Countries with fossil fuel-dependent economies are making a marked shift towards renewable energy. See Arab loan to fund renewables. Substantial financial investments in solar and wind projects throughout the Middle East and North Africa have gained global recognition as the hydrocarbon market looks to bolster alternative economies.

Despite the recent move to renewable energy, the Arab nations currently invest very little in comparison to the rest of the world. The United States and Europe have invested over $40 billion, respectively. China’s investments exceed $126.6 billion. In comparison, the Middle East and Africa have invested only $10 billion in renewable projects and infrastructure.

In addition to a heightened awareness of the environmental impact of the fossil fuel industry, the main drivers for change are economic. Solar and wind energy can now compete with conventional energy sources due to falling prices. Advances in technology, such as marine desalination, also contribute to the evolving industry.

Experts project global oil consumption to peak in the next 20 years. Motivated by the prospect of economic decline, oil and gas companies in Arab nations are analyzing the growth of the non-oil industry within the energy sector. An increase in domestic energy consumption is also driving the exploration of economical alternatives to the fossil fuel industry. In Saudi Arabia, the demand for domestic energy has increased by 60% in the last 10 years.

Diversification Within the Energy Industry

The potential success of a renewable energy economy hinges on a comprehensive plan that focuses on diversification within the energy economy.  However, the increased investment in renewable projects has not resulted in a decrease in oil production. According to OPEC figures, the oil and gas sector in Saudi Arabia accounts for 50% of the country’s GDP. Thirty percent of the United Arab Emirates’ economy comes from gas and oil, and the industry accounts for 92% of Kuwait’s export revenues. These figures demonstrate that while Arab nations are investing in renewable energy, the transition from an oil-rich economy to a new alternative will not be a linear one.

With a significant dependence on the global economy, the oil and gas industries are paying close attention to new policies, such as a potential carbon tax, and exploring new approaches to a rapidly changing global economy and climate. Investing in renewable energy does not necessarily equal a slowing down of the fossil fuel market. However, it does signal a decisive move toward changing the way people consume energy domestically. If countries can harness alternative energy at home, they can export more oil and gas. 

Companies are exploring and implementing various strategies to see how best to incorporate renewable energy domestically. The company responsible for distributing the majority of gas in Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa, TAQA Arabia, is one example. The company is looking into a system that promotes the use of solar energy during the day, while still relying on traditional energy sources at night.

Investing in a Brighter Future

Geography plays an outsized role in the Arab nations’ decision to invest in renewable energy. Oil economy-dependent countries in northern regions, such as Russia and Canada, will not feel the effects of climate change with the same immediacy as the Middle East. That reality leaves the region in a more vulnerable situation than their competitors, especially as the market faces other challenges in the forthcoming years.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco have the greatest investments in renewable energy. One of the main incentives to move toward an economy with a strong reliance on renewable energy is the creation of new jobs. Diversification both within the energy industry and other disciplines, such as manufacturing or shipping, would increase stability as countries transition away from a fossil-fuel-dominated economy. For example, Morocco has created over 13,000 new jobs by building a market for solar water heaters.

There are also several government-supported projects looking to support renewable energy. For example, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund launched a project titled the Renewable Energy Financing Package, designed to aid in the development and growth of non-oil sectors. It will support not only the potential job market within the renewable energy sector, but also aid complementary technology, such as water storage, that will benefit from the diversity of projects.

One example of corresponding technology in the realm of renewable energy is sustainable water systems, such as desalination through reverse osmosis. Water is an integral piece of economic security for both the fossil fuel and renewable energy industry. Future investments in sustainable water infrastructure are essential to the creation and longevity of renewable systems.

The fossil fuel industry is paying attention to potential policies such as a carbon tax, and are adjusting based on substantial changes to the worldwide oil market in the upcoming years. There has been a noticeable change in tone when oil and gas companies talk about climate change and renewable energy. Particularly throughout the Middle East and North Africa, there is recent transparency regarding non-oil alternatives.

With Aramco now mentioning climate change and looking to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and Petroleum Development Oman’s investment in new projects, the future of renewable energy throughout the region is bright. To establish future economic stability, investing in renewables instead of oil will diversify bolster the economy and lead to more jobs within the energy sector.

