple, direct-fired oxidizer) [is] economically unfeasible. Therefore, alternative energy-saving techniques [should be] employed. RTOs work by alternating the incoming gas stream through heat recovery beds prior to exposure to a 1500˚F combustion zone. These heat-recovery beds are filled with ceramic material that absorbs heat from the combustion chamber. Keeping the heat in these beds greatly minimizes the total energy expended. Typically, the temperatures rise from inlet to outlet of an RTO system is in the range of 75˚F, a far cry from the 1500˚F rise that would by required by a simple direct-fired oxidizer. Yet, the gas stream is exposed to the 1500˚F required for excellent VOC and HAP destruction.

(Source: Pollution Engineering magazine: "The Search for Economical Emission Controls")