Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

michaels

Coastalwatch said:

Originally announced as part of The Green Recovery another of the Goverments many "world class" projects seems to be biting the dust!

Unspent funds in £2 billion Green Homes Grant to be scrapped in ‘outrageous’ move

Any of the initial £2 billion promised for the Green Homes Grant that goes unspent this year will not be rolled over.

This was confirmed by energy minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan in a parliamentary answer, with Trevelyan stating that this original funding was announced as a “short term stimulus for use in the 2020/21 financial year only”.

Indeed, earlier this month the Environmental Audit Committee warned that at the current rate, it will take ten years to meet the government’s target, with only 20,000 vouchers issued out of a total of 600,000 on offer. This followed evidence coming to light that many installers are yet to be paid for their work and members of the public are waiting months to be issued vouchers. 

The scheme - which was unveiled last summer and is administered by American firm ICF - was billed as supporting a number of green technologies to decarbonise the UK’s housing stock, including solar PV within the Local Authority allocation as well as solar thermal and heat pumps. It was expected to support 100,000 jobs.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/unspent_funds_in_2_billion_green_homes_grant_to_be_scrapped_in_outrageous_m

Lets hope they intend to instead launch a realistic long term scheme aimed at decarbonising the UK housing stock rather than this rather ill thought out gimmick scheme.... :whistles

EVandPV

Coastalwatch said:

Originally announced as part of The Green Recovery another of the Goverments many "world class" projects seems to be biting the dust!

Unspent funds in £2 billion Green Homes Grant to be scrapped in ‘outrageous’ move

Any of the initial £2 billion promised for the Green Homes Grant that goes unspent this year will not be rolled over.

This was confirmed by energy minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan in a parliamentary answer, with Trevelyan stating that this original funding was announced as a “short term stimulus for use in the 2020/21 financial year only”.

Indeed, earlier this month the Environmental Audit Committee warned that at the current rate, it will take ten years to meet the government’s target, with only 20,000 vouchers issued out of a total of 600,000 on offer. This followed evidence coming to light that many installers are yet to be paid for their work and members of the public are waiting months to be issued vouchers. 

The scheme - which was unveiled last summer and is administered by American firm ICF - was billed as supporting a number of green technologies to decarbonise the UK’s housing stock, including solar PV within the Local Authority allocation as well as solar thermal and heat pumps. It was expected to support 100,000 jobs.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/unspent_funds_in_2_billion_green_homes_grant_to_be_scrapped_in_outrageous_m

There was mention of this on the Martin Lewis program last night.
Sounds like they've made the application process as difficult and cumbersome as it could be. 🙄

thevilla

Coastalwatch said:

Don't know if the VW CEO has come to this conclusion under his own volition or if he might have been influenced by his chat with Elon.

The problem with hydrogen generation as I see it is that whatever method is proposed it is normally considered to be a decade away before mass roll out could occur. As for using it as a substitute for gas domestically then firstly, the whole infrastructure would need replacing as would any existing boiler.

Mind you, if it's still a decade away then the majority would need replacing by then anyway.

It’s time for politicians to accept science: Green hydrogen is needed for steel, chemical, aero,... and should not end up in cars. Far too expensive, inefficient, slow and difficult to rollout and transport. After all: no #hydrogen cars in sight.

@Herbert_Diess 11 Feb

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https://twitter.com/Herbert_Diess/status/1359775142445015042

I stumbled upon this https://youtu.be/9feCnLcRapE which included a reference regarding h2 in gas supplies.  Apparently up to 50% of town gas (pre natural gas) was hydrogen.  Would we really need to change significant infrastructure to accommodate h2 again? 

michaels

thevilla said:

Coastalwatch said:

Don't know if the VW CEO has come to this conclusion under his own volition or if he might have been influenced by his chat with Elon.

The problem with hydrogen generation as I see it is that whatever method is proposed it is normally considered to be a decade away before mass roll out could occur. As for using it as a substitute for gas domestically then firstly, the whole infrastructure would need replacing as would any existing boiler.

Mind you, if it's still a decade away then the majority would need replacing by then anyway.

It’s time for politicians to accept science: Green hydrogen is needed for steel, chemical, aero,... and should not end up in cars. Far too expensive, inefficient, slow and difficult to rollout and transport. After all: no #hydrogen cars in sight.

@Herbert_Diess 11 Feb

·

https://twitter.com/Herbert_Diess/status/1359775142445015042

I stumbled upon this https://youtu.be/9feCnLcRapE which included a reference regarding h2 in gas supplies.  Apparently up to 50% of town gas (pre natural gas) was hydrogen.  Would we really need to change significant infrastructure to accommodate h2 again? 

