Pakistan government is actively working to launch a national coal policy aimed at attracting the much needed foreign investment in transfer of technology and to have a coal-based alternate energy source exploiting the coal reserves in Sindh province.
According to a study initiated by the Sindh Coal Authority, the Thar coal deposits are sufficient to meet fuel requirements of the country for centuries and would generate about 100,000 mega watt (MW) of electricity. Only 200 million tons Thar coal (lignite) can produce 1000MW electricity power up to 40 years in the country, Business Times said.
In Pakistan, the share of coal in energy has fallen from 68 per cent to 35 per cent and specifically 5 per cent in 2002 due to the increased share of natural gas and cheaper oil in the power generation of the country.
However, the scenario has now changed: gas reserves of the country are depleting as industrial units were extensively using the natural gas. At the same time, oil reserves of the country were limited with high cost of production, thereby putting increasing country’s oil import bill.
Renewable source of energy such as wind and solar produce are high cost energy, while nuclear energy requires public acceptance with safety issues and disposal of waste cycle. Hydel power generation is seasonal with environmental problems and displacement of population and rehabilitation.
The study reveals that, share of coal in country’s energy mix is to be increased at least 19 per cent by 2030 and 50 per cent by year 2050. Sindh lignite reserves are huge and suitable for power generation as compared to lignite being sued in the world for electricity generation. It is a cheap dependable energy source and would meet countries energy requirements for centuries.
Thar coalfield is spread over an area of 9000sq kilometer, which consists over 175 billion tons with proven coal reserves over 12 billion tons of six delineated blocks over an area of 500-kilo meters.
Indigenous resources are free from uncertainties of fuel supply and associated danger of dictation of oil prices by oil suppliers. Coal drive much of current global economic development and providing 23 per cent of global primary energy needs and generates about 39 per cent of the world energy.
Coal is to play integral role in the economic development of many countries and it can play a major role in addressing sustainable development in the filed of economic, social and environment. Pakistan coals are mostly lignite and Thar coal (lignite) with proved reserves of 12 billion tons has over burden ratio 5 to 7, which can be economically mined.
Clean coal technology is available, which has made possible to use lignite with zero emission.
Thar Coalfield: Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP), discovered huge deposits of coals in 1992 at Thar during the research program, assisted by United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Spread over an area of more than 9000 square kilometers with dimensions of 140 kilometers north south and 65 kilometers in the east-west possess 175.506 billion tons of coal.

About a fifth of all US-produced electricity is from nuclear power.

The US Department of Energy is looking to nuclear programs at the University of Missouri-Columbia and elsewhere to develop the next generation of more efficient, safer and environmentally friendly nuclear technology.
“Right now, the US is definitely taking the lead in exploring it,“ said MU nuclear engineering Professor Sudarshan Loyalka, who will lead a three-university consortium that will train at least 15 doctoral students from MU. The students will research five projects related to developing Generation IV technology over the next three years, funded by a $3 million Department of Energy grant, according to Columbiatribune.com.
“This is a technology that a lot of nations are interested in and a lot of private companies are interested in,“ Loyalka said of the goal to better understand the next-generation reactor, which can reach 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Loyalka said the studies would seek to measure the flow of gases inside the nuclear reactor after fission, or the splitting of uranium nuclei and subsequent release of neutrons and energy. The studies are to help scientists develop safe and efficient next-generation reactors.
Most of the 104 US nuclear reactors active today are known as Generation II, and they have core temperatures that reach 300 to 350 degrees Celsius. In these reactors--many of them 30 years old or older--only one-third of the energy produced can be used. Generation IV reactors would be as much as 50 percent efficient, meaning more electricity produced with less nuclear waste.
“This has been the dream of many people for a long time: to build a reactor of this type,“ Loyalka said.
About a fifth of all US-produced electricity is from nuclear power, but power from fission could become more acceptable as demand for greener energy grows. Loyalka wrote in a recent article that one gram of uranium can produce the same amount of energy as 2 to 3 tons of coal. In countries such as France, 70 percent of all electricity comes from nuclear energy.
“The department is looking at our nation’s universities and national laboratories and industry to conduct our nuclear energy R&D,“ Shane Johnson, principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy, said in a telephone interview. “Universities play an important role in that triad of research.“
Experts say the push for Generation IV technology is a catch-up effort by the United States. While US plans for Generation IV reactors project a goal of having them online by 2021, South Africa plans a start-up by 2012.
“The US has always been a leader in nuclear technology. Most of the reactors originated in the US,“ said Andrew Kadak, a professor of nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “However, the recent lack of interest in new plants means other countries like China, France, Korea and Japan have really taken over the leadership role in technology development. This is a US effort to regain position.“
Johnson said one DOE initiative streamlined the licensing process so utilities will apply to build more plants. The department’s efforts have resulted in one application to be submitted later this month and another in December.
Kadak said China is building six to eight reactors and plans to build 50 new reactors in 25 years. With worldwide energy demand rising rapidly, and the price of the world’s fossil fuels rising, the United States is reaching out to other nations to share technology and monitor nuclear proliferation.
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, Shannon said, “is the recognition by the United States government of the emerging concerns of global climate change, increasing expense“ of fossil fuels “and the international energy supply. The US is taking the lead role in the GNEP to ensure that expansion is done in a safe and secure manner.“
That means ensuring developing countries have the infrastructure and design in place to secure a nuclear facility against terrorist threats. It also means developed nations would deliver nuclear fuel and collect nuclear waste.
“We see that as a technology means to control any diversion of material or protect them from any kind of terrorist threat,“ Shannon said. “If you look in the US at the 104 commercial reactors, they are without doubt the most secure industrial facilities in this country. If a terrorist tries to go after a weak point, they wouldn’t go after a commercial reactor.“

