Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

QrizB

An article from Engadget on the UK's move towards zero-carbon homes:

The UK is sabotaging its own plan to decarbonize heating

https://www.engadget.com/air-source-heat-pumps-uk-120044198.html

You should really read the whole article but here's a bit that covers some of the discussion from the (rather toxic, in places) ASHP thread:

In November 2020, the UK published its Green Industrial Strategy, which outlined a “Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.” The plan included work to incorporate hydrogen into the country’s natural gas supply network, improve cycling infrastructure and that target of 600,000 heat pump installations. But Tim Lord, writing at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said “that figure is likely to need to rise to 1.5 million a year by 2035” if the UK wants to hit Net Zero. Either way, it’s a significant jump from the 30,000 per year currently being installed.

But encouraging householders to make the switch from their natural gas-fired boilers is going to be difficult. The initial cost is far higher than the price of just installing a new gas-fired boiler, which will put off many would-be adopters. Then, there is the way the UK structures its energy levies, with a far greater burden on electricity over natural gas. Charges levied onto the sale of electricity in the UK include paying for the cost of the country’s smart meter rollout, bankrolling renewable energy projects and offering cash incentives for people to adopt home energy efficiency technologies.

Think tank Public First recently published an analysis of the European heat market, finding that the UK’s gas prices are almost the cheapest on the continent. France, Italy, Spain and Germany all charge higher prices for gas, and enact higher levies. “Without changes to policy costs on both electricity and gas, there is a far higher chance that the government will not meet its heat pump target,” said the report.

Martyn1981

CO2 keeps going up, of course, but has now reached the milestone of +50% since the start of the industrial revolution, and levels not seen for 4m years, when sea levels were 78ft higher!

But the EU is considering a border tariff to take CO2 emissions into account?

Global carbon dioxide levels continued to rise despite pandemic

The data is in: carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit 419 parts per million in May. The levels have now reached the dangerous milestone of being 50% higher than when the industrial age began – and the average rate of increase is faster than ever.

The figure is the highest measurement of the crucial greenhouse gas in the 63 years that data has been recorded at the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in Hawaii – despite slowdowns in air travel and industry during a global pandemic in the past year.

The 10-year average rate of increase also set a record, now up to 2.4 parts per million per year.

EU Considering Border Tariffs On Steel, Cement, & Electricity

According to Reuters, the European Union is considering a draft proposal that would impose tariffs carbon emissions-based tariffs on a variety of imported goods, including steel, cement, and electricity. The news was first reported by Bloomberg last Wednesday. The new tariffs are designed to protect the 27 member nations of the EU from lower cost products made in countries with few or no carbon emission restrictions.

The draft under consideration may be amended before final publication on July 14. The proposed tariffs would be applied in full beginning in 2026, with a potential transitional period starting in 2023. The products subject to the new tariffs include iron, steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, and electricity.

Martyn1981

I found this article, which might be helpful to folk looking to have PV/storage installed, but I can't find the 'portal', so the prices, costs, lockins, etc etc, may be good, or not, and of course there could be punitive restrictions too?

So Energy launches solar and storage offering for new and existing customers

Challenger utility So Energy has launched a full-service solar and storage solution for its customers, following a successful trial in 2020.

The package includes the installation of rooftop solar panels and a battery, allowing customers to generate and store their own renewable electricity.

So Energy has developed an online portal that allows both new and existing customers to check their eligibility for the solution, as well as digitally map out solar panels on their rooftop to get an instant quote on the carbon and economic savings possible.

Martyn1981

Couple of Renews articles. The first is the approval of the Loch Ness PHS for energy storage. It's 450MW power, and if I remember correctly will be around 3GWh of storage.

Loch Ness primed for 450MW pumped hydro scheme

The Scottish Government has approved proposals for a 450MW pumped storage hydro scheme on the shores of Loch Ness.

The Red John project was subject to a Public Local Inquiry last year with the findings and recommendation from the reporter being submitted to Ministers in February 2021 for consideration. 

Approval of this £550m project, being developed by ILI Group, could see “hundreds of millions of pounds invested in the local economy and bring up to 700 direct and indirect jobs” said the company.

The second article focus' on wind's costs and Europe's future leccy needs.

Electrification is ‘cheapest way to hit net zero’

The report expects onshore wind to have average costs of €33/MWh by 2030, a cost reduction of 28% compared to today.

Offshore wind costs will fall by 44% to €48/MWh and floating offshore wind costs by 65% to €64/MWh over the same period.

The report expects bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind costs to converge by 2040 at between €30/MWh and €50/MWh.

Coastalwatch

Martyn1981 said:

Couple of Renews articles. The first is the approval of the Loch Ness PHS for energy storage. It's 450MW power, and if I remember correctly will be around 3GWh of storage.

Loch Ness primed for 450MW pumped hydro scheme

The Scottish Government has approved proposals for a 450MW pumped storage hydro scheme on the shores of Loch Ness.

The Red John project was subject to a Public Local Inquiry last year with the findings and recommendation from the reporter being submitted to Ministers in February 2021 for consideration. 

Approval of this £550m project, being developed by ILI Group, could see “hundreds of millions of pounds invested in the local economy and bring up to 700 direct and indirect jobs” said the company.

 

Wow, that is good news Mart, not only for renewable energy storage in Scotland, but for us too as we invested in the ILI group through the Abundance platform a couple of years ago. This approval should help to realise the return of our trust in them. It's also very timely as the returns on debentures offered were for a 10% return, payable twice yearly in June and December!

