‘Fairly certain’ carbon regulation presents opportunities, says Viability

on Sep 29 in Viability in the News

Experts: Carbon emission limits could present an opportunity
By Dave Alexander
Muskegon Chronicle, Sept. 29, 2009

MUSKEGON — With or without a carbon “cap and trade” system being considered by Congress and the president, limits on carbon emissions will surely become a reality.

That was the conclusion of a panel of experts brought to Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon this month to address the issues involving a “carbon-constrained economy.”

If federal legislation limiting greenhouse gas emissions now pending in the U.S. Senate fails to become law, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency already has the authority to regulate those emissions, according to Dan Kuipers of Viability — a Holland-based environmental consulting firm.

Whether it’s energy legislation or EPA regulations, “I am fairly certain something is going to happen,” Kuipers said.

Instead of a threat to businesses, the coming policy changes should be seen as an opportunity, said Ward Gahan of Danu Carbon and Energy Solutions LLC of South Haven.

The Obama Administration-led EPA concluded earlier this year that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are a danger to human health and can be regulated under the existing federal Clean Air Act. Most greenhouse gases — blamed by many as the cause of climate change — are generated when fossil fuels are burned such as in gasoline engines or coal-fired electrical power plants.

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