we always keep an eye on the BEST EVER competition a.k.a EVOLO[dot]US, but this year the winners were BETTER than ever. KILLER projects in every single page of the numerous mentions given around.

Pure radicalism as alwayz the evolo managed to stimulate us once more.

We present you the Winner entries and a few special mentions!

Himalaya Water Tower

Monument to Civilization: Vertical Landfill for Metropolises

Citadel Skyscraper

Occupy Skyscraper

Folded City

Migrant Skyscraper

House of Babel: Post-crisis Skyscraper

Plastic Fish Tower

Coal Power Plant Mutation

District 3: Skyscraper of Liberation

Airport Skyscraper

BONUS

I’m not saying that The United States are the single criminal in this, but they are undisputedly the most developed of them and still the only true global power. Also they are officially holding themselves as the protectors of liberty and human rights and as such they have the responsibility to lead and show a good example. This is not the case and looking at the amount of Green Energy used in North America it’s clear that they only make cosmetic measures at best to counter the carbon emission problem. I could recycle myself to death and it would never make any difference…

The same goes for all the major powers round the globe, which made me think about the reasons they have for not committing to the Kyoto protocol? What makes it so hard for the big countries to adapt to new emission levels or even make any kind of true commitment? Actions taken towards a more sustainable way of living is actually going faster on a smaller scale than with large nations? You and your neighbors probably do more on a day-to-day basis than most governments – hurrah and keep it up!

The reasons for delaying actions are many, economic ones are the easiest to point out and discuss. One alarming fact is the number of decision makers in the US government, who have ties to war and oil industries! We will never see change unless the US leadership lose their tight connections to the industry. (This situation is of course common within all global powers.) In a similar way we will never see the end of conflicts as long as the war industry is neatly connected to the US Congress. This type of relationship is something President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us for in the 60′s (http://hnn.us/articles/869.html). His reasoning was around the dangers of mixing interests and connecting the war industry to any national leadership – a dangerous political direction, which have been standard in the United States since then. His warning was left unheard and whenever someone gets wounded from a bullet, someone else makes a pure economic profit out of it… (The terrifying thing in Irak and Afghanistan is that the wounded person and the person making the profit is on the same side!) The bonds between the ruling bodies and the economic interests is corrupting all governments BUT for most countries this is a small issue due to their size, in the case of US, Russian, Australian and Chinese governments the problem is alarmingly large and dangerous. This relationship makes the liberal forces powerless when it comes to alternative power sources and a sustainable way of life. To make my point I used the example with the war industry but the same relations are in action regarding fossil fuels. If the economic forces can’t predict a short-term profit from switching to Green Energy – it will never happen!

China, US, EU, India, Japan and Germany (Germany of course part of the EU but still a single large source of emissions), is responsible for 75% of all carbon emissions (2008 emission data Wikipedia.) China and US alone stands for 40% which is interesting as both countries have met their energy maximum (meaning they demand more power than they can produce themselves), in the years after 2000. China and United States gets a tiny portion of their power from Green Energy, most are from coal and natural gas. They could do so much more to reduce the global warming by promoting the use of sustainable fuels for power production. Sweden for instance have more than 75% Green Energy production and stands for 0.16% of total global emissions. Should China and North America do the same, the total emissions would drop by 10% globally! The EU does have a large portion of the total emissions (14%) but are far more interested in true change and cooperation, judging from their behavior on climate conferences since 1997 (read more). Also the EU have not met their energy maximum by far and have come much further in the search of alternatives to fossil based fuels.

Is it all bad? Should I stop watching US made movies or quit cross-dressing in Chinese garments? Of course not, the global economy is dependent on our consumption (more on that another time). What we can do is demanding Green Energy as we consume it, wisely. Cars and power production are the two largest emission sources and we are all dependent on them for the time being – just remember to ask for Green Energy and use as much locally produced goods as you possibly can.

A spokesman for Xcel Energy says the coal-fired plant had been down since mid-September for routine maintenance. While the unit was being tested Saturday for restarting, a malfunction occurred in the unit’s steam turbine and generator and a small fire broke out.

