Clean Energy and the Challenge of Technology

Clean Energy and the Challenge of Technology

One of the major challenges facing the realization of clean energy is technology. Since the mid 19th Century, scientists noted that the earth's temperature was rising as a result of the high concentration of Green House Gases (GHG) in the earth's atmosphere. Green House Gases are those gases that prevent the reflection of the heat generated by the sun back into space after hitting earth. This traps the heat in the earth's atmosphere by creating what has been described in simple terms as the greenhouse effect. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, among others. As a consequence of what is arguably, human activity, the earth's glaciers were then beginning to melt. Scientific data has shown that this phenomenon was accelerated in the last couple of decades, resulting in the stampede to stabilize and eventually reverse the global warming and associated climate change as well as the danger it portends to the planet earth and its inhabitants. Consequently, global warming and climate change have taken center stage in shaping policy and discourse as it affects things as all encompassing as energy generation, natural resources and industrial production, and things even as otherwise mundane as beef production or even the chemicals emitted by ants. The sector that was hardest hit however was the energy sector (fossils and electricity) which are both, capital and technology intensive. This sector and deforestation are the center of attention in the bid to reduce global warming and climate change.

It is with these challenges in mind that the negotiators of the Kyoto Protocol made provision for emission trading and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).These two programs are designed to enhance clean development. They have also since inception, acted as guide and inspiration for both policy makers and operators in the energy industry in their collective bid to generate clean and affordable energy. The Kyoto Protocol also makes further provisions requiring other sectors of the international economy to meet specified targets in a collective effort to help stabilize and eventually reduce the atmospheric concentration of the green house gases responsible for global warming. The energy industry is under more pressure to effect this transition than any other industry because it is the industry that provides the power that drives the global economy. Energy plants and production facilities of different shapes and sizes are also spread around the world; some clean, and others not so clean. Moreover, new technologies have to be developed at huge costs to reduce emissions associated with fossil fuel production and usage; and also be able to generate and transmit clean energy through a more efficient grid system.

Emission trading is a scheme designed to persuade polluters to reduce the emissions of green house gases by placing a price tag on each unit of emission. This is based on the long established international natural resources law of `the polluter pays'. The goal is for a polluter to think twice before polluting. Under the emerging system of emissions trading, polluters buy credit from the market which is depleted when they pollute. Enough emission credit has to be purchased therefore to pay for a specified amount of pollution. On the other hand, unused emission credit can also be sold on the emissions market. Even though money will change hands on the emission trading market, the objective is not necessarily to generate wealth, but to discourage the reckless pollution that the world witnessed post industrial revolution, especially from the mid 19th Century to the early 20th Century. This reckless industrial revolution era polution has remained a major haggling point at climate talks; on the extent of responsibility to be taken to cut emissions by both developed and developing economies like China, India and Brazil.

The Clean Development Mechanism, on the other hand, is a program by which corporations from developed countries are encouraged to undertake clean projects in developing countries after which the CDM Executive Board issues such corporations with Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates for clean development. These CER certificates can also be used as emissions credit.

The CDM is designed to aid the transfer of technology and capital to poorer countries which are both necessary to enable these countries cope with the challenges of climate change and the demands of clean energy and other environmentally friendly development and production activities. This transfer is made even more pressing because most of these countries have neither the technology and capital nor the expertise required to fulfill the urgent need and desire for clean and environmentally responsible development. Through the CDM process, an energy company can therefore invest in a hydropower plant, in Africa, for example, and, earn CER emission credit to run its coal fired plant in Frankfurt or London. These two international frameworks under the Kyoto Protocol bring together three critical components of clean energy in a world faced with an uncertain future in view of the yet unfolding science of climate change. These components are: A) Emission reduction which is the ultimate goal; B) Technology, and; C) Capital, which are the tools required to achieve the first.

