Friday, May 15, 2020
Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 35
1 Trump Administration Approves Largest U.S. Solar Project Ever
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Trump-Administration-Approves-Largest-US-Solar-Project-Ever.html
The U.S. Department of the Interior approved this week the biggest solar project in the United States ever—an estimated US$1-billion solar plus battery storage project in Nevada.
Australia’s Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and California-based Arevia Power now have the green light to build and operate the Gemini Solar Project some 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada. The project will consist of a 690-MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility plus a battery storage facility. The project will be the world’s eighth-largest solar power facility and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 260,000 homes in the Las Vegas area and potential energy markets in Southern California, the Department of the Interior said.
2 Tesla’s secret batteries aim to rework the math for electric cars and the grid
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-tesla-batteries-exclusive-idUSKBN22Q1WC
Electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) plans to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next that it expects will bring the cost of electric vehicles in line with gasoline models, and allow EV batteries to have second and third lives in the electric power grid.
New, low-cost batteries designed to last for a million miles of use and enable electric Teslas to sell profitably for the same price or less than a gasoline vehicle are just part of Musk’s agenda, people familiar with the plans told Reuters.
3 Can Rice University’s Hydrogen ‘Leaf’ Technology Be A Game Changer?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2020/05/12/can-rice-universitys-hydrogen-leaf-technology-be-a-game-changer/
With oil markets in turmoil amidst the global economic shutdown, competing green fuel sources are getting extra attention. One such promising alternative energy is hydrogen (H2) power. Hydrogen fuel cells – the growing commercial application of hydrogen energy – are a battery-like technology that use H2 as an input to create electricity, leaving heat and water as the only waste. Recently, Texas’ Rice University unveiled a potential breakthrough in hydrogen fuel generation – the “artificial leaf.”
4 Hydrogen on oil and gas industry’s decarbonisation horizon
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/hydrogen-on-oil-and-gas-decarbonisation-horizon/
Hydrogen has surged up the priority list of many oil and gas organizations, taking a primary position in the sector’s decarbonisation efforts, according to a new report by DNV GL.
The classification society said on Thursday that a fifth of senior oil and gas industry professionals claimed their organization was already actively entering the hydrogen market.
5 There’s a lot of buzz about ‘green’ hydrogen, but actual projects are slow in coming
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/what-on-earth-newsletter-green-hydrogen-power-1.5570022
Hydrogen has been proven to be a zero-emissions source of energy, capable of fuelling cars, trucks and power plants. It has powered space shuttles for 60 years. But the economics of it have always been in question.
“We are seeing a bit of an acceleration in the number of small pilot projects which are being announced,” said Kobad Bhavnagri, head of industrial decarbonization at research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
6 The Double-Whammy Negative Impact on US EV Sales
https://evadoption.com/low-gas-prices-the-double-whammy-negative-impact-on-us-ev-sales/
The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on supply chains and consumer spending will have a negative effect on electric vehicle sales in the US, likely for the next 12-18 months. But a potential double whammy impact on EV sales is the lowest gas prices that many regions have seen in the last decade or more.
7 Green energy boom will require shift to ‘climate-smart’ mining – World Bank
https://www.pv-tech.org/news/52467
Climate-smart principles must steer the global search for the minerals and metals required by the green energy boom to make sure the process remains sustainable, according to the World Bank.
In a new report, the global body concluded that sourcing graphite, lithium and others for renewables in enough volumes – 3 billion tonnes – to keep global heating within 2°C by 2050 would carry emissions equal to only 6% of the footprint of fossil fuels.
8 G20 business leaders’ energy transition investments are focusing on battery storage, EVs
https://www.energy-storage.news/news/g20-business-leaders-energy-transition-investments-are-focusing-on-battery
A survey of over 2,000 “senior business leaders” in G20 countries has found that electric vehicles and battery storage are the most popular assets to invest in among non-power generation technologies in the energy sector.
Law firm Ashurst has produced a 40-page research report on the global energy market and how it is changing, finding that 46% of respondents have invested in or are committed to investing in battery energy storage. Ashurst’s report, Powering Change – Energy in Transition, also found that 43% have already invested in or are committed to investing in electric vehicles (EVs). Solar energy was by far the low carbon generation technology of high present and future investment.
9 EIA expects energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to fall 11% this year
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=43715
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will decline by 11% in 2020. If realized, this decline would represent the largest decline in not only percentage but also absolute terms in EIA’s energy-related CO2 series that dates back to 1949. In EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions are forecast to fall more than the 5% decline in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020.
