Jun 5, 2020
Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 38
Friday, June 5, 2020
Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 38
1 Plunging cost of wind and solar marks turning point in energy transition: IRENA
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-energy-renewables-costs-idUSKBN2390I8
Plunging costs of renewables mark a turning point in a global transition to low-carbon energy, with new solar or wind farms increasingly cheaper to build than running existing coal plants, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said the attractive prices of renewables relative to fossil fuel power generation could help governments embrace green economic recoveries from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic.
2 Coronavirus crisis could cause $25tn fossil fuel industry collapse
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/04/coronavirus-crisis-collapse-fossil-fuels-demand
The coronavirus outbreak could trigger a $25tn (£20tn) collapse in the fossil fuel industry by accelerating a terminal decline for the world’s most polluting companies.
A study has found that the value of the world’s fossil fuel reserves could fall by two-thirds, sooner than the industry expects, because the Covid-19 crisis has hastened the peak for oil, gas and coal demand.
3 Germany forces all petrol stations to provide electric car charging
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-autos-idUSKBN23B1WU
Germany said it will oblige all petrol stations to offer electric car charging as part of a sweeping 130 billion euro ($146.26 billion) economic recovery plan, boosting electric vehicle demand which has been hampered by consumer concerns over refuelling.
Germany unveiled the incentives as part of a broader stimulus plan which included staggered taxes to penalise ownership of large polluting combustion-engined sports utility vehicles.
4 Solar costs have fallen 82% since 2010
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/06/03/solar-costs-have-fallen-82-since-2010/
“Since 2010, the cost of energy has dropped by 82% for photovoltaic solar, by 47% for concentrated solar energy (CSP), by 39% for onshore wind and by 29% for wind offshore.”
Those remarkable price falls are quoted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) in its Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019 report.
5 Renewables surpass coal in US energy generation for first time in 130 years
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/renewables-surpass-coal-us-energy-generation-130-years
Solar, wind and other renewable sources have toppled coal in energy generation in the United States for the first time in over 130 years, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating a decline in coal that has profound implications for the climate crisis.
Not since wood was the main source of American energy in the 19th century has a renewable resource been used more heavily than coal, but 2019 saw a historic reversal, according to US government figures.
6 Use of battery power storage seen accelerating to 2030 and beyond
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-energy-power-flexibility-idUSKBN239337
The use of batteries for energy storage is expected to grow faster than that of other flexible assets in the period to 2030 and beyond, as renewable energy generation expands, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in research published on Wednesday.
Battery storage will increase to 26 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 from 3 GW in 2020 across the five major European power markets, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, WoodMac forecast in the findings, which were aimed at investors in energy systems.
7 GM plans electric van for business users in bid to pre-empt Tesla
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-electric-vans-exclusive-idUSKBN23B1G1
General Motors Co is developing an electric van aimed at business users, joining a growing list of carmakers planning EVs for the same segment which includes customers such as Amazon.com Inc and United Parcel Service Inc, five people familiar with the plans told Reuters.
8 Are Investors Ignoring The Largest Financial Risk Ever?
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Are-Investors-Ignoring-The-Largest-Financial-Risk-Ever.html
Financial markets are vastly underestimating the financial risk from climate change, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Global temperatures have already increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times and are on track to warm somewhere around 3 degrees C by the end of the century, although much depends on what governments do to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. That level of warming is “expected to adversely impact the world’s stock of natural assets,” the IMF said in its Global Financial Stability Report in April. Or, put bluntly, “the projected increase in the frequency and severity of disasters due to climate change is a potential threat to financial stability.”
9 To Grow or Not to Grow? Lithium Producer Strategies Differ
https://about.bnef.com/blog/to-grow-or-not-to-grow-lithium-producer-strategies-differ/
Three top global lithium producers are reacting differently to pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic. Projecting a loss of demand in the short term, U.S. companies Albemarle and Livent have opted for slower expansions and lower capital expenditures. Meanwhile, Chile’s SQM is keeping expansion targets in hopes of growing market share.
10 Energy storage to surge to 89GW by 2040 across major European markets
https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/energy_storage_to_surge_to_89gw_by_2040_across_major_european_markets
Energy storage systems look set to win out over other flexibility providers, as solar and wind generation continues to soar.