Martyn1981

Hopefully the sheer scale of investment behind this will help to make a difference:

Leading investors urge governments to end support for fossil fuels

Investors controlling $41tn (£29tn) in assets have called for governments around the world to end support for fossil fuels and set targets for rapid reductions in carbon emissions to limit the damage from global heating.

The 457 investors, who hold almost a third of world’s assets under management, signed a joint statement calling for governments to “significantly strengthen” their plans to cut carbon emissions in the next decade and to bring in detailed targets for net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Among the signatories were the largest British asset managers, including Aviva, HSBC Asset Management, Legal and General Investment Management and M&G. Other major supporters included Allianz Global Investors, Amundi, Axa, BNP Paribas and Nomura Asset Management.

It is believed to represent the largest group of investors by assets ever to join a concerted call for climate action. Measures should be in line with scientists’ estimates of what is needed to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels – the target to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

Will the politicians listen? I don't know, but if they take a glance at the longer term economics, rather than short term elections, then they will realise that more action, now, is a very good economic move:

Climate crisis to shrink G7 economies twice as much as Covid-19, says research

The economies of rich countries will shrink by twice as much as they did in the Covid-19 crisis if they fail to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions, according to research.

The G7 countries – the world’s biggest industrialised economies – will lose 8.5% of GDP a year, or nearly $5tn wiped off their economies, within 30 years if temperatures rise by 2.6C, as they are likely to on the basis of government pledges and policies around the world, according to research from Oxfam and the Swiss Re Institute.

The economies of G7 nations contracted by about 4.2% on average in the coronavirus pandemic, and the economic losses from the climate crisis by 2050 would be roughly on the scale of suffering a similar crisis twice every year, according to the research. The UK’s economy would lose 6.5% a year by 2050 on current policies and projections, compared with 2.4% if the goals of the Paris climate agreement are met.

Other nations will be hit much worse, including India, whose economy will shrink by a quarter owing to a 2.6C temperature increase, while Australia will suffer a loss of 12.5% of output, and South Korea will lose nearly a tenth of its economic potential.

Martyn1981

And a quickie, but goodie, looks like the XL Keystone pipeline is dead .... which will help to prevent a reduction in their costs/price, which in turn will help to kill off tar sands oil production sooner, as oil prices peak, thanks to the reduction in demand from the road transport sector.

TC Energy Cancels Keystone XL Pipeline

In the face of fierce opposition, TC Energy has decided to abandon its plan to build the Keystone XL pipeline.

Martyn1981

I keep mentioning Highview and their LAES (liquid air energy storage), but it just seems to me to have enormous potential, possibly more so than H2, if it really is as simple and scaleable as they suggest. Efficiency seems to be in the 50-60% range standalone, or 70-80% with a source of waste heat (even 100%+ if sources of waste cold and heat are both available, though that's probably unlikley).
This one is 50MW/500MWh, so still waiting to see them go 'full' size at around 200MW/1,200MWh, but it's all good, and each step puts a smile on my face.

Highview team developing first CryoBattery in Chile

Highview Enlasa is developing a 50MW/500 megawatt-hour liquid air long duration energy storage project in Chile, the first of its kind in the country.

The $150m CryoBattery will be located in Diego de Almagro in the Atacama region.

Martyn1981

Nice bit of news here, as Oregon discusses/debates moving to 100% RE leccy by 2040. The reason I find items like this really interesting/promising, is that they help to dismiss all the dodgy claims that people throw out (or up) about how such changes simply aren't possible. The more we see moves in this direction, the harder it becomes to deny reality. It's also very important to see US states make moves like this, as it can be touted (more easily) in discussions/debates in other states where the reality of possibilites are still denied, especially by the hard right wing of the Republican Party - a 'wing' that has largely taken over most of the body in the last 4-5yrs.

Oregon On Verge Of Requiring 100% Clean Electricity By 2040

Electric grids do not change overnight. Power plants and other infrastructure are multi-decade investments, and it’s rare to retire them early. So, it’s a bit painful to watch how slowly they have been getting cleaned up. Even with the majority of new power plants being renewable energy power plants, the percentage of electricity coming from renewables only creeps up.

That can make 100% renewable energy or 100% clean electricity commitments seem car too far out, far too slow. A potential new requirement for utilities in the state of Oregon is one such example. If it gets through the state legislature, it will be one of the most aggressive timelines in the United States. However, it still gives the utilities nearly 20 years to fully decarbonize. Yes, 100% clean electricity by 2040 is ambitious when compared to other laws around the States. However, when looking at how much we need to cut emissions by 2040, that should be more of an average or norm than a leadership position. Nonetheless, in political context, it is something to celebrate.

Martyn1981

Great news, but I have to point out the obvious, which is that many countries, especially the UK, stating long(er) term targets is easy, but giving annual targets, and actually getting on with it, tends to be a tad harder. But, moaning aside, still great news.

G7 pledges to accelerate renewables deployment

The Group of Seven rich nations has agreed to “accelerate” renewables deployment.

The countries said they “commit to achieve an overwhelmingly decarbonised power system in the 2030s and to actions to accelerate this” in a communique issued following a powwow hosted by UK PM Boris Johnson (pictured) in Cornwall, England.

They also underlined commitments to phase out coal generation in the document titled "Our Shared Agenda for Global Action to Build Back Better".

“In our energy sectors, we will increase energy efficiency, accelerate renewable and other zero emissions energy deployment, reduce wasteful consumption, leverage innovation all whilst maintaining energy security,” stated the G7 joint statement.