Saudi oil minister slams biofuels, favors solar
"Let's be realistic, ethanol and biofuels will not contribute to the protection of the global environment by reducing (carbon dioxide) emissions, they will not increase energy security, nor will they reduce dependency on fossil fuels to any appreciable degree," Ali al-Naimi told an oil conference.
"Biofuels are not the solution," he added.
The rise in biofuel use was largely due to government subsidies, high import taxes and financial favoritism vis-a-vis others, he added.
"That's why we have to look beyond biofuels... and concentrate instead on truly renewable sources of energy," he said, adding that solar power was perhaps the best clean energy source available in all parts of the world.
"It is abundant, clean and available to all," he said.
"There is a great chance to expand its usage to all parts of the world especially in developing countries and to all economic sectors and activities including power generation, manufacturing and so on," Naimi said.
What was needed, he said, was to expand the use of solar energy and to make solar cells more effective to make the transmission of solar power more cost effective.
"For our part we are giving that sort of energy special attention," he added.
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Ontario explores possibility of new, large scale nuclear plants
TORONTO - Ontario is exploring the possibility of building new, large-scale nuclear plants in order to meet increasing demand for electricity and phase out natural gas generation.
A report late last year by the Independent Electricity System Operator found that the province could fully eliminate natural gas from the electricity system by 2050, starting with a moratorium in 2027, but it will require about $400 billion in capital spending and more generation including new, large-scale nuclear plants.
Decarbonizing the grid, in addition to new nuclear, will require more conservation efforts, more renewable energy sources and more energy storage, the report concluded.
The IESO…
