Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

markin

Have you all watched Michael Moore's  Planet of the Humans ? I expect 2000 words on it by the end of tomorrow. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI-7czE

Coastalwatch

It would appear not all states in the US are hell bent on polluting the planet by burning huge amounts of Fossil Fuels!

US utility issues tender for 1 GW of PV

Virginia-based utility Dominion plans to procure 16 GW of solar, 2.7 GW of storage and 5.1 GW of offshore wind in the next 15 years. Kicking off these new plans comes a request for proposals of 1 GW of solar or wind and 250 MW of energy storage.

The solicitation comes as a part of the company’s new, equally ambitious, Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), one which looks to deploy 24 GW of new offshore wind, solar and energy storage over the course of the next 15 years. Of those 24 GW, 16 GW are set to come from solar projects, while 2.7 GW have been reserved for energy storage capacity expansion. The expected deployment of 16 GW in the next 15 years is a lofty goal for a utility operating in a state that has installed 893 MW of solar to date, according to SEIA.

The IRP’s remaining capacity will be put towards developing what the utility touts as the largest offshore wind deployment in North America. The document also outlines a clear preference towards four-hour duration lithium-ion battery energy storage, but also includes that the utility will consider additional alternative storage bids.

It also helps that the recently-signed Virginia Clean Economy Act requires Virginia’s largest energy companies to construct or acquire more than 3,100 MW of energy storage capacity.

Coastalwatch

Closer to home storage raises a huge question mark on the satisfactory future of renewables! The University of Edinburgh has conducted the study below which, in theory, could supply sufficient storage for two months of UK Energy needs!

The use of offshore saline acquifers is an interesting proposition but with no precedent it will be well into the future before anything is likely to materialise.

Storing solar and wind energy with compressed air

Researchers have studied the potential of using compressed air to store renewable energy in offshore saline aquifers. The technology could hold 77-96 TWh for up to two months in British waters, although the costs have proven hard to pin down.

Salt-water aquifers under British waters could hold 77-96 TWh of renewable-energy-powered compressed air for the two-month windows required of seasonal energy storage, according to a study conducted by the University of Edinburgh.

An investment of $16-59 million in 6,300-7,800 such offshore wells could achieve storage efficiency of 54-59%, according to the Edinburgh researchers, with the resulting electricity having a levelized cost of $0.42-4.71/kWh.

michaels

Coastalwatch said:

Closer to home storage raises a huge question mark on the satisfactory future of renewables! The University of Edinburgh has conducted the study below which, in theory, could supply sufficient storage for two months of UK Energy needs!

The use of offshore saline acquifers is an interesting proposition but with no precedent it will be well into the future before anything is likely to materialise.

Storing solar and wind energy with compressed air

Researchers have studied the potential of using compressed air to store renewable energy in offshore saline aquifers. The technology could hold 77-96 TWh for up to two months in British waters, although the costs have proven hard to pin down.

Salt-water aquifers under British waters could hold 77-96 TWh of renewable-energy-powered compressed air for the two-month windows required of seasonal energy storage, according to a study conducted by the University of Edinburgh.

An investment of $16-59 million in 6,300-7,800 such offshore wells could achieve storage efficiency of 54-59%, according to the Edinburgh researchers, with the resulting electricity having a levelized cost of $0.42-4.71/kWh.

Umm - between 42c and $4.71 per kwh for electricity does not sound like a goer?

Solarchaser

Yeah and am I the only one concerned about high pressure storage?

silverwhistle

markin said:

Have you all watched Michael Moore's  Planet of the Humans ? I expect 2000 words on it by the end of tomorrow. 

Nah, that would be like doing a literary critique of Noddy and Bigears..

Martyn1981

markin said:

Have you all watched Michael Moore's  Planet of the Humans ? I expect 2000 words on it by the end of tomorrow.  

Tried, but couldn't stop laughing/crying. Deliberately presenting 10+yr old info whilst pretending it was up to date is terrible (such as 8% efficient PV). Perhaps the 'best bit' was to visit a solar farm and be shocked and upset that it was no longer there. Such bad luck to visit during the period between the old small one being dismantled and the newer larger one being constructed (both around 2015) ..... such bad luck.

There are some very good reviews for anyone interested. I'm a big fan of 'Just have a think' a very fair and balanced channel, which on PotH lays praise for the well informed information on bio-mass, but addresses all the other issues. Definitely worth a watch as it will inform on the content of the film, the apparent deliberate intention to misinform, and the progress in RE, which the film seems to want to ignore/deny.

Planet of the Humans : Let's just have a think...

Exiled_Tyke

Two excellent (yet very similar) stories on the climate post COVID-19 and green energy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52488134

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52485712

markin

British family build Europe's first self-sufficient hydrogen-powered home in the grounds of their parents' Devon manor house

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8285307/British-family-build-Europes-self-sufficient-hydrogen-powered-home-Devon.html

 

Martyn1981

Could just be talk, and good intentions, but yet more pressure for a pro green response to C19.

World cannot return to 'business as usual' after Covid-19, say mayors

Mayors from many of the world’s leading cities have warned there can be no return to “business as usual” in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis if humanity is to escape catastrophic climate breakdown.

City leaders representing more than 750 million people have published a “statement of principles”, which commits them to putting greater equality and climate resilience at the heart of their recovery plans.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City and one of the signatories to the statement, said: “Half-measures that maintain the status quo won’t move the needle or protect us from the next crisis.

“We need a new deal for these times – a massive transformation that rebuilds lives, promotes equality and prevents the next economic, health or climate crisis.”

Many cities have already announced measures to support a low-carbon, sustainable recovery, from hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in Milan and Mexico City to widening pavements and pedestrianising neighbourhoods in New York and Seattle.

In London, Sadiq Khan announced plans on Wednesday to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians across the capital in an effort to encourage “green and sustainable travel” and prevent a spike in car use and pollution after the lockdown.