Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

QrizB

I thought I replied but the forum seems to have eaten it Here goes again.

CCS for eg. cement works makes sense (cement making inevitably generates CO2 when limestone is roasted to make lime) but if you want to use it to offset FF burning I'd like to see atmospheric CO2 below 300ppm first.

(Cement and concrete will scavenge CO2 from the atmosphere; it's what caused problems for Biosphere 2.)

Martyn1981

QrizB said:

I thought I replied but the forum seems to have eaten it Here goes again.

CCS for eg. cement works makes sense (cement making inevitably generates CO2 when limestone is roasted to make lime) but if you want to use it to offset FF burning I'd like to see atmospheric CO2 below 300ppm first.

(Cement and concrete will scavenge CO2 from the atmosphere; it's what caused problems for Biosphere 2.)

Just depressed myself!

Thought for fun I'd see when we might get below 400ppm again*, that was a bad idea. Currently ~420ppm with levels expected to reach 500+ by 2100. Found too many articles suggesting it may not be possible to get back under 400ppm, that I decided to stop looking for today. Ouch!


*400ppm having last been seen around 3-5 million years ago, and levels in the 200-300ppm range for the last million(ish) years before we exceeded 300 again in the 20thC.

Martyn1981

Slightly different article, looking at the end, rather than the start for a change.

Endesa partners on Spanish blade recycling scheme

Spanish energy company Endesa, PreZero Espana and Reciclalia Composite with the support of GE Renewable Energy and its subsidiary LM Wind Power are to set up the first wind blade recycling plant in Spain.

The project, which will be located in Cubillos del Sil, is part of Endesa's Futur-e Plan for the Compostilla industrial complex.

Construction of the €8.5m facility will start next year and will create 30 direct jobs when operational at the beginning of 2024.

The facility aims to provide a second life to blade materials by applying circular economy criteria.

In addition, the project contemplates the re-use and incorporation of recycled fibreglass, carbon fibre and other by-products of the process back into the industry, both for wind power and other sectors that may require these compounds.

Martyn1981

Couple of articles with a tenuous link through storage to enable higher RE penetration.

I think this may have been mentioned before (sorry bit woolly headed lately) but the state of Southern Australia ran for 6 days at the end of last year on 'an average' of over 100% RE, with a small percentage of gas generation support and RE curtailment. That's quite an impressive feat so early in the game:

South Australia sets smashing new renewables record in final days of 2021

South Australia set an impressive new renewable energy record in the final days of 2021, with the state’s solar and wind farms and rooftop solar systems supplying an average of just over 100% of local demand every day for a period of almost one week.

The unprecedented uninterrupted stretch of 100%-plus renewable energy output in South Australia was documented by data analyst Geoff Eldridge at NEMlog. Eldridge confirms that the state’s renewables share averaged slightly over 100% of demand (101%) for a period of 156 hours, or 6.5 days, ending on Wednesday December 29.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has significantly reduced the need for gas generators to operate in the background at times of high wind and/or solar output in South Australia, thanks to the commissioning of four synchronous condensers* that can provide much of the system strength originally sourced from gas.

*random quote I found on Google:

Synchronous condensers have traditionally been used at both distribution and transmission voltage levels to improve stability and to maintain voltages within desired limits under changing load conditions and contingency situations.

And that was to help explain the intro to this article about India which contains lots of positive and promising nuggets of information:

Australia Sets The Example As India Seeks A Renewable Future

Battery storage is going gang busters in Australia, and other markets with need for flexibility and rapid power deployment are taking note. IEEFA expects India’s battery storage market to boom. “Continuing a decade-long deflation in costs, solar plus batteries is cost competitive with new coal-fired plants.”

Following India’s COP26 pledge to have net zero emissions by 2070, an expert committee appointed by the Union Power Ministry has tabled a plan to stop the addition of new coal-fired generating capacity. This committee has found that expected electricity demand can be met by renewable energy. It also pointed out that the current coal fleet is underutilized, only operating at 55% capacity. 

The Hindu Business Line writes: “With the emphasis on accelerating the decarbonization of India’s power system, the committee recommends replacing retired capacity with technologies that could operate flexibly to support integration of 450GW of variable renewables (VRE) by 2030.