The question is no longer “Who has seen the wind?“ but “Who owns the wind?“ In the developing world of renewable energy, can neighboring wind farms steal from each other? What if you put solar panels on your roof and your neighbor plants a tree that blocks them from the sun? Do you have a right to solar access?
These aren’t just philosophical questions, but real-life challenges that are already lining lawyers’ pockets in Canada and Europe, Canada.com reported.
“Who owns the wind over land, and at what height does that ownership start?“ said John Marrone, director general of the CANMET Energy Technology Centre at Natural Resources Canada.
“Those are the kinds of issues that emerge. We never had to worry about these things, and now we do.“
In the Drake Landing Solar Community in the Alberta town of Okotoks, just south of Calgary, Sterling Homes inserted legal encumbrances into its purchase agreements, stipulating that the 52 new homeowners could not plant vegetation that shaded solar panels.
And there are lots of solar panels in the leading-edge community. Each home has two 1.2-by-2.5-meter panels on its roof to supply hot water to the family living down below.
Added to that, the 52 detached garages hold 800 panels that contribute solar power to run a district heating system that all neighbors share.
“It’s not just that you’re covering your own solar panels, you’re covering the whole neighborhood’s solar panels,“ said Marrone, whose department helped develop the community.
Keith Paget, manager of special projects for Sterling Homes, said the encumbrances, which also allow utilities access to the panels, will bind all future property owners in the community.
“Future purchasers have to agree to the same thing,“ Paget said.
Sterling didn’t have any models to use, and lawyers spent three months and about $190,000 to devise the legal wording for the purchase agreements and register it on the land titles.
Homeowner Denise Francis said she had no problem approving the encumbrances when she and her husband bought their Drake Landing home in June 2006 and doesn’t foresee any conflicts with neighbors.
“We all have solar panels so we’re all in the same boat,“ she said, adding that it will be a while until their small trees are tall enough to worry about anyhow.
Although these agreements have solved the solar access issue in Drake Landing, the situation would be different for an individual homeowner.
“If your neighbor planted a tree next door that would shade your house half the day, there’s not much you can do about it,“ Paget said. “You might have a little difficulty.“
“We have some concern about this,“ said Elizabeth McDonald, executive director of the Canadian Solar Industries Association. “We will be facing these issues and I think there’s a lot of need for discussion in the communities where this will impact.“
Solar energy is not the only area where problems can arise. A “wind theft“ court case has arisen in Germany, where an existing wind farm claims that a planned neighboring windfarm’s giant turbines will create a slipstream, decreasing the speed of airflow, cutting into profits.
“It’s absolutely true--of course that could happen,“ said Marrone. “If you have a lot of machines, you’re changing the pattern of the wind.“
That situation has not yet arisen in Canada, where we have fewer wind farms and more space to spread them out, but it could eventually happen at the best wind sites, Marrone believes.
Conflicts between wind farm owners have occurred in many countries where the best sites are close together--Germany, Britain, Denmark and New Zealand, said James Glennie, director of business development for the Wind Energy Institute of Canada--a non-profit research and testing facility in Prince Edward Island.
However, Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, said wind theft might not become an issue in Canada if we learn from the problems that arise elsewhere.
Other emerging technologies that could bring new legal wrangles include wave energy, tidal energy, biofuels and micro-hydro on small rivers and streams.
Marrone said the situation is similar to what the oil and gas industries went through when they first emerged.
“I’m sure the first time somebody drilled a hole, some of these issues came up--if somebody drills a hole right next to you and he’s taking... your oil,“ Marrone said.
“Somehow, we’ve gotten through all that and now there’s all this jurisprudence and everyone knows what to expect of each other’s rights and privileges.“

The Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line in Connecticut is undergoing a $2.3 billion renovation, and two local fuel cell companies are getting a nod to play a part.
Fuel cells are identified as an economically viable option to provide primary, and backup, power in locations including maintenance buildings and passenger stations along the 100-mile rail line, according to a recent report by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
The academy’s report, submitted to the Legislature last week, singles out two Connecticut companies with commercial products capable of generating enough power for the rail’s applications--Danbury’s FuelCell Energy Inc. and South Windsor’s UTC Power. No particular vendor was recommended, pending a likely competitive procurement process for state contracts, Fuelcellsworks.com reported.
The academy’s report also examines the use of fuel cells to power trains, but finds that plan is not yet as economically viable as others.
Connecticut legislators commissioned the report last November to examine how fuel cells could help reduce stress on the state’s power grid created by the drag of the New Haven Line.
Metro-North Railroad officials report the rail line is the state’s second-largest energy consumer, eating about 0.7 percent of the state’s total power consumption.
Information in the report will be used to further assess the possibility of using fuel cells in certain facilities as those locations are designed and built. The Legislature and the Connecticut Department of Transportation report plans to seek more information before moving to a bid process.

Canada's Esteban solar car Esteban IV competes in the qualifying laps for the World Solar Challenge race in Darwin October 20, 2007 which begins this weekend.

Sun-powered-car enthusiasts from around the world raced into the Australia outback on Oct. 21 at speeds nearing 100 kilometers-per-hour at the start of the World Solar Challenge.
Thousands of onlookers crowded the streets of Darwin in Australia’s tropical north for the beginning of the 3,000-km (1,863 mile) race, a biennial event since 1987, gawking at the sleek foil-like vehicles resembling giant microchips, according to Reuters.
The only rule over the mostly straightaway course through Australia’s “red center“ in temperatures that can exceed 50 degrees Celsius is that the custom-built vehicles run on nothing but the sun.
“The drivers will be sitting on between 90 and 100 kilometers per hour as much as they can, though most are capable of going faster,“ said race coordinator Chris Selwood.
“But this really is not just about who is the fastest, it’s more about energy efficiency and management,“ he said.
The racers from 17 countries were warned they were likely to encounter gusting desert winds, blazing temperatures, irate truck drivers and even kangaroos over three or four days before hopefully zooming across the finish line in the Southern Ocean port city of Adelaide.
Three times winner Nuon Solar from the Netherlands holds the race record of 29 hours and 11 minutes.
For obvious reasons, racing each day takes place only during daylight hours. Drivers and crew of the more than 40 vehicles are required to camp out where they end up each night.
“It started out sunny and humid but there were some clouds starting to form, but that’s just one more piece in the chess game as far as I’m concerned,“ Selwood said.
A vehicle entered by the University of Michigan in the United States so far provided the only hiccup in the race, colliding with its support vehicle several kilometers from the starting line, Selwood said.
“Nobody was hurt and they hope to get back in the race,“ he said.
Gasoline/electric hybrids and ethanol production cars were also racing in separate categories.