Length: 10 pages minimum, no maximum length

Topic

So the topic of the term paper is: If the EU attempts to substitute its own locally produced biogas for imported Russian natural gas, what percentage of currently imported Russian gas can it replace? If it also adds methane now leaking out of abandoned coal mines, what percentage of Russian natural gas can it replace?

You should look at biogas produced from:

--landfills

--food waste

--sewage sludge

--livestock waste

--crop residues

This is the only topic permitted for the term paper. A paper on any other topic will not be counted and the grade for the course will be INC.

You may focus on any aspect of the topic that interests you: current major companies or minor ones devoted to these topics (any such company); transformations of the major oil companies, or waste water treatment companies, into renewable energy companies that focus on these topics; transformations of other types of companies, such as waste management companies, into renewable energy companies that focus on these topics; start-ups that could conceivably replace the fossil fuel giants by focusing on these issues; etc.

Structure of the paper:

After an initial introduction, in the first part of your paper you should discuss the drivers of the renewable energy investment story that we have reviewed in class, and any others that you think are significant. We have discussed, or will discuss, in class the following drivers. Each should be discussed under an individual caption:

--global warming (also called climate change);

--pollution and its role in pushing investment into renewable energy;

--comparative costs of renewable and fossil fuel technologies;

--the amount of money likely to be in play;

--government regulationsnational, state/regional, or municipal and international agreements, such as that of Cop 21--including taxes and subsidies which may favor (or disadvantage) investment in renewable energy;

--the element of belief, sometimes called dreams, in major investment shifts; -

--the potential role of millions of electric car owners as a lobbying force to shift the world into a re-thinking of energy and pollution;

--energy independence in the name of national defense.

You should conclude your paper with a recommendation (to a major company or a big investor) on whether to invest or not in the industry/company that is the focus of your paper.