Iran Daily November 3, 2007 8

Electricity Crisis Turning Black Coal Green

A
s China’s appetite the same period. targeted as well. “We’re Cabinet for Economic

In Pakistan for coal is boom-

ing, American
investors and businesses
Shenhua’s initial public
offering in Shanghai in
September raised $8.9 bil-
working to get the banks
out of all coal develop-
ment.”
Development.
She said several
Kentucky coal companies

I
are cashing in--or, in the lion, a record for main- Apart from investors, are preparing to go on a
n the wake of the looming energy crisis in Pakistan, case of some based in land China. US coal companies are trade mission to China.
the supply end has to be substantially increased on a Kentucky, trying to figure US investment in the also salivating over China “Most likely they will
war footing in order to avoid any severe consequences out how to do so. likes of Shenhua has gone because of the promise of take a look at the market
that such a massive shortage of energy as experienced American pension and largely unnoticed. things they haven’t seen and see what opportuni-
in the recent months could damage the socio-eco- mutual fund money is Individual investors prob- much of lately: Rising ties there are,” she said.
nomics and the sovereignty of the country. The multi- being invested in the ably don’t know their prices and the opportunity The most recent US
dimensional ongoing energy crisis has been having a knock Chinese coal industry, money is going into to increase exports. government data illus-
on the life of every Pakistani and has shaped up into a mat- which is lucrative but has Chinese coal stocks, says Massey Energy Co. of trates the lure of China
ter of national concern. a poor record for pollution corporate government Richmond, Va., and clearly. Exports from the
In the present age, without sufficient energy the wheel can't and worker safety, expert Nell Minow. International Coal Group US--the third-largest
run on roads, industry and agriculture can't sustain, hospitals News.enquirer.com said. But while such compa- of Scott Depot, W.Va., exporter of metallurgical
and operation theaters can't function, schools and laborato- Look no further than nies might come with recently told investors coal in the world--were up
ries can't work and public and private sector businesses can't China Shenhua Energy concerns, investors find they plan to increase met- 25 percent from 2002
operate. Co., the Beijing giant that poor returns equally allurgical coal production through 2006, and an esti-
This is indeed the situation people are facing in Pakistan. produces about 170 mil- upsetting, she adds. to take advantage of rising mated 19 percent just
The shortage of sufficient and affordable energy has not left lion tons of coal a year “You’re really on the world demand caused by through July.
any of the above-mentioned institutions operate smoothly. from 21 mines and builds horns of a dilemma,” she China’s transition from a “There will be opportu-
This summer, the country faced an electricity deficit of power plants. While about says. “You can’t afford coal exporter to an nities for US metallurgi-
over 2,500 megawatts (MW). The pace at which energy 80 percent of the compa- not to be in China.” importer this year. And St. cal coal companies to
demand is growing, by next summer the electricity deficit is ny’s stock is owned by Even environmental Louis-based Peabody export more,” said Jim
likely to cross 4,000 MW. Shenhua Group in groups that have criti- spent $1.51 billion last Truman, who follows the
The energy supply end is almost in a state of stagnancy in Beijing, the rest of its cized the US coal industry year to buy its way back coal industry for consult-
the country and according to some careful estimates, it is shareholders reads like a for practices such as into Australia, a country it ing firm Hill &
feared that by 2010 the gap between demand and supply who’s who of US mountaintop-removal left several years ago, to Associates.
could reach up to 8,000 MW. The situation demands a col- investors: Fidelity mining have been largely export to China. Faced with increasing
lective effort on the part of all stakeholders of society, I n v e s t m e n t s , silent on investing in “In general, they’re opposition from environ-
including policy and decision makers, scientists and acade- OppenheimerFunds, Chinese coal. The doing a very smart thing,” mental groups, US coal
mia, industrialists and entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens. Merrill Lynch, even the Rainforest Action said Mike Tian, an analyst companies have begun
The energy supply end is almost in a state of stagnancy in Pakistan.
The industrial sector accounting for nearly 32 percent of Teachers Retirement Network, for instance, with independent invest- pushing technology
the total national primary energy consumption can play a getting black-listed, thanks to the national grid. Electricity System of Texas. focused on the US in its ment research company designed to reduce pollu-
critical role in this regard. There are three main things that generation by industrialists themselves is not only going to The performance of criticism of Citigroup Inc. Morningstar. “That’s tants, including the green-
can be recommended to industrialists, Thenews.com. be in the very interest of the industry, it will also provide a Shenhua’s Hong Kong- and Bank of America where the money is.” house gas carbon dioxide.
reported. massive relief for the national grid. Large-scale textile mills listed shares explains why Corp.’s involvement with Companies in Kentucky, They’ve also been work-
Firstly, they should reduce energy consumption through and a number of other industries are already producing their US investors love the coal industry. the nation’s third-ranked ing with electricity pro-
applying energy conservation and management measures. own electricity and thus they are not only self-sufficient but Chinese coal. Shenhua “We’ve predominantly producer of coal, are also ducer China Huaneng
Energy conservation is a process of decreasing the quanti- also in a position to sell surplus electricity. gained almost 65 percent been looking at the recent trying to figure out how Group on FutureGen. The
ty of energy used while achieving a similar level of output The trend needs to be copied throughout the industrial from July through boom in coal-fired power they can capitalize on planned $1.5 billion
sector. Another aspect of the matter is the ever-increasing September, while plants domestically,” said China’s demand for coal, experimental coal-fired
This summer, Pakistan energy prices--gas and electricity prices are going up drasti- Peabody--a favorite of Matt Leonard, a global said Cathy Chao, a trade power plant would serve
cally. Every quarter, energy bills hit new heights due to analysts who follow US finance campaigner for specialist with the to test carbon capture and
faced an electricity deficit jumps in gas and furnace oil prices. coal companies--lost the group, who added that International Trade underground storage,
Having in mind the crucial status of energy prices in the more than 3 percent over Chinese coal should be Division within the state among other things.
of over 2,500 megawatts overall operational cost of a production/manufacturing

