Friday, April 10, 2020
Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 30
1 Coronavirus Unnerves US Wind Energy Market During a Record Year for Construction
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/coronavirus-rattles-us-wind-market-during-a-record-year-for-installations
After a decade of dramatic ups and downs, 2020 was supposed to be a climactic year for U.S. wind farm construction. Instead, with the coronavirus pandemic rattling supply chains and thinning workforces, things could get messy for an industry that should be taking a victory lap.
Developers are poring over force majeure provisions in their contracts. Investors are nervous. Without political relief, projects could get canceled outright, industry figures say — and relief in Washington, D.C. looks anything but certain.
2 Electric Vehicles: Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc Across The Supply Chain
https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/electric-vehicles-coronavirus-wreaks-havoc-across-the-supply-chain/
As challenging as it is, the coronavirus is an anomalous event. It may stall the electrification of the transport industry, but the direction of travel remains unchanged – the fight against climate change is still very much on.
Automakers haven’t changed their carbon-neutral goals and we don’t expect governments to defer or cancel policies designed to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. And while it’s tempting to think that the oil price crash is bad news for EV adoption, in reality the purchase price, charging infrastructure and available models currently have a much greater impact on sales.
3 Scientists create mutant enzyme that recycles plastic bottles in hours
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/08/scientists-create-mutant-enzyme-that-recycles-plastic-bottles-in-hours
A mutant bacterial enzyme that breaks down plastic bottles for recycling in hours has been created by scientists.
The enzyme, originally discovered in a compost heap of leaves, reduced the bottles to chemical building blocks that were then used to make high-quality new bottles. Existing recycling technologies usually produce plastic only good enough for clothing and carpets.
4 Global corporate PV funding down 31% amid Covid-19 crisis
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/08/global-corporate-pv-funding-down-31-amid-covid-19-crisis/
The global business climate has dramatically deteriorated amid the ongoing public health crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, and the solar sector is no exception, with a whopping 31% decrease in corporate funding for solar projects, according to a new report by Mercom Capital Group.
5 Global storage deployments could see hit in 2020, but ‘fundamental drivers’ still remain, analysts say
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/global-storage-deployments-could-see-hit-in-2020-but-fundamental-drivers/575585/
If the pandemic causes an economic downturn and restrictions on the movement of goods and people continue through the second quarter of the year, analysts would need to shave 3 GWh of storage capacity from prior estimates. The firm also forecasts a 10% reduction in the supply of lithium-ion batteries. However, the global storage market is still expected to grow 13-fold by 2025, to 230 GWh, and the total pot of energy storage investments is predicted to increase from $18 billion last year to $100 billion by 2025.
6 Addressing climate change post-coronavirus
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/addressing-climate-change-in-a-post-pandemic-world
A ferocious pandemic is sweeping the globe, threatening lives and livelihoods at an alarming rate. As infection and death rates continue to rise, resident movement is restricted, economic activity is curtailed, governments resort to extraordinary measures, and individuals and corporations scramble to adjust. In the blink of an eye, the coronavirus has upended the world’s operating assumptions. Now, all attention is focused on countering this new and extreme threat, and on blunting the force of the major recession that is likely to follow.
7 Siemens and Uniper develop joint decarbonization plan for power generation
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/4/8/siemens-and-uniper-develop-joint-decarbonization-plan-for-power-generation
Uniper and Siemens Gas and Power signed a cooperation agreement for the development of projects on the decarbonization of power generation and promoting sector coupling. It extends the long-standing partnership between the two companies. It is important to look at the energy, mobility and industry sectors together, because they all can and must contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. One focus of the planned cooperation is the production and use of “green hydrogen” – in other words, hydrogen from renewable energy sources. The companies intend to implement projects in this field together, addressing the entire value chain.
8 Renewables Account for Almost Three Quarters of New Capacity in 2019
https://www.irena.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2020/Apr/Renewables-Account-for-Almost-Three-Quarters-of-New-Capacity-in-2019
The renewable energy sector added 176 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity globally in 2019, marginally lower than the (revised) 179 GW added in 2018. However, new renewable power accounted for 72 per cent of all power expansion last year, according to new data released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
9 For the Ohio River Valley, an Ethane Storage Facility in Texas Is Either a Model or a Cautionary Tale
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09042020/ethane-plant-appalachia-mont-belvieu-texas
The Trump administration and industry leaders have pointed to a major petrochemical storage complex outside Houston as a model for the upper Ohio River Valley.
If only they could find a place like Mont Belvieu, Texas, where geological features allow for large-scale underground storage of the chemicals used to make plastic products, there could be an economic resurgence to follow the collapse of steel and coal. Tens of thousands of jobs would follow.
10 Investor Pressure Forces Barclays To Sign Up To Net Zero Target
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2020/04/10/investors-pressure-forces-barclays-to-sign-up-to-net-zero-target/
One of the biggest global financiers of fossil fuel projects has announced that it wants to become a net zero carbon company by 2050, in the latest sign that the move to a low-carbon economy is well under way.
The resolution, by U.K.-based Barclays, says the bank has an “ambition” to become a “net-zero bank” by mid-century, and follows intense pressure from shareholders. In January, 11 large institutional shareholders filed another, stricter resolution demanding that the bank phase out lending to energy companies, gas and electric utilities that are not aligned with the Paris climate agreement, which aims to keep average global temperature rise to “well below 2C above pre-industrial levels”.
11 Rapid renewables growth brings challenges for US: Part I
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/08/us-renewables-growth-california-curtailment/
Renewable power generation growth in the US is soaring and is expected to overtake natural gas-fired power generation by 2045, according to the US Energy Administration, leading to major concerns about the reliability of these intermittent resources and the significant impacts they will have on US power supply and prices.
12 Part II – Northeast and ERCOT
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/09/us-renewables-challenges-northeast-ercot/
California has emerged as a case study for the difficulties power system operators face in the transition to renewables energy. Those challenges, from rapid renewables growth and market penetration, are just beginning to be felt in other regions of the US.
13 Record-size hole opens in ozone layer above the Arctic
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/07/record-size-hole-opens-in-ozone-layer-above-the-arctic
A rare hole has opened up in the ozone layer above the Arctic, in what scientists say is the result of unusually low temperatures in the atmosphere above the north pole.
The hole, which has been tracked from space and the ground over the past few days, has reached record dimensions, but is not expected to pose any danger to humans unless it moves further south. If it extends further south over populated areas, such as southern Greenland, people would be at increased risk of sunburn. However, on current trends the hole is expected to disappear altogether in a few weeks.
14 Market Size Is Expected to Reach USD 18.9 Billion by 2027
https://www.energytrend.com/news/20200407-16849.html
The global smart electricity meters market size is expected to reach USD 18.9 billion by 2027. The market is anticipated to expand at a revenue-based CAGR of 7.8% from 2020 to 2027. The rising demand for energy security has been prevailing in the energy sector for a long time. Renewable energy generation has sufficed this demand to a certain extent. Still, the energy provided by such systems is intermittent, and thus energy conservation and efficient utilization of power are the key aspects of energy security. Smart meters deliver instantaneous data regarding power consumption that can be analyzed and the consumption can be controlled, stabilizing the energy demands.
