Friday, March 20, 2020
Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 27
1 The US added 13.3 GW of solar in 2019, beating new wind and gas capacity
Analyst Wood Mackenzie and industry body the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have published their 2019 U.S. Solar Market Insight report. However, the publication does not take into account the impact of the COVID-19outbreak on the U.S. solar industry supply chains, component costs and project timelines.
Here are five takeaways from the pre-COVID-19 U.S. solar industry.
2 Is Green Hydrogen The Future Of Energy Storage?
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Fuel-Cells/Is-Green-Hydrogen-The-Future-Of-Energy-Storage.html
The United States and China are in a race to the top of the energy storage game. Last year, the energy storage industry exploded in China, with Wood Mackenzie projecting that the country was poised to completely take over the sector, as its “cumulative energy storage capacity is projected to skyrocket from 489 megawatts (MW) or 843 megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2017 to 12.5 gigawatts (GW) or 32.1GWh in 2024,” a significant increase ”in the installed base of 25 times.”
As Oilprice reported in July, “thanks to the country’s major push for storage deployments in the last year, deploying 580MW (1.14GWh) to reach a cumulative market size of 1.07GW (1.98GWh) in 2018, China has already secured its position as the second biggest energy storage market in the Asia Pacific region in terms of deployment, with South Korea coming in first place.”
3 Solar, Wind and Storage Industries Seek Relief in Coronavirus Stimulus Package
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/clean-energy-groups-seek-tax-credit-extensions-direct-pay-provisions-in-coronavirus-stimulus-package
The novel coronavirus pandemic and its resulting economic disruptions could delay U.S. wind and solar projects from being started or completed by the end of 2020, threatening their access to federal tax credits that are critical to their financing.
Clean-energy industry groups and their allies in Congress want to stop that from happening, and they see the massive coronavirus stimulus package now being crafted in Congress as a way to do it.
4 Next Five Years Could be Pivotal for Bioplastics
https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/next-five-years-could-be-pivotal-bioplastics/134643113162650
Plastic pollution is rapidly becoming one of the world’s biggest environmental issues as increasing production of single use plastic products far outweighs the world’s ability to deal with them. This is particularly visible in African and Asian nations, where trash collection infrastructure is often lacking, although Europe and North America also struggle to collect discarded plastics and recycling rates remain troublingly low.
5 COVID-19 could decelerate energy transition by giving coal an unforeseen boost
https://www.rystadenergy.com/newsevents/news/press-releases/covid-19-could-decelerate-energy-transition-by-giving-coal-an-unforeseen-boost/
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken energy markets to the core this year, creating incredible volatility for fuel prices. The one energy source that hasn’t blinked though is coal, a fuel that may come out stronger through the current crisis, a Rystad Energy analysis shows.
6 Air pollution drops as countries shut down amid spread of COVID-19
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/covid-19-air-pollution-1.5501810
It’s a surreal sight: Webcams from across Italy show normally packed tourist destinations, streets and beaches empty, scenes that seem more aligned with a movie than real life.
In the battle against COVID-19, countries around the world are restricting gatherings, encouraging people to work from home and closing public venues. Italy is under lockdown.
7 Mexico’s deadly toll of environment and land defenders catalogued in report
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/20/mexico-environment-land-defenders-murdered-rights-indigenous
At least 83 Mexican land and environment defenders were murdered between 2012 and 2019, while hundreds more were threatened, beaten and criminalized, according to a new report.
Latin America is the most dangerous continent in the world to defend environmental, land and human rights, with Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala ranking worst.
8 Fate of US brewery in drought-hit Mexico goes to Amlo poll
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/20/mexico-fate-us-brewery-put-to-vote-latest-amlo-plebiscite
The fate of a giant US brewery under construction in Mexico’s parched borderlands will be put to a vote this weekend in the latest attempt at direct democracy by the country’s populist president.
The brewery in Mexicali has provoked controversy in a region where the climate crisis has already caused droughts, and where farmers and residents have taken exception to a US company, Constellation Brands, extracting water to produce beer for export.
