Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981

I know bio-energy isn't new, but the US here giving an ickle bit of funding towards bio-energy and feedstocks for  biotech such as fuel and plastics.

U.S. Department Of Energy Announces $19 Million For Carbon Utilization Funding Opportunity

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s (FECM’s) Carbon Utilization Program announced up to $19 million in federal funding for the advancement of technologies that utilize waste carbon to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and produce reliable feedstocks for biotechnologies.

The funding opportunity announcement (FOA), entitled “Carbon Utilization Technology: Improving Efficient Systems for Algae,” specifically aims to increase the capability of algal systems to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and put it to productive use. Capturing this waste carbon then allows for algae to be cultivated into a variety of biofuels and bioproducts. The deployment of algal technologies in these projects will help lower algal system cost, while decreasing GHG emissions. Additionally, this FOA will contribute to BETO’s goal of producing at least 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuels by 2030.

Martyn1981

Since this is close to home, I have to post it. So, modular drop in homes, with minimal heating needs.

I note it seems to suggest resistive heating, but I may have got that wrong, but at high efficiency levels perhaps minimal heating?

Crofts Street’s new residents ‘over the moon’ with new homes

The new tenants of nine highly energy-efficient, sustainable modular houses in Roath have described their new council homes as ‘big and spacious' with bathrooms like the Hilton hotel!
 
Residents of the two-bedroom, terraced properties, that have been developed as part of the Cardiff Living house-building partnership between Cardiff Council and Wates Residential, collected their keys last weekend and have been busy settling in and turning their new houses into their new homes.
 
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, visited the residents to find out what they think of the net carbon-zero properties, which are part of the Council's ambitious development programme to build more affordable housing in the city.

Coastalwatch

Perhaps just another announcement of a prototype storage battery with promising performance and at a low cost into the bargain. Redox flow battery's have been around for several years now and some are even in service. While normally offering the advantage of a longer duration than Li-ion and longer lifetime their costs until now are thought to have been considerably higher, then at a claimed $100/kWh it would appear to have the right credentials for success further down the line.

Viologen redox flow battery for renewables storage

Conceived for the storage of residential and large scale renewable energy, the device has a rated power of over 150mW/cm2, an energy density exceeding 40Wh/L, and a power density of 72.5mW/cm2. The battery was built with an anode made of inexpensive viologen and its cost, according to its creators, may be lower than $100/kWh.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/02/16/viologen-redox-flow-battery-for-renewables-storage/

Martyn1981

Wave goodbye to some more FF emissions ...... well, not yet, but investment to test and evaluate wave energy systems for future commercial development.

CETO crew signs EuropeWave deal

Carnegie Clean Energy subsidiary CETO Wave Energy Ireland has now formally entered a contract under the EuropeWave Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) programme. 

EuropeWave PCP is stage-gate programme designed to advance wave energy converter systems to a point from which they can be developed for commercial exploitation through other national/regional programmes and/or private investment.

CETO Wave Energy Ireland was selected alongside six other companies to deliver Phase 1 of the programme after meeting rigorous selection criteria.

This included the performance, survivability, availability and affordability characteristics of the proposed systems.

Martyn1981

Hiya CW, just like buses, here's number two and three of flow batt news, genuine coincidence, I'm not stalking you (today!). See embedded link for the older article. 

Invinity 0.8MWh vanadium flow battery system installed in Scottish Water solar PV scheme

Battery storage is making renewables more viable for Scottish Water, the company has said following the installation of Invinity Energy Systems' vanadium flow batteries.

The flow battery system is capable of storing up to 0.8MWh of energy, and is located at the waste water treament site that serves the city of Perth. It has been paired with over 2,520 solar panels which have a combined output of over 1MW.

Invinity, meanwhile, recently energised the UK's largest vanadium flow battery, the 5MWh flow battery system installed as part of the Energy Superhub Oxford.

Actually, might as well throw this article on storage in too since we've been discussing storage recently. It's easy to forget or miss just how much storage is actually being deployed as it's not very sexy and newsy.

Trina Storage switches on SMS’s 50MW/56.2MWh UK battery storage system

Trina Storage has completed the supply of its first UK battery energy storage system (BESS), the 50MW/56.2MWh fully integrated grid-scale battery energy storage system owned by SMS plc.