—

Emily covers topics in sustainability and renewable energy, and you can read her latest work on her blog, Conservation Folks.

The post Arab Nations De-Vesting in Oil to Invest in Renewables appeared first on Green Prophet.

When containing a massive disaster like an oil spill, small microbes play a big role.

Arezoo Ardekani, a Purdue University associate professor of mechanical engineering, has published research that describes the complex hydrodynamics of microorganisms at liquid-liquid and gas-liquid interfaces, showing that microbes may flock to areas where surfactant has been applied. This is important news for the western east oil producing nations, as many oil spills threaten the Red Sea, Indian ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Bacteria are known to break down oil from oil spills but if we know how the system works we can speed it up and localize the process, when needed. Here’s how.

On April 20, 2010, a catastrophic explosion aboard the Louisiana oil rig Deepwater Horizon caused an underwater wellhead to rupture, discharging oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It took 87 days to cap the underwater well, by which point more than 200 million gallons of oil had discharged into the gulf. Officials used many different tactics to contain the damage of the oil spill, such as relying on microbes to digest hydrocarbons, and using dispersant (or surfactant) chemicals to break up oil slicks, making it easier for the microbes to digest.

“Microbes were the ‘first responders’ to the oil spill,” Ardekani said.  “They remediated a significant amount of hydrocarbons. But the Gulf of Mexico is a big place. How did so many microbes find this oil?”

As Ardekani discovered, the performance of the microbes was affected by the surfactant, but not how anyone expected.

“There are several things that cause microorganisms to move,” she said.  “For example, the microbes near an oil spill may be motivated by chemotaxis, i.e., picking up the chemical trail of a potential food source. But the surfactant actually created a hydrodynamic phenomenon that caused microbes to gather in even greater numbers.”

Ardekani’s team tested its hypothesis in the lab, using E. coli cells, single-celled bacteria, whose behavior is well-known. The researchers 3D-printed a small chamber, where they could microscopically observe the cells’ movements in a liquid suspension, and then tested what happened when that liquid came into contact with another liquid of different viscosity. The results showed that the E. coli cells accumulated at higher density at the liquid-liquid interfaces, and even greater density at gas-liquid interfaces.

“Those surfactants changed the interface property,” Ardekani said. “If microbes are hydrodynamically attracted to gas-liquid interfaces, the presence of surfactants made it even more attractive.”

Using this experiment as a guide, researchers built theoretical models that successfully explained the complex fluid dynamics at these gas-liquid interfaces. Their research has been featured on the cover of the journal Soft Matter, and also published in the journal Physical Review E.

The use of dispersants during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was not without controversy; Scientists disagreed on whether the chemicals did more harm than good for the ecosystem. In the aftermath of the disaster, BP spent $500 million to establish the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, an independent organization that funds thorough scientific research in mitigating the effects of the spill.

Ardekani’s research is one of the results of that effort.

“We didn’t know any of this before the spill,” Ardekani said.  “The main reason they used dispersants was to break up the size of the oil droplets. But now we have discovered a new hydrodynamic mechanism, that adding surfactant causes microbes to spend more time near oil droplets. That, combined with chemotaxis, may potentially give microbes more time to decompose these hydrocarbons.”

The post How microbes find an oil spill appeared first on Green Prophet.

The global climate crisis, mainly generated by the biggest fossil fuel corporations in the world, is seriously aggravating the already extensive and heavy set of human rights violations caused by this same industry, warns a report released this Friday, February 7th, by 350.org. The whole report can be found here (links to PDF) and offers great research for anyone researching how fossil fuels and coal extraction, like in the case of Turkey, harms human rights. 

The post Turkish locals displaced coal, new report by 350.org appeared first on Green Prophet.

Working in Qatar has clearly given the academic Mari Luomi access to lots of information about the climate change rhetoric and reality of the Gulf. It also puts her in a rather awkward position in terms of being able to voice her criticism. After interviewing Luomi for Green Prophet around a year ago, however, I was really interested in reading her forthcoming book. And I wasn’t disappointed. It’s an honest portrayal of the region with a focus on Qatar and Abu Dhabi and the complex factors at play which mean the two countries have taken rather divergent paths to dealing with climate change.

