Friday, November 22, 2019
Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 10
1 Global fossil fuel production on track to bust Paris climate targets
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/fossil-fuel-overshoot-1.5365974
The world’s major fossil fuel producers are set to bust global environmental goals with excessive coal, oil and gas extraction in the next decade, the United Nations and research groups said on Wednesday in the latest warning over climate crisis.
2 Who Will Fund the Renewables Boom of the Next 15 Years?
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/where-renewables-capital-will-come-from
Wood Mackenzie estimates that the combined global capex spend on wind and solar projects will range from around $165 billion to $190 billion a year between 2020 and 2035. That calculation is based on realistic growth scenarios as well as project development at a global average cost of around $1.00 per watt for onshore wind and solar.
3 Oil giant Total to build ‘Nordics’ largest battery’ at wind farm
https://www.rechargenews.com/transition/oil-giant-total-to-build-nordics-largest-battery-at-wind-farm/2-1-709937
Oil supermajor Total’s energy storage unit Saft said it will build the largest lithium-ion battery system in the Nordics at a wind farm in Finland.
The 5.6MW/6.6MWh storage facility will be deployed at a 21MW wind project in the Finnish northwest developed by TuuliWatti, a statement said.
4 Volvo Uses Blockhain to Ensure Ethical EV Batteries
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/11/20/volvo-uses-blockchain-to-ensure-ethical-evs/
Blockchain technology is (in the simplest way I can think of to describe it) a time-stamped series of transactions that are linked together, mathematically, to form a “chain.” Each transaction in the chain is a “block,” and they’re tied together using fancy math in a way that makes it impossible for the chain to be modified. Blockchains have been used by digital currency markets to ensure transparent and secure transactions — but now, Volvo is using it for something else: to guarantee that the batteries in its EVs aren’t made from “conflict minerals.”
5 The Next Stage Of The Electric Vehicle Boom
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Next-Stage-Of-The-Electric-Vehicle-Boom.html
Transportation needs to clean up its act. As we edge closer and closer to a greenhouse gas emissions tipping point toward catastrophic climate change, it becomes harder to deny that the carbon-spewing internal combustion engine’s days are numbered. Back in 2017, the Economist announced the “death of the internal combustion engine,” saying that “The shift from fuel and pistons to batteries and electric motors is unlikely to take that long. The first death rattles of the internal combustion engine are already reverberating around the world—and many of the consequences will be welcome.”
6 Henkel, BASF Collaborate on Chemical Recycling: Plastics Technology
https://www.ptonline.com/blog/post/henkel-basf-collaborate-on-chemical-recycling
More advances continue to take place in chemical recycling. Henkel has produced Perwoll bottles using chemically recycled plastic in collaboration with packaging manufacturer Alpla—this pilot project is part of the ChemCycling project led by BASF.
7 Fast Times for the U.S. Residential Solar Market
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-latest-trends-in-residential-solar-q3
Fall earnings season brought a barrage of new data on the performance of rooftop solar installers, since all the large national players are publicly traded.
For one thing, the national residential solar company is very much alive, contrary to fears of years past that these companies couldn’t survive and arguments that solar is an inherently local business.
8 Amazon making ‘solid progress’ toward renewable future
https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/blog/amazon-making-solid-progress-toward-renewable-future/
Amazon.com Inc. is making “solid progress” toward its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030, according to new research by BloombergNEF.
9 How to Get Corporate Strategy to Engage with Climate Change
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/corporate-strategy-engage-climate-change/
In January this year, Pacific Gas and Electric declared bankruptcy as sparks from its equipment were found to be the cause of wildfires, and it cannot afford to cover the liabilities which this entails. In October, it cut service to more than a million Californians, again because of wildfires.
10 Europe’s Biggest Gas Grid Ramps Up Hydrogen Efforts
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/europes-biggest-gas-grid-ramps-up-hydrogen-efforts
The largest natural gas infrastructure firm in Europe has launched a new hydrogen business and increased its financing for low carbon projects.
Snam, which runs the Italian gas grid and is active in France, Greece and the U.K., has pledged to direct 20 percent of its annual investments into sustainable projects by 2023 via its SnamTec arm.
11 Oil and Gas Companies Can Power Offshore Platforms with Renewables
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/oil-and-gas-companies-can-power-offshore-platforms-with-renewables
Today, around 5 percent of global offshore oil and gas wellhead production is used as fuel to power offshore production platforms.
However, using wellhead production to power operations reduces sales volumes and increases the carbon footprint of operations, which in turn poses a potential tax burden for the oil and gas companies in the future.
12 Coca-Cola Sweden first to switch to 100% recycled bottles
https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/environment/coca-cola-sweden-first-switch-100-recycled-bottles-21-11-2019
The transition will begin in the first quarter of 2020 and includes all plastic (PET) packaging made at Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in Jordbro.
13 Tetra Pak claims food and drink first with traceable plant-based pack
https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/top-story/tetra-pak-claims-food-drink-first-traceable-plant-based-polymers-19-11-2019
The company said the move is yet another reinforcement of its commitment to drive ethical and responsible business practices across global supply chains, while lowering the carbon footprint of its packaging.
14 Sustainable Debt Joins the Trillion-Dollar Club
https://about.bnef.com/blog/sustainable-debt-joins-the-trillion-dollar-club/
Total issuance of sustainable debt has surpassed $1 trillion in a landmark moment for the market, according to new data compiled by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). This milestone was announced today at the Sustainable Bonds Forum hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Washington, D.C.
15 Utility-Scale Solar Set to Eclipse Onsite Installations in US Corporate Market
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/corporate-utility-scale-solar-to-surpass-onsite-solar
Starting next year, offsite corporate deals are expected to become the largest source of business-led solar procurement in the United States.
16 SunPower, Goldman Sachs Awarded Big JFK Solar Project
https://solarindustrymag.com/sunpower-goldman-sachs-awarded-big-jfk-solar-project
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has awarded New York City’s single-largest solar energy project – a development at John F. Kennedy International Airport – to SunPower Corp. and Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Group.
17 If You Can’t Do Nuclear, Try (Concentrating) Solar Power Instead
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/11/19/concentrating-solar-power-breakthrough/
Some great news for concentrating solar power fans sailed in over the transom this morning. Mega wealthy person and famed US investor Bill Gates may be chasing the nuclear unicorn with his startup Terrapower, but meanwhile his other startup Heliogen — his secret one! — has just burst out of stealth mode with a new concentrating solar power breakthrough in its pocket.
18 Dura-Last urges companies to ‘Recycle Your Roof’
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/dura-last-urges-companies-recycle-your-roof
Recycling means PET bottles and HDPE milk jugs, right? Katie Chapman said recycling is much broader than that, and it can even mean PVC membranes for industrial and commercial roofing, a product that lasts for decades.
