Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007 - 13

nuclear power. Coal is the lowest cost and most abund a n t domestic energy resource with enough supplies for the next two centuries. More than half of the electricity generated in the U.S. comes from coal. However, when burned, coal also is a primary source of carbon dioxide emissions. Proponents point to the rapid advancem e n t of clean coal technologies that reduce emissions—such as the use of carbon capture and sequestration where CO2 gas is captured and piped deep below the earth’s surface for permanent storage. Another 20 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. comes from nuclear power, an important source of carbon-free energy. Critics, however, point to nuclear power’s perceived adverse safety, environmental and health effects; the potential security risks stemming from proliferat i o n ; and unresolved challenges in the long-term management of nuclear wastes. Private Sector Responds olar technology itself is still expensive. Many states have tax credits and incentives for businesses and homeowners, but we Clean Coal and Nuclear Power really need legislative Many energy experts argue that the answer to reducing the nation’s oil dependence action to equalize the lies within improving and expanding two playing ﬁeld for the market main existing energy sources—coal and across the nation.” JULIA JUDD THE SOLAR ELECTRIC POWER ASSOCIATION S The future potential for profit in alternative energy has not gone unnoticed by the private sector. In 2006, major corporations, venture capitalists, investment banks and hedge funds invested more than $71 billion worldwide on renewable energy projects, according to New Energy Finance, a London-based research firm. Financial backers of renewable energy projects include some of the world’s most famous and wealthy. Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla has poured tens of millions into West Coast ethanol projects. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has contributed $84 million to Pacific Ethanol. Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs has invested $27 million in a Canadian ethanol factory. Wa d e Newton, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers— which counts Ford Motor Company, the BMW Group, General Motors and Toyota among its members—says the automotive industry has introduced flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in response to the need for alternative energy options. FFVs are dualfuel vehicles that run on either gasoline or E85—a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. “This has been an important issue for us for some time now,” Newton says, adding that there are 9 million FFVs on the road today out of 250 million vehicles nationwide. Infrastructure Challenges The nation’s alternative energy goals, however, will be met only by an integrated approach that involves all stakeholders, including the engineering, automotive and fuel industries, along with government and consumers, many experts say. While there are more than 9 million FFVs on the road, there are only about 1,000 E85 fuel pumps nationwide, mostly located in the Midwest. “People always ask what comes first, the chicken or the egg,” Newton says. “In the case of alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure, they both need to progress at the same time.” Jacob Golbitz of HighQuest Partners, a Boston-based management consulti n g company specializing in the biofuels industry, says the industry has yet to answer many infrastructure questions. “Consider that petroleum has 200 miles of pipelines,” Golbitz says. “In the case of biofuels, getting feedstock to the ethanol plant and then getting ethanol to the user at the levels needed to truly make an impact [are issues that] still need to be addressed.” Ha r t w i g believes that today’s virtual pipeline for ethanol—rail, barge and truck traffic—is adequate for now. It can deliver up to 14 billion gallons a year, which, he says, is enough to compose 10 percent of every gallon of gasoline used in the nation. Yet more infrastructure will be needed beyond the 111 plants already in operation, Hartwig acknowledges, if the industry is to become a greater component of the nation’s total energy picture. A bill is in Congress aimed at exploring the need for building an ethanol pipeline. T h e need for infrastructure is being addressed, says Kennedy/Jenks CEO Takaichi. “There are a lot of engineering firms already doing renewable energy work, especially in the Midwest where much of the industry right now is centered because of the corn,” Takaichi says. “But as the industry grows out from the Midwest, engineering clearly will be involved in that infrastructure as well.” He added that engineers will be needed for system design. “Engineers will become an important interface between regulators and funding sources,” he predicts. “Our exposure to this unique market puts us in an important expertise position.” For more information on ways in which your firm can contribute to the alternative energy solution, check out www.acec. org/publications for these titles: Becoming Part of the Solution: The Engineer’s Guide to Sustainable Development; The Insider’s Guide to Marketing Green Buildings; and Socially Responsible Engineering. ■ Alan D. Crockett is director of communications and media for ACEC. MARCH / APRIL 2007 ENGINEERING INC. 13

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Engineering Inc. - March/April 2007

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