President Obama gave a cautious welcome but added: “It is important we don’t get ahead of ourselves.”

Pressure within the well is steadily rising, a good sign, said Kent Wells, BP’s vice president.

The oil has been stopped for the first time since 20 April, as part of a 48-hour test.

There is currently no evidence of the well rupturing.

Eleven workers were killed in the Deepwater Horizon explosion, and the oil spill has raised fears of an environmental catastrophe.

The flow of oil was shut off at 1425 local time (1925 GMT) on Thursday. The stoppage is part of a test of the integrity of the well.

If the pressure within the new cap on the well stays high, that could mean there are no other leaks or ruptures within the wellbore. If it drops, that could suggest problems.

“The new cap is good news,” Mr Obama said, noting that it would either mean the oil was stopped or that almost all of it would be able to be captured.

But he added: “One of the problems with having this camera down there is, is that when the oil stops gushing, everybody feels like we’re done – and we’re not.”

The pressure within the well is currently 6,700 pounds per square inch (psi) and steadily rising, said Mr Wells.

If it were to drop below 6,000psi that would probably mean there was a problem within the well. If it continues rising and stays over 8,000psi that would probably mean the well was intact, Mr Wells said.
There is currently “no negative evidence of any breaching” of the sea floor, Mr Wells said. BP will soon run another seismic survey to check for any evidence of ruptures.

BP is also resuming work on a relief well that has 30ft left to drill before it hits the original leaking well. Once the wells intersect, mud and cement will be used to permanently deal with the leak.

The current pressure test could last for up to 48 hours, with BP and government experts reviewing results every six hours.

If the test is successful it is not clear what will happen next.

BP has suggested it might be possible to keep the well shut, with oil collection vessels left on standby.

But government incident commander Thad Allen has suggested the most likely outcome is the resumption of collection of the oil with four vessels and the capacity to collect 80,000 barrels – all or virtually all of the oil – each day.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10665003

Professor Michael Quah

Here are this thoughts on Singapore’s new energy future:

As an American migrant worker, recently stationed in Singapore, I am both puzzled and fascinated by the high-wire balancing act executed recently by Singapore’s Economic Strategies Committee.

Why the puzzlement? In the US, where I have lived for almost four decades, technology policy is often heavily influenced by lobbyists and special interest groups, and once policy is set, somewhat asks “Gosh! Did the policy violate laws for science?”

For example, the 2008 debacle in Texas was caused when too much wind resources were installed (because of well-intentioned excitement over renewable energy resources) and that fact effected more blackouts! Why? Non-demand resources need the complementary energy storage systems, which were not in place; hence when demand remains high, when the wind dies down, system imbalances trigger blackouts.

A systems understanding or more importantly, a “system of systems” analysis would have pointed that technical detail out; but if legislators wanted to “out-green” one another by increasing the fraction of renewable resources, such system errors occur for lack of deep technical understanding.

Why the fascination? The ESC Sub-Committee 7 report truly reflected the background deliberations in a serious attempt to maintain the delicate balances among:

-Concerns for energy security

-Issues of climate change challenges, and

-The “Imperative” of sustained economic growth for Singapore (and the region.)

The broader committee recommendations also reflect the delicate balancing act between “allowing market forces to reallocate scare resources” and government “intervention” into stimulating specific industrial sectors. I contend that the effort to maintain the diversity of energy/environment recommendations is to be lauded.

In my past talks in Singapore, I have always contended that “energy security comes from energy diversity.” But given Singapore’s small geographic footprint, and given the “physics of low energy density” of renewable sources, such energy sources will play a minor role in supplying Singapore’s energy diets. Thus the importation of electricity from the next nearest neighbours (provided the electricity is derived from renewable sources) will:

-Indirectly enhance the renewable portfolio for Singapore

-Catalyze greater regional collaboration and cooperation.

Second, the knee-jerk reaction from anti-nuclear activists would be that the recommendations call for a nuclear plant within the confines of a small island. My reading of the recommendations, however, is different. The ESC simply calls for studying the feasibility of nuclear energy.

From the regional news reports, it is likely that within the next few decades, ASEAN will go nuclear and whether or not Singapore hosts a nuclear facility in the country, I contend that the long, extended logistics tail for nuclear technologies is such that all the countries of the region will benefit from riding the logistics bandwagon.

Beyond the supply of carbon-neutral electricity, the adoption of nuclear power in any one country in the region triggers a proliferation of new jobs and new skill-sets which span the entire supply chain: from the logistics of safe fuel transportation, codes and standards, monitoring, quality controls, oversight and verification, safety and security, occupational health, education and training, waste disposal, and the safe disposal and long-term storage of spent fuel.

These new challenges present new growth opportunities in value-added jobs and skills. Equally important, it must usher in a new era of closer functional regional cooperation.

Likewise, an initial reaction to the use of coal in place of natural gas will be that we will be retrograde relative to increased carbon emissions. Yes, and maybe no. If Singapore is emerging as the test-bed for innovations and new technology development, why not improve upon emissions controls for carbon dioxide in the coal plant that Singapore will consider? Why not participate in global initiatives on carbon capture and sequestration?

In a roadmap for energy security and environmental sustainability that I prepared for the Energy Studies Institute (ESI) last year, I articulated 3 time periods for considering our “back to the future” scenario for Singapore and the planet. In period 1, the next 10 years, we will still be in a fossil-fuel dominant era and hence, energy efficiency and conservation programs should be the top priority because of the climate change challenges.

And while technology is a necessary condition, it remains an insufficient condition, meaning beyond looking to new technology, we have to consider new processes and develop new habits to reducing our energy intensity.