Fire departments were called and put out the fire. Three Xcel employees were treated for minor smoke inhalation.

Officials are trying to determine what caused the malfunction and the amount of damage.

Sherco 3 is owned jointly by Xcel Energy and the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, which provides electricity to 18 municipally-owned utilities. Sherco 3 generates 900 megawatts of electricity and accounts for 85 percent of energy production on the SMMPA system.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Clay County Pachyderms Feature Energy Discussion

The Clay County Pachyderms will gather for their monthly meeting on Thursday, August 11, from 6 to 7:30 PM.  The guest speaker is Paul Snider, the public affairs manager for KCP&L, who will present an overview and update on the company’s award-winning, coal-fired power plant, IATAN 2.  New technology allows KCP&L to deliver affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity to the region.  Snider will also discuss general issues facing the energy sector.

In addition, Representative Ryan Silvey, the Missouri House Budget Chairman, will be on hand to discuss the upcoming special legislative session called by Governor Nixon.

The Pachyderms meet at the Staley Farms Golf Club Clubhouse, 10310 North Olive Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri.  The cost is $10 (members) and $12 (non-members), which includes hors d’oeuvres and a drink ticket.  Parking is free.

For further information about the club, visit www.claycopachyderms.org.  The Pachyderms can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.  Questions can be directed to claycountypachyderms@gmail.com, or call (816) 536-9193.

Status: Planning
Promoter: Maruti Clean Coal & Power Limited
Project Name: Coal Power Plant
Capacity: 1X300 MW
Location: Village Bandakhar, Tehsil Pali, Korba District, Chhattisgarh
Current Status: As of January 2011, work on the project is under planning stage, land is acquired for the project. Project obtained environment clearance and consent to establishment. Bids were invited for Design, engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply, transportation to site, handling, storage, construction, erection, installation, testing, completion, commissioning on EPC basis, last date of submission: 2-March -2011.

The proposed amendment of their power purchase agreement, now pending with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), will bound consumers to onerous conditions for the next 25 years.

Excessive take-or-pay deal

PECO guarantees to “take or pay” excessive quantity of electricity from PEDC beyond the actual demand of its consumers.

PECO Actual Electricity Demand

• Year 2005  =  340,639,943 kWHr
• Year 2006  =  332,669,697 kWHr
• Year 2007  =  340,812,921 kWHr
• Year 2008  =  334,811,810 kWHr
• Year 2009  =  336,984,757 kWHr

However, in the pending PECO-PEDC Amended Power Purchase Agreement PECO guarantees to buy the following electricity quantity:

Baseload of 65 MW from coal at 75% Load Factor

= (65 MW)(1,000 kW/MW)(24 Hrs)(365 Days)(75%) = 427,050,000 kWhr / Year

Plus, Peaking of 20 MW from diesel (estimated)  = 87,600,000 kWhr / Year

Total guaranteed capacity = 427,050,000 + 87,600,000 = 514,650,000 kWhr / Year

The anticipated developments of Plazuela, Megaworld, Ayala and other developers will increase electricity demand by about 50,000,000 kWhr in the next few years.

With a yearly demand of less than 400 million kWhrs, PECO should not guarantee the purchase of more than 500 million kWhrs from PEDC.

It should be noted also that the Renewable Energy Law mandates distribution utilities to get at least 10% of supply from RE sources while the Electric Power Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) directs that at least 10% should come from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Excess electricity will be more than 100 million kWhrs that will be paid for by PECO consumers through higher rates.

Unreasonable Capital Recovery Fee

PEDC is charging Php3.474 per kWhr as capital recovery fee (CRF) for the amount of P17.88 billion supposedly spent in constructing the 164 MW coal-fired power plant. The CRF on PECO consumers would be more than Php 1.48 billion a year – enough to pay for the entire power plant in barely 12 years.

PECO consumers will be paying for the entire cost of the coal plant in 12 years despite using only less than 30% of the plant capacity =  48.75MW (75% of 65MW) out of the total 164MW coal power plant capacity.