Cook With the Sun

primarily for financial gains. facility, frequent and extensive increments in fuel prices is
It is worth noting that energy conservation is the most eco- leaving devastating impacts on the industrial sector.
nomical solution to energy shortages. In Pakistan, the indus- Statistics indicate that over the last decade, gas and furnace

trial sector in general incorporates considerable energy loss-
es thus lowering the level of overall operational productivi-
ty. For example, plants and equipment lack proper calibra-
tion and maintenance, and production and assembly lines
run low on productivity.
The industrial sector, like all others in the country, is not
aware of the financial losses being incurred as a result of
these inefficient practices. Even the most modern of the
industries in Pakistan do not have an internal energy audit-
ing and monitoring policy in place which is a key to energy
conservation and management.
Secondly, the industrial sector should come forward and
start producing its own electricity in an attempt to reduce
dependency on the unreliable and inadequate national grid.
The national grid is in a chaos--on top of planned loadshed-
ding, lengthy and frequent electricity breakdowns have also
become a norm.
The situation is thus disturbing enough to shake the confi-
dence of industrialists in its day-to-day operation. The
haunting situation with loadshedding and power break-
downs is leaving industry with a thin margin to stay com-
petitive in local and international markets. There are even
examples of export deadlines being missed and companies
Natural Gas Nanotech
oil prices in the country have seen a 100 percent and 500
percent rise, respectively.
It should be remembered that the said increments in fuel
prices to a certain extent are linked with the international
markets. Pakistan therefore has to respond to global price
trends in the energy market although the degree of profits
government earns on them remains to be a debatable issue.
With in-house electricity generation, the industry will be in
a slightly better position to withstand the shocks of increas-
ing fuel prices.
Thirdly; industrialists, investors and businessmen have to
take the energy sector on board as a potential area of busi-
ness. It is inevitable for Pakistan in order to run its busi-
nesses safely to supplement its energy supply end with over
one thousand megawatts every year.
Taking benchmark figures of $1-1.5 million /megawatt, it
turns out to be a multi-billion dollar investment per annum.
It is worth noting that energy is one of the most lucrative
business areas on the planet.
Pakistani industrialists and investors do not appear to be
much aware of the true potential of the energy sector.
Consequently, Pakistanis see hundreds of millions of dollars
worth business going overseas every year.
T
here are many ways to cut back on the greenhouse
gases that are causing global warming, but few
make more sense for people in southern Africa than
using solar energy.
As a matter of fact, according to United Nations figures,
Botswana is the most suitable country in the entire world
for using solar panels and other sun-driven devices
because it has a flat landscape, few tall trees and more
cloud free hours per year, than any other country,
AllAfrica.com reported.
So where are all the solar panels?
Okay, there are quite a few in remote locations, but they
haven't caught on in the way environmentalists would
have hoped in more urban areas; where most of people in
Botswana are using coal generated electricity to heat our
water, light our houses and cook their food. Many others,
meanwhile, are burning up their dwindling supply of fire-
Botswana is the most suitable country in the entire world for using
wood for heating and cooking. solar panels and other sun-driven devices.
Up in Zimbabwe, frequent power cuts are now driving a
move towards cooking as much as possible with the sun; Brina.
and to promote that trend, a group called Solar Cookers “When I called Richard Pocock he said he could send me
International is encouraging people to use solar stoves. one of the cookers for a total cost of about P200 including
The US based company makes two types of cookers, postage, he said.”
both of which use shiny surfaces to reflect and focus the He also confirmed the devices were extremely suitable
sun's rays onto a black cooking pot. The temperature is for conditions here.
lower than what you get on a conventional stove so it takes
longer to cook meals and boil water, but once you have
"They work beautifully in Botswana. I've sent quite a
few orders there, and I even gave one to some Basarwa in