The book, which is very readable, charts Qatar and Abu Dhabi’s shift from passive players towards a somewhat more active and moderate climate policy. It explores the social contract in many of the Gulf countries based on fossil fuels (political obedience is exchanged for cheap energy and money) as well as a lack of domestic demand for a more active climate policy. This is reflected in the fact that cutting fuel subsidies, which would make conservation and a greater push toward efficiency feasible, is often seen “as an uncrossable line.” (p.91)

‘The Gulf Monarchies and Climate Change’ highlights this bind as something of a chicken or egg situation. The countries need a stronger civil society to influence the government to take more action but government discourages this through the fossil fueled social contract and then say civil society aren’t pushing it and they need more domestic support. Luomi finds that although action is being taken, the issue is still not a priority in terms of national policy. In fact, global mitigation against climate change is often seen as a bigger threat to the countries than actual climate change (due to a loss of revenue if they have to stop selling oil).

Indeed, due to the complex set of interests around the issue most of the green campaigning is very non-controversial and focuses on conservation and beach clean-ups rather than emission. Luomi focuses on various case studies such as Abu Dhabi’s nuclear programme, Masdar as well as Qatar’s strong position in terms of natural gas and the impact of this on climate policy. One of the author’s real strengths is being able to weave a story about how these countries operate socially, economically and also environmentally. Luomi also takes a rather pragmatic look at what motivates action/inaction which I think reflects the reality of the situation in the Gulf. She is also keen to point out that the region has a tiny impact in terms of emissions (historically and also today) and won’t be able to stop dangerous climate change alone.

I found the reporting on the nuclear project in the UAE particularly interesting and the book is a mine of useful data and statistics. The data coming from Qatar was particularly interesting as there is so little information on the country’s developments. The penultimate chapter looked at the Gulf monarchies role in the UNFCCC negotiations; the influence of Saudi Arabia, the growing focus on CCS, the continued influence of negotiators from the oil-sector, Bahrain and Oman’s rapidly declining oil which marks the beginning of divergent interests in the GCC, UAE cultivating an image a clean tech leader in the region and need to move away from the ‘Saudi position’. All really interesting stuff and a must read. Although some would criticise the huge a focus on energy, I think this a well-written and well-researched book on the emerging and often contradictory position Gulf nations take on climate change.

For more green book reviews see: 
A No-Nonsense Guide To Climate Change by Danny Chivers
Book Review – I’m With The Bears
Earth Architect Nader Khalili’s Book: Racing Alone
‘Beacons – Stories For Our Not So Distant Future’

The post The Gulf Monarchies and Climate Change – A Book Review appeared first on Green Prophet.

Ever since the news broke a few years back that natural gas exploration companies, headed by entrepreneurs like Yitzhak Tshuva had located large deposits of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean, the race has been on to finally bring this “less polluting” energy source to the Israel mainland. This continuing effort was spurred even more by the continued sabotage of the natural gas pipeline from Egypt to both Israel and Jordan; upon which both countries, especially Israel, have depended on to supply a portion of vital energy needs.

In addition to all the issues involved in both drilling and extracting natural gas from deposits underneath the Mediterranean sea bed, including environmental reservations by neighboring countries such as Cyprus, bringing the extracted gas to Israel’s mainland includes building a special undersea pipeline to convey the gas to the mainland despite the dangers of both sabotage and terrorism by group like Hezbollah, Hamas and even Al Qaeda.

More recent news regarding these gas issues includes an estimation reported in Bloomberg Businessweek that the amount of natural gas deposits in these submerged gas fields as enough to satisfy Israel’s energy needs for at least 150 years.

But finding the gas deposits is one thing; extracting it and bringing it ashore is something else altogether. Gas exploration and drilling companies, such as Houston, Texas based Noble Energy Company, have not found it easy to deal with both the Israeli government’s extensive bureaucracy (including demanding a large share of potential profits in the form of taxes) as well as finding ways to sell amounts of gas not needed by Israel to foreign buyers.