The biggest challenge facing the realization of clean energy yet is technology, and this discourse will dwell on that. The euphoria that followed the mass production of first generation biofuels appeared to be misplaced when the carbon footprint of its production was discovered to be in the same league with fossil fuels, if not worse, in addition to its impact on global food security. The second and third generations however remain largely at the level of R & D because they are technology intensive and not cost effective. They succeeded, however in eliminating the threat to global food security. Solar panels are also a clean energy source but it is still not being harnessed on a large scale despite reduction in the cost of its technology over time. It is to be noted that solar power generation, especially at a large scale, require a lot of space because a compact technology has not been achieved yet. Nuclear energy, another clean energy source, is still plagued by security and safety concerns. Hydro, as a source of clean energy on the other hand is plagued by its effect on the marine environment and the communities close to dam sites. There have also been international squabbles because of the receding supplies of fresh water around the world. We are also still light years away from being able to harness the potentials of fuel cells on a large and commercially viable scale. The technology in geothermal and wind are also becoming more widespread but not at their optimum yet.

With many of these sources of clean energy facing one challenge or the other, that leaves the sweet old fossil fuels, especially coal and gas as the cheapest and most popular energy source for firing power plants. This situation creates the need to develop the technology and the capacity to reduce to a tolerable level, if not completely eliminate the emission of the greenhouse gases associated with their use. Scientists have thus come up with carbon sequestration or carbon capture and storage (CCS) which is still not yet commercially available. But that still does not mean all the issues are being resolved, because we are still trapped in the vicious cycle of cost-technology-global warming. Apart from the fact that the capacity to capture, compress and inject the carbon dioxide into the ground is still being developed on a commercially viable scale. A massive infrastructure also has to be developed from the ground up; including a pipeline network to connect the power plants to designated injection sites after the appropriate geologic structures are identified and prepared for the purpose.

Underlying all these challenges is the uncertainty of the injection itself because of the uncertainty of its chemistry, thereby, raising concerns as to how the injection will impact the underground geologic structures of the injection site. What will therefore, be the impact of the storage in the medium and long term and even the impacts of accidents involving concentrated carbon dioxide. This is certainly not going to be anywhere near the impact of major oil spills, but it is still a cause for concern. After all, it is to curb the release of this gas into the atmosphere that all the trouble is being taken in the first place. This further makes glaring the gaping hole where the appropriate legal and policy framework that should guide the whole process is supposed to be. These challenges are related to the scope of permitting and licensing and even monitoring. Another one is the extent of and responsibility for the infrastructure required for the effective running of the CCS system, in addition to the fact that standards are required for its operation. All these cannot be adequately articulated until the boundaries of the science and technology are adequately defined. Still unclear is also the extent of the impact of the cost of the technology itself and the required infrastructure on the consumer, whom it is certain, will have to pay more for clean energy, but how much more, remains any one's guess.

While the issue of energy efficiency was one of the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol for the energy sector, and it continues to remain on the front burner of both operators in the energy industry and policy makers; it will only make more sense if, and when the generation of clean and affordable energy is achieved. While there exists very persuasive proof that clean energy is achievable, the questions still linger as to how soon and how affordable especially for the developing world.

If the developed world is still facing the challenges discussed above, the case of the developing world is hopeless for now, because, it is not only that they do not have the expertise, the technology too might be beyond their meager resources. The most viable means of accessing and using these technologies for the developing countries of the world even when these technologies become commercially available is for corporations in the developed parts of the world is to use the CDM scheme under the Kyoto Protocol and the multilateral institutions under the World Bank, such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Carbon Finance Unit (CFU) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). These agencies, except MIGA, were set up to enhance clean development and mitigate the impact of climate change by mobilizing and channeling funds appropriately. Using these multilateral agencies will provide the needed capital as well as a safety net against the prevalent political instability that many of these developing nations are known for. This way, a lot of barriers will be broken, while societies which would otherwise not be able to afford clean energy will have it. Also, in addition to having done business abroad, the corporations from the North can also earn carbon credit to use on the domestic market.

These are some of the reasons why the fear of the Kyoto Protocol by a section of the captains of the American industry and economy is, at best, misplaced. The major challenges that will be associated with the transition to clean energy are the capital and the technology required to upgrade the technology and infrastructure currently in use. This is required in every sector every now and then, including the public sector, and with proper planning and execution, this transition can be achieved over time with minimal disruptions in operations and consumer adjustments. If we weigh the benefit against the cost, especially in the long run, it is clearly a journey worth undertaking.

While we have made enough advances that show clean energy to be attainable, the biggest challenge that appears to stand between us and that goal is the development of appropriate technology and its proliferation by the resources available to us.