The BESS, which is located in Burwell was constructed by Ethical Power. Trina Storage, meanwhile, supplied, commissioned and tested the system, which is to provide balancing services to National Grid ESO following its commercial operations.

Construction of the asset began in February 2021, with the asset - alongside a further 40MW BESS in Barnsley, South Yorkshire - marking SMS' entry into the UK utility-scale storage market, according to Tim Mortlock, chief operating officer at SMS.

Martyn1981

OK, there seems to be a storage theme developing here but I promise by accident. So yet another storage related article. But first let me explain that I've always had a soft spot for posting Hawaii based articles as they get most of their leccy from burning oil, still about 2/3rds including coal, but falling. 

So, I've probably been posting articles on Hawaii and wittering away now for 10yrs+. Obviously solar is incredible there, and oil and coal involve a lot of shipping emissions too. This means Hawaii has very expensive leccy ..... again leading to PV and PV + storage as economical alternatives.


A Hawaiian macadamia nut farm gets solar and storage, achieving 100% renewable power

Hawaii-based Mauna Loa, one of the world’s major macadamia nut brands, just got a 1.2-megawatt solar farm and 500 kW battery storage system. The new solar and storage join existing clean energy sources at the facility, which means it’s now powered by 100% clean energy.

Mauna Loa’s new solar and storage system, which will directly power 85% of Mauna Loa’s processing plant in Kea‘au, means it’s now the largest operating PV project dedicated to a private company in Hawaii.

Mauna Loa’s Hawaiian crop of macadamias are grown with rainwater, making the macadamia one of the most sustainable nut varieties. The company also uses the whole nut during its production process, cleanly burning the shells to create renewable energy and composting the nut husks to enrich the local community’s soil.

gefnew

Coal fired power station in Aus to close early.
Biggest power plant in coal-reliant Australia to close early - BBC News

Martyn1981

Couple of complimentary pieces on ammonia production. I don't think they are linked, but interesting that one is Japan based, and the other Australia, since Japan/Australia hope to ship RE from Aus to Japan, but need to find a way. They are looking at H2, but since it has such low energy density, the shipping costs and emissions look extremely bad. However Ammonia has a greater energy density of H2, than even liquid H2, and ammonia is a potential shipping fuel too.

Producing ammonia in a cleaner, lower CO2(e) way is really important since it's used on a vast scale (fertiliser, plastics, feedstocks, potential/growing shipping fuel, etc).

Accelerated Ammonia Synthesis Holds Promise For Conversion Of Renewable Energy

Research by Japanese scientists at Hiroshima University reveals a way to make ammonia from its constituent molecules of nitrogen and hydrogen at ambient pressure.

The new study, published on Feb. 2 in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, demonstrates a process with potential for use in renewable energy storage and transfer, which relies on a dispersed and fluctuating network of resources, such as sun and wind. “The ultimate goal of this work is to establish the small-scale NH3 production process to effectively utilize renewable energy” said study author and associate professor Hiroki Miyaoka from Hiroshima University’s Natural Science Center for Basic Research and Development.

Technically this post is a twofer, as I've been meaning too, but forgetting to post this vid for nearly two weeks, oops!

Decarbonising AMMONIA production. Could a revolutionary new process be the key?

Swan_Valley

River Weaver hydroelectric plant planned for Dutton Sluice

PLANS for a hydroelectric plant along the River Weaver near Dutton Lock have been submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Adjacent to Dutton Sluice, a Grade II-listed property, the proposed Archimedean screw could generate up to 900MWh of renewable energy each year, saving 514 tonnes of CO2. The scheme has an anticipated 60 year-plus lifespan.

The plans explain how water will pass through an Archimedean screw adjacent to the sluice gate on the southern bank of the river, with flow controlled by an automatic sluice gate.

More info here

PS. Only just seen this. However, it was from 2018! Will try to find out if it got approval & is now installed.

PSS. Appears that construction has started https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/19713-dutton-hep-scheme-river-weaver

Coastalwatch

Thanks for posting SV. always good to learn of renewable energy generation and even better if it's not totally dependent on sunshine and wind!