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The future of Palm Srrrinns'CoGeneration Plants „Fgliruary 2011
Original cost of both systems(engines,equipment,etc.) (????) »»»»»»»»»»» $
25 years of natural gas($20,000,000?)(2011:192,000 dths=$1,900,000)»»»»»»»> $
25 years of maintenance, R& R, labor, etc.>»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»>> $
25 years of CO2 pollution(672,000,000 Ibs?)(2011:192,000 dths X 140 Ibs=26,880,000 Ibs) $_no dollar amount_
25 years of Methane greenhouse gases(20-72 times worse than CO2)»»»»»»»»» $
Cost of a solar and/or wind installation »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»> $
25 years of fuel(sun and wind) >a»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» $ 0.0
25 years of maintenance, R& R, labor,etc. (Solar is least of all energies)»»»»»»>>>> $
25 years of any pollution »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»>>»»»>»»»»»» $ None
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1. Buy/Lease$2,000,000 of solar and wind energy each year for the next 25 years.
2. Scrap the natural gas plants and buy energy from SCE:
SCE energy production mix: Hydro 5%
Nuclear 20%
Natural Gas 50%
Coal 8%
Renewables 17%
Other negative isjUll Njth b111MJ-fi"
- Fracking—chemicals,water usage,drinking water contamination
- Transport of liquid natural gas -Carbon Tax
- Leaks of natural gas(methane) -GMI-Global Methane Initiative of 2010
- Methane emissions react to form ozone -Natural Gas exemptions of clean air and water laws
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Drinking water after fracking
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Demand for Natural Gas drives fracking
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Copyngh Henry Christemen.Md
(Excerpts:
Methane's Impacts on Climate Change May Be Twice Previous Estimates
07.18.05
Our Earth is much like a greenhouse,where a mixture of gases in our atmosphere acts together like a pane of
glass, letting the sun's rays in, and without letting as much warmth escape out to space.
Drew Shindell, a climatologist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies,New York,NY,believes we
need to look at the GHGs when they are emitted at Earth's surface, instead of looking at the GHGs themselves
after they have been mixed into the atmosphere. "The gas molecules undergo chemical changes and once they
do, looking at them after they've mixed and changed in the atmosphere doesn't give an accurate picture of their
effect," Shindell said. "For example,the amount of methane in the atmosphere is affected by pollutants that
change methane's chemistry, and it doesn't reflect the effects of methane on other greenhouse gases," said
Shindell, "so it's not directly related to emissions,which are what we set policies for."
Once GHGs like methane and the molecules that create ozone are released into the air,these gases mix and
react together,which transforms their compositions. When gases are altered, their contribution to the
greenhouse warming effect also shifts. So,the true effect of a single GHG emission on climate becomes very
hard to single out.
The leading greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide,methane,nitrous oxide, and halocarbons. These gases are
called `well mixed' greenhouse gases because of their long lifetimes of a decade or more, which allows them to
disperse evenly around the atmosphere. They are emitted from both man-made and natural sources. Ozone in
the lower atmosphere, called tropospheric ozone or smog, also has greenhouse warming effects. In the upper
atmosphere, ozone protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.
His study on the subject was just published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
According to new calculations,methane's effect on warming the world's climate may be double what is
currently thought. The new interpretations reveal methane emissions may account for a whopping third of the
climate warming from well-mixed greenhouse gases between the 1750s and today. The IPCC report states that
methane increases in our atmosphere account for only about one sixth of the total effect of well-mixed
greenhouse gases on warming.
Part of the reason the new calculations give a larger effect is that they include the effect methane has on air
pollution. A major component of air pollution is near-surface-level or tropospheric ozone,which is not directly
emitted, but is instead formed chemically from methane other hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen
oxides. By categorizing the climate effects according to emissions, Shindell and colleagues found the total
effects of methane emissions are substantially larger. In other words,the true source of some of the warming
that is normally attributed to smog is really due to methane that leads to increased smog.
Basic Information Natural Gas STAR
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Methane is emitted by oil production and all sectors of the natural gas industry,from drilling and production,through processing and
storage,to transmission and distribution. Given that methane is the primary component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas,
reducing these emissions results in many environmental, economic and operational benefits.