“Central Electricity Authority estimates 27GW/108GWh of battery storage capacity will be required to integrate 450GW of VRE by March 2030.”

Please don't try to draw any conclusions from this next bit, but I thought the Indian storage numbers helped me a bit with context for the UK, especially with the recent announcement of two batts going in, in Scotland totalling 0.8GW/1.6GWh, and the simply staggering potential of V2G (or V2H ,or V2L, pick your favourite  ), which an all BEV car fleet in the UK would be carrying around perhaps 1,500GWh of batts, and then vans, lorries and buses parked up for the evening.

Now I'm just mentallyy wandering around and talking to myself, but 20% of UK houses with PV and a 5kWh battery, would have around 25GWh of storage potential, whether operated as a VPP (virtual powerplant to support the grid) or simply as demand reduction by powering some of the homeload.

Coastalwatch

Martyn1981 said:

Please don't try to draw any conclusions from this next bit, but I thought the Indian storage numbers helped me a bit with context for the UK, especially with the recent announcement of two batts going in, in Scotland totalling 0.8GW/1.6GWh, and the simply staggering potential of V2G (or V2H ,or V2L, pick your favourite  ), which an all BEV car fleet in the UK would be carrying around perhaps 1,500GWh of batts, and then vans, lorries and buses parked up for the evening.

Now I'm just mentallyy wandering around and talking to myself, but 20% of UK houses with PV and a 5kWh battery, would have around 25GWh of storage potential, whether operated as a VPP (virtual powerplant to support the grid) or simply as demand reduction by powering some of the homeload.

 Some interesting figures there Mart and while it doesn't quite answer the old chestnut of renewables intermittency simply by having a PV array and battery, be it storage or V2H then, with complimentary TOU tariffs demand peaks and troughs on the grid would certainly be eased.

We've just had a couple of storage batts installed and it's likely they will remove entirely our need to draw from the grid for six months of the year while for the other six we might just be able to draw only from the overnight cheap rate so removing any peak time demand from us entirely.

Thanks too for the explanation on Synchronous Condensors. Whatever next!

Martyn1981

Coastalwatch said:

Martyn1981 said:

Please don't try to draw any conclusions from this next bit, but I thought the Indian storage numbers helped me a bit with context for the UK, especially with the recent announcement of two batts going in, in Scotland totalling 0.8GW/1.6GWh, and the simply staggering potential of V2G (or V2H ,or V2L, pick your favourite  ), which an all BEV car fleet in the UK would be carrying around perhaps 1,500GWh of batts, and then vans, lorries and buses parked up for the evening.

Now I'm just mentallyy wandering around and talking to myself, but 20% of UK houses with PV and a 5kWh battery, would have around 25GWh of storage potential, whether operated as a VPP (virtual powerplant to support the grid) or simply as demand reduction by powering some of the homeload.

 Some interesting figures there Mart and while it doesn't quite answer the old chestnut of renewables intermittency simply by having a PV array and battery, be it storage or V2H then, with complimentary TOU tariffs demand peaks and troughs on the grid would certainly be eased.

We've just had a couple of storage batts installed and it's likely they will remove entirely our need to draw from the grid for six months of the year while for the other six we might just be able to draw only from the overnight cheap rate so removing any peak time demand from us entirely.

Thanks too for the explanation on Synchronous Condensors. Whatever next!

Thanks CW. Yes I thought it was very promising to see such high penetration of RE already, with FF gen minimised via storage, overcapacity (curtailment) etc.. I appreciate that Aussie sunshine in the summer is an extremely predictable resource, but the majority of the RE in that example time period was wind.

And more RE rollout will mean less gas in general, and the increase in volume and regularity of curtailment will make additional storage economically viable, and storage costs are still falling also aiding the RE expansion.

I did think for a moment that it's 'only one state', but on checking, their population is ~1.8m, which is large enough I believe to prove what is possible. And closer to home we have the Scots possibly net positive with RE leccy across a whole year* thanks largely to wind generation, which is still expanding massively. And the staggering growth in interconnector capacity ...... sorry, I'm off again, the little things in life that excite me.  

*I appreciate that they have England to take their excess generation, and the whole UK to help fund the RE rollout, but every milestone is important.