10 Norway wealth fund excludes Glencore, Anglo American, RWE, others for coal use and production
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-swf-coalcoal-idUSKBN22P164
Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday it was excluding Glencore (GLEN.L), Anglo American (AAL.L), RWE (RWEG.DE), Sasol (SOLJ.J) and AGL Energy(AGL.AX) for their use and production of coal under updated ethical guidelines.
Another set of companies – BHP (BHP.AX) (BHPB.L), Uniper (UN01.DE), Enel (ENEI.MI) and Vistra Energy (VST.N) – were put under observation for possible exclusion at a later stage if they do not address their use or production of coal.
11 Green energy firms on track to deliver multibillion-pound windfarms
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/13/green-energy-firms-on-track-to-deliver-multi-billion-pound-wind-farms
Britain’s biggest green energy companies are on track to deliver multibillion-pound windfarm investments across the north-east of England and Scotland to help power a cleaner economic recovery.
Scottish Power plans to “repower” Scotland’s oldest commercial windfarm as part of a £150m scheme to develop a clean energy cluster in central Scotland capable of supplying 100,000 homes with green electricity.
12 Renewable Energy Sector Sheds 600,000 Jobs In Pandemic
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Renewable-Energy-Sector-Sheds-600000-Jobs-In-Pandemic.html
The renewable energy industry in the United States has lost close to 600,000 jobs since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, a report from BW Research Partnership has revealed.
Most of these jobs were lost during April, the research firm said, at 447,200, or triple the number of jobs the industry lost in March. The total job loss so far constitutes as much as 17 percent of total employment in the industry, BW Research said.
13 Mexico’s renewable clampdown puts Neoen’s ultra-competitive PV plant in limbo
https://www.pv-tech.org/news/52466
Operators are starting to feel the impacts of Mexico’s recent decision to block renewable project connections, with a major solar project paralysed weeks after coming online.
In recent days, Neoen revealed it is set to lose millions every month after its 375MWp El Llano solar PV installation was put on hold by power market operator CENACE, which moved earlier in May to block the compulsory grid tests for all renewable plants nationwide.
14 WoodMac: Global Solar Market Set to Resume Growth in 2021 as Coronavirus Impact Fades
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/covid-19-lockdowns-will-drag-down-2020-global-solar-outlook
The global solar market is expected to stay nearly flat between 2019 and 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts, according to Wood Mackenzie. But a significant increase in demand is now expected between 2020 and 2021 as the industry rebounds.
15 Lifestyle Packaging develops ground-breaking formula to enhance biodegradability of plastic packaging
https://www.britishplastics.co.uk/materials/lifestyle-packaging-develops-ground-breaking-formula-to-enha/
Lifestyle Packaging has introduced BioPAC to the UK market, a ground-breaking formula that will degrade plastic packaging in 10 years, 100-200 times faster than the natural lifespan of plastic.
The unique plastic additive is added into the base polymer – such as PP, PE, PS, PET, and other major resin types – and enhances its biodegradability without the need for UV or high temperatures.
16 Floating Wind Farms on an Upward Wave
https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2020/05/floating-wind-farms-on-an-upward-wave/33043
Offshore wind farming has been part of renewable energy collection for almost three decades, long enough for the world’s first traditional offshore wind farm, Vindeby, located off Denmark’s coast, to be recently decommissioned and dismantled after decades of use. Orsted, who owned the site, stated the decommissioning went smoothly but took longer than expected because of foundation and concrete rubble removal.
17 Microplastics discovered blowing ashore in sea breezes
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/12/microplastics-discovered-blowing-ashore-in-sea-breezes
Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of mismanaged waste could be blowing ashore on the ocean breeze every year, according to scientists who have discovered microplastics in sea spray.
The study, by researchers at the University of Strathclyde and the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées at the University of Toulouse, found tiny plastic fragments in sea spray, suggesting they are being ejected by the sea in bubbles. The findings, published in the journal Plos One, cast doubt on the assumption that once in the ocean, plastic stays put, as well as on the widespread belief in the restorative power of sea breeze.
18 Storing wind and solar with new gravity-based system
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/05/11/storing-wind-and-solar-with-new-gravity-based-system/
Scottish start-up Gravitricity has developed a gravity energy storage system it says is perfect for storing solar and wind power.
A 16m-high rig uses the clean power to raise a mass in a 150-1500m shaft and discharges the electricity thus ‘stored’ by releasing the mass to rotate an electric generator.
Gravitricity said the mass used can range from 500 to 5,000 tons and the electricity discharged could power 30,000 nearby homes for two hours.