Overview of Natural Gas STAR
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide(CO2) in trapping heat in the atmosphere over a
100-year period and is emitted from a variety of natural and human-influenced sources. Methane is also a primary constituent of
natural gas, an important energy source. To learn more, visit EPA's Climate Change and Methane Web sites.
Working collaboratively with the oil and natural gas industry in the United States since 1993, Natural Gas STAR has provided a
framework to encourage partner companies to implement methane emissions reducing technologies and practices and document
their voluntary emission reduction activities.
Oil and natural gas systems encompass wells, gas gathering and processing facilities, storage, and transmission and distribution
pipelines. These components are all important aspects of the natural gas cycle—the process of getting natural gas out of the ground
and to the end user.
Major Methane Emission Sources and Opportunities to Reduce Methane Emissions
Oil and natural gas operations are a significant source of global methane emissions and account for approximately 18 percent of the
total human-made sources according to the EPA, Global_Anthropogenic Non-0O2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 1990 -2020 report,
dated June 2006. This inventory data further shows that the United States contributes 12 percent of the worldwide emissions from
oil and natural gas systems. (See breakdown of top S methane emitting countries below.) Also, according to the EPA 1nventoay of
U.S. Greenhouse (rases and Sinks: 1990-2008, dated April 2010,oil and gas systems are one of the largest human-made sources of
methane emissions and account for 22 percent of methane emissions in the United States or 1.8 percent of the total greenhouse gas
emissions in the United States.
Methane emissions occur in all sectors of the natural gas industry,from drilling and production,through processing and transmission,
to distribution. They primarily result from normal operations, routine maintenance,fugitive leaks and system upsets. As gas moves
through the system, emissions occur through intentional venting and unintentional leaks. Venting can occur through equipment
design or operational practices, such as the continuous bleed of gas from pneumatic devices(that control gas flows, levels,
temperatures, and pressures in the equipment), or venting from well completions during production. In addition to vented emissions,
methane losses can occur from leaks(also referred to as fugitive emissions) in all parts of the infrastructure,from connections
between pipes and vessels,to valves and equipment.
Nuclear energy is less polluting than gas from a climate-changing perspective, but it is costly and viewed skeptically in the
United States because of the dangers of disposing of radioactive waste. So-called"clean coal"—including underground
carbon sequestration---could work, but the technology has repeatedly stalled, remains unproven, and is at least 15 years
away. Renewable sources like wind and solar are being developed rapidly, but the energy is expensive and won't provide
a commanding supply of electricity for decades.
Methane Is a Potent Climate Gas
Measuring the amount of natural gas that is leaking during drilling is one challenge. Getting a grip on how that gas---which
is mostly methane—affects the environment, and what effect it will have on global warming, is another. And on that, some
scientists still disagree.
Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, as well as methane, propane and lesser-known gases that also affect climate
change. For the purposes of standardization, all these gases are described together using the unit Cote, or carbon
dioxide"equivalent." But because each gas has a different potency, or"warming" effect on the atmosphere, a factor is
applied to convert it to an equivalent of carbon dioxide.
Methane, the primary component of natural gas and among the more potent greenhouse gases, has far more of an effect
on climate change than carbon dioxide. But determining the factor that should be applied to measure its relative warming
affect is still being debated.
To crunch its numbers, the EPA calculated the average concentration of methane in the atmosphere over a 100-year
period and determined that over that period methane is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Using that equation, a
ton of methane emissions is the equivalent of 21 tons of carbon dioxide.
But some scientists argue that the impact of methane gas should be calculated over a shorter time period, because
methane degrades quickly, and because gas drilling releases large quantities of methane into the atmosphere all at once,
likely concentrating and amplifying the effect.
Robert Howarth, an environmental biology professor at Cornell University, used research from the United Nations to
calculate that if methane's potency were considered over 20 years rather than 100 years, it would be 72 times as powerful
as carbon dioxide in terms of its warming potential.
Figured that way, the climate effect of methane from natural gas would quickly outpace the climate effect of carbon
dioxide from burning coal. Howarth's research is incomplete and has been criticized because at first he failed to figure in
methane emissions from coal mining. But he said that after correcting his error, the emissions from coal barely changed,
and the data still showed that the intensity of methane could erase the advantages of using natural gas.
