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29 May 2008
Ambassador Harnish Discusses Advancing Renewable Energy
Ask America webchat transcript, May 21
Ambassador Reno L. Harnish III is principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, where he has served since 2006.
Following is the transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of International Information Programs
Ask America Webchat Transcript
Advancing Renewable Energy: After WIREC -- Next Steps
Guest: Reno L. Harnish, OES
Date: May 21, 2008
Time: 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT)
Moderator: Welcome to our webchat! The live chat will take place on May 21 at 14:00 GMT. You may begin sending in your questions now.
Ambassador Reno L. Harnish: This is Reno Harnish writing from the Harry Truman building in Washington DC. I am looking forward to some good questions on The Washington Renewable Energy Conferenece (WIREC), Renewable energy, biofuels etc. Let me say in opening that we in Washington were tremendously gratified by the the success of WIREC, 113 countries, 103 Ministers, 4 US cabinet members and the President discussed optimal policy for adopting renewables. More importantly 140 pledges were received to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.
Question [Chat Participant]: Can you explain WIREC conference? What purpose?
Answer [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: See above
Q [Chat Participant]: Pledges for use of renewables...is this to replace Kyoto pledges for reduce use of carbon emissions?
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: No, The pledges at WIREC supplement other climate action. Also, our pledges did not deal with other clean technologies but focused on renewable energy. This technique was pioneered in Bonn in 2004 at the first International Renewable Energy Conference, but with the high price of oil and new appreciation of carbon costs we got a even stronger response.
We are delighted that India agreed to host the next global gathering in 2010 at which the pledges will be reviewed and celebrate more progress in making renewable energy part of the mainstream energy mix on a global basis.
Moderator: We are taking your questions now!
Q [darsh]: Excellency, can we consider Ethanol as a form of renewable energy?
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: Yes, but there are many forms of ethanol. Corn gets a lot of attention but there are many others like palm oil, Jatropha and sweet sorghum which have higher energy content than corn for example, they can grown on arid lands in many developing countries without fertilizer and pesticides. We are also interested in second and third generation ethanol, which is cellulosic ehanol such as switch grass, woody biomass wood chips, landfills, and waste converted to biogas.
Q [yahia2]: How can using crops or foodstuff as energy product, affect the total food needed?
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: Right now we are studying these impacts. We think that corn-based ethanol is only a small part of the reason for the runup in food prices. On the good side there is increased demand for food as many developing countries raise standards of living. We oppose lack of transparency in some developing country food markets and recent export bans on food crops.
Q [Kuba]: one more question please: how US views wind energy? solar energy?
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: For the third year in a row the US has deployed more wind energy than any other country in the world and we may already have the absolute lead in deployment of wind energy. [The U.S. Geological Survey] is undertaking a national survey of wind sites in the US, that will be completed in 2008 as one of the WIREC pledges. We are very bullish on the potential for wind role in power generation. Solar tends to be a bit more expensive per KWH but the national laboratories like NREL in Golden Colorado are researching ways to bring the costs down and we hope for early deployments here too. Remember, more than 25 states have renewable portfolio standards and this is encouraging both wind and solar for the US market.
Q [Kuba]: how do you respond: biofuels takes crops from people redirects to transportation.
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: See answer above.
Moderator: "NREL" is the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. You can visit their homepage and learn more at http://www.nrel.gov/.
Q [Chat Participant]: I am Sadaf, a Lincoln Corner user and student of International Islam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. My question is "how can we utilize garbage in the production of energy, because it is a great disaster for the world?"
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: Garbage is already used to generate electricity. Just last week I visited a site in Virginia that burned the garbage to generate steam electricity. They of course can vary the temperatures to avoid emission of pollutants. A newer technology uses the methane produced from landfills. Warrenton Virginia a town pledged this at WIREC. The mayor even powers vehicles and it is very popular with the citizens.
Q [Chat Participant]: What about China -- oil addiction just beginning there! If US and others reduce the use of oil, won't China just utilize the excess supply to move economy forward using the cheaper resource while west rely on more expensive alternatives?
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: Well if China continues to burn only coal and oil, they will make their problem of pollution even worse. We encourage the Government of China to use new clean technology to generate energy through our programs like the Asia Pacific Partnership.
Furthermore, with oil at such high levels the case for renewable energy and clean technology becomes even stronger. Basically, we hope in the context of the ongoing climate change negotiations UNFCCC and major economies process to see developing countries take steps to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.
Moderator: Learn more about the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate at: http://www.asiapacificpartnership.org/
Q [Chat Participant]: What would you suggest for a developing nation like Pakistan which is facing acute shortage of energy and where load-shedding has become a routine business. What steps could be taken with our limited resources? Can Pakistan go for tapping its Coal reserves (keeping in mind its economic constraints) which are they say 4th largest in the world? How can we use our immense solar energy for any productive use?
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: On coal, my thought for Pakistan would be like that for China. It is important to use it in a clean technology. One thing we are working on in the US is carbon sequestration, i.e., putting the green house gases in the ground. However, this is not available right now. By the way your government at WIREC made a strong pledge for renewable energy. They said they wanted to achieve 10 % share of renewable including hydro powers in the national energy mix by 2012. Also, they want 1000 villages electified through renewable energy by 2010.
Moderator: More information on individual country pledges and WIREC conference highlights are available at: http://www.wirec2008.gov/wps/portal/wirec2008.
Q [Chat Participant]: What do about oceanic wave turbines? With two large coastlines US has a great potential.
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: I would say this is in an earlier stage of development. There are a few models and test facilities around the US. One is going up in Oregon and I think there is one in New York's east river. According to discussion at WIREC, the technology has some issues with fouling and corrosion with the turbines before this is fully marketable.
Moderator: Carbon Sequestration and other related topics are available for you to explore at America.gov's Environment Issues homepage. This page can be found at: http://science.america.gov/science/environ/index.html
Q [Chat Participant]: For most of the world, intercity travel is by TRAIN. European rail networks are becoming more integrated, faster, and jet fuel expensive (also consider delays and canceled). My question: Why America is so undeveloped in passenger rail? Surely this is a most sustainable way to move large volume of people from city to city with the result of less autos and less emission,
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: The US moves a lot of freight by rail. In terms of passenger travel, the distances of our country compared to inter city travel in Eurpore and Japan are much greater. There has been a tendency to utilize aircraft for these New York to Los Angeles trips. However, innovative ideas are being tried right now. For example, this year in the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis in London and a third site, ultra light transportation on overhead rails will be installed.
Moderator: Ambassador Harnish is with us for a few more minutes. Please submit your final questions now.
A [Ambassador Reno L. Harnish]: It appears we must draw this webchat to a conclusion. I and the rest of the renewable energy team at the Department of State, Ocean, Environment and Science Bureau have really enjoyed this exchange and the opportunity to learn what is on people's minds as we formulate US foreign policy in the climate policy area. For more information, our friends can turn to the WIREC2008.gov website or the REN21 website. Further, we will release soon a copy of the conference report in hard copy and will post it to the web. Let's promote rapid adoption of renewables and clean technology!
Moderator: We wish to thank Ambassador Reno Harnish for joining us today. The webchat is now closed. We hope you will understand that there were many questions coming in. She may not have been able to answer your direct question, but please check the transcript for similar questions.
A full transcript of today's webchat will be published (usually within one business day) to our Ask America homepage at http://www.america.gov/multimedia/askamerica.html.
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