9 Fusion researchers endorse push for pilot power plant in US
http://news.mit.edu/2020/fusion-researchers-endorse-push-pilot-power-plant-us-0318
The growing sense of urgency around development of fusion technology for energy production in the United States got another boost this week with the release of a community consensus report by a diverse group of researchers from academia, government labs, and industry. High among its recommendations is development of a pilot fusion power plant, an ambitious goal that would be an important step toward an American fusion energy industry.
10 Coronavirus Could Derail The Electric Vehicle Revolution
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Coronavirus-Could-Derail-The-Electric-Vehicle-Revolution.html
Many analysts focus on how the pandemic will be wiping out 10 million barrels per day of global oil demand, forcing oil prices to four-year-lows (and possibly lower), potentially bankrupting many U.S. shale producers, and bringing fiscal pain to oil producing economies, including those of the former allies Saudi Arabia and Russia who are now locked in a bitter dispute over market share.
But the pandemic and the looming recession will spare no industry or energy-related sector, inflicting pain to clean energy industries from solar power to electric vehicles (EVs) sales, too.
11 Greenland’s melting ice raised global sea level by 2.2mm in two months
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/19/greenland-ice-melt-sea-level-rise-climate-crisis
Last year’s summer was so warm that it helped trigger the loss of 600bn tons of ice from Greenland – enough to raise global sea levels by 2.2mm in just two months, new research has found.
The analysis of satellite data has revealed the astounding loss of ice in just a few months of abnormally high temperatures around the northern pole. Last year was the hottest on record for the Arctic, with the annual minimum extent of sea ice in the region its second-lowest on record.
12 Battery Researchers Look to Artificial Intelligence to Slash Recharging Times
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/battery-industry-applies-artificial-intelligence-to-recharging
The battery sector is turning to artificial intelligence for clues on how to improve recharging rates without increasing the degradation of lithium-ion batteries.
Last month, a team from Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Toyota Research Institute published findings from battery testing aimed at cutting electric-vehicle charging times down to 10 minutes. The research, published in Nature, revealed how artificial intelligence could speed up the testing process required for novel charging techniques.
13 Four challenges to solid-state battery scale-up
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/03/18/four-challenges-to-solid-state-battery-scale-up/
With demand for energy storage set to go nowhere but up in the years ahead, it is vital to address issues common to battery technologies, with fire safety, energy density, durability and recyclability chief among them.
Solid-state batteries, which feature solid electrolytes rather than the liquids and gels used in lithium-ion alternatives, offer promising potential for energy storage, and research institutes and industrial players are working to bring the technology into large scale commercial production.
14 Mining giants BHP, Anglo and Fortescue join forces for “green hydrogen”
https://reneweconomy.com.au/mining-giants-bhp-anglo-and-fortescue-join-forces-for-green-hydrogen-48061/
Mining industry majors Anglo American, BHP, Fortescue and Hatch have joined forces to “de-risk and accelerate” the production of renewable hydrogen, as the resources sector works to decarbonise operations.
In a joint announcement on Wednesday, the companies said the new consortium’s main goal was to help to eliminate the obstacles to the adoption of green hydrogen technologies and encourage innovative applications.
15 New sensor could help prevent food waste
http://news.mit.edu/2020/ethylene-sensor-food-waste-0318
As flowers bloom and fruits ripen, they emit a colorless, sweet-smelling gas called ethylene. MIT chemists have now created a tiny sensor that can detect this gas in concentrations as low as 15 parts per billion, which they believe could be useful in preventing food spoilage.
16 IEA Calls For Emergency Clean Energy Aid Package
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/IEA-Calls-For-Emergency-Clean-Energy-Aid-Package.html
The coronavirus pandemic will almost certainly trigger a global economic recession, and the recession may have already started with major economies grinding to a standstill.
The executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said on Saturday that any major economic stimulus package should have a heavy focus on clean energy. He noted that while everyone is rightly focused on the pandemic, the threat of climate change continues to grow.
