Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981

JKenH wrote: »

Definitely one for the pointless and circular argument thread which unfortunately was renamed green discussion which isn’t quite so catchy and consequently has fallen out of use. Perhaps have a new ‘repetitive and pointless arguments’ thread where we can post the same ‘news’ day after day after day.

Rather than trying to change the World to agree with you, a much simpler solution would be for you to place me and this thread on ignore.

You can then get on with your life, and we can go back to enjoying green and ethical news.

Thank you.

1961Nick wrote: »

Is there a law against "misleading (gullible) Americans"?

Thought not....

Green AND ethical.

JKenH

First of a series of articles in this weeks telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/10/28/special-report-age-mass-electric-motoring-world-ready/

Is the world ready for an electric car revolution? In our week-long special series, we examine what's behind the mass switch to EVs why it is happening faster than expected and what the implications are for business, consumers and the world.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance - which admits it has “holds the most aggressive view on EV adoption” thinks that by 2040, 56m passenger EVs will be sold - equating to 57pc of the total, and 30pc of the fleet on the roads will be electric.

Even if there isn’t natural demand for all these new electric cars, the industry will create it, according to Urquhart. “Companies will move them on to the market, just to keep their factories going,” he says. “Whether that means cheap lease deals, getting them into company fleets, car sharing expansion, working with councils, whatever, they will find a way - they have to.”

Martyn1981

Couple of storage articles:

India Issues Tender For Round-The-Clock Renewable Energy Supply

The Solar Energy Corporation of India recently issued its first tender for round-the-clock renewable energy supply. This opens a major new avenue in India’s rapidly evolving renewable energy sector.

SECI has offered 400 megawatts of capacity to project developers under this tender. The minimum capacity developers can bid for is 200 megawatts, while the maximum is the entire 400 megawatts. No tariff threshold has been specified.

Developers are required to quote tariffs for the first year of operation. The tariff will be increased at 4% every year for 15 years after which the tariff shall remain stable. Developers are free to choose the storage capacity of their choice.

Among the most important features of this tender is that the buyers of the generated energy have already been identified. Federally administered regions of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), located inside India’s capital city, will buy the power generated from these projects.

California tends to hog the news when it comes to pushing for change in the US, but New York is also a leader in RE and storage.

World’s Largest Storage Battery — 2.5 GWh — To Replace Gas Peaker Plants In Queens

A site on Vernon Avenue in Queens, New York, once was home to 16 gas powered peaker plants. Only 2 remain in operation today. Soon, all of them will be demolished to make room for a 316 MW/2528 MWh storage battery that will be the largest in the world. The proposal to build the new facility was approved last week by the New York Public Service Commission.

According to PV Magazine, Ravenswood Development, the current owner of the peaker plants, plans to build out the project in three phases — 129 MW, 98 MW, and 89 MW. The first phase should be completed by March, 2021. No timetable has yet been announced for completion of the second and third phases of the project. Once fully deployed, the 316 MW of power would meet just over 10% of the New York State’s goal of 3,000 MW by 2030.

The proposed storage project will consist of 136 battery storage and inverter units, 64 of which will be double stacked on the property. In the specifications submitted to the PSC, the Sunny Central Storage 2500-EV-US Inverter is listed as the inverter that will be used at the site. A study suggests that when in operation, the enormous battery will raise the noise level at the site by only 3 decibels, an important consideration because there is a residential community nearby.

JKenH

Today’s EV article from the Telegraph on the subject of rare earth elements

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/10/29/global-race-rare-earth-elements-fuel-electric-car-revolution/

“There are plenty of rare earths in the world but the problem is there aren’t many rare earth deposits that are potentially economic.

“There are very few rare earth projects being planned in the western world at the moment.”

The West has allowed China to develop a tight grip on the market. China produces around 80pc of the global supply of rare earths, has around 35pc of total reserves and dominates refining the elements.

Martyn1981

Big Oil is getting it on both sides of the Pond. the good news being that a combination of falling RE costs, and hopefully falling interference/misinformation, should lead to an ever faster deployment of RE.

