Nuclear energy in combination with renewable sources of energy represented a safe alternative to fossil fuels.

Expectations of a sharp rise in energy demand and the risk of climate change are pushing many countries to return to the idea of nuclear power, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on March 21.
Even the most conservative estimates predict at least a doubling of energy usage by mid-century, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a conference on nuclear energy in the 21st century.
He said any discussion of the energy sector “must begin by acknowledging the expected substantial growth in energy demand in the coming decades“.
It was unclear what role nuclear power would play, though it appeared to be an increasingly important one, he said.
“All indicators show that an increased level of emphasis on subjects such as fast growing energy demands, security of energy supply, and the risk of climate change are driving a reconsideration, in some quarters, of the need for greater investment in nuclear power,“ ElBaradei said.
“The IAEA’s low projection, based on the most conservative assumptions, predicts 427 gigawatts of global nuclear energy capacity in 2020, the equivalent of 127 more 1,000 megawatt nuclear plants than previous projections,“ he said, Reuters reported.
ElBaradei pointed to nuclear energy policy plans in China, Finland, the United States and possibly Poland as proof that nuclear power may be returning to vogue.
But he warned despite an improved atomic energy industry: “Nuclear power was dealt a heavy blow by the tragedy of the 1986 Chernobyl accident, a blow from which the reputation of the nuclear industry has never fully recovered.“
The explosion at the Chernobyl plant in then-Soviet Ukraine, the world’s worst civil nuclear accident, spewed a cloud of radioactivity across Europe and has been blamed for thousands of deaths from radiation-linked illness. More than 100,000 people had to be resettled.
On the topic of climate change and the threat posed by greenhouse gases, ElBaradei said nuclear energy in combination with renewable sources of energy represented a safe alternative to fossil fuels.
“Nuclear power emits virtually no greenhouse gases. The complete nuclear power chain, from uranium mining to waste disposal, and including reactor and facility construction, emits only 2-6 grams of carbon per kilowatt hour,“ he said.
“This is about the same as wind and solar power and one to two orders below coal, oil and even natural gas.“

Reports say a chemical catalyst that increases hydrogen production without using a toxic metal common to other catalysts could be a step toward using America’s coal supply to power alternative fuel vehicles and equipment.
The catalyst uses a combination of iron, aluminum, and other metals to harvest hydrogen from carbon monoxide and water, said Umit Ozkan, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University. In tests, the catalyst performed up to 25% better than a commercially available alternative.
Around the world, researchers are working to develop fuel cells, devices that use chemical reactions to produce electricity. Cars are a prime target for this technology, and experts believe the type of fuel cell best suited to cars is one that runs on hydrogen, isa.org said.
“Hydrogen is the ultimate fuel,“ Ozkan said. “At the same time, we have very large coal reserves. If we could somehow go from coal to hydrogen, we could put those reserves to use in a new way.“
The first step for making hydrogen from coal is a process called gasification, which converts coal to a carbon monoxide-rich stream. The next step, retrieving hydrogen from a reaction between carbon monoxide and water, only works within a narrow range of low temperatures. New catalysts need to boost the reaction, especially for large-scale coal gasification, she said.
Until now, the most popular commercial catalyst has been one made from iron and the toxic metal chromium. During hydrogen production, the catalyst can release chromium as a byproduct. When the catalyst material has passed its useful lifetime, it requires expensive disposal methods.
Because researchers don’t fully understand why the iron-chromium catalyst works as well as it does, coming up with a more environmentally friendly alternative hasn’t been easy.
“We didn’t just want to make a better catalyst, but also understand why it’s better and what we can do to make it work even better,“ Ozkan said.
She suspected the chromium helps maintain the pore structure of iron during the reaction, so they looked for a metal with a similar chemical structure. That led them to aluminum and to other complementary metals that greatly increased hydrogen production.
“What is important is not only which metals are used, but how these metal molecules fit together. We believe the specific way we prepare the catalyst is a key factor in its superior performance,“ she said. “This performance was maintained when we tested the catalyst using a feed mixture similar to what is produced from coal gasification,“ she added.