Apparently there are three issues
Hydrogen gas can corrode pipes made for natural gas
Because of its lower volumetric energy the pipe network may be inadequate
Boilers, cookers and fires may need adjustment, new burners or even replacement

Martyn1981

We can only hope.

Cut VAT for green home improvements and repairs, MPs urge

Ministers should cut VAT on repairs for electrical goods and green home improvements, to help people reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their everyday lives, an influential committee of MPs has urged.

Funding for green home grants to install insulation and low-carbon heating, should also be restored to kickstart a “green recovery” in the UK, said the environmental audit committee in a report on how to “grow back better” from the coronavirus crisis.

Coastalwatch

Good to see foreign investment in R&D still being made in the UK.

Ree Automotive invests in UK engineering centre

The Israeli electric mobility startup Ree Automotive is investing 92 million US dollars in a new ‘Engineering Centre of Excellence’ in England, at MIRA Technology Park in Warwickshire.

https://www.electrive.com/2021/02/16/ree-automotive-invests-in-uk-engineering-centre/

Coastalwatch

And elsewhere in Europe encouraging news for the soon to be vacated Nissan factory in Barcelona. Good to see EV momentum maintained after the earlier disappointing news Nissans withdrawal.

Nissan may convert factory in Barcelona to battery production

Nissan’s car plant in Barcelona that the carmaker announced last year would close, could be transformed into a battery production plant for electric cars to save thousands of jobs, according to a media report. There are said to be prominent interested parties already.

This was reported by Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter. The Catalan regional government is said to be backing a project to build a battery production and recycling plant in the region. The project, called Battery Hub, could receive €6.8 billion in funding from Spain’s €140 billion share of the EU’s Covid 19 pandemic aid. But the government has not yet decided how the funds will be used.

https://www.electrive.com/2021/02/16/nissan-factory-in-barcelona-may-be-converted-to-battery-production/

Coastalwatch

One small positive arising from the Fukushima disaster of nine years ago!

Solar, storage to take over from Australian uranium mine

The Ranger Uranium Mine ceased production in Australia’s Kakadu National Park in January, following years of financial losses. Now, as part of a multimillion dollar rejuvenation of the park, there are plans to develop a solar and battery storage hybrid project near the town of Jabiru.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/02/17/solar-storage-to-take-over-from-australian-uranium-mine/

Coastalwatch

Really pleased to see Ripple gaining this award as it must have been a particularly tough year for them trying to raise funding for their first community Wind farm just as Covid struck. Having purchased a stake in it so as to receive our leccy from the energy it generates, I also had  further belief in their plans for the future and need to state I have a financial interest in them.

Clean energy ownership platform Ripple Energy was chosen as the winner of the agency’s second annual Elevator competition.

LONDON — Eulogy has selected the winner of its second annual Elevator competition to support greentech start-ups, awarding £30,000 in pro bono communications support to clean energy platform Ripple Energy.

Ripple Energy, a clean energy ownership platform enabling individuals, homes and businesses to part-own large-scale wind and solar farms to supply clean, low-cost electricity, receives consultancy services to the equivalent of £30,000 over a six-month period, to help reach its business goals.

Ripple Energy CEO Sarah Merrick said: “We want the world to know about Ripple and with Eulogy's help we can make it happen. We're absolutely thrilled to have won the Elevator 2021 competition.”

https://www.provokemedia.com/latest/article/eulogy-awards-30-000-pro-bono-pr-support-to-greentech-start-up?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=provoke_news

Martyn1981

Many will probably remember Tony Seba and his 'crazee' predictions for transport and TAAS back in 2017, which **spoiler**, he pretty much nailed. Well I watched a short version of his recent vid on energy disruption, only 12 mins, and he's at it again, explaining how SWB (solar, wind and batteries) are unbeatable going forward. For instance he points out that they are cheaper than any other new generation and will fall ~70% in cost this decade, so it makes no sense to build any conventional generation (thermal or nuclear) any more.
The vid is US biased, but the principles hold, especially the marginal costs of generation as you build out more, with technology costs falling further and 'free fuel'.
Another interesting side is his explanation that the cost of generation + batteries isn't linear, since you could have, for example, just enough generation but loads of storage, or loads of generation (overcapacity) and smaller amounts of storage, so there are multiple cost points for RE + storage to enter the market and displace FF's/nuclear.

Rethinking Energy -- 100% Solar, Wind and Batteries Is Just The Beginning