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emission controls or reductions.
Specific greenhouse gases that must
be reported under the Reporting Rule
include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide and fluorinated greenhouse gases.
The Reporting Rule generally applies to
facilities that emit at least 25,000 tons
CO2-equivalent (CO2-e) per year; however,
some facility types (such as electric-generat-ing facilities and petrochemical facilities) are
covered by the Reporting Rule regardless of
their emissions level.
Although most facilities subject to the
Reporting Rule are electric utilities or industrial installations, the Reporting Rule also
reaches any nonindustrial facility that
operates a combustion device emitting at
least 25,000 tons CO2-e per year; large
landfills and manure management systems;
and other emitting facilities. The Rule also
reaches upstream suppliers of fossil fuels
and industrial gases that are greenhouse
gases.
Although EPA has previously required
reporting of greenhouse gas emissions
from electric-generation facilities, the
Reporting Rule is significant because of its
broad scope and high level of detail. More
detail on the Reporting Rule is available in
the Oct. 5 “Issue Alert” published by law
firm Van Ness Feldman. To view this alert,
go to http://tinyurl.com/Reporting-Rule.
Audi to Tap District Heating
German carmaker Audi AG has taken
one big step toward its corporate energy
efficiency goals by signing a district heating
contract for its main plant in Ingolstadt,
Germany. The tapping of 120,000 MWh of
previously unused waste heat allows the
plant to double its waste heat utilization
and benefits the environment by reducing
annual carbon dioxide emissions by 26,000
metric tons in Ingolstadt alone.
Audi AG is bolstering its commitment
to environmental protection in other ways
as well. The company has established the
Audi Environmental Foundation, which has
an endowment of 5 million euros ($7.4 million). This foundation will focus exclusively
on environmentally minded pursuits for the
common good, and will strive to protect
the natural livelihood of people, animals
and plants. Financial assistance will be allocated to measures and research activities
that encourage the development of environmentally compatible nonautomotive
technologies.
The preamble of the Audi environmental policy already commits the company to
continuously enhance the environmental
compatibility of products and production
sites and to ensure eco-friendly use of natural resources.
Big Oil and Waste Heat
Geothermal
The Clean Technica Web site reported
Oct. 4 that the U.S. Department of Energy
is going to show the traditional energy
industry how to tap the energy potential of
hot waste fluids produced by the process
of oil extraction.
Every barrel of oil extracted in the U.S.
also produces 10 barrels of hot fluids in
addition to oil. The DOE’s Geothermal
Technologies Program at the Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE) will collaborate with Office of Fossil
Energy to make low-temperature geothermal power from the waste drilling fluids
using a waste heat geothermal unit. The
EERE is buying the waste heat geothermal
unit from Ormat Technologies to do the
demo; Ormat makes both geothermal and
combined heat and power units.
The electricity produced would be
used to power field production equipment,
which would offset purchased electricity.
Because this would reduce the fossil energy
needed to extract each barrel of oil, this
would reduce the pollution costs the traditional oil industry would be liable for under
new legislation pending.
supplying chilled water to the area in June.
Ahmed Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower,
said “Business Bay Executive Towers is
expected to be one of the busiest and
dynamic business spots of Dubai.
International quality standards were adopted in commissioning this significant plant.
The plant will supply not only the 11 towers of this development, but also other
phase one and two developments in
Business Bay through a 6-7 km network.”
Bin Shafar noted that “Commissioning
is vital to ensure a seamless implementation of the project until the completion
phase. It is a matter of pride that this project will be completed in time and within
budget and this where commissioning fits
in. Effective commissioning was essential to
provide clarity to the required jobs and
exactly what everyone needs to do. The
commissioning process was well-defined
and simple for everyone involved. We kept
up-to-date records of the progress, which
helps the contractors focus on issues that
need attention.”
Comprising 11 towers including 9 residential towers, a commercial development,
and the Business Bay Hotel, The Executive
Towers is the first phase that has been
launched in the multi-billion dollar Business
Bay development.
Empower, a joint venture between
TECOM Investments and Dubai Electricity
and Water Authority (DEWA), provides
energy-efficient district cooling services to
large-scale real estate developments. It currently provides 250,000 tonnes to a wide
array of projects in Dubai, including Dubai
International Financial Center, Dubai Health-care City, Jumeirah Beach Residence and
City Of Arabia, in addition to Business Bay.
Empower Commissions
District Cooling Plant
Emirates Central Cooling Systems
Corporation (Empower) announced in early
October that it has commissioned the
45,000-tonne district cooling plant for the
Business Bay Executive Towers, a mixed-use
community development within Business
Bay in Dubai. The world-class plant started
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