Across the five major European markets – Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – variable renewable energy (VRE) generation is expected to grow to become the largest share of capacity as early as 2023, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie.
11 How Smart Microgrids Will Change the Way We Consume Energy
https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2020/06/how-smart-microgrids-will-change-the-way-we-consume-energy/33212
An energy grid is the electrical infrastructure for a location that provides power to homes, schools, offices and any other buildings that need it. Microgrids are smaller-scale versions of standard grids that can branch out to support local areas. When you add clean energy into the mix, you get smart microgrids.
12 France’s EDF forms joint venture to develop wind farms in China
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-edf-china-idUSKBN2390R0
French state-controlled power group EDF (EDF.PA) said on Tuesday it had agreed a joint venture partnership with China Energy Investment Corporation (CEI) to develop offshore wind farms in China.
EDF will take a 37.5% stake in the project company through its subsidiaries EDF Renewables and EDF China. CEI Group will hold the remaining stakes through its Shenhua Renewable and Shenhua Clean Energy Holdings units.
13 Climeworks raises further $75 million to fund carbon capture
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climeworks-funding-idUSKBN2391KW
Swiss start-up Climeworks said on Tuesday it had raised a further $75 million from private investors to help fund technology which captures carbon dioxide directly from the air.
The firm uses filters and fans to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which is then stored or made into fertiliser for greenhouses or bubbles for fizzy drinks.
14 France has breached the 10 GW solar barrier
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/06/01/france-has-breached-the-10-gw-solar-barrier/
France surpassed 10 GW of grid-connected solar generation capacity in the first three months of the year, after installing almost 7,000 new solar parks, most of them in the sunny south of the country, according to the French Ministry of Energy’s Department of Data and Statistical Studies (SDES).
The nation’s grid-connected PV capacity reached 10.1 GW at the end of March after 182 MW of solar was connected in the first quarter.
15 ARENA flooded with applications for green hydrogen project funding
https://reneweconomy.com.au/arena-flooded-with-applications-for-green-hydrogen-project-funding-72828/
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency says it has received an overwhelming response from prospective hydrogen projects, with expressions of interest from dozens of projects wanting a slice of $70 million in grant funding.
ARENA revealed on Friday that is has received 36 expressions of interest from prospective hydrogen projects, representing more than $1 billion worth of funding requests, exceeding the funding available by almost 15-fold.
16 Iberdrola to invest up to 4 billion euros in French renewable energy
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iberdrola-wind-idUSKBN23A1EK
Spanish utility Iberdrola (IBE.MC) said on Wednesday it will invest up to 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) over the next four years in France to develop renewable energy.
Iberdrola said it is already investing 2.4 billion euros in the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France and plans to invest in new onshore wind, solar photovoltaic and participate in future offshore wind capacity auctions.
17 At long last, new carbon capture project launches in Alberta
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/actl-enhance-energy-oil-ccs-co2-ccus-1.5593969
After more than a decade in the works, a new carbon capture project in Alberta is now operational with lofty goals of sequestering large amounts of emissions, while also helping to revitalize the oil industry in the central part of the province.
The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL) was awarded provincial and federal funding back in 2009 and startup was expected in 2012, but the project has faced several delays including because of the oil price crash in 2014.
18 Atmospheric CO2 levels rise sharply despite Covid-19 lockdowns
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/atmospheric-co2-levels-rise-sharply-despite-covid-19-lockdowns
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen strongly to a new peak this year, despite the impact of the global effects of the coronavirus crisis.
The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 417.2 parts per million in May, 2.4ppm higher than the peak of 414.8ppm in 2019, according to readings from the Mauna Loa observatory in the US.
19 So, What Exactly Is Building Electrification?
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/so-what-exactly-is-building-electrification
Buildings were first electrified nearly 150 years ago. So, why is it that “building electrification” is now among the energy industry’s most popular buzzwords?
Most buildings run on multiple fuels. They use electricity to power lights, refrigerators and electronic devices. And they consume fossil fuels such as natural gas or propane to power furnaces, boilers, and water heaters.