Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

joefizz

zeupater wrote: »

Hi

Considering the content of most of the posts GA makes, maybe it's related ....

Id always thought it was a bot ;-)

Martyn1981

gefnew wrote: »

Huge wind farms for dogger bank.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-49767953

And at cracking prices from £40-£42/MWh (2012 baseline). So possibly (net) subsidy free.

Martyn1981

Support for RE in the richer nations is crucial to get the costs down fast enough, to divert investments in the poorer countries away from FF's to RE.

they have every right in the World to roll out FF generation to improve their standards of living. And it's our responsibility (I believe) to give them a cleaner and more viable solution.

It's a race against time, but we can win.

Two New Coal Plants Cancelled In Botswana

While the battle against coal-generated electricity is progressing nicely in the United States, Europe, South Korea, and even to a certain extent Japan, China, and India, the coal companies in some of those countries continue to have their sights on building more coal plants in Africa. Therefore, it is good news to learn that two Japanese banks, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), have withdrawn their support to finance two new 150 MW coal plants in Botswana, MorupuleB V and VI. The two coal plants were to be built by the Japanese company, Marubeni, in a joint venture with the South Korean firm, Posco Energy.

JKenH

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Support for RE in the richer nations is crucial to get the costs down fast enough, to divert investments in the poorer countries away from FF's to RE.

they have every right in the World to roll out FF generation to improve their standards of living. And it's our responsibility (I believe) to give them a cleaner and more viable solution.

It's a race against time, but we can win.

Two New Coal Plants Cancelled In Botswana

While I am a great supporter of what !!!!!! have done for us in the past and may do in the immediate future I would be surprised if there is an investment case for any new FF plants anywhere? Because I am an optimist I see RE being rolled out an ever increasing rate and any new FF generation plant will surely be uneconomic/redundant in 20 years time.

New technologies develop at an ever increasing rate - look where wind and solar were 20 years ago and something new may also come along. Who can predict the future of energy technology and prices in 20 years time? I’m pretty certain however it won’t include FF as primary production (back up maybe). Africa nations have huge RE potential - look at the Sahara for PV - to not only generate but export power. The only fly in the ointment is the geo-political situation which across Africa is very unstable and that might dictate a policy of nation state energy independence.

GreatApe

JKenH wrote: »

While I am a great supporter of what !!!!!! have done for us in the past and may do in the immediate future I would be surprised if there is an investment case for any new FF plants anywhere? Because I am an optimist I see RE being rolled out an ever increasing rate and any new FF generation plant will surely be uneconomic/redundant in 20 years time.

Electricity is vital that nations will build fossil fuel plants even if they have to close them five years later. Wind and solar don't reduce the need for fossil fuel infrastructure they save fuel they don't allow you to close coal or gas plants. Likewise a poor country like India to develop has no choice but to build fossil fuel infrastructure because wind and PV is intermittent. The solution to this is electricity storage or using coal/gas plants to fill the gaps. Electricity storage is far too expensive compared to using CCGTs and coal stations to fill in gaps.

More importantly gas turbines and CCGTs exist.
These are one of man's most important creations
One just got the go ahead in the UK £90m for 300MW
No battery system in the world comes close to this in price for function
Bear in mind this can fill a windless month or a whole winter whike a battery is not comparable to this unless it can store months of energy

New technologies develop at an ever increasing rate - look where wind and solar were 20 years ago and something new may also come along. Who can predict the future of energy technology and prices in 20 years time? I’m pretty certain however it won’t include FF as primary production (back up maybe). Africa nations have huge RE potential - look at the Sahara for PV - to not only generate but export power. The only fly in the ointment is the geo-political situation which across Africa is very unstable and that might dictate a policy of nation state energy independence.

General AI will happen and everything will become free so the world will be fossil free when that happens. Discounting that possibility fossil fuel infrastructure will stay even if used less frequently. Countries which are poor will have to build coal and gas plants ideally as fast as possible because electricity is a vital economic enabler

GreatApe

Martyn1981 wrote: »

And at cracking prices from £40-£42/MWh (2012 baseline). So possibly (net) subsidy free.

Subsidy free for an intermittent source is around £25/MWh not £47/MWh

The UK targets for renewables (wind hydro PV) by 2030 are very ambitious but they still only represent 50% of today's demand for electricity and if heating and transport is electrified demand for electricity will be much higher

Things look okay to 2030 but the challenge post that period is transmission and distribution at affordable cheap prices more so than the cost of generation

Martyn1981

Dilemma, dilemma, is this PV, EV's, or green energy, don't know but it probably sits here as well (or as badly) as anywhere else:

Hydrogen powered mining trucks are coming

The building-sized trucks run on diesel and prompt logistical complications as large amounts of diesel must be shipped to remote mining sites. Attempts to decarbonize the mining sector will have to consider the heavy-duty vehicles.

Global mining companies are increasingly turning to renewables to power operations with landmark projects in Australia including Juwi’s Sandfire DeGrussa mine making headlines. Given mines have a limited life span, are in remote, off-grid locations and have vast areas of land nearby, solar and wind power is an obvious choice.

Now French power company Engie and mining giant Anglo American have announced a partnership to develop the world’s first hydrogen powered mining haul truck.

Martyn1981

Two ways to look at this, not possible, or likely to happen anyway, but I suppose a government policy would make the second option more likely.

Labour party pledges to ban sale of non-electric cars by 2030

A Labour government will aim to end the sale of cars with internal combustion engines by 2030, as part of its plans to tackle the climate emergency.

The party is to begin talks with the car industry and trade unions to explore the policies needed to achieve the goal. It says it wants to help an “under siege” industry switch to electric car production.

Quick logic test/question - is it possible for supply (I've no concerns about demand) to reach ~10% in 2021, 20% in 2022 ....... 100% in 2030? Seems tough to me, but perhaps possible?

NigeWick

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Quick logic test/question - is it possible for supply (I've no concerns about demand) to reach ~10% in 2021, 20% in 2022 ....... 100% in 2030? Seems tough to me, but perhaps possible?

Are ignoring Transport as a Service? If Tony Seba is correct, there will only be a requirement for 20% - 30% of the current personal vehicle numbers.

Martyn1981

Go green or go bust? As I keep saying, focusing on the cost of action is financially irresponsible, when the cost of inaction is so much more.

Firms ignoring climate crisis will go bankrupt, says Mark Carney

Companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt, the governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Mark Carney also told the Guardian it was possible that the global transition needed to tackle the climate crisis could result in an abrupt financial collapse. He said the longer action to reverse emissions was delayed, the more the risk of collapse would grow.

Carney has led efforts to address the dangers global heating poses to the financial sector, from increasing extreme weather disasters to a potential fall in asset values such as fossil fuel company valuations as government regulations bite. The Guardian revealed last week that just 20 fossil fuel companies have produced coal, oil and gas linked to more than a third of all emissions in the modern era.

The Bank of England has said up to $20tn (£16tn) of assets could be wiped out if the climate emergency is not addressed effectively. But Carney also said great fortunes could be made by those working to end greenhouse gas emissions with a big potential upside for the UK economy in particular.