09/13/2007 10:17 AM

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:
September 13, 2007

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Asia-Pacific Climate Declaration Emphasizes Energy Efficiency

The leaders of the 21 nations participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, including President Bush, agreed on Saturday to pursue a climate change agreement for the period after 2012. Noting that "the world needs to slow, stop and then reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions," the leaders agreed to work toward "a long-term aspirational global emissions reduction goal to pave the way for an effective post-2012 international agreement."

The group, which includes the United States and China, set an APEC-wide goal to reduce energy intensity to 25% below 2005 levels by 2030. Energy intensity is the energy used per unit of gross domestic product and is a measure of an economy's energy efficiency. The group also agreed to establish the Asia-Pacific Network for Energy Technology to strengthen collaboration on energy research. See the press releases from APEC and the White House.

President Bush also met separately with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and the two leaders agreed to continue working to address climate change under both bilateral partnerships and through larger international efforts. Australia welcomed the U.S. initiative to launch a series of meetings about future global action on climate change, starting with a meeting in Washington, D.C., at the end of September. Both countries also look forward to participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Indonesia in December, where delegates will work toward a post-2012 climate agreement. See the White House press release.

Nordic Financial Group Plans to Invest in U.S. Geothermal Power

Glitner, a Nordic financial group, opened a New York office for its U.S. subsidiary last week with the intent to invest heavily in geothermal power projects in the United States. Glitner has experience with geothermal development in Iceland and wants to carry that experience over to the United States, which it considers to be at the forefront of geothermal energy development. The company sees a potential to increase U.S. geothermal power production by a factor of six and estimates that an investment of $39.4 billion is needed between now and 2025. See the Glitner press release.

The company also hosted a one-day conference on geothermal energy, dubbed the "Steam of Opportunities" conference, which the company plans to evolve into an annual think tank on global geothermal energy. At the conference, Glitner released its first Geothermal Market Report, which estimates that geothermal energy could provide 20% of California's electricity needs, 60% of Nevada's needs, and 30% of Hawaii's needs. See the Glitner press release and download the company's Geothermal Market Report.

Company Deploys Wave Energy Device off Oregon Coast

Finavera Renewables Inc. announced last week that it has deployed its prototype AquaBuOY 2.0 wave energy converter off the coast of Newport, Oregon. Located about two and a half miles from the coast, the wave energy converter consists of an open steel cylinder extending downward into the ocean from a floating buoy. A piston is located midway down the cylinder, suspended between two steel-reinforced rubber hoses like a button on a string. As waves pass, the piston moves up and down along the cylinder, alternately flexing and compressing the hoses. The hoses are filled with seawater, and as they flex, they eject high-pressure seawater into a turbine, which rotates and drives a generator to produce power.

The prototype wave energy converter is fitted with solar panels and small wind turbines to guarantee a constant supply of power to equipment that is monitoring the performance of the device. Data is being streamed from the buoy via wireless and satellite systems. Over the next several weeks, Finavera Renewables will analyze the performance of the device, with the aim of perfecting a design that can be deployed next year. The company hopes to install a commercial wave energy system at the site by 2010. See the Finavera press release (PDF 71 KB).

At least one other wave energy project is planned for the Oregon coast, as Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT) plans to build and deploy a 150-kilowatt PowerBuoy wave energy converter off the coast of Reedsport. Like the AquaBuOY wave energy converter, the PowerBuoy device is a buoy that employs a piston-like structure to drive a generator. In late August, OPT signed an agreement with PNGC Power, a Portland-based electric power services cooperative, which will provide $500,000 to OPT for the fabrication and installation of its prototype device. OPT plans to develop a 2-megawatt wave power system at the Reedsport site, with the possibility of later expanding the project to 50 megawatts. See OPT press release and Web site.

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