The Php17.88 billion for the 164MW coal-fired power plant is equivalent to US$2.42 million per MW, which is very unreasonable considering that this is more than the bench mark of US$2.223 per MW for constructing a coal-fired power plant in the US in 2009 (please see: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/assumption/pdf/electricity.pdf#page=3).

Cheaper Alternative

The generation cost of PEDC’s coal is estimated at around Php 8 per kWhr (with VAT) while that of geothermal energy is only Php 4.88 per kWhr (no VAT). The EPIRA provides that distribution utilities should give its captured market with the least cost electricity.

If PECO is after the welfare of Iloilo City, there is no reason at all why it should not get most of the baseload demand from geothermal energy.

Our city will never develop its full economic potentials with the tentacles of PECO and PEDC strangling our economy.

Stop PECO and PEDC’s abuse of market monopoly power!

PECO consumers unite for affordable electricity!

PEDC Iloilo coal-fired power plant (foreground) and the downwind areas during Amihan, southwest season, covering the city districts of Lapuz, La Paz and City Proper and the town of Jordan, Guimaras.

September 23, 2010

By Melvin Purzuelo
Green Forum-Western Visayas/Vera Files

ILOILO CITY. — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday stopped the test-firing of the newly constructed coal-fired power plant in Barangay Ingore, La Paz district due to complaints by residents of the barangay and other nearby communities about the foul odor and the noise coming from the plant.

The DENR’s cease and desist order stated that Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) that owns the 164 megawatt coal-fired power plant violated provisions of their Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and the clean air law.

Smokeless stack with DENR's cease and desist order. Smoking stack at right that of diesel power plants.

Engr. Aurora Alerta-Lim of the Professionals for Social Responsibility (Pro-SR) said that oxides of sulphur could have caused the foul smell.

“The plant used heavy oil for the test firing but it’s mitigation for sulphur and nitrogen oxides emissions are designed only for coal by mixing limestone. They have no desulfurization facilities to control emissions of heavy oils,” she said.

Several students of Ticud Elementary School were sent to the hospital last Thursday, September 16, when they suffered breathing difficulties.

The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC-Iloilo) served notices to sue PEDC, the city government and DENR for violations of the clean air act and the local government code. Under the clean air law, the State shall focus primarily on pollution prevention rather than on control and provide for a comprehensive management program for air pollution. It also provides that the Local Government Unit should adopt an Air Quality Control Action Plan.

Ted Ong of FDC-Iloilo said that “The local government code provides that no project or program shall be implemented by government authorities unless consultations were undertaken and that prior consent is given by the Sangunian concerned.”

The City Council of Iloilo City has not initiated a public consultation with the residents of Iloilo City as required and it has not passed resolution or legislation endorsing or approving the construction of the said project.

The coal plant is scheduled to start operation with one engine in December and full operation in March 2011.

Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said that the city government will not issue the coal plant business permit if it cannot assure the safety of the people’s health.

This is an urgent request to all of Agham Youth’s friends, colleagues and networks.

Last year, Agham Youth (AY) led one of the Philippine initiatives for the 350.org — an international climate action campaign that calls for a global reduction of the atmosphere’s carbon emission levels from the current level that is a dangerous, point-of-no-return 390 parts per million (ppm), to a scientifically-accepted safe level of 350 ppm.

AY is set to launch a bigger campaign this year, however it won’t be successful without your help. Entitled “10 Days/10 Pledges/10 Actions for a Safe Climate Future!”,the campaign aims to address the long-standing issue of coal power plants in the Philippines through a series of 10 activities over 10 days leading to 10/10/10, including a massive Quit Coal! Quilt, fora and cultural nights, and other educational efforts.

The concept was submitted to the East Asia Climate Fund for financial support. The climate fund grant will be awarded to the submitted project that will garner the biggest online votes through the online voting mechanism. Currently, AY is at second place, and we need a comfortable margin at #1 to ensure that the campaign will be a 100% success!