Another important issue involves the logistical aspects of conveying some of the gas after it has been converted to liquified natural gas (LNG) that can then be conveyed in specially designed ocean tankers.

LNG has already proven itself to be capable of being an important fuel for both cars and other vehicles and is now being used as such in the USA and other countries. Floating LNG storage tanks as well as marine vessels carrying the highly flammable  fuel are high risk targets for terrorism groups such as the ones previously mentioned.

The gas drilling platforms themselves are also high risk terror targets; and due to the extreme drilling depth required to reach the gas deposits, memories of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are still very fresh on many peoples minds.

::Haaretz/AP

More articles on  natural gas issues in the eastern Mediterranean:
An Israel Alone Dependent on Natural Gas
Israel Readies Offshore Natural Gas Pipeline
Greek Cyprus Fearful Over Offshore Gas Well Drilling
Sabotaged Egyptian Gas Pipeline to Israel Shifts Attention Offshore
Tshuva’s Yam Tethy’s Gas Company Wins Big in Natural Gas, But the Environment Loses

Image of natural gas burner from Shutterstock

The post Israel’s Offshore Natural Gas Good to Burn for 150 Years – If Handled Wisely appeared first on Green Prophet.

I speak to the recently arrested environmental author Bill McKibben, who insists that campaigners need to be more confrontational about their demands (and start wearing ties)

I think it’s fairly safe to say that Bill McKibben has had an eventful couple of weeks. As well as being imprisoned for three days at the end of August for protesting against the Keystone XL Pipeline project – which NASA climate scientist James Hansen has warned could mean ‘game over’ for the planet if given the go ahead – his organisation 350.org recently launched a campaign to promote green transport and he is currently touring the UK. I spoke to him in leafy and surprisingly sunny Cambridge where he was giving a talk at the KLICE and Faraday Institute Conference on ‘Faith and The Crisis of Sustainability’.

Fossil Fuel Industry Makes ‘More Money Than God’

For more than two decades, we’ve had clear scientific evidence telling us that if we are serious about keeping the planet habitable we must to stop burning fossil fuels. Yet all these years later and we are no closer to the elusive agreement or solution we are desperately after. Copenhagen, where the last major environmental summit took place, failed to convince leading polluters to cut their emissions to the extent needed. So where are we going wrong?

Well, according to Bill McKibben the problem is pretty obvious- it’s the the fossil fuel industry. Making ‘more money than god’, McKibben insist that they have been ‘drowning out the science’ and blocking potential change. So in response, environmental campaigners need be tougher than they have been- they need to take more risks and become more confrontational. He explains that whilst community and local action is important, alone it isn’t enough to bring about the change that we need to see.

Wear A Tie And Get Arrested

As such he sees the protests (and subsequent mass arrests) outside the White House against projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline as justified and necessary. What’s more, it’s the older campaigners who have contributed more to climate change and have less to lose from a criminal record who should be taking the risks- preferably wearing a tie or a dress to highlight that they are ordinary people. As McKibben adds, fossil fuel companies that are changing the face of the planet in dangerous ways are the real ‘radicals’.

The Environment Is Not Just For White People

I was able to steal McKibben away from his adoring fans after the lecture for a quick chat on the environment and the Middle East. He told me he was quite surprised at the level of support 350.org got three years ago from the region when they joined 5,200 demonstrations in 181 countries in a day of international action on October 2009. Jordanians, Palestinian and Israeli worked together in a joint protest whilst campaigners in countries as diverse as Yemen, Egypt and Lebanon marked the event by highlighting the number 350, which is the safe level of carbon per million parts in the atmosphere.

Still, it’s clear that the movement is new and developing so McKibben advises that we give it a gentle nudge in the right direction if it strays from the green path. McKibben also points out that the diverse range of support 350.org receives illustrates that caring for the environment isn’t a white, rich person’s issue. Rather, people of all races are concerned about the future especially those who understand that it is the poor and vulnerable who are going to feel the pinch more than anyone else.