Four out of five fossil fuel giants dismiss findings of report into EU lobbying efforts

Five of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies, named and shamed in a report into their reportedly extensive EU lobbying efforts, have disputed the findings of the headline-grabbing study.

Non-profit the Corporate Europe Observatory, which publicizes the effects of corporate lobbying on EU policymaking, joined forces with sustainability charity Food & Water Europe, the European branch of Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace to produce a report which claimed Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total, BP and Chevron – plus the industry associations they belong to – between them spent €251 million lobbying the European Union on fossil fuel policy from 2010 to last year.

According to the findings of the study, reported by English newspaper The Guardian, Exxon Mobil spent €37.2 million on fossil fuel lobbying during that time, Shell €36.5 million, Total €22 million, BP €18.1 million and Chevron €9.5 million with the 13 industry bodies the fossil fuel majors belong to devoting a further €128 million over the same period. The figures were reportedly drawn from the EU’s transparency register, in which companies can voluntarily declare meetings held with EU organizations and policymakers.

JKenH

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Big Oil is getting it on both sides of the Pond. the good news being that a combination of falling RE costs, and hopefully falling interference/misinformation, should lead to an ever faster deployment of RE.

Four out of five fossil fuel giants dismiss findings of report into EU lobbying efforts

Just to keep this in perspective; of the top 20 companies spending money lobbying in Washington, there was one utility company and no oil or auto companies on the list.


https://www.businessinsider.com/lobbying-groups-spent-most-money-washington-dc-2018-2019-3

In the EU Shell was the top oil company coming in at no 20.

https://lobbyfacts.eu/reports/lobby-costs/companies

1961Nick

JKenH wrote: »

Just to keep this in perspective; of the top 20 companies spending money lobbying in Washington, there was one utility company and no oil or auto companies on the list.


https://www.businessinsider.com/lobbying-groups-spent-most-money-washington-dc-2018-2019-3

In the EU Shell was the top oil company coming in at no 20.

https://lobbyfacts.eu/reports/lobby-costs/companies

The original article doesn’t have quite the same impact once the bias & spin is removed! One could even describe it as “misinformation” ... or does that only apply in one direction?

ABrass

1961Nick wrote: »

The original article doesn’t have quite the same impact once the bias & spin is removed! One could even describe it as “misinformation” ... or does that only apply in one direction?

Indeed, however since at least some of not all the oil and gas firms are also part of cefic, the number 2 on the EU list, it's questionable how much spin is being applied here from the other direction.

This is lobbying 101, utterly basic stuff. A lot of lobbying is done via proxy. One of the reasons investigate journalists exist is because a lot of people just look at the superficial stuff and don't think any more than that. Like you and Ken.

ABrass

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2019/10/29/huge-battery-investments-drop-energy-storage-costs-threaten-natural-gas-industry/

RMI’s “Breakthrough Batteries” report anticipates “self-reinforcing feedback loops” between public policy, manufacturing, research and development, and economies of scale. Those loops will drive battery performance higher while pushing costs as low as $87/kWh by 2025. (Bloomberg put the current cost at $187/kwh earlier this year.)

New natural-gas plants risk becoming stranded assets (unable to compete with renewables+storage before they’ve paid off their capital cost), while existing natural-gas plants cease to be competitive as soon as 2021, RMI predicts.

Generally these sort of reports on battery trends have been overly conservative, although predictions for two years from now shouldn't have that much scope to accelerate.

JKenH

ABrass wrote: »

Indeed, however since at least some of not all the oil and gas firms are also part of cefic, the number 2 on the EU list, it's questionable how much spin is being applied here from the other direction.

This is lobbying 101, utterly basic stuff. A lot of lobbying is done via proxy. One of the reasons investigate journalists exist is because a lot of people just look at the superficial stuff and don't think any more than that. Like you and Ken.

The data I provided was to put the costs quoted in PV Magazine in perspective. The spend by all the FF companies in total according to the report averaged €28m pa. The spend on lobbying by one trade union in 2018 was €23.5m. It demonstrates that spending €millions on lobbying is a normal part of business life for organisations of all political persuasions in the EU, not just oil companies.