We call on everyone who share our belief that climate advocacy will not have real, tactical reforms on the road to strategic changes without the people’s collective actions. Please vote for our campaign. Each supporter is entitled to a maximum of 3 votes. Please refrain from using drone accounts so as to avoid disqualification. With such a tight race, every vote from every progressive counts. Thank you very much!# # #

**We would like to share the warm comments we have received from voters:

We from the Computer Professionals’ Union greatly appreciated Agham Youth’s environmental youth camp and 350 climate action campaign last year. We look forward to this year’s work party in making our knowledge, skills and warm bodies contribute to the campaign for Climate Justice. Carry on the struggle for the people and the environment! – GreentechLeon

This is a very good project. Among the projects listed and vying for votes, I think this is the most comprehensive in scope, with activities nationwide. Good luck Agham Youth! – bikoy

It is very relevant to every nation, comprehensive to the wide scope of your country and very detailed. I will recommend you to my friends, Agham Youth! – Ajie

Awesome project and phasing, i must admit, you provide the most comprehensive plan for the grant! – bernard350

Methane is a more harmful climate change gas than carbon dioxide (CO2). By flaring the methane it burned to produce CO2 and water.

No matter what the incentives are for the mine to move ahead with this project (financial or environmental) it is great to read that companies are becoming less wasteful with the resources available to them.

Beatrix mine in the Free State

JOHANNESBURG – JSE-listed gold major Gold Fields on Wednesday turned its methane curse at Beatrix gold mine into a R200-million carbon-trading and electricity-generation blessing.

The same methane that has killed miners will now initially be flared and later harnessed to produce 5 MW of electricity that represents 5% of the Beatrix mine’s electricity needs.

That is merely the start of what Gold Fields intends doing with what is a seemingly infinite supply of methane, which emanates from underground geological faults, fissures and dykes, and escapes during the normal course of mining operations.

Just for the initial outlay of R42-million on the flaring of the gas, Gold Fields earns itself R200-million in carbon credits over seven years.

Claims about coal giving us freedom and liberty are complete and utter nonsense.  The United States and the world needs scrutinize the harmful nature of coal and look to the benefits of moving beyond it to clean renewable energy sources.  There is not much to the national discussion about the downsides of using coal that really seems to stick with the consumer, except when a mine blast kills or traps the mining crews underground.  There have also been the stories about broken earthen dams holding back mine waste water or coal ash that wash out the communities below, sometimes taking lives away in the process.  Even publicized discussion panels such as the one between Massey Energy CEO, Don Blankenship and environmental lawyer, Robert Kennedy, Jr., have failed to fully take root in people’s minds.  The evidence about the disastrous positions that coal puts us in was very clear in the debate (good summary at NYTimes:  http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/energy-debate-yields-little-middle-ground).  Beyond that, these serve as another story in the paper and people move on.

These stories do not end so easily in reality.  The people living in or below these mining communities live with an environmental calamity that can keep them hovering just above the poverty line, poisons their drinking waters, kills the fish in their streams and even remove entire mountains that define part of their heritage.

The story still goes on beyond the lives of these mining communities and the environment around them.  Keep reading into it and you will see that coal has an overwhelming adverse impact on just about all of us under the sun.  The coal burned at power plants spew toxins into the air that get into the soils, streams, rivers and lakes.  Once back into the ground or water, the story moves on where it demonstrates its slow but solid stranglehold on all living things.  It poisons crops, fish, and animals of all types and people either directly or indirectly through the crops, fish or animals they eat or the water they drink.  The coal plants also directly contribute to the poor air quality in and downwind of the communities in which they operate.  The Ozone Alerts are no joke.  The elderly and the young must stay indoors for days at a time until the alert is over; otherwise they are susceptible to the illnesses that are derived from this dirty air.  Does this sound like a resource that provides for freedom and liberty?  If it does, then the definitions of those two words are very loosely defined.

Please take a moment to see for yourself what the effects of using coal might be to you or someone else.  Listed below are various parts of the process from mining to burning and the devastation left behind.

