SUBSIDIES and other fiscal measures, carbon pricing and the need for broader participation are core issues in the development of new technology in renewable energy, according to a diverse panel of senior energy industry representatives who spoke at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Kathy Pepper, ExxonMobil Production Company’s vice president, Middle East and Russia, identified the need to “combine inputs from the private sector, governments and academia” in assisting the development of renewable energy technology.
She referred to ExxonMobil’s long-term plan to create biofuel from algae as a renewable energy initiative the US oil major is driving. A bio-oil produced by algae during photosynthesis is being explored as a fuel source, in addition to the CO2 produced as a by-product o f the process. Still in research and development phase, Pepper said it could be 20 years from completion, “whether we can scale this up in making a viable energy source is one of the major challenges.”
In furthering the development of more renewable energy technologies, Santiago Arias, technical director, Torresol Energy, a Spanish solar energy company, referred to the need for more government-led financial assistance. “The technology is there – the issue is cost, which is the number one problem renewable power has. We need subsidies and special tarrifs,” he said. Though co-panellist, Bill Sims, chief executive officer of Joule Unlimited, a US renewable biotechnology firm, argued companies in renewable should instead be “weaned off subsidies” in keeping an open marketplace.
Encouraging greater efficiencies in carbon utilisation was also addressed during the session, with Charles Soothill, senior vice president – technology at Alstom, a Swiss power generation company, highlighting the need for a worldwide CO2 price. “A worldwide CO2 price is very important, but prices are very weak. I would like to see management of the supply and demand side to ensure there is a clear price for CO2,” he said.
His comments were echoed by Andrew Beebe, chief commercial officer, Suntech, a Chinese solar company, who said carbon pricing was too often subject to “political implications”, needing a more open, competitive environment.
WFES 2012, now in its fifth year, opened on January 16 and concludes today.
Alternative Energy News | Middle East
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