A Protest For Justice And Survival

It clear that this injustice- of poorer nations such as Bangladesh (which Mckibben has visited) having to deal with the impacts of a warming planet caused by rich nations- is what keeps McKibben going. Yes, its true that some scientists say it’s too late and some politicians say the odds are too high, he explains, but we must continue to fight to protect poorer nations such as the Maldives whose very survival is at stake.

And the way that we are going to do this, he insists, is by making our protests louder, more confrontational, more engaging and more beautiful.

:: Images via 350.org and tarsandsaction/flickr.

For more on Mckibben and environmental issues see:

Why The Middle East Should Support The Keystone XL Pipeline Protests

Interview: Bracing For A Warmer Future With Bill Mckibben

Middle East Joins 350.org’s International Climate Change Protest

Cairo’s Climate Art Of Epic Proportions

The post We Interview Bill McKibben: Be More Confrontational appeared first on Green Prophet.

Israeli celebrities pose for coal-clad glamor shots in order to protest the construction of a new coal-burning electric plant in Ashkelon.

Celebrities can often use their star power for good, such as drawing attention to a worthy cause.  About a year ago, Lebanese celebrities made a statement about transportation by biking down a green carpet to a movie premiere.  In Israel, Karnit Goldwasser (widow of abducted IDF soldier Ehud Goldwasser) turned her celebrity status into something green by hosting a segment on a television show about environmental issues.

Now a group of 15 Israeli celebrities and public figures have joined up with Greenpeace Israel and decided to use their stardust to help save the environment.

The 15 stars – which include global supermodel Bar Refaeli, actor Moshe Ivgi, musicians Mosh Ben Ari and Achinoam Nini, and former Israeli Environment Minister Yossi Sarid – all posed for a photo shoot in which they were covered (or smothered) in coal.

The harsh and stark imagery is intended to convey the celebrities’ protest against the construction of a new coal-burning power plant in Ashkelon, a campaign that Greenpeace Israel has been pushing for some time now.

The photos will be displayed in an exhibition at a stylish downtown design studio in Tel Aviv, Kastiel, which opens next week.  The opening, which is sure to be glamorous (and hopefully eco-friendly as well?) will be attended by current Israeli Environment Minister, Gilad Arden.

Image via: BemDevassa

Read more about Greenpeace Israel::
Greenpeace Mediterranean Demands that Nestle-Osem Give the Orangutans and Rainforests a Break
Greenpeace’s Flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, to Grace Tel Aviv and Haifa’s Harbors
Greenpeace Petition Calls on Netanyahu to Attend Copenhagen Climate Change Summit

The post Coal-Clad Celebrities Take Part in Greenpeace Israel Exhibition appeared first on Green Prophet.

We care about corals, an indicator species to global warming, and an integral part of the marine life ecosystem. That’s why all the construction development in the Gulf (with or without a debt hold) scares us.

Some hopeful news: a group of coral, located near the Persian Gulf off-shore Safaniyah oil field, was in danger of being destroyed by an oil pipeline being laid in the area where they were located.

But the oil company relocated them.

The coral reef or assemblage was discovered only 100 meters offshore in the Safaniyah oil field, said to be one of the largest offshore oil fields in the world, and now producing as much as 350,000 barrels of oil a day from 25 wells.

Being right in the way of a trench being dug for a new oil pipeline,  an ARAMCO spokesman said that the excavation would have destroyed the corals and it was decided to move them to another location after trying to protect the coral by using a process known as mitigation measures which are often to lessen the environmentally destructive impact of various construction projects on the natural surroundings.

The coral assemblages were moved by special contracting companies, Reef Ball Australia and Reef Ball USA, who are specialized in relocating natural coral formations as well as constructing new artificial reefs for the growing of new coral assemblages.

The project took three weeks to complete and moved over 500 small colonies of coral to a new areas 700 meters away and a similar distance from the beach. Other marine life species, including fish and invertebrates were moved as well.

The operation was said to have occurred during a cuttlefish breeding season, which resulted in cuttlefish eggs being deposited in a number on unusual places, including concrete coral bases, diving gear, coral transfer baskets, and coral colony tags found in the nursery area.

