Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

QrizB

Hmm, 15000km is 3/8ths of the circumference of the planet.

Now you've got me wondering if a global ring main is feasible, with countries tee'd into it and supplying or abstracting energy as demand and generation ebbs and flows. It would need a *lot* of copper!

Coastalwatch

Verdigris said:

If nothing else, they could be a world centre for the creation of green hydrogen.

Hmmm! Today the inefficiencies of producing Hydrogen from renewables results is an immediate loss of 50% giving it a sizeable handicap and deterent to begin with. Add the complexities of logistics in transporting, storing and continuity of supply on and it's attraction diminishes further. I cannot understand why investors are affording it so much attention given the significant outlays required and unlikely returns to be gained. The chances of a ROI appear slim indeed and the words barge and pole spring immediately to my mind. But who am I to doubt others wisdom!

It does make one wonder if the FF lobbyist's are stoking interest purely for the benefit of their own industry rather than that of mankind, just like they've been doing this last forty years or so.

Coastalwatch

Martyn1981 said:

Toyota continues to impress, now making it to no.3 in one of the most important global rankings.

Exxon, Chevron, & Toyota Are The Largest Anti-Climate Lobbyists, Says InfluenceMap

There’s a good chance you have never heard of InfluenceMap. I hadn’t either until today, when I read about it in a news report published in The Guardian. On its website, it says it is, “an independent think tank that provides data and analysis on how business and finance are affecting the climate crisis.”

‘We place great importance on evidence-based assessment using reliable data and rigorous methodologies. Our work is used extensively by powerful actors in finance, business, campaigns, policymaking, and the media to drive meaningful change. InfluenceMap is philanthropically funded and based in London, with offices in Tokyo and New York.”

Its latest report was released this week and is entitled, “The 50 Most Influential Companies and Industry Associations Blocking Climate Policy Action Globally.” Well, that sounds like interesting reading, so I opened it up and found that Exxon, Chevron, and Toyota are listed as the top three corporate bad actors who are lobbying against any and all measures designed to keep the Earth from overheating to the point where humans can’t survive on it any more.

Came across the article below today which shows quite some evidence of the lengths Toyota are going too in order to suppress the EV industry and in doing so promoting FF's for their own short sited benefit.

How Toyota sneakily spreads anti-EV propaganda in Japan

The main reason is simple. Jobs. Japanese manufacturers buy parts from small family-owned businesses across Japan. Toyota has only about 70,000 employees in Japan but are indirectly responsible for the income of far more Japanese and foreign workers in Japan. It is well-known in the Japanese car industry that their record profit business model is based on the sweat and tears of hundreds of small underpaid parts manufacturers in the country.

Now here’s where the story turns even more sour. In December 2020, the Japanese government announced the ban of gasoline-powered cars by 2030. The backlash from JAMA (Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association), which is headed by none other than M. Toyoda himself, was immediate. The government later retracted its statement and now aims for a mix of gasoline/hybrids, EV, and fuel cell vehicles by 2035. Gasoline hybrids (HEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) are very much powered by fossil fuels and therefore not carbon neutral by any means. But hybrid vehicles are the most complex vehicles with up to over 30,000 parts that need to be built and maintained.

https://electrek.co/2021/11/11/how-toyota-sneakily-spreads-anti-ev-propaganda-in-japan/

Verdigris

Today the inefficiencies of producing Hydrogen from renewables results is an immediate loss of 50% giving it a sizeable handicap and deterent to begin with.

Yes, I understand that green hydrogen production isn't all that efficient but when the electricity cost is extremely low, as it should be in this case, then Chile seems to be an obvious place to do this.

I don't think putting hydrogen into existing gas mains is a good use case. It is just prolonging the profitability of fossil fuels. However, hydrogen is going to be needed to replace fossil fuels in many industrial processes and possibly for some types of transport operations.

Martyn1981

I haven't really thought this through properly, but a reliable source of leccy does allow for the producttion of H2, but a reliable source of leccy also negates the need for long term storage, whch H2 may be good at due to the scaleability of H2 storage, despite the inefficiencies.

No idea what will happen, but it's nice to at least theoretically have a number of solutions, and what entertains me the most, is the speed at which solutions are being considered, and tested. It's all very exciting (I need to get out more!)

Coastalwatch

Perhaps a cross between standard pumped hydro and Gravitricity this proposal certainly appears to have great potential. Have to confess that I'd be a little concerned about the constant flushing action of water along mineshafts and caverns likely causing a questionable mix of ingredients but the potential seems considerable. Knowing that China installed more wind and solar farms than the rest of the world put together last year then I don't doubt they could create a massive storage facility and that ahead of the western world too.

As Mart noted, isn't it exciting seeing increasing numbers of proposals put forward surrounding energy generation, time shifting and storage.

I like QB's suggestion of a global ring main, just imagine it following the earths equator with all nations north and south(as per Marts aspiration) connected to it. Crazy to us maybe, but who knows what the future holds. Climate change allowing that is!

How to convert coal mine goaves into pumped hydro storage facilities

According to Chinese researchers, using abandoned coal mine goaves for pumped hydro facilities in combination with large scale solar and wind is not only technically feasible but can also provide an efficiency of 82.8% in yearly operation cases. They applied the model to wind and solar-rich northwestern and southwestern China.

Currently, according to their analysis, there are 3,868 closed coal mines in China that could eventually be considered for this repurposing concept. In order to assess if these sites are suitable for pumped-hydro storage, three main aspects should be considered: storable volume; usable volume; and fluid exchange. Once these values are determined, the performance of a goaf pumped-hydro storage facility should also be evaluated by considering meteorological data such as solar radiation and wind speed.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/11/16/how-to-convert-coal-mine-goaves-into-pumped-hydro-storage-facilities/

gefnew

Lots of money to invest.
SSE reveals £12.5bn boost in renewables investment - BBC News

Cardew

gefnew said:

Lots of money to invest.
SSE reveals £12.5bn boost in renewables investment - BBC News

SSE's share price dropped today by 4.28%

Swan_Valley

https://newsnreleases.com/2021/11/18/technipfmc-partners-orbital-marine-power-to-accelerate-tidal-energy/

Orbital’s unique floating turbine, the most powerful in the world to date, can harness underwater currents generated by tides, which can then be converted into electricity and exported to shore.

https://newsnreleases.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Orbital-Marine-Power.jpg

Coastalwatch

SSE to ramp up green capex as interims rise 30%

(Sharecast News) - Interim profits at renewable energy company SSE on Wednesday rose by a third as the company pledged to invest £12.5bn in green capital expenditure in an apparent rebuff to calls from activist investor Elliott to split the group.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said SSE's pivot towards renewables meant it wasn't directly exposed to the current energy crisis, "where even the larger operators will be running many loss-making accounts as the wholesale cost of gas and electricity soars above fixed tariffs".

"This is unlikely to be sufficient to get activist investor Elliott off its back, which having joined the shareholder register earlier this year has been reportedly pushing for SSE to take more radical action and separate the renewables assets from the grid business."

"The rationale for such a move is that it could see SSE lifted to the more elevated market valuations enjoyed by other firms which concentrate purely on renewables. However, today's first-half results perhaps offered an indication why SSE is resisting such a move, at least for the time being."