• Mountain top removal mining

-   http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org/facts/steps.php

-   Forests are clear cut

-   Top soil/vegetation/rock/timber layer and “overburden” is dumped in the adjacent mountain valley, often burying headwater streams and destroying natural habitats for a whole host of animal species

-   The mines are often left stripped and bare and leave little chance for vegetation to grow there naturally there again

-   Jobs are disappearing from this form of coal mining due to the brute force of dynamite that replaces the need for many workers

-   Water runoff waste hits the valley and streams and is high in silt, iron and sulfur compounds which pollute downstream waters and decimate fish stocks.

-   Toxic waste sits in sludge lakes above the valley.  This leaves the potential for these to flood the towns below with the waste containing arsenic and mercury among other heavy metals associated with the mining and coal washing operations.

• Room-and-Pillar mining

-   http://www.pollutionissues.com/Br-Co/Coal.html

-   This is basically your typical idea of a coal mine.  Underground areas are mined out with the sealing being supported with pillars of unmined rock.

-   This type of mining can be disastrous as the pillars can collapse over time and may interfere with surface water drainage and cause structural damage to roads and homes above and nearby.

-   Mine fires are a real consideration since they may start spontaneously.  They are also difficult to control (some have been burning for decades) and will directly affect local air pollution.

-   Acid mine drainage into local drainage systems is an issue and can severely impact local fresh water sources and render them useless.

• Coal Combustion for Energy by a typical 500 megawatt coal plant

-   http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c01.html

-   Only about 30-35% of the coal’s heat is used to produce electricity, the majority of the remainder is released into the air or waste water.

-   3.7 billion tons of CO2 emissions (equivalent to cutting down 161 million trees)

-   10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2)

-   10,000 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), which leads to formation of ozone (smog)

-   Large emissions of carbon monoxide, mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and hydrocarbons.

-   These emissions directly and indirectly pollute our air which disproportionally affects the young and elderly populations more.

-   Solid waste including over 125,000 tons of toxic ash, over 190,000 tons of sludge from the smokestack scrubbers each year – which is often disposed of in unlined, unmonitored landfills at the plant site.

-   2.2 billion gallons of water used each year.  This often is returned to the lakes, rivers, streams or oceans at about 20-25ºF and with chlorine or other toxic chemicals, thereby hurting fish and aquatic plants.

It is time to move to Clean Renewable Energy.

This is the bottom part of the boiler–a ten-story tall structure that gets as hot as 2000 degrees F. You can get a sense of how dim and gloomy the interior of a coal power plant is.

These are the generators. At full bore they produce around 1000 MW of electricity. Standing of front of the generators is Michalene Reilly, who lead the tour. She the manager of environmental services for Hoosier Energy.

It’s a little hard to see, but all these pipes and valves are part of the mechanism for channeling steam to spin the turbines. One of the most common maintenance tasks at the plant is fixing steam leaks. It’s a dangerous job, because the steam is hot enough to slice right through most things in its path, including people.

This is where the coal, after being pulverized into a fine dust, is blown into the boiler, where it explodes in a giant fireball. There are 24 of these chutes, 12 on each side of the boiler.

Directly outside the plant, these lines and towers boost the electricity before it travels the lines to stations that then convert it to a level appropriate for home use.

Finally, here’s the tower pumping out all that beautiful, toxic steam. It piles up in the air for several hundred feet, then disperses as a long, trailing mass of cloud stretching several miles into the distance.

The purpose of my book, as I’ve come to understand it, is to help make energy visible. And there’s really no better way to see (and smell and hear) energy up close and personal than by touring a coal power station. If you’ve never done this, you probably have only a vague impression of what a power station is, what it looks like, how it works. That was certainly true in my case. I’d always imagined a sort of Soviet-style, drab concrete building with smokestacks spewing thick clouds of debris into the air. And, as it turns out, this is more or less true. The Merom power station, located in southwest Indiana near the border with Illinois, consists of several industrial-looking structures, the most visible of which is an exhaust tower belching white steam.

As we approached the station from the road, I couldn’t take my eyes off the steam. I mean, there it was, the very source of the CO2 and other particles that pollute air and water and probably contribute to global warming. I was surprised to find the image of all that particulate matter bubbling up out of the plant quite beautiful and strange. Even though it’s toxic, it’s still quite a sight.

