EnergyBiz - November/December 2007 - (Page 68)

» teCh FRontIeR cost of Decarbonizing thE powEr to rEduCE Co2 EMiSSionS by rEViS JAMES the larGe-sCale Co2 reduCtIoNs envisioned to stabilize, and ultimately reverse, global atmospheric CO2 concentrations present major technical, economic, regulatory and policy challenges. Reconciling these challenges with continued growth in energy demand highlights the need for a diverse, economy-wide approach. The Electric Power Research Institute’s Energy Technology Assessment Center conducted a three-part analysis to assess the technical feasibility of substantial CO2 emissions reductions from the U.S. electricity sector; identify technology development pathways and associated research, development and demonstration (RD&D) funding needed to achieve this potential; and evaluate the economic impact of realizing emissions reduction targets. The electric sector should focus on a technologybased strategy for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. A technology-based strategy is sustainable, minimizes costs to the U.S. economy, and creates opportunities for other industries and the transportation sectors to reduce emissions through increased NewsFlash electrification. A diverse portfolio of brits Push Wave advanced technologies PoWer will be required. No single Funding has been technological “silver bullet” secured for a will suffice. Rather, a full port$57 million wave energy folio is needed that includes development off the coast of hayle, in the efficiency, renewable energy united kingdom. resources, nuclear, coal with up to 30 devices carbon capture and sequesdesigned to generate tration, and other technoloelectricity from the gies enabled by expanded motion of wave will be tested at the facility off and enhanced transmission the southwest coast of and distribution system the country. capabilities. The project could Significant RD&D will be eventually generate 20 megawatts of needed over a sustained electricity, enough period, and technology electricity for 7.500 development lead times homes. undersea demand immediate action. cables will carry power Timely, sustained investment generated by waves from a hub 10 miles offshore in public and private RD&D to an onshore substation could lower the cost of emisonce the project is sions reductions on the order operational in 2009. of $1 trillion, and significantly developers of new wave power generators reduce increases in wholewill be able to test their sale electricity costs. equipment by plugging The RD&D pathways into the hub, according addressed in this analysis to a report in the Belfast provide a framework for a Telegraph. (GUEST OPINION) comprehensive RD&D Action Plan that EPRI will publish later this year. This plan will reflect input from industry and EPRI revis James stakeholders, continuing PHoto courtEsy of EPri the broad, collaborative effort to determine the most appropriate technology pathways for achieving substantial CO2 emissions reductions from the U.S. electricity sector. emIssIons ReDuCtIon PotentIAL The first part of the EPRI analysis evaluated the U.S. electricity sector’s potential for reducing CO2 emissions based on deployment of a full portfolio of advanced technologies: end-use energy efficiency, renewables, nuclear power generation, advanced coal-fired power generation, coal-fired generation with carbon capture and sequestration, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and distributed energy resources. This analysis represents an estimate of the potential electricity sector CO2 emission reductions, in that it focuses solely on technical capabilities, while assuming no economic or policy constraints on emissions. The emissions reduction analysis concluded that, with significant advances in technology performance and deployment, the technical potential exists to achieve an approximate 45 percent reduction in U.S. electricity sector CO2 emissions by 2030, relative to base case projections by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accomplishing significant emissions reductions will require aggressive technology development and deployment. The second part of the EPRI analysis identified the sequence of RD&D activities needed to achieve the technology performance and deployment targets required for large-scale emissions reductions. To effectively deploy the full portfolio of advanced technologies, the electricity sector must address challenges that EPRI describes in four technology development pathways over the coming decades: • Deploy smart distribution grids and communications infrastructures to enable widespread end-use efficiency technology deployment, distributed generation, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. • Deploy transmission grids and associated energy storage infrastructures with the capacity and reliability to operate with 20 to 30 percent intermittent renewables in specific regions of the United States. 68 E n E rgyB i z November/December 2007 http://www.energycentral.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EnergyBiz - November/December 2007

EnergyBiz - November/December 2007 Contents Continental Grid Vision Needed Readers’ Views and Opinions Next for National Grid Clearing the Air The Need for Nuclear Energy Trade Status Report The Innovators California On The Leading Edge FERC Sparks Change Getting Coal Right Leadership in Times of Turmoil Innovation Delivers Return A Tale of Two IPOs LNGs Bright Prospects Generation Techologies The Age of Superconductors Leaders with Vision Get Ready for Plug-in Hybrids Betting on Batteries Cost of Decarbonizing Nuclear Helmsman – A chat with Dale Klein, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Global Energy Snapshot; Low-Income Energy Help; IT Spending Robust; The Greening of State Regulators; Generating Support Simplifying Offshore Wind Regs Chasing Construction Costs Energy Agency Sets New Course Deregulation Means Higher Rates Go-To Staffer Nightmare in Manhatten

EnergyBiz - November/December 2007

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