Marine biological experts, working with ARAMCO, the Saudi state-owned oil company, said the transfer operation saved the corals from certain destruction; and that new artificial concrete bases installed to the coral to attach themselves to will help preserve the coral population in the area.

With this project taking place in the Persian Gulf, and virtually in so large an off-shore oil field, it appears that oil companies like ARAMCO are trying to preserve area marine life, while drilling and extracting the very substance that is contributing the most to global warming.

With this in mind, we can all wonder for how long coral formations and other marine life will be able to remain in bodies of water like the Persian Gulf, especially due to all the other environmental problems this area has, as we’ve covered a number of times on Green Prophet. This is especially true in light of all the commercial construction projects currently going on in places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, also located in the Persian Gulf.

Photo via www.cache.eb.com
::www.offshore-mag.com

Read more on corals:
Corals Cope With Rising Sea Temperature By Eating High Protein Jellies
Jellyfish Invade Lebanon
Corals Will Melt If CO2 Levels Double
New Research Ship To Paint Red Sea Green

The post Saudi Oil Company Relocates Corals From Path of Pipeline appeared first on Green Prophet.

Being an environmentally-conscious website, many articles posted here on Green Prophet have tried to show the bad side of  the overuse of fossil fuels and the damage they have done to our planet – especially in regards to global warming and climate change. This is especially true in respect to my last article where I tried to bring to light the “downside” of trying to produce high grade petroleum from oil sands located deep beneath the ground in a place called Long Lake, in Alberta Canada.

In our present-day energy situation, the need for large quantities of oil for energy is still very much a fact of life. Whether it is found in the Middle East, the North Sea, South America, or even “trapped” inside underground mineral deposits such as oil shale, coal,  oil sands or tar deposits like the La Bera tar pits  in Los Angeles California, oil company geologists and scientists will continue to find ways to “free” these underground fossilized remains of prehistoric earth for years to come.

Although the use of oil for energy is raising concern among environmentalists (Peak Oil), it wasn’t so long ago that oil was the driving force behind the industrial and commercial innovations that most of us now take for granted. I grew up in Oklahoma where drilling for “crude” was an important part of an economy that otherwise was mostly agrarian in nature, with wheat, cotton, and cattle raising being some of the important “cash crops”. Back in the 1930’s, when a lot of people, including my dad, got into the oil business, oil could be found in depths as shallow as 200 feet. Oil fields literally  sprang up on the Oklahoma prairies overnight and Oklahoma’s State capital building in Oklahoma City is located on what was once a large producing oil field with “donkey” pumping units on the Capital grounds still bringing up crude oil to this day.

Oil was cheap and plentiful back in the 1930’s even though it began to be imported from the “A-rabs” (as the locals called them) in the Middle East, which got its big boost when then President Franklin D. Roosevelt cut a deal with Ibin Saud, the King of Arabia,  which later became known as Saudi Arabia, after the Saudi Royal Family. But despite all that, plenty of domestic crude oil was still available in both Oklahoma and Texas, and other parts of the USA as well – including California, where the recent movie There Will be Blood, starring Daniel Day Lewis, was filmed.  

All of us in my “baby boom” generation grew up on cheap gasoline and hot cars. In fact, even the most dyed-in-the-wool environmentalist has to admit that literally everything we have today in the way of creature comforts and modern consumer products came in one form or another from oil. Even in the 1960’s, oil was still relatively cheap and gasoline was selling for as low as 30 cents a gallon (even cheaper during “gas wars” between gas station companies).

A few futurist thinkers, including science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, did start warning people in the 1950’s that sooner of later oil would run out (Peak Oil), or become scarcer and thus more expensive. And a few people even talked about possible environmental damage from overuse of oil. But as a whole, people couldn’t care less, and still had plenty of cheap gasoline to drive their cars to the charcoal hamburger restaurants to buy a Theta Burger.

So here we are now, nearly 10 years into the year 2000, with greenhouse gases, global warming, climate change and Al Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his crusade against global warming. But despite all the environmental problems and attempts to develop alternative and renewable energy, the world is still very hungry for that black stuff that folks in my neck of the woods used to call Texas Tea. And for a long time to come people will still want this stuff to keep their economies going. Ask the Chinese, now the No. 2 users of oil in the world after America,  and probably one of the main contributors to the present state of the world environment, including melting polar ice and glaciers.