In period 2, up to the next 50 years, we need a rapid transformation towards increasing our renewable energy portfolio standards and many of the ESC recommendations are in line with that vision.

Transforming our transportation diet to electrons from petrol or diesel, especially when electricity is from nuclear or renewable sources will drastically diminish emissions from this sector. Developing “smarts” within the grid systems will do the same for the electricity sector.

And setting a price for carbon emissions, such that the price of energy includes the fuel price plus that of the carbon emissions will help businesses plan their growth strategies a lot better as we transition to period 3 in the distant future, where we are truly “back to the future” because our ancestors prior to finding the “rock that burns” indeed used only renewable energy sources including geothermal.

In conclusion, the devil is in the details. The ESC’s high-wire balancing act between charting a new energy future that considers both energy security and sustainable growth is commendable.

The author is a Principal Fellow and Head, Energy and Environmental Technologies and Systems at the Energy Studies Institute at NUS.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. By: Fir0002.

Chickens are used for many things around the globe, but their main purpose has always been as a food source. Whether it’s for their meat, their eggs, or their strange helpfulness in the garden, these farmyard birds have been depended on for a long time.

However, when it comes to the poultry industry, there is one oversight people probably make: the feathers. Did you know that nearly 6 billion pounds of chicken feathers are generated in the US per year? Yeah, that’s a crazy amount of feathers and they don’t really have much use once they’ve been removed from the chicken (unless you are really creative). So, in most cases, they are probably either sent to a landfill, burned, used as low-grade animal meal, or destroyed in some other fashion; at least, until now.

A team of scientists (headed by Professor Manoranjan ‘Mano’ Misra) of the University of Nevada discovered some rather interesting things about chicken feathers; things that could develop a most interesting way of creating biodiesel fuel. It all starts with chicken feather meal.

Chicken feather meal contains processed feathers, blood and innards—gross, right? This stuff is processed with steam at high temperatures, can be used as animal feed and fertilizer, and it contains a high amount of nitrogen and protein. However, it’s the 12% fat content of the meal that the researchers were particularly interested in.

By extracting this fat from the meal using boiling water, the researchers are able to process it into biodiesel; plus, the removal of the fat also turns the meal into a higher-grade animal feed and a better source for fertilizer. If you were to take into account the amount of chicken feather meal generated every year, it could mean the development of 153 million gallons of biodiesel in the US or 593 million gallons worldwide, per year.

Now, the really intriguing thing is others have been finding new uses for chicken feathers, too. One group of scientists at the University of Delaware is using chicken feathers to store hydrogen fuel. In addition to the fuel storage, they are also working on ways to turn those chicken feather fibers into other products, including bio-based circuit boards and hurricane-resistant roofing.

You can find out more about their studies here.

By Heidi Marshall

Image Source: Flickr. By: Michael Dawes.

Thanks to a recent stint pulled by some undercover reporters it would appear that the Japanese whalers are continuing their course aboard a sinking ship (so to speak).

According to the Sunday Times, Japan has bribed a number of small nations in attempt to earn their support at the upcoming IWC meeting. Undercover reporters pretended to be representatives of a Swiss billionaire conservationist and approached officials from pro-whaling nations, offering them a special package if they changed their votes.

During negotiations, many of the officials revealed they were supporting Japan and admitted the Japanese offered them a variety of “gifts”, including aid, cash, and even call girls! Nations that were part of the bribe include: Grenada, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nevis and St Kitts.

Japan denies these accusations, with the ministry of foreign affairs claiming:

“The government of Japan does not cover any cost of any other IWC member countries related to the IWC.”

However, check out what some of the officials had to say about the situation:

Guinea – A top fisheries official said Tokyo usually gives his minister a “minimum” of $1,000 in spending money per day during IWC and other fishery meetings.

Marshall Islands – A top fisheries official claims “We support Japan because of what they give us.”

Kiribati – A fisheries official stated that their vote was determined by the “benefit” aid it received and noted that Japan gave money to cover their spending and expenses at the IWC.

Tanzania – The IWC commissioner admitted that “good girls” were provided to ministers and senior fisheries officials during all-expenses paid trips to Japan.

If that isn’t some fishy work going on, then I don’t know what is. Though, it certainly has good timing, with 2 whaling activist trials in session, a new whale hunt in progress, and the IWC meeting very close at hand (June 21 – 25).

You can find out more information about the stint here.

By Heidi Marshall

image public domain

Several American technological companies are developing methods of wireless energy transference, as was once envisioned by legendary inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. The details the firms are using in their various methods of delivering wireless power differ from Tesla’s ideas, particularly in terms of the amount of power and the distance it travels.

WiTricity has demonstrated the ability to send enough energy across a room to run a flat-screen television using its approach, called “resonant magnetic coupling”. This is different from Tesla’s approach, but the firm’s founders have acknowledged his pioneering work.

–Economist

Similarly, Computer giant Intel is working on ways of harnessing already-existing television and radio signals and converting them into power sources for small gadgets.

Though the idea of electricity flowing through the air, outside of the safe confines of rubber coated metal wires, may sound dangerous and a bit scary, the developers maintain that it is not. WiTricty’s method converts magnetic fields – via ‘highly coupled magnetic resonance’– into electricity, while Intel’s simply harvests the ambient energy that is already around us in the form of radio, television and wifi signals.

For more better, more detailed explanation of these processes, read the entire article in the Economist, entitled ‘Power from thin air’ and watch the accompanying video, embedded below.

Power in the air

by Graham Land