Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

EVandPV

Hopefully not this weeks vapourware ......

New CO2 battery will make wind and solar dispatchable 'at an unprecedented low price'

Italian start-up Energy Dome says that its new long-duration “CO2 battery” system, which only uses off-the-shelf equipment will achieve a levelised cost of storage (LCOS) of $50-60/MWh in the next few years.

Chief executive Claudio Spadacini tells Recharge that Energy Dome's thermodynamic liquid-CO2 system has a round-trip efficiency of 75-80% — higher than any other long-duration energy storage technology currently on the market, including liquid-air, compressed-air and gravity-based solutions.

https://www.rechargenews.com/energy-transition/new-co2-battery-will-make-wind-and-solar-dispatchable-at-an-unprecedented-low-price/2-1-1044755

Coastalwatch

With a decision on Sizewell C still in the melting pot then the news below casts another shadow over the viability of Nuclear as a means of future energy generation.

China nuclear: Taishan reactor shut down over damaged fuel rods

A Chinese nuclear plant has shut down one of its reactors for maintenance after minor damage to fuel rods.

The plant operator said in a statement it had shut Unit 1 at the Taishan nuclear plant in Guangdong province after "lengthy" talks with technicians.

Taishan is the first site in the world to have this kind of reactor.

The type of reactor - known as EPR - is also set to be built in other countries, including Finland, France and at Hinkley Point C in the UK.

Last week an EDF spokesperson told CNN the French company would shut the plant down if it could.

They said the decision lay with the Chinese operator.

The situation at Taishan was "not an emergency" but nevertheless a "serious situation", the spokesperson added.

China's environment ministry has denied the CNN report.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-58026038

Martyn1981

Article on a smaller more modular solar concentrator with higher efficiency. The article mentions uses for heat, and also power generation, not that I really understand how that part works. But the improvement in efficiency and energy collection sounds good!

Solarflux FOCUS Parabolic Dish Concentrator Converts 72% Of Solar Energy Into Usable Heat

Solarflux, a company specializing in parabolic dish concentrator technology, has developed the FOCUS parabolic dish concentrator, which converts 72% of the solar energy it gets into usable heat. This news comes from Solarflux, which just announced the results of an independent report by Lehigh University’s Energy Research Center. The report was conducted in close accordance with the methods outlined in the ASTM 905-87 industry standard relating to solar concentrators.

The report reviewed the Solarflux FOCUS parabolic dish concentrator’s performance test results. It showed that the device demonstrated solar-to-thermal conversion efficiency of 72%, meaning that once solar energy arrives at the FOCUS, 72% of it is converted into usable heat.

Coastalwatch

Good news seeing government support for tidal energy advance which certainly needs all the support it can muster if it's to become a cost effective addition to the renewable energy portfolio. Once again Scotland at least don't appear to be backward in coming forward in this area.

Nova bags £2m funding for tidal advance

Nova Innovations has been awarded a £2 million cash injection from the Scottish Government to advance tidal turbine manufacturing to a global level.

The funding, delivered through Scottish Enterprise, is directed at the tidal energy firm’s VOLT project.

It aims to develop the first European assembly line to mass manufacture tidal turbines and trial innovative techniques and tools to ship, deploy and monitor turbines around the world.

The project will also examine how to improve turbine performance, logistics for mass manufacture, and develop new techniques to ensure cost-effective delivery of tidal turbines. VOLT will also deliver an adaptable Remote Observation Platform (ROP) for rapid environmental monitoring of tidal energy sites.

https://renews.biz/71418/nova-bags-2m-funding-for-tidal-advance/

Coastalwatch

Isn't it great that even as far north as Fife solar energy can still perform sufficiently well to aid company's in meeting their net zero targets!

Drinks firm Diageo plans ground-mount solar install at packaging plant

The solar – which would be capable of producing 4MW of electricity and consist of 12,000 panels - would be located on vacant land at its Leven Packaging Plant in Fife.

Diageo is working with E.ON and Emtec Energy to develop the plans, which form part of its ambition to achieve net zero caron emissions from its direct operations by 2030.

Gavin Brogan, operations director at Leven Packaging Plant, said the solar would take the company's decarbonisation "to another level".

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

Martyn1981

A UK big battery has now come on line, or to be precise, the second half has now been added, to provide fast frequency response for the UK Grid.

Sungrow switches on 100 MW/100 MWh storage system in the UK

One of the largest storage facilities in wider Europe has come online. In the future, it will provide network services and help prevent power outages in the U.K., such as the one that occurred in August 2019.

As a result of a short-term drop in network frequency, there was a large-scale power outage in the United Kingdom around two years ago. After that, the authorities gave priority to the construction of large storage facilities in order to prevent this kind of incident from happening again. The use of some of the large storage systems installed at the time, in fact, helped prevent a total failure of the country's electricity system.

EVandPV

Energy price cap rising by 12%, ouch ! 
Although I guess it helps with the financial case for battery storage.

Energy bills to rise by at least £139 for millions of households

Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley told the BBC: "The reason the price cap is going up is there has been a record increase in energy prices across the board, not just in gas and electricity but in petrol and diesel."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58106105

Coastalwatch

EVandPV said:

Energy price cap rising by 12%, ouch ! 
Although I guess it helps with the financial case for battery storage.

Energy bills to rise by at least £139 for millions of households

Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley told the BBC: "The reason the price cap is going up is there has been a record increase in energy prices across the board, not just in gas and electricity but in petrol and diesel."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58106105

Just wondered how much Energy from the grid owes it's generation to petrol or diesel!

EVandPV

The mass manufacture of huge tidal turbines could be one step closer after firm seals funding

Tidal energy business Nova Innovation has said it is able to move forward with a project centered around scaling up the production of tidal turbines after receiving funding from the Scottish government.

VOLT will "develop the first European assembly line to mass manufacture tidal turbines," according to Nova, and also "trial innovative techniques and tools to ship, deploy and monitor turbines around the world."

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/08/05/mass-manufacture-of-tidal-turbines-a-step-closer-as-firm-seals-funding.html

Coastalwatch

An interesting debate across the pond and while a decision on new nuclear power plants over here are still being considered it would appear the US has an even cleaner and more cost effective path to energy generation already feasible.

You’ve got $30 billion to spend and a climate crisis. Nuclear or solar?

Nuclear power delivers almost 20% of all electricity in the United States, and about 50% of all low-emission electricity. Moreover, the U.S. has almost 100 nuclear power units operating more than 90% of the time, providing a steady base of power generation we can depend on.

Moving forward however, it seems nuclear has lost its swagger. Price increases, project delays, and cancellations have caused what may prove to be generational damage to nuclear power’s reputation. pv magazine USA has previously reported on industry pricing models, showing nuclear’s lagging pricing.

Now, Georgia Power’s Vogtle Units 3 & 4 – the nation’s only nuclear generating units currently under construction – have announced further delays and price increases. Conservative cost estimates suggest the two 1.117 GW facilities will require at least $30 billion to complete, including $3 billion in finance costs and $27 billion in construction costs.

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/08/05/youve-got-30-billion-to-spend-and-a-climate-crisis-nuclear-or-solar/