No, I’m not going to castigate companies like Exxon (now cooperating with Ben Gurion University on renewables), BP, and even Opti Canada Inc., for doing what they’re doing. They’re only accommodating to people’s needs; which for the time being is still centered around fossil fuels and not solar energy and wind turbines.  Israel has never had much oil, and the newly discovered natural gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean have still not been fully explored. So with this in mind, Israel is in a better position to develop other forms of energy, especially in light of less oil being available due to increasing political realities.

Maybe in a hundred years or so, the situation will be different concerning the use of renewable energy over oil – if we all can last that long.

(Photo via www.shorpy.com)

The post When Oil Or "Texas Tea" Was Good For Us appeared first on Green Prophet.

Israel’s ORMAT Industries Ltd  (NASDAQ:ORA) has joined with its subsidiary Opti Canada Inc (TSE:OPC) in a project in extract and produce a high grade of petroleum from oil sands located in northern Alberta Canada. ORMAT is  a world leader in producing  energy from unconventional sources, including geo-thermal energy from volcanoes and hot springs under the earth’s surface.

The company that likes to brand itself as a clean technology company the world over is not so quick to reveal that it is involved in what could be the dirtiest deal ever for the planet:

The northern-Alberta tar sands venture involves Ormat’s technology to use high pressure steam to extract the crude oil, presently trapped in the sands located deep below the earth’s surface. The process is known as steam assisted gravity drainage, or SAGD for short. It’s a dirty process, and some environmentalists say it will make current levels of greenhouse gases look meagre compared to what gets released during tar sands processing. 
OPTI Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of the ORMAT Group of Companies. In business since 1965, Ormat has been a supplier of ultra reliable power units for the oil and gas industry, and has built renewable energy power plants producing 700 megawatts of electricity, in over 60 countries around the world.  

The new venture in Canada hopes to produce a very high grade of premium “sweet crude oil” which has a low sulfur content and will be much easier for refineries to work with. But it is filthy in other ways. According to a 2008 Grist report from Environment Defense Canada: 

The main reason is that extracting the oil from the sand is so energy intensive, from the large machines to the natural gas used to melt the bitumen out of the sand. It is estimated that by 2012 the Tar Sands will use as much gas as is needed to heat all the homes in Canada … Using huge amounts of relatively clean burning natural gas in order to produce dirty and carbon heavy oil is what commentators have dubbed “reverse alchemy” — the equivalent of turning gold into lead.

Ormat is known for its recovered energy processes, which creates energy by utilizing exhaust gas  from compressor stations along interstate pipelines, midstream gas processing facilities and other energy-intensive processing industries such as cement production.  

 While the “sweet crude oil” venture seems like a good deal for those still interested in finding new sources of crude oil, including the Chinese, who are interested in investing in the tar sands project, at the end of the day,  all that is really being done is merely extending  the use of petroleum as a major energy fuel source with all its environmental implications. 

The Ormat Group itself  has already shown that it can produce viable energy output from a number of  ecological friendly source, that also includes their ORMAT Energy Converter that uses  an organic “motive fluid” that operates on a principle known as the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC).

With all this in mind, innovative energy companies like Ormat might better devote their R&D efforts into more environmentally friendly energy projects, instead of ones which will merely extend the use of “Texas tea” as a world power supplier. Or come clean with their shareholders and advertise the fact that they are driving in part, what could be the most destructive project to date on our planet. 

More on Ormat from our archives:

Ormat Taps Into Geo-Thermal Power In Indonesia

Ormat and Sunday To Build Largest Solar Roof In Middle East

(Photo via Opti Canada Inc.)

Karin Kloosterman contributed to this report.

UPDATE:

Reader Michael Wittig responds to this Green Prophet article in his own Green Prophet post: “Oil Sands Are Trying To Clean Up Dirty Business.”

The post Ormat's Opti Takes On Oil Sands In Alberta, A Dirty Deed For The Company's "Clean" Image appeared first on Green Prophet.