Now, I knew that power plants are large, but I had no idea how truly massive they are. The Merom station is a medium-sized plant, but it still occupies several thousand acres of land and consumes more than 10,000 tons of coal per day. What I truly wasn’t prepared for was the plant’s innards. I’ll write about this at length in the book, but for now let me just say that walking around the coal burning apparatus of a power plant is like traveling back in time. Especially if, like me, you spend most days in front of a computer, reading and writing, a working power plants seems like something from the Industrial Revolution. It’s dark, and incredibly loud (we had to wear ear plugs), and sooty. There are pipes and tubes and giant machines of all kinds working full blast, 24 hours a day.

In one sense, a power station is a fairly simple device–it burns coal to boil water and make steam that’s used to turn electricity-generating turbines. That’s pretty much it. But it’s also incredibly complex. Each step in the process involves dozens of finely calibrated machines and probably millions (maybe billions) of moving parts.

In short, a power plant is spectacular in the visual sense of the word. To tour one is an overwhelming sensory and intellectual experience.

We all know that burning coal is problematic. Even if you’re skeptical about human-caused global warming, there’s no doubt that coal pollutes the environment in many ways. But I think there’s a tendency to vilify coal and coal-burning plants, to too simply caricature them as evil. And of course it’s not that simple.

That’s my point, I think: that energy–renewable and fossil–is never as simple as it seems. Visit a coal energy plant and, at the very least, you’ll come away impressed by the sheer size of the place and the engineering prowess it takes to keep it running. Coal has been a huge part of the energy paradigm for more than 100 years, and it will continue to play a significant role for the foreseeable future. So instead of condemning it outright, we need to consider not only its problems but also its benefits.

I’ll post pictures from my visit soon.

NEW power plants must be constructed in Panay to address the projected power shortage in Visayas.

This was the stand of Senator Francis Escudero even as he urged for the completion of the coal-fired power plant in Iloilo City.

Citing the Power Development Plan of the government, Escudero said Visayas region will require an additional 2,283 megawatts in the next five years on top of the current power demand of 967MW.

Escudero said the forecast might not be met as only two major power plants are being constructed in Visayas in the next two years.

The proposed plants are in Toledo City, Cebu with a 436MW capacity and the 164MW coal-fired power plant in Brgy. Ingore, LaPaz, Iloilo City.

“These plants can only provide a combined 601MW, leaving a power deficit of 715MW,” Escudero said.

The senator from Sorsogon said Iloilo City and the rest of Panay needs energy to power sunshine sectors such as tourism and information communication technology.

“It is important for the coal plant to be established in Iloilo because you need that,” he added.

As regards the perceived pollution from power plants, Escudero said available clean-coal technologies that conform to national and international emission standards can be used to allay fears of sectors opposing the plant.

“This clean-coal technology must pass the emission standards of the Clean Air Act of 1999 which was based on EU standards. The EU standards are even stricter than the standards used by the US Environmental Projection Agency,” Escudero said.

Environmentalists said coal-fired power plants contribute to greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and the so-called global warming.

But Escudero said the Philippines’ contribution to carbon dioxide emission is only 0.29%.

“Our carbon dioxide emission is way lower than that of the US which contributes 29% and China with 28%. And 60% of the 0.29% that we contribute to carbon dioxide emission comes from vehicles, not stationary sources such as power plants,” Escudero said.

The senator said there must be balance between environmental protection and embracing additional power sources.

“We don’t need to choose between the two. What we need is to strike a balance between our need for more energy and protecting the environment,” he added.

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency has been blocked from issuing a permit for a proposed Utah coal-burning power plant without addressing global warming, jeopardizing the fate of scores of other proposed plants that will likely be left to the Obama administration.

An EPA appeals panel ruled Thursday that the agency’s regional office didn’t adequately support its decision to issue a permit for the Bonanza coal-burning power plant in Utah without requiring controls on carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas.

The panel threw the issue back to the EPA regional office in Denver and said it must more adequately explain why it did not require limits on carbon dioxide, calling it “an issue of national scope that has implications far beyond this individual permitting process.”

http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_318213719.html