C
ould nanotechnol-
ogy revolutionize
the natural gas
industry?
Nanotechnology could
revolutionize the natural
gas industry across the
whole lifecycle from
extraction to pollution
reduction or be an enor-
mous missed opportuni-
ty, claim two industry
experts writing in
Inderscience's
International Journal of
Nanotechnology. They
Nanotechnology
could revolutionize
the natural gas
industry across the
whole lifecycle
from extraction to
pollution reduction
of innovation in the
exploration and produc-
tion sector, a perception
materials might be used
to improve purification
and storage of hydrocar-
bons, while yet other
nanomaterials might be
used in environmental
remediation, allowing
contaminated sites to be
cleaned up of harmful
pollutants.
Nanomaterials might
even be developed as
corrosion inhibitors for
equipment and at the
same time, more sophis-
ticated nanotechnology
The researchers add
that as readily accessible
hydrocarbon reserves
become depleted, the oil
and gas exploration and
production industry faces
increasing technical chal-
lenges. These challenges
boil down to increased
costs and limitations on
drilling and production
technologies.
bought your cooker and a black pot all you have to pay for D'kar."
are the ingredients of future meals. While solar cookers do seem to be ideal for Botswana, it
Unfortunately, the Zimbabwean made cookers are in must be pointed out that they are not as versatile as other
short supply, so they are not being exported. To get the stoves since they do not work at night or when it is raining
larger stainless steel cooker sent from the States would or overcast.
cost about 5000 pula, while the portable foil covered board Advantages of solar cooking
cooker would cost 600 pula. a) Constant heat doesn't burn food
“Surprisingly, no one seems to be distributing the cook- b) No need to scrub pots
ers here in Botswana, but the people at the SCI office in c) No smoke smell or taste
California were kind enough to give me the contact infor- d) Free fuel
mation for the man who sells the Sun Catcher portable e) Slow cooking is healthy
cooker out of Durban,” said South African researcher, Guy Cooker can be easily moved
Angola Supports Civilian Atomic Energy

suggest that nanotechnol-
ogy could help us extract
more fuel and feedstock
hydrocarbons from dwin-
dling resources.
However, industry inertia
and a lack of awareness
of the benefits could
mean a missed opportu-
nity, Eurekalert said.
According to Saeid
Mokhatab and Brian
Towler of the Chemical
and Petroleum
Engineering Department,
at the University of
Wyoming, in Laramie,
US, there are many
opportunities for the
industry to exploit nan-
otechnology. However,
there is a traditional lack
of high costs, new risks,
and a general lack of
awareness of the benefits
of nanotechnology.
The researchers have
now described the poten-
tial benefits of nanotech-
nology, which could
change that perception.
Mokhatab and Towler
point out that nanomate-
rials, such as nanotubes
or engineered porous
minerals, might be used
in the gas field or other
source to improve the
efficiency of extraction
of a wide variety of
hydrocarbon fuel com-
pounds and chemical
feedstocks.
Similarly, related nano-
could be developed as
solid-state gas sensors
for air pollution monitor-
ing.
"The past decade has
seen explosive growth
worldwide in the synthe-
sis and studies of a wide
range of nanostructured
materials, the building
blocks of nanotechnolo-
gy,” the researchers
explain, “Investigations
of mechanical, chemical,
electrical, magnetic, and
optical behavior of
nanostructured materials
have demonstrated the
possibilities to engineer
the properties of these
new materials for a wide
range of applications."
A
ngola is of the opinion that the use of
atomic energy for peaceful purposes is
of extreme importance for developing
countries, as it helps improve their socio-eco-
nomic condition.
According to Angola's standing representa-
tive to the United Nations Office in Vienna,
ambassador Fidelino de Figueiredo, the coun-
try's Government recognizes the "inalienable
right" of all states to produce nuclear energy
for peaceful means, AllAfrica.com reported.
"My Government salutes and supports the
initiative of assisting the developing countries
interested in developing small and medium
reactors (SMR5), as a way of approaching the
economic development and at the same time
promoting the environment and guaranteeing
security," said the diplomat.
He was delivering the topic on atomic ener-
gy, under the 62nd session of the UN General
Assembly taking place in New York since
September this year.
He stated as well that in order to encourage
a major independence on the part of the mem-
ber states, the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) helps with the construction,
strengthening and maintaining national and
regional capacities on the use of nuclear tech-
nology in a safe and sustainable way.
"The Technical Cooperation Program (TCP)
assists developing countries to correspond to
the technologies appropriate to identified
needs, building concerned national compe-
tences and skills", the official also stated.
To him, the funding to technical cooperation
must be in line with the concept of "shared
responsibility" and of common engagement
in the funding and improvement to the
IAEA's activities as, he added, a fluctuant and
unpredictable funding to the TCP would have
a negative impact on the activities and pro-
motion.
The diplomat underlined that the Angolan
Government encourages all member states to
fully pay their contributions to the regular
budget and to the Technical Cooperation
Fund (TCF).
On the other hand, ambassador Fidelino de
Figueiredo said the Angolan Government
considers as important the reinforced moni-
toring of the enforcement of the Nuclear Non-
proliferation Treaty and global disarmament.
The diplomat said that while recognizing the
importance in the use of atomic energy for
peaceful means, Angola believes that to many
developing countries, especially those of
Africa, the reduction of extreme poverty and
famine by 50 percent until 2015, as predicted
by the UN, requires the eradication or control
of cancer, tsetse fly, trypanosomiasis,
Hiv/Aids, the anopheles, malaria, locust
plagues and others that hinder their socio-eco-
nomic development.