"Even small leakages of natural gas to the atmosphere have very large consequences," Howarth wrote in a March
memorandum, which he says is a precursor to a more thorough study that could begin to scientifically answer these
questions. "When the total emissions of greenhouse gases are considered ... natural gas and coal from mountaintop
removal probably have similar releases, and in fact natural gas may be worse in terms of consequences on global
warming."
Howarth says his latest calculations show that the type of shale gas drilling taking place in parts of Texas, New York and
Pennsylvania leads to particularly high emissions and would likely be just as dirty as coal.
Environmental groups say factual data on how much methane is emitted from gas fields—and what the warming affect of
that methane is—should be locked down before major policy decisions are made to shift the nation toward more reliance
on gas.
"You can't just assume away some of these sources as de minimus,"said Tom Singer, a senior policy analyst for the
Natural Resources Defense Council who focuses on emissions reporting in New Mexico. "You need to get a handle on
them before you can make a determination."
The EPA now reports that emissions from conventional hydraulic fracturing are 35 times higher than the agency had
previously estimated. It also reports that emissions from the type of hydraulic fracturing being used in the nation's
bountiful new shale gas reserves, like the Marcellus, are almost 9,000 times higher than it had previously calculated, a
figure that begins to correspond with Robert Howarth's research at Cornell.
Clean Enough to Count On?
Even small changes in the lifecycle emissions figures for gas would eventually affect policy and incentives for the utility
industry, and ultimately make a big difference in how gas stacks up against its alternatives.
The utilities are in a bind because they have to build new power plants to meet the nation's demand for energy,while
anticipating an as-yet-undefined set of federal climate and emissions regulations that they believe are inevitable.
"Going from a 100 percent CO2 emitter to a 50 percent solution when you could go beyond that is something we need to
turn our attention to,"said Akins. "If there is a 90 percent solution for coal, and other forms like nuclear, and renewables,
then obviously you want to push in that direction as well."
Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated
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An antelope passes by a natural gas drilling rig south of Pinedale,Wyo.(Douglas C.Pizac/AP file photo)by Abrahm Lustgarten
excerpts from ProPublica,Jan.26,2011
The United States is poised to bet its energy future on natural gas as a clean, plentiful fuel that can supplant coal and oil.
But new research by the EPA—and a growing understanding of the pollution associated with the full"life cycle"of gas
production--is casting doubt on the assumption that gas offers a quick and easy solution to climate change.
Advocates for natural gas routinely assert that it produces 50 percent less greenhouse gases than coal and is a significant
step toward a greener energy future. But those assumptions are based on emissions from the tailpipe or smokestack and
don't account for the methane and other pollution emitted when gas is extracted and piped to power plants and other
customers.
The EPNs new analysis doubles its previous estimates for the amount of methane gas that leaks from loose pipe fittings
and is vented from gas wells, drastically changing the picture of the nation's emissions that the agency painted as recently
as April. Calculations for some gas-field emissions jumped by several hundred percent. Methane levels from the hydraulic
fracturing of shale gas were 9,000 times higher than previously reported.
When all these emissions are counted, gas may be as little as 25 percent cleaner than coal, or perhaps'even less.
Even accounting for the new analysis, natural gas—which also emits less toxic and particulate pollution--offers a
significant environmental advantage. But the narrower the margins get, the weaker the political arguments become and
the more power utilities flinch at investing billions to switch to a fuel that may someday lose the government's long-term
support.
Billions of cubic feet of climate-changing greenhouse gases—roughly the equivalent of the annual emissions from 35
million automobiles—seep from loose pipe valves or are vented intentionally from gas production facilities into the
atmosphere each year, according to the EPA. Gas drilling emissions alone account for at least one-fifth of human-caused
methane in the world's atmosphere, the World Bank estimates: and as more notura! E ?-p gas is- drilled, ?ne �[-r•.
emissions to increase dramatically.
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Other scientists say the pollution gap between gas and coal could shrink even more_ That's in part because the primary
pollutant from natural gas, methane, is far more potent than other greenhouse gases, and scientists are still trying to
Ili November the EPA announced new greenhouse gas reporting rules for the oil and gas industry. For the first time under
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