Coastalwatch

Great for those areas with plenty of sunshine and space. I wonder how long before we see anything like it here. But great to see a clean silent alternative to the generators of the past.

Solar trailer for off-grid applications from France

Developed by French start-up Ecosun, the trailer is equipped with 15 solar panels with output of 360 W and batteries with a storage capacity of 23 kWh. It can be used for construction sites, military camps and water pumping systems.

French microgrid specialist Ecosun has launched Trailer Watt 15S — an autonomous solar-powered trailer that can be used to provide power in grid-disconnected environments.

The trailer has a size of 6.76 x 2.19 x 1.1 m and weighs 1.8 t. It is equipped with a foldable mast that can be raised to a height of 7 m and relies on four 50 W adjustable LEDs.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/02/03/solar-trailer-for-off-grid-applications-from-france/

Verdigris

On a nearby, to me, Network Rail project they were using a smaller version of that to provide site lighting. They had 3 panels, batteries and LED floodlights.

ed110220

Martyn1981 said:

Coastalwatch said:

Martyn1981 said:

Please don't try to draw any conclusions from this next bit, but I thought the Indian storage numbers helped me a bit with context for the UK, especially with the recent announcement of two batts going in, in Scotland totalling 0.8GW/1.6GWh, and the simply staggering potential of V2G (or V2H ,or V2L, pick your favourite  ), which an all BEV car fleet in the UK would be carrying around perhaps 1,500GWh of batts, and then vans, lorries and buses parked up for the evening.

Now I'm just mentallyy wandering around and talking to myself, but 20% of UK houses with PV and a 5kWh battery, would have around 25GWh of storage potential, whether operated as a VPP (virtual powerplant to support the grid) or simply as demand reduction by powering some of the homeload.

 Some interesting figures there Mart and while it doesn't quite answer the old chestnut of renewables intermittency simply by having a PV array and battery, be it storage or V2H then, with complimentary TOU tariffs demand peaks and troughs on the grid would certainly be eased.

We've just had a couple of storage batts installed and it's likely they will remove entirely our need to draw from the grid for six months of the year while for the other six we might just be able to draw only from the overnight cheap rate so removing any peak time demand from us entirely.

Thanks too for the explanation on Synchronous Condensors. Whatever next!

Thanks CW. Yes I thought it was very promising to see such high penetration of RE already, with FF gen minimised via storage, overcapacity (curtailment) etc.. I appreciate that Aussie sunshine in the summer is an extremely predictable resource, but the majority of the RE in that example time period was wind.

And more RE rollout will mean less gas in general, and the increase in volume and regularity of curtailment will make additional storage economically viable, and storage costs are still falling also aiding the RE expansion.

I did think for a moment that it's 'only one state', but on checking, their population is ~1.8m, which is large enough I believe to prove what is possible. And closer to home we have the Scots possibly net positive with RE leccy across a whole year* thanks largely to wind generation, which is still expanding massively. And the staggering growth in interconnector capacity ...... sorry, I'm off again, the little things in life that excite me.  

*I appreciate that they have England to take their excess generation, and the whole UK to help fund the RE rollout, but every milestone is important.

Anyone interested can check out the OpenNEM website which gives a good graphical display + stats of the different sources of generation in South Australia. Here's the last 7 days https://opennem.org.au/energy/sa1/?range=7d&interval=30m

For the last 12 months SA is on 62.6% solar + wind which is said to be the highest percentage for a GW scale grid in the world (it has no hydro for balancing). It's interesting to see how quickly renewables have displaced fossil fuels: https://opennem.org.au/energy/sa1/?range=all&interval=1y

As Australia is a federal country with each state having a lot of control over energy policies, it's also interesting (and depressing!) to see how badly other states that are still addicted to fossil fuels are doing, eg Queensland: https://opennem.org.au/energy/qld1/?range=7d&interval=30m

Coastalwatch

Thanks for posting the links ed. As you say quite depressing seeing how FF's dominate in Queensland. Not sure if I'm reading the tables correct but it appears the cost of energy there is approx five times that of South Australia!

Also interesting to see how Rooftop Solar has a far larger output than those of Utility scale!