The continuous expansion of the solar factories in the current year will again make for higher production and sales figures.

After securing a financing package of some 80 million Euro (US$ 103 million), Germany’s SolarWorld AG will almost double their solar silicon PV manufacturing from 120 MW to 220 MW. With its world market share of 15 percent the SolarWorld Group is already among the leading providers of mono- and polycrystalline silicon wafers for solar power technology. This move is expected to increase the company’s market presence at a time when Germany itself offers one of the most robust markets for solar in the world.
The investments now secured by Deutsche Solar AG and consortium manager Sachsen LB will make possible the expansion of the production capacities at the Freiberg location from 120 MW to 220 MW by the end of 2006.
The investments will go into modern production buildings and into the expansion of the infrastructure. In addition, the TCVP melting kilns developed by the company itself will be employed for crystallization in the so-called “Silicon Saxony“. Several hundred new jobs will be created in the company itself as well as in the supplier companies as a result of these investments, according to solaracces.com.
“The financing secures the expansion of solar wafer production at the Freiberg location and enables us to continue our course of expansion from the past,“ said Ekhard von Dewitz, CFO of Deutsche Solar AG, Freiberg. “With this expansion Saxony and Freiberg establish themselves as the European solar power center.“
A few weeks ago the SolarWorld Group had agreed the financing for the expansion of solar cell production from 30 to 120 MW and of solar module production from 30 to 80 MW with IKB as the consortium manager.
The continuous expansion of the solar factories in the current year will again make for higher production and sales figures, said the company.
“In 2005 we are expecting a production increase in wafer manufacture to at least 150 MW,“ said Peter Woditsch, Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Solar AG. “This means, we will again outperform the rest of our industry.“
In the consortium of well-know banks Sachsen LB has assumed the role of Mandated Lead Arranger for the financing package. Other participating banks in addition to HypoVereinsbank are the BW Bank and the HSH Nordbank as well as the IKB and the WGZ Bank.
As far back as in 2000 Sachsen LB already started supporting the build-up and the expansion of the Freiberg solar center in the context of the semiconductor business that existed in Saxony.

While private studies forecast 1970s-style oil price surges, an international energy watchdog will advocate an emergency oil plan, need for demand restraint, driving bans and shorter working weeks, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The paper said the International Energy Agency (IEA) will warn this month that oil importing countries should implement emergency oil saving policies if supplies fall by as little as one million to two million barrels per day (bpd). The figure is much lower than the official trigger of 7 per cent of global oil supply equivalent to six million bpd agreed in the treaty that founded the energy watchdog for industrialized countries after the oil crisis of the 1970s.
A fall in supply of just one million to two million bpd would be equivalent to the disruptions during the 2003 Iraq war or the 2002 oil industry strike in Venezuela, it said. The warning comes as stock markets were roiled after investment bank Goldman Sachs forecast on Thursday that oil markets have entered a ’super-spike’ period that could see 1970s-style price surges as high as US$105 a barrel, business-times.asia1.com reported.
Following the report, US light crude traded up 20 US cents to US$55.60 a barrel, moving back towards the record high of US$57.60 struck on March 17.
The FT said a warning to set up ’demand restraint policies’ in the transport sector, such as driving bans or shorter working weeks, is also contained in a study to be published this month during the annual IEA meeting of energy ministers. It highlights the agency’s concern about the possibility of a supply shock, the economic impact of high oil prices, and the need to focus on conserving energy rather than simply encouraging higher production.
The paper said the report marks a departure in IEA policy, as it says demand restraint measures, until now confined to times of crisis, ’may be attractive during extended periods of high oil prices to relieve demand pressure’.
In a draft of the report, the IEA suggests dramatic measures, such as reducing motorway speed limits by 25 per cent, shortening the working week, imposing driving bans on certain days, providing free public transport and promoting car pooling schemes. Investment in such schemes will be needed before any crisis occurs, the IEA says. ’A rapid (demand) response can send a strong market signal,’ says the report, entitled Saving Oil in a Hurry. ’A reduction in IEA transport fuel demand of even a few per cent could have a substantial damping effect on surging world oil prices.’

Including the wind farms commissioned today, Canada's total wind-power capacity is now 552 megawatts.

Canada’s wind-power capacity, already the fastest-growing form of electricity generation in Canada, has taken another significant step forward with the announcement of funding for two new wind-power projects in Murdochville, Quebec. The announcement was made by Jacques Saada, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, on behalf of R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
Together, the 60 turbines at the Mount Miller and Mount Copper wind farms provide 108 megawatts of wind-energy capacity, lifting Canada’s total wind-power generation capacity from 444 to more than 550 megawatts, an increase of nearly 25 percent.
The new wind farms were developed with the support of the Government of Canada’s Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI), which will contribute more than $36.5 million to the two projects over the next ten years. The WPPI is administered by NRCan, oilvoice.com reported.
“To address climate change and maintain a strong and growing economy, we need a reliable supply of competitively priced, clean energy,“ said Minister Saada. “The Wind Power Production Incentive allows the Government of Canada to play a key role in expanding our supply of clean, renewable wind power, and demonstrates our commitment to action on climate change.“
In the Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada made a commitment to quadruple the WPPI, and followed through on that commitment in the most recent federal Budget. Funding to the WPPI has been increased to more than $900 million, with a goal of adding 4,000 megawatts to Canada’s wind-energy capacity by 2010.
“Wind power is a perfect example of how we can do good for the environment, and do good for business at the same time,“ said Mr. Robert Vincent, President of 3CI, Incorporated, co-developer with Northland Power of the Mount Miller wind farm and co-developer with Creststreet Power Holdings of the Mount Copper wind farm. “The price of wind-generated electricity is becoming more and more competitive, and the Wind Power Production Incentive is playing an important part in accelerating its competitiveness.“
Under the WPPI, eligible recipients, such as independent power producers, utilities and cooperatives, can receive an incentive of approximately one cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of production for electricity generated by their wind farms. Payments to eligible recipients are made over ten years and begin once a wind farm is commissioned or operational. Typical large-scale wind turbines have a life expectancy of about 20 years.
Including the wind farms commissioned today, Canada’s total wind-power capacity is now 552 megawatts. Through the WPPI, the Government of Canada has contributed to the development of almost 60 percent of that capacity.
The Government of Canada’s approach to climate change is focused on making the right choices for Canada.

Turbines using existing designs could be placed inside large-bore underwater pipes to produce a reliable, clean and cost-effective source of tidal power, a Dorset engineer claims.
Don Cutler, founder of the Weymouth, UK-based engineering firm Tekflo, which developed equipment for water systems and North Sea oil rigs, produced his design after hearing that Portland Harbour was being investigated as the possible site for a wind farm. He has now set up a company, SusGen, to develop his system in collaboration with Southampton University. A working model generating around 100kW should soon be tested offshore, he said, e4engineering.com reported.
In the Channel, tides flow in relatively straight lines, varying from a maximum of five knots to zero before the process reverses as the sea flows back. In Cutler’s design a simple framework is attached to a reinforced-concrete base consisting of a hollow box with open ends which is fixed to the seabed by anchors or screws.
The turbine and generator are positioned in the mid-section of the box, and are fitted as a module so they can easily be removed for maintenance. Each end of the box is slightly flared to act as a funnel for the water, gathering it into a narrower section that forms the entrance to the turbine. This also extends the useful energy capture when the tide’s direction changes.
The design uses multi-bladed turbines driving electric generators, all of which are positioned under the sea to minimize their environmental impact. In tests, simple six-blade turbines have achieved an efficiency of 50 per cent, but Cutler is working to develop a more efficient system, likely to be made from carbon fiber or reinforced glass fiber and featuring a twisted design where